Association Of Catholic Bloggers

(From Elia Kazan, via Petrusbarbygere/Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Screenshot from a " Panic in the Streets " trailer. ( Elia Kazan , 1950)) Actually, "Amoris Laetitia" means " The Joy of Love ." Pope Francis signed "Amoris Laetitia," about 58,000 words about love in the family, March 19. The apostolic exhortation was released Friday. So far, I've heard an imaginative summary on radio news, read a few dramatic headlines, and one or two online remarks about it that make sense. The latter generally boil down to 'I haven't studied it yet, so I don't know what it says.' That's pretty much where I'm at, but that won't stop me from talking — briefly, for me — about what I have read. So far, I've finished the introduction, glanced at the index, and am working my way through the first chapter.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The long Christmas break is over and the letdown is leaving me a bit melancholy. The stretching of the heart that comes with the empty nest made full, and then made empty again, hurts. Both of our adult children were home for the holidays. Our daughter spent both Christmas Eve and morning with us despite the fact that she also needed to see her fiancé’s family (she got engaged in November). Our son spent the week with us, having come up from New York. Each time they come it’s an adjustment, requiring me to make room, not just in my house, but in my heart. Of course I do it without hesitation, but it is still an adjustment. It took me ten years to get to where I enjoy the empty nest. Robert S. Donovan empty nest,Flickr Creative Commons Click here to continue reading.

Have you ever felt lost, alone, confused, unsure of what to do next, unsure of what your calling is? Do you ever sit back and wonder what God is asking of you? Maybe there was a time you knew your calling. You were to be a Wife and a Mother, a caretaker, a healer, a child's giggling dance partner, a coloring book aficionado, and a world class booboo kisser. You were to be a partner, a supporter, a champion, a budget-applying miracle worker, a secret look across a crowded room interpreter, and a soft place for your better half to land at the end of a long, hard day. And now...you are just not . So what is God calling you to do? When your dreams have been dashed and reality is that you need to concentrate just to support, to feed, clothe, and house your children. In Sunday's Gospel, Luke 3: 10-18, John the Baptist addresses crowds asking similar questions, "What should we do?" To read the rest of God  What Should I Do? please join me at SingleMom

Immaculate Heart of Mary - CHRISTMASTIME by Mark Knobil (2007) via  FLICKR , CC Feeling conflicted about navigating the sudden CROWDS at church this Christmas? Thinking about coming to church for the first time in a while? Be not afraid! There's room for everyone. Today's post continues the series on what happens in the liturgy, and why we're all essential to what happens there. "Keep Your Fork!" Join me at Praying with Grace !

Young Jew as Christ , Rembrandt, c.1648 Staatliche Museen, Berlin [ Web Gallery of Art ] Jesus Christ is the face of the Father's mercy. ( Pope Francis ) Universal: EXPERIENCING GOD’S MERCY That all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving. The Holy Family with Angels , Rembrandt, 1645 The Hermitage, St Petersburg [ Web Gallery of Art ] And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ( John 1:14 ) Evangelization: FAMILIES That families, especially those who suffer, may find in the birth of Jesus a sign of certain hope. Intentions and videos from the website of the Apostleship of Prayer.

NIELSON CARLIN November 23rd was the anniversary of the death of Fr. Miguel Pro, SJ. He died a martyr for Christ during the persecution of Catholics following the Mexican Revolution which erupted in 1910. Dear Michael, We shared your story at dinner last night. It was the 88th anniversary of your execution, and my husband and I wanted to honor your memory, passing on your story to our children. Some people may think it’s strange for me to write you a letter, I know. Obviously, I will never find a mailbox capable of getting this letter to you, but I know we’re connected. As Jesus reminds us in Mark 22:32, the Lord proclaims he is “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Even when we die, we live in God who has no beginning and no end. Disciples of Christ needn’t bother about space and time. You’ll get this. I wanted to write to you because I am so grateful for your life—and your death. While you were still a young man you chose to become a Jesuit, a pri

Advent now comes and goes nearly unnoticed. The only thing worth of recognition between Halloween and Christmas is Thanksgiving, and even that has started to take a back seat as major stores start “decking the halls” and major TV stations start putting on Christmas movies in late October and early November. Advent, a delightful period of quiet waiting and anticipation for the coming of the child Jesus passes by largely forgotten. My husband is a Maronite Catholic. Any of you familiar with Eastern Catholicism may have heard that the Eastern Catholic rites follow a different liturgical calendar. Most major feasts, like Christmas and Easter, fall on the same dates, thereby emphasizing the unity of the Church, but other feasts and the general cycle of the liturgical seasons differs. Since we’re a mixed family (I’m Roman Catholic), I like to joke that we can opt for the longer Advent (Maronite calendar) and shorter Lent (Roman Catholic calendar). In all seriousness, though, I deeply

Thanks to an outbreak of the bird flu this summer, grocers across the country are warning of possible turkey shortages – fewer and smaller birds for higher prices. Luckily, the bird flu didn’t affect our region too badly, so I’m pretty sure we’ll manage to get a tasty gobbler on the table, and I’m hoping that, in the end, all of you will too – unless, of course, you opt for ham, salmon or some other palate pleasing delight. Either way, please don’t let a vain bird, or any other main dish, steal the center stage. As Catholic families, one of the best favors we can do for our kids during November is to remind them that Thanksgiving is meant above all to be a feast for the soul. Continue reading at Eyes On Heaven .

(From Libreria Editrice Vaticana, used w/o permission.) Pope Francis arrived in Havana, Cuba, yesterday. It's his first stop on the latest apostolic journey.... ...Getting back to the Pope's visit to Cuba and the United States, the Philadelphia Phillies have been giving away Pope Francis Rookie Cards.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

This post is about sex, Catholic Style. Now that I've got your attention, a little background. I'm a Catholic: an adult convert, so I'm rather gung-ho about my faith. This post is longer than most 'Sunday' ones: mostly because I discuss a recent Supreme Court decision in the context of love, free will, and Addams Family Values... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Pope Francis' encyclical reminds me we are not angels. We have bodies, and we must live in the physical world. It is this physical world, our common home, that Pope Francis asks us to consider: On many concrete questions, the Church has no reason to offer a definitive opinion; she knows that honest debate must be encouraged among experts, while respecting divergent views. But we need only take a frank look at the facts to see that our common home is falling into serious disrepair. Hope would have us recognize that there is always a way out, that we can always redirect our steps, that we can always do something to solve our problems. [61] Interestingly, when I searched for images of "home" to include here, nearly 100% of the photos looked like this: ©IPGGutenbergUKLtd/Getty Images Read more at Praying with Grace !

© Ron Chapple Stock/Getty Images It was 3:07 on a glorious afternoon in late May. I was sitting in my car with the power turned off and the windows wide open. The baby was dozing in her car seat while we waited in the car line for the school bell to ring, signifying the end of another busy school year and the beginning of sweet, sweet summer. Read my unique tip for enjoying summer with your children at Praying with Grace !

What happens when you begin to fear doing something you've done for much of your life? How to cope? This scenario has been playing out since I received a healing of my singing voice. God was calling me to go public again. I share to show that fear never conquers so long as we are willing to go where God leads and we trust in him. from picturespost.blogspot.com During the fifteen years that I was a professional musician I went out on gigs, holding concerts and sometimes doing some public speaking. When my mother died in 2010, I stopped doing that sort of thing. Now, five years later, I've decided to dive back in. It is not without fear and trepidation for I am rusty! While I had my years of experience to fall back on, I wasn't sure I would remember how to do it. Something once familiar to me had become unknown territory. Was it worth trying? Yes! Click to continue reading.

Schools in Sierra Leone reopened today, having been closed since the Ebola outbreak in July. According to an  NPR report , "more than one-third of the 10,000+ deaths have been in Sierra Leone." When this year's harsh winter closed schools for several days in a row, some parents joked about how grueling it was to be trapped at home with stir-crazy children. Very few of us reading this blog can imagine what it's like to experience nine months of closed schools, especially amid a health crisis claiming thousands of lives. Not that long ago, in 1991, Sierra Leone faced another horrifying crisis: civil war. A month ago, I had the opportunity to listen to a survivor of that war. Ishmael Beah, author of  A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier , was forced to become a soldier in Sierra Leone at the age of thirteen. Photo courtesy of Brookfield Academy Ishmael visited my children's school, where his book is required reading for the ninth graders. Students, t

St Joseph and the Christ Child , El Greco, c.1600 Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain [ Web Gallery of Art They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.   They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.   Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,   and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”   But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”   And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.     They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He   commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”   At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. Remains of the 4th century synagogue, Capernaum [ Wikipedi

This morning's readings — Sirach 3:2 - 6 , 12 - 14 ; Genesis 15:1 - 6 , 21:1 - 3 ; Colossians 3:12 - 21 or Hebrews 11:8 , 11 - 12 , 17 - 19 ; and Luke 2:22 - 40 — have one thing in common: marriage and family. That figures, since this is Holy Family Sunday. Taking a cue from our Lord, Catholics see family as a big deal. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1601 - 1658 , particularly 1655 ; 2210 ) That's not the same as holding up Happy Days or All In the Family as an ideal toward which all must strive. So why is this in one of today's readings? 8 Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord." ( Colossians 3:18 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

There's a new item on the blogroll : Training Happy Hearts " Join us as we journey along in training up our children (and ourselves!) to live fully, love deeply and learn passionately, with faith that promises (and delivers!) truly happy hearts. " That's the entire post. There are more at A Catholic Citizen in America .

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014: Proverbs 31:10 - 13 , 19 - 20 , 30 - 31 1 Thessalonians 5:1 - 6 Matthew 25:14 - 30 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014 By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas November 16, 2014 Our Catholic Christian tradition teaches us that happiness and friendship and marriage should all be based on a healthy loving fear of the Lord. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the psalmist expresses it very simply and poetically. "Blessed are those who fear the Lord," and then he explains what, exactly, that means: "to fear of the Lord is to walk in his ways." This is the wisdom of the ages. It is the perennial principle of human happiness. And it is the foundation of true success in marriage.... (Guest post.) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Paleontologists uncovered a huge pair of arms, plus assorted ribs and vertebrae, in the Gobi Desert 49 years back. Discoveries since 2006 supplied the missing pieces of Deinocheirus, the largest known theropod dinosaur. Other scientists are filling in more of humanity's family history, with 45,000-year-old DNA. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642)  [ Wikipedia ] Catholic synod: Gay rights groups 'disappointed' As I write this at 07:45 GMT/UTC, Sunday 19 October, the above is the main story on the website of the BBC. It was also the lead story on BBC World when I watched the news there at 22:00 Saturday and again at 04:00 today. Both bulletins featured two men in Rome living together, one of them speaking fluent English and telling of his desire to raise the three young children that they have  as Catholics. The 04:00 bulletin also included an interview with a representative of The New Ways Ministry, described on the BBC website report as 'a US Catholic gay rights group'. James Reynolds' report on the BBC website begins with this sentence:  Catholic gay rights groups say they are disappointed after bishops rejected a call for wider acceptance of gay people, which had the Pope's backing. Full post here .