Association Of Catholic Bloggers

"A False Alarm on the Fourth" Udo Keppler, Puck. (1902) "Uncle Sam — It's all right! There's no fighting! The noise you hear is just my family celebrating!" I like that double-page cartoon by Udo Keppler. And I like his image of America: a family of sorts, where everybody doesn't look just like me, but we can celebrate together anyway. Another Udo Keppler cartoon, made eight years earlier, shows a different attitude. I'll get back to that. I'll also be quoting John Adams, with a little more of the context than you probably see. Declaration of Independence: 248 Years Ago Today Flights of Oratory, Compromise, and a Missed Opportunity "...Our Pleasing Hopes..." and a Persistent Perception Being a Good Citizen AND a Catholic A "Patriot Dream That Sees Beyond the Years" More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Two quotes by John Adams, two cartoons by Udo Keppler. Hopes, perceptions, and an America that is not perfe

    In today's gospel (John 20: 24-29), we have the risen Jesus inviting Thomas to reach out and touch him because of Thomas' unbelief.  " Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Today the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Thomas, the Apostle, and it's a good one for all of us. Thomas, known for missing out on the initial appearance of the resurrected Jesus, and therefore doubting, proclaims, " My Lord and my God!” as he moves from unbelief to belief. Jesus asks, " “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”   So many today seek scientific proof that Jesus is who he said he is, and therefore, stand firm in their unbelief. But, as you may know, science, while useful, can only go so far when it comes to proving the existence of the transcendent God. Science does have its limitations, an

      The current issue of " faith " magazine titled "Anointed and Appointed" was laying on our dining room table.  It reminded me of something I have wondered about before, when thinking about priestly ordinations or vows to religious life. What must it be like when you make such a commitment and from then on, people begin to recognize you as a religious? What kind of character expectations are put upon you at that point?  What degree of effort are you willing to make, to be holy? And then, this thought comes:  Shouldn't such a commitment and outstanding character and striving for holiness be attached to every Christian by virtue of our Baptism? In fact, what if we asked ourselves those very same questions? Following up on yesterday's blog "Coming out of our monastery," isn't it the responsibility of all of us to live our lives so that the presence of Jesus is obvious?  Shouldn't our behavior reflect our love and devotion to God

    A smart person, in wisdom, would hesitate to write about something they are just beginning to comprehend, but, alas, I have not claimed to be smart or have wisdom, so here goes . . . I hope you will stick with me. As I continue my way through "The Cost of Discipleship" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-1945) I am simply floored by his observation about monasticism.  Keep in mind that he was a Lutheran pastor who founded what was called the Confessing Church, and he rose up against the Nazis. Speaking about Martin Luther returning to the world and coming out of the monastery, Bonhoeffer makes this observation: "the Christian life had been the achievement of a few choice spirits under the exceptionally favourable conditions of monasticism; now it is a duty laid on every Christian living in the world." And before that, he writes: "By thus limiting the application of the commandments of Jesus to a restricted group of specialists, the Church evolved the fat