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  Oh my gosh, you have got to be kidding me. I could not believe what Trump had to say over the weekend . . . "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days."  The last few days? Really? It's almost like the war just started, if you listen to Trump. And there's more . . . "It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!"  Really? He's kidding, right? He is just now realizing that maybe, just maybe, Putin doesn't want peace and has been playing him? He is just now recognizing that Putin has--for a long time--been shooting missiles at civilians and people are dying? How is it that what the rest of us have known for months, make that years, Trump is just now realizing? I join you in hoping for a "Francis" miracle from the...

    As we conclude the Octave of Easter on Sunday (although the season of Easter continues until Pentecost, May 11th) I have a meditation that I hope you will spend some time on. Imagine you have seen Jesus die on the cross on Good Friday, and nothing else happens. There is no resurrection. Jesus is not present to his apostles afterward. Imagine that his death and entombment are the end of the story. How would it feel to live in that space? What would be lost if that were the reality?  You see, if we do not know what would have been lost if Jesus died but did not rise, then we certainly do not know what was gained by his life and resurrection.  If we do not know what was gained by his life and resurrection, then we simply cannot know what it means to be a Christian. One of my favorite prayers comes from St. Padre Pio. It's called "Stay with Me Lord."  In it he prays: "Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor." ...

It's two tales and two customers, actually. But that title was too cool to pass up. Anyway, I worked at a place called Pellegrini Refrigeration for most of the time I spent in San Francisco. 1 Part of my job was taking service calls. Some of the service calls were routine. Some, like the customer who apparently wouldn't or couldn't believe what a technician said each time, were mildly frustrating. Mildly for me: I don't think that customer was having a good time. And one was in its own category. Make that two calls and two categories. A Difficult Customer I am the Office Girl A Calm, Even Jaunty, Customer Monday Morning, Flowing Mush More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (From my time as an office clerk: surprising, maybe shocking, a blustering customer; remembering a ton of melted ice cream and a remarkably cheerful manager.)

" Funeral for Pope Francis: Vatican News Links "  I linked to the Vatican News article, added a few words, and that's all I'm doing today. Doing here, that is. The point in posting this is that the Vatican News article includes lists to several options for viewing/watching/participating in their broadcast of the funeral for Pope Francis. It's been quite a week.

  The Incredulity of St Thomas ,  Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] 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 20:19-31  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is...

[posted Thursday, April 24, 2025. It's been an eventful week] Most headlines in my news feed don't involve the death of Pope Francis, or what's happening in Vatican City, now that we're in the process of mourning one pope and selecting another. That's fine by me, since a number of headlines I did notice a number that were (over-) dramatic. Others, apparently linking to op-eds, struck me as reflecting a — limited — view of the Catholic Church. I'll leave it at that. A few, from yesterday evening and this morning (Thursday, April 24, 2025), involved how cardinals — specifically, the College of Cardinals — are selecting our new pope. As I said the other day, we've been doing this for two millennia now.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The College of Cardinals is choosing our next pope. I've got my views. More important, I posted a link to and excerpt from an overview of the process.)

[posted Wednesday, April 23, 2025. It's been an eventful week] Noted: " Cardinal Farrell officially ascertains death of Pope Francis " Vatican News (April 22, 2025) [includes embedded YouTube video] " Pope Francis' body to lie in state until funeral on Saturday morning " Vatican News (April 22, 2025) We've been handing the death of popes for something like two millennia now, so we have procedures for this sort of thing. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Another part of our process for handling the death of a pope: a ceremony. Includes a short embedded video from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta.)

    Online photo; credit unknown                                           If you think of evangelization as the Church's way of getting people to become Catholic, you would be wrong. The goal of evangelization is to invite those who do not know Jesus, to come and meet him. Jesus is the head of the Church, so it makes sense that the invitation to meet him leads to his Church. I'd like to share with you a short video by Fr. James Mallon (Divine Renovation) which I really like.  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpB-itQl9XY ) Fr. Mallon's work was inspired by Pope Francis' body of writing (which he details in the video), so it is particularly fitting that he reflects on the Pope's work this week. He caught my attention in this video, when he said: "Our ministry, is...

    With the passing of Pope Francis this week, the world has focused its attention on the protocols in the Catholic Church.  What will his funeral look like? Where will he be buried? Who will be our next Pope? And, rightly so, we have had an intense look at the life and practices of Pope Francis. I can't help but be inspired by his humility. In fact, as a small step, I decided to clean out some closets and make some donations to our local Catholic Charities (they give things away, never charging for them.)  You can't help but want to do SOMETHING when you hear how the Pope lived. He just never forgot the poor and tried to live simply in the midst of opulence. I am shocked at the people who cling to the idea that he was somehow a heretic and who make ridiculous proclamations that he was bad for the Church. The reality is, he tried so hard to teach us how to live like Jesus by loving everyone. He chose to ignore the noise of the self-righteous. He was r...

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  I keep a paper in my bible that has Psalm 51 on one side and Psalm 103 on the other. I think I probably got them as a handout at a communal penance service. Depending on what I need, I often choose one of them to concentrate on. Psalm 51 pleads for God's mercy and a restoration of joy, while Psalm 103 recalls all the blessings and mercy God gives. It is a joy-filled reminder on days I need to remember all that God has done for me. You see, these two Psalms are a reflection of the sometimes inner tension that holds us captive. Both Psalms are graced by words that calm the tension and bring peace. During this octave of Easter, I have been praying Psalm 103 the most, because it seems to fit the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. God loves us. He knows us. He is merciful and compassionate. His kindness surpasses the highest heavens. If you find life's challenges overwhelming, even in these joyous days, turn to Psalm 103 for comfort, for "Not according to...

This isn't unexpected: " Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88 " Devin Watkins, Vatican News (April 21, 2025) "At 9:45 AM, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, announced the death of Pope Francis from the Casa Santa Marta with these words:... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Pope Francis died Monday morning, April 21, 2025. I take a very quick look at what Vatican News said, and a quicker look at how I feel.)

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About two millennia back now, someone was tortured and nailed to a cross. Then he died. No surprises there. The whole point of crucifixion was to kill someone: slowly and painfully. Sometimes the subject died during the physical abuse that came first. Anyway, this person died, was taken off the cross, and was buried. Time passed..... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Jesus was tortured, executed, and buried. What happened the next Sunday has had folks like me celebrating every since, and passing along what we learned.)

The Resurrection of Christ Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed  (John 20:8; Gospel of Sunday). Ansin. an deisceabal eile, a tháinig ar dtús chun an tuama, chuaigh sé isteach agus chonaic agus chreid sé  (Eoin 20:8; Soiscéal an Domhnaigh). The Easte r Vigil in the Holy Night Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) At the Mass during the Day   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 20:1-9  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene ...

In case you missed it, I want to share with you a wonderful homily by Fr. Joe Krupp. It was given at the Mass of the Lord's Supper last night (Holy Thursday) at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The homily starts at 17:18 minutes. It is well-worth listening to. Enjoy! Janet Cassidy Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com janetcassidy.com https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/ https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy  Here is the direct link on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP6wg4IPY0Q    

It's Holy Thursday of Holy Week, the day we celebrate and remember the Last Supper: when Jesus established the Eucharist and washed the feet of his disciples. It's a big deal, and I didn't get to Mass today. I'm not happy about that. What happened was a scheduling problem and — more basically — an exercise of balancing immediacy and priority.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Holy Thursday is a big deal, but I spent part of in in the local clinic. I talk about why I was there, and why Holy Thursday matters.)

      I hope you are all having a beautiful Holy Thursday, as we move into the three highest holy days of the year--Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter (known as the Triduum). Rather than focus on giving up a favorite treat for Lent this year, I tried to focus on prayer and scripture, reading and contemplating a few times throughout the day. As imperfect as I did so, I learned a very important lesson this year. Rather than centering my focus on, say, doughnuts (or my lack thereof), I found myself truly focusing on God. This caused a big shift in my focus during Lent, and it moved me closer to God (in a way sweets just can't do!)  I created a habit I hope to continue beyond Easter, but I must say, it did require me to become more self-aware of my old habits and how I spend my time. And, interestingly, it did require some self-sacrifice as I had to make some changes. I hope I do even better in the future as I continue to ask myself, "Is this moving me ...

 

 

Father Mark Botzet's talked about changes in our diocese last week, let me have a copy of his text/transcript: and added footnotes, all of which I greatly appreciate. One of those footnotes included the URL of an overview page that includes a video from Bishop Neary, links to a "guiding change document", and — well, here's that link: All Things New — Diocese of Saint Cloud The Pastoral Planning Process Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future Diocese of St. Cloud Apart from adding headings, I've kept Fr. Botzet's homily text/transcript as I received it: including punctuation and capitalization. I figure that helps retain the sound and feel of what we heard at Our Lady of the Angels last Sunday. Forgetting What Lies Behind — Working Toward What Lies Ahead Something New Engaging the Laity Called Forward to Embrace the Future Prudent Stewardship Embrace the Upward Calling of God I'll wrap up this week's post with why I don't think nos...

 

    Do you think, if you were living in the time of Christ, that you would have believed that Jesus is God? I was listening to a "Daily Reflection " by Father John M. McKenzie from the Archdiocese of Detroit (see direct link below) in which he offers us a test. We don't have to go back 2000+ years and wonder, says Fr. McKenzie: "All we have to do is look at our current lives. Do you believe by virtue of the way you live right now, that Jesus is God ?" Wow.  What a great question for us to ponder. Look around you. Does your life reveal your belief that Jesus is God? How can we know that he was, indeed, sent by the Father? Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John, Chapter 5:36: "But I have testimony greater than John's [the Baptist]. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me." (Him being sent by the Father, reveals him as God.) Jesus seems to indicate in this passage ...

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem Giotto di Bondone [ Web Gallery of Art ] And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road  (Luke 19:36).   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the Passion according to St Luke arranged for reading by   N. Narrator.  ✠  Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker. Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the Passion according to St Luke arranged for reading by   N. Narrator.  ✠  Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) The gospel for the procession with palms is included here as is the shorter form of the Passion according to St Luke, Luke 23:1-49. Gosp...

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  I came across an article about the use/return of communion rails in Catholic Churches. I read the theological reasoning around the purpose of them, as well as the necessity of distinguishing the sanctuary and the altar from the nave (where the people congregate.) The sanctuary is to be distinct and set apart, something many churches accomplish by raising it up on steps. Go into any Catholic Church and you will probably not have any trouble distinguishing the sanctuary from where the people sit, even without a rail. I read a number of arguments in favor of churches installing communion rails. I could make an equal number of solid arguments against doing so. But I won't. You see, to argue about something like that just promotes division in a place where unity is called for. When we receive Jesus, we are called to be in union with him, and it would be wrong to let an altar rail be a point of contention. You like using a rail? Then use it. You don't like it? Then don't.  But ...