Jeanie Hannaman

By Dr. Donald DeMarco, Catholic Exchange - Envy, according to the classical definition, is sadness at another’s good fortune.  Envy, which is the second of the Deadly Sins, robs one of the joy he could share with another person’s gifts.  God grants people His gifts to please the recipient, but also to be shared with others.  We should rejoice when anyone displays God’s gifts... Our duty is two-fold:  to nurture our own gifts and admire the gifts of others.  Therefore, we should be more concerned about counting our own blessings rather that those conferred on others.  Envy is a terrible intruder that places sadness where joy should abound.

By Donald Jacob Uitvlugt, Catholic World Report - (Dec. 10th) marks an important Marian feast arising from the devotional life of the Church and especially of the lay faithful, the feast of Our Lady of Loreto. Traditional accounts report that, on December 10, 1394, the small house in which the Virgin Mary had lived was transported by angels to the small town of Loreto (in central Italy, not too far from the Adriatic)... Much ink has been spilled, especially in modern times, over whether the stone structure housed in the Basilica della Santa Casa is or is not the structure in which the Annunciation occurred. One is not required to believe that the walls within the basilica were transported by angels, or indeed was the house of the Annunciation at all ....