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Catholic Indie Authors need 48 more people to support them so they qualify for a media blitz called Thunderclap. It only takes one click to support the campaign. There are only 2 days left. Beyond the Bestsellers Looking for something beyond the bestsellers? Books written from a Catholic worldview. https://indiecatholicauthors.wordpress.com/ GOAL 100 supporters on Jun 24th at 12:00pm Indie Catholic Authors Join this Thunderclap 52%  COMPLETED 46,086 REACH 2  DAYS LEFT https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/27781-beyond-the-bestsellers?locale=en

Waiting on the Lord can be tough at times, especially in times of stress. Waiting on the Lord to provide sustenance, or direction, can seem like suffering in itself. Whether it is periods of unemployment, or waiting for medical results, the clock ticks slowly and it is easy for impatience to surface. Patience requires an ability to corral our emotions, exercising composure and self-control (another virtue and fruit of the Holy Spirit). Saint Francis de Sales stated it best regarding why we should embrace patience, when he said: …the more perfect our patience, the more perfectly do we possess our…  Read more...

“Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Genesis 2: 24 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace;  above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.   And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word o

Fathers are so important in the development of their children.  The Bible is clear that Fathers are to be spiritual leaders in the home and has much to say about both our earthly fathers and God our heavenly father.  Psalms 103:13  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those  who fear him. Deuteronomy 1:29-31   you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Modern sculptures and paintings of St. Joseph, emphasize his strength and protective attitude for his young wife and vulnerable infant son. A model for modern dads. continue reading  

from The Cloistered Heart

A young man joined a Wednesday evening Bible study group at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, earlier this week After participating for about an hour, he killed nine of the folks there and left. I'm angry, and sad, that nine lives were unjustifiably ended in that church: and am profoundly impressed at the calm shown by some of the victims' relatives. In my considered opinion, what the young man did was wrong. I'll get back to why I think that's true: and what I'm doing about my anger and sorrow. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee , Rembrandt, 1633 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, USA  Gospel  Mark 4:35-41  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” The very first pastoral vis

Fathers should be honored and appreciated, but for the single mom, Father’s Day can present challenges. Ad after ad shows giggling children bouncing on shoulders of fun loving dads, cuddling for stories, cooking messy masterpieces, climbing into their parents' bed for tickles and laughter, and inviting scores of friends to a paint-balloon shootout barbecue in the backyard. Friends on Twitter , Facebook , Pinterest ,  Instagram  and other social media outlets post photos of their favorite parenting moments and praise husbands and fathers for being hard-working both at home and at work, for standing with their families in both good times and bad, and for being strong lovers, protectors, providers, leaders, and role models. But life isn’t always so picture-perfect, and Father’s Day emptiness sometimes becomes a seemingly inescapable reality as single mothers kiss their children goodbye and watch them run off with a man who doesn’t match up with false promises. T

What does the  South Carolina shooting  mean to churches?  Does it mean we have to have metal detectors at the doors?  Will we have to have ushers frisk people as they enter our churches?  Do we have to be afraid to greet strangers? You can read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

Have you come out as Catholic?  What I mean is, do people know you are a church attending, community involved, saint-loving,  magisterium  following Catholic? You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really

TELL THEM ABOUT MARY PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Small critters: The University of California, Berkeley, press release calls them "bacteria," but scientists may decide that they should get another label. These tiny microorganisms aren't quite like anything else that's had its DNA analyzed before, so textbooks may need to be rewritten in a few years. Big aliens: Ever since reporters garbled a 1950s UFO sighting, " little green men " has meant "space alien." We still don't know whether there's life, intelligent or otherwise, elsewhere: but a scientist says that if we've got neighbors, they're probably bigger than we are. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Fifteen members of Indie Catholic Authors are hosting a sale of their ebooks from June 24-26.  All books are sale priced at $0.99 or less. You can buy a whole new library for less than $15! On Wednesday, June 24, we’ll post all the details about each book here, including buy links. This is our first joint sale that focuses exclusively on e-books. Could you help us spread the word by joining our Thunderclap campaign . ? Sign up to have an automatic tweet, Facebook or Tumbler post on the 24th at noon. We need at least 100 participants to blast social media with our message. Click here to help .      read more

Anna's Story Marriage breakups strike even those who are faithful, those with big families, and those who love the Lord. The trauma of a broken marriage is made even more heartbreaking when a new baby is involved.   Anna is a single mom of five young children who contacted me via my website, Single Mom Smiling . She is hopeful that her husband will rediscover his faith and return to his family. Please join me in reading Anna's story and in praying for her family, for a return to faith in today's self-centered world, and for a healing of wounds only our Savior Jesus Christ can truly understand and heal. Anna is one of many brave, faithful women praying for the healing of their marriages. Take no moment for granted, treasure your family, and please read, pray for, and share  Anna's story: My husband has been going downhill gradually for the past 3 years. I first noticed it when I was pregnant with our fourth child in 2012.  To continue reading, please

What is the dignity of the human person? “Human persons are willed by God; they are imprinted with God’s image. Their dignity does not come from the work they do, but from the persons they are.”  Our dignity comes from who we are. It comes from our “being” rather than our “doing.” The very fact that a person has been willed into existence by God and imprinted with His image, gives them a dignity that cannot be taken from them. This fundamental dignity must be respected. To read more, see The Sincere Gift

I’m actually writing this on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, when we celebrate the incredible love Jesus has for us. This feast dovetails with recent projects I’m involved in. Over the past weeks, I’ve come to learn about Mother Teresa Casini, foundress of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Francis declared her Blessed this year, and the ceremony will be this October. The miracle that led to this honor occurred in Youngstown, Ohio, the only site of the Sisters in the USA. A five-year-old child from one of their schools drowned in a pool. After intense prayers to Mother Teresa, forty-eight hours later he was miraculously healed on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The boy not only lived but was spared the severe brain damage predicted. Thirteen doctors of different faiths testified to the miracle. Click to continue

Patience in an up-tempo world – what a contradiction! The technology advances of the 20 th century created an expectation for obtaining things NOW. With that, the virtue of patience seems to have fallen by the wayside. Does anyone even remember what it was like to be patient? Remember when you had to wait for the new school year to start to get some new clothes and shoes? Or do you remember waiting until your birthday to get that toy you really wanted? Or best yet, do you remember in the “olden” days when you actually waited until you saved… Read more...

Father Dolindo Ruotolo (1882-1970) A Prophet for our Time O Jesus, I Surrender Myself to You On November 19, 1970 Don (Fr) Dolindo Ruotolo died at the age of 88.  Padre Pio once said of this priest from Naples, Italy, "The whole of paradise is in your soul".  His name "Dolindo" means "Pain" and his life was rich with this pain.  As a child, a teenager, a seminarian and a priest, he experienced humiliation which was the realization of the prophetic words of a bishop who said, "You will be a martyr, but in your heart, not with your blood." In his profound humility, he was able to hear the words of God. Read More at:: Prayerfully Yours

Every now and then, we are given those moments where we glimpse an aspect of ourselves embodied distinctively in the rather small bodies of our children. We are reckoned with the fact that for better or worse, they have assumed a bit of our personality, abilities, perspective or approach to life. Today, I stood in wonder and amazement, as I held the pages of my ten year old Thomas’ personal poetry anthology in my own hands. Amidst the collection of poems centered on the theme of buildings was this one which caught me completely by surprise and left me speechless. Read More..

On June 10th, the Pope’s Wednesday general audience continued his catecheses on the family, focusing on the theme of sickness and suffering. Man experiences his own fragility primarily in the family, first as a child and, then, as an elderly person.While family sickness presents obvious challenges, it can also be a source of quiet strength and deepening faith. Pope Francis stresses that we must ” educate children as little ones to solidarity in the time of sickness because, - See more at: http://www.catholiclane.com/front-row-with-francis-how-families-deal-with-illness /#sthash.p4SFT70X.dp u f

Due to the fact that it took me three months before I could set up a time with a friend and my husband to record the talk, we only had time that evening for one take.  Please keep that in mind and try to be kind in your comments and feedback.   I promise I open my eyes and my heart for this talk.  It's also a good reminder of how God is still in the business of miracles, one including reconciling with my dad.  

On June 21 (through July 4) begins the third annual  Fortnight for Freedom .  This year's theme is the Freedom to Bear Witness. Please read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

Fear has no place in the heart, because it doesn’t come from God. Fear is used by the devil to keep us from doing God’s will. The devil will attempt to make us doubt our abilities, especially the ability to be courageous. How do we effectively shut the devil out and listen only to God? How do we become courageous?We start with these five steps: Pray Ask the Lord to make His presence known to you in your heart; so that you know He is always with you, and will never leave you. “ Fear not, I am with… Read more...

As a Mathematician I have a great hunger for knowledge.  I seek knowledge in Mathematics like a bulldog would, I dig in, latch on, and don't let go until I have what I want.  Because this is the method I have used to acquire knowledge, it was no surprise that I would employ these same techniques when it came to seeking after God.     It is written,  "there is no one who seeks God" , well I did.   I went after God, and sought Him diligently  and by God's grace I will tell what I found.  ..... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

If you could, Would you? If you could be told the date, time, place and method of your death, would you want to know? Would you want to know if you would face death alone or be held in the warm embrace of your family? Would this knowledge impact your life?  Would you seek to change?  Would you look for God or live with abandonment, not caring what you did, only seeking worldly pleasures before you died? If you knew that, as you walked out the door that morning,  you would never return home again, would you walk out that door?  If you knew that tomorrow you would die, what would you do? Other than this moment, this second, we are not guaranteed another moment of life.  Do you praise God and thank Him for His great gift  of life?  As I have aged, I have come to realize what an amazing gift life is.  I have been given so many chances to right the wrongs.  Each day gives me that gift.  Each day I am granted the opportunity to grow closer to God, to live in His ways and i

A cloistered heart accepts God’s grace to love Jesus Christ in the midst of a world that does not love Him, to embrace His will in a world which does not embrace it. Thus the cloistered heart becomes a place of refuge not only for us, but for Christ Himself. To create such a refuge is a primary part of the cloistered heart’s apostolate.        © 1996 Nancy Shuman   thecloisteredheart.org     

Folks have looked up and been impressed for a long time: " 1 Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. " ( Deuteronomy 10:14 ) " The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft. " ( Psalms 19:2 ) That galaxy is M31, the Andromeda Galaxy . Back when I was in high school, a fair number of books I read called it the "Great Andromeda Nebula." More up-to-date books occasionally called it an "island universe." More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Children are open to the Spirit in a simple and natural way; I cannot impose adult spirituality on little children because then I am not working in sync with what the Spirit of God is doing in their souls. “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Children are like sponges; they absorb values, attitudes, culture and spirituality simply through osmosis. However, it goes deeper than that. Children’s spirituality is not simply taught, it rises from within as they listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their own hearts. Often what came out of our children’s mouths surprised and startled us. Yet both my husband and I were often aware of the deep spirituality that flowed from our children to us as well as from us as parents to our offspring. continue

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the Heart of Jesus is found the love of God, our God, Who gave us His Divine Son as expiation for our sins. God loved His children so much, yet, the Heart of Jesus continues to be descecrated and treated with irreverence. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is contained in the Eucharist. How many times have we received His Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity without respect, with irreverence, with distraction? Read more at:: Prayerfully Yours

A Grove of Cedars of Lebanon  [ W ikipedia ] On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar (Ezekiel 17:23 -  First Reading ). Gospel  Mark 4:26-34  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Editio n Jesus said to the crowds:  “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,   and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.   The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.   But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?   It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;   yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so th

Korea's Team Kaist's DRC-Hubo humanoid robot walked through DARPA's 2015 robot competition: one of three to complete every task on the course without falling over. Meanwhile, Toshiba's (somewhat) lifelike ChihiraAico robot demonstrated 'her' voice in a Las Vegas trade show. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

After moving to the Ottawa Valley with our first child, my new obstetrician was a brilliant, strong, feminist. Although she did have tropical fish and a parrot, she did not have any children of her own; I was an enigma to her as she was to me.   In her office, successful professional women waited for gynecological care and women in their late thirties or early forties, pregnant their first child. Then, I walked through her door for my first visit, pregnant with one toddler on my hip and by my last visit with three or four other children clustered around me.   Enshrined on my doctor’s desk and encased in glass were birth control devices that glared at me every time I sat across from her. After one visit, my obstetrician said, in what I hope was a teasing tone, “Would you quit bringing your beautiful children to my office. Someone always wants a  reversal  (from tubal ligation) after you leave ”. continue

When I was in college I actually spent time discerning the religious life. I visited several convents and even spent 10 days during Lent, leading up to Easter with the  Franciscan Sisters of the Martyr, St. George .  That time with the Franciscan sisters was one of the most powerful spiritual encounters with the Lord I have ever had. The Lord was very tangible there and it seemed like he was physically walking around the convent.  Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns>

As a Youth Minister, I have often tried to explain the gift of the Holy Spirit that is known as Wonder and Awe to teenagers preparing to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Also known as  Fear of the Lord,   Wonder and Awe is hard to define.  For me, "Wonder and Awe" seems almost the polar opposite of "Fear", so I tend to leave that part out of my description.  Through the years, the talk has evolved from one that has focused primarily on the beauty of creation ( Awe ) to that of rollercoasters ( Fear ) to trying to explain just how it is that Jesus makes bread and wine into  himself, (Wonder and Awe)  to the very fact that He even chose to create  me  at all ( Wonder ). It wasn't until I picked up a copy of James Martin SJ's  book  Jesus,   and read  the chapter  Storm  that I began to grasp the meaning where  Fear of the Lord  and  Wonder and Awe  actually come from... http://www.restfulwaters.net/wonder-and-awe/

Who better to write about a time-travelling priest than a priest? And who better to write about the strange and supernatural than a priest whose doctoral dissertation was entitled   How Catholic exorcists distinguish between demon possession and mental disorders ? The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange andSupernatural  by Father Mike Driscoll is the newest title at Bezalel Books—and one we are quite excited to offer! Always looking for a great fiction book that can also educate, Driscoll’s book hits the mark on all fronts. It engages, entertains and educates. Even if you aren’t drawn to the strange and supernatural—but especially is you are—Driscoll deftly weaves these elements into 10 short stories that will draw you in to learn more, all the while resolving the strange and supernatural in a faith-based and satisfying way. The Father Capranica Mysteries is a great read and we’re honored to offer it in  paperback  and  e-book  format.

My little book ‘How to Pray’ had been commissioned by a Carmelite publishing house in Prague, as part of a pocket book series concentrating on different aspects of spirituality? I was delighted when it won the prize for the best spiritual book of 2004, and was then translated into twelve foreign languages. When I went to Prague to receive it I was asked to give a lecture on prayer. I was more than half way through it when I was interrupted by a rather angry looking parish priest. He was angry because there had been no mention of the Mass, It was difficult for me to answer, because he did not understand English, so I asked the interpreter to read out the words of the great Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner, who I had quoted at the beginning of the book. The words were these: - ‘The Mass should so form us that the whole of our lives become the Mass, the place where we continually offer ourselves to the Father’. This quotation not only summed what my little book had been written to achieve,

Be Not Afraid! Have Courage! Not so easy? You ask, “Why should I be the one who acts so courageous? Look around! You don’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate!” Hmm…need I say more? If no one acted courageously, and set the example for others to follow, we would all be swallowed up in fear – and fear comes from the devil. When you lack courage and you are aware of what makes you afraid, it is incumbent upon you to face those fears. For me, I am afraid to take risks for fear of failure. If I... Read more...

Since we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) on Sunday, let's think about the Eucharist. What ever gave Jesus the idea of having bread become him so that we could consume him? Talk about crazy love. Although many faith traditions consider Jesus' words, "This is my body" a figure of speech, we Catholics take it literally. After all, when Jesus multiplied a mere five loaves of bread to fill the stomachs of thousands of people, he flatly declared, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day" (John 6:54). His Jewish followers, who even drained blood from their meat, were horrified at this seeming cannibalism. They turned around and left, but Jesus didn't call them back, saying, "Wait a minute. I don't really mean it." In the sacred host and sacred wine, Jesus is truly present as the risen Lord, his glorified body. It is a supernatural mystery. Click to

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Driving Home from Work. Suddenly I had such a feeling of appreciation of all the times that I had been protected by my Guardian Angel and Saint Michael the Archangel.  I thought I would give thanks to God.  Me:  "Z, my Angel, I know how God has allowed you to protect me in the past when I have gone to battle for souls that are lost, and I thank God and you for this gift.  For  Z, you know I will go to battle again soon, as God wills it." Z: "I will be there."  Me: "I know, and I appreciate that." Z:  "It is not by your appreciation that I serve."  TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!