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Returning to my audio version of Cassidy Comments , I hope you will enjoy today's reflection on the Seven Social Sins Mohandus Ghandi wrote about in his weekly newspaper in 1925! They are definitely something to think about! I welcome your comments and invite you to subscribe to my blog! Do you think these social sins I mention in today's podcast apply to us today? Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.blogspot.com

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Several days ago, a robot on Mars selected a hollow coring bit from its tool kit, drilled into a rock, withdrew the tool and placed the core into a sample tube. At least, that's what should have happened. But just to be sure, Perseverance felt inside the tube and took a look before sealing it. Oops. The sample tube was empty. NASA's discussion of the robot's first try at collecting samples is more detailed and less anthropomorphic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

  THE CHAIN OF EVENTS I AM SURE YOU CAN RELATE SIMILAR INCIDENCES IN YOUR LIFE  CLICK HERE FOR MORE

  Assumption of the Virgin Egid Quirin Asam [ Web Gallery of Art ] This magnificent sculpture is over the High Altar in the Pilgrimage Church, Rohr, Bavaria, Germany. The Solemnity of the Assumption This takes the place of the Mass for the 20 th  Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B   Vigil Mass This Mass is used on the evening of 14 August, either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Solemnity. It fulfils our Sunday obligation.   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) This page gives the readings for both the Vigil Mass and the Sunday Mass. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 11:27-28   (English Standard Version Anglicised: India) As Jesus said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”   But he said,  “Blessed rather are thos...

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  HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ... WHAT ARE YOU? NOT WHO ARE YOU?  BUT  WHAT ARE YOU? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT

I haven't been following the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but could hardly help noticing major stories in my news feeds. Some of them weren't what I'd call news. Not "news" in the sense of being unexpected. China won the table tennis medals, for example, and COVID-19 put a crimp in events and/or coverage thereof. That last, actually, was news of a sort. COVID-19 coverage outpaced team Russia doping news this time around.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Methylphenidate, Ritalin, has been in the news lately. I talk about that, a delayed diagnosis and why I take methylphenidate and other prescribed meds.)

 "They forgot the God who had saved them,     who had done great deeds in Egypt . . ." Silly Israelites.  How could anyone wandering in the desert forget all that God had done for them?  This verse, 21, from Psalm 106, really caused me to pause my morning prayers as I started wondering about us.  As a country, we might find ourselves convicted of rejecting God like the Israelites, without even realizing it. Can we name what God has done for us?  Do we know his amazing deeds?   Have we turned away from God to seek what satisfies our desires, not grasping our need to be saved? Of course not!  Not us!  Here's what we've been doing as evidence against that silly notion . . . We've been trying to create new genders and dismiss the "male and female he created them" idea.  In the name of healthcare, we are killing unborn children in their mother's womb while fighting for less-important causes in the name of virtue. We are not wo...

  Main Altar Gil de Siloé [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel  John 6:41-51   (English Standard Version Anglicised: India) So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said,  “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”   They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say,  ‘I have come down from heaven’ ?”   Jesus answered them,  “Do not grumble among yourselves.   No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.   It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—   not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the ...

I frequently suggest to people who are coming into the Church, who are getting closer to the Easter Vigil where they will receive the Sacraments, that they may find themselves in a greater struggle the closer they get to being baptized.  That is often the case. In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 14 (beginning with verse 22) we hear the account of the disciples being tossed around in their boat.  In the midst of their fear, Jesus appears to them, and in response to Peter's request, Jesus invites Peter to walk on the water, which he does. As Peter gets out of the boat and moves closer to Jesus, the wind becomes stronger and his fear increases as he starts to sink. Just when  Peter feels like all is lost, he cries out, "Lord, save me!" and Jesus immediately "stretched out his hand and caught him." Here you have a great analogy.   When struggles in life overwhelm us and fear leaves us paralyzed, it is then, if we are wise, that we call out to God, the only...

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The 2020 Summer Olympics and Stearns County Fair are both in progress this weekend. One is an annual agricultural and commerce show, the other is half of a four-year Olympiad; but they're not entirely different. The COVID-19 pandemic shut both down last year, for example.... ...Can't say that I blame Tokyo officials for saying that they could keep athletes and visitors safe, though. My culture has variations on 'the show must go on' — and sometimes it makes sense. But the International Olympic Committee said 'not now, maybe next year.' Can't say that I blame them, either. I had quite a bit to say this week, mostly about Olympic history .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

  Man with Two Loaves of Bread Jean-François Raffaëlli    [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 6:24-35   (English Standard Version, Anglicised: India) When the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing...

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  "At Horeb they fashioned a calf, worshiped a metal statue.           They exchanged their glorious God for the image of a grass-                          eating bull." (Exodus 32+) Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments only to discover Aaron had allowed the people to give up all of their gold jewelry and put it in a fire.  The outcome was a golden calf which the people were worshiping as their god. They wanted a leader and they were afraid they had lost Moses, so they made their own.   Moses got so mad, he threw down the tablets with the Ten Commandments that God himself had engraved, and smashed them to smithereens. My point to bringing all of this up is for us to explore what image we have created in exchange for our "glorious God." There is only one God, the one who created each of us out of love, but rather than rejoicing in him, have we replaced...

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CANADA BURNS AS SMOKE SHROUDS MINNESOTA!!! Well, no. Not really. Although that'd make a dandy headline. On the other hand, maybe it's too obviously overblown. Maybe there's a fine line between headlines that grab attention without inspiring thought and those destined for supermarket checkout lines. Or maybe it's more a matter of style and content. And that's another topic, for another day. At any rate, wildfires in two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Manitoba, triggered an Air Quality Alert for my part of Minnesota. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

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  In the Gospel of John (Chapter 20) we read about Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb of Jesus when she discovered he is gone. I was reading a description in Laudate that described what Jesus had healed in her.  In the Gospel of Luke (Chapter 8), you can find the list which includes evil spirits, infirmities and seven demons. You  may also remember her from Chapter 7 of Luke's Gospel as the woman who bathed the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiping them with her hair.  She anointed his feet with oil. We can even read about Jesus forgiving her sins, acknowledging that she had many sins in need of forgiveness, which prompted her great love for him.  Put all of this together and it sends a message loud and clear--the depth of your love of Jesus is directly related to your awareness of your sins and your gratitude for his forgiveness, in addition to your desire for eternal life. Think of all he did for Mary of Magdala.  Can you imagine how gratefu...

  The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Lambert Lombard [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 6:1-15   (English Standard Version, Anglicised: India) After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.   And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.   Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.   Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.   Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip,  “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”   He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.   Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii w...

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(My apologies to my subscribers if you have been receiving the same blog twice.  I am working to resolve the problem, which I am hoping I have accomplished with this issue.  If not, rest assured, I will stay on it!  Thank you for your patience!) In Psalm 78 we read about the manna (bread) that God rained down from heaven for the struggling Israelites in the desert.   Verses 29-30 say, in part: "They ate and were well filled; he gave them what they had craved.  But while they still wanted more, and the food was still in their mouths . . ." While the food was still in their mouth, they were not satisfied!  Their bellies were stuffed because God provided what they wanted, but in their eyes, it was still not enough. Look around.  God provides such beauty for us in this world.  Even in our most difficult times, he is there to comfort and sustain us.  How many of us, in the midst of all his blessings, continue to cry out, "More! More! We want...

  (Thank you to my new subscribers!  For those of you who have not yet subscribed, it's easy!  Just fill in the subscribe box at janetcassidy.blogspot.com) Has life ever handed you so many challenges that you've felt like it would be easier to die than to have to deal with what's in front of you? Well, that's what it was like for the Israelites who were grumbling to Moses.  They had just been through so much--too much.  Then they followed Moses into the desert where things got worse. This led them to ask: " Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us?" They had simply had enough.  Sometimes it is not so different for us today.  It is easy to get fed up with all of the difficulties life can throw at us.  Like the Israelites, it can feel a bit hopeless. But there is great news! When the Israelites reached this point, Moses told them confidently: “Fear not! Stand yo...

  En los últimos días ha habido reacciones encontradas y confusión ante la decisión del Papa Francisco de dar nuevas condiciones para poder celebrar la misa de rito tradicional del misal romano de 1962 conocida como “Misa Tradicional”. Sin prohibir ni revertir su uso autorizado por Benedicto XVI hace 14 años, estableció algunas medidas para prevenir algo alarmante que se ha venido gestando en los ambientes que frecuentan este Rito latino y que fue confirmado en su consulta a obispos de todo el mundo. Mucha gente no ha entendido lo que trata de prevenir el Santo Padre a pesar de que explica claramente en su carta las razones colegiadas por las que TUVO QUE INTERVENIR:     "…por un uso instrumental del Missale Romanum de 1962, cada vez más caracterizado por un creciente rechazo no sólo de la reforma litúrgica, sino del Concilio Vaticano II, con la afirmación infundada e insostenible de que traicionaba la Tradición y la 'verdadera Iglesia'". Dudar del Concilio, exp...