Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Catholics generally don’t think of Jesus as an evangelist per say, but rather a storyteller. Well, the Son of God understood parables are powerful vehicles for truth.   Since parables impact people when they can relate to the details of the story, Jesus told stories about the ordinary people of His day.  Nancy Ward also understands when people simply tell their personal journey of faith in their own words,  they can help others who are seeking an authentic meeting with God. Ordinary people can reach, or evangelize, many who are outside the traditional  Church. Nancy is a Catholic writer with a unique mission from God to encourage fellow Catholics to start evangelizing. With her new DVD,  Sharing YOUR faith story ,  she removes Catholic’s fear of the word evangelism and equips them to step out with confidence and simply share the joy of the Gospel. continue reading

(From The Breadbox Letters)

I   am learning to live in the Light, stay in the Light and connected to the Light within me. My tendency is to switch back to living in misery, burdened with interior pain because this is what I am accustomed to. Ridiculous? Insane? Absolutely, but now a mere glance to the Light and bang- I switch again from misery to joy. To nurture His Risen Life in me, the life of the Messiah, I am discovering that spiritual communion is powerful. If I simply  whisper a desire for the Eucharist, He is present like a fire burning in my heart, burning even my skin.  I   could dance for joy, like a child of God in the sunshine. St. Thomas Aquinas defined Spiritual Communion as, “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him.” continue reading 

Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove Have you ever heard that phrase before? It was new to me until the day I had to deliver some bad news on an audit. The auditee said that I had an “iron fist in a velvet glove,” meaning that I delivered a hard punch, with not much comfort, since velvet wouldn’t soften the blow of an iron fist very well. In my innocence, and to some degree of arrogance, at first I took it as a compliment! Then I got to thinking about what he said. How we deliver truth is just as… Read more...

Dear Middle School bully, I forgive you for the three years of torture you put me through. I realize now that you too had struggles and pains in your life and no one to help you sort them out in a healthy way.  My adult heart truly aches for what you must have been experiencing to spend so much energy and time making another person feel so horrible, scared and hopeless.  I wish you could have shared your problems with me, so that we could have been friends and sorted life out together, instead of choosing to be my enemy.  The most baffling thing for me especially back then, was I never knew, I still do not, what it was about me appointed me your target.  I can tell you that I spent many hours trying to decipher what it was, and many more hours trying to change whatever it was I would perceive it to be.  You did not need social media to terrorize me. You did just fine with the telephone, passing notes and using other kids just as scared of you to get messages to me. So while we w

My publisher-friend from Chicago likes the Cubs as much as my mom liked the Cleveland Indians. Twice last week he asked me to pray for a Cubs game. The team won the first game by hitting six home runs. They also won the second game, making them the champs of the National League Division Series. Chicagoans were dancing in the streets. Should I take the credit for this? Jesus repeatedly told us to ask God for things and not give up. In the second reading on Sunday we heard that we should “confidently approach the throne of grace . . . to find grace for timely help.” But what if God doesn’t answer our prayers?      click to continue

The Pope has a prayer group, and it's called the Apostleship of Prayer. The  international Apostleship of Prayer website  has a map of the prayer group's offices around the world: Praying with the Pope around the world! These offices serve the Church by uniting people in prayer for the Pope's personal intentions. I love clicking on the links to Apostleship of Prayer sites from various countries. Just a few minutes on these sites helps me work on my foreign language skills and provides a glimpse into the vibrant prayer lives of our brothers and sisters around the globe. When Pope Francis visited the US last month, he asked at  every  stop for people to pray for him. The worldwide Apostleship of Prayer gives us a concrete way to do exactly that. Find out how to become a member of the prayer group St. Therese of Lisieux joined at Praying with Grace !

PSALM 103: 8-11 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He will not constantly accuse us,     nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins;     he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him     is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. Reflection: God is sheer mercy; not easily angered. Rich in love - abundant in compassion He doesn't endlessly nag and scold (like I as a human, flawed momma can do) FOR More lessons on humility learned .... continue reading here! All Rights (text and image) Reserved 2015, Allison Gingras

Sts Louis and Zelie Martin Canonized 18 October 2015 Dr Anca-Maria Cernea ,  President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest (Romania), made the following intervention at the Ordinary Synod on the Family on Friday, 16 October. Dr Cernea spoke in English. I have added some  [comments]  and  emphases . Your Holiness, Synod Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, I represent the Association of Catholic Doctors from Bucharest. I am from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. My father was a Christian political leader, who was imprisoned by the communists for 17 years.  My parents were engaged to marry, but their wedding took place 17 years later .  Full post here .

“Formerly one of our nuns managed to irritate me whatever she did or said. The devil was mixed up in it, for it was certainly he who made me see so many disagreeable traits in her.”                     ( The Story of a Soul , St. Thérèse) To a chosen few, I have confided that  this  less than perfect, but usually patient child of God does indeed have her moments. There, I said it! All joking aside, however,this week I was reminded of St. Thérèse's own difficulties with her fellow sister with someone in my own life.  While I didn’t outwardly display my inward feelings of annoyance and profound frustration, it was in truth all consuming. Occupying my mind, and keeping my heart at bay, I found myself unable to truly listen or engage in anything being said.  This inner hollow numbness, at the words being spoken was so striking, I caught myself aghast at my disconnect from the conversation and her expression of pain. Why was she telling me this? Why was I being drawn into her in

Monica McConkey, founder of Catholic Blogger’s Network and founder of Arma Dei: Equipping Catholic Families has a series of Cards Called “Super Saints. ” There are so many wonderful saints included in these decks of cards, I’m going to leave it to you to check out the site and find your favorite saints. I have a deck, and I am very pleased, not only with the quality, but the information. Fast forward: I asked Monica if she could make me into a Super Saint, well, not really, but if she could make me a saint card, and she did. “Kelley Saints” drew the portrait you see at the top. I told Monica that it was important that the drawing be imperfect, (but it is perfect!) because I am imperfect as I work on my journey to saint hood. Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

Faith is awareness of God as a personal God, with our personal response to the love in which we have come to believe. It is a personal encounter, a contact with the divine Persons into which we are taken by the grace of God.   from   A Heart to Know Thee by Fr. E. J. Cuskelly In 2007, I was blessed to learn about Spiritual Directors.  Someone who could guide my prayer and budding relationship with Christ.  Shortly after the discovery that such a wonderful thing existed, my prayers were answered when Fr. Dang was assigned to me after I called the local retreat house inquiring about the availability of directors.  Fr. Dang was from Vietnam, very soft spoken with a thick accent.  Every week I would have to really strain to hear and understand him, which I am fairly convinced was part of God's plans to teach me to be quiet and pay attention! It was a wonderful first experience with a Spiritual Director - we alternated between getting to the root of the issues that kept me from l

As the Morning Rising: God's Presence :  Being in God's presence is more than companionship, for in God our bodies as well as our minds and hearts and souls find rest We are... continue reading

Honey versus Vinegar What’s your choice? “You get more with honey than you do with vinegar” – a classic American idiom that speaks volumes. I think all of us would choose the sweet taste of honey over the bitter taste of vinegar. I think all of us would choose to be spoken to in truth with respect and dignity, versus in a cold, unfeeling manner. I have learned a great deal about the importance of practicing tact. I have found ways of speaking truth, with tact. For example, have you noticed how all of my posts have a positive spin… Read more...

Yes, it’s a business, and we were praying near the office today. We abided by the law. It was a slow day because the office of the beast was closed. This had been my first opportunity to pray at the office of the Beast. It was cold, and the wind was blowing, but I’m glad I went. We prayed a Rosary together. We talked. Most people were respectful as they drove by. One young man yelled out the window of the truck he was in, “You better get used to hell because you’re going to burn in it.” I said a prayer for him so that his soul would not be lost. Read more at Prayerfully Yours

Hello there!  I am Suzi Whitford, wife to an amazing man and mommy to two beautiful little girls. I converted to the Catholic Faith in 2009 after studying abroad and falling in love with the grand architecture and art of the Catholic Church. I thought that if there was such a rich history and such beautiful art in the church, then there had to be truth in it!  After 6 years of being a Catholic, getting married, becoming a mommy and now expecting my second baby, I felt I had another re-conversion to the Faith. As a wife and mother new opportunities were opened up to me to grow closer to Christ and deeper into my Faith. It is during this time that I decided I wanted to blog  at  www.thewhitfordlife.com , to find a venue to share my joy and love for Christ.  My sweet toddler is allowing me to write during her naps and the second trimester is boosting me with a new found energy! We are a young Catholic family on our pilgrimage to Heaven, aiming for sainthood! I am ho

(From The Cloistered Heart)

My wife gave me a familiar 'did you really say that?' look a few days ago, after I said I didn't understand why so many folks are upset about current events. She had, as usual, reason on her side. I've gotten upset, a lot. I'm pretty much the opposite of phlegmatic . But I don't see much point in contemplating cracked mirrors, or taking my cue from Yeats: " ...The mirror crack'd from side to side; 'The curse is come upon me,' cried The Lady of Shalott.... " (" The Lady of Shalott ," Tennyson (1842)) " ...Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. " Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.... " (" The Second Coming ," William Butler Yeats (1920)) ...Like quite a few other folks at the time, Yeats w

watercolour  by Emanuel Franco Gómez, OCarm. (Manu) Oct. 15th is the Feast of St. Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus. I love this woman. Although she is a doctor of the Church and one of the three great 16th-century Spanish mystics (along with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. John of the Cross), she is humourous as well as wise. St. Teresa of Avila is the real deal; holy, down to earth, humble and best of all extremely articulate.  Her  phrases are succinct, to the point yet those few words point to a deep, Divine wisdom. Since I cannot top St. Teresa, I will simply let her speak for herself. The first line of her autobiography is amusing.  “Having virtuous and God-fearing parents would have been enough for me to be good if I were not so wicked." After a donkey threw her into a cold river she said- “If this is how You treat Your frie nds, then it is no wonder You have so few of them.” You’ve gotta love that level of practicality and a

“To those who have faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” St. Thomas Aquinas So what do you do, when your faith or, as it is often called now, your “belief system” is challenged? What if your faith is challenged by your children or other members of your family? That is very difficult to handle. Arguments take place daily, in families, because of this one issue. What do you do? St. Francis of Assisi said, “Always preach the gospel. If necessary, use words.” Sometimes, though, words can become bitter and descend into arguments that break up families. “Leave me alone,” they yell. We risk the fate of pushing them farther away from the faith. Read more at Prayerfully Yours

Father Frederic, our Parish priest, is away for two weeks and has been replaced by Father Gaston, a priest of French origin, until our regular priest returns. Father Gaston doesn’t say much, maybe because he hasn’t much to say to us. Who knows! He is tall and thin and looks very severe. He has one of those unfortunate white skinny faces which look like a skull. A long oval shape with sunken eyes and boney features revealing the contours of his jaws as he grins benignly rather than smile. I bet he could turn someone into a pillar of salt by just thinking it. I don’t mean that he is nasty or evil in any way; he just looks that way and would frighten any cat out of its nine lives. Maybe I should introduce him to mine. Last Saturday I went to confession. Father Gaston was in attendance. We have one of those wooden confessionals which consists of a compartment in the middle which the priest enters and sits on a bench, and we genuflect on either side, pulling the cur

Over the centuries many Saints have told us how powerful the Rosary is, but they didn’t tell us why or how the Rosary makes such a change in our world.  The following is an attempt at an explanation of the power of the Rosary The Rosary is one of the most powerful tools of portable semi- exorcism and soul purification.   Soul Purification: The Holy Rosary, if prayed with dedication, and singularity of heart, allows one that prays purification, a desire for the things of God's church which include the sacraments, and as God allows the soul will touch the edge of eternity in preparation for their judgment.  How can one prepare for eternity, if we have no tangible concept of the Holy Realm?  Can the finite touch the infinite? Yes, but only as God allows, for not by our own merit can man interact with eternity unless our hearts are aligned with God. God in His goodness has given us the Holy Sacraments of the Church as the way that a sinfully inclined man who will one day taste d

courtesy: pixabay PD The Sacrament of Reconciliation changed my life forever.   How's that for an opening line!! But it is not just a line, it is the truth ... and it continues to be the truth over 10 years later.  As  I shared yesterday , I have always been a huge  Confession Chicken  - until that fateful day when Jesus made me laugh - but there was more that happened that day that changed my heart toward this sacrament.  The Holy Spirit drew me to learn more about why Catholics come to a Priest to confess and don't just whisper our sins to God directly.  I started with the Catechism of the Catholic Church but ended with an deep inspiration that could have only been inspired by the Holy Spirit. First the Catechism lesson  .... did you know that the Sacrament of Reconciliation also known as the Sacrament of Conversion, aka the Sacrament of Penance, and the more probably well known moniker --  Confession  -- is a sacrament of healing?   I had NO idea. NONE.  I am not s

Today with the Saints: October 16: Saint Gerard Majella : St. Gerard Majella, St. Catherine Church Montfort, Netherlands History Saint Gerard Majella very devoted to Christ and very wise. T... continue reading

We're years away from safe pig-to-human organ transplants: but scientists using CRISPR gene editing tech are working toward that goal. Other scientists are discovering a chapter of humanity's family history: Eurasian immigrants returning to Africa, when the Shang dynasty and Egyptian Empire collapsed. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Faith: a very personal word stemming from a very personal relationship with God, resulting in an inability to clearly articulate just what it means to you. Sound familiar? Are you like so many people who steer clear from talking about religion, let alone your own personal faith, for fear of rejection, confrontation, or appearing ignorant? Fear no longer! Your faith sharing story is your story. No one else can write it and no one else can articulate it better than you. Easier said than done? I understand. That’s why I am excited to share with you a new DVD by my friend, Nancy Ward, titled, Sharing YOUR Faith Story DVD . In this three part DVD, Nancy tells of her... Read more...

I hear of a school where the Geometry class has been made more efficient by computers. Kids don’t need a ruler and compass anymore, as their homework and tests consist of multiple choice answers to questions about provided diagrams. They do no proofs, selecting instead the correct answer as a ‘given’. Sigh… This could make me crazy, but I’ll settle for sad. Geometry is about connection to the physical world! It is about constructing lines, triangles, equal angles, polygons and all that! How will a student wonder at the amazing development of man’s mind in correspondence to the actuality of form in the created world if Geometry is presented as an abstract, mental construct?  How will they appreciate mathematics as a language of God if Geometry – the subject which links the logos of verbal and numerical reasoning – does not involve them in the work of construction and logical proof by which the physical and metaphysical realms are realized through and in persons?? How

(From The Breadbox Letters)

The thrill-ride of book publishing continues as we hit our next milestone: the cover of our new book,  The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for a Lifetime !!! This Catholic marriage help book is  already   available for pre-order at Amazon.com  (what a dream come true). Our editor called publisher Ave Maria Press' art department their "secret weapon" because of how great they are at developing attractive cover art, so we were overjoyed to work with them. Like everything else in publishing, coming up with a great cover is a long process. For the final cover and to see how the book got from rough sketch to finished product, click here !!

“You can be right. You can be dead right and bring death to all those around you." -  Jean Vanier ( founder of L’Arche)  Holy people realize the closer they actually get to God, the less they really know. They are the simple souls who simply look at God and let Him gaze with love on them in return. continue reading