Association Of Catholic Bloggers

We've been learning quite a bit about humanity's family history recently: thanks partly to our increasingly-detailed knowledge of DNA and the human genome . I'll be taking a look at what scientists are learning about Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxons, and headless skeletons.... ...I'll also indulge in an uncharacteristically-terse (for me) explanation of what science is doing in a 'religious' blog.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Beavers are back in England, which is good news or bad news: opinions differ on that point. Quite a few folks died when drains blocked up in Nigeria's capital. Then a gas station exploded. There's more rain in the forecast, so their troubles are far from over. Finally, there's a new doomsday prediction in a brand-new publication. Madagascan lemurs are imperiled: but not, I think, cockroaches, rats — or humans. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Good Samaritan (after Delacroix) , Vincent Van Gogh, 1890  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 10:25-37  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"  And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answere...

The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception , El Greco, painted 1608-13 Introit Gaudens gaudébo in Dómino, et exsultábit ánima mea in Deo meo; quia índuit me vestiméntis salútis, et induménto iustítiæ circúmdedit me, quasi sponsam ornátam monílibus suis. Entrance Antiphon I rejoice heartily in the Lord,  in my God is the joy of my soul;  for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,  like a bride adorned wit her jewels. Full post here .

Nancy Bilyeau's debut novel The Crown takes readers on an odyssey through the England of Henry VIII during the bloody period of the dissolution of the monasteries as seen from the point of view of a young Dominican novice. There are many aspects of this extraordinary novel that contemporary Catholics will find that they can relate to, namely the confusion in the Church and the compromises of many of her members to political persecution and social expediency, as well as the heroic stand taken by those with the courage to speak truth to power. In Tudor England, speaking truth to power, or even silently trying to follow one's conscience, often meant dying a hideous death. Young Joanna Stafford finds that in those intense times there is no such thing as spiritual mediocrity; either she must take the high road or face perdition. Joanna is not one to settle for less than heroism anyway, having entered a strict Dominican monastery where she looked forward to an auste...

My sons and I returned home the other night from a long, wonderful day trip to New York State to see my parents, my brother and his family. My husband and I settled in to watch a movie: "A Tale of Two Cities," a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production from 1935. The film, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, is the story of men and women who become caught up in the bloody aftermath of the French Revolution. If you are expecting instant payback for your time, this is not the movie for you. The film builds its characters and its suspenseful plot methodically. Be patient. By the end of the movie, I promise you will be on the edge of your sofas. The movie's sensibility is profoundly Christian and seeks to answer the question: What is one's purpose in life? Read more here.

On Sunday July 31st, the Catholic Church in England and Wales marks its annual Day for Life, an observance called for by the late Pope John Paul II to celebrate the dignity of every human life.  This year, the theme of the Day for Life focuses on the meaning of authentic happiness – a theme that Pope Benedict discussed with children and students from Catholic schools during his pastoral visit to Britain in September last year: "Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts". Fr John Sherrington is a moral theologian from the diocese of Nottingham and is shortly to become auxi...