Association Of Catholic Bloggers

There wasn't anything special about the back yard at 818. But 818 is the place where I spent the bulk of my childhood, so it's a place I often go on trips down memory lane.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (My childhood back yard: a home-grown vegetable that's only partly toxic, snapdragons, flowers whose names are lost to memory; and remembering priorities.)

Tuesday morning, January 27, 2026. Sewer repair outside work begins.  Last week I talked about incidents, politics, and the news in my home state, Minnesota. This week I'm talking about a comparatively pleasant matter: sewer repair. Before anything else, though: good news , at least for us. Our household's sewer connection is now in good working order, and should stay that way for a long while. A Blocked Sewer Pipe Unavoidable Delay, Pipe Rot A Tip of the hat to Plumber St. Cloud Tuesday, January 27, 2026: Digging in the Cold, Cold Ground Reasonable Precautions Utilities, and Living Where the Edge of Town Used to Be Wednesday, January 28, 2026: Sewer Work (Almost) Done Old Pipes, New Pipes Finishing Touches: Now and Come Spring Back to Routines Something Extra in the Air Finding Morals, Within Reason Health Neighbors Home Maintenance and the Universal Destination of Goods ... More (including more photos) at A Catholic Citizen in America . (G...

Hot topic from yesteryear: "Charity Begins at Home", Louis Dalrymple in Puck (NY). (December 28, 1898) Minnesota and Minneapolis have been national news for more than a month now. This is my home state. I'm not happy about what's in the news, and concerned about what's dropped out of the news. Ignoring the mess isn't an option. So this week I'll talk about what's allegedly been happening, and why I take so much of what I read with a few bulk lots of salt. Activists and a Distinct Perspective Apparently (Over-) Cautious: an Alleged Disclaimer Political? No! Perturbed? Yes Out of Step With The Establishment: Five Decades and Counting Minnesota: Good Grief, Another Month 'We Interrupt Your Worship to Bring You Our Message' Alternatively-Legal Immigrants Immigrants, Rules, and Unchanging Principles It's Just Fraud, Pay No Attention Headlines and Me It's (Not) Simple Labels, Attitudes, and America: Then and Now Bo...

It’s COLD outside, here in Minnesota. (4:28 p.m. (22:28 UTC), January 22, 2026) Eager readers and a jester-journalist. (1910) More than a century later, still familiar. Minnesota's in the news, but not because of the weather. That's another topic, for another day. An Extreme Cold Warning has been in effect for my part of Minnesota since 3:00 this afternoon. It runs until noon tomorrow, when a Cold Weather Advisory starts. That'll run until Saturday noon. But the weather my news feed has been showing me is about the "heavy snow, crippling ice and frigid temperatures" of a winter storm that'll make life interesting for folks in "more than 2 dozen states". Maybe excessively interesting. Focusing on states from New Mexico and Texas to Maine and the Carolinas does make sense.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (How I see current conditions: Cold Weather Advisory here in Sauk Centre, winter storm from New Mexico to the east coast. And sewer tr...

Last Saturday I learned that my home parish, Our Lady of Angels in Sauk Centre, will almost certainly close this year. I'm not happy about that. At all. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The parish my wife and I were married in will almost certainly be closed this year. A quick look at parish history, and some photos.)

Lily of the valley. Rosendahl's photo. Depending on who's talking and what they're talking about, lily of the valley is a woodland flower that likes shade, a 19th century hymn, a French novel, or something else. 1 I'm not going to be talking about hymns or novels. Not today, anyway. There's a whole mess of symbolism hanging around these little white flowers, too. Mostly involving humility, happiness and good stuff like that. Which strikes me as odd, since the wildflowers are distinctly poisonous. 2 On the other hand, they do — I gather — smell nice. I'm not going to talk about that, either. Mostly because the lily of the valley's sprays of tiny white flowers are, for me, symbolic of a house I grew up in. Along with a rhubarb patch. And clothes lines. Among other things.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Remembering little bell-shaped flowers that grew near my childhood home. Learning why they are undesirable, but keeping the delightful memor...

Central Minnesota, including Stearns County/St. Cloud area. (Google Maps) No matter how it turns out, this is not good news. And it's uncomfortably close to home.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (My brief reaction to a priest being charged with of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, stalking, three counts of threatening violence.)

"...[NOT] the perfect time to start hauling a fishing boat...." From my news feed this morning: " Hundreds of crashes, spinouts as heavy snow impacts Minnesota travel " Adam Uren, Bring Me The News (November 26, 2025) "...Among those off the road is this driver in west-central Minnesota, who decided a blizzard is the perfect time to start hauling a fishing boat ...." [emphasis mine] I don't know who made that decision, or why. But I'm glad it wasn't me.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Someone learned why a blizzard is not the perfect time to start hauling a boat. Good news, though: so far, nobody died in this storm.)

This was an unusually good Sunday morning for me. Our part of Sauk Centre has been getting new paving, sidewalks, and utilities. Or, rather, the old ones are being replaced. The folks doing it have been working in stages, so no one address had their street access cut off for more than a few days to a week or so. Except for Our Lady of the Angels, the parish church for this household. When the street and sidewalk on the church's north side was torn up, we'd been told that the job would be done and we could use the church again by the end of summer. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (We have been sharing facilities with another parish since spring. A job that should have been finished during summer got complicated.)

Kids started going back to school here in Sauk Centre on Wednesday. No shots rang out, and nobody got killed. That, happily, is routine. But sometimes bad things happen. Classes started last week at the Church of the Annunciation's school in Minneapolis. Since it's a Catholic school, they started the day with Mass at the church next door. Then somebody killed two of the students and injured many other folks before killing himself. The priest who was celebrating Mass made some good points in the following Sunday's homily. I'll be talking about that, and somewhat-related topics: Church of the Annunciation: After the Killings Remembering Who's In Charge Repairing the Damage Cleanup Procedures Heroes, Hope, and Prayer America: Death, Changing Attitudes, and Good News ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (After killings at the Church of the Annunciation: what their priest said, an Archbishop Hebda video, how I see student actions, changing Americ...

One week ago today, in my state's largest urban area, someone went to the Church of the Annunciation. Then he killed two children who were celebrating Mass, wounded several other folks, and finally killed himself.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A week after murder and suicide, Masses are being held at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. My views, briefly; and a quote from an old movie.)

Two children, ages eight and 10, went to school this morning. They won't be going home. Somebody decided that this would be a good morning to spray bullets into a church full of people. Why the 20-something (probably) man made that decision is an open question, and may remain so. He killed himself after committing murder.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, MN, interrupted by someone shooting into the building. Two children dead. So is the killer. A terse summary of what happened, links to what I've said about suicide, murder, human life, and emotions.)

I took that picture of the Stearns County Fair while coming back from an errand last Saturday. It's about as close to being there as I've gotten in the last several years. But since this household isn't much more than a thousand feet from the fairground entrance, I get to see folks parked on the side street. Or, rather, I see the vehicles they've parked there. Sometimes my timing is right and I see them heading toward or returning from the festivities. My favorite memory this year was seeing a young family — dad and a little girl — heading back to their car.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Experiencing the Stearns County Fair second hand: a favorite memory, and justifiable caution during a Friday night storm.)

First it was storms, now (I'm writing this Sunday evening) sincerely noticeable heat.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A quick review of how weather affected this family, and an even quicker look ahead.)

Although there's the occasional glint of good news in my news feed — like " Firefighters Free Sauk Centre Man from Submerged Tanker " (KNSI (June 17, 2025)) — most of what I see is no reason for celebration. That said, attacks on politicians in Minnesota — bad as they were — could have ended with many more dead bodies and hurting families. Even so, there's precious little to celebrate. This week I'll be looking at what happened, what's being said about it, and both how I feel and what I think of the situation. Murders, Motives, and Responses A "Deeply Religious" Assassin What Two Bishops and an Executive Director Said Gladness, Regret, Life, and Beliefs Taking My Faith Seriously Each Human Life Matters .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A week after lethal attacks on Minnesota lawmakers, I look at responses and viewpoints, and how what I believe affects my reaction to the deaths and arrest. )

I've lived in Minnesota for most of my life. My home state doesn't often make international news, and I'm not happy about why it' making headlines today... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (One couple is dead, another may survive. The killer was impersonating a police officer. There is little I can do. But I can pray, so I will.)

I mentioned "wildfires in Minnesota’s Arrowhead region" in last week's post. They're still going, and still not national news.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A screenshot of a Google Maps air quality display for central North America (June 3, 2025), and a glance wildfire headlines in Minnesota.)

Two tourists in Canada asked someone which city they were in. The man replied, "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan". One of the tourists said "oh! They don't speak English here!" I haven't heard that one in more than a half-century, there's a lead-up that makes it funnier, but never mind. This week I'm talking about a place in Minnesota, and a salesman who asked for help. Destination: Bemidji A Reasonable Question, Basically Rentals and Regional Transportation Routes and Decisions Deep in the Heart of Darkest Minnesota — Perceptions and Living in Minnesota An Impression, and Something to Remember More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Asking questions makes sense. So does remembering that what everybody knows may not be accurate. That goes double for unconsidered impressions.)

Growing up, my folks and I would go to Itasca State Park, north of Park Rapids, in Minnesota's lake country. The place has changed since then, a little. The place I remember as a parking area, a little north of the Mississippi headwaters, where the river officially starts, isn't there any more. It was about a thousand feet east of the Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center. Google Maps says that spot is the "Headwaters Concession Ruins".... ...New buildings. A place I remember labeled as a ruins. Change happens.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Remembering the time my father found the perfect spot for taking a picture: the middle of a poison ivy patch.)

Former President Jimmy Carter's funeral was at the top of my news feed briefly, earlier this morning. Then the California wildfire headlines bobbed back up: reminding me that living in the frozen north does have advantages. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Fire, winter storm warnings, a weather map, headlines: and why I prefer living in central Minnesota. We have experience, dealing with our weather.)