Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Cindy Montanaro is a Secular Carmelite and former homeschooler. She is also the mother of Tim, a boy she and her husband adopted as an infant. Tim had Tourette Syndrome, phobias, and other mental health issues. In 2005 he died tragically. Their story was published recently by Roman Catholic Books. Dairy of a Country Mother --so named by Tim when no one dreamed he was soon to pass away--is a gem to share with any mother this May. "Five years ago today I picked up my pen and started a year-long journey of prayer, meditation, and writing. I envisioned an extended period of time in which to record, before memory failed me, all the little humorous and profound incidents that made up my son Tim's short life. " So begins this beautiful memoir of a boy who loved people. It is a story of the joy he brought to everyone he met. It is a record of his mother's faith and acceptance. It is an exploration of the meaning of Tim's life, which Cindy generously s

The Resurrection of Christ , Rembrandt, c.1639 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings for Easter Vigil   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings for Easter Vigil   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings for Mass on Easter Sunday   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings for Mass on Easter Sunday   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel for Mass on Easter Sunday  John 20:1-9.  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid

Do you ever think you just can’t do it... whatever ‘it’ is? Life seems impossible sometimes, doesn’t it? There is so much to do, and you’re just one person. It’s easy to fall into hopelessness, especially when you hear all the stories about abortion clinic atrocities, political scandals, and young women being crushed in elevators. It was hearing about that poor woman in an elevator from a friend in New York City where it happened, that I tried to formulate an answer to the ‘why me’ or ‘why does God let this happen’ question. I didn’t manage to formulate anything that didn’t contain the usual phrases about free choice, redemptive suffering, and unknown silver linings. Granted, we use those phrases over and over again because they are true and theologically sound, yet I was unsatisfied. My Big Apple friend was really struggling – not with his faith, which is sound – but with the temptation to become cynical. I wrestled with this puzzle for days to no good end. And then God came throug

I'm sitting in the family minivan, sipping coffee and trying to warm up. In my rear view mirror I see our son cycle past with some cyclocross friends. We're waiting for the start of the Men's 14-18 Horseshoe Scramble cyclocross race here at a former horse farm in Warren NJ, a lovely area of rolling hills. And I am contemplating the resilience of children and the Presence that carries us. Cyclocross, or CX,  is a kind of bike racing, a sport our son first discovered earlier this year and has embraced with great enthusiasm. Over the summer he worked two jobs, earning enough money to buy himself a cyclocross bike, at discount, for $800. He's spent the fall season racing.  On Friday, he was hit and knocked into the road by a red SUV while cycling home with a buddy from a McDonalds  in a neighboring town. He was in a crosswalk. He felt unnerved and angry the driver sped off. The trip to the emergency roon revealed he was badly bruised and nothing more. Tha

I’m a planner. I like to be in control, to know what is going on now, and what is going to happen later. Fear and pride are at the heart of this of course, but the myth I tell myself is that only I can do it right. I have been on a slow journey to a goal. I believe that God has made the pursuit of this goal possible. It has to be God, because too many diverse circumstances resulted in just the right situation at the perfect time, incorporating several people and events – far too complex for me to have orchestrated. And yet. And yet I still hold on tight to the reigns; I still fret and worry and wonder and scheme. On top of that, I have noticed a disappointing tendency in myself: while I try to wrest control of my life away from God, I also expect Him to do most of the work, like the man who prays to the saints to help him win the lottery, but never buys a ticket. I’d been expecting to hear positive news regarding the goal I mentioned earlier. In this particular instance, I

By Greg Trevor When the moment finally came – after nearly 10 years of waiting – I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t move. I was falling asleep on the night of May 1, 2011, when my wife, Allison, walked into our bedroom, tapped me on the shoulder and said: “The president is about to go on TV. They got bin Laden and he’s dead.” “Thank God,” I replied. I tried to get out of bed but couldn’t. The death of bin Laden brought back so many painful memories from surviving the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Read more here...

    By Allison Salerno   Yesterday morning my family attended the bar mitvah of a neighborhood boy we have known since he was a baby. I never had attended a Conservative Jewish Shabbat morning service, much less a bar mitvah. It was exquisite, reverent and beautiful. (The sanctuary is pictured above) I wiped tears from my eyes as I considered the overwhelming faith and courage of Jews through the centuries of persecution that enabled this boy to encounter this moment. I also meditated on the links between my Catholic faith and Judaism as I listened to the prayers of the worshipers. As the Catechism teaches us: When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God."  I always have been taught that Judaism is the root of the tree of our faith. And that without that root, our faith would not have flowered. For the most part, this insight has remai

This afternoon in the tea aisle at an HMart, I spotted an old colleague from behind, wearing his yamulke. I called him by name "Isaac?" (not his real name) He turned around and we smiled at one another and chatted for several minutes. He said he was looking for a certain kind of tea, but he only knew its name in Korean. I found a Korean-speaking employee for him and we figured out it was barley tea he was looking for. I hadn't seen Isaac, a married father of three, in months. We stopped working together years ago. In March, he was charged with sexually assaulting two teenaged girls. Read more...

Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and His knowledge is beyond scrutiny. He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak He makes vigor abound. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. ~Isaiah 40: 28-31 In a post I wrote elsewhere, I used the word 'just' as in 'do enough to just get by'. It's a little word with a lot of influence. 'Just' gives permission for mediocrity, doing as little as possible. 'Just' is wimp of a word, but it can be dangerous, because it can seduce us into being comfortably numb. Isaiah 40 encourages us to seek the Lord, and promises us that despite our hardships, He will give us strength not 'just' to survive, but to run and to fly. Som

Hello again! For reasons, many and sundry, I haven't had a chance to post here lately, but I am happy to be back. Here is an offering, hopefully to encourage you, as I reach out to God to encourage me! Blessings and Peace,   Kelly