Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Fr David Padrnos 7 September 1944 - 18 August 201 7 The son of Joseph E. and Rosalie (Bueltel) Padrnos, Father Dave grew up in Holy Name Parish in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He had two sisters, Teresa (who preceded him in death) and Sally, as well as a brother, Wayne. Father Dave studied at Holy Name Grade School and Cathedral High School, Omaha, before going on to St Columban’s College and Seminary, Milton, Massachusetts, and St Columbans College and Seminary, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. He did his Spiritual Year at St. Columbans, Bristol, Rhode Island. His theology studies were at St John’s Seminary Brighton, Massachusetts, (while residing at St Columbans, Milton, MA.). H e was ordained at St Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, on 28 May 1971 by Archbishop Daniel Sheehan. St Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha   [ Wikipedia ] The young priest arrived in Japan in September 1971 and resided at the central house in Roppongi, Tokyo, during the twenty-two month period in which he was engag

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster could have been much worse. But it may have been avoidable. Meltdowns and non-nuclear explosions at the power plant didn't directly kill anyone. More than 40 patients who were evacuated from a nearby hospital died later. They had been critically ill. Getting rushed away from a nuclear incident in progress wouldn't have been good for their health. Three former power company executives now face criminal charges. The earthquake, tsunami, and meltdowns in 2011 killed nearly 16,000 folks and left many others homeless. Many folks still can't return to their homes. Quakes happen. This one was nobody's fault. What happened in Fukushima is another matter. I'll be looking at the disaster, what's happened since, and why questioning authority can be a good idea. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Calling of St Matthew (detail), Caravaggio [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings  (NAB: USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible) Gospel Matthew 10:37-42 ( NR SV, Catholic Ed ) Jesus said to his Apostles: ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ Post-World War II Japan [ Source ] Whoever loves father

Fr Charles Duster (15 September 1934 - 7 March 2017) Father Charlie was born on 15 September 1934 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, where his parents Charles Henry Duster ['DOOster'] and Cleo Catherine Handley Duster owned and operated a supermarket. He has an older brother William C. Duster (Audrey) of Littleton, Colorado, a sister Mrs Robert Enns (Katie) of Fort Pierce, Florida, and eleven nieces and nephews and their families. His older sister, Margaret Jeanne Duster, died in 1972.

I’ve long been interested in the Japanese Catholic Church — we love St. Francis Xavier in my family (and the CCC movie  Francis Xavier and the Samurai’s Lost Treasure  is a favorite), and this bit  from  The Catholic Encyclopedia  at New Advent  is amazing and so moving: “ There is not in the whole history of the Church a single people who can offer to the admiration of the Christian world annals as glorious, and a martyrology as lengthy, as those of the people of Japan .” Indeed there are huge lists of Venerables, Blesseds, and Saints who were  born in Japan  and  died in Japan  and — being that I’m always looking through the lens of Catholic names — I’ve always been interested by the fact that every single one of them has a familiar saint’s name for a first name. I know there are Japanese Catholics with Japanese names (like the aforementioned Shusaku Endo; I did actually look to see if he also had a Christian name but didn’t find one), so I’ve wondered how the idea of “Chr

I like being an American, most of the time. I know that my country is far from perfect, but I'd rather be here than anywhere else on Earth. Living in Sauk Centre, a smallish central Minnesota town, probably helps. I really like it here. But it's no Brigadoon , unchanged and unaffected by the outside world.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I was surprised and flattered when two tourists from Thailand asked me if I was Jewish. That was about four decades back, at Grand Canyon National Park, near the visitor center. I'd brought a big topographic map of that massive gulch, spreading it out at intervals to see what I was looking at, and taking photos. That's not mine, by the way: it's from Tom Bernard Anyz . I think the Thai tourists had noticed that I had a full beard and never took my cap off. Quite a few gentiles in America wore caps indoors and out at the time, and still do: but not many American men grow a 'haven't shaved in years' beard. The plain black jacket I wore probably helped, too. I enjoyed being mistaken for one of our Lord's relatives, but my ancestors are about as gentile as it gets, west of the Urals. They probably hadn't even heard of Abraham or Isaac until missionaries arrived, and that's another topic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Keiko Shemura, First Communion Day, Dec. 1971, she  died April 1972, aged 14 Gospel   Mark 6:1-6  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition ) Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.   On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!   Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary   and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense   at him.   Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”   And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.   And he was amazed at their unbelief. Cherry blossoms [ Wikipedia ] Both the New American Bible and the

From   The Gospel of John   (2003) directed by Philip Saville Today's Gospel, John 10:11-18 [1:19 - 2:30] Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.   The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.   The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.   I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,     just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.     I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.   For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.   No one takes   it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I

St Nicholas Resuscitates the Children , Bon Boullogne,  Musée Ingres, Montauban,France[ Web Gallery of Art ] A priest-friend in Canada expressed his thoughts about the present and coming liturgical seasons in a recent email:  It’s Advent again. It’s too bad that the beauty of Advent is lost in the Christmas hype. Sometimes I think that we should give Christmas back to the pagans (from whom we hijacked it) and join the Oriental Churches in celebrating the birth of Jesus on January 6. I'm not quite sure that it would be practical to attempt that, though the Church should consider restoring the Epiphany as a mandatory holyday of obligation throughout the Church. It is such on the universal calendar of the Church but the reality is that in so many countries the bishops have opted for a Sunday celebration of the feast, thereby, I think, diminishing its importance.  Full post  here .  

Memorial to the Japanese martyrs of Unzen. (Photo by Connie Rossini.) This is the week for keeping watch with Jesus in a special way. Although God calls us to spend time with Him in prayer daily, we rightly feel that we should spend extra time with Him during Holy Week. But how should we go about it? When I was a teenager, my family started a tradition of an all-night prayer vigil on Holy Thursday. Beginning at 10 p.m., my parents, siblings, and I took turns praying in one or two one-hour slots for the next eight hours. I loved offering this extra sacrifice to Jesus, this extra sign of love. Jesus would not be alone in the Garden of Gethsemane if I could help it. After I graduated from college, I spent two years as a lay missionary in Japan, teaching English to support the evangelization work of an American priest. During spring break of the first year, my roommate Mary Beth and I traveled to the island of Kyushu. We planned to be in Nagasaki for Easter. Read th

Adoration of the Magi , Murillo, 1655-60 [ Web Gallery of Art ] THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD In countries where this is a holyday of obligation, eg, Ireland, the solemnity is celebrated on the traditional date, 6 January. Where it is not a holyday of obligation, eg, the Philippines, it is observed on this Sunday. The Epiphany has two different Mass formularies,  At the Vigil Mass , celebrated on Saturday evening, and  At the Mass during the Day . While the prayers and chants are different, the same readings are used at both Masses. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE NATIVITY (Years A, B, C) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible)  THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Gospel  Matthew 2:1-12  ( New RevisedStandard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  In the tim

. Keiko on her First Communion Day Read the story of 14-year-old Keiko Uemura, a spring flower in the desert , here .

Though We Are Many - Official Hymn of the 32nd International Eucharistic Congress Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  The black mustard plant Gospel Mark 4:26-14 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on ea