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I Will Come

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In today’s Gospel, we hear those very familiar words of the Centurion. In the previous Gospel, Jesus had just come down from the mountain. After preaching and teaching, he was healing people right and left. It didn’t matter what the afflictions were, Jesus healed them. Then, in today’s Gospel, people were pushing up to him from all sides, wanting his attention and help. Then something very strange happens. A Centurion comes up to him (a Centurion is a very important Roman soldier in charge of 100 men). He said to Jesus, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” Those that were there must have been astounded that a Roman soldier, let alone a centurion, a nonbeliever, would come to Jesus for help! In those times a servant was a kind of lowlife. And here was a soldier asking Jesus to help him. And what was Jesus’ answer?  “I will come and heal him”. The Centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed”. Do those words sound familiar? 

Imagine a man of great power humbling himself before Jesus. I was in the business world for 40 plus years. And never saw that kind of humility. With a man of great authority and power, it was usually the opposite. Jesus was touched by this man’s faith! This is an example of Jesus not being present for the healing. The servant was healed by long distance. This event was so profound that the Church fathers incorporated it in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! 

For me, the keyword in this event is faith. Remember the time Jesus was passing through Nazareth? He cured very few people there, because there was so little faith. He also told us that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? It is a like a pepper speck. When I first saw it my heart sank. Is this me, I thought? Try looking at a speck of pepper and ask yourself, is my faith greater than this? The Centurion had no church, no sacraments, no devotions or Eucharist to come close to God. Yet he was close, very, very close.

Serving With Joy!

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Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are the parents of eight children and twenty-nine grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002.  He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.

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Jesus

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While thankfully not a leprosy sufferer, I have dealt with eczema for many years, including a severe bout on my hands that left them virtually unusable. At their worst, swollen with horrendous peeling, I kept them hidden out of embarrassment. 

Many nights, I lay in bed, tears streaming down my face with the same prayer on my lips, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” During that time, and even now, when I read today’s Gospel of the leper, my heart stirs with empathy and a strong kinship. 

Unlike the leper, my prayer would take years to be answered, but in God’s perfect timing, and according to his loving will, my hands were eventually, miraculously healed completely.

Like the leper, I knew the healing power found in Jesus. While I longed for physical healing, what I found instead was profound spiritual healing. During the three years of battling this particular eczema flare, I learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life. And, inadvertently, my story too glorified God, as so many people ended up walking alongside me in witnessing my suffering, prayers, and eventual healing. Without intending to, I became a model for humility and trust as I needed to rely on people for basic needs and watched my vanity melt away as my worth tied more closely to my faith than my appearance. 

During this time, I learned the true healing Jesus offered was forgiveness for my sins, that the cleanliness I longed for more than anything was inside my soul. A doctor may help me find healing for my hands;  but only my Lord and Savior can bring healing to my soul. Remarkably the Lord revealed many similarities between the eczema on my hands and the sin on my soul. While doctors offer diets, creams, and medications for my hands, Jesus offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation for my soul. While the medicines took years to work, the sacrament’s grace came instantly and in full healing force!

Other similarities I recognized between battling chronic illness and habitual sin:

 

  1. The root cause cannot always be determined and can lay dormant within somebody for years.
  2. To truly eradicate it, one often needs to investigate deep into oneself to discover the root cause of the issue.
  3. It is often painful, uncomfortable, embarrassing, and can create significant anxiety, and usually, we try to hide it, thinking that it will make it unnoticeable.
  4. To be adequately healed, you need to see a physician, and for each, nothing beats the Divine Physician.
  5. The longer you put it off seeking help for the condition, the more unnecessary suffering you will endure. 

No suffering we endure can match that which Jesus took on for us. As today’s Gospel Acclamation reminds us, “Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Jesus does wish to make us all well. Like the leper, before we ask anything, we should also pay Jesus homage. My praises come not for what He will do for me but for the ultimate gift He has already given. 

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Allison Gingras works for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization as National WINE Steward of the Virtual Vineyard. She is a Social Media Consultant for the Diocese of Fall River and CatholicMom.com. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who founded ReconciledToYou.com and developed the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (OSV).   

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The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.

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Joy in His Presence

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John the Baptist was in such anticipation of his relationship with Jesus that he lept within his mother’s womb. 

Today, we celebrate the birth of this man who was so excited about being with Jesus, that he couldn’t even wait to be born before turning cartwheels out of the joy of being close to Jesus. 

This is a man who as an adult lived in the wilderness, wore “camel’s hair” garments, and preached repentance. He ate locusts and wild honey. You have to think John the Baptist kind of stood out in a crowd, and not always in a good way. 

To the people of his day, John’s clothing would have evoked thoughts of the prophets, most notably Elijah. His diet would have been that of the poorest of the poor and would have been in stark contrast to the wealthier of the Jews; the ones who found success in cooperating with the Romans. John didn’t seek out crowds, he lived an ascetic lifestyle so severe that some thought he may have been possessed by a demon. (Mt 11:18)

Yet for all his roughness and anti-establishment lifestyle, multitudes of people sought him out. They listened to his message and were baptized. John’s message of preparing for the coming messiah spoke to the emptiness in the hearts of people and they believed the truth.

The truth speaks to the hidden parts of people. It fills them up and the joy just bubbles out and attracts others. Joy isn’t brought about by the stuff of this word, the trappings of our earthly lives. Joy comes from being near the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

How can we be a little more like John the Baptist? When John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, Jesus was hidden in the womb of Mary. Every time we approach the altar, we are near Jesus hidden in the bread and wine. I am not suggesting anyone do cartwheels down the aisle at Mass, but do we approach Jesus with joy and anticipation? Do we take the time to prepare our hearts and minds to fully be present to Jesus as he comes to us? Do we go away from our encounter with him changed in heart and mind? Do we live the truth of the Eucharist with so much joy that others are drawn to us, so that like John the Baptist, we too can point them to Jesus and say, “Behold the Lamb of God”?

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Sheryl O’Connor delights in being the number 1 cheerleader and supporter for her husband, Tom who is a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Kalamazoo. They are so grateful for the opportunity to grow together in this process whether it is studying for classes, deepening their prayer life or discovering new ways to serve together. Sheryl’s day job is serving her community as the principal for St. Therese Catholic School in Wayland, Michigan. Since every time she thinks she gets life all figured out, she realizes just how far she has to go, St. Rita of Cascia is her go-to Saint for intercession and help. Home includes Brea, a Bernese Mountain dog and Carlyn, a very, very goofy Golden Retriever.

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Be Like Abram

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There’s a detail in today’s First Reading that was brought to my attention several years ago which changed the way I see this story now. Abram was questioning God’s plan. God came to him promising rewards and Abram wondered what good the rewards would be since he had no son to pass them down to. He was concerned his inheritance would go to his servant. 

God’s response was to take him outside and tell him to count the stars – that’s how many descendants he would have. This had to have been rather hard for Abram to believe because he and his wife Sarai were old and unable to conceive a child. But Abram put his faith in the Lord. He trusted that while it seemed impossible, if God said it would be so, then it would.

He then followed God’s direction to sacrifice some animals and here’s the detail in verse 12 that is important: “As the sun was about to set….” Then in verse 17, we read “When the sun had set and it was dark.” 

When God took Abram outside and asked him to number the stars, it was daytime! There’s just one star in the sky in the day and it’s the sun. Abram saw that one star and he believed it would be sufficient. He believed that despite his lack of children so far and counting just one star, God would keep his promise of many descendants.

We can pray for trust like his. We can ask for the grace to be patient and wait, believing that God will keep his promise. Even if something seems too small, God can make it great. Maybe, like me, you wonder how you can help make this sad, broken world a place where God is glorified. What can I, just one person, do? 

I can begin by trusting God. Trusting he has a plan and even if I can’t see all of it, it will come to fruition. Today, I can do one thing to help make this world better. I can love one person a little more. I can shift my gaze from myself to others and lastly to Jesus. I can have faith that by looking at what is in front of me today and trusting God, all will be well.

Even if it seems like it can’t possibly be enough, it can be. Just ask Abram how it turned out for him.

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Merridith Frediani’s perfect day includes prayer, writing, unrushed morning coffee, reading, tending to dahlias, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids.  She loves finding God in the silly and ordinary.  She writes for Ascension Press, Catholic Mom, and her local Catholic Herald in Milwaukee. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Eucharistic Adoration is expected to be released summer 2021. You can reach her at merridith.frediani@gmail.com

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When God Asks You To Uproot Your Life

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The invitation to Abram to uproot his life—a life he knew, a life he had built, a life that had security guaranteed, a life surrounded by his things, his people, his culture—is the beginning of a journey of  thousands of years of all people to the new Jerusalem unveiled for us in the book of Revelation. 

Abram had to make a decision. Do I abandon my fatherland for this land that the Lord is promising to me? Do I abandon my family and my people in favor of a people, a nation, that the Lord is revealing, when I know that logically this doesn’t make sense given Sarai’s infertility? Do I set aside my inheritance, for the inheritance that the Lord is laying out for me? If this were all to work out as the Lord says, I will gain much, but the cost will be great, the risk, the uncertainty. Do I have the trust in this God that will see me through to the end? Abram, we read eventually, left for this land.

In Hebrews we read, “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going… And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. …Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (Heb 11:8-10).

Today’s Scripture passage prompts us to a decision, “for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). We need to decide whether to abandon our plans, our security, the stuff we collect and the people we gather around ourselves, and ultimately our earthly “blessings,” for an eternal inheritance promised us though unseen. To exchange our ultimate loyalty to our earthly citizenship to confess our forever credo in the providential love of God who has called us to take on the attitudes, values, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of the Kingdom that is even now growing to maturity in a hidden way on this earth. When the Son of Man returns on the clouds to gather his own into the Kingdom of his Father, to present them as his brothers and sisters, members of his Body, we want to be among that number.

Abram is our father in faith, yet he stumbled and doubted and failed along the way until he completely trusted this God who had chosen him to be the father of a great nation. You and I are a part of this great nation. We struggle and stumble, doubt and fall along the way. Nevertheless, with courage, we keep our eyes fixed on what “eye has not seen, ear has not heard” (1 Cor 2:9).

In the words of Philip Krill, in his book Deified Vision: Toward an Angogical Catholicism, our faith journey “is an anticipated participation in the yet-to-be-fully manifest glory of the Coming Kingdom. ‘Behold, I make all things new!’ exclaims the Savior (Rev 21:5). We eagerly anticipate ‘new heavens and a new earth’ (Is 65:17-25; Rev 21). We expect to see an entirely recreated, transfigured creation: a world so transformed and renewed that every particle of matter…will participate providentially in what God has in store for those who love him (Rom 8:28; 1 Cor 2:9). …. [S]o magnificent and all-inclusive and redemptive is the final consummation of his glory.”

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Sr. Kathryn J. HermesKathryn James Hermes, FSP, is the author of the newly released title: Reclaim Regret: How God Heals Life’s Disappointments, by Pauline Books and Media. An author and spiritual mentor, she offers spiritual accompaniment for the contemporary Christian’s journey towards spiritual growth and inner healing. She is the director of My Sisters, where people can find spiritual accompaniment from the Daughters of St. Paul on their journey. Website: www.touchingthesunrise.com Public Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/srkathrynhermes/ For monthly spiritual journaling guides, weekly podcasts and over 50 conferences and retreat programs join my Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/srkathryn.

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Judging and Tiny Cups

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“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.”

 Sometimes, this verse is misunderstood to mean that we cannot judge actions as right or wrong, and so to mean we must tolerate serious wrongdoing because “it’s none of my business.” And if we judge others we will be severely judged. But elsewhere, Jesus tells us to “judge with right judgment” (John 7:24). So, we CAN judge, but we shouldn’t?

 Sometimes, this is (more correctly) understood to mean that we can judge actions but not people. We should not condone sin, but we cannot condemn a sinner. This is certainly true, but where is love in this interpretation? Refusal to judge must be filled with genuine love for the other, and a desire for their good. A “parable” from Erasmus Leiva-Merikakis in his wonderful reflection on the Gospel of Matthew entitled Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word (Ignatius Press) invites us to a subtler reflection on how we might apply these words to our lives:

 A beggar comes to my door asking for water to quench his thirst. I will not turn him away, because I fear some neighbor might observe my disdain. At the same time I do not consider the beggar worthy of touching with his lips more than the smallest tin cup in the house, which I quickly fill and brusquely hand him, so carelessly that half the cup spills. The cup is so small and mean, in fact, that I tell him to keep it. In reality, I don’t want to waste my time in such company.

 Much time—a whole lifetime—passes, and I find myself in the presence of Christ the King and Judge. I anxiously await my reward: I have always revered God, kept the commandments, observed the Lenten fasts, and celebrated the Church’s feasts with due solemnity. The King hands me back my tin cup, which I had long forgotten and certainly did not expect to see again in this eschatological setting. Seeing the look of dismay on my face, and with an infinite kindness in his voice that almost has the pleading tone of a beggar in it, Christ says to me: ‘I’m sorry, friend. Even I, the King, have no other cup to give you.’

Taking on ourselves the role of judge closes us up against all that the Lord wants to give us! It is not simply a fear of judgment that should align us with these words of Christ, but the awful truth that the capacity of our own hearts for love and forgiveness and God is constricted when we ignore them! To become “perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect,” we must share his loving and forgiving view of all of creation, particularly those we find difficult.

How can we see others through the lens of genuine love today?

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Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

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Be Not Afraid

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“Do not be afraid! Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure. He alone can give full meaning to life, he alone is the center of history. Live by him!” – Pope St. John Paul II

I once tried counting how many times the Bible instructs us to not be afraid, but failed pretty quickly. In our world, there is often trouble, hopelessness, and despair. Today’s readings speak of the many storms in our lives. A storm can mean something we see right in front of us, such as the one the disciples saw when Jesus calmed it in the Gospels, or something psychological, such as the sufferings of Job.

In the book of Job, God is silent for the majority of the book and it is up to us to find His presence. We are weak in that we often don’t believe until we have the concrete evidence staring us in the face. We are ignorant to doubt God’s power. God’s ways are so insurmountable that human standards cannot begin to compare to them. 

We owe God unfailing trust. Christ repeatedly instructs us to have no fear. I think for my young children as well as for my much older self, the imagery of Christ calming the storm after peacefully lying asleep while his disciples fret is one of the most recognizable images of who God really is to us. Do we not have faith? If so, why worry? If we belong to Christ, we are no longer of this world, but have eternal life.

Just as it is said in today’s Psalm, Give thanks to the Lord, His love is everlasting. And as said by St. Paul, “Let us no longer live for ourselves, but for He who for our sake died and was raised. For in Him, we have eternal life.”

Therefore, let us again remember to “Be not afraid”.

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Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh is a board-certified neurologist who practices in Bergen County, NJ. She is a wife to her best friend, Akeem, and a mother of two little ones on Earth and two others in heaven above.

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Do not worry

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Three simple words that begin a short list of things Jesus tells us to not worry about  – food, drink, clothes. I do not worry about those things, I have more important things to worry about – meaningful work, health, my aging parents, my children and grandchildren. Have you ever thought that as you read this passage? Your “to-worry about” list may look different than mine but there it is nonetheless.

How though, do we allow our faith and trust in God’s love and care for us to stand side by side with worry? I realize it’s not easy to not worry. In my family, worry is how love is expressed. I choose not to worry. It is very conscious on my part. I make this choice as I try to do this in my life, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).  

I don’t always succeed in not worrying, but as I focus on what God has done and continues to do in my life, I realize none of it happened as a result of worry. Rather, it happened when there was trust and surrender on my part. I’ll give you an example: many years ago, my husband and I were buying a house. Everything was moving along and then he lost his job; no problem, I still had mine. And then, there went my job. By some miracle (GOD) it all moved forward and happened anyway. I have many stories of God’s intervention in my life. You do too! Today, spend time looking at your life and writing down all the times problems worked out without worry, how things worked out by the grace of God who will provide for you.

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Deanna G. Bartalini, is a Catholic writer, speaker, educator and retreat leader. She is the founder of the LiveNotLukewarm.com community, a place to inform, engage and inspire your Catholic faith through interactive Bible studies, courses and book clubs. Her weekly podcast, NotLukewarmPodcast.com, gives you tips and tools to live out your faith. At DeannaBartalini.com  she writes about whatever is on her mind at the moment.

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Storing the Right Treasures

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As many blog posts and reflections begin, I have a confession to make. I probably have too much yarn. Now I know, the “probably” I put in should probably be removed, but I’m not ready to both admit I have too much yarn and do something about it. I am a fiber artist with no sales, no following, or customers. I just love to crochet, knit, weave, quilt, cross stitch, I even have a spinning wheel I’m rehabbing. I bounce from project to project, excited to try new techniques and styles. I watch YouTube for tutorials and ideas. Yarn, and all the things I can create with it, brings me much joy.

 There is a problem with this hobby of mine that I’ve noticed over the years. What I haven’t shared yet is that I am a wife and mother of 6 children ages 10 and under. My days are full. Full of homeschooling, laundry, cooking, baking, sunscreen, skinned knees, and picnics. My hobby time is in the evenings. Most of the time, this is fine. I am ok with cutting off housework that didn’t get done in order to have time for yarn and crafts as the sun goes down. But there are some days I find myself resentful of my little people, of their messes and constant hunger, of the churn of the laundry and crush of chores unfinished. I wish for days of silence with my yarn. I feel like projects which are supposed to bring me joy are wearing me down with the slowness of their progress. “Why can’t they just leave me alone?” “Why can’t I have some space to knit (or whatever I’m currently fascinated by).”

Each day that I allow myself to travel along this path the worse it gets. I am trying to store treasure in earthly things. In focusing on the crafting I am not doing, I am missing the opportunities God is giving me in the present moment. It’s like trying to capture air escaping from a balloon or gathering water in a sieve. The more apparent treasure I pile in the unhappier I become instead of the opposite. I am believing that my happiness lies in my ability to create things when I am surrounded with the greatest works of creation I could participate in, my children. The things I make can bring me happiness, but that happiness should be in service of my relationships with my kids and how I am living out my vocation.

 Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” When I choose to be fully present to my family, even in its disorder and chaos, it is also full of love, beauty, joy, and God’s will for our family. These are the treasures that will last a lifetime – beyond a lifetime. Doing God’s will, loving those He has brought into our lives, these are just a taste of the treasures of heaven.

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Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.

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Leading, and Living, by Example

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As I was reflecting on today’s passage, I was reminded of my high school days in JROTC. While the program had its pros and cons, I learned some important lessons about leadership there. 

One lesson that the program emphasized was that good leaders do not ask the people they are in charge of to do things they themselves are unable or unwilling to do. Good leaders don’t tell those they lead to walk an extra mile while they themselves drive. Good leaders walk that mile, too.

This seems to be one of the messages of today’s readings as well. Paul reminds the people of Corinth that he is not a perfect man, and he is not asking them to do anything he is unable or unwilling to do. Jesus reminds us that we must be willing to forgive others if we are seeking forgiveness for ourselves after sinning against the Infinite Good Himself.

It makes sense that a good leader and a good Christian should have this trait in common. Both leaders and Christians are called to be shining examples, in word and deed, to those around them.

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J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”

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