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Easter Sunday: when we celebrate the best news humanity's ever had — so far.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Happy Easter! A music video, a few words, and I'm done for the day.)

Quite a bit has changed over the last couple millennia. And some things haven't. One of the things that hasn't changed is human nature: which is good news and bad news, depending on how I look at it. I'd started writing about that, when my oldest daughter and I ran into an all-to-common opinion about religion. The narrator of a video we were watching said that religion was silly. Then he said something like 'isn't that an unforgivable sin?' The phrase is fairly common in English-speaking cultures. It's "Biblical" in the sense that it refers to a sentence in Matthew. Since I'm a Catholic, I do not think the unforgivable sin is using the wrong fork at a formal dinner. I'll get back to that. At any rate, here's my shorter-than-planned review of (comparatively) recent events, along with how I see sin (original, unforgivable and otherwise); and why Advent matters: Politics, Ideas, and Technology: 20 Centuries in 138 Words After th...

This week I'm sharing what Fr. Mark Botzet said during Mass on the last Sunday in June. I was going to just post his homily and let it go at that. But then I thought his focus on fear might make more sense if I put it in context of what's been happening in my part of the world. So I've put a short (for me) look at life in central Minnesota, and the big picture, after Fr. Botzet's homily. Fr. Mark Botzet's Homily — June 25, 2023 Four Decades, Two Millennia and the Long Haul (Brian H. Gill) Under the Circumstances... Promises and the Best News Ever More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Dealing with changes in Parishes on the Prairie ACC. Remembering priorities. Not letting fear distract us from what is important.)

Jesus had been run back and forth between Caiaphas', Pilate's and Herod's places; tortured, and nailed to a cross on Golgotha. ( Matthew 26:47 - 27:2 ; Mark 14:53 - 15:41 ; Luke 22:66 - 23:49 ) No question about it. He was having a really bad day. No, that's not quite true. There have been alternative versions run up the flagpole.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Jesus had been having a really bad day. But before he died, he made a promise. I talk about that, and the best news humanity has ever had.)

Easter Sunday is a very big deal. It's "the greatest of all Sundays," since it's when we celebrate our Lord's resurrection. Begin celebrating, actually. The Easter season lasts until Pentecost Sunday: not quite two months from now. Maybe "our Lord's resurrection" sounds routine, familiar, two millennia after that post-Passover surprise. But let's remember that the 12 Apostles, make that 11 after Judas Iscariot killed himself, and everyone else close to Jesus expected him to stay dead. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Casey and Corey Wright, via San Diego Union Tribune, used w/o permission.) As an American, my Christmas season starts on the fourth Thursday in November. That's when the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade arrives at Macy's Herald Square in New York City. Thereafter, front yards bask in the glow of neon reindeer and electric snowmen, while a spirit of unbridled consumerism sweeps the land.... ...As a Catholic, my Christmas season starts December 25. We keep celebrating until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. That's tomorrow.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

It's that time of year. Daily reminders of how many shopping days remain before Christmas fill some with dread, others with relief. Folks enjoy, endure or try to ignore another season of "Jingle Bells," "Santa Baby" and "Frosty the Snowman." Some of my neighbors have deployed their Christmas displays. So have we, thanks to my son. It's part of our Advent preparations. We're getting ready for Christmas, looking back at the first time Jesus came; and ahead to when our Lord returns. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

"...Blue skies Smiling at me Nothing but blue skies Do I see..." (" Blue Skies ," Irving Berlin (1926) via Lyrics.com) But that's not literally true. We had blue skies with clouds Monday through Wednesday. Then it rained part of Wednesday night, pretty much all Thursday and part of Thursday night. So maybe this is more appropriate. Or was, until Friday's bright blue skies and sunshine.... (I have been feeling down, depressed and worse. So I wrote about emotions, personality disorders, predestination, flowers and making sense.) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I was a Christian long before I became a Catholic Christian , and that's another topic. Topics. The point is, I've been trying to follow Jesus ever since I was a child. Somewhere along the line, I started noticing a disconnect between what I occasionally saw in religious art and the Jesus I was reading about in the Bible. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

It's the start of Holy Week, almost the end of Lent.... ...Jesus was top of the charts, wildly popular. Grass roots opinion, apparently, was that they finally had their messianic king.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

We relive events from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday in close to real time. Our Lord was arrested Thursday night. The Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod had questioned Jesus by Friday morning.... ...By Friday evening, Jesus was dead.... (More at A Catholic Citizen in America )

feature image by Yongsung Kim Most of us rate our success in living out our Christianity by a worldly set of standards. Even those who select candidates for the priesthood look for strengths, not weaknesses.  They look for good grades in philosophy and theology classes, confidence in social situations, efficient managerial skills, financial acumen, flair as a public speaker, and psychological stability. Perhaps a better yardstick for assessing potential success as a priest or as a member of the priesthood of the faithful is how weak a person is. Have they experienced confusion and doubt? Have they been broken and lived through depression and anxiety? Have they tasted failure and defeat? Do they realise their tendency to sin? continue

Christian spirituality, inner transformation, and contemplation are not at all what I first imagined them to be. I initially began the inner journey striving, depending on my discipline and willpower. JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER HUMAN, l failed miserably. Striving to transform spiritually into a person of Love and Light is sort of like an ant straining and trying to turn himself into a human. Like my Irish grandmother used to say,”You can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse.” When I admitted defeat, God had an opportunity to save me from myself continue

Every human being is basically blind to their own faults and sin. There are many reasons we cannot seem to die to self and enjoy communion with God – psychological reasons, inherited sin, pride, the tendency to control and other self-defeating behaviours. However, I think the biggest barrier to receiving the Love of God is egocentricity; we are centred on ourselves, on our own efforts to perfect ourselves instead of admitting defeat, taking our eyes off our own efforts, and allowing Christ to work out His salvation in our hearts. continue reading

There have been only three to six major events so far, depending on how you count them: the creation of this universe; humanity's creation and fall; and our Lord's arrival, execution, and resurrection. There's another big one coming, eventually, and I'll get back to that. Cosmic Scale I'm a Catholic, so I take Sacred Scripture very seriously, 1 including this: " God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed - the sixth day. " ( Genesis 1:31 ) We've known that God's creation was big and old, and been impressed, for a long time: " 1 Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. " ( Deuteronomy 10:14 ) " The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft. " ( Psalms 19:2 ) " 3 Raise your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; Though the hea...

Tiberius was Rome's absentee emperor around the time the Han Dynasty was getting back to business-as-usual, after Wang Mang 's brief takeover. I mentioned him before: Wang Mang, I mean. ( December 27, 2015 ) Meanwhile, Phaedrus was retelling Aesop's Fables in Latin, and Pontius Pīlātus was prefect of the Roman Province of Judea . That part of the world had been under Roman control since the Battle of Philippi , Armenia wasn't a Roman province yet, but it wasn't the force it had been during Tigranes ' reign, and that's another topic. Tigranes, Tiberius, and Wang Mang, were well-known folks in their day; 1 at least in their homelands. Two millennia later, not so much. Pontius Pīlātus is another matter. He's mentioned each year around this time, when something like 2,000,000,000 folks pay at least fleeting attention to a Nazarene's progress from top-of-the-polls celebrity to executed corpse. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Some folks, like the magi and shepherds, were happy about our Lord's birth. King Herod, not so much. Today's Gospel reading, Matthew 2:1 - 12 , talks about this mixed reaction. Two millennia later, I'm on the same page as the shepherds and wise men. I think our Lord's birth is cause for rejoicing. ( Matthew 2:10 ;  Luke 2:20 ) "Only the Beginning of a Great Procession" " For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history.... " (" Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Homily of Benedict XVI ," (January 6, 2013)) Today is Epiphany Sunday, when the wise men arrive at the nativity scene in our living room, and we remember Matthew's account of the magi. As usual, there's quite a bit going on.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Today's Gospel reading starts on the second verse of this excerpt: " 'But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. " Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. " It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. " Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. " May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. " What I say to you, I say to all: "Watch!" ' " ( Mark 13:32 - 37 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I've watched, and enjoyed, disaster movies like Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and Deep Impact (1998). It's been a few years since Harold Camping 's high-profile predictions, and I'll get back to that.... ...I'm a Christian, and a Catholic, so I take the Bible, Sacred Scripture very seriously: including Mark 13:32 - 37 . My Lord didn't know when this creation will be wrapped up, but made it clear that we were on standby alert in the meantime. That was about two millennia back now, the orders haven't changed, and every few years someone pops up with another 'end times' prediction.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

No more striving. Become HIS child . Carl Heinrich Bloch1834 – 1890 No more work. Strong words, Commands actually. The words reverberate in my mind Over and over, Like a mantra. A Divine mantra. A Holy reminder to let God work in my core self, Unhindered by my meddling. This work of transforming Is a Holy work I just get in the way READ MORE>