Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Salvation of Peter , Andrea da Firenze   [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Matthew 14:22-33 ( NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition )   Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake.  But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is y

I think being concerned about air quality, recycling, and other environmental issues, makes sense. But I don't think only being concerned about the environment is a good idea. People matter, too. I don't think it's an either/or thing. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: Perseverance : When I began to journey a bit deeper into my faith the word perseverance kept coming up. It was clearly a quality and often associate...

As the Morning Rising: Keeping the Home Fires Burning : Catholic University Church Dublin While out shopping today I met a man who lives not far from me and who has a cheery greetin...

Dying for Compassion , by Barbara Golder is sure to be a hit! As with Golder’s first book, Dying for Revenge , familiar characters return for more mysteries to solve. Once again, we meet our Lady Doc, Jane Wallace, the lead character. She is a strong, feminine role model carrying the titles of forensic pathologist, medical examiner, AND lawyer – quite an accomplished woman!  In Dying for Compassion , Jane is faced with several deaths occurring in her town; unexplained poisonings and a possible case of euthanasia. As the intentions behind these deaths stump Jane, she is thrown off-kilter in her personal life. The storyline from Dying for Revenge carries through to Dying for Compassion . In Dying for Revenge , Jane processed grief from the loss of her husband, John. She meets author, Eoin Connor, who helps her through her grief and the two develop a romantic relationship. Fast forward to Dying for Compassion , and Eoin Connor becomes a central character. Everything is going swimm

Yesterday about four hundred people gathered in our provincial house chapel to witness the final, perpetual vows of Sister Mary Kelley Rush. It was a glorious (and long) celebration of Mass. Today when religious Sisters are few and far between some people, even Catholics, don’t know one. Neither do they know about Sisters. Several times I’ve heard the comment, “When the church allows women to be priests, you sisters will be able to be priests.” Wrong! A consecrated religious woman and an ordained priest are two different species. (I have no desire to be a priest.) A Sister is called by God to offer her whole life to him. She follows Jesus and imitates him usually by making the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She belongs to a particular congregation founded for a certain purpose and marked by a charism, that is, a special gift for the benefit of the whole Church. Congregations can be devoted to social action, promoting life, giving retreats, missionary wo

I hated Netflix's “13 Reasons Why” adaptation for lots of reasons. You can read my rant in The 13 Reasons Why Issues No One is Talking About . But despite the travesty that that show was, my love of young adult stories prevails. So now, there's this young adult movie out on DVD . I wondered if it might sneak under everyone's radar, but I saw it was actually one of the most popular rentals in Redbox right now. It's called Before I Fall , and I just had to watch it... Continue Reading

As the Morning Rising: Trust in God : Sometimes you find that all that it takes is all that takes, and you're there! You've climbed the mountain! Praise be to God!

      Una vez más, Señor, ante ti. y Tu siempre ahí esperando....       Estás en todos los Sagrarios de la Tierra desde hace más de dos mil años. Estás desde aquella "noche" en que te quisiste quedar para no dejarnos solos, para acompañarnos como se acompaña al amigo en sus momentos felices, en sus horas tristes y amargas,   también en el lecho de la enfermedad, en la soledad de los años viejos.... Estuviste, estás y estarás. La generaciones pasan, el tiempo no se detiene y Tu quisiste quedarte porque sabías que te íbamos a necesitar.

 Hi there, ya'll! =) I realize that wool floppy hats are generally more of a Autumn/Winter accessory, but this weekend the temperatures dropped and it FELT like Autumn, so I thought it would be acceptable.  Plus, it was raining and gloomy most of the day, and this hat protects my hair perfectly.  Sometimes you just have to step out of the box and break some fashion rules to save yourself...and your hair. ;P Sometimes life can be completely overwhelming...actually, it would be more honest to say life is GENERALLY overwhelming.  Balancing relationships, housework, self-care, your spiritual life, etc., is tough, and can keep you so busy and wrapped up in your responsibilities that you fail to actually live your life, which is the whole point behind having all these responsibilities! As important as they all are, sometimes we need to take a step back and evaluate their purpose.

As the Morning Rising: The Garden of the Soul : My fears may not be voiced aloud, my anxieties may not all be shared, my dreams may or may not be aired so that other human ear...

I’m the type of person that treasures truth. Therefore, if I learn that a person has lied to me, I tend to lose all respect for the person. My husband and I discussed this very topic early on in our courting relationship. After 38 years of marriage, I can say that being truthful with each other is what held us together. There have been times when the truth was painful, but my husband knew that lying would result in worse consequences. So, it is in the sharing of truth, that we have stayed together, through the good times and the bad. Lying Breeds Mistrust It is through the sharing of the truth that trust is built. A marriage without trust is not a good marriage; just as any relationship, without trust, is not a good relationship. It takes a lifetime to build a relationship based upon truth and trust. Yet, it takes only five minutes and one lie to smash it all to smithereens! Read more...

As the Morning Rising: Absence and Agony : St Mary's Catholic Church Cushendall Co Antrim Asleep, and but a stone's throw from His agony!  Sweat like beads of blood s...

First, the good news. Nobody was hurt or killed. Folks at a prayer service say they were surprised. That's understandable, since someone set off a bomb near them yesterday. My guess is that many of them are still feeling uneasy. This sort of thing is uncommon in Minnesota's Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Someone said "write what you know." It was definitely Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Nathan Englander, or somebody else. I've mostly seen the quote applied to writing fiction. Apparently some folks assume that it means authors should only write stories about events they've experienced. That may help explain why fantasy and science fiction stories aren't taken seriously in some circles, and entirely too seriously in others. Others, including John Briggs , Diablo Cody /Brook Busey-Maurio and Jason Gots , say it means using the author's emotional memories when telling stories. They're professional writers, so I figure they know what they're talking about. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

DO MIRACLES REALLY HAPPEN? EVEN TODAY? IN OUR TIMES? PLEASE CLICK HERE

As the Morning Rising: Feast of Filigreed Light : Filigreed Light Even in dreams my soul sings Like a bird set free, Unbound by winter's mystery. My closed...

From The Cloistered Heart

I love comedies. But the thing is, in recent years anyway, your typical straight-up broad comedy movie has a lot of raunchy material in it. Not always, but I've noticed a trend lately. In fact, I haven't even found too many PG-13 comedies recently – they're mostly rated R. So when my husband and I found Masterminds, a PG-13 comedy staring Kristen Wiig, Zach Galifianakis, and Owen Wilson, streaming on Netflix, I was excited to give it a try... Continue Reading

Transfiguration of Christ , Paolo Veronese   [ Web Gallery of Art ] As the Feast of the Transfiguration is a feast of the Lord  it is celebrated today instead of the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Matthew 17:1-9 ( NRSV, Anglicised CatholicEdition )   Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.  Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.  Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I   will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’  While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, an

As the Morning Rising: Our Lady of the Snows

A young child, who knows enough words to communicate, can describe their prenatal memories and their birth from their own unique perspective, not as an observer. Most of my nine children were able to verbalize their womb and birth experiences if my husband and I posed questions before they were three and a half or four years old because most children can no longer remember after that age. Human life is sacred  because  from its beginning  it involves the creative action of God and  it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator , who is its sole end. CCC 2258 read more

As the Morning Rising: The Master's Feet : Nothing can be too beautiful to lay at the Master's feet, nor too complex for us when all is told.

Peter Ingemi, in his blogging persona as  Da Tech Guy , is a Massachusetts-based writer and political reporter whose blog is a staple for conservatives in the region. The writers Ingemi welcomes on his blog (a group that includes me) all get fair warning before coming on board that the boss is unapologetically Catholic. In his new book, Ingemi puts aside political reporting and takes up a labor of love:  Hail Mary: the Perfect Protestant (and Catholic) Prayer  [Imholt Press, 2017, 80 pages, $6.99 paperback, $2.99 Amazon Kindle e-book]. Ingemi is donating a portion of every sale to his local Catholic radio station in north central Massachusetts. The book’s title is intriguing and perplexing at the same time... Read the rest of the post at EllenKolb.com.

I picked a mix from 'science news' this week: tardigrade genes, fertility fears, and what is probably the world's oldest living culture. Folks in Western civilization have known about our neighbors in Australia for about four centuries. Understanding their beliefs became easier, I think, when some of us realized that respecting them makes sense. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: Walk on the Wild Side : My husband, not once but twice in recent days has spotted a kingfisher on a local countryside River Walk. On the second occasion it had ...

When Tom and I started and pastored a non-denominational church years ago, there was a young, single guy that joined us. When we came back to the Catholic Church, he followed, went through RCIA and became Catholic.  He is currently in Thailand as a missionary, fighting human trafficking. He works with a Protestant organization but greatly desires to partner with Catholics. Unfortunately, he hasn't had much luck finding Catholic groups over there to partner with. Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns>

IS OUR CHURCH SOMETIMES WRONG? CLICK HERE

Did you ever offer to help someone who firmly rejected your offer to help?  If so, how did you feel?  Conversely, how did you feel when you were able to be of assistance to someone?  Maybe you helped a person carry a load or cook a meal or drive somewhere. No doubt this act of charity warmed your heart, made you happy, and perhaps let you feel a bit proud! When we accept someone’s offer to help us, we cause these same positive feelings in them. This is an act of charity. However, being strong, independent Americans, we tend to reject other people’s offers of help. We say, “No, thank you,” or “I can manage, thank you.” By doing this, we deprive them of their chance to do a good deed. We are like Peter who protested to Jesus at the Last Supper, “You will never wash my feet!” Click to continue

Do you think that you can pick and choose who you want to love? Do you think you can toss aside those not selected? Think again! As Christians, we are called to love, serve and forgive everyone. That is neighborly love! However, given our human weaknesses, that’s a tall order! Yet, as followers of Christ, it is a mantle we must take upon ourselves. Christ asks much of us, but with his command to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39), He gives us the grace needed to fulfill His desire. Who is Your Neighbor? Although I have the best next-door neighbors (Mike and Carolyn), they alone are not the only ones that Christ calls me to love. When Christ says “Love your neighbor” He is referring to every person that crosses your path. He is not asking you to form a friendly bond with every human being, but He is asking you to... Read more...