Association Of Catholic Bloggers

I like great art and not shoddy paintings or modern images which border on the obscene.  Images of the Virgin, pale, limp, crying with her eyes rolled back in her head do not appeal to me either. So, I have collected 3,509 images of the Madonna on Pinterest which either appeal to me or are of historical significance and I have barely scraped the surface. To see more images you can visit  my blog post or Pinterest at  https://www.pinterest.com/motherofnine9/ The Virgin with St. Joan d'Arc Our Lady of The Rockies ~ Montana- 90 ft. tall

Prayer cards have been a Catholic tradition going back to  the 1400's in Europe .  As a convert, I was aware of prayer cards and have had a few over the years.  However, now I've become obsessed with them. My prayer card obsession can be blamed on  Melanie Rigney . Please read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Someone I know died yesterday. She wasn’t a close friend, but she was a friend. The last time I saw her, she was the picture of health. That was in April. We attended the same retired teacher’s breakfast that is held monthly. She was happy and talking about traveling. She was scheduled to go to an event that focused on her specialty, English. I don’t know what happened. In the month and a half since I had seen her last, she was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. She was not a smoker, nor had she been a smoker. She was a good woman and touched many lives. Read More at: Prayerfully Yours

THE HOLY TRINITY AN EXPLANATION BY FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE CLICK HERE

'How seldom do I remember  that at any time, in any place, I can find You, commune with You,  by simply turning towards You  the eyes of my soul.'   B y 'A Religious,' LISTENING TO THE INDWELLING PRESENCE, Pellegrini, Sydney, 1940,  p. 55   From The Cloistered Heart

I grew up in a mainstream Protestant household, so I think of today's Gospel reading, Matthew 28:16 - 20 , as describing the "great commission." The phrase started rattling around in various European languages a few centuries back. Hudson Taylor , a Protestant missionary, popularized the English translation. Folks at the Vatican describe evangelization as the "great commission" occasionally, generally when communicating with those who are more familiar with Protestant culture.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When I made my First Holy Communion, we were taught to fold our hands like a church steeple with hands together and fingers pointing upward to heaven. This, we were told, was the proper way to approach the altar when we were preparing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Look around today as you walk up to receive Holy Communion. What are the others doing with their hands as they prepare to receive Jesus? Better yet, look down at your own hands. I have to admit that I no longer walk up to the altar with my fingers pointed up and hands together, but I do walk forward with my fingers knitted together in a prayerful position. Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

MY FAITH WALK CLICK HERE

Australopithecus deyiremeda, a newly-discovered member of humanity's family, was in this week's news. We're also learning more about when some wolves started becoming dogs, and have discovered really old stone tools.... ...Humanity's family history is nowhere near as simple as folks figured when Carl Linnaeus published " Systema Naturae " in 1735.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Where are you going for summer vacation? My only plans this summer will be to continue my series, "Touring Chicago's Beautiful Churches. My daughter and I went to  New York City in March , so I'm financially tapped out for another vacation. To read about where I'm going, you can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Did you get a load of this  New York Post article ? A New Yorker named Wednesday Martin just wrote a memoir called  Primates of Park Avenue , due out June 2. The book chronicles her experience with Upper-East-Side women who wear motherhood like an assault rifle. According to Maureen Callahan's article about the book, these moms pay $400 an hour for play-date tutors, enroll 3-month-old infants in music classes, and time pregnancies so their children will be the oldest ones in class. Loyola Press offers a  rosary kit  for children ages four and up. They sent me a kit and asked me to share my thoughts. So, I turned right around and shared the kit with some families (including one family with a son who has developmental delays), and asked what  they  thought. The  Loyola Press  rosary kit includes 61 prayer cards, 1 lacing string, 4 Mysteries of the Rosary cards, and a diagram explaining how to pray the rosary. Join me at Praying with Grace f...

We spend a lot of time talking about God.  Jesus is all over social media; he is on billboards, he is depicted in paintings and worn as jewelry. He is on bumper stickers. There are all kinds of books written about how to find him. We argue about him. Some of us spend our lives trying to disprove him. Others plan new and exciting ways to try to bring others to him--flashier, louder, more exciting--" A new faith for a new generation ." We come up with innovative slogans and new and improved programs.  We judge people who don't follow him. We shake our heads at those who walk away. We worry that our young people will ignore him. We think we have all the answers. We want others to know that  we  know him. But  do we actually talk to him? Do we listen to him?  Are we in relationship with the Risen Christ? Have we ever actually met him? Shortly after his death, two women went to the tomb... Read more:  http://www.restfulwaters.net/they-doubted/ ...

Did you read Matt Walsh’s latest (or one of his latest) posts  Maybe Christianity in America is Dying Because It’s Boring Everyone to Death? I have to say, this just made me feel even more thankful for the “vibe” of my own parish, and the passion I see in the members of its community.  Catholicism and our culture today needs  true belief  and  true repentance . These are the things that I admire in the members of my parish.  These are the things that the world needs.  What do I mean by that? 1. True (sincere) First of all, the Church needs sincerity.  This means a disposition of really meaning what we say and living it out.  The church right now suffers from dissipation. Perhaps it is an apathy because of the various weeds that need to be uprooted. Perhaps it is because of greed, or entertainment-saturation, or materialism arising from great wealth. Whatever it is, we need to shed the snake skin of discouragement, cynicism, and apat...

Fr. Mike Driscoll's new fiction book  The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange and Supernatural  is now available. Delving into his dissertation on Catholic exorcism, Driscoll's  Father Capranica Mysteries  is sure to please fans and those curious about the "strange and supernatural."  Fr. Mike Driscoll is a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, IL.  He was ordained in 1992; has been pastor of several parishes; and is currently serving as chaplain of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Ottawa, IL.  He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Moral Theology from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University.   His doctoral dissertation is entitled “How Catholic exorcists distinguish between demon possession and mental disorders.”  His non-fiction book on the subject of spirit possession, Demons, Deliverance, and Discernment, is p...

As we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church, it’s good to reflect on just who this Person is and who he is for us. Remember when we called the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost? That spooky term did not do much to encourage a relationship with the third person of the Trinity. As it is, except for at Confirmations, we rarely give the Holy Spirit a thought or prayer. That’s why the Holy Spirit has been dubbed the Cinderella of the Trinity. This is unfortunate. It is also totally contrary to the major role the Spirit plays in our lives as Jesus described it at the Last Supper. The Spirit is actually more like the Venus of the Trinity, for the Spirit is love personified. click to continue

This is the  second  in a  series  of posts on the works of Mercy and how to live them as a family.  Today we will explore Giving Drink to Those who Thirst. Source 1 Like feeding the hungry, reaching out to the poor and homeless is a great first step.  Food pantries can use donations of bottled water or other healthy drinks for those who frequent them.  Likewise, soup kitchens need drinks to distribute to the hungry that pass through. It's a niche that is often overlooked.  Unfortunately, one of the greatest threats to the homeless is dehydration. It is very difficult for them to find adequate ran water supplies and they are most often provided with carbonated or sugary beverages... Continued on Veils and Vocations.

I am part of an upcoming anthology of four other Catholic mums due to come out in about a month. All the women are great writers, each writing from a completely different perspective. Roberta Cottam is the creator and editor for this project. It started out as a project for a class but with her mother’s illness and the death of one of the contributor’s full term baby, the book was put on hold. Now Roberta is working on this book because she is passionate about it, working strictly pro bono along with designer Laura  Wrubleski.     continue reading

Does God always hear our prayers? Yes, God hears our prayers, all of them. If God hears all of our prayers, why doesn’t He answer them? God always answers our prayers. That’s not true! I’ve prayed for years for my family to come back to the Church, and they never go to church! Do you always go to Mass on Sundays? Well, I try to go. I go at least 1- 2 times a month, if I can. Is this the kind of example you should set if you want your family to attend Mass regularly? That’s not the point. God is not answering my prayer. I’d go to church more often if they would come with me. Maybe, they would come with you, if you attended Sunday Mass regularly. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

The truth of our Salvation is far more terrifying on this side of the Cross than for the Jews before the Incarnation of God in the flesh.   When you study His Passion, you only begin to understand the truth of what His Blood truly means to both those who accept Him and those who .....reject Him.  TO READ MORE....CLICK HERE!! 

See more at True Dignity of Women.

It is morning in the monastery. Sister silently enters the chapel and takes her place in a choir stall, a chair made exclusively to be a place of prayer....  In the cloister of my heart, I, too, have a "choir stall."  Mine is a portable place of prayer, traveling with me to supermarket, airplane, mall.  I can "sit down" in this prayer-chair regardless of surroundings, seeking God's touch upon my life and on the lives of those around me. There are no bells to call me to the choir stall. I must build reminders into my own life. For me, discipline is quite difficult; therefore, I find the following practices helpful. Actually, I find them personally necessary if I hope to keep my life focused and on track... (click here to continue)

Artists, Popes, priests, nuns, accountants, tech support, police, gangstas, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, granparents, shoe makers, sock makers, ballerinas, actors, criminals, florists, writers, dog groomers, what do all of these people in various occupations have in common, when they die, if they did not go to heaven or hell, they went to Purgatory. We can’t judge. We don’t know. We’ll be surprised by many we meet in Purgatory or in Heaven. Read More At::  Prayerfully Yours

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If you find yourself wanting to grow spiritually, and to understand the connection in our shared journey as a people of faith, this is a sincerely beautiful witness!  Available through Loyola Press. Mercy in the City  is a witty and truly authentic grappling with the living out of our faith and call to do more for others, in a society that often seems to run counter to these. As a single “millennial” in the heart of NYC, Kerry decides to embark on a self-imposed Lenten challenge to engage the Corporal Works of Mercy.  While many of us might consider attempting one of these in 40 days…Kerry goes for all seven.  She does this not from an “overly pious” approach, but from an honest encounter with love and mercy. Read More...

One my favorite bits from the Bible is in this morning's readings: " ...We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, " Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, " both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.' " ( Acts 2:9 - 11 ) That was about two thousand years ago. Some things have changed. Phrygia 's land became part of Rome's holdings about a century after the " tongues as of fire " appeared.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When the Holy Spirit inspires artists to create art with, through and in Him, their creations touch our inner selves. They are not only beautiful but also imbued with a mystical essence which gives them spiritual power. When light shines through stained glass windows, they can lift our souls up from our own narrow miserable awareness into His presence as we contemplate them. Light is more powerful than darkness and beautiful colourful glass works of art can touch us with a mystical, heavenly light that moves our hearts and souls towards God. No wonder stained glass windows were developed in the Middle Ages as a way of teaching illiterate parishioners the basic Christian message and inspiring them to live holy, prayerful lives. see more

...On Being Chosen and Sent Forth As a young girl, competitive athletic teams and outdoor events were not my forte. The last or next to last chosen, I waited to hear my name called and then silently prayed that I wouldn’t prove to be a disappointment to whatever team I was put on. That is not to say that I did not recognize that I had abilities, I was just quite aware that my talents lay elsewhere. With a love of singing and dance I had found a home in performing. Yet, with a love of learning, serving and leadership I found other opportunities that called forth the truly unique gifts that I could offer. Imbued within my very soul, I had been chosen, not because of these gifts but to use these gifts. I have been thinking of this story lately, the closer we move as a Church to celebrating the feast of Pentecost... Read More

‘If you want old ideas read new books, but if you want new ideas read old books’. With these words my spiritual director gave me - ‘Abandonment to Divine Providence’ by the Jesuit French mystic Jean Pierre de Caussade SJ , who died in 1751. The book is perhaps better known under the title- ‘The Sacrament of the Present Moment’ more usually used when the book is translated into English, because this title embodies its central idea. I packed the book in my hand luggage and set off for London Airport to lead a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land for my friend Fr Kenneth Campbell OFM. To thanks me for my help he arranged for me to spend a night in the Holy Sepulchre on the last night of the pilgrimage. I have already described how, after the midnight office, I had had a profound experience that gave me a new understanding of the Resurrection. However while I was praying at Calvary, before the midnight office, I had another experience that gradually led me to an ever deepening understand...

Prayer is the glue that holds me together. Life has been difficult these last few years, and it’s prayer that keeps me moving. My Church is a prayerful community, and it is within these walls that prayers are said for me and my family. Prayers that bind. Prayers that empower. Prayers that hold. Prayers that enable. Prayers that bless. Prayer holds me when I’m down and lifts me up when I feel I can’t get up. Intercessory prayer for us is a blessing of love. Our Lady tells us that she intercedes for us before the Throne of God each and every day. She prays for us and blesses us through the majestic gift of her intercession. She, who is the Mother of God, prays for us. Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

Sweet reflection Upon returning home and today too as I write, I can’t stop thinking about those wonderful and insightful women and how their daily activities, their “creations,” honor our beautiful Creator. What do you love to do? Do you see it as a way of honoring your Creator? Continue reading ...

Disney Studio's film version of Baymax is fiction. Robots designed to work with people are real: although they're nowhere near as smart as their fictional counterparts. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When you have prayed and prayed and prayed some more ... And there seems to be no answer ... What then? I hope you find these thoughts of some comfort: CLICK HERE

The challenge is to witness to the validity of our Catholic spirituality with a mature love, without stooping to ridicule our Protestant brothers and sisters.   I am proud to proclaim I am a Catholic writer. A saved, born again, Spirit-filled lover of Jesus who expects to be accepted by Protestant lovers of Jesus, because I am a sister in Christ. However, my culture conspires against my attempts at reconciliation, because my language habits sound foreign to Protestant ears.  I am misunderstood and judged to be against the true faith by Bible-based Christians. Initially, I wrote for secular and Protestant sites and felt I had to hide my Catholicism. When I finally wrote about my Catholic faith, I was immediately grilled and interrogated by shocked readers and co-authors. Yet God had His own agenda and through the moderator, forgiveness and unity began. Of course, the site decided to simply ignore my Catholicism and centre on my love of God. When I discovered Cathol...

I am pleased to announce that my very first book, River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times will be released this Fall, published by Ave Maria Press! A memoir with life application River of Grace is part spiritual memoir and part life application, offering true and hopeful stories of growth and transformation after hard losses. Father Robert Reed, president of CatholicTV and author of Renewed writes of the book: "If you, like me, have experienced failure or loss and can't quite find your way out of the darkness, Susan Bailey offers gentle reflections with graceful tools that bring light, creative renewal and a fuller Christian life." Continue reading...

In the aged is prudence:  "In antiques best prudent!" Please read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Before Mary’s month of May ends, I thought I’d better put up at least one post devoted to her. Let’s focus on Mary as an evangelizer, someone who proclaimed the Gospel, the good news of the Savior. Mary was actually the first one evangelized. She was the first to hear the news and from the lips of an angel no less. Then Mary became the first evangelizer. She hurried to her cousin Elizabeth and sang the Magnificat about God’s fulfilling his promise. After Pentecost undoubtedly Mary shared stories about her son with the early Christians. She was instrumental in bringing the faith to the Americas. Columbus prayed before an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe before beginning his voyage and took a replica of the image with him. Then Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in Mexico City, resulting in eight million Aztecs coming to know Jesus. For good reason Mary’s latest title is Star of Evangelization, an appropriate title in this time when popes are calling for a new evangelization. ...

THE PILGRIMAGE CLICK HERE

I first discovered Saint Gerard Majella when I was pregnant with my third daughter, as I wondered what saints I could ask for intercession during my pregnancy. It surprised me that a male saint would be a patron of expectant mothers—somehow I expected a woman would be better able to pray for me through this experience that only women have. Then I read his story and put an image of St. Gerard along with a prayer to him in my room, where I laboured and gave birth. St. Gerard’s patronage of pregnant women comes from a story in which Gerard dropped a handkerchief while visiting friends. One of the daughters noticed this and ran to return it to him, but he told her to keep it. Read the rest of the story and download my FREE St. Gerard prayer cards at The Koala Bear Writer .

Have you ever done this? You have the time to pray. You have the place to pray. You have the desire to pray. You kneel or sit down to pray. Then…you realize your time to pray was like a blur. You were distracted. You were tired. You watched the clock. You were stuck. You would rather be anywhere else than where you are now… You were in the blur zone when you prayed. Here are 5 ways to avoid the “Blur.” Read More at Prayerfully Yours ...

The most fascinating mother I like to consider is the mother of Jesus. The Bible tells many stories involving Mary, which means the Holy Spirit invites us to contemplate her role in the Christian story. The wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12) is my favorite scriptural encounter with Jesus and Mary. Today's video explores why. Jan Cossiers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Not all of my Christian friends are entirely comfortable with the idea of asking Mary to pray for them, but the Bible shows Mary's intimate relationship with--and unparalleled faith in--her son. People who have been in love know that meeting the mother of their beloved is a big deal. Whether that momentous first encounter turns out to be splendid or horrid, the ongoing relationship with the beloved's mom has a deep and lasting effect on the two lovers. Lovers of Jesus and readers of the Bible can't avoid encountering Mary. Jesus pays close attention to her, even when it seems he doesn'...

Souls generally remain in the fourth mansions of the Interior Castle for years. But for those who are raised beyond them, even greater intimacy with God lies ahead. Today we begin exploring  Teresa of Avila’s fifth mansions. The prayer of union begins in the fifth mansions. How does it differ from the prayer of quiet? As I said last time, the prayer of quiet primarily involves the will. In the prayer of union, the intellect, the memory, and the imagination also share in contemplation. The sign of true union St. Teresa says true union always produces a sign of its authenticity. That sign is the soul’s certitude. She knows just as surely as if she had been speaking to Christ in the flesh that she has been in union with God. Even when spiritual directors or companions try to persuade her otherwise, she doesn’t believe them. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Perfect Man Perfect Mother Of course I can’t remember being conceived nor growing into a baby in my mother’s womb. Nor for that matter do I remember being baptised a week later. I was totally dependent on my mother for everything, not just in those first weeks of my life, but for many months to come. I, not only depended on my mother, for my physical growth and development, but for my spiritual development too. I received my first experience of God’s love from her love of me. Exactly the same happened to Jesus. St Paul said that he was ‘like us in every way but sin’ , that’s how God had planned things from the beginning. That’s why at the very moment that he decided that his Son would be made flesh, that decision included having a human mother. As Blessed John Duns Scouts put it: - ‘if God willed the end he must have willed the means’ . If he chose to enter into this world as a human being he must have a human mother, for without a human mother he could not be a true human being, th...

We have an amazing God! The Father, Creator, Jesus our Brother and Son of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, our Counselor. Three persons in One God. Father is the Creator and Sustainer. Jesus, the Promised Messiah, died that we may live. The Holy Spirit pours forth His gifts upon the earth. Read more at: Prayerfully Yours

I heard the lyrics “sex club” and I almost turned the radio off. Then I thought, wait a sec, let’s see what this song is about. Maybe I can blog about it. This sad song is about a woman trying to escape in food, sex and drugs from the pain of losing someone. She can’t deal with the suffering so she’s filling herself with all the hedonistic pleasures she can find. In the artist’s defense, the song and the video doesn’t promote this coping mechanism. It shows these coping mechanisms warts and all. She’s shown laughing and smiling and making out with random people, that’s for sure. But she also looks very lost and broken. She’s suffering from a hang-over. She’s hiding in the bathroom so no one can see her crying. A very realistic view of how all of these things cannot fill the hole this loved one left behind.... Read more at True Dignity of Women .

Fr. Giuliani explains his art:  " As a Catholic priest and son of Italian immigrants I bear the religious and ethnic burden of ancestral crimes perpetrated on the first inhabitants of the Americas.  Many have been converted to Christianity, but in doing so some find it difficult to retain their indigenous culture.  My intent, therefore, in depicting Christian saints as Native Americans is to honor them and to acknowledge their original spiritual presence on this land.  It is this original Native American spirituality that I attempt to celebrate in rendering the beauty and excellence of their craft as well as the dignity of their persons." continue

An invitation is here, along with vital words to share, from my newest of friends. …Addressing a matter capable of affecting all components of health—that in body, and in mind, and (most importantly) in soul. How perfectly fitting, therefore, for The Way to Nourish for Life! Words to truly live by … >> Click Here to Read More at: The Way to Nourish ForLife >>

I am sorry that I have been off line all week. It has been a rough week. I lost my grandmother, my best friend, early Thursday morning.  I am really struggling with all the emotions and deep sense of loneliness. Read more on Veils and Vocations.

I was seven years old when I learned I had a soul.  This was where Jesus would come when I received Holy Communion, and I was to prepare the place carefully.  Sweep it clean and tidy, Sister instructed; no sin allowed.   I pictured this item of my personhood quite vividly.  I saw it as oval shaped, pearly white, and resting in the center of my chest.  A venial sin would spot it, a mortal sin (heaven forbid) would turn it black as a lump of coal.  It was like a little house inside me, where Jesus could come and rest.   I’m now many years past seven.  I no longer envision a white oval, shining like a pearl.  I do, however, marvel at the truth embedded in this simple childhood picture . “Here I stand, knocking at the door.  If anyone hears Me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with Him, and he with Me.”  (Revelation 3:20).... (click here to continue)