Association Of Catholic Bloggers

What do you gain by being uncivil? How do you benefit by thinking more of yourself and less of others? Why must your needs and desires supersede anyone else’s needs and desires? Incivility, a lack of humility, and a sense of superiority are at the root of our nation’s divisiveness. It is time that we foster goodness for the sake of the common good. It’s time that we begin acting more Christ-like and love our neighbor. Picture yourself standing in line waiting to check out at a department store. In front of you is a woman berating the sales clerk because she can’t use more than one coupon. What are you thinking? Are you saying to yourself, “You go girl! Give it to that clerk!” Or, might you be thinking, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not that clerk!” How is being uncivil making the woman look good? Certainly, she is not virtuous, as she lacks civility. When someone makes such outbursts, they do not foster goodness for the sake of the common good. Such actions demonstrate that the woman is onl...

We live in such a divisive society, here in the United States, and around the world. Satan is hard at work pitting us against each other. He wants us to forget that we all come from the same Supreme Being. As adults, why is it so easy for us to quickly notice the differences of others, rather than common ground? We weren’t like that as children. When we were young, we simply played with anyone who would play with us. We found common ground in the love of “play,” in toys shared, and in having fun together. We need to find that goodness, once again – this time as adults. Finding goodness in a divisive society can be a challenge, but only if we let it. It all starts with our own attitude. Do we trust others, until they prove themselves untrustworthy, or is it the other way around? For example: Do others need to “prove themselves” in your eyes before you will trust them? If so, then you are looking for the “difference.” Do you follow the golden rule and treat others as you would li...

In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks, why do you call me good (Mark 10:18)? In the Gospel reading, we hear the story of the rich young man who seeks information from Jesus about what is required to enter Heaven. The rich young man refers to Jesus as “Good Teacher.” It is an interesting, brief exchange between the rich young man and Jesus. The reference to the goodness of Jesus might easily be overlooked, when reading the passage, simply because Jesus gives a quick retort. “ No one is good but God alone ” (Mark 10:18). He then moves on to the gist of the story, that has nothing to do with His goodness. Yet, I find it to be a very intriguing question. The rich young man knew of Jesus’s work. That is why he approached Jesus in the first place. He must have had some personal experience to draw upon, and for that, chose to call Jesus good. With two thousand years of history, this question might be easier for us to answer in the 21 st  century, as hindsight is 20/20. We have the luxu...

God calls us each to holiness, to sainthood. Every day, each experience we have helps us grow in our faith and in our purpose: To achieve holiness; to become saints; to fully become the person God intends us to be. Each experience, then, has the potential to be “purgative.” Purgation is a process that gets us ready for God. Just as God’s grace was given to the martyrs, so it is given to us to grow in holiness and towards sainthood. In this process, it is imperative to see God as the Potter and know that we are the clay. Each experience, then, is given over to God for His guidance and our growth. Sainthood means allowing God to mold us just as a Potter molds clay. ( Isaiah 64:7) Everything we experience is an opportunity to grow in our holiness. God can “make us worthy and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose” by giving us circumstances that cause us to depend on Him, to trust in Him, and to respond according to His will In other words, through ou...

 Micaela at California to Korea is hosting a link-up called "3 Reasons I love Catholicism." You can submit your link all month. There are lots of good submissions, so check them out and join up. My reasons (in this post, anyway) are the triumvirate of truth, goodness, and beauty. I will show you how truth, goodness, and beauty are essential to the Contemplative Homeschool and to seeking God. Fr. Benedict Groeschel, in Spiritual Passages: The Psychology of Spiritual Development "for those who seek" , uses the categories of truth, beauty, goodness, and oneness in a similar way to learning styles or temperaments. They signify to him four ways of relating to God. We can use these categories to help ourselves and our students/children grow spiritually. Truth satisfies the intellect     The Catholic Church speaks the truth, no matter how few listen. She does not shy away from controversy. Countless Catholics have been martyrs for the truth. Unlike our relati...