Association Of Catholic Bloggers

  Stuff happens: which is hardly an original thought. Sometimes we could have avoided whatever happened. Sometimes: like I said, stuff happens. And would have happened no matter what we did. How we react to what happens, that's something we can control. Not the knee-jerk emotional impulses, but how we decide to deal with whatever we're feeling. I've been meaning to talk about that for some time, but hadn't gotten around to it. Then the priest who was scheduled for our parish got sick, and asked a deacon to fill in. He's feeling better, by the way. The priest, not the deacon. Anyway, Deacon Tim Pribula talked about worry, Jesus, and related topics last Sunday.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Worry, Jesus, and related topics. Being thankful, trusting God, and making sense. Putting problems in perspective.)

Pope Benedict elevating the Body of Christ [Wikipedia; photo ] 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 22:1-14 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India) At that time: Jesus again spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people, in parables, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ” But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them s...

    Okay, let's review . . . The president has promised to give each of us $5,000 if we vote Republican.  He gave the Chinese president royal treatment, even though we know China is helping Iran, against us, in the war. He has placed heavy tariffs on countries around the world, even though they are hurting American businessmen and consumers. He is allowing innocent people to be swooped up, detained, and (sometimes killed) by ICE (the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.) He has threatened to annihilate an entire people (Iran).   He is insulting, and isolating us from our global allies. He is focused on destroying property (The East Wing) you and I own, and is threatening to tear down an important building (The Kennedy Center) if his name is not put on it. He has elevated people without any relevant experience to positions of influence in our government, and fired experienced people who could offer differing opinions. He has banned our free press from their ...

      You've probably heard by now that recently Archbishop Fulton Sheen was beatified. This is a big deal. He is the first American-born Bishop to carry such an honor. I first heard about the miracle (he needed one  for his beatification), online. It's an interesting story about a family that prayed to him for help with their infant son. The rigorous progress to verify the miracle was completed and the infant son has grown to be a teenager. See the ** link below. Sheen had a profound affect on people, inspiring and converting them with his teachings. I like some of his quips, for which he was known, and which retain their wisdom still today: Resigning a bishopric, he said,  "I am not retiring, only retreading." "You must remember to love people and use things, rather than to love things and use people." "The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who s...

I remember "Boggle Beak". But listening to my mother or father read "Boggle Beak" to me, or reading it myself, isn't among my childhood memories. I'm not sure why. No, wait. That's not entirely true. I remember reading the book, but the memory reminds me of my father showing me "Boggle Beak" and telling me why the book is important to him. I'll let him explain it. "Boggle Beak" was: "A greatly favored book of mine when an infant or child. It was read to me on innumerable occasions by my sister Mary Alice, and, less often, by other members of my family before I could read; and, after I could read it for myself, it continued to be a favorite for perhaps a year or two. I do not recall reading it after we moved to Rockford, so by the time I was nine I must have outgrown it." (Bernard Gill's handwritten note, on the front endpaper of "Boggle Beak", dated June 1963) I'd have been 11 years old when he wr...