Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Jesus warned to not be like the scribes and Pharisees, “For they preach but they do not practice,” another way of looking at that, “ practice what you preach .”    Sadly, I can think of at least one (okay, who am I fooling really MANY more than one) example in our lives, either now or in the past, when this could be said about me. However, as I read these words, I thought of something I am far more often guilty of, “I practice but I do not preach,”  Instead of the ole'  do as I say, not as I do,  I have created my own version with  do as I do, not as I fail to say .  Which is fine, because as St. Francis of Assisi is credited with saying, "Pray the Gospel always, when necessary use words," but sometimes WORDS are necessary.  As this lifelong Catholic, who has just in the last 10 years begun truly practicing her faith, has learned; Catholicism is a very rich and beautiful faith about which most people know very little.  Those who have ...

Today’s Gospel:  John 1:35-42 It is amazing, really, that John’s disciples simply hear their teacher announce that Jesus is “the Lamb of God” and they follow Him, without question, without speaking a word. They are on a journey, so they do not cling to John possessively but let go to continue their search for God. These men are hungry for God and they are open, recognizing the light when they see it. These former followers of John cannot even answer Jesus when He asks them, “What do you seek?” They probably don’t have a clue what they are really seeking: they simply know in their deepest selves that He is who John says He is—the Lamb of God—and that is enough for them. They are seekers of the truth. Yet they cannot articulate that fact,  so instead they answer with another mundane question, “Where are you staying?” Even that question is not answered because Jesus basically says, “Well, if you trust me, if you want to follow me and l...