Association Of Catholic Bloggers

During my convalescence these past three months, as a result of my ankle fusion, Christ gave me the opportunity to appreciate the virtue of acceptance. You see, when you can’t place any weight on your foot, you are somewhat helpless.  I couldn’t stand in the kitchen and make any meals. Nor, could I do any housecleaning, or laundry. I couldn’t run any errands or do the grocery shopping. All I could do was sit in a Lazy-Boy chair, with my foot elevated, and let others do things for me. This is where I learned the gift of the virtue of acceptance. Putting my pride aside, I gratefully, and humbly accepted meals prepared by my neighbors and friends. (They were all delicious. by the way!). One friend vacuumed my entire house (better than I could ever do it)! Yet, it was my husband, who made the biggest impact on me. He was there, in the middle of the night, helping me go to the bathroom. He took on all my household responsibilities, in addition to his own; cooking, cleaning, laundr...

Today is Flag Day! Happy Flag Day to all my fellow United States citizens. Today in America, we celebrate what the U.S. flag means to us all. With that in mind, I thought I would hone in on some virtues, for which I think the U.S. flag proudly represents. Virtues of the U.S. Flag Courage : The U.S. flag is a symbol of courage. Many men and women have given their lives in defense of our freedom and democracy. It represents all the blood, sweat and tears shed, so that we might enjoy our freedom accorded by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Acceptance : Read more...

" Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved. " - Saint John Chrysostom For a very long time, despite reading and hearing wisdom to the contrary, in the depth of my being, i equated holiness with the lack of discomfort. You know that state with  the  absence of those disconcerting moments when you know deep down you have done wrong/are doing wrong yet continue to banish the thought. When you don't want to deal with, nay even acknowledge,  your own weakness. When you think having being a renewed Christian means having only pure and holy thoughts. From experience i tell you, thats a load of bladderdash. No one can ever hope to become saint overnight. It truly is a long winding journey acknowledging and being fully aware of the grossness of  one's  sinful soul. All through ...

Do you accept God in your life? It’s a very simple question. My guess is the answer is “yes” or you would probably not be wasting your time reading this post. I want for you to give your answer more thought. Go deeper. Would the answer still be yes, after answering the following questions? Do you accept all of Christ’s teachings, as delivered by Him? Or, do you pick and choose what you think is relevant to accept as appropriate for the 21 st century? Do you believe and accept that Christ’s moral teachings are unchanging; meaning... Read more...  

Accepting someone else’s reality can be difficult; especially when someone else’s reality does not jive with our own. What are we to do? How are we to behave when we see what we deem to be unacceptable behavior, and/or hear inappropriate speech? People’s perceptions (realities) and points of origin will differ, resulting in a need for diversity; the accepting of another’s reality. The need for diversity could stem from a myriad of origin points: race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, culture – just to name a few. We must understand and accept another person’s reality, to practice the virtue of acceptance. No one is asking you to condone sinful behavior. However, we must remember to love our neighbor as Christ loves each of us. As Saint Augustine originally coined in Letter 211 of his writings, we are to have “love for mankind and hatred of sins.” To do so is acting in a Christ-like manner. Here is a perfect example: Read more...

Acceptance is a two-fold virtue: accepting yourself and accepting others. How difficult is it for you to acknowledge and accept your own limitations and weaknesses? How difficult is it for you to accept the same in others? Do you hold others to a higher standard than yourself, because you expect more from others than you do of yourself? Finding acceptance in our lives requires that we first unlock the door to the interior self. It is there that we commune with God. We discover and come to accept who we are, as God has created us to be: in His image and likeness. In looking at the interior self, we assess our strengths and weaknesses; our possibilities and limitations. We acknowledge our sins. Within the depths of the interior self, we come to accept... Read more...

I recently read an article about a young couple whose  young son had been diagnosed with a life threatening, degenerative disease.  As his parents prayed for his healing, a priest advised them not to pray for healing.  He suggested that they pray for acceptance first.  He counseled the young couple that if healing was God’s Will for their son, then the healing would happen.  However, by praying for acceptance, they would find peace. Read more at:  His Unending Love . See you there!