Association Of Catholic Bloggers

In my life-long journey with God, I v grown from,  innocent faith (inheriting it from mom and grand dad as a child) to teenage liberal-Christianity (when I figured out my own convenient brand of Christianity-meets-new age-secular  theology) to reaching a point where my new-age-theology failed me miserably to seeking to know Him to busying myself with activities for His kingdom to a genuine realization that actually I didn't know the person of God And then, there is love:) Read the complete post at J.A.M.

It's Corpus Christi Sunday: the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Weather permitting, we'll have a Corpus Christi procession here in Sauk Centre. That photo is from last year's event. I won't be walking, but I plan to take photos, posting them later today. Taking what looks like a bit of unleavened bread for a walk makes sense to Catholics who understand our faith — maybe not so much to other folks. Corpus Christi is Latin for Body of Christ, and what happens to unleavened bread connects to why we've been celebrating ever since that first Easter. ( April 20, 2014 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Priest says,  "...This is my body." And it is.   "...This is my blood."  And it is. It is His body and His blood,  He  is truly present. How can I describe what this feels like to be present when the Priest sets down the Eucharist on the altar after this moment. . If one could be in the center of a...... TO READ MORE - CLICK HERE!

The Consecration: (The Battle Begins)  "This is my body..." This is when I am usually attacked.  When I know the consecration is near, I prepare myself, steel myself, get ready.   I do not know exactly why this is when I am attacked, but I think it is because I know what is coming and how to effectively utilize the gift God has given us in the Holy Mass for others.  The Catholic at the Holy Mass is for the  other .  We should rarely be there for ourselves, but we should be there for the rest of the world that is  NOT  there.    The demons do not want you to fully understand what is really happening in the Holy Mass, and will do everything in their power to distract you from the work that God is doing on the Earth.  To read more... CLICK HERE!

He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." Why. Why did He desire it, and for how long? He is God, how long can God desire one Passover? I'll tell you how long, since the fall of Adam and Eve. Before there was a Passover, God desired this one. Why this one? Because it is a sacrifice offered that would NEVER be rejected by God... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

A man that takes the role of a Deacon is by faith shows himself by his submission, sacrifice and love to be extolling a purification of manhood.    Donning vestments, whether Priest or Deacon is the ultimate witness of manliness.  It is no coincidence that the first Christian Martyr was a Deacon.  By God’s grace, through a Deacon, God let open the heavens to let St. Stephen see the rewards of all those who die for the faith.  The grace of martyrdom is a joy of the will of God being fulfilled, for if we love God, we love Him and  those He loves to our last breath and our last drop of blood.   Those that are chosen for this gift are very few, and it is only by the love in their heart for others that they are chosen.  The martyr is prepared for death by the knowledge that their blood feeds the Church, and by the shedding of their blood, within God's will, they are given the greatest gift while still in the flesh; .... TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

Alone at St. Stephen the Martyr.  In the dark, in front of the tabernacle, just me and Him. This is where I am happiest, with Him. The door opens and a woman comes in in nurses scrubs, and sits down.  She is crying.   She is crying so loud it tears at my heart.  I go to her. With tears in her eyes she looks up at me.  She sees perhaps the compassion in my eyes and that I want to be with her and moves over so I can sit down. "I'm here if you need to talk, if you need anything." TO CONTINUE READING - CLICK HERE

One of the greatest gifts that God gives us in the Holy Mass, and the Holy Eucharist is to prepare us for Eternity.  There is no where you can go on the planet and prepare for your own Judgement and Eternity like you can by going to Holy Mass, Holy Confession and taking the Blessed Sacrament.   There is no Preacher or Church service in the world that prepares you for heaven like what happens every day at Holy Mass.   To Read More CLICK HERE.

Not long ago, a wonderful woman came to visit me at the Apostleship of Prayer. She is helping her son prepare for the sacrament of Reconciliation, and she wanted to show me the materials she was using. Here they are: Adaptive Reconciliation Kit by Loyola Press Beautiful. The vibrant colors, the simple text, the attractive art--everything draws me in to these materials. They are part of Loyola Press's offerings for students with special needs. Loyola Press's adaptive kits have been on my mind a great deal this month, because September is the month Pope Francis asks us to pray for people with mental disabilities. My  reflection  this month is about my own brother, Mark, who enriched many lives through his challenges. And each September morning, as I rise and pray my Morning Offering, I remember Pope Francis' prayer intention, keeping his prayer close to my heart throughout the day. Today I give thanks to Loyola Press for their excellent materials for children with s

It's time. This is what I saw.  The words underneath the vision of the Eucharist is what I heard.  A man's voice, gentle, but with authority to it that you did not question.  Now the history.... TO READ MORE CLICK 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!

As faithful Catholics, how exactly are we living out the Eucharist, both during and outside of Mass?  This is the basic question posed by Pope Francis during the second part of his Catechesis on the Eucharist . In the first teaching, the pope reminded us about our real communion with Jesus and his mystery during the Eucharist. Now he challenges us to live out this communion with Christ,  “Is it only a moment of celebration, an established tradition, an opportunity to find oneself or to feel justified, or is it something more?” Coincidently, I just read an article by a nurse, on her way to Church, who stopped to help victims of a car accident. She left after help arrived but was covered in blood and dirt. Rather than wasting time by going home to change clothes, she decided to simply put her top on inside out to hide most of the mess. Although she missed her own regular Eucharist, she just had time to make it to a nearby Mass at another church. Immediately after she felt sel

As an autistic, I have the unenviable ability to almost completely compartmentalize my intellect from emotions. I go into a “machine mode.” My friends often have a very unfortunate experience with that. They talk to me while I am in the middle of “implementing my agenda,” and they see that I do not acknowledge their feelings at all. Friends who know me well stop me and say, “Hey, I just poured out my heart to you,” or “I just disclosed something hard for me to say,” and of course, I collapse into a sea of apologies. I don't realize what I did, but of course I want to acknowledge the feelings of my friends! My autistic reality is not all that different from neurotypical reality. Humans minds work very much like computers, which is why computers are designed based on how our logical intellect works. Our minds are different from computers because emotional drives can dominate our experience. I know all about that too! I have been known to immerse myself in emotion and the “

In this age of social media, we all have to have a status, whether it is what we ate for lunch, where we are, or the old nemesis... the relationship status .   We have all seen it multiple times, and we all have those family members or friends that should have a limit on how many times they are allowed to change their relationship status.   I've had friends that their relationship status changed in hours...not days.   So, if we were to post our relationship status with God and His Church...what would it be? TO FIND OUT WHAT RELATIONSHIP STATUS YOU ARE.. .CLICK HERE!!

Earlier this year, someone asked me if I realized that Catholics are cannibals. I responded with something like 'yes, but it wasn't our idea.' I'm pretty sure that the person wasn't trying to be offensive. I run into odd notions about Catholic beliefs fairly often. I suspect they're often rooted in America's endemic anti-catholicism. ( January 6, 2013 ; February 29, 2012 ) Besides: the person was quite right in this case. Here's part of today's Gospel reading: " Whoever eats 19 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. " For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. " ( John 6:54 - 55 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

T oday is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) in the Catholic Church.  I am reminded of something I got to experience a little over twenty years ago. When I was in college, I had the privilege of witnessing a Eucharistic miracle. The semester had just started and it was around the second week of September, in 1991. I was on my way to class and my roommate was passing me in the middle of campus as she was coming back from class. She asked me if I would like to go see a Eucharistic miracle.  I said, "Sure!"  She told me that she and a friend would pick me up when I got out of class.  I really didn't know at that time what I was saying yes to, but I was always up for an adventure and I did not have anything else going on. Like she said, they picked me up right after class and there was one other girl that my roommate knew that was in the car as well. I thought we were going to go see a Eucharistic miracle that was on public display but as we were

In prayer I asked the Lord, "Lord guide my steps to where you want me to be and give the words you wish me to say." This is apparently a very powerful prayer as I am about to explain.   After praying this prayer, I got a strong inclination that I needed to go to the hospital.   So I drove to Clark Memorial and sat at the end of the long hallway and began to pray my Rosary. To find out what happened in the Hospital Waiting Room, click HERE!

The Casino The Lord had put it on my heart to go to the Casino.  I wondered why I had to actually go to the Casino, so I asked Him, "Lord, why do I have to go?  I can pray for them in front of the Blessed Sacrament!"   The answer was silence.  So, in obedience, I filled up my car and went to the Horseshoe Casino.... To find out what happened at the Casino, click HERE!

Scabbed heads, burned faces, and stomach viruses might not seem like a lucky start to my fourth child Marguerite's First Communion day. Poor Marguerite tripped over the curb at school a few days before her First Communion and went flying up, up, up, and then down onto the pavement. Scabbed knees, scabbed hands, but the worst was a big scab on her forehead right by her hairline. Not the best for close-up shots. Then there was my husband's burned face. He got scalded in the shower (horrible, I know -- how did that happen?), and the entire left side of his face was covered by a reddish-purplish burn. To disguise it, we had to decide between a Phantom of the Opera style mask, a Middle Eastern veil, or Loreal True Match foundation. We went with the foundation. Read more of our story here...

One thing that serves as a  great consolation to the heart of Jesus and helps give him strength to continually pour himself out and give himself to us in the Eucharist is his people laying their lives down and joining their sufferings to his sufferings. Every disappointment, every tear, every heartache, every physical suffering joined to the heart of Christ becomes a sweet smelling offering of crushed wheat given at the table of the Lord. Jesus then takes this finest wheat and forms it into bread which is consecrated into Jesus' body and blood, broken and given for us all. Beautifulthorns