Association Of Catholic Bloggers

When my son Paul was a toddler, his favorite book was “The Pig in the Pond.” It’s one of those books where each page complicates the plot by adding a farm animal and, of course, the sound it makes. The first time I read the book aloud, I mimicked the animal sounds with gusto and enhanced the experience by shouting and jumping at the appropriate times. Paul was hooked, and I was doomed: from then on—no matter how exhausted I was or how many times I had read the book that evening—that story required hugely energetic noises and movements. The way we share stories matters. At every Mass, we share our story. The Liturgy of the Word invites us into Jewish Scripture, the Psalms, the letters of the apostles, and the Gospel. Every Sunday reminds us of our universal human story: we are created tenderly by God, but we are not God. Because we tend to sin, God lovingly sent his Son into the world to accompany us, teach us, suffer for us and save us. This is our story. And the way we sh...

Sunday afternoon I took a brisk half hour walk in the late winter air to watch our son coach basketball. Along the way to Lucky's final game coaching a team of 9 and 10 year old girls, I heard water dripping. Snow is melting and findings its way to water drains. Keep Reading...

I didn't think I would post here again so soon, but I really wanted to share this with you. As a Lay Dominican in training, I have to complete and present modules on various topics. For now, I am working on prayer . I presented on the Laity in the Church and the life of St. Dominic previously.  I won't share all of my reflections as I usually do. I wrote quite a bit for my presentation. There is a nugget that I felt called to share. I felt it needed more sharing than the presentation I will give tonight *shameless request for prayers inserted here* I was asked to locate a specific psalm, meditate upon it for 10-15 minutes and write down my reaction to it, as well as any insights, thoughts, and resolutions I could have. In my initial read, I wrote that I have to to trust in the Lord and only in the Lord no matter what – He is my portion and my cup.  I read it again and my eyes stopped here:  Psalm 16:4 Those who choose another god multiply their...

I'm going to go ahead and review Mary DeTourris Poust's latest book, Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image and God, without having finished it. This is a wonderful book. This a book on the relationship of spirituality to food and the first, its publishers say, written from a Catholic perspective. Keep Reading...

Today was one of those days where nothing, from start to finish, went as I planned. Nothing went badly wrong, it's just that nothing went really well. At work, my laptop gave me all sorts of trouble, refusing to link me to the school's server. Then, an important, comprehensive evaluation of me, which I had been prepping for and anticipating for days, was postponed.  By the time I got to the after-school faculty meeting, I was a knot of anxiety.  My girlfriend K, my best friend at work, eight months pregnant with her first child, sat down beside me in the school auditorium. Turns out her laptop too is being disobedient. I told her how terribly, terribly stressed I was feeling. Read more here...

Last night, as I sat in bed with my MacBook, logging end-of-quarter grades for my students, our 12 year old came into our bedroom and asked if I could look something up for him for Chemistry homework. At his request, I typed in "why is iron found in the earth's crust?" Here is what we discovered. "Every iron atom in existence, anywhere in the universe, was formed in the cataclysmic death of a supernova star." Read more here

By Allison Salerno On winter workdays, I rise at the time Shakespeare says when night is "almost at odds with morning," and you can't tell "which is which." I leave home before the rest of my family has risen, driving north in darkness to my job and arriving just as the sun begins to rise. Sometimes, I don't return home until after sunset. And so I find myself in these days struggling with a kind of sadness, a desire to retreat from a world which feels fully of darkness. O God, come to my aid. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Alleluia.

I've been asked to substitute cantor Sunday morning at our former parish.  Yesterday, I chatted with the substitute organist over the phone and she's searching for the music to accompany Psalm 67. I'm making some inquiries. (Hey: if you know, let me know) In the meantime, I googled Psalm 67. It is a song of national thanksgiving. And then I thought about how we'll be singing this song on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,  or Theotokos. Please read more here....

A beautiful reminder for us today... Find more reflections and tips for enriching your faith over at www.trulyrichmom.com :-) For a peek at a Catholic Filipino homeschooling family's life, click  here .