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Pope Francis opened his Nov. 4th Wednesday General Address by spotlighting real families who witness daily to the great gift of marriage and family. Essential Christian families revitalize modern life by living out the humanizing values of the Gospel. In fact, when Christian families practice forgiveness in their homes, their actions have a ripple effect, reconstituting the social fabric of the larger society because families are the building blocks of society. The pope stressed family life is a training ground for mutual forgiveness. continue reading

Pope Francis seems to be beloved by many. At the same time, some accuse him of being the Anti-Christ. Those who believe that Pope Francis is the Anti-Christ believe that he will change Church teaching and lead us down the road to Perdition. I have found that most people who take this stance are arch-conservatives, steeped in Tradition, finding Pope Francis too liberal for their liking. These are people who don’t like change. They find the old ways appropriate, because that is what they know to be true. Francis’ approach to finding new ways of reaching the marginalized and oppressed has left these arch-conservatives in fear of Church teaching changing. Yet, Pope Francis has not changed one iota of Church teaching to date, and it doesn’t look like he ever will. With that in mind, I paid close attention to Pope Francis’ visit to the United States, so that I could come to better understand the man. I am a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. I watched all the coverage a

The Pope has a prayer group, and it's called the Apostleship of Prayer. The  international Apostleship of Prayer website  has a map of the prayer group's offices around the world: Praying with the Pope around the world! These offices serve the Church by uniting people in prayer for the Pope's personal intentions. I love clicking on the links to Apostleship of Prayer sites from various countries. Just a few minutes on these sites helps me work on my foreign language skills and provides a glimpse into the vibrant prayer lives of our brothers and sisters around the globe. When Pope Francis visited the US last month, he asked at  every  stop for people to pray for him. The worldwide Apostleship of Prayer gives us a concrete way to do exactly that. Find out how to become a member of the prayer group St. Therese of Lisieux joined at Praying with Grace !

Sts Louis and Zelie Martin Canonized 18 October 2015 Dr Anca-Maria Cernea ,  President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest (Romania), made the following intervention at the Ordinary Synod on the Family on Friday, 16 October. Dr Cernea spoke in English. I have added some  [comments]  and  emphases . Your Holiness, Synod Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, I represent the Association of Catholic Doctors from Bucharest. I am from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. My father was a Christian political leader, who was imprisoned by the communists for 17 years.  My parents were engaged to marry, but their wedding took place 17 years later .  Full post here .

Pope Francis and St. Teresa of Avila have a lot more in common than first impressions might lead you to think.  Click here to read more...

©Studio-Annika/Getty Images Prayer works. But how? When? To what extent?  These are the questions parents and teachers ask me at every talk I give for the Apostleship of Prayer. And so I tell a story. Join me at Praying with Grace , please!

How I would love a Church which is poor and for the poor.”  – Pope Francis Pope Francis consistently proclaims traditional Catholic Social Teaching with joy. Even better, he has joyfully lived out what he has preached for decades.  Ironically, conservative  American Catholics are outraged when they hear Pope Francis criticize individualism and unbridled consumerism. They feel threatened by the pope’s call for government policies which would welcome immigrants into their midst rather than defend their borders. They literally see red, labeling the pope a communist, when he challenges society to care for the poor. Even worse, many traditionalists  have called Pope Francis a heretic who is dismantling their beloved Church.  continue reading

Pope Francis’s Wednesday General Audience on September 30 focused on his apostolic visit to Cuba and the United States. It was refreshing to hear the pope’s personal reflections on his visit, rather than the opinions of the media. By defining the family unit as the economic measure of society, the pope is espousing traditional Catholic social doctrine. Subsidiarity is one of the core principles which states that human affairs are best handled at the lowest possible level, closest to the people who are involved. Pope Francis also warned against the danger of individualized consumerism, the hedonistic tendency for self-gratification, which creates a “throw-away culture.” The danger is that people will put careers or self-realization before marriage and starting a family. This trend will distort the needs of natural families and represents an “ideological colonization” which will disfavor most human families, especially the poor. read more 

Looking to teach your children more about Pope Francis? Here is a listing of a variety of resources for parents and catechists including: books, prayers, videos and a FREE downloadable crossword puzzle chock-full of cool facts about Pope Francis. Kids and adults alike will be able to learn and grow from these resources: Read more here...

Pope Francis’s Wednesday General Audience, on September 30, focused on his apostolic visit to Cuba and the United States.  It was refreshing to hear the pope’s personal reflections on his visit and not opinions of the media. The pope reminded the faithful that he had specifically timed his visit to coincided with the 8th World Meeting of Families, at Philadelphia.  In addition,  as a symbol of God’s desire to build bridges,  he decided to visit Cuba  first before addressing the U.S. Congress in Washington and the main headquarters of the United Nations in New York. His goal as a “Missionary of Mercy” was two-fold: to build bridges and to encourage both those in authority and ordinary families to remain faithful to their religious roots. continue reading

Photo ©2015 Grace Mazza Urbanski. All rights reserved. I found her! The only crabby lady in Philadelphia! And Jesus loves her like crazy. Read all about it at Praying with Grace .

“The Internet…is something truly good, a gift from God.”   Pope Francis The pope speaks out loudly and clearly, without compromise on a variety of topics such as: true charity, women, part-time Christians, the internet as a gift from God, prayer, each child as a gift,  a Church which is bruised,  Peter denying Christ, climate change, and the fact we have a Lord who is capable of crying with us…. continue reading

The first few weeks of September are always challenging. Trading the lazy days of summer for the regular routine of school work and after-school activities generally does not bring out the best in myself or the rest of my family. This past week was no exception.  Filled with sibling squabbles, Mommy melt-downs and an empty gas tank (both literally and figuratively), let's just say that no one would mistake us for the Holy Family. I suppose I should not be surprised considering that I live in a factory and life in a factory can be messy, imperfect and downright hard work.  Read more here....

Pope Francis is capturing the media’s attention with his visit to Cuba and the United States this week.  So, a young woman currently working as a journalist in New York City, who is part of Columbia University’s M.S. program, interviewed me over the phone on Monday about Pope Francis’ announcement regarding abortion forgiveness for women. My positive reaction to the pope’s decision shocked this journalist at first. It seems almost everyone she has interviewed so far were, to use her words, “judgmental” and against Pope Francis’s  decision.  Thus, it was my turn to be shocked. In my opinion, what could be more fitting than to open the Jubilee Year of Mercy 2016 by welcoming women who have suffered an abortion back into full communion with the Church? Who were these practicing Catholics  she interviewed who refuse to extend  forgiveness to women who are burdened with guilt after having an abortion? Have they never sinned? Are they so perfect they fall into the trap of demandin

“Take note: if the Church is alive, she must always surprise. It is incumbent upon the living Church to astound.” I will never forget the words I heard at the  EASTER VIGIL  on  30 March 2013  during the homily of Pope Francis at the  Vatican Basilica. His words surprised me and gave me a glimpse of his own, inner spirituality. The pope understands Christianity is a vibrant relationship with the Living God. Yes, Catholicism has dogma, teachings, rules with roots back to St. Peter but rules to not define our faith.  A Catholic is a son of God The Father,  a brother to Christ and a person whose constant companion is the Holy Spirit. This is not a static life, a routine of monotonous prayers and ritual. Ritual is merely a way to interact with the Living God who constantly draws us closer to His heart. continue

A variety of wholesome vegetables are steaming in their matching crockery. Tall glasses of cool, filtered water reflect the light streaming in from the bay window. The smiling children are not only washed, but dressed in clean, properly sized clothing. The angels are singing. Just another typical mealtime at your house. Because you are a stock photo. ©Monkey Business Images Ltd/Getty Images OR No one started the dishwasher, so the tableware is an adventurous collection of paper plates and "probably clean" dishes. The three-year old is screaming because her Dino-Nugget head is burnt. Ketchup is the vegetable. Again. Oh, and does anyone know where the baby is? Whichever scenario looks more like your family, have I got a dinner game for you! World Meeting of Families: The Trivia Game Let the trivia begin at Praying with Grace !

Show your support and welcome to our Holy Father with these facebook covers Additional covers can be found   here ...

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (6 April 1901 - 4 July 1925) Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. Gospel   Mark 9:30-37  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Can,)  They went on from there and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone  to know it;   for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”   But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”   But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.   He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”   Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them

Why do  many faithful, American Catholics label  Pope Francis a modernist heretic? Every time Pope Francis speaks, the papers are filled with sensational headlines; he does not emphasize many of the popular, hot issues like abortion and homosexuality, issues which often simply serve to divide voters into an  us  and  them  mentality. When did these issues become  the  only  issue that concerns the Church? Yet when the pope reminds us that our life in Christ is so much more, vocal advocates become extremely angry, denouncing the pope as the anti-pope. How ridiculous!  Why such a strong reaction? continue reading

Two weeks ago, Pope Francis used his  General Audience  to implore parents to teach their children how to pray: “There are children who have not learned how to make the sign of the cross!” the Holy Father lamented. “You, mother, father! Teach your children how to pray, how to make the sign of the cross!” Many parents I know make family prayer a joyful priority in their homes. They pray with their children at church, at bedtime, at meals, and at random moments throughout the day. But most Catholic parents in this country are shy about praying with their children. Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and Holy Cross Family Ministries are gradually releasing a four-part study on young Catholic families. More than 1,000 adults aged 25-45 responded to the survey, providing insights into faith and family that the Family Feud show would never have dreamed of. Family Feud by Dennis Crowley (2008) via  Flickr . Read excerpts from t