Association Of Catholic Bloggers

  I have a big question for you today, in my short podcast!   Listen in and tell me if you think you would stand on the right side of history!   You can find today's podcast at: https://youtu.be/a0CKZXcuerc   Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith For all other interviews & podcasts, go to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy

St. Patrick's Day is a public holiday in Ireland (Republic of and Northern), Newfoundland, Labrador, and Montserrat. It's a day when folks wear something green. I've heard that some even drink green beer. Why anyone would think green beer is a good idea is beyond me, and that's another topic. Chicago celebrates by turning the city's river green. If today's holiday post looks familiar, maybe you're remembering the one I wrote three years back. This one was going to be shorter. But aside from eschewing asides about Ptronius Maxiums, a Roman Emperor whose body got tossed in the Tiber, and Suffolk County's Evacuation Day 1 — fact is, I ended up adding a few paragraphs, and polishing the rest: Pick a Peck of Prickly Problems Protest, Perspectives, and — King Lear?! Previous Prickly Problems "...I am a Sinner" — St. Patrick, Shamrocks and All That Shamrocks Legends and a Forbidden Pit Saints Due Process New and Improved Fo

  Sheaves of Wheat Vincent van Gogh [ Web Gallery of Art ] T ruly, truly, I say to you,  unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24). In Ireland the Solemnity of St Patrick is celebrated this Sunday, with everything from the Mass for that feast including the Gloria. However, the readings are those of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B. Readings  (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 12:20-33  ( English Standard Version Anglicised, India) Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.   So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”   Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.   And Jesus answered them,  “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.   Truly, truly, I say to you, unles

    Do you know someone who thinks that this is all there is, that there is nothing beyond this world? Maybe they think you might as well grab all you can right now and make the most of it?   Today's podcast talks about this very topic. Does scripture agree with them?   Be sure to check it out. Just click on this link:    https://youtu.be/xBvef0O1U-w   Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith For more videos on my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy

  I don't expect everyone to read what I write; or indeed to read what other authors here write. Some readers here are just passing through, quick reading here and there and rarely commenting. Some choose to return and read their favourite authors. Others never come back and leave for pastures new. I for one accept that of my readers. I will lose some by what I say but then, I believe that what I say is too important not to be said. Tell me what you think HERE .

      In Psalm 142 we read: "Lead my soul from prison, that I may give thanks to your name." Our soul, which was created to love, by God our Creator, who IS love, can find itself "in prison" when we close ourselves off from the outpouring of God's grace, by setting our hearts elsewhere. What is imprisoning your soul this Lent? What needs to be cleaned out and purified so that you may be free of sin and worldly desires? When we experience the Holy Spirit guiding us away from sin, it is then that we find ourselves most grateful for all of God's blessings. As Psalm 142 tells us, God is our refuge. When we feel we are being pursued, we need to cry out to God for help. Sometimes our "spirit is faint" within us and it is in those very moments that we must ask God to "thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from sin cleanse me." (Psalm 51) I hope we can all arrive at Easter, renewed in the Spirit, and prepared to set our hearts on God

Because I watch the news, and Caitlin Clark has been in it lately, I've been picking up on how talented she is. In case you don't know, as a basketball player for Iowa's women's team, she has a resume like no other. She is amazing on the court and fun to watch, as it appears she sinks every three-pointer she attempts. I read that she is "the first Big Ten women's basketball player to record 500+ 3-pointers in a career." She's a real stand out. She is unique and has a special role to play. In today's reading from the Gospel of John (Chapter 5), the emphasis is on the communion of Jesus and the Father. Jesus talks about how much the Father loves him, what the Father does, and the fact that the Father gives him life, as well as power to "exercise judgment." Here's the clincher: "I cannot do anything on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me."

    At our penance service last night, the priest pointed out that Confession isn't so much about our sins, but about the mercy of God. While it is important that we name our sins and face them, and confess them to a Priest, we have nothing to fear in doing so.  Jesus took our sins upon him, on the cross, and he loves us so much, that his forgiveness is poured out on us freely, as a gift. The importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation ("Confession") in the Catholic Church, is that through the transforming power of God, we are able to chip away in this life all that is preventing us from being all that we can be as a child of God.  This is very liberating. In today's reading from the Gospel of John (Chapter 5), Jesus heals the man who had been ill for 38 years.  He did so on the Sabbath, which was against the law. Jesus didn't let the law of not working on the Sabbath interfere with the good he could do. The only thing Jesus asked for was an acknow

  When I read passages from the bible that give the names of geographic locations, I like to look up the places on a map. It gives me a real sense of the ground Jesus covered and the people he encountered. Take that idea and make a map of your life, up to this point. And beyond the notion of location, look at where you have been on a different level.    What did you believe at an earlier time in your life? Who were your peers? What did you dream of doing? What did you want to accomplish? What did you fear? Now, put on your map where you are today. Then, put on this map what you hope for in your years remaining. What you will likely (hopefully) notice when doing this exercise is your personal growth. Your ideas, hopes and dreams, shift as you age. What was once important, may be less so today, with other things taking a primary spot. Everyone's life map will look different, depending on their experiences and personality, but creating one will help you get a broader perspectiv

Our number-two daughter starts radiation therapy this week.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Cancer treatment for one of our daughters starts today. Besides health concerns, I realize that this will take a great deal of time out of each week.)

Wood generally doesn't last long if left out in the open. That's why finding interlocking logs near the Kalambo River is such a big deal. Well, part of the reason. They've been submerged, it that's the right word, in wet sediment. For something like a half-million years. Which makes them part of the oldest known wooden structure. Ancient Builders on the Kalambo River Luminescence Dating and Carbon 14: a Nerdish Digression Finally Finding Kalambo Falls Cavemen, Labels, and Me Lincoln Logs Long Before Lincoln This Doesn't Change Everything : But It's a Big Deal 'Friends, Romans, Hominins...' Good News, Bad News, and (Slowly) Changing Attitudes We're Learning More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The Kalambo River structure: interlocking logs that are a half-million years old. New data leads to rethinking old assumptions about "humans".)

Entombment Blessed Fra Angelico [ Web Gallery of Art ] Nicodemus is supporting the body of Jesus in the painting. Readings  (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) https://www.universalis.com/20240310/mass.htm Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 3:14-21  ( English Standard Version Anglicised, India) Jesus said to Nicodemus:   As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,   that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.   And this is the judgement: the light has

How's your Lent going? Are your sacrifices feeling a little empty?  Take a couple of minutes to see what you can do about it.  Here's the link:   https://youtu.be/rztT7MlWDuE Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassi dy    

            I went down a rabbit hole the other day and watched an interview with the world-renowned model, Gisele Bündchen (Tom Brady's ex.) She said when her kids ask her what their religion is, she tells them "love is your religion and nature is your temple."  Oh brother. She's got it wrong if their love "religion" means following questionable practices that exclude God, which seems to be the case. Apparently, Bündchen and Brady are both Catholic and were married in a Catholic Church, but from what I read, she encouraged him to rely on "special" "healing and protection stones," to win his football games.  Add to that a necklace she had him wear, drops she had him take and mantras he had to say, and things start to go off the rails. ( ncregister ) I know a lot of athletes have their superstitious practices, but what we need to be careful about is when we start to believe that these prac

    I typically don't write about politics here (although it is a great interest of mine), but I have to bring it up because of what I read recently in Liz Cheney's book (Oath and Honor). This woke me up as to how naive I have been. You see, the image in my head has always held onto the hope that even though our parties have differences, they share a love of our country and strive, together, to work for our betterment. (They actually did attempt to do this recently with a bi-partisan bill about the boarder, but it couldn't get passed, because of the "politics" game being played.) Anyway, here's an insider's description that snapped me into the reality of how things really work. I found it very sad: "It's hard to overstate the extent to which Democrats and Republicans inhabit different worlds in Congress. Our parties meet separately and organize separately . . . . This is not to say that bipartisanship doesn't exist; it does .

Today's podcast may just have you singing! Check it out!  It's under 2 minutes! You can find it at: https://youtu.be/xFoa6rY7TgA While you're there, be sure to check out Part 2 of my conversation with Deacon Art on Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail.  It's a good one!  All of my videos and podcasts can be found on my YouTube Channel link below. Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@janetcassidy   

  I was listening to a Christian radio station the other day and they played the song "Counting My Blessings" by Seph Schlueter. I was unfamiliar with the song, but these lines jumped out at me: "The more that I look in the details The more of Your goodness I find Father on this side of Heaven I know that I'll run out of time" On this side of Heaven . . . I'll run out of time . . . reminded me that every day God gives us is a gift, and I asked myself, "How am I spending this gift of time?"   It's a good question.   Do we spend our days making pleasure, leisure, wealth and contentment our main goals, or are we striving to follow God's will for our life?   Personal pleasure is not opposed to the gospel, of course, but we have to be able to recognize goals that satisfy our earthly existence, versus goals that will lead us to eternal life.  They don't have to be mutually exclusive, but the latter brings everything together, for there is gre

  I heard the actor George Clooney say he was raised with this mindset: "Challenge people in power and defend people with less power." Seems like two good principles to me! I'm half way through the book "Oath and Honor" by Liz Cheney and it is very clear that the first principle from Clooney's family was not--and still is not--taken seriously when it comes to politics.   The intimate details of what happened leading up to the January 6th attempted takeover is a real eye-opener. You should read it, no matter what party you favor. It is a thought-provoking read. Still today, too many people bow down to people in power, regardless of whether they deserve their respect, and in the process, they throw away their personal integrity. I'll never understand it. How can one's position and power be more important than honesty and doing the right thing for the common good? Cheney's book offers a first-hand account of the lies and scheming that took place