Association Of Catholic Bloggers

They are dead and we rejoice in that shred of hope that at least they can commit no more atrocities against humanity.  However, part of me always wonders, what were their last thoughts?  Did they have children, a wife, siblings, friends?  Even in a radical, militarist society, their mothers must weep knowing they are gone.  Surely, even with a mission from Allah, they will be missed.  Even if they aren't, they were all infused with immortal souls at conception, they were blessed by the LORD and their lives were planned before eternity began.  Yes, they have turned against God.  Yes, they have sinned against their fellow man, taking innocent lives and creating fear in a cloud of evil and destruction.  But, do we not all sin?  Does it not grieve the Father when we speak harshly to our brother or child, when we react selfishly and refuse to focus on the other?  Are we any more deserving of mercy because our sins have not become internat...

I am in awe of incredible architecture of the past, created without modern machinery or even power tools. The results are stunning testaments to faith and dedication to God. They inspire praise and prayer.The experience must be even more powerful in person if mere images can move us. St. Denis Basilica in Paris, has sheer columns, arches and exceptional stained glass. It is the first monumental masterpiece of Gothic art. The Basilica of St Denis  marked the change from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture. The French Gothic was then spread across Europe as the Middle Ages international style. Then after, workshops at cathedral building sites propagated the new way through the training of master builders . continue>

Reposted from Costing Not Less Than Everything Because it just keeps raining….a formidable female saint. The patron saint of excessive rain is Saint Genevieve.  As a young girl, she was singled out by Saint Germain of Auxerre for her sanctity and she averted the sack of Paris by Attila the Hun through prayer and fasting. Acting as an intermediary between the city and Childeric I when he conquered Paris, she ensured the supply of grain to the inhabitants and persuaded him to release prisoners of war.  She was responsible for the conversion of Clovis I, Childeric’s successor. After her death, she worked many miracles; in her life, she was noted for her piety and asceticism. The Pantheon in Paris was originally designed to be a fitting resting place for the saint – but her relics were publicly burnt in 1793. To this day she is invoked as the patron saint of Paris, against fever and against flood, drought and disaster.