Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Ying wasn't the most nervous cat I've known. That'd be Twitches, a cat my oldest daughter had, some years back now. She tells me Twitches was even twitchy in her sleep. My folks got Ying at the pound in Fargo. This was many decades back now. We'd decided that we wouldn't get a male cat, since they're even more prone to kidney problems than their female counterparts. We wouldn't get a Siamese, given that breed's reputation for being loud. And we wouldn't get a longhair because of all the shedding. That's the day we got Lady: a big, quiet, calico cat. She'd been at the very back of her compartment, tucked into a catloaf. We might not have seen her, if she hadn't been so large and had so much long white fur. As it was, I could only tell which end was her head — because that end had a nose. We also got Ying: a male Siamese. He had a crew cut, the last bit of his kitten coat — and was at the very front of his compartment, reaching out to ...

From   The Gospel of John   (2003) directed by Philip Saville Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 8:1-11  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said t...

    I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts that was created years ago, and the priest who does it is always very enthusiastic. He always encourages his listeners to go to Mass and he starts his podcast by giving praise to God. Today he was focused on the Gospel of John (Chapter 5: 31-47). As the podcast continued, the priest went on to ask, over and over again, "Do you believe Jesus is God?" If we do not, he said, then we have nothing. This led me to think about the Eucharist, where at the Catholic Mass we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. That led me to think, "What would be the point of receiving communion, if it is not the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus?" Think about it.   Do you know what you are receiving in your church?  I encourage you to explore the answer to that question, maybe even beyond your church leaders, using historically, authentic sources.  I want to share a couple of articles for those of you who want to know more a...

                                          Credit: © Hero Images/Hero Images/Corbis Years ago, when we were in San Francisco, we went into a fast food place that had a happy man standing outside the business holding the door and greeting customers. I actually thought they had hired him to do this because he did such an exceptional job. Turns out, he was one of the many, many homeless people in the city who was simply hoping for a tip in exchange for his "service." I was impressed that they allowed him to do it, likely seeing him as an asset to the business, rather than an annoyance to the customers. During Lent, almsgiving is highlighted, but if you happen to be someone without money in your pocket to share, I have an idea for you. Practice generosity of words. Yes, generosi...