Association Of Catholic Bloggers

In the hustle-bustle of our everyday lives, many find it difficult to find some quiet time for Jesus. We get caught up in our chores, events, family needs, etc. When we lay our heads down at night, we are exhausted. It’s at times like these, that finding quiet time for Jesus is a must. Why? Because, we cannot succeed at anything without Jesus. Saint Francis de Sales is famously known for having quipped: Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed , So, if you want to get all the chores done, attend that basketball game for your eighth grader, and visit an elderly parent in a nursing home, then you need to find some quiet time to pray. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to make that all happen. When our focus is on Jesus, everything else falls into place. Find Quiet Time for Jesus Here are a few suggestions for how you can carve out quiet time for Jesus, to get life in order and accomplish all that is necessary: Read m

Many people look at Lent as a season of punishment, denial, etc. (add your own negative words as a description). I say that Lent offers me an opportunity to grow closer to Jesus. I find that to be a very good thing! When I embrace Lent for all that it has to offer, I achieve the following: A new perspective on what I need to do to walk the journey Christ asks me to walk. The advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where I receive a clean soul, united to Christ. More time spent with Jesus, one-on-one, through visits to the Blessed Sacrament. It is here that He works on my soul, in the hospital of sinners. Increased insight to Christ’s salvific actions, performed for my benefit, by attending the Stations of the Cross. A greater awareness of the need for Christ’s unwavering love, forgiveness and mercy. Embrace Lent In what ways might you embrace Lent and glean the benefits of God’s Grace? How might you make this season a positive experience, removing all negative conn

Transfiguration of Christ Paolo Veronese [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Matthew 17:1-9 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada) Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.  Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’  While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen t

I don’t know about you, but I had to turn away from politics. I couldn’t stand the backbiting and vitriolic comments slung in every direction. Yesterday was super Tuesday, so in recent weeks, the political ads were coming at me  ad nauseum . I live in North Carolina, one of the super Tuesday states with primaries. The lack of common courtesy, so prevalent, in our society today, especially in the political ads, gets me down, to the point where I need to walk away, close myself off, and regroup. Why can’t we be civil with each other? Maybe we should all try courtesy as a Lenten sacrifice. Courtesy as a Lenten Sacrifice Who would have thought that we would ever stoop so low that we need to suggest common courtesy as a Lenten sacrifice? That extending courtesy to another person should be a sacrifice? Courtesy is something that every one of us should be excellent at. Yet, here we are, begging for courtesy. If you find it difficult to accept the political opinions of your neighbor,

Yesterday, we heard the Passion of the Lord from Luke 22:14 to 23:56. With every reading of the Passion, we relive, with Jesus, His humiliation, passion and death. With today being Holy Monday, we reside in the calm before the storm of a turbulent Holy Thursday and Good Friday. So, today, might seem like any other day. Yet, it is different. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the chief priests and scribes witnessed the crowd’s love for Jesus. This appreciation for Jesus made the chief priests and scribes feel uncomfortable – to the point where they began to plot Jesus’ death. They feared the rise and adulation of Jesus would deter devout Jews from the proper worship of God. They didn’t understand who Jesus really was and saw Jesus as a mere man professing to be the Son of God. Therefore, the chief priests met with Judas to make their plans to bring about Jesus’ demise. Assess Your Calm Before the Storm During this calm before the storm, today would be a good day to assess our own l

Maintaining faithfulness to the Lenten pledge may not always be easy; especially when we gave up something that we truly craved – like chocolate! We go through withdrawal symptoms, feeling deprived, and we don’t like to feel that way. So, we give in and default on our Lenten pledge.  God is ever faithful to us, but because of our tendency to sin, we are not always faithful in return. Maintaining faithfulness to the Lenten pledge is a good example of where we easily fail to remain faithful. Maintaining Faithfulness is Not Trivial One might think a breakdown in faithfulness to a Lenten pledge is trivial. Yet, it might represent a microcosm of our relationship with God on a macro level. If we can’t be faithful in trivial matters, what makes us think we can be faithful with important matters? If we let a Lenten pledge slide and give it little thought, what else might we let slide? God never gives us more than we can handle. With something like a Lenten pledge, that we make to God

Lent is a time to give up something we love a lot, like chocolate, or wine, as a sacrifice, in thanksgiving for what Christ sacrificed for each of us. To give up something we really love a lot requires Temperance – the ability to control one’s passions. Therefore, Lent and Temperance go together like bread and butter. You can have one without the other, but they’re much better together! Lent and Temperance We need the virtue of Temperance to live up to our sacrificial commitment, thereby giving a more meaningful purpose to the season of Lent. We are about half-way through the Lenten Season. How is your Lenten sacrifice coming along? Are you living up to your commitment? Might you have slipped a bit, or perhaps forgotten all about your Lenten sacrifice? If so, here are a few things you can do to help you get back on the right track: Read more...

From   The Gospel of John   (2003) directed by Philip Saville Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   John 8:1-11 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)      Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them.  The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them,  they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.  Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’  They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened

Lent is the perfect time to embrace humility, as it is a time when God calls us to think less of ourselves and more of others. What stands in the way of you embracing humility? Is it your pride? It was for me! Only after I learned what held me back from being the person God calls me to be, could I embrace humility. For me, I cared too much what others thought of me. I sought my validation from my friends and peers, rather than from the one true source – God. My friends and peers could never fill the hole. I needed constant validation of my self-worth. Once I realized that only God could fill the void and validate me, could I begin thinking less of myself and more about others. This happened many years ago, and I have to say that He still works on me. Every time I slip and cling to my pride, God points that out to me. He tells me to “Let go.” God continuously chisels away at my huge chunk of pride. Bit by bit, He forms me into the person that He wants me to be. Read more...

The Return of the Prodigal Son , Rembrandt  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)      Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘There was a man who had two sons.  The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them.  A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.  When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that co