July 28.  Patience announced with a sense of pride. “Although my daughter was a single mom and had a tough time I feel very proud of my granddaughter, Carol.  She had been a very committed Catholic as a teenager, hasn’t slept around and was lucky to meet this super guy Peter, who was the same.  They did marry quite young and I started getting worried when no babies arrived for a while. After two years when they came to show me their first little girl I was really struck by the look of wonder and awe on their faces at the sight of this little miracle. It just made me think they had been talking with God.”  

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of the covenant in his hand he did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.  Exodus 34:29-35.  Pope Francis: Children once born begin to receive, along with nourishment and care the spiritual gift of knowing with certainty that they are loved.  This love is shown through the gift of their personal name, the sharing of language, looks of love and the brightness of a smile.  In this way they learn that the beauty of human relationships touches our soul, seeks our freedom, accepts the difference of others, recognises and respects them as a partner in dialogue.  Such is love and it contains a spark of God’s love.  AL 172