Morning Briefings

Do not be afraid I am with you. I have called you each by name.

– Songwriter David Haas, You are Mine, from Renee Bondi’s
Surrender to Your Love

Purim remembers the defeat of a plot to exterminate the Jews. The story of Purim is told in the biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia and her cousin, Mordecai, who raised her as if she was his daughter.

–
Jewfaq.com

He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more; but he who loses courage loses all.

– As attributed to Miguel de Cervantes in
Matthew Kelly’s Rediscovering Catholicism

Retired Infantryman Brendan Marrocco spoke at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday, the day he was to be discharged. Mr. Marrocco received a two-arm transplant after losing all four limbs in a 2009 bomb attack in Iraq. The surgery has been performed in the U.S. only seven times.

–
The Wall Street Journal photo caption, January 30, 2013

Set down your chains, ’til only faith remains; set down your chains. And lend your voices only to sounds of freedom. No longer lend your strength to that which you wish to be free from. Fill your lives with love and bravery and we shall lead a life uncommon.

– Jewel
Life Uncommon

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

– Luke 2: 6-7

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid.’

– Matthew 1:20

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

– Marianne Williamson
A Return to Love

I asked God if He was testing me–and once again I put my hands together to pray. Yet it was difficult to find my quiet place to talk with God while the devil was screaming in my ear.

– Immaculee Ilibagiza
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust

This is one of the most honest and frequently given excuses I hear. ‘I just don’t have the moral courage to be open about my faith.‘ By definition, moral courage means you are willing to act on your convictions even if it costs you something, such as social acceptance or convenience.

– Randy Hain
The Catholic Briefcase