Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Have you ever really given this question much thought: What are you doing with the rest of your life? I ask from the perspective of what you plan to do with your eternal life. At the time of your departure from this earthly life, you will go down one of two paths: a life with God, or a life without God – for all eternity! What is your preference? If you prefer an eternal life with God, then the question begs to ask: How involved do you allow God to be in your earthly life? What kind of relationship do you have with Him now? Might it be that you tend to keep Him somewhat at a distance? You think that if He were actively involved, then you... Read more...

How do you want to be perceived by others? Do you want to be perceived in light of honesty and trustworthiness? I’m sure the answer is yes; who wouldn’t want to be perceived in such a manner? Well, to be considered honest and trustworthy, you have to be honest and trustworthy in your words and actions. Even con men get found out sooner or later; so deception will never win the day for you. So, “everyone lies,” you say? Even if that were true, does that give you the right to lie? Just because everyone else does it, does that make it morally right for you? The answer is “no!” For 36 years, I was a banking professional; more specifically, for 23 of those 36 years I was an auditor for a few banks. Therefore, I know what it feels like to be lied to by an audit client. It’s amazing... Read more...

This past weekend, I was honored to present my “ Living a Virtuous Life ” day retreat to my home parish. I have to admit, that I was nervous at first. I kept thinking about the biblical passage where Jesus wasn’t accepted within His own home town of Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30). Would my own parish family treat me the same? It wasn’t like I was claiming “ Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing ” (Luke 4:21), but I was proclaiming what we as followers of Christ need to do to become more Christ-like; more virtuous. I kept wondering, “why should I be treated any better than Jesus was treated?” If anything, I should be treated worse, because I don’t deserve the level of respect that Jesus deserved. He is God; I am a mere human servant. Yet, Sunday was Pentecost Sunday; a day to celebrate when the Apostles received the power of the Holy Spirit. My pastor and I decided to... Read more...

The Back Story to Hope's Character Hope Livingstone, and her family, had just moved into a new house, in a new town. Life was chaotic. Boxes were everywhere. Peanuts were flying out of boxes, thanks to Hope’s little sister Charity. Hope didn’t mind that it would mean that Hope would need to clean it all up. Hope thought moving was exciting! Everywhere she turned, she found a new surprise, as she explored every nook and cranny of their new house! Hope always looks at life as if it were an adventure; something to explore; treasures to find. So moving was thrilling to Hope, who possesses an optimistic nature. She approaches life with an easy-breezy style. Nothing ever really bothers her; that is, until she couldn’t find... Read more...

Live Today Well: Saint Francis de Sales’s Simple Approach to Holiness , by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S is a gem! This five-star book offers anyone wanting to grow closer to God a practical means of doing so. Fr. Dailey takes the reader through Saint Francis de Sales’ Spiritual Directory , using contemporary ways of applying this ever useful, and timeless instruction of St Francis on how to live today well; from one’s first rising in the morning until one lays their head down to sleep at night. This book offers prayerful ways that we can grow in virtue; thus grow in holiness. My favorite line from Fr. Dailey’s book is this: By seeking ways to practice a particular virtue throughout the day, we can counteract those imperfections toward which prior examinations have revealed we may be inclined (page 113). How to Live Each Day Well How often have we looked back on our day and said to ourselves... Read more...

Not sure if y’all knew this or not, but I am a big country music fan. I heard Tim McGraw sing his new song, Humble and Kind , at a recent Country Music Awards show. Then, I seemed to catch it every time it played on the radio. Tim McGraw has a wonderfully distinct voice and this song speaks to my heart. Being the lover of virtue that I am, I immediately honed in on the lyrics, as well as the melody, of the song. I had some thoughts on the underlying message, but I was interested in learning how Tim McGraw interpreted the lyrics. So, I went to YouTube to see the video. Visual messages seem to have a way of really drilling the concept home. The video... Read more...

When you think about those virtues that you want your children to possess, what comes to mind? Is it gratitude? Do you constantly tell them to say thank you? Is it respect? Do you keep reiterating to them to say please, play nicely; share their toys? Is it patience? Do you tell your children that some things are worth the wait, and in the process teach them how to wait? By your living example, you teach them all of this, and much more. By your own faith and trust in God, or lack of faith and trust in God, you teach your child what to believe. By your own hope in Christ’s promises, or lack of hope in Christ’s promises, you teach your child about hope/despair. By your demonstration of love for God and family, or lack of love for God and family, you show your child the meaning of love/hatred from your own perspective. Read more...

Jesus is the epitome of virtue; the exemplar of how we are to live. We are all good at some virtues but, unlike Jesus, we are unable to master all of them. It seems that no matter how hard we try, we seem to continue to struggle mastering some of them. With what virtues do you excel? With what virtues do you struggle? In the areas where you excel, do you find the virtues come easy to you? In the areas where you struggle, do you have any idea why you experience such difficulty in mastering said virtues? Let’s do a very quick analysis: On a scale of one to ten, with ten being outstanding, how virtuous do you think you are in each of the following categories? Read more...

April is a time of renewal; new beginnings! I spent most of this past month of April caring for a friend, who underwent her second hip replacement. Throughout the month, I was repeatedly reminded of God’s presence in the midst of all that went on; from the day of her surgery, until she departed to return to her own home, with her brand, spanking, new hip. It started with the day of her surgery (March 30 th ). While walking down the hall to my friend’s hospital room, I noticed that each room had signs under the room numbers with unique quotes . For my friend’s room we had a quote from Saint Thomas Aquinas (my virtues mentor!). It read: “ There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship .” As I read this quote I realized... Read more...

Mark’s Gospel Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark, author of the Gospel According to Saint Mark . In Mark’s Gospel, we read succinct passages central to the life of Christ. Mark was not loquacious, but, rather to the point! His gospel was termed, urgent, brief and direct. For example, the evangelist’s entire message can be considered summed up within one verse: “ This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel .” (Mark 1:15) Mark wrote his gospel for the Roman Gentiles. Therefore, he wrote it in Greek, sometime around 67-70 A.D. It is considered to be the first of the four Gospels to be documented in writing. Saint Mark portrayed Jesus as... Read more... 

“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control ” (Gal. 5:22-23) Do you notice something in common with all of these fruits of the Spirit? Each one of them is also a virtue! As I was studying for my Master of Arts Degree in Pastoral Theology, I came across this passage from Galatians, and it hit me: Virtue must be very important to the Holy Spirit, when six of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, received at Confirmation are virtues, and all nine of the fruits of the Spirit are virtues. Bearing fruits of the Spirit is the outcome that results from... Read more...

So ... Where Are We in this Process I thought I would take this week to share where Kevin (my hubby of 26 years) and I are mentally in this process. As I begin my Weight Watchers journey this month, I realized the similarity of the discipline the Lord is trying to create in my heart.  This mind shift from spending as we wish on what we wish, much like my eating what I want and when I want, is a process.  IT is not overnight.  As we say in the weight loss world - YOU did not get 20 lbs over weight overnight, you will NOT shed it overnight. It has been literally 32 years of mistakes and missteps; along with some serious emotional and mental baggage that has brought us to be this over our heads with debt.  Add to that my desire to serve God in the ever lucrative (read only for Joel Osteen) ministry world - and this is not going to be a quick fix.  The  Navigating Your Finances God's Way   study has truly been a God Send - but it has not been the miraculous fix all I had hope

Adventures of Faith, Hope, and Charity: Finding Patience (The Back Story) Faith was anxious about moving to a new town. That meant a new house, new school, and new friends. Faith was shy and found it difficult to make new friends. She dreaded the move and all of the change that would ensue. Faith had very little patience. She wanted to claim her “new normal,” ASAP, for she knew that once things settled down, she would feel more comfortable about this move. Faith did not welcome change! It was all her Daddy’s fault for getting that new job. If it wasn’t for him, she would be at home in her old house, with her friends from her old school. Being eight years old stunk! If it was up to her, she would have stayed put, where she felt most comfortable. Yet, it wasn’t up to her, so... Read more...

Wisdom, Counsel, Understanding, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord (awe): These are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We specifically receive these gifts at our Confirmation, when we become full-fledged Christian adults. However, in my rather long lifetime, I seem to receive these gifts over and over. The well never seems to run dry. Apparently these gifts are important, since we seem to grasp for them at various junctures in our lives. We seek wisdom, counsel, knowledge and understanding whenever we need to make difficult, sometimes life-changing decisions. We seek Fortitude whenever hard times, suffering and persecution land... Read more...

Spring has arrived! Hurrah! As we take to performing spring cleaning around our homes, perhaps it is time to think about the spring cleaning of our souls as well. What clutter of sin might be taking up room in your soul? What dust muffins of ambivalence might be swirling around you, but you pay no attention? Got some stains that might require a little “muscle” to remove? Is the window of your soul sparkling clean, or is there a murky film casting a shadow? How to “Spring Clean” Your Soul Remove the clutter of sin by... Read more...

Visiting Those in Prison – A Corporal Act of Mercy As promised, each month this year, I will cover an act, or acts of mercy. This month we will focus on visiting those in prison as part of the Year of Mercy series, where we explore the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Visiting the imprisoned is a corporal act of mercy. My guess is that you are thinking of the incarcerated, as the only people who fit this bill. Think again! Anyone enslaved to sin is in some sort of prison. Anyone in need, who can find no way out, is in some sort of prison. When thinking of the imprisoned, I am reminded of a line from... Read more...

Becoming More Like Christ: A Daily Prayer Guide to Living the Beatitudes by Monsignor David E. Rosage Christ is sending me a message, and I am hearing it loud and clear. As with last month’s book review of Blessed are the Stressed , by Sister Mary Lea Hill, the Holy Spirit seems to have placed another book in my path centered on the Beatitudes! Becoming More like Christ , by Monsignor David E. Rosage, is a wonderful daily prayer guide to living the Beatitudes. Given that the Beatitudes are focused on discipleship, via the embrace of such virtues as humility, meekness, peace, and justice, I was in my glory reading this book. Monsignor Rosage took pains to find the most appropriate 365 Scriptural passages and aligned them with the Beatitudes, so that... Read more...

Some twenty years ago, when Nick and I lived in New Jersey, my banking career was drying up. All of the banks were merging together and therefore, banking jobs in New Jersey were scarce. Nick and I were both born and raised in New Jersey. Everyone we knew and loved lived there. As Divine Providence would have it, while I was unemployed, we were invited out to Salt Lake City, Utah so that I could be Godmother to my friend’s little girl. In July 1996, we traveled to Utah for the Baptism. While visiting, I looked around... Read more... 

Who is Charity Livingstone? Charity Livingstone is only three years old, but she is spunky, loyal, and determined to get what she wants. She and her family recently moved into the neighborhood, where they met their next door neighbor, Mr. Gabriel. Charity really liked him, because he raises puppies! Ever since Charity moved into her new house, she had her eye on getting a puppy, but Mama and Daddy said no, because there was too much going on with their new house. Well that wasn’t going to stop her from playing with Mr. Gabriel’s puppies. He said she could... Read more... 

My Mother: Virginia Duffy Today would have been my mother’s 95 th birthday has she still been alive. Virginia Christesen Duffy was smart as a whip, yet only received a high school education. She’s the only person I know that would dare to complete the New York Times Sunday Puzzle in ink ! I fondly remember the time my parents took me to Europe for a vacation. I was 19 years old. I took French for three years in high school, and I was ready and anxious to use it! We were in a French café, one day, looking at... Read more...