Association Of Catholic Bloggers

    Forever, man has been asking big questions about life, and one of the biggest, I think, is "Why am I here?"  The answer to why we are here is not as mysterious as we might imagine. We can get lost thinking that our purpose comes from our activity, or our acquisitions or even our physical or intellectual achievements. But we would be wrong. When I was working on my master's degree, my theology teacher drew our attention to the very first line in the Prologue of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church." Beautifully written, I have always been pulled in by this line. Each time I reflect on it, I feel I get a little closer to understanding it. "God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life." It goes on: "For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man."  And then it points out, in this first paragraph, that God sent Jes...

     We threw together a salad for dinner with a couple of leftovers for sides. One of them was french fries that my husband had the night before from his dinner out. Throw them in the air fryer and they are good as new. "Do you mind sharing those?" I asked him. "I don't have to," was his response. Whaaaat? I thought. He always shares everything! So I tried it again. Same answer. One thing I've learned from being married almost 44 years is that communication is key and, at times, can be a little complicated, so clarification is always best. Sure enough, he was telling me that HE didn't have to have any of the french fries, i.e., "share them" with me, because he had the other side of mashed potatoes.  Now that sounded more like him, and I'm glad I clarified because the french fries were very good indeed. For those of you who are engaged or newly married, I hope you will remember this story, because there will be times that you must...

    I've been pretty sick all week with the terrible stomach bug that's been going around. I was tenderly watched over by my husband, who would blessedly, softly touch my warm forehead to measure my temperature, pray the rosary for me, bring me whatever I needed and just compassionately stand beside me, caring for me. How do we experience God's compassion? We know and believe it is real, but how do we feel his tender touch, his loving gaze? I'm still working on that, but the closest I can come to an answer is his presence. His presence in the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in particular stands out for me. It is where he pours out his grace and mercy on us (which he does in all the sacraments.) But I think sometimes we don't appreciate what it means to be forgiven in Confession. I think sometimes we just don't comprehend what a merciful act it is for us to have all of our sins washed away, freeing us from their burden, moving us toward etern...

My mother's baby grand piano 1 sat in the southwest corner of the living room at 818, the house I grew up in. She taught me the basics: where middle C is, how to hold my hands over the keyboard, that sort of thing. A lifetime later, I know that I could have paid more attention. But I'm glad to have learned what I did. Somewhere along the line she had me learn to play "D'ye ken John Peel?" / "Do you know John Peel?" — a surprise for my father. It was supposed to be a secret. So, of course, as soon as he came home, I blurted out what I was learning. Learning impulse control is a work in progress. But I am getting better.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The piano sat in the southwest corner of the living room at 818, where I grew up. Pianos do not last forever, so now the family is deciding what we do with the old musical instrument.)

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well Guercino [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel  John 4:5-42   (English Standard Version, Anglicised) [For the shorter form (4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42) omit the text in brackets.] At that time: Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ...

    I know what Jesus taught is not popular. It might be written off as a nice way to live when it's convenient and doesn't cause us any personal sacrifice. But, we are either with him, or we are against him. We either believe in what he taught us and live by it, or we don't.  Our Secretary of Defense (now appropriately known as the Secretary of War) gloats that we are "winning" this war with Iran.  He of all people should know that absolutely nobody wins in war. The White House should know better than to compare war to a game-- which they have--interspersing real footage with fake footage from the video game "Call of Duty." Yet, the Speaker of the House is adamant that this is not a war: “We’re not at war right now, we’re four days into a very specific, clear mission and operation.”  Oh, okay, if you say so.  But did you know that the "boss" refers to it as a war?  There was no plan as to how to evacuate Americans traveling or living...

    Do you ever choose yourself over God? No? If you are trying to live as if God does not exist, you are scorning him. You are putting yourself higher than him. You are putting beneath you the very one who created you! That is choosing yourself over God. The " Catechism of the Catholic Church" (CCC) tells us that man's [first] sin was disobedience and a lack of trust in God's goodness, significantly "In that sin man  preferred  himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God . . ." (in Paragraphs 397-398) Also included in our first parents original sin was the desire to decide good and evil. So what's the problem with that, you say? Shouldn't we determine good from evil? It isn't that we know the difference between good and evil, but that we think we DECIDE what's good and evil, apart from what God has revealed to us.  That is a grave error.  Our knowledge and reasoning about good and evil comes fr...

  Like you, I awoke to the news that the United States took the first steps toward war with Iran. I found the news devastating. Then I opened today's gospel reading and, wouldn't you know it, it was Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 43-48 on loving our enemies! What Jesus teaches us in those verses, and the ones before them on retaliation, is an exact contradiction to today's military actions. Be sure to take some time to reflect on these passages as soon as you can. What always come to my mind in situations like this is two things.  First, I feel great sorrow for the innocent people who will die (as well as our troops.) I think about how killing does not solve problems, even though the myth that it somehow will continues to thrive. Second, the word fear comes to mind. The actions that the United States took today rest soundly on fear. I'm not saying the fear is irrational, but when our killing actions are the result of the fear of some future, potential danger, they...

Detail, "The Fight Between Carnival and Lent", Pieter Brueghel the Elder. (1559) In this bit, Lent's winning. It's Lent and I'm a Catholic. So how come I'm not sitting in some dark corner, reflecting on doom, gloom, and how perfectly rotten I am? Or at least moaning and wringing my hands over the world's dreadfully dire state: as illustrated in my news feed. Basically, it's because neither will help me line myself up with Jesus: doing prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Work on lining myself up, that is: it's a job that lasts as long as life does.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Being miserable is not the goal of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during Lent; following Jesus is. Plus a look at the history of fashionable melancholy.)

Transfiguration Cristofero Gherardi [ Web Gallery of Art ] He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him  (Matthew 17:2-3; Gospel). Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 17:1-19   (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and o...

      If you ever wonder if you are saying or doing the right thing, in the moment just ask yourself, " Is this pleasing to God ?" And then take another moment to think about it.  Is my attitude toward this person pleasing God? Is my response to this situation pleasing God? You get the idea. How free we would be, if we could free ourselves of our own behavior when it is self-centered, petty, jealous or irrational!  You can do a complete 180 by asking yourself this question and then asking the Holy Spirit for help. It doesn't matter whether you are arguing with someone, gossiping, or feeling some road rage. You can get yourself out of whatever you're in the middle of, because most of the time--if we are being honest--we know that our elevated emotional response is not pleasing to God. At the end of this blog I have put the prayer that inspired me to write this. It comes from the Daily Prayer tab on the Laudate app. Janet Cassidy Email me at:  jmctm2@g...

                                                  Photo Credit: Dreamstime    What do you have the urge to run away from?  Is it your job, your marriage, your children? Or maybe you are trying to escape yourself, the things you know about yourself that no one else knows, such as your sins, or your dark thoughts or tendencies. Thomas Merton wrote about "wrestling" with his own darkness and discovered that he didn't so much need to run away from himself as he needed to turn to the light of God. He put it this way: "It is sufficient to turn away from my darkness to His light. I do not have to run away from myself; it is sufficient that I find myself, not as I have made myself, by my own stupidity, but as He has made me in His wisdom and remade me in His infinite mercy."  The key here, I think, is that we recognize how wonderfully God ma...

      Photo credit: Dreamstime.com                 As I was watching a behind-the-scenes recap about the television show Seinfeld, I learned that their philosophy was to make sure the characters never grew personally.  Any story line that included a lesson where one of the characters could develop as an individual would be flatly rejected.  The characters on the show were intentionally kept stagnant, both personally and professionally. It made for good comedy, but oh my goodness, what an awful place to be in real life! Do you know someone who is stuck that way? Maybe they work a dead end job or lack motivation? Maybe they have an inability to set goals or strive to better themselves?  Admittedly, sometimes life deals us a hand that makes it difficult to rise above our circumstances, but sometimes people are oddly content never maturing. Working in church ministry for so many years, it was not uncommon to come...

When my father told me he was taking me to see the power plant, I was very excited; and looked forward to seeing a plant that somehow produced significant amounts of electricity. As it turned out, the "power plant" was a building near the river. My main — and only — visual memory of the place is a large room dominated by a massive cylinder: rounded, with its axis parallel to and roughly even with the floor. I'm pretty sure it was painted a light green. I also remember being disappointed. And trying to not show it. I don't know what my age was at the time: probably around nine or ten, fourth or fifth grade.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The old power plant is gone, and I remember only a bit of the time my father took me there. But I learned from what my father did, and what the Church says.)

Landscape with the Temptation of Christ Joos de Momper [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings  (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 4:1-11   (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the Temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you”, and “On their ha...