Association Of Catholic Bloggers

            En un mundo de prosperidad, el hecho de que todavía haya hambre es contradictorio. Nos lleva a pensar de inmediato en el contraste de la abundancia y desperdicio de los países ricos y la escasez de los pobres. Pero la realidad de este problema es más compleja y su solución radica en formas y dinámicas que la fe católica ha promovido desde los tiempos de Jesús. Es una realidad que en el mundo una quinta parte de toda la comida acaba en el basurero de acuerdo al Índice de desperdicio de alimentos 2021, publicado por el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA). Para nuestra sorpresa, el desperdicio de alimentos no es muy diferente en los países pobres que en los ricos. (1)      ¿Cómo puede ser eso? Una explicación es que el desperdicio se da por diferentes razones y en diferentes momentos de la cadena de suministro de alimentos.   En los países pobres se da antes del consumo, en el almacenamiento, refrigeración y distribución (producto de la m

The Apostle Paul in Prison Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] Yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus . . .  (Philemon 9; Second Reading). Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)   Gospel   Luke 14:25-33 ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) . Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,   “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.   Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.   For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?   Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begi

Going down a rabbit hole as I so frequently do, I ended up watching the last Mass of Padre Pio.  That led to watching an old black & white video of a "day in the life of" clips.  In one of the clips, he was standing in a hallway with his brother Capuchin talking to children gathered around him. As I watched this video, it struck me that he was one man among many standing next to his brother Capuchins, dressed exactly like them.  I wondered, "What made him so different, set apart from the others?" I kept digging.  Miracles, stigmata, and most intriguing, an account of him bi-locating. He had been at a concert, thoroughly enjoying it, when, at the intermission, it was noticed that he was leaning forward on a chair, appearing to be resting, "silent and motionless," for about 5 minutes.  The people that were with him recounted that he never left, and after the show, went directly home.  You can read more about it HERE . At the very time that h

 A little story  The Day of the Picnic I remember the day well,  everybody was talking about Him. We could see Him with His friends,  so some of us followed. Others joined us on the way.  What did we expect to see? So many stories,  I wanted to see for myself. Three men in Bethany claimed   He'd cured them. One, Joseph, he's my cousin,  he was lame, he'd never walked,  lame since birth. But now, I saw him myself,  both legs good, walks upright. So yes, I followed Him to the mountain,  I was at the front, crept near His friends,  heard Him ask Philip where they might get food for the people. I remember the blue sky,  and way up high up, crows in silhouette, the hot sun.   His look,  those eyes,  those eyes loving all they fell on. I looked around , five or six thousand  standing there,  waiting. . Is He mad, I thought. Philip was saying it was  impossible,  what could they do with so many? The other disciples asked around,  did anyone have anything? Shaking of heads, shruggi

31st August 2022 We Trust in His Holy Name   There was a beautiful verse in the psalm at Holy Mass this morning, that made me think and gave me food for prayer. It is from Psalm 33: Our soul is waiting for the Lord, The Lord is our help and our shield. In Him do our hearts find joy. We trust in His Holy name Is my soul waiting for the Lord. How often do I think about Him as I go about my day? Many of the saints yearned eagerly for the time they received Our Lord in Holy Communion. They would prepare in very special ways.  Sometimes, maybe, we get too comfortable, too used to being able to receive Him every day, that we forget who it is we are receiving. Our faith may be lacking somewhat.  It is no surprise, though I have to confess it came as a shock to me , to find out that around 70% of mass goers don't necessarily believe in the real presence and are happy to believe it's just a symbol. Well, my answer to them is, go find an Anglian church, because here in the Catholic churc

(From Coconut Creek Police Department(?), via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) (Suspect arrested, after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. (2018)) A fervent defense of capital punishment popped up in my social media feeds recently. By the time I went back, looking for the post, it had disappeared into the digital mists. I don't remember what had inspired the declaration of allegiance to execution.... ...None of that's particularly noteworthy. Fervent defenses, denunciations and declarations happen. Sometimes they're aimed at old-school ideas, sometimes new notions are targets of praise or blame.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . Capital punishment is legal. And, by some, valued. Stoneman High School, Boston Marathon killings; and a change in Catechism of the Catholic Church.

  Young Jew as Christ Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 14:1, 7-14 ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) . One Sabbath,  when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honour, saying to them,   “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,   and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person’, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.   But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be

I was listening to a story on National Public Radio about three sisters who were tested to see if they have a gene that predisposes them to Alzheimer's ( A family looks for answers . . . " At the end of the interview, they commented that they were planning for the future.  One of the sisters moved back to the "holler" in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina where they grew up, hoping the others would join her one day.  The other two liked the idea. Here is their reasoning: "The good thing is, we would be surrounded by family and people that have known us since we were children. And so if we walked away, somebody would find us, help us find our way back home." Wow.   I thought about the neighborhood I grew up in. There isn't anybody left that would be able to direct me back to our house. I suppose their plan reflects the difference between growing up in a city neighborhood versus growing up in a "Kennedy-like compound, except redne

 I started reading a 400 page book by Cokie Roberts called Capital Dames, The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868 . If history has taught me anything, it is highly unlikely that I will make it to the end.  I pick it up and read some, and then lay it back down.  Not because it isn't good.  It's very good.  I just get antsy, I guess.  Anyway, one thing I have found while reading this book, which covers a lot of the politics of the time, is that nothing has really changed.  A different book I'm reading that contains Lincoln's speeches is fascinating, and leads me to draw the same conclusion. I am no student of history (I'm working on it), but to read about all of the heated debates on slavery at the time and Lincoln's opinion that a nation divided half and half would not work is interesting.  At times, Lincoln had to correct an opponent's misinterpretation of what he said by revisiting his speech and standing his ground, all the while,

I was reading at article in VISION (a publication of the National Religious Vocation Conference) which is packed with good stuff.  I happened to come across Unravel the mystery of your call by Sr. Julie Vieira, I.H.M. who serves from Monroe, Michigan. The very readable article discussed steps of discernment.  What caught my attention was this: "Whether you intentionally enter into discernment or it sneaks up on you, discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit who leads us to be aware of and attentive to how God is moving and calling us in our life." Discernment, we sometimes think, is a sort of "figuring out."  What am I supposed to be doing?  Am I in the right job?  Is God asking something of me other than what I am doing?  And in the case of this publication, "Is God calling me to religious life?" But I asked a popular speaker one time about discernment and she responded, "You don't have to figure it out.  It's not like a mystery to

  How would you thank God? CLICK HERE

Three of us were out walking in our local nature preserve in the evening and we came across two little boys, separately.  The first was walking out on the small dock looking at all of the "goldfish" swimming in the pond, with his dad nearby. The second came up later near the same dock, looking for the turtle, pad and pencil in hand, with his dad as well.  He was six.  His dad told us he was really into maps and was leading him around the preserve according to the posted map signs. They were both so cute, but I jokingly asked my husband if this was dads' night.  It was interesting that both little kids happened to be out on the trails with just their dad.  It wasn't until the next day I wondered where the moms were. My husband suggested maybe the dads were giving the moms a break; maybe it was a moms wine night out.  I thought maybe the moms were working.  Maybe it was the start of a custody weekend, or maybe the dads were just intentionally spending time