Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Or ... Teaching the Faith Sometimes Means Carrying a Cross Teaching the faith can be a challenge. The Confirmation retreat was nearly over, so we settled back in the main hall after a few hours in the church to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and spend time in Eucharistic Adoration. Though I’ve presented to teenagers for years, it never gets any easier. Corralling them for 8 hours, most against their own will, usually creates a less than friendly atmosphere. This particular group, despite my attempts to provide engaging activities and quick witted presentations, was very difficult to reach. It was a huge relief to glance at the clock and realize there were fewer than two hours left.“You got this,” I murmured to myself, and grabbed the microphone to begin my last presentation. I barely completed the sign of the cross, when suddenly a young man dressed in a suit stood up. “Excuse me,” I politely addressed him, “break is over and we are clearly about to pray. We are almos...

... The Gift of Receptivity ... ...Personally, my receptivity feelers do not fire on all cylinders. Sure, I’m open to whatever God has for me as long as it is good, healthy, and includes very little discomfort. Unlike Jesus entering into Jerusalem ready to fulfill God’s Will, I spend far too much time avoiding God and his Will. Perhaps I am hoping that if I am really quiet and well-behaved, I will avoid whatever cross is lurking in my day. Ironically, my cross has become my fear of the cross. My focus is far too much on this false fear of the possible tragedy lurking around the corner, and in turn I lose sight the good things God has in store for me—in any situation.... ... Holy Thursday Blessings ... Read more ....  All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2017 Reflection part of the WINE Lenten Book Club #LentenWalk

I recently attended the National Marketing Network Trade Show / Catholic Writers Guild Conference in Chicago this summer. At the tradeshow/conference, we Guild members got to meet many authors and receive free autographed books! I had a great time. Yet, the most memorable moment for me occurred as I traversed through the Trade Show booths.  I came across a table with a certain children’s book on it: Journey to the Cross . I said to myself, “ Hey, that’s the book that won in my category at the National Indie Excellence Awards contest this year! ” Okay, now I must see what’s so special about this book that it beat out my own book in the contest (mine was named a finalist). What occurred next was beyond awesome. I stepped up to the table... Read more...

" If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking ." James 1:5   Where I lack the greatest wisdom without a doubt is in discerning the Will of God. There are several factors that block my clearly hearing God speak in my life - primarily my own voice and will are often drowning out God's voice. A very anxious person by nature - I erroneously believe the more of my life I control; the better my life will be. I seem to have this crazy notion that I know better than the creator of the universe what is needed for me to be happy.   God is not in the happiness business - he is in the holiness business.  Paradoxical however,  the more I order my life to holiness - the truly happier I will be. Not the fading worldly happy but a much deeper, "it can't be taken away from you" joy! His ways are always 'different and higher' (Isaiah 55) from any ideas I may hold onto.   I see tomorrow, and the next d...

Driving Home from Work. Suddenly I had such a feeling of appreciation of all the times that I had been protected by my Guardian Angel and Saint Michael the Archangel.  I thought I would give thanks to God.  Me:  "Z, my Angel, I know how God has allowed you to protect me in the past when I have gone to battle for souls that are lost, and I thank God and you for this gift.  For  Z, you know I will go to battle again soon, as God wills it." Z: "I will be there."  Me: "I know, and I appreciate that." Z:  "It is not by your appreciation that I serve."  TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE! 

The truth of our Salvation is far more terrifying on this side of the Cross than for the Jews before the Incarnation of God in the flesh.   When you study His Passion, you only begin to understand the truth of what His Blood truly means to both those who accept Him and those who .....reject Him.  TO READ MORE....CLICK HERE!! 

Just recently, I read  Ali Baba and the Forty thieves  for my children .  In this story, the wife of Ali Baba’s (unfortunate) brother and her servant girls lament and cry by his corpse, retrieved by Ali Baba from the thieves’ cave. Their lament announces to everyone the death of Ali Baba’s brother. This is just one of many examples of weeping done not only because of a spontaneous desire but with a specific and sometimes direct ritual meaning. And whenever there is a ritual, behind it lies the desire to express a deeper human reality. The ritual, the task, vocation or place, is there to encompass the entire human being when she (the soul) comes in contact with a reality beyond ordinary expression. Or in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Gandalf, “not all tears are an evil…” The task of lamenting is one forgotten in the Western world, along with most meaningful rituals. .... In sharp contrast to this “liberated human” stands the Mother, weeping beneath the Cross... ...

Getty Images Dear friend, Your heart is broken. You feel abandoned and weak, a shadow of your former lively self. I have been praying for you. At church this weekend, we prayed Psalm 147, and these verses leaped out at me, sounding so applicable to you, my friend: The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name. I guess I've never thought about every star having a name, but there we have it: "He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name." So the stars have names. What's more, God  calls  them by their names, implying that the stars respond. The stars are in relationship with God. Not just cold, mechanical constellations that guide navigation, stars have a sort of life and dignity, simply because God makes them and calls to them. Please join me at Praying with Grace for more. As I repeated the Psalm response after the cantor, I wondered how calling stars by nam...

"Mom, why do you go to Mass everyday?" "Because I love Him."   "Who?" "Our Lord." "Oh." "You don't understand do you." "Not really."   TO READ MORE CLICK HERE!  

One of God's greatest gifts to us is our Guardian Angel.  He is assigned to us at our conception, and is with us throughout our whole life.  But our Guardian Angel is more than just to protect us various mishaps or evil persons that seek to hinder or even do damage to us.  To know how to effectively communicate with and receive from our Guardian angel all that God wishes us to have, then we have to know more who our Guardian Angel is.  Who Is He?,,,read more here. 

So much happens at one Holy Mass, that it would take more words than exist to explain it. There is only one place on the earth where the heavens are opened and a human has direct access to the very throne of God for his or her petition.....this is the Holy Mass. The Saints are in attendance, looking down from heaven, so happy that the Holy Mass is being offered for us. I have seen the saints looking down from heaven, smiling, so happy for us.    I have seen.. .CLICK HERE!

All... I was afraid to write some of the posts I have posted lately.  Part of me didn't want to write them, because of what they could cost me.  Yes, I have written the truth, I will not deny that, ever.  And I was commanded to write.  He said,  "You MUST write."   "OK I will." And write I shall.  The truth I tell could cost me dearly.  It has already begun to cost me, but because of my love, I will be obedient.  The Mathematics I love, may be only a dream, a certificate on the wall.   I may never get to use it.  Not my will but yours.  When you know the truth, any pain of any loss is small compared to the pain of the state of souls in the world. .... READ MORE.

Nothing will be impossible for you... This is another experience while I was praying the Stations of the Cross.  This is what I asked for. Out of love for all the lost souls that fall into hell constantly, that souls not be lost.... I asked God that the gates of Hell be closed for one hour. To read more.... CLICK HERE .

As parents of Large Families, we advocate for our children, we communicate with our children and their teachers and friends but we don't hover over them because we simply can't. There's no time! Have you ever heard of the term Helicopter Parent or Hover parent? I was indeed a Hover parent with our oldest. He would sneeze and I'd be at the ready with a Kleenex and a doctors appointment within seconds. What happened to my hover parenting days was 5 children. Once I had our second, our third and so on there just wasn't the time to hover over each child the way I did with my first. I now see that as a blessing although at first the inability to helicopter parent over each child came with some real guilt. In the past few years, our oldest (I will call him J for privacy reasons) has been diagnosed with severe anxiety and now a new diagnosis of ADHD. We have learnt to advocate for J by encouraging communication with his teachers.  Click here to read more!

What you put in the collection basket says a lot about you and where you are at in your journey. Some of us put in our 10% tithing without a second thought. Some of us put in the few “extra” dollars we may have. Some of us struggle with the need to “give” to the already “rich” church and so put in very little. I remember once when one of my sons was quite young and had — unbeknownst to me — picked up all his change from his room and put it in the collection basket as it passed. I think it was about 19 cents. But very few of us realize that when that basket passes, it is an incredible opportunity to give anything and everything to God. Sure, it is about money and tithing; but money is only the beginning. That collection basket is a chance to empty yourself so that your gifts may be joined to those of Christ’s at the altar and used for God’s kingdom. They will be joined in the consecration and if offered with no strings attached can be appropriately dispensed by God, who ...

I was wandering the woods in my amnesia,  Following the lights to scattered campfires, wandering to who knows where. The moon was full My heart was hungry Who am I? Where am I?  So lost, confused and crying. When my father held me as a baby, his heartbeat soothed my every tear. When I am close to Jesus, I am near his heartbeat too.  I am a baby in his arms and His Sacred Heart holds my heart in the safest place I'll ever be. As I grew older, my dad and I camped by the river. The heartbeat of the river soothed me in the intoxicating laurel thicket where we slept. Every evening, my dad's friend would say, “This is the life.” Years passed when I could not hear that heartbeat. All I could hear were chaotic sounds of need and fear, frantic crickets and cicadas seeking quickly fleeting mates. The moon was full My heart was hungry Starving, all alone. One day, I will find myself, floating on my back, nailed to my cross. I won't move there but I'll be f...

It seems as if everyone nowadays is so  obsessed  with appearance.  Many are trapped in the world that tells them that unless they wear their makeup the "right" way, they'll never be good enough.  Our society tells us that unless we look a certain way, and dress a certain style, and carry ourselves the "popular" way, we'll never be accepted and we'll never be cherished. I beg to differ.  I'm a teenage girl ~ I  know  what's out there, waiting to starve our true spirits and transform us into jealous creatures who are intent on fighting what is a losing battle. For "Dove Evolution" video (This video shows just how much our society has negatively warped the perception of beauty.  In 1.25 minutes, we're shown that an average-looking woman is "airbrushed" into being model-perfect.  It's scary, actually.) It seems like when culture tried to conform us all into the mold of the "perfect person", it threw ou...

I went to Holy Mass and I was crying, not for myself, but sometimes God puts in on my heart to weep for souls that are lost.  This day I was crying very much for the lost.  After we received the Holy Eucharist, the Priests (we had two that day at St. Luke) began to pray for me. I know this because I could feel their prayers for me.   I could feel these men's beautiful hearts praying for me. Men by their nature are made to be the protector of the family.  How much more so is a Priest a protector, not just by his nature of being a man, but by being "in persona Christi" for those in his church 'family'? I could feel these beautiful Priests hearts praying for me, praying out of a desire to protect me, to shield me from any pain as evidenced by my tears, and if that was not possible, to have God intervene so that I would no longer cry. Good and holy priests, with hearts like St. Joseph, loving, protecting those in your charge.  Yet this heart was al...