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Jesus warned to not be like the scribes and Pharisees, “For they preach but they do not practice,” another way of looking at that, “ practice what you preach .”    Sadly, I can think of at least one (okay, who am I fooling really MANY more than one) example in our lives, either now or in the past, when this could be said about me. However, as I read these words, I thought of something I am far more often guilty of, “I practice but I do not preach,”  Instead of the ole'  do as I say, not as I do,  I have created my own version with  do as I do, not as I fail to say .  Which is fine, because as St. Francis of Assisi is credited with saying, "Pray the Gospel always, when necessary use words," but sometimes WORDS are necessary.  As this lifelong Catholic, who has just in the last 10 years begun truly practicing her faith, has learned; Catholicism is a very rich and beautiful faith about which most people know very little.  Those who have ...

Mark’s Gospel Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark, author of the Gospel According to Saint Mark . In Mark’s Gospel, we read succinct passages central to the life of Christ. Mark was not loquacious, but, rather to the point! His gospel was termed, urgent, brief and direct. For example, the evangelist’s entire message can be considered summed up within one verse: “ This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel .” (Mark 1:15) Mark wrote his gospel for the Roman Gentiles. Therefore, he wrote it in Greek, sometime around 67-70 A.D. It is considered to be the first of the four Gospels to be documented in writing. Saint Mark portrayed Jesus as... Read more... 

It came to me in the sudden realization, "This is what Hell is." I didn't see the burning, unending agony the Saints have seen. I thank the Lord He knows me well enough to understand I'm not strong enough to witness such suffering even in those justly condemned by their own choices. But I understood what must be one of the greatest agonies of Hell, and it wasn't an eternity of physical torture. It was no gnawing and gnashing of teeth. It was what was not in Hell that hurt souls most. It was their inability to give or receive Love. What made Hell so awful was, quite simply, a complete absence of Love. And I knew this is what Hell would be. To continue reading, please join me at SingleMomSmiliing.com

Troy is away at college now and has earned the respect of his brothers as you can see by the placement of his photo. I may have stopped them from removing the pictures, but they've discovered other ways of showing how much greater they are than their brothers! I SO Love these Great but foolish children We moved into this house in a rush. I was a little down about having to leave the house I thought we'd live in forever, the house I thought my ex and I would welcome grandchildren in for sleepovers and host family barbecues like those my Grandparents threw. Moving into this house didn't leave me the energy or desire to do much decorating so when I hung the photos of the boys in the living room, it really stood out. To me, it wasn't a big deal. I didn't place them in any particular order. I didn't put one child's photo ahead of another. I simply measured halfheartedly, hammered a few nails in the wall, and voila - pictures of my boys were hung. To co...

Dozens of times in the Gospels, Jesus "amazes" his listeners. Here are a few of my favorites: They were amazed, saying "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?" -Matthew 8:27 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. -Mark 10:32 And all who were with him were amazed at the catch.  -Luke 5:9 Does Jesus amaze us? Is he so shockingly unique that we, his followers, are sometimes a little afraid of him? Read on at Praying with Grace ! Gold Aurei of the Twelve Caesars. Gift of C. Ruxton Love Jr., 1967.  www.metmuseum.or

A couple of weeks ago, I shared an excerpt from Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2015: During this Lent, then, brothers and sisters, let us all ask the Lord: "Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum": Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference. "Make our hearts like yours." How's that going? We're more than halfway through Lent, so it's time for a cardiac check-up. In what ways have our hearts grown more like the Heart of Jesus these past weeks? To reflect on this, we pay attention both to our own hearts and to the Heart of our Lord. Please join me at Praying with Grace for a heartfelt reflection.

Today’s Gospel:  John 1:35-42 It is amazing, really, that John’s disciples simply hear their teacher announce that Jesus is “the Lamb of God” and they follow Him, without question, without speaking a word. They are on a journey, so they do not cling to John possessively but let go to continue their search for God. These men are hungry for God and they are open, recognizing the light when they see it. These former followers of John cannot even answer Jesus when He asks them, “What do you seek?” They probably don’t have a clue what they are really seeking: they simply know in their deepest selves that He is who John says He is—the Lamb of God—and that is enough for them. They are seekers of the truth. Yet they cannot articulate that fact,  so instead they answer with another mundane question, “Where are you staying?” Even that question is not answered because Jesus basically says, “Well, if you trust me, if you want to follow me and l...

    Instructions for Parents   I recommend that you meditate on Luke 17:11-19 in your own prayer time before presenting it to your kids. If you’re not sure how to do this, look at last Thanksgiving’s meditation . Talk to the Lord about it from your heart. Ask Him to teach you to be truly grateful, and to lead your children towards thankfulness. Next, read and discuss the passage with your children. Use your favorite children’s Bible. Define any words they may not know. (I have highlighted some words in the meditation you may want to define before praying with them.) Choose one or two of the optional activities at the end of this post to help them dig deeper into the meaning of the passage. Finally, read the meditation aloud to them, pausing for several seconds to a couple of minutes after each of the first two paragraphs. Ask them to repeat the final prayer after you, sentence by sentence. This meditation works best with children ages sev...

"Jesus entered a village  where a woman whose name  was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at His  feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me  by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and  worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” ~ Sometimes it seems as if we're on a never-ending cycle, a carousel.  We don't want to be hurled off of it; it's moving too quickly, if we fall, we'll be crushed.  Each week, it's as if the carousel begins anew; it starts slowly.  All too soon, it's whirling around in a vicious, downward spiral.  No matter how hard I try to organize my lif...

The Holy Gospel according to John: 15: 12-17 This is my commandment:  love one another, as I have loved you .  A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends, if you do what I command you.  I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.  You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last;  and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.  What I command you is to love one another . Source: The Jerusalem Bible How should we love one another? At this morning's daily Mass, our parish priest, Fr. Walter Tabios, preached about the quality of love that God asks of his friends.  He cited four types of love, all of which are anything but egotistical or self-se...