Association Of Catholic Bloggers

One of the many things I liked about living in San Francisco was the city's public transportation system. I don't know about the situation now. But a half-century ago I could get up, eat breakfast, catch a cable car, connect with a bus and be at work on time. Getting back was another matter. By late afternoon, agreement between the bus route schedule and actual running time was at best approximate. I got in the habit of walking toward downtown until a bus came along, leaving the bus near the Embarcadero Center, and walking from there. After a cup of coffee.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Two boys and their sister, good advice, and an offhand observation: remembering an incident in a San Francisco BART station.)

A man asked Jesus "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" in last Sunday's Gospel reading. That's what Fr. Greg talked about — our Lord's answer is simple, by the way, and can be boiled down to 'be prudent'. There's an election looming in our country, so Fr. Greg also talked about acting as if love matters, and making prudent choices. Then he shared a prayer that I've had in my daily routine for a while. But (more than) enough about me. Here's what Fr. Greg said: Eternal Life Definitions and Choosing Wisely Love, Choices, and Wisdom Prudence Judges, the Constitution, and Freedom A Wedding Cake Artificial Contraception Second Amendment and the Right to Defend Myself Abortion Choice: and Responsibility Bodies and Rights Roe v. Wade, the Constitution, and a Eureka Moment Let Love Choose Wisely Video: Gospel Reading and Homily at St. Paul's, Sauk Centre, MN; October 13, 2024 More at A Catholic Citizen in ...

(Now that I have your attention.) Last Sunday's homily included mention of the 'wheat and tares' parable. Or was it Sunday before last? Either way, that parable didn't fit the Gospel reading. But the off-season reference put wheat, weeds and questions on my mind's front desk. And reminded me of a 'Wheat and Tares' post I wrote about a half-dozen years back. Then, a few days ago, I was told that the Catholic Church is a terrorist organization. I started writing about that, added a revised version of the old 'wheat and tares' post, and wound up with this: Belonging to an (allegedly) "Terrorist Organization" ?? Beware the Satanic Papal Octopus: Legacy, Cycle A and an Angry God God: Large and In Charge The Beginning of Wisdom Fear of the Lord and Karaoke To Seek, Know, and Love God Wheat and Weeds More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I read about "loss of identity" and "information overload" the other day.... ..."Information overload" is well on its way to becoming a cliche. Or cliché, for folks who like their English with a dash of diacritics, and that's another topic. I keep seeing warnings against "information overload," the Internet's "hive mind," and suchlike threats. But I don't feel overloaded, informationally or otherwise, even after being online for hours. That gives me the task of deciding whether I react to "information overload" — and how I react, if I choose to do so. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I would like to think that I am not foolish, as I consistently seek Wisdom from on High. For it is with Wisdom that my path is lit and my journey toward God is set. Wisdom speaks: So now, O children, listen to me; instruction and wisdom do not reject! Happy the man who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways. Happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts;  For he who finds me finds life and wins favor from the Lord;  But he who misses me harms himself;  All who hate me love death  (Wisdom 8:32-36). I welcome God’s guidance, and I feel called to obey Him. I consistently seek to know God’s Will for me, and when I discern it, I feel joy. How is it for you? Do you seek wisdom from on High, or do you try to go it alone? Those who think they can get though life all on their own, without the guidance and assistance of God, live a fool’s life. Seek Wisdom Whenever I need to make a big decision, I seek God’s Wisdom, as He knows what is best ...

Today marks the 20 th  anniversary of the passing of my father. I never stopped missing my dad over these past twenty years. He was a quiet man of little words, but when he did speak, I would listen. I learned at a young age, to not ask for my dad’s opinion, unless I really wanted it. You see, he kept things to himself, unless asked. I remember writing a fifth-grade essay, for which I was very proud of my efforts; so proud, that I asked my father to read it and tell me what he thought. Of course, he would love it because I thought it was so good. NOT! Oh, did he give me an earful of commentary. Humbly, I went away making the corrections. I don’t remember the grade for that essay, but I do remember the value I placed upon my father’s opinions. I treasure them. My dad’s words of wisdom greatly impacted my life. Today, I am a published author and editor of self-published manuscripts. My Dad and His Words of Wisdom From fifth grade on, I listened well to my father, and took h...

We live in a secular world. Yet, how we conduct ourselves, in business, has at its foundation God’s moral laws – what we call today, business ethics.  Business ethics calls for us to be honest, respectful, wise, prudent, just, tactful and courteous in transacting business with others. These ethics require us to be virtuous, if we want to be successful! Business Ethics at Work Honest  – The Eighth Commandment states, “ You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor ” (Deut. 5:20). God calls us to live by the truth. Live an upright life, both in action and speech; tactfully, and with kindness. Respectful  – “ Do to others what you would have them do to you ” (Matt 7:12). God calls us to love unconditionally and that means respecting others, especially when we do not see eye to eye. We must not only respect others, but respect differences of opinion as well. Wise  – “ In the heart of the intelligent wisdom abides, but in the bosom of fools it is ...

How Often Do We Think to Turn to God for Wisdom? Lord, There are things in this world that clearly perplex me. Illness, Death, Poverty Just to name a few. There are things to surprise and delight me as well. There I need your guidance on which you have for me and to know my limits. Generous are your ways, it is clear you hold nothing back except for that which is not for my best. For YOU know the plans you have alone for me.

Today, I turn 60 and enter the winter of my life. I am starting it off with a bang! Tomorrow, I am having three teeth extracted, getting a partial temporary denture, and ultimately a four-tooth permanent (implant) bridge. I’m getting old! But with age, comes wisdom; the earthly kind. Earthly wisdom comes from life’s experiences. Those of us in the winter of our lives have a keen awareness for what is important: a strong faith, good health, and our family’s welfare. We find that if we have these three things, then we have all that we need. However, even with the 60 years under my belt, I still seek more Wisdom. When you get to my age, you find yourself asking those soul searching questions: Am I on the right course? Am I living my life doing everything I can to accomplish God’s will? Do I need to make amends with anyone? Read more...

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014: Proverbs 31:10 - 13 , 19 - 20 , 30 - 31 1 Thessalonians 5:1 - 6 Matthew 25:14 - 30 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2014 By Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas November 16, 2014 Our Catholic Christian tradition teaches us that happiness and friendship and marriage should all be based on a healthy loving fear of the Lord. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the psalmist expresses it very simply and poetically. "Blessed are those who fear the Lord," and then he explains what, exactly, that means: "to fear of the Lord is to walk in his ways." This is the wisdom of the ages. It is the perennial principle of human happiness. And it is the foundation of true success in marriage.... (Guest post.) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I don’t really follow Pope Francis; however, as a Catholic I certainly regard the pope with the respect and honor due his position as successor to Peter. What I do read about him, I tend to get from my friends. He seems to be loved or hated and certainly has made people sit up and take notice. I also don’t watch the news in general or read much on the Internet—secular, Catholic or otherwise. I am not on Facebook and I don’t do Twitter. I’ve made a conscious effort in the past couple of years to purposely reduce the chaos of the world by limiting my exposure to it so that my own world now feels purer and a whole lot more peaceful. Amidst that peace, I’ve recently begun researching “Sophia” for my third and final fiction book in a series that started with Elizabeth: A Holy Land Pilgrimage . I share this because my research about this seemingly elusive, somewhat mystical, and definitely female Sophia/Wisdom/Mother keeps crossing paths with what I’ve read about Pope Francis. Fra...

If you are anywhere near my age (1976 high school graduation) and are a female, you may now be at a point where the aftertaste of radical feminism has started to disappear. You’ve also successfully waded through a culture that embraced new-age thinking and have now arrived at real truths. Unfortunately, the result of the particular journey that many of us have been on is that we, in direct opposition to the false messages of radical feminism and the new age movement have really lost out on something that I have only recently discovered: God as Mother. Sophia. Years ago I wrote my first fiction book titled Elizabeth:A Holy Land Pilgrimage . In the book, Elizabeth’s daughter is named Sophia. At the time I knew no one with that name and it had no special meaning to me. I just knew that Sophia was supposed to be the name of the daughter in the book. The second fiction book I wrote is titled Miriam:Repentance and Redemption in Rome . Sophia, as Elizabeth’s daughter, is also part ...

"These guys have big guns and they just point  them at a ghost and kaboom, the ghost disappears!" Michael's father, a police officer, had given our family free tickets to a large three-ring circus production that the police department were sponsoring. Of course after a few hours, the flashing lights, loud music, breath-taking suspense, excitement and cotton candy overstimulated all six kids. Rather than playing like they usually did, everyone was hyperactive, yelling and becoming increasingly agitated. It was obvious that I needed to intervene and help them unwind. I don't like sticking kids in front of the T.V. but this was an emergency. None of the kids could believe their good fortune and immediately fell silent as I tried to find a decent show. Soon, they were completely enthralled by a cartoon called "Ghost Busters". At that point, even though I had never let them watch this particular show, I was just happy that everyone was ...