Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Lent is fast approaching. How I see it and what I do is up to me. Ash Wednesday is next week, so I don't have much time to decide. Christians, Catholic and otherwise, in my culture generally change what we eat for this season. I'm a Catholic, so I've got rules. But not all that many. Mostly they're guidelines. I put a link to my territory's rules about diet under ' Fast & Abstinence ' near the end of this post.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Scientists figure a comet started breaking up about 12,800 years back. Nothing unusual there. Many comets break up while they're this close to our sun. This time Earth got in the way before the fragments spread out much. Fire rained from the sky, consuming forest and meadow alike. Sounds a bit like Genesis 19:1 , now that I think of it. Except we didn't start building cities until a few millennia later. Or maybe we haven't found our first cities yet. And that's another topic or two.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 6:53-56, we hear of Christ giving His healing touch to so many people. More than that though, we learn of the faith of the people who believed that “ they might touch only the tassel on his cloak ” (Matt 6:56) and be healed. And yes, merely touching the tassel of his cloak was sufficient. Fast forward 2,000 years. Do you believe today, that Jesus can heal you? Do you believe in His power? I do! Jesus Christ Responds to Prayer Recently, my sister, a paraplegic, entered the hospital, with medical concerns. Many people said many prayers for her healing. The doctors were concerned because after two tries at some tests, the results were inclusive. Her situation required consultation with experts, to obtain a proper diagnosis. For a few weeks, (over the Christmas holidays), we all held our breath, and said many prayers. Then... Read more... 

Which came first? The butterfly or the flower? And how did flowers happen at all? The question hasn't been answered yet, not quite. But scientists are closer to finding answers. Meanwhile, wondering whether chickens or eggs came first gives philosophers something to do. Aristotle came up with an answer. So did Anaximander, who figured thunder and lightning were natural events: not evidence of divine anger issues. I'll talk about those two, beetles, and Orlando Ferguson's flat Earth map. Also butterflies, flowers and why I think pursuing truth and seeking God work together. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

4th Sunday of Advent, 2017 By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas December 24, 2017 Good! Now try to imagine yourself describing the scene in which the Angel Gabriel seeks and speaks to Mary as one that could be played out spectacularly on film or a TV program, it would begin with the panoramic vision or an overall view of the world that solemnly zooms in and spotlights in one tiny little place. We could imagine the overview from the film score to the mission behind Google Earth.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When my husband & I were on vacation, we went to a local parish for Mass. As we walked in to find a place, I almost chose a “half pew” directly behind a longer one, but we ended up sitting in the next pew back. A group of what appeared to be college kids ended up sitting in the 2 pews ahead of us. It was obvious that only 3 of them were Catholic. My first tip-off was that one of the young men who sat in front of us walked in carrying something that looked like chocolate milk, and they all ranked of cigarette smoke. I took a deep breath and thought, “Well, at least they’re taking time out to go to Mass.” The young man with the drink took a couple of swigs during Mass, and at one point, handed it to a young lady in front of him. She took a swig as well. The thing is: this is one of the young ladies who  is  Catholic, and this was right before communion. She then proceeded to put a piece of gum in her mouth. You have no idea how badly I wanted to say something to her. Read more...

Today's official name is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That's a mouthful, so folks around here generally call it Holy Family Sunday. We don't see much of the Holy Family in the Gospels, or anywhere else in the Bible. Luke 2:22 - 40 — The Presentation in the Temple 1 — is one of the exceptions. It's today's Gospel reading. The others are Sirach 2:2 - 6 ; and Colossians 3:12 - 21 . There's a lot to say about all three, but I'll leave nearly all of that for another day. Just the first two verses from Luke are more than enough for a post.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

If I thought my faith depended on feeling cheerful, I'd be worried.If I thought my faith depended on feeling cheerful, I'd be worried. Since I'm a Catholic, I think faith is willingly and consciously embracing "the whole truth that God has revealed." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 142 - 150 ) Faith is easier when my emotions are in sync with my reason. So is acting as if what I believe matters. Emotions can tell me that something needs attention, but "...conscience is a law of the mind...." (Catechism, 1777 - 1782 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

'Tis the season for frantic shopping, eye-popping light shows in suburban front yards, and Christmas television specials. It's also the start of Advent. This is a season when we look back at ancient hopes for a Messiah, and our Lord's first arrival. And look ahead to when Jesus will be back.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Today's Mass is something new, introduced by Pius XI in 1925. We've had it on the last Sunday in Ordinary Time since 1970. Focusing on who and what our Lord is seems like a good way to wrap up the Church calendar. That's how I see it. Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 25:31 - 46 . That's the one starting with "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him...." It's an important part of the Gospels, and not what I'll be talking about today. I'd better explain that. I'm okay with what the Church says about Mass, including how the annual schedule works. I'm not a religious scofflaw, disdaining the laws of God and man. But I don't try to coordinate these 'Sunday' posts with what happens in Mass. I figure it's not a problem, since I'm a Catholic layman — and you're probably not here looking for a homily.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

" Scientists thought ‘Oumuamua was a comet when they spotted it last month. "Follow-up observations showed it was more like an asteroid: and going too fast to be from the solar system. "‘Oumuamua is from interstellar space. It's the first object of its kind we've seen. "What scientists are learning about ‘Oumuamua tells us a bit about other planetary systems, and raises intriguing new questions...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Welcome Friend, 2 - Major Events to talk about with you today that changed the entire world: Birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Going to keep this short, because there are many things I could write about Jesus. Read more

This universe is bigger and older than some folks thought, a few centuries back. I don't mind, at all. Besides, it's hardly new information. We've known that we live in a big world for a long time. " 4 Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth." ( Wisdom 11:22 ) If that bit from Wisdom doesn't sound familiar, I'm not surprised. It's not in the Bibles many Americans have. The one I read and study frequently is the unexpurgated version.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Pharisees and Sadducees had important roles in the Land of Israel for about two centuries by the time our Lord talked about love. They agreed on quite a bit. Maybe more than they realized. But they didn't see assorted political, social, and philosophical points the same way. Pharisees didn't like Helenization, adopting at least some foreign ideas. Sadducees thought Helenization was a generally good idea. But Sadducees thought the written Torah was divine authority's only source. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(Adoration chapel windows in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.) I've spent an hour at the adoration chapel almost every week for a few years now. Signing up seemed like a good idea at the time. It still does. But this sort of spiritual practice doesn't come naturally to me. That's not a criticism of anything or anyone. We're "all one in Christ Jesus," as Galatians 3:28 says. And we're not all alike. This is a good thing, or should be.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

We could detect oxygen in Proxima Centauri b's atmosphere. It's a biosignature, but not proof of life. Some extrasolar planets are like Earth, almost. Many are unlike anything in the Solar System. I'll be looking at recently-discovered worlds; some almost familiar, others wonderfully unexpected. Also an informal 'top 10 best exoplanets' list. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

DO YOU HAVE FAITH? WHY? WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVATION TO HAVE FAITH? DOES YOUR MOTIVATION REALLY MATTER?  WHO GAVE YOU FAITH ANYWAY? DID YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP INTO FAITH? CLICK HERE AND JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION  YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS WELCOME

Today's second reading from Philippians 4 says to have "no anxiety at all," praise God, and "your requests known to God." Then we'll have the "peace of God...." I think that's a good idea: but it's not the whole picture. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Jesus said we should always pray. Our Lord gave us pointers about prayer, too: the parable of the persistent widow and another about the pharisee and the tax collector. That's in Luke 18:1 - 14 . Maybe someone's taken those verses and decided it means that Christians should be saying prayers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Or at least until our voices give out or we drop from exhaustion. I'm pretty sure that's not what our Lord had in mind. Prayer is important, though. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A nation's schools are returning to traditional values. Whether that's good or bad news depends partly on how you see what we've learned since about 1859. I think we've learned more about how the universe works, and that this is good news. We haven't consistently made good use of the knowledge, but that's our problem. We've made good and bad use of everything we've learned, from using fire to writing blogs. Whether it's good or bad depends on us, not fire or the Internet. And that's another topic. Two scientists studied an ichthyosaur that had been used as a wall decoration. What they learned adds to what we're learning about those critters. I think that's worthwhile. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .