Association Of Catholic Bloggers

First off, I don't know the dog's name. Ulysses was the name I had for him. He, or maybe she, was the sort of dog I think of as a hound-dog: medium size, long legs. Bear in mind that I don't know much about dog breeds. I didn't call him Ulysses for the way he looked, but for the way he acted. That brings me to what's still one of my favorite poems: Tennyson's "Ulysses".... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Remembering a disabled dog and a poem by Tennyson.)

The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John the Baptist  Francisco de Zurbarán [ Web Gallery of Art ] In England & Wales and in Ireland the Solemnity of the Epiphany is a Holy Day of Obligation and is celebrated this year on Monday 6 January. In many countries, including Australia, Philippines, Scotland and the USA, the Epiphany is celebrated on this Sunday, 5 January.  The readings below are those for the Second Sunday After the Nativity, observed in England & Wales and in Ireland. Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales) Gospel   John 1:1-18  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)    In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the...

    On the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, January 1st, our celebrating priest included some insight into the beginning of the new year. He noted that while we always say "Happy" New Year, he tends to lean into the idea of hoping for "joy" in the new year. We don't know if our year will be happy, since happiness doesn't always come with discipleship (nor necessarily our human experience) but we can always have joy, because that is always found in our Lord. It can be challenging to see joy through our heartache at times. To do so requires us to develop habits that have us turning to God in gratitude-- consistently. When we focus too much on, say, our phones or social media, we can find ourselves spending hours upon hours on reels, recipes and mindless entertainment that does absolutely nothing to further our engagement with God. The further we move away from God, the more difficult it can be to experience true joy. Look closely at ...

    I was watching an interview with Ina Garten (the "Barefoot Contessa, cook & author) where she was talking about her memoir and discussing her difficult childhood. In the interview, she said something that really struck me: "What goes in early, goes in deep and you should not let somebody else's voice be the one that you're hearing in your head." As I recall, she was talking about being negatively characterized as a child (by her parent), which contributed to the development of her poor self-esteem. You have to rise above that voice and find your own, which can be difficult if the voice of chastisement keeps floating around in your head. I mention all of this as we start a new year, hoping that you can work your way through whatever baggage you have been carrying around for the past year--or years--and finally be unburdened and free to re-imagine yourself as a child of God, loved beyond limits. This kind of "life work" goes far beyon...