Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Fear does NOT come from God. Let’s make that clear, right up front. “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7). When we become afraid of something, it is because we lack trust in God; we feel alone and on our own. Throughout the Bible, God assures us that we need not be afraid. We can find courage in God’s own words and promises: Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice  (Is 41:10). Find Courage to Face Fear When we find the courage to face fear, we can act upon our beliefs, regardless of persecution or criticism, because we know the Truth (God). We find that courage, by placing our trust in God. We, then, align our wills with God’s Will, with the goal of adhering to God’s Will in all things. God doesn’t want us to worry, or fear. So, we need to leave our worries and fears at the foot of His altar. In the Gospel of Ma...

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

WHAT DO YOU REALLY FEAR? TELL US ABOUT IT? THIS IS WHAT I FEAR ... CLICK HERE

How Scriptures Helps Me Overcome Anxiety and Insecurity By Allison Gingras, Reconciled To You Most of my life I have struggled with anxiety and insecurity. There were days, if I could get myself out of bed, I would not leave my home afraid of what evil or injury may befell me. Honestly, there are still days my Germaphobia paralyzes me at the entrance of a building afraid to touch the door handle or hinders me from even shaking people's hands. When fear is not wrestling with me insecurity is. Unsure of my abilities and fear of failing has left many a dream incomplete or unfulfilled. Discovering the Word of God has been this empowering gift! While I continue to battle my fears and phobias, the Scriptures have given me strength that nothing else was able to. I can stand on the Word of God to battle those demons that threaten to steal my joy and derail the plans God has for me. Listening to Jesus in the Gospels teaches me how to trust in Him, have hope and discover that ...

When I first began to realize that I had ADHD, I came across an invaluable list of  50 tips for managing Attention Deficit  from Drs. Ed Hallowell and John Ratey.  I still have my original copy of the list printed off from AOL! In today's blog, I am sharing not only their life-changing advice on managing your tasks but also  my personal experience with Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity disorder  and how I used these suggestions to transform my life.   Set up your Environment to Reward Rather than Deflate. " To understand what a deflating environment is, all most adult ADD'ers need do is think back to school. Now that you have the freedom of adulthood, try to set things up so that you will not constantly be reminded of your limitations." During the last 3 decades since graduating from High School, I have dabbled in many different professions with the best fits being the careers with task versatility and work from home capabilities. Not coi...

THE FEAR THAT GRIPS US ALL PLEASE CLICK HERE

When introducing the Corporal and Spiritual works of mercy, in her book  Blessed Are You , Melanie Rigney  writes “both types can come free and easy, … or hard and challenging”. Sort of like the healthy benefits of exercise – I can stroll around the park with the kids or I can strap on the boxing gloves and go a round with the punching bag. As I read about Blessed Mother Teresa, St Maria Karlowska, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and others,  in this chapter about mercy , it brought one important question to mind.  How do I approach that responsibility in my own life to show mercy to others – and not just the “even though you hurt me (again) and this is all your fault, and you are being a toad -- I will still forgive you” kind.  The words into action kind of mercy.  The works of mercy encourages us beyond ourselves, like Blessed Mother Teresa beyond ourselves. Though we may not all be called to the streets of India, we are responsible to care for the poore...

Recently I was contacted by a young man who said he was very scared because he was experiencing demonic oppression.  He sounded terrified and didn't understand what was happening or what to do about it.   Now, normally we are called to be sceptical and not see the devil under every bush, but something about this young man's genuine fear pulled me more to belief than not.  I know that he could have had mental issues, or been just someone craving attention, but what he told me he was experiencing would dispel both of those theories.  TO READ MORE...CLICK HERE!

I am pleased to announce my first book, published by Ave Maria Press.   River of Grace: Creative Passages Through Difficult Times (now available on Amazon) is a spiritual memoir that reveals how several major losses helped me rediscover creativity and faith. Ave Maria Press describes it as "Filled with powerful insights on the presence and action of grace--in the Mass and the sacraments, nature and grief, and even through the life and works of Louisa May Alcott-- River of Grace guides readers in strengthening their faith, discovering their own hidden gifts and restoring a joy in living during and after tough times." It contains lots of practical spiritual exercises called Flow Lessons that lead you there. (Some of the Flow Lessons are on this site-- check them out here .) Losing a part of yourself One of the losses I experienced was that of my singing voice. Yet throughout the writing of River of Grace , I kept thinking of songs that would fit with each chapter. Whi...

All about  ingrained anxiety and growing in trust. Anxiety   makes us ill in body, mind, and spirit. Yet worry is ingrained in our nature from the moment we are born, part of original sin. Babies are not simply empty slates; they are complex little people who just happen to be preverbal. Babies are born with more than simply inherited physical characteristics but personalities and even inherited blessings and curses passed down through the generations. .......  I must let go of worry and control, even though it goes against every fiber of my being. My Lord is God and I am not. I am simply His child.  I love to control so God often must shatter my safe little world because this is the only way I would step out of my comfort zone. continue reading

Well, people are writing with fear and panic underlying their comments and  articles in the face of the States sanctioning same-sex marriages. Why?  We are people of hope, not doomsayers or fearmongers. Christ has already triumphed over sin and death. We are  not called to focus on disasters, on evil, on sin. Christ commanded us to refrain from condemnation and judgment so  we will not be judged and condemned by our Master.  Our mandate is simple; allow the Light of Christ to grow ever more brightly within us, especially as the darkness deepens. Then we will be a light unto the world. He will conquer darkness through us. We are simply channels of truth, light and mercy. This is the central message of the New Testament. continue

People are writing with fear and panic underlying their comments and articles in the face of the States sanctioning same-sex marriages. Why?  We are people of hope, not doomsayers or fearmongers. Christ has already triumphed over sin and death. We are  not called to focus on disaster, on evil, on sin. Christ commanded us to refrain from condemnation and judgment so  we will not be judged and condemned by our Master.  Our mandate is simple; allow the Light of Christ to grow ever more brightly within us, especially as the darkness deepens. Then we will be a light unto the world. He will conquer darkness through us. We are simply channels of truth, light and mercy.  This is the central message of the New Testament. continue 

Fear has no place in the heart, because it doesn’t come from God. Fear is used by the devil to keep us from doing God’s will. The devil will attempt to make us doubt our abilities, especially the ability to be courageous. How do we effectively shut the devil out and listen only to God? How do we become courageous?We start with these five steps: Pray Ask the Lord to make His presence known to you in your heart; so that you know He is always with you, and will never leave you. “ Fear not, I am with… Read more...

Be Not Afraid! Have Courage! Not so easy? You ask, “Why should I be the one who acts so courageous? Look around! You don’t see anyone else stepping up to the plate!” Hmm…need I say more? If no one acted courageously, and set the example for others to follow, we would all be swallowed up in fear – and fear comes from the devil. When you lack courage and you are aware of what makes you afraid, it is incumbent upon you to face those fears. For me, I am afraid to take risks for fear of failure. If I... Read more...

Courage cannot be denied! Think about that for a moment. Other people can deny you love, joy and peace, but no one can take courage away from you. That is because courage is found only from within. Solely by the grace of God, you have courage when you need it. Courage of Martyrs/Persecuted Christians When I think of courageous people, I first think of martyrs; from the earliest Christians, like the Apostles, to the persecuted Christians of today. They all have one thing in common, the persecutors robbed them of their physical freedom and took their lives because they were... Read more...  

St. Michael the Archangel and the Souls in Purgatory   The trap of Purgatory is too many souls rely on Purgatory as the destination of their soul after death, and slap God in the face by not trusting in His mercy, and do not seek Heaven.  They use Purgatory as their "backup plan" and as a result lead lukewarm lives, saying to themselves that in an exchange for just doing the "minimum" faith requirement, thinking that when they die they will just have to spend a few years in Purgatory and then eventually end up in Heaven. Whether we spend time in Purgatory is at  God's  discretion, not ours.   The greatest misuse of Purgatory is that many Catholics do not fear God because of Purgatory. Those that hang their hopes on Purgatory are already among the lukewarm and possibly among those heading to the second death. Jesus will spit those out of His mouth that have failed to make every effort to follow Jesus and heaven, NOT Purgatory. To READ MORE: CLICK HERE! ...

"Those who love to be feared, fear to be loved, and they themselves are more afraid than anyone, for whereas other men fear only them, they fear everyone."  St. Francis de Sales We've all come across those who seem to "love to be feared".   Most of the time, we just turn away and ignore their chest thumping.  Sometimes, we want to stand toe-to-toe and let them know what's what; especially when we see injustice. No matter how we decide to react to these persons who cross our path, we should try to remember that behind the bravado is really someone who is fighting a battle from within. Those who "love to be feared" choose to cling to the inclinations that we've all inherited as the result of the fall in the Garden of Eden.  They've developed a deep distrust of the world and have forgotten that it is God who is in charge. They take on the world with an "It's me or them." attitude.  They forget that God's ...

How is your spiritual life going? Are you feeling frustrated with yourself? Are you distraught over your lack of progress? Do you keep falling into the same sins repeatedly? Welcome to the human race! No, I’m not trying to dismiss your concerns flippantly. Sometimes we just need a reminder that we are, after all, fallen. Adam’s sin affects us all. But here’s something you may not have realized: Your sins do not shock God! God is used to sinners. He has centuries of experience with them. He even came down from Heaven to live among them. Then people criticized Him for eating with sinners instead of the “righteous.” Yes, He loved to hang out with people like you and me. God delights in showing mercy. He delights in lifting our burdens. He delights in carrying our yoke with us, comforting our sorrows, calming our fears. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

The  pivotal point in my personal and spiritual growth was realizing that, in fear, I  clung to control. I have let go of this control at least a thousand times already. A thousand times of choosing to surrender fear and lies and trusting. Each time I peel back a layer, another deeper level of fear pops up. Surrender is not a popular word in our modern culture. In fact surrendering my outer life seems like such a big deal that I resist. I cling to control almost like an idiot who thinks that she is clinging to a cliff with her finger nails, afraid to let go lest she fall to her death. Of course this is an irrational fear, rooted in my subconscious. Actually there is no cliff with a rock bottom. When I finally let go, it is a short drop into the loving arms of God. My fear of letting go is especially ridiculous in the light of God’s unconditional love, mercy and patience which He has proved to me many times, thousands of times. Galatians 2:20 " I have been crucifi...

Delivered... Because I'm truly Yours!   Thinking back, one year ago, January 2013, do you remember where you were in life; more-so, where you were in your prayer life? Surprisingly I do!  But this is because it involved a very special series of prayers for me (a “novena") dedicated to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots . So there I was, one year ago, on the 1st of January, Day 1, entrusting my very own ribbon,  with all its messy knots,  into the hands of our Blessed Mother.  And it just so happened at this same time, I was also reading Fr. Michael Gaitley’s “ 33 Days to Morning Glory ” (so good!) .   But what about these knots of mine? …Which one knot entangled my life the most?   It was a big one... ► Click HERE to read more at The Way to Nourish for Life including an Audrey Assad song .►