Association Of Catholic Bloggers

On his way back from World Youth Day in Lisbon, Pope Francis said that folks who aren't perfect can be Catholics. Since he was a tad more specific in how he expressed the idea, we got headlines like this: "Pope Francis restates Catholic Church is for everyone, including LGBTQ+ people" (ABC News). This week I'm taking a quick look at the news, and a longer look at why I'm okay with being Catholic. Pope Francis and the News Being Catholic — Two Millennia of Wildly Improbable Survival Definitions — Acting Like it Matters Happiness, Lust, Sin and Making Sense Wheat, Weeds, and What Pope Francis Said Not 'Just Us' Sodom, Gomorrah, and Lot's Guests — or — Evil is Not Nice Responsibility More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Pope Francis: the Catholic Church is for everyone, including LGBT. A quick look at news, a longer look at why acting like I am Catholic makes sense.)

(From Farragutful, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) (Interior of St. Jude the Apostle Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Florida.) One thing's certain. Well, actually, quite a few things are certain. Something that's certain about Saint Jude the Apostle is that he's not Judas Iscariot. Which may take some explaining. Then again, maybe not. In any case, "Jude" and "Judas" look like two different names in English translations of the Bible. But they're two ways of transliterating the same name, יְהוּדָה, Y'hudah, into my language's version of the Latin alphabet.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Jude, Saints, a letter, dead emperors and how Nero handled a public relations problem. Plus Elizabethan playwrights, chorizo and making sense.)

(From Luisa Madrid, La Guardia and Wagner Archives; used w/o permission.) (Queens Pride Parade; Queens, New York City (2018)) My news feed tells me it's Pride Month. Or LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Wikipedia's page implies that the correct term is LGBT pride.... ...Decades of experience, spanning McCarthyism's dying gasps and the efflorescence of political correctness, suggest that I'll offend someone: no matter what I say or how I say it. So I'll start by saying why I don't think my native language, English, is perfect.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . June is Pride, LGBTQ+ Pride, or maybe LGBT Pride Month. I talk about pride, dignity, and good intentions. Plus respect, and how I fit a profile.

The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research has learned that more than half of all Americans think evolution is real. Seems that 2016 was the tipping point. That's when my country, on average, decided to step into the late 19th century. Or stopped listening to Bible-thumpers. Or started learning about science. At any rate: More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Yesterday's headlines oozed acrimony, animosity and anger. So do today's. It could be worse. I could have been reading about a replay of Oxford's St. Scholastica Day riot. I'll get back to that.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Scullery Maid , Giuseppe Maria Crespi  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,  they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.  (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;  and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)     So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disci...

The world watched in breathless anticipation as the former Meghan Markle, a divorced American actress, married Princess Diana and Prince Charles' second son, Prince Harry. Why the fascination with the royal wedding? I questioned myself about this, read a great essay by Father Dwight Longnecker, and came up with the answer: we yearn for Tradition.  Read the full piece here on my author blog, Royal Weddings, Royal Fascination - Why the Fascination (and Fascinators?)

I'm a Christian. I take my faith seriously. That's why I think part of my job is evangelizing. Which doesn't necessarily mean I'm an evangelist. For some folks, an evangelist is someone like Saints Mark , Luke and John . "The Evangelist" often gets added to their name. Saint Matthew is an evangelist, too. So are Saints like Augustine of Hippo , Francis of Assisi , Francis Xavier and Thérèse of Lisieux . 1 "Evangelist" has quite a few meanings. Merriam-Webster says it's a Protestant minister or someone who enthusiastically advocates something. Oxforddictionaries.com adds "...the writer of one of the four Gospels...." I don't know about the 'enthusiastic' part, but I think sharing what I believe is a good idea. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A nation's schools are returning to traditional values. Whether that's good or bad news depends partly on how you see what we've learned since about 1859. I think we've learned more about how the universe works, and that this is good news. We haven't consistently made good use of the knowledge, but that's our problem. We've made good and bad use of everything we've learned, from using fire to writing blogs. Whether it's good or bad depends on us, not fire or the Internet. And that's another topic. Two scientists studied an ichthyosaur that had been used as a wall decoration. What they learned adds to what we're learning about those critters. I think that's worthwhile. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Wanting respect is reasonable. I think folks who support Gay/LGBT Pride Month for that reason have a point. I don't agree with much of what's said on the gay/LGBT pride issue — and explained why I won't spit venom in today's earlier post. Basically, I should love God, love my neighbor, and see everybody as my neighbor. No exceptions.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

One my favorite bits from the Bible is in this morning's readings.... ...A "noise like a strong driving wind" in the sky had gotten their attention. Maybe they'd also seen the "tongues as of fire," too. Or maybe that was visible only to the disciples inside. Now that I think of it, a loud 'whooshing' sound in the sky and descending fire might easily have started a stampede. Anyway, folks outside were puzzled, since they had been hearing what the folks inside were saying. That's not the puzzling part. I gather that Jerusalem in those days didn't provide nearly as much acoustic privacy as we're accustomed to. The decidedly odd part was that each person "heard them speaking in his own language." Hence the roll call of nationalities.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

There's a huge telescope under construction in Chile: the E-ELT. When compete, astronomers using it plan plan on looking for new worlds, and observing the early universe. We may have spotted a second super-Saturn. We'll know more about that in September.... ...Telescopes have come a long way since Galileo repurposed the " Dutch perspective glass " for astronomical observation. About Galileo, Copernicus, the sun, and the Church: it's true.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I like being an American, most of the time. I know that my country is far from perfect, but I'd rather be here than anywhere else on Earth. Living in Sauk Centre, a smallish central Minnesota town, probably helps. I really like it here. But it's no Brigadoon , unchanged and unaffected by the outside world.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Christ , El Greco, c.1606 Cathedral, Toledo, Spain [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)      Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus,   they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.   (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands,   thus observing the tradition of the elders;     and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it;   and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)  So the Pharisees and...

A silver cup  for  netilat yadayim , the Jewish ritual washing of hands Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of th...