Association Of Catholic Bloggers

I'm Laura Paxton and I am free. I am free to play, to create, to express myself, to explore my world. I am freer to think and to reason and daydream than I ever have before. I read more. I have meaningful work that I enjoy very much. I wake up each day with the joy of purpose before me. Only about five years ago, I existed in a cramped, dark apartment where I had given up on life, agoraphobic, eating mostly chocolate bars for sustenance and playing online scrabble all day long to keep my mind off the pain trapped deep inside. How did I end up there? Let's face it... I'm autistic. I'm bipolar. I've lived on the dangerous edges of life. I've been raped,  survived a near fatal suicide attempt, was almost successfully murdered and lived homeless at times in my teens. Over the course of my life, I've also been taken advantage of, tricked and abused because of my poor judgment, (which was poorer than most people's to begin with,

Building character and teaching our children how to be principled is just as important as caring for their physical and intellectual needs. Each of our children comes with different innate strengths and challenges, so there’s no one-size-fits all program for teaching your child values; what virtues your child needs to work on and when will depend on age, personality and circumstances. Teaching a child to be virtues takes patience, effort and teamwork. It’s not something your child can figure out on their own, and it’s not something you can “make” happen. It’s a combination of your guidance and perseverance with your child’s willingness and effort. Here are a few ideas that can help! Head over to Eyes On Heaven for the ideas and virtue project printable.

     Through an "interesting" series of events, I found myself seated in the front row at a weekday Mass. My arrival, though very tardy, was surely the result of the hand of God. Father was in the middle of his sermon and the only available seat not requiring me to step in front of someone in the same pew was directly in the line of the Holy Spirit's "fire" filled gifts. The words Father spoke at that precise  moment were exactly what my soul needed.  At once sobering and comforting, God's direct message rendered me overcome with amazement and joy. Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost souls and of finding that which is lost     Please continue reading here, @ mommynovenas.org. Thank you.

The Institution of the Eucharist , Federico Fiori Barocci, 1609 Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome [ Web Gallery of Art ] The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is on the Universal Calendar of the Church for the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, this year 19 June, and is a holy day of obligation. However, in the Philippines and in many other countries it has been transferred to the following Sunday. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA ) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)   [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel   John 6:51-58   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus said to the Jews: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themsel

Last week I was watching a documentary put on by the Imagine Sisters giving us a glimpse into the lives of several religious sisters from different orders. One of the sisters talked about working in a thrift store. While there she would ask customers if there was anything she could pray about for them. One woman she encountered and asked this question to said no because she was an athiest. This caused great sadness with the sister. She realized that if the woman didn't believe in God then the woman had no hope. She then heard God's still small voice telling her to meet the woman where she was at. The sister remembered that when the woman first came into the thrift store she saw a bird house she really liked but didn't have enough money for it. The sister then went over to the bird house and gave it to the woman as a gesture of God's love for her. How often does God meet us where we are at?! He could Lord his authority over us, reveal his glory and demand submission but

The Biblical story of Tobit's marriage to Sarah, whose previous seven husbands had been slain by demons, has been cleverly reimagined in a new novel (released April 2014 by Ignatius Press) called  Tobit's Dog , by Michael N. Richard. The novel is set in the backwoods of Depression-era North Carolina. The plight of blacks in the Jim Crow South parallels the plight of the 7th- and 8th-century Jews during the time of wars, deportations, and exile that formed the backdrop for the Biblical tale of Tobit. Tobit's Dog  combines elements of a young man's journey into adulthood, a love story, and a murder mystery. Tobias must collect a debt due to his blind and poverty-stricken father, lift the cloud of scandal from his bride-to-be Sarah, and discover who killed Sarah's former fiancés.The novel's plot closely follows the Bible story, with the character Ace Redbone (i.e., the Archangel Raphael) safely delivering Tobias, the son of Tobit, to meet his wife-to-be, his d

The Family of St. Thomas More by Rowland (Wikipedia). Here are 10 activities you can do as a family to support religious freedom and true marriage in the two weeks between June 21 and July 4. You can do all these even in a diocese with no scheduled events. 1. Pray the family Rosary. Pray the Luminous Mysteries together for the recognition of marriage as one man and one woman. Pray the glorious mysteries for the protection of our God-given right to religious freedom. 2. Make an extra visit to the Adoration chapel. This is a great opportunity to introduce your children to Eucharistic Adoration, or bring them back if they haven’t gone for a long time. Make this a special trip for the intentions of the Fortnight for Freedom. Don’t worry if you can only stay ten minutes with all the little ones. 3. Watch and discuss A Man for All Seasons. June 22 is the feast of Saints Thomas More and John Fischer (also Corpus Christi this year). Learn about the saint who died for

Instead of wring about the World Cup, I decided to take a look at lukewarm dinosaurs; the earliest fish that we've found so far; and a pretty good explanation for why men's faces don't, on average, look like women's. God, Clay, and Me Darwin 's "On the Origin of Species," a best-seller in 1859, brought evolution to the attention of a great many folks, and still upsets some. I can understand why dedicated secularists use tightly-wound Christians who insist that much of what we've learned over the last few centuries is a lie as proof that religion is 'unscientific.' What's less understandable is why some Christians insist that science threatens faith. I'm not shocked and horrified at the idea that humanity comes from something that's not human. As a Christian, I pretty much have to believe that God made us from the stuff of this world. All that's changed is how much we know about the "clay" God used. ( Genesis

The  Examen  by Ignatius Loyola is a simple form of prayer that is designed as a guide for inner reflection.  I kept running across it on the internet, so I'm assuming I need a little inner reflection. I shouldn't be surprised by this.  God has a way of giving me what I need.  Lately my place of work has become a battle zone where our once happy family of co-workers has turned into just that, a battle zone among ourselves. You can read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

SUMMER TIME… the perfect time to really veg out,  and to take our fruitful ways to a whole new level!!   Let us take this time, then, to see and appreciate all this season has to offer…  A season of 73 (+) this year.  But why “73″??    Well, it has to do with time & types, variety & frequency. Because, in a matter of just a couple of days here, it will be the 1st official day of summer... >> Click Here to Read More at: The Way to Nourish for Life!

'This mental gloom will pass.   It is something over which we hold no control;  the less attention we give it the better.' (continued) (from In Love with the Divine Outcast, by a Religious, Pellegrini, Australia, 1934, p. 123) Painting: Edmund Charles Tarbell, Across the Room, 1899, in US public domain due to age

WHAT SECRET FROM HIS PAST AWAITS FATHER IGNATIUS IN LONDON? CLICK HERE

Why is ordinary time called ordinary?  What does the Catholic Church mean by  Ordinary Time ? The seasons of the Church are (beginning according to the calendar year) Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time, Advent and Christmas.  We  have been in "ordinary time" since the day after Pentecost, but I don't find it ordinary. You can read the complete post at Being Catholic ... Really .

DOES YOUR MARRIAGE PASS THE BREAD STICK TEST? CLICK HERE

Friendships are such an enigma to me. In elementary school, by virtue of just being neighbours or classmates to someone, you were instant friends. If your mom had a friend who had a child, you had a friend. In high school or university, you made friends with your friend’s friends. As a kid you were rarely without someone to play with, rarely without a birthday party to go to or a sleepover to attend. You didn’t even really need to like each other that much or know them at all. A five year old can make friends with just about anybody and instantly they have a playmate and a companion. Read the rest here .

The news last week carried the story that scientists discovered an ocean 400 miles below the earth’s surface that has about three times the amount of water as the oceans we know. Here we are combing space for a planet that has water and so can bear life, and our little Earth has a superabundance of it. This led me to reflect on the ways that God has gone overboard in creating Earth for us. Take the universe, for example. Beyond the brilliant night sky we see in our Milky Way galaxy are billions of other galaxies billions of light years away that the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed. And who knows what lies beyond them? Click to continue

Contemplation is learned at the mother’s breast.” St Bonaventure I was delighted to discover that it is possible to connect with infants,  not simply with their hearts but with their spirit as well. It is a gift to connect with a newborn, knowing that they know, that I know, that they are not idiots but vibrant souls who are in communion with God. Somehow understood, right from the start, that we were relating to another intelligent, perceptive human being when we communicated with our babies. I stopped and listened when they cooed and then I answered them when they finished cooing. It might sound foolish but I believe that this attitude instilled respect for themselves and others. I tried to treat them as people, albeit  little people. I learned that we can bless our unborn child. pray over them, relate to our babies while they are in the womb just like the women in the Old Testament who prayed psalms and were often in seclusion. read more>

Of course, there will be those who will stare, or those who will try to look as if  you can't see them looking.  There are those who will repeatedly walk by you to look at your hair.  There are those who will ignore you.  There are those who will be rude to you.  There are those who will say, "I wish I had your courage."  There are those who have a hard time accepting, and there are those who are open to the change and will love and accept you, no matter what.  Choices and consequences.  My choice was to dye my hair pink, and I must accept the  consequences of being the lady with pink hair. Read More at::  His Unending Love!

The Renunciation of Worldly Goods by Ghirlandaio. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been considering the sources of temptations and how to overcome them. We complete the series today by pondering how to flee temptations coming to us from the world. As we saw earlier, when we speak of “the world” in the context of temptations, we don’t mean the created world. Everything God created is good if used correctly. The problem is, when we lost our proper relationship with God in Adam’s sin, we also lost our proper relationship with one another and with creation. “The world” is the society that delights in pleasure more than it delights in God.  The world entices us to join in the “fun.” The world values pleasure, power, violence, wealth, fame, and comfort. It does not stop at tempting us. When we resist, it mocks and persecutes us. The world cannot stand to be rejected, having the fury of the proverbial scorned woman. The world exalts the lowest things to the highest st

Father Raniero Cantalamessa's latest book "Navigating the New Evangelization"   provides a valuable addition to a growing body of books of the subject of evangelization in the church today. The book is a very readable compilation of teachings which Father Cantalamessa delivered to the Papal Household on the subject of evangelization during Advent 2010 and 2011. It would be a useful read not only for those who are directly involved in the work of the New Evangelization, but also for every Catholic who wishes to learn more about the history of evangelization in the church and how to respond to the current challenges facing the spread of the Gospel today - challenges faced by lay Catholics in the workplace, at backyard parties and among family members.   Read my full book review here:

Part of our vocation as Christian parents is to educate our kids. This is something I focus on a lot on my blog. Even though education involves a lot of skills and topics not directly faith-related, I firmly believe that education (and everything else in life) IS faith related. By educating our kids, we are helping them develop the potential that God gave them - their talents, their skills, their interests... The more we invest in our children's education (and I don't just mean their schooling, but their holistic development), the more they will have to offer back to God, their families and the world. Head over to Eyes On Heaven to read about 5 ways you can help your child become an active learning both inside and outside the classroom!

The saint of the day is St. Lutgardis , a Cistercian, and one of the first mystics of the Sacred Heart. St. Lutgardis is the patron saint of the blind and physically disabled people. Born in the 12th century, she came to her vocation, in part, due to her father’s bad business sense. Her father lost her dowry in a failed business venture and sent her to a Benedictine convent at the age of 12. A few years later, she received a vision of Christ showing her his wounds, and at age 20 she became a Benedictine nun. Her visions continued and she is said to have levitated and dripped blood from her head when meditating on the Passion. Seeking a stricter life, she joined the Cistercians and displayed the gifts of healing, prophecy, spiritual wisdom and teaching on the Gospels. She accepted the blindness that afflicted her for the last 11 years of her life as a gift that helped reduce the distractions of the outside world. In her last vision, Christ told her when she was to die, the d

For centuries people have been trying to comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity as if it is a puzzle which we are meant to resolve and when we do we get a prize. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit ... (no title) ... three in one. What is that supposed to mean? We accept (those of us who believe) that God exists and is up there somewhere, in Heaven , above the clouds or wherever. He has always existed and has created us as well as everything else in the Universe and beyond. OK ... we can understand and believe that. Then there is Jesus. Born as a baby of a Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, and came to earth as a human. OK ... so He is the Son of God. But wait a minute ... in the Credo it says I believe " in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. " Je

For years, I have tried to embrace a little hidden 'apostolate' of being a sanctuary light in the midst of the world.  To me, this is a natural extension of life as a cloistered heart.  I can go through my days gently pointing to Jesus, for He is present always and ever deserving of love.   This is generally a quiet 'activity.'  After all, a sanctuary light does not draw attention to itself.  It simply stands for and alongside Christ, and in His presence it glows......  Some years ago, friends and I were discussing ways in which we could call attention to the fact that Jesus is present....   (continue)

Trinity Icon - In Progress This icon of the Trinity is just about complete – it’s a medium size, 18×24 inches.  Also on wood, this is a mixture of egg tempera and oils to get a complex texture and vibrant colors.  The Trinity icon has gone through lots of stages in its history, with Rublev’s ending up being the one most popular now. His version is the first one that focused on the equality of the persons, so to speak, by intentionally NOT calling out with obvious symbols which figure represented the Father, Son or Holy Spirit.  However it’s generally understood that the Father is on the left, the Son is the center figure, and the Holy Spirit is on the left.  There are no special markings in the halo of the Son, as typically seen as well, but in some older forms of this icon, one does find the traditional cross in the center figure’s halo.  Here in this version I’ve put in an unbroken Celtic pattern to represent the Eternal.  More images are here .

I remember the 'good old days:' seeing house-size gobs of suds floating down the Mississippi; and a year when my eyes stung, except on Sundays, when the city's air cleared up. I don't miss the 'good old days.' ( April 11, 2011 ; November 10, 2010 ) I was already concerned about pollution, wildlife management, and other environmental issues, when the first green Earth Day flag went up in 1972. At the time, I was glad that environmental awareness was spreading; and thought that some 'environmentalists' had more enthusiasm than good sense. I'm still glad that more folks started 'thinking green;' and think that Captain Planet helped make environmentalism look silly. Sadly, some folks still seem to have learned their facts about science and ecology by watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Tentacles . Delicate and Fragile as Cockroaches and Thistles The good news is that some scientists, at least, have apparent

As I’ve been preparing for our Fathers’ Day celebration, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of family traditions. I have always innately appreciated family traditions. To be honest, my own family wasn’t huge on recurring traditions, largely because we moved around a lot and adjusting our traditions to meet our situation and needs each year. But we did have traditions, even if they changed in shape and form, and I valued those traditions heavily. I loved our faith traditions, our holiday traditions, and our family celebration traditions (birthdays, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, etc.). Even now, thinking about our traditions and different family experiences brings a warm, fuzzy feeling to my heart. Traditions were more than just another thing to do; they were an irreplaceable part of our family life – something we thought of together and did because they fit  our family , helped  us  learn and always meant quality family time. In my personal opinion, the more a tradition is spec

Pray for me. Have you also, like me, wondered sometimes if these words are any use at all? Well, from recent personal experience , i v had the powerful realisation that prayer is the most effective tool to achieve any sort of good. From material needs to emotional conversions, there is only one action , that can bring all things to pass. It is more powerful than clever arguments and wonderful abilities. Its called prayer. A prayer works like a stone dropped into still water. The ripples travel wide and impact the situation or person one is praying for. But first,  it alters the point of origin, which is you. So every prayer one makes will first affect a change in oneself and this change will, in ripple effect, impact and bring to pass what one is praying for. Read the whole blog post at http://silpapaul.blogspot.in/2014/06/pray-for-me.html

The Trinity with the Dead Christ   Lodovico Carracci, c.1590.  Pinacoteca, Vatican [ 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   John 3:16-18   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus said to Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.   “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.   Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ” The Two Trinities   Murillo 1675-82.  National Gallery, London [ Web Gallery of Art ] A few years ago we in

Support Catholic Artists by spreading the word A new website is up for the Catholic Arts Conference http://www.catholic-artists.com/ read more>