Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Joan of Arc on Horseback Wikimedia Commons). Sometimes life is a war zone. So many things disturb our peace. The kids act defiantly. An important contract falls through at work. Our finances are in trouble. The phone rings during a serious conversation. These are all surface battles. The real war we fight is the war against ourselves. God created man in love and goodness. Adam and Eve sinned. Evil entered their hearts. Where once it had been easy to do God’s will, it became a struggle. They passed this struggle down to us, their children.   I want to do good, but I don’t St. Paul wrote, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate… So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members” (Romans 7:15,

Our granddaughter's baptism was yesterday, which was a very happy occasion. We had a few folks over to celebrate, so my quiet Saturday afternoon was anything but. As a result, this post may be less organized than most: which is saying something.... (Palm fronds at Our Lady of Angels church. April 1, 2012.) ...It's Palm Sunday, when Christians remember Jesus' enthusiastic welcome in Jerusalem: followed by equally-enthusiastic cries of 'crucify him!' We'll be holding palm fronds and reading parts of Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66 this morning. I enjoy echoing the crowd's hosanna. What comes after that isn't much fun: even though I know what happened on the first Easter.... I don't enjoy some parts of our Palm Sunday reenactment: I'm too aware of my personal contributions to humanity's guilt. But I think it's prudent to get reminded of the big picture now and then. Besides, like I've said before, Jesus didn't stay

Father was a no show at the 8 a.m. Holy Mass today.  The old man stood at the back door waiting for him, he said he had talked to Father and that he had said he would be there.  At 8:02, we decided to have a communion service.  Jim, wonderful servant of God, did the service for us.  One of the men came up to me and a woman that I was speaking to after the service.  You never saw this man without his rosary in his hand.  It gave me such hope to see one so faithful every day to the Rosary of our Blessed Mother.  He came over and speaking to the woman spewed a derogatory comment about Father.  My heart dropped.  The woman agreed and joined in the bashing.  This isn't the first I had heard of this, and every time I hear it, it broke my heart.   They invited me to McDonald's for breakfast, I declined and said I would stay and pray.  The woman said to me, "Well he needs it!" (Meaning Father.)  What she didn't know was that most of my prayers would be in suppl

Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. ~Apocalypse 13:10 My Peace I Give You by Dawn Eden is a much-needed spiritual resource for those recovering from any type of physical or emotional suffering brought on by the lust, crassness or cruelty of others. It took a long time to read because I had to stop and take time to ponder and absorb, reading several parts of it over again. Not only is Dawn's book well-written but every contention is backed up by solid references. With modesty and restraint, she confronts a topic uncomfortable to many. The misuse of the gift of life-giving sexuality has scourged multiple lives and institutions, not the least of which is our Holy Catholic Church. Too often amid the scandals, the wounded do not receive the treatment which they need in order to heal. This book, coming from the long and painful recovery of a survivor of abuse, will be a grace for many who are hurting from similar wounds. Hopefully, it will inspire all who read it to t

  Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. ~John Adams We are in the middle of a war. It is a war which involves every man, woman and child because it is a war not only for our culture but for our souls. The main battlegrounds of this war appear to be the minds and hearts of women because it is women who make or break family life. Once family life is destroyed or corrupted then the state becomes supreme with each and every one of us as its puppets. When women are degraded then the entire society loses it dignity and heroism. Once a people lose their nobility of soul and sense of honor then there is nothing left to them but enslavement. We now waver at the brink but all is not lost for we have women who see things as they are and are not afraid to talk about it. Journalist and radio talk show host Teresa Tomeo is one such woman who assesses the fa

"Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case."                                          Catechism of the Catholic Church  # 1768 All human beings get angry, it is part and parcel of being human. Anger, in itself, is not a sin, it is simply an emotion. Unfortunately, because of our fallen nature it often leads us into sin. We have all heard the expressions: blowing our tops, flying off the handle, or hot under the collar. Anger becomes sinful when we dwell on it and get carried away by it; we fail to bridle our tongue and scream ugly things, yell at our children and act in an unloving manner. Road rage, revenge, and murder....these are all things that begin with anger. Does anger always have to lead to sin? Of course not. Anger can propel us into positive action, also. It can stir us into taking steps to correct an evil and with God's grace can even be turned into a great zeal for justice. Look at Saint Paul. There are si

Hello! Thanks so much for the invite, I am truly honored. I am in the throes of what is a pretty usual day; 67 things to squeeze in, and that's just before lunch. How to prioritize is the key. Today, as too many days of late, I did not make it to daily mass. Big sigh. But when I decided to start blogging, my inspiration was to reach other women with the message that no matter how overwhelming your life looks at any given moment, God can reach into it and give it a completely new spin. My blog title, albeit a tad long, includes the word "unconventional" because I think so many of us feel a bit on the outside if our lives include the messy situations as a result of sins and failings~ our own, others, you name it. But there is so much hope and mercy to be had at the hands of Him who died for us. So much encouragement in our present moments. He waits for us in His church, desires our prayers, our conversation, our messy lives. He looks upon us as a father looks fondly upo