Take Five for Faith
Daily renewal for busy Catholics


Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow—a day at a time.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
FEAST OF ANGELA MERICI, VIRGIN

Step out and step up

Saint Angela Merici did two things that may seem small now but in her time (16th-century Italy) were huge: She organized a group of single laywomen to teach the uneducated girls of her town. In her time, very few women had any schooling, let alone became teachers, and the ones who did have some education were nuns, who, like other unmarried women, rarely went out on their own. Her community eventually became the Ursuline religious order. It’s easy to ignore the fact that things people now take for granted came about because of someone who had a daring idea and the courage to carry it out. Their example can also serve to inspire you as well to take a bold step to do good in the world.

TODAY’S READINGS: 2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17; Mark 4:26-34

“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God? It is like a mustard seed that . . . is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants. ”


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