Association Of Catholic Bloggers

In today’s Gospel reading, we see Jesus conduct an exorcism of an evil spirit from a young boy.  But, before He performs the exorcism, He takes note of the people arguing among themselves.  He asks the crowd, “ What have you been arguing about? ” (Mark 9:16). We’ll never know, because the father of the young man interrupts, asking Jesus to heal his son. Jesus finds more importance in the healing of the young man as compared to  the crowd’s argument with the scribes. He addresses the father’s plea and drops any discussion of His question. What Have You Been Arguing About? Imagine if Jesus came for the Second Coming and asked us what we have been arguing about? How would we respond? We would have to answer with the following: We’ve been arguing about the definition of truth. We each see things differently and fail to acknowledge facts and objective truth. There has been much argument in the political arena, with everyone taking sides, unwilling to listen to the other, and ther

Recently as a homeschool project, our family created a Famous Artists Jar. We pick a new famous artist each week, from our pool of Visual Artists, Musicians, Poets, and Writers.  The kids take turns and love discovering someone new, foreign, or familiar each week in greater depth.  We take to the local library each week to peruse, discover, and ingest further our learnings and our research. We check out many books which may help us to better understand the artist under intense scrutiny. :).  (haha). 😆 Inspired by my own children's curiosity, I took to writing some poems, inspired by some of the greats. Although short and heavily inspired by outside source material, I have attempted to express my thoughts and espouse my opinions with as much care as I have had time to give each piece of writing.  And so without further ado, here are some poems I wrote over the past few weeks. Time (inspired by Robert Frost) My time is fleeting here on earth This moment masked by this amount of m

As Madeleine Albright gave her statement to the committee that would be securing her place as Secretary of State on January 23, 1997, she had this to say in regards to building a new framework for the new century: “At the center of that framework ‘are our key alliances and relationships.   These are the bonds that hold together not only our own foreign policy but the entire international system.   When we are able to act cooperatively with the other leading nations, we create a dynamic web of principle, power, and purpose that elevates standards and propels progress around the globe.’   To seize the opportunities and defeat the perils we would face, I concluded, ‘we must be more than audience, more even than actors, we must be the authors of the history of our age.’” (Madame Secretary, A Memoir) I love that line “authors of the history of our age,” as well as the philosophy that we must work together with other leading nations. If we bring it closer to home, we can adop

What happens if someone, on their deathbed, asks for forgiveness for a lifetime of sin? What if they have been living without paying any attention to God? Should they be forgiven? In today’s podcast I reflect on Psalm 81 to answer those questions and to raise a few more . . . Are you burdened by past sins? Do you think whatever you have done is unforgivable? When we put all of this together, we see that God in his great wisdom has anticipated these questions, and our needs, and readily supplies us with good news. Check out today’s podcast at janetcassidy.blubrry.net , and don’t forget to share it with a friend! Have a blessed day in God’s Word. Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.blogspot.com janetcassidy.blubrry.net Email:   johnseven38@yahoo.com

Christ as Saviour El Greco [ 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   Matthew 5:38-48 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)     Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”  But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;  and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well;  and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile.  Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.”  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may b

Some weeks ago I went to a special Mass  prepared by a group of  laypeople to ask for God’s mercy on them and on their families as part of their preparation for Lent . The readings, the psalms and the prayers had all been chosen to echo the overall theme of asking God to give his loving mercy to all those present and to the whole world that would be lost without it. read on...

In today’s Gospel reading, we learn of Jesus’ healing of a blind man. As Jesus cures the man, He asks him, “ Do you see anything? ” (Mark 8:23). The man’s sight begins to clear, but not completely. Jesus lays His hands on the man to complete the process. How often in our lives have we seen gradual healing, like this blind man? Do You See Anything? Last fall, while I recuperated from my ankle fusion, at first, all I saw was lots of recuperation time ahead (four months). But, as time progressed, I began to see the healing aspects take place. God sent people to me who shared their love with me (friends, neighbors, and family). That outpouring of love did something good for my heart. Then, God sent my priest to my home, near Christmas, to hear my confession (Since I couldn’t stand in line on any given Saturday, he came to me). That healed my soul. My Pastor’s actions touched me greatly, knowing how busy priests are at Christmastime. And all the while, throughout the entire four-mon

I don’t consider myself a complainer, really, but the other day as I was packing my suitcase and I decided to take some of my teabags with me.   It was a new box of tea I hadn’t bought before and when I opened it, I realized that the individual bags were not sealed in a little sleeve like the other brand was. So I fretted a little bit as I put them in a plastic zip bag, knowing that the teabags were probably going to make a bit of a mess. I expressed my frustration to our oldest daughter who was standing nearby as I was doing all of this, and she said something that stopped me in my tracks. She gently pointed out, “That’s a first world problem, Mom.” Oh how right she was!   I was so glad she said it, because the truth of it snapped me back to reality.   Lately I have been reading some books that have increased my awareness of global concerns.   People who have been suffering as a result of being attacked by their dangerous governments, people whose lives have