Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Hello again! For reasons, many and sundry, I haven't had a chance to post here lately, but I am happy to be back. Here is an offering, hopefully to encourage you, as I reach out to God to encourage me! Blessings and Peace,   Kelly

Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by William Wordsworth Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home: Day for life 31st July 2012

The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes , Tintoretto, 1579-81 Readings (NAB: Philippines, USA)  Gospel , Matthew14:13-21 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland) When Jesus received this news he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick. When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, 'This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food'. Jesus replied, 'There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves'. But they answered 'All we have with us is five loaves and two fish'. 'Bring them here to me' he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, rais...

On Sunday July 31st, the Catholic Church in England and Wales marks its annual Day for Life, an observance called for by the late Pope John Paul II to celebrate the dignity of every human life.  This year, the theme of the Day for Life focuses on the meaning of authentic happiness – a theme that Pope Benedict discussed with children and students from Catholic schools during his pastoral visit to Britain in September last year: "Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts". Fr John Sherrington is a moral theologian from the diocese of Nottingham and is shortly to become auxi...

Moments of conversion seem to come when we least expect them. I was recently in the middle of a spirited conversation with my husband when I suddenly realised that my perception of the situation might not be correct. In fact, I became aware of my tendency to jump to the 'only logical conclusion' without considering other explanations.  Self-righteousness can be a telltale sign that we are caught in in what Paul calls 'the desire of the flesh'. Nothing feeds our pride and inflames our rage like being convinced that we are in the right side of the cause. How many families have suffered permanent damage because no one was willing to step back and consider that their adversary's point of view might have some validity? Spirit of love, continue to remind me that patience, kindness and generosity are the authentic signs of your presence. 

This is a post from my personal blog, that I thought I should share on here. When I looked up today's(June 28, 2011) Gospel, I was so excited, and over joyed to see that it was the story where Jesus calms the storm in the sea. It seem that there is a large storm hitting my life, and those around - my mom had surgery, my younger brother got in a car accident, my friend was hit by a car while on a bike, and my friend's dad was diagnosed with lung cancer after having a stroke, plus various other things as well! But it struck me in this Gospel that Jesus calms the storm, simple as that. Jesus asks the disciples with him, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" This really struck me. How often do we go through hard times fearful, worrisome, terrified, or anxious? How often do we forget Jesus will calm the storm.  He allowed the storm in the first place, thus  we must trust He will calm the storm .   Not only must we trust He will calm the storm, but also that H...

From time to time it comes up. This week I've been getting e-mails that go something like this: My friends are expecting in August. They just found out it is a girl, which they were hoping for. They also found out the baby has severe deformities. They have been advised the baby will not survive and if it was born it would not live for very long. My friend says she doesn't want to carry a baby to term just to have it die. They also think this would be hard on the other children. They have been advised to get a D&C Because this does happen once in a while, I wanted to put up a handy reference post that can be linked to for future reference. I have never had this type of situation personally. I have however, had a stillborn son that I never had a chance to meet. What I wouldn't give to have had a few moments with that baby, to hold him and say hello and goodbye. I think when couples get a diagnosis like the one above, they are dealing with such shock and pain that th...

I came across a beautiful article written by Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York; I just had to share it. In the article the Archbishop tells of a story he read about an Episcopal parish in Maryland that decided to accept Pope Benedict XVI's invitation to reunite with Rome. When the pastor of the parish was asked why he accepted the invitation, the pastor responded: "It is our desire to be reunited with the Successor of St. Peter, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI." What a wonderful tribute to this pope and to the Papal Office itself. I also agree with Archbishop Dolan~how nice it is to see something positive written about the Church in the local mainstream press!  Thank you, Holy Father for your priesthood and your papacy. You can read the full article by Archbishop Dolan here .

Tigresa and Whitey, two of my three cats As a priest who loves cats I couldn't resist this story from the blog of Bishop-elect Thomas Dowd, soon to be auxiliary bishop of Montreal. I'm simply and shamelessly copying and pasting from his blog, Waiting in Joyful Hope . I don't know if he's distantly related to me. My maternal grandmother was Annie Dowd from County Meath, the 'Royal County' . Post for July 25, 2011 Christopher Curtis, in his recent article on me in the Montreal Gazette , includes this quote: “The job can be a lot of things. When I worked for a hospital, I was on call and you would get everything from a multiple victim car accident to a guy who is sick and needs you to feed his cat.” In case you were wondering about the reference to a cat, it is from an incident that took place on March 7, 2006. My older posts are still in archives for the moment, but I thought I’d fish this one out and repost it (with just a bit of editing to help it make sens...

Joachim and Anne.  Parents of a child conceived without sin.  The smug in me might like to think, oh, fortunate Joachim and Anne...to raise a child without sin!  But a moment of reflection reminds me that Joachim and Anne battled sin.  Just like me.  Just like all of us. Would I trade places? What might that be like?  While the idea of my own children being sinless sounds so...peaceful; the idea my children being sinless and me still in my present state ...sounds...disastrous. Such a high calling for Joachim and Anne .  Little Mary, always sweet, always obedient, always kind.  Joachim and Anne, sometimes tired from toil, sometimes anxious about their future, sometimes perhaps short tempered.  How any small acts that fall short of holiness might appear beside a sinless maiden.   "Of what small spots pure white complains." No, I would not trade.  Anne and Joachim were given their particular task.  And the grace to fulfi...

Hello all! I was recently asked to be another blogger on this blog and I just wanted to do a brief introduction for everyone. I live in America - I recently realized that many of the authors here are from the UK. I will be a nursing student in the fall at a small, private university in Columbus, OH. I converted to Catholicism in 2009. My faith defines me. I'm an active person. My love for God is great, along with my desire to serve Him all of my life. I look forward to writing on this blog. May god bless you all!

Today we celebrate and remember the parents of Our Lady, the bible does not mention them at all, but by tradition of the Western Church and the Easter and Orthodox we honour them and call them Joachim and Anne. The ancient story of Marys conception and birth mirror the story of Samuel and John the Baptist in that a childless couple pray devoutly for a child to God  vowing to dedicate that child to God. Whatever the exact truth there can be no doubt that Marys parents must have been a pious and devout couple to raise such a daughter! The parents of Mary were the mechanism God used as the physical reality of the Immaculate Conception and the honouring of Anne and Joachim goes back to the early years of the Church. St Anne was one of the most popular Saints of the middle ages and is seen in many statues and murals teaching her daughter the scripture or holding a young Mary who herself holds the Infant Christ. They make a wonderful example of holy marriage and good parenting. St Ann...

I love this time of day, when the sun is just about to go down. All the sounds I hear are of preparation for night fall: people driving home for the evening after a day spent out in the sun, enjoying summer; squirrels running up and down the trees and across the fences, playing at burying winter treasure; insects singing about the heat of the day; children calling out to each other as they bike down the street. It’s as if the sun, by going down, is muting all activity, dulling the volume of life. The sky is moving through its palette from pale blue, to soft grey, to mauve. The trees now stand out in relief against the heavens, losing the detail of their own colour but retaining the character of their shape, like black paper silhouettes. As the air grows softer and the sky turns darker, crickets seem to move closer as they take first chair in the evening symphony, leading the chorus and dictating the tempo as living things ease into the subtle stealth of night. This is th...

I've had quite a lesson this weekend. Yesterday I was very tired after cleaning Mum's old flat, and consequently feeling rather grumpy (tiredness and grumpiness often go hand-in-hand with me!) As a result, when I went to see Mum in the afternoon, I found myself being rather short with her on occasion, not realising this until my daughter (God bless her!) pulled me up about it afterwards by saying "I thought you were a bit bossy with Grandma today" . As soon as she said it, I looked back and realised that all my responses had been wrong...  It made me realise that it doesn't matter how I'm feeling , whether grumpy, tired, out-of-sorts, the important thing is how I treat other people . With a little effort and a lot of the Holy Spirit, I could have been more pleasant, patient, forgiving, accomodating, compassionate and understanding. If I look at the Fruit of the Spirit: love , joy , peace , longsuffering , gentleness , goodness , faith , meekness , ...

 Altar of Oslo Domkirke (Oslo Lutheran Cathedral) This is a response to the posts of Allison and diddleymaz asking for prayers for all who died in the attacks in Norway. The vast majority were young. Above is the altar of Oslo Domkirke where a special service was held this morning. Here is a video of Grex Vocalis , a Norwegian choir under the direction of Carl Høgset, singing When David Heard that Absalom was Slain , music by Thomas Weelkes (1573-1623). When David heard that Absalom was slain he went up into his chamber over the gate and wept, and thus he said; My son, my son, O Absalom my son, would God I had died for thee! Based on 2 Samuel 18:33, Authorized Version (King James Bible): And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

  Christ Blessing the Children , Nicolaes Maes, 1652-53 [I hope that this post isn't entering into the area of controversy that we have agreed to avoid here. I'm putting only the first part of it here, with a link to the whole post on my own blog. It's really a plea for prayer for the people of Ireland and that the Church there will be able to once again preach the Gospel with genuine authority, an authority it has lost.] 'It is hard going out on the altar these days after Cloyne and Enda Kenny clearly has read the national mood re Vatican etc . . .'  In an email from a friend who is a parish priest in Dublin and is much younger than I am. Three bishops have come out in support of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny's speech in the Dáil (Irish parliament) last Wednesday. Patsy McGarry quotes the bishops in an article in yesterday's Irish Times , Kenny reflected anger, says bishop . Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, which includes Belfast and i...

 (photo by Jan Johannessen, AFP/Getty Images / July 23, 2011 ) Vi sørger med deg, Norge. (We grieve with thee, Norway.) Kan dine barn hvile i fred. ( May thy children rest in peace.)B By Allison Salerno If our family's experience over the last 10 years is any guide, I urge you to pray for Norway, the land of the midnight sun. They are suffering from the worst violence in their land since World War II. Stop pontificating. Pray for the souls of the departed, pray for their families, pray for those who survived these attacks too. Believe me, their lives will forever be altered by this violence. I'm the wife of a man who narrowly escaped Tower One of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2011. He and his colleagues climbed down the stairs from the 68th floor within 11 minutes of the tower falling. We did not fi...

Two Welsh  Martyrs are commemorated today 23rd July ,  copied from Wikipedia- The lives, and deaths of both  saints need to be seen against the backdrop of Titus Oates ' "plot". Oates concocted a "plot" in which the Anglican [1] King, ( Charles the Second ) was to be assassinated and his Catholic brother (later, King James the Second ) installed as king in his stead. In the febrile atmosphere of the country the "plot" was credulously believed. However, when Oates' story was examined in detail the story collapsed and Oates was flogged and imprisoned; among the many Catholics caught up in the frenzy were Evans and Lloyd.  Father Philip Evans Saint Philip Evans This revered martyr was born in Monmouth , 1645, was educated at St Omer [ 1 ] he joined the Society of Jesus , 7 September 1665 in Watten, and was ordained at Liège and sent to South Wales as a missionary in 1675. [ 1 ] He was a zealous priest and despite the official anti-Catholic...

Norway: appeal for prayers, messages of support, after terrorist attacks on Independent Catholic News When bad things happen I turn in Prayer to Our Lord ,Our Lady and the Saints, Let us pray for all those who are suffering because of this awful event and not forgetting all those suffering in other parts of the world. If we did as He had told us,Love God and Love our neighbor as ourselves none of this awful starvation and evil deeds would occur! O Lord God have mercy on us!

 Girl with a Pearl Earring , Johannes Vermeer, c.1665 Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Matthew 13:44-52 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland) 'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns and buys the field. 'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it. 'Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 'Have you understood...

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the penitent woman of whom Jesus said, "Her many sins have been forgiven--for she has loved much."(Luke 7:47) She is the patron saint of converts. As Christians we are called to continual conversion, and for this reason I think we can all look to her as a patron. Whether you are a "cradle Catholic" or a recent convert you are being called to turn your heart back to Christ daily. When I imagine St. Mary Magdalene throwing herself at Jesus' feet with abandon and washing them with tears that were mixed with sorrow for her many sins and joy from being in His presence, I am filled with a sense of awe. How great her trust in His mercy must have been! What a beautiful act of her penitence and love! How I wish that I too could throw myself at His feet when I sin and beg for His mercy, trusting that He will forgive me! I admire how bold she was in approaching Him. Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Hebrews that we o...

auntie joanna writes: There is a court case... Euthanasia rears its ugly head again..prayers and solidarity with suffering needed!

Mums devote 70 hours a week to the chores (and should earn £37,000 for it) Mail Online if only we did!!

I have written in my homeschooling blog before about being  Pro-Life . Being a pro-life family, we strive to be up-to-date with all that is happening around us, especially here in the Philippines, where bills that are pro-contraception, sex education for young children, and divorce, are being pushed into legalization. Many people think that it is only the Catholic church that is "waging this war" but actually, many Filipinos of other religions also agree about being pro-life.  Local groups like  Pro-Life Philippines  are trying their best to gather these Filipinos, and have been able to do so in the past, like in the  Filipinos Unite under God for Life Rally last March 25 . This Monday, July 25, there is another event aimed at uniting  Filipinos who are for life .   With this, I humbly ask for all your prayers for us in the Philippines, and in other countries around the world, who are committed to nurture, protect and defend life in all stages,...

Have saved on draft so we can use on our own blogs or elsewhere if we wish..

Some really great news to share from Delaware! The story below called "A Story of Love and Life," is from a blog post from the Delaware Right to Life blog that was originally posted by Jessica Ferraro. Click the title for the original posting A Story of Love and Life   " On May 21st, the IHM pro-life community celebrated the first Mass for the Unborn which had a two-fold purpose: to remember and pray for those babies lost to abortion, and to bless those mothers who are expecting, and their babies. The music was beautiful and Msgr. Lemon gave an inspired homily on Life. A mother and daughter who were present at the Mass, left church and the mother went to a store by their home with her husband. There they saw a very pregnant girl sitting on the curb. Commenting to her husband that she had just left a Mass for the Unborn, she recognized that there was clearly something wrong for this girl and they stopped to ask if they could help her. Sh...

We can learn a lot from little children, especially what it means to be trusting, to be joyful, to be unselfconscious. They throw themselves into every moment with abandon and are just as free with their honesty - sometimes to the chagrin of adults. Those are positive characteristics of childhood that we often lose as we grow up. We need reminding from time to time to be more childlike in how we perceive things, or express ourselves. Unfortunately there are other childish traits we hold on to and would be much better off for growing out of. I think of this almost every evening, when my nephews go to bed. Every night the routine is the same; there are no surprise expectations: brush teeth, put on pyjamas, fold clothes at end of bed, get into bed, say prayers, be quiet, no more talking, go to sleep. Though the rules never change, and even though they are reminded - gently (at first)- what to do, they act like lunatics, taking forever to get ready, forgetting to clean their teeth, leaving...