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By some standards, this isn't a particularly "Christian" blog. I don't rant about the fires of Hell, or gush over cheerful thoughts like this: "...The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you...." (" Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God " , Jonathan Edwards (1741)) That's because it's not 1741 any more, and I'm a Catholic. 1 Besides, I got thoroughly fed up with frothing radio preachers in my youth, and figure I'm not the only one who got tired of appeals to fear. But actions do have consequences. So this week I've dusted off and polished something I wrote in 2014, back when A Catholic Citizen... was on Blogger (blogspot.com). Authority and Consequences Basically Good, Needing Help "And He Found it Very Good" Sin is Real, Forgiveness is an Option "...Our Written Obligations" Love and Forgiveness God's Love ...

    Do you struggle with how to pray for others?  I discovered a new way to pray for those who have been away from their faith, or who are altogether unaware of God, taking a cue from St. Paul in his Letter to the Colossians. In the first chapter (verses 9-14), he tells them that he does not cease praying for them. I put his words in prayer form and hope you will find this little prayer helpful when praying for those you care about. To simplify, it helps to use a person's name, like this: I pray for ________ that he/she may come to know your will, and through spiritual wisdom and understanding, live in a way that is pleasing to you. I pray that whatever ______ does, that he/she may produce good things and grow in his/her knowledge of you. Amen. You can read the full paragraph below that I adapted this from, so you can read it in Paul's own words, which are more complete, and absolutely beautiful. Janet Cassidy Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com janetcassi...

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    Sometimes I am shocked when events are put into a time frame that doesn't fit with my experience. September 11th is one of those events. I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that there are adults walking around today that are unfamiliar with the attacks of that day. To me, in some ways, it was like yesterday. I also cannot wrap my mind around the reality that the children of some of those who died serving as firefighters when the twin towers fell, are now adults who are following in the same path as their parents.  The events of 9/11 were one of those JFK moments. We remember where we were and what we were doing. The grief that enveloped this country was so tangible, as was the coming together we so desperately needed. It seems like we are once again being swallowed up by violence in this country, as reports of school shootings and political assassinations such as Charlie Kirk, are becoming so commonplace. We need to protect our right to free speech and not...

    Over 20 years ago when we went to Bogota Colombia in South America to adopt our youngest daughter, I remember being driven to the government offices to complete the adoption. Along the way, I was startled to see, standing along the road, military personnel decked out in full uniform carrying assault rifles. It really set apart for me our own police back in the United States and the experience of the Colombian people on a daily basis. It made me shutter to think that this was a normal image for them as they went about their daily routine. And now, it has come to America.  As our current president "wages war on American cities", I hope it is short-lived. It must be stopped. Trust me when I say that what is happening today is not what we want normalized in our neighborhoods and cities. I appreciate all of those who speak out courageously and peacefully protest what is happening in this aggressive campaign against people who are simply living, working and st...

Kids started going back to school here in Sauk Centre on Wednesday. No shots rang out, and nobody got killed. That, happily, is routine. But sometimes bad things happen. Classes started last week at the Church of the Annunciation's school in Minneapolis. Since it's a Catholic school, they started the day with Mass at the church next door. Then somebody killed two of the students and injured many other folks before killing himself. The priest who was celebrating Mass made some good points in the following Sunday's homily. I'll be talking about that, and somewhat-related topics: Church of the Annunciation: After the Killings Remembering Who's In Charge Repairing the Damage Cleanup Procedures Heroes, Hope, and Prayer America: Death, Changing Attitudes, and Good News ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (After killings at the Church of the Annunciation: what their priest said, an Archbishop Hebda video, how I see student actions, changing Americ...

St Pier Giorgio Frassati mountain climbing in 1924   [ Wikimedia Commons ] Like Pope Pius XI, St Pier Giorgio loved to climb mountains and, like Pope St John Paul II, he loved to ski. Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 14:25-33  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Great crowds accompanied Jesus, and he turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to ...

  What are you good at?  What do you like to do? What if you find yourself being forced to do something you are either not good at, or you don't like?  How do you respond to that? A good way to look at it is to recognize that God will use this situation to help you grow in ways you probably need to. I remember reading an article about the religious order known as the Jesuits. A novice was recalling how they sent him to volunteer at a hospital. The problem was, he hated hospitals. Ask him to teach? He had it.  Pray? No problem. Study? Gladly. But ask him to visit sick people in a hospital? Well, that was a different story.  He ministered at the hospital as he was told to, out of obedience to his director, who knew his area of weakness and who wanted to see him become well-rounded.  You see, he wasn't asked to focus only on what he liked or what he was good at, but where he needed to grow. Maybe you are being asked to care for an aging parent, a spouse...

One week ago today, in my state's largest urban area, someone went to the Church of the Annunciation. Then he killed two children who were celebrating Mass, wounded several other folks, and finally killed himself.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A week after murder and suicide, Masses are being held at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis. My views, briefly; and a quote from an old movie.)

When I asked our oldest daughter what she'd like me to write about this week, she suggested "stories about when each of us was born". The birth of each child was an important event, at least for me and my wife, so I figured it'd be a matter of deciding which memories to pick. Then I started poking around the labyrinthine interior of my mind. Turns out I've got a few vivid snapshots, but not nearly as many details as I thought there'd be. I've got a pretty good memory; apart from things like appointment times, anniversaries — fact is, I'll be asking my wife for help with this post. It's been decades since the mental machinery filed away those experiences. Meanwhile, I'll start talking about our oldest child's birth, and see what happens. Birth: The First Time Changes: Delivery Rooms and Fainting Fathers Focused New Experiences and Evaporative Cooling A Couple Details Baptism of Desire, Uncertainty, and Hope ... More at A C...

    "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless, of course, you fail the test." In the last chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul makes this statement that, I think, we should all take to heart. Are you living in faith? What in your life shows that you are, or, more unsettling, what in your life reveals that you aren't? Paul goes on, telling the Corinthians, "I hope you will discover that we have not failed." That's because it was important that when the people of Corinth observed Paul, that they would see someone in the "fight," someone whose discipleship was genuine.  It is so important that we try to live genuine lives of faith, lives that are not contradictory to the gospel. In each of our lives, there is surely a great struggle between doing what we feel like doing, and doing what is in line with what our faith teaches us. It is not an easy struggle, and...

Young Jew as Christ Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 14:1, 7-14  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, “Give your place to this person”, and then you, with shame, will take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, “Frie...

Two children, ages eight and 10, went to school this morning. They won't be going home. Somebody decided that this would be a good morning to spray bullets into a church full of people. Why the 20-something (probably) man made that decision is an open question, and may remain so. He killed himself after committing murder.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Mass at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, MN, interrupted by someone shooting into the building. Two children dead. So is the killer. A terse summary of what happened, links to what I've said about suicide, murder, human life, and emotions.)

It's been about a half-century since I worked for the Red River Valley Historical Society. Articles I wrote for their Red River Valley Heritage Press are in the MSMM Archives, and that's another topic. 1 Something I liked about that historical society is that it focused on what I think of as my 'home turf': the Red River Valley of the North. It's some of the flattest land, and best farmland, on the planet. When it's mentioned at all, it's in the context of 19th century treaty violations. Or the latest spring floods. 2 And I'm drifting off-topic again . The point is that while I was working for that outfit, we had a meeting with folks in Winnipeg, Canada — and got a tour of one of Winnipeg's old houses. After a half-century, all I remember about it — in any detail — is our tour guide's account of how a stained glass window narrowly escaped destruction.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Saving the stained glass window was probably...

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Crowning a baby after baptism George Cardinal Alencherry,  Major Archbishop Emeritus of Ernakulam-Angamaly  (Syro-Malabar), India  [ Wikipedia ;  photo ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,) Readings   (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)  Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 13:22-30  (English Standard Version, Anglicised) At that time: Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem. And someone said to him, ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then he will answer you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then yo...