Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Because Saint Ann conceived our Blessed Mother in her womb without original sin, and because Mary remained sin-free for her entirely earthly life, God assumed Mary into Heaven, body and soul, at the end of her earthly life. Mary’s refraining from sin resulted in no need for her earthly body to decay; to experience death as we know it. In stark contrast, for everyone else, our souls separate from our bodies at the time of our earthly deaths. Our bodies decay because of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve, and from our own concupiscence to sin. God created Adam from dust, and as a result of Original Sin, unto dust we all shall return. Our departed souls await the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He will resurrect our glorified bodies, reunited with our souls, in perfect union with the Blessed Trinity. This is Catholic dogma, a tenet of our faith. Our Blessed Mother, A Cause for Hope Mary’s Assumption into Heaven is cause for our hope in the... Read more...  

(from The Cloistered Heart)

As the Morning Rising: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary : Every time we pray the Glorious Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary we call to mind and heart Mary's Assumption into Heaven. There is ...

As the Morning Rising: Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven - Poems : Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary No earthly tomb For a body ever-blessed Assumed into heaven Angel-borne to the gold...

La esclavitud, que pensábamos ya estaba abolida, ha tenido mil formas de representación a través de la historia de la humanidad, ha resurgido en muchas regiones del mundo con una cara nueva y moderna. Como en antaño, las que han sido más afectadas por los nuevos grilletes han sido las mujeres y niñas, especialmente por la prostitución sexual. Esta forma de utilización de la mujer, que ha sido una constante a través de los siglos, culturas y medios de comunicación, se ha ido trivializando y minimizando su naturaleza erosiva que, de muchas formas, alimenta el tráfico de personas.

The Marriage at Cana ,Marten de Vos, 1596-97 Gospel Luke 12:49-53 ( NRVS, Catholic Ed , Can) Jesus said to his disciples: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” About 40 years ago when I had some programs on DXDD, a radio station in Ozamiz City, Mindanao, started by a Columban priest, Fr Charles Nolan, and now owned by the Archdiocese of Ozamiz, two friends of mine brought in a boy of about three whom they had found wandering at night. I appealed on the air for

I want to shout out a secret to authentic interior freedom, a secret which will go against every fiber of your being. The answer to every crisis, every threat you will face in your life on earth is to stand still and trust. Easier said than done. As sinful humans, we are wired to fight or flee from any threat to ourselves or those we love. Unfortunately, if we want to live in the kingdom of heaven as children of God, we soon learn this fight or flight reaction is not God’s way of defeating our enemies. Even though we are Catholics who have been confirmed by the Holy Spirit in His power, we often behave exactly as the Israelite slaves in the Old Testament. Time and time again, the Israelites had witnessed the power of God defeat their enemies in Egypt. However, as they faced the Red Sea and saw Pharaoh’s army draw near, “the Israelites looked  back” .  Exodus 14:10 Big mistake .  Lot’s wife looked back and remember what happened to her? She turned to a pillar of rock salt.

Australia's Earth Overshoot Day happened earlier this week. It used to be called Ecological Debt Day, involves a lot of math, and assumes that Earth's glaciers, deserts, and oceans, are pretty much all the same thing. The basic idea, that we shouldn’t waste resources, isn't silly, and I'll get back to that. Some other scientists say that we should pay attention to pollinators. I think they're right. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I used to be a special education teacher, and we, as teachers, dealt with a student’s disabilities, as well as, the problems the child might face at home. We worked with our school counsolers very closely. Their job involved directly dealing problems with the problems we were not able to handle. They knew what was going on at home with these kids. Some of it was terrible. I asked one of our counselors how she was able to keep sane knowing what she knew. She said, “Things always work out.” Read More at Prayerfully Yours

I've come a long way over the years.  Like everyone else, I didn't realize just how long a way until I started looking at some old photographs. You can view the photo gallery and read the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

Christianity is above all an experiential faith, a living relationship with Christ. A Christian is not a person who merely accumulates intellectual knowledge about God nor simply fulfills tradition and the letter of the law. Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have repeatedly emphasized that Christianity is an encounter with Jesus. The evangelization of the person and of human communities depends totally on this encounter with Jesus Christ.  Pope Benedict XVI We must always have the courage and the joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter with Christ, and being heralds of his Gospel. Jesus came amongst us to show us the way of salvation and he entrusted to us the mission to make it known to all to the ends of the earth.  Pope Francis   continue reading

August 11 is the memorial of St. Clare, one of my favorite saints. She was the first woman to follow the life of radical poverty practiced by St. Francis of Assisi and is the co-founder of the Poor Clares. Although I am not a Franciscan, I have had Franciscan friends, clergy, and spiritual directors instruct me on the beauty of St. Clare's spirituality. I have also learned a great deal from reading about her over the years. Clare and Francis (2007) is a film which depicts the fascinating story of her dramatic conversion and surrender to the will of God. St. Clare is the patron saint of television. She is also the patron of eye disorders, embroiderers, good weather, and telephones. The Contemplative Life The Lady Clare was born into a noble family in Assisi in 1193 and was admired for her great beauty. When she heard Francis of Assisi preach his Lenten homilies at the Church of San Giorgio, she was captivated by his words. At age eighteen, she heard him say: "When the

Last night was the final night of my Novena. I can’t believe it is over. I can happily say that this Novena brought me closer to God and Our Blessed Mother. It feels bitter sweet that it is over as I felt our connection was growing. So now she has a candle on my alter at home for daily prayer. Day 9 Prayer: Immaculate  Virgin of Candelaria, by your obedience to the Father, conscious of our pride, we ask you to help us humble ourselves. We want to accept God’s will and make our life a constant “yes” to the invitation of the eternal Father. Amen. Allowing my life to be a “constant yes” to the invitation of the eternal Father.  This can be taken a few ways and as I lit my candles last night I realized that this constant yes is a daily struggle and test of my faith. Click here to continue. 

My husband talks in his sleep. I may not get a lot of sleep some nights, but I always get entertained. Like the night when we happened to both be lying on our sides, turned toward each other. He opened his eyes, gazed at me intently, and said, “You look like . . .” As I was thinking  Now what ? he completed his sentence. “. . . a turtle.” I look like a turtle? Squinting and staring at me more intensely, he asked, “How’d you do that?”  continue

Timmy and Tammy are ten-year-old twins, who come home from school every day to an empty house. As a society, we commonly refer to such children as “latch-key children.” More and more responsibility is placed on such children to self-discipline themselves to do their homework and complete their chores. It is no longer monetarily feasible for one parent to stay at home. Life gets even more complicated and overwhelming when a person must raise their children without the loving support of a spouse. Timmy and Tammy’s mom, Tiffany, has little time for her twins. Her boss is overbearing, demanding, and unaccommodating when it comes to balancing home and work life. Work usually wins out because Tiffany is a single mom, and sole bread-winner for her family. Their dad is long gone and out of the picture, resulting in just one more broken home. Tiffany struggles with balancing her time and attention between work and home. Sometimes it is just physically easier to ignore her children’s wants

We enjoy proverbs and sayings. Witty ones bring a smile to our face. We post them on Facebook and buy t-shirts and mugs that display them. They capture the wisdom of the people. We admire Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac , the source of adages such as “birds of a feather flock together,” “a stitch in time saves nine,” and “necessity is the mother of invention.” The Book of Proverbs in the Bible contains hundreds of them. However, we are not as familiar with it as we are with the Psalms. Let’s take a closer look at this first of the Wisdom books. Click to continue

As the Morning Rising: In Memoriam : Bishop Edward Daly : In Memoriam His anointed hand bore A simple white handkerchief Bloodied, poppy-bright: An Olympian forerunner With a tor...

What Do You Know of Death? In the opening scene of the movie  Gran Torino ,  Walt, a hardened soldier stands rigidly, scowling at family and friends during his wife’s funeral mass. Dying from lung disease and tormented by the fact he slaughtered men and boys during the Korean War, Walt accuses his parish priest of knowing nothing of death as he quotes from the funeral homily: ‘Death is bittersweet? Bitter in the pain, sweet in the salvation.’ That’s what you know of life and death? Good, God. It’s pathetic. A similar accusation could be leveled at most Catholics. If Christians want to speak out against euthanasia, we better know a bit more about life and death than pious, memorized phrases. continue reading

Day 8 Prayer: Immaculate  Virgin of Candelaria, give me your Son Jesus and let him live permanently in my heart. May Jesus’ presence in my heart enable me to be humble, serene, and at peace, enjoy the purity of heart, body, and spirit. May he inspire me to be persevering and patient, prayerful and always looking forward for my final union with him in heaven. Amen. First I really want to say that with tonight being my last day of my Novena there is a bitter sweet feeling. I definitely feel that the Holy Spirit has been working in me and that my prayers did not fall on deaf ears. This has been a very humbling experience. The wording of the prayer for day 8 was extremely intense. This Novena is for protection against poverty and illness. And as I recited this prayer last night, I silently contemplated the meaning of each word.         Click here to continue. 

August 9 is the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (also known as Edith Stein), virgin and martyr, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, who later became a Discalced Carmelite nun and was martyred at Auschwitz. She is the patron saint of converted Jews, loss of parents, martyrs, and World Youth Day. Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891, of Jewish parents, Siegried Stein and Auguste Courant, in Breslau, Germany, the youngest of eleven children. Although her parents were practicing Jews, Edith became an atheist during her adolescent years.  A critical thinker and a gifted scholar, Edith studied philology and philosophy at the universities of Breslau and Goettingen. Read the entire article at Catholic Fire.

My earnest striving to be perfect, to pair all the socks, for example, was a weakness, not a virtue. My diligence was rooted in insecurity, unbelief but most of all in pride. Again and again, as I read spiritual material, God tried to teach me that true Christianity is not focused on personal perfection but founded on the power of the Cross and Resurrection to set us free. “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father’s love for us.”  -St. Pope John Paul II  “Don’t worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth.”- Dorthy Day for a humourous look at letting go of control, continue

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me" The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Luke 10:38-42 Personally, I have always been able to identify strongly with the personality and perspective of Martha. Ingrained with a strong work ethic and desire to serve, I have been often called and always quick to step forward. Discernment and ample grace have even helped me to see how best to use my gifts to help others.  Yet, with a "Martha" disposition there can also be a temptation to frustration and jump to judgemen

Day 7 Prayer: O Holy Virgin of Candelaria, conscious of our defects, we take refuge in you. We know that you have Jesus in your arms and you give him to those who seek and wait for him. Ask your Son to give us the necessary grace  we may be able to live our Christian vocation, to imitate your virtues and win the promise of life eternal. Amen. After saying this last night a saying my father tells me popped in my head. "If God wants you to have money, you will have money. Money doesn't define success." Click here to continue. 

This is the end of the First week of my 30-day Prayer Journal Challenge! I am very happy to share this experience with all of you and I hope you will join me in the challenge. It is so simple and only takes about 15 minutes. I used my Holy Bible App to search for verses but you can use google as well.  Also as you can see with mine. Do not go crazy and spend money on a journal. This is a .97 cents binder from Wal-Mart and Paper. Seriously don't get crazy, you will miss the point.  Week 1 Questions. How do I feel today? What does the Bible say about my feelings (only 2 or 3 verses that speak to you)? Where was I weak today? What does the Bible say about overcoming my shortcomings (only 2 or 3 verses that speak to you) What is God's message for me today? Write a Prayer to help you deal with your day according to what you feel you should pray about. Week 1 Reflections :  At the end of each week, you will reflect on the week prior and take note on how the journal

Saint Dominic, a 13th-century theologian, tends to get overshadowed by his fellow, more renowned Dominican, Saint Thomas Aquinas. Yet, not today! Today, we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers. During his life, Dominic, a native Spaniard, traveled abroad to France. There, he witnessed a great need to combat heresies. He believed that people needed to fully understand the true teachings of Jesus Christ. If they did, they would embrace the Catholic faith. Dominic also realized that to achieve success in his preaching, he must meet the heretics were they were at: living a life of austerity. He met austerity with austerity, by preaching and walking barefoot! From his efforts, Dominic gave birth to true “evangelical preaching.” He established... Read more...

August 8 is a special day for me because not only is it my birthday, but it is also the feast day of one of my favorite saints -- St. Dominic, a Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order. In addition, the founder of my Oblate community, Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, is a Dominican. This is a special feast day for the Community of St. John. St. Dominic was a remarkable man – a bold and brilliant priest who is the patron saint of astronomers and scientists. As the saint who preached the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, he converted the Albigensians and set the world on fire with the Truth of the Gospel message. Dominic Guzman was born in Castile (Spain) in 1170 to affluent aristocrats, Blessed Joan of Aza and Felix Guzman. When she was pregnant, Joan had three dreams. First, she dreamed that she would give birth to a son who would be a brilliant light to the Church.  Second, she dreamed that she gave birth to a dog and that it broke away from her, carrying in its mouth a

"..As I was crossing the street...a big red truck rounded the corner and hit me. The impact sounded like a terrible explosion, and I was thrown to the ground. The police and ambulance came, they strapped me onto the stretcher, and we were off to the hospital... "The fact that I was alive just overwhelmed me. As I lay flat on my back in the emergency room, just staring at the ceiling, I had time to think...." (click to continue)

Day 6 Prayer:  O Holy Virgin of Candelaria, we beg you to help us reach your Son, Jesus, that he may give us the grace to imitate his virtues, fulfill the commandments, and have a horror for mortal sins. Thus, one day, we will also enjoy eternal life with you in heaven. Amen "Give us the grace to imitate his virtues."  Wow what a statement! As Christians we all strive to be Christ like (hence the name lol). Everyday we struggle to be more God like. It is a struggle that every Christian has whether they admit it or not. The Christ like thing to do by the way is to admit that you are not as Christ like as you would like to be. Luckily God accepts us and forgives us for our shortcomings.  Click here to continue. 

(From Wiley Miller's Non Sequitur, used w/o permission.) You've heard this one before. At the Vatican, a Cardinal's secretary bursts into a meeting. “Your Eminence! He's here! Jesus! He landed in St Peter's Square! What do we do?!” The Cardinal runs to the Pope's office, repeats the news and question. The Pope says, "look busy." It's pretty good advice, actually, which brings me to this morning's Gospel reading: Luke 12:32 – 48 — or Luke 12:35 – 40 , which covers the main idea.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

  During the Olympic competition this summer, champions and the emblematic figures of the sport emerge. They are the new gods of human physical perfection and outstanding ability. This sport feast bring us memories of past idols, specially the stunning case of the Jamaican sprinter Bolt, protruding on the Olympic horizon.   But success has its price, and already for some time, incredible physical ability was the only área of his personal life that he was interested in, for in his personal life, training and preparation were not his main objective.