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HAPPINESS WHAT IS IT? HOW DO YOU MEASURE IT? HAVE YOU GOT IT? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT

In today’s Gospel from Matthew, we hear Jesus ask some questions, as it relates to the payment of Temple tax. He is asking if we pay our fair share. What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?  (Matt 17:25)? These are rather tricky questions to answer. You see, Jesus and His Disciples are part of the Kingdom of God. So, with that understanding, they would be considered subjects, not foreigners. Therefore, they should not be subject to the Temple tax. However, if we read a little further, we see that Jesus instructs... Read more... 

Like many of the laity and I suspect, holy religious, I have been grieving over the state of the Church as the McCarrick scandal came to light this past June. Tom and I also recently watched the movie, Spotlight  about the widespread sex abuse that came to light in the Boston area in the early 2000's. I also wouldn't be surprised if more incidences come to light in the near future. I think we are going to see that the scandals and cover-ups run deep. Tom and I also know more than one person that has been personally affected by it all. Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns>

CONVERSATION WITH THE DEVIL HOW WOULD YOU HAVE ANSWERED THE DEVIL? CLICK HERE

  En este Día Internacional de la Juventud es imperativo realizar que los jóvenes de hoy son distintos, y que el mundo al que se enfrentan también, y aún así, necesitan todo nuestro apoyo para alcanzar las metas que desean. La comunidad debe garantizarles las condiciones para alcanzar su desarrollo humano. Pero ¿Qué es hoy el “ desarrollo humano”? Con tanta tecnología y avances científicos… ¿Podrán finalmente las nuevas generaciones llegar al éxito y a la felicidad? ver más...  

The Mass of St Gilles , Master of Saint Gilles   [ 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   Mark 6:41-51 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)   Then the Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’  They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’  Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves.  No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.  It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father ...

To all my friends, who are Third Order Dominicans, I wish you a happy Feast Day of Saint Dominic. We honor this gifted saint by acknowledging him as the founder of the Order of Preachers; otherwise known as the Dominicans. The laity who follow in Saint Dominic’s ways represent the Third Order Dominicans. Like Dominic, they embrace poverty and obedience. They do their part to carry on in Saint Dominic’s name by evangelizing the faithful. Some do it through their writing, others through public speaking. Then, there are those who simply preach the Good News by their witness in living a Christ-like life. Saint Dominic – Preacher and Traveler Dominic, a 12 th  century Diocesan priest, was an exceptional preacher of the Good News. He preached in love and service toward his neighbor. Yet, his work was not confined to a local parish. Of Spanish descent, Dominic embarked on missions to France and Italy, with the goal of dispelling burgeoning heresies. His successful work resulted in ...

In a few days, I will be moving to an apartment building where I will live with about forty Sisters of Notre Dame and a growing number of laypeople. We will form a community that will be a new experience for me. I’ve lived with large and small groups of Sisters, I’ve lived alone, and once for two months I lived with a community of disabled people in Chicago in a home called Shelter of God’s Love. A recent retreat focused me on our deep-rooted need to form communities and how important they are. It all begins with the Trinity, three holy Persons bound together as One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since we are made in God’s image, then we too are naturally drawn to live in communities.  Click to continue

Photo by  Priscilla Du Preez  on  Unsplash Did you grow up in a large family? I did. I was the youngest of five. When my nephew, who is an only child, visited us this summer for a week, I started to notice how many life lessons we learned as kids just by being part of a big family. Consideration, kindness, sharing, thoughtfulness...it wasn't just my family, either, but all the big families on our block when I was growing up. When you have to share a bedroom with several siblings and you wear hand-me-downs until first grade, you learn not to value possessions too much. My memories of growing up in a large family and why big families are a blessing! Lessons from our older brothers and sister - Big Families Are a Blessing

Today, we celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord. In Mark 9:2-10 we read about Jesus going up the high mountain to converse with Elijah and Moses. During this conversation, Jesus’ clothes became dazzlingly white, evidence of Jesus’ divinity and glory. The fact that He is having a conversation with Elijah and Moses is evidence of the fact that death, as we know it, is not the end of life. For, here are two souls of ancient history conversing with Jesus!  This should give us all hope in Christ’s promises of salvation and eternal life with Him in Heaven! What I find fascinating about this Gospel passage is that, as with Jesus’ Baptism, we once again, hear the voice of God. At Jesus’ Baptism, God says, “You are my Beloved Son, with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). At the Transfiguration of Jesus, God, the Father, says, “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to Him” (Mark 9:7). Both assertions clearly articulate the relationship between Father and Son, as in both instances God, the...

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THE PERILS OF CHARITABLE GIVING DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE LETTING YOURSELF IN WHEN YOU PROMISE TO GIVE TO CHARITY? BEWARE! CLICK HERE

feature image by Yongsung Kim Most of us rate our success in living out our Christianity by a worldly set of standards. Even those who select candidates for the priesthood look for strengths, not weaknesses.  They look for good grades in philosophy and theology classes, confidence in social situations, efficient managerial skills, financial acumen, flair as a public speaker, and psychological stability. Perhaps a better yardstick for assessing potential success as a priest or as a member of the priesthood of the faithful is how weak a person is. Have they experienced confusion and doubt? Have they been broken and lived through depression and anxiety? Have they tasted failure and defeat? Do they realise their tendency to sin? continue

In the last few months, we’ve been seeing a resurgence of accusations of clerical abuse. Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is the most prominent, but just to the north of me, the Saginaw Diocese is imploding due to decades of homosexual corruption and abuse. My whole life, I’ve listened to whispers of corruption in the various diocese around me. With calls for a #CatholicMeToo movement and a cessation of donations to any diocesan fund, more and more accusations of corrupt church bureaucrats are going to be filed. And call me a raincloud, but when the dust settles, I think the Church in the United States will look very different. We’ve needed a house cleaning for a while, and I pray to God that now is the time, as painful as it will be. If former Cardinal McCarrick and his associates are the beginning of a deluge, there are three things we need to keep in mind: Our duties toward justice Christ’s call to be merciful The dignity of the priesthood Click to read more a...

  No quisiéremos que este fuese el tema que nos ocupa .Quisiéramos escribir sobre cosas hermosas, que las hay, no cabe duda, pero a veces quedamos tan impactados de ciertas realidades tan dolorosas y tristes que de noche y de día nos persiguen y es casi una catarsis el decir algo sobre ellas.   Para ello y en esta ocasión nos vamos a referir al comienzo del admirable Salmo 23 : del Rey David : “ El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará“. "El Señor es mi pastor, nada me falta, en verdes praderas me hace reposar y hacia fuentes tranquilas me conduce para reparar mis fuerzas”… ... pues bien parece que nos llega desde los Estados Unidos la parodia de este Salmo para suplirla por la fatídica heroína… “ La heroína es mi pastor, de ella siempre necesitaré. Me conduce a una dulce demencia, destruye mi alma. Me lleva al camino del infierno. Aunque camino por cañadas oscuras a la sombra de la muerte, no temo ningún mal, porque la droga está conmigo “. ...

Man with Two Loaves of Bread ,  Jean-François Raffa ë lli     [ 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  Mark 6:24-35 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)   So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’  Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’  T...