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      Throughout Mass the other day, the word "mercy" took its place in the forefront of my thoughts. I had a strong sense of needing God's mercy for a bothersome sin that had been frustrating me.  Recognizing our sins is so important because without doing so, we cannot truly appreciate the gift that is God's mercy. His love and forgiveness in the face of our sins brings such joy. There is a Christian music group called MercyMe that has been around since the 90's. The lead singer, Bart Millard, wrote one of their famous songs ("I can only imagine") about standing in front of Jesus.  I read that he had suffered terribly at the hands of his abusive father, but over time, before his father's death, he watched his transformation and conversion. Eventually they became very close. It's amazing what can happen to a person when they open themselves up to God's love and mercy.  It changes everything. Janet Cassidy Email me at:  jmctm2@gm...

  SONG SAVES TWENTY BABIES CLICK HERE  

One thing I like about families — the one(s) I'm in, at any rate — are the legacies. In my dialect of English a "legacy" is generally money or property handed down from one generation to another. Legacies of that sort matter. My wife and I are in the process of updating our will, I suppose it'll be wills, and that's another topic. But the legacies I'm thinking of aren't worth much, in terms of taxable assets. Although each of us is a unique individual, we also inherit whatever's in the genes of our biological parents: along with the experiences, attitudes, habits, values, and stories of the folks who raised us.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Legacies matter: the values and stories of our families. I note the basics of being a Catholic family: and an interest a great-grandfather and I share.)

    I remember years ago when I was working on my Bachelor's Degree and writing my column for "The Catholic Times," I would sometimes ask my husband's opinion on something I'd written because I appreciated his honesty. Of course, I was in academic mode, and my writing reflected that at times. On one particular column that I asked his opinion about, he kindly said, "That's good, but I'm not sure anyone will really know what your saying." He suggested I write so that my message was more understandable to the reader who was not a student of religion. And he was so right. And he has St. Paul to back him up. In continuing my reading of 1 Corinthians, Chapters 13 & 14, I stepped back from all of the details about prophesying and speaking in tongues. St. Paul had a lot to say about them, but there is something else we can glean from his writing. Here's how he made his point:  "If the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get...

  Do you ever feel like "little ole me" doesn't really have anything to contribute when it comes to leading others to faith? Do you feel like you just don't know enough, or have the right words to get your point across? These thoughts came to me recently as I was reading through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. In Chapter 12 he gives his beautiful description of what it means to be part of Christ's body and how every single one of us completes his body. He says that "the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary." When we reflect on this chapter, we can see that "God so constructed the body" so that there wouldn't be any division, and that we each should have concern for each other. "If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy." And since we are all Christ's body (individually parts of it), Paul says, that means we each hav...

      I read these words on a blog post: " Instead of judging, the saints treated sinners like wounded members of their own body. They were grieved, not scandalized. They corrected with patience, not contempt. They understood that love covers a multitude of sins and that to despise one’s neighbor is to cut oneself off from the Body of Christ. ...  And now, a little prayer from Ephrem the Syrian for you and me to make our own: 'If I have made fun of my brother’s sins when my own faults are countless … have mercy, my Lord and Creator, on me Thy wretched and unworthy servant.' Amen"  (Matt Fradd, Pints with Aquinas) Naturally, my mind jumped immediately to the scandal all over the news about the couple that were outed on the kiss cam for their adulterous relationship at the Coldplay concert recently. Lots of people are mocking them now. They are the butt of jokes everywhere. I think the above quote is a good reminder for us about the sinfulness of our...

Things keep changing. That's hardly a new idea. "Everything changes and nothing stands still" ("πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει", quoted by Plato in " Cratylus " ) ( Heraclitus , Wikiquote) I'll be talking about the new mural in my town's Walmart, how this isn't the America I grew up in, changes that have been for the better, and why the latest thing in looming dooms — looks both familiar, and not all that distressing. Sauk Centre's Walmart Still Here: So is Downtown Sauk Centre A Marvelous Mural, Mainly America Has Changed: Good News, Actually Good Ideas and Perspective Crises du Jour, Doing Our Job ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A new mural in a store that was new two decades back. Changes and constants in America, a crisis of yesteryear, good ideas, and doing our job.)

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary Tintoretto [ 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   Luke 10:38-42  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’ Léachtaí i nGaeilge Abraham and the Three Angels Gerbrand van den Ee...