Association Of Catholic Bloggers

  I wasn't able to attend the funeral of Fr. James Swiat, our former pastor, who passed away July 21, 2024 (maybe you knew him?), so I contacted the church from which he was buried to see if his funeral was still available to watch online. It is. The following words, in part, spoken as sort of an introduction at his funeral really summed up for me something beautiful: "We gather to grieve, because we are human. To rejoice because we are Christian. To give thanks because we shared in the life of Fr. Jim." I think these words touched me because it can be a temptation to try to suppress grief, especially for people of faith who like to focus on the heavenly banquet at which our loved one is now (hopefully) seated. However, just because we look forward to the joy of eternal life, does not mean that grief doesn't have its rightful place in the experience of loss. I think the three-fold summary of grieving, rejoicing and thanksgiving are a proper perspective fo

Mark 7:31-37 in Filipino Sign Language Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel  Mark 7:31-37   (English Standard Version, Anglicised)    Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.   And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.   And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.   And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him,  “Ephphatha”,  that is,  “Be opened.”   And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.   And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.   And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf

Last week, I said I'd have "...tales of cursed gems, glow-in-the-dark diamonds, diamonds from outer space..." ready this week: "barring the unexpected". Then the unexpected happened. But I do have most of the Koh-i-Noor's story ready for you. I pieced together much that diamond's story this week: from the "mythical" king of a place that's not there any more, to present-day England: Koh-i-Noor: Diamond of Destiny, Slayer of Sultans and Shahs "The Diamond Does Not Satisfy" Doom of Afrasiab Emperors, Sultans, Shahs: and the Koh-i-Noor Gets Its Name The Body Count Grows In the Shadow of the Koh-i-Noor "...More Things in Heaven and Earth...." Superstition, Seances, and "Supernatural" More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The story of the Koh-i-Noor: an allegedly-cursed diamond owned by Afrasiab of Turan, assorted sultans and emperors, and finally Queen Victoria of England.)

      The other day I wrote about offering up our suffering for others. You need to be a bit self-recollected to do that. Today I want to talk about offering up our day--of which suffering may be a part--to God. This also requires being personally recollected. Every moment of every day God is present to us, and while our being constantly hyper-aware may be next to impossible, with God's help, we can re-train our thoughts on him so that he can do his work in us. We do this, albeit imperfectly, because we love him, and for no other reason. This is not about control, but about freedom. This is about offering ourselves back to God who created us. We need to be listening. He is our focus. Embracing this spiritual, supernatural way of living isn't merely cooperating with God. It is an in-the-moment way of being. Being more attentive to God's presence should bring us peace. If it makes us scrupulous or anxious, our intentions are misplaced and we need to ask God for direct

I am not "political". I won't try convincing you that [party A] or [politico A] is to blame for everything you don't like — while [party B] or [politico B] will solve all your problems. But now and then I talk about something with a political angle: like the ongoing mess in the Middle East. And I'll admit to a bias.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A brief, for me, response to news that six more hostages held by Hamas are dead: including Hersh Goldberg-Polin.)

Pray for healing; welcome suffering. When we do this, we follow Jesus in the Agony in the Garden , when he said, " if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." (healing/willingness/obedience.) When we receive the Eucharist at Mass (the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus), we consume--we take in--Jesus himself. Naturally, we do not become little gods, but uniquely, our humanity is transformed by his divinity within.  The Eucharist gives us the strength to join Jesus in the Garden, on the road of his Passion, and to his death on the cross, knowing as we do now, the resurrection that follows. As followers of Jesus, suffering is part of our experience, and we must share in that as well, and likewise, our own suffering can be offered for others.  While we do not bring salvation through our suffering like he did, it doesn't mean our suffering isn't redemptive. The suffering of Jesus saved us; we offer our suffering to Go

I take commercial puffery with a grain of salt, but that 2,492 carat diamond from the Karowe mine does seem "epic". It's also what I'll be talking about this week: along with the Karowe mine, Botswana, what diamonds are and where they come from, and why I see Botswana's recent history as a success story. Of sorts. One-Pound Diamond: and a Quick Look at Botswana Comparing and Contrasting: Botswana and the United States Wealth, Fertility Rates, Statistics — — "Democracy", and Dan Backslide Diamonds Graphite and Diamond: Same Element, Different Crystal Form Formed in the Depths, Rushed to the Surface On the Shores of Arkansas To Be Continued Congo Chaos and Lebensraum for Mountain Gorillas Blood Diamonds, Mountain Gorillas: and Working With What We've Got More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Diamonds and how they are formed, comparing and contrasting Botswana and the United States. Blood diamonds, gorillas, and working w

Moses Carlo Dolci [ Web Gallery of Art ] Moses said to the people:  “And now, O Israel, listen to  the statutes and the rules  that I am teaching you, and do them,  that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the  Lord , the God of your fathers, is giving you."  [First Reading]. Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15; 21-23  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)    Now when the Pharisees gathered to Jesus, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem,   they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.   (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash [ a ]  their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders,   and when they come from the market-place, they do not eat unless they wash.   And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the wash

I ran across remarks made by a Utah politician earlier today. [Wednesday, August 28, 2024] This isn't the source I stumbled on, but it’s the one I could find when I tried searching for it, later.... (a little) more at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Quoting Spencer Cox on responses to the Pulse Nightclub mass murder, sharing my experience as someone off the 50th percentile, and loving neighbors anyway.)

This isn't what I’ll be talking about this week, but today's (August 27, 2024) planned commercial test flight is — my opinion — a big deal. More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A very quick overview of a commercial human spaceflight mission, an excerpt from the news, and an embedded video which may provide live coverage.)

A paper published this month doesn't so much tell us what's inside a neutron star, as show what's not inside. Considering how little we know about these immensely-dense stellar objects, that's a significant step toward understanding the things. I'll take a look at that, but mostly I'll be talking about what we've been learning, and why I think paying attention to this wonder-packed universe is a good idea. Even if — maybe because — this Haldane quote, written a few years before we knew about neutron stars, still reflects how God's universe has been surprising us. "Now, my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose…." (" Possible Worlds and Other Essays ", p. 286, J. B. S. Haldane (1927) via Wikiquote) Squishy (?) Stars, Strange States of Matter Supernova! Neutron Stars: Gravity, Math, and Weirdness "...Astronomers Still Don't Know...." New Vi

My Dad, John Coyle Taken a week before his sudden death on 11 August 1987 Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel    John 6:60-69   (English Standard Version, Anglicised)    When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples

Do we really have to sell what we have and give it to the poor in order to have "treasure in heaven," in order to follow Jesus, as we hear him tell the Rich Young Man in the Gospel? ( Matthew 19:21 )  Really? Just how much of our stuff is Jesus talking about? What if we become poor ourselves? That doesn't sound like a great plan, does it? In Rerum Novarum (Paragrarph 22), an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, this question is answered.  In this great document the Pope turns to that great Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas for clarification: "'It is lawful,' says St. Thomas Aquinas, 'for a man to hold private property; and it is also necessary for the carrying on of human existence.' But if the question be asked: How must one's possessions be used? - the Church replies without hesitation in the words of the same holy Doctor: 'Man should not consider his material possessions as his own, but as common to all, so as to share

    We had our chairs set up for the rolling cruise. We ended up next to a family that included a couple of small kids. As one of the adults was recalling a sign she had seen along the route, she repeated the words on the sign which included a curse word. The kids didn't so much as flinch when they heard the adult use the swear word. How sad, I thought, that the adults with this child didn't even have the decency to hold their tongue in front of the kids, and the kids probably hear swearing so often, they didn't think anything of it. Admittedly, I don't swear. But before you roll your eyes and say, "Good for you," let me just say that swearing can be an acquired habit--a choice--and it can be broken. I'm no saint, trust me, but I believe that there is enough ugly in this world without us adding to it by using foul language, especially in front of children. Sometimes swearing is the language of entire families. When they get together, it's

    What is it in our human nature that causes us to desire to be affirmed, noticed and extolled, by our fellow human beings? It seems like whenever we do something, we look for feedback from others. What is in the praise of others that we find so desirable?  If only our greatest desire was to please God. We know it's true, we do this, because it has been written about. Take Saint Teresa's prayer, in "Mother Teresa Meditations from a Simple Path," for example: "Deliver me, O Jesus,  From the desire of being loved,  From the desire of being extolled,  From the desire of being honored,  From the desire of being praised, From the desire of being preferred,  From the desire of being consulted,  From the desire of being approved,  From the desire of being popular." This beautiful prayer that helps us achieve humility--or at least contemplate it--has a second part, that also speaks directly to what might potentially paralyze us: Continuing, "Deli

America has changed since my youth. I've seen fire and brimstone give way to tofu and soy sauce, rotary dial phones replaced by smartphones. Some things, however, haven't changed. Like the value we place on freedom. How my country's self-described best and brightest see freedom, particularly freedom of speech: that's what I'll talk about this week. "We Will Come After You" — He Really Said That RIOTERS RUN RAMPANT AS CHAOS STALKS THE LAND!!! "Complete Nonsense" and a Warning Scary Situations, Fear, and 'Those People' Four Freedoms: a Catholic Viewpoint Freedom of Worship, From Want, and From Fear Free Speech and Being Responsible The Powers That Be and Malcontents, Viewpoints and Fear "Outside Agitators", "We Will Come After You": Same Attitude, Different Eras "With Great Power...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (The London police chief warned that illegal online speech

Eucharist French Miniaturist, 15th century ( Web Gallery of Art ) Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him  (John 6:56; Gospel).     Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel     John 6:51-58   (English Standard Version, Anglicised)    Jesus said to the crowd: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”   So Jesus said to them,  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.   Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.   For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.   Whoever fe

    Today the Church celebrates a very special lady--the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. Particularly, we celebrate her Assumption into heaven. Tradition (with a capital T) has it from the very first days, the disciple John took Mary into his home and cared for her after the death of Jesus; later, she went up into heaven.  There is no grave for her. Importantly, we can learn from Mary (as our Deacon preached in church this morning on this Holy Day) more than a few things. When we think of Mary, we recall her Yes! to the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation, when she learned that she had found favor with God and would conceive Jesus. We recall her pointing to Jesus at the Wedding at Cana and her words to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you," and we accept her as our Mother, as Jesus gave her to us at the foot of the cross. We can learn from Mary.  Say Yes to God. Do whatever he tells you, and love Mary as our Mother, knowing she loves us as her children. I

  Are you intrigued by the title of this book? You shouldn’t be. It’s true and it guarantees that if you follow its instructions you will get to Heaven; or else we will refund you the price of the book. Be sure to keep a receipt as proof of purchase! (Although you won’t need it.) This book doesn’t cost much, so you’re not risking a fortune by buying it. But you are certainly risking a lot by ignoring it. Can you afford to? It could well save your eternity.  NOTES: Dear loyal readers. This book may not be for you if you are a practising Christian. But it may well be for someone that you know. Someone who has probably heard of God but never gave Him serious thought. Never bothered to find out more. Here's what prompted this book. I attended a funeral recently. It was at the crematorium and lasted about half-an-hour. The people there really did not believe in anything. To them, nothing happens after we die. Someone said a few words about the deceased. About her life and w

  Was Jesus totally human? 100% human? Consider His humanity compared to His Divinity. CLICK HERE

  I had the opportunity recently to watch the Detroit Tigers play baseball at Comerica Park in Detroit. Years ago we started making an annual pilgrimage for our son's birthday. This year, not much was happening until about the 8th or 9th inning, and then the game got super exciting with the Tigers pulling off a win over Kansas City in the 11th inning. Every year we check the weather beforehand because one year we had to wait out a downpour in a hot and very muggy bathroom.  We vowed never to do that again! One year we waited out a downpour on the covered mezzanine (because of our vow to never wait out a storm in the bathroom again). We were well-prepared with our ponchos, but we were all surprised when the wind took down the pop machine we were standing next to with a loud bang!  Lucky for us, we were protected from it by a little chain fence. This year it was dry and sunny, but my family mentioned that they saw quite a few people leave the game early because it loo

  Do you ever get low at times and feel discouraged? Or do you get overcome by anxiety, doubts and fears? You are not alone. In fact, you are in good company. Find out who HERE .

Headlines about an "eyeball planet" got my attention last month. Then I got distracted by what I thought were more time-sensitive topics — and remembered what two scientists learned when they simulated ocean currents and winds on a tidally-locked exoplanet. That last item was from 2013. It's still the best discussion I've seen of what an "eyeball planet" might actually look like. Turns out that a patch of open ocean on a tidally locked exoplanet's ocean wouldn't necessarily be circular. But I'll admit that "eyeball planet" is a cool description. And may be easier to remember than terms like "lobster-like spatial pattern". So this week I'll be talking about LHS 1140 b, which may not be an "eyeball planet" after all, ocean planet simulations; and — briefly, for me — how I see extraterrestrial life. LHS 1140 b: Water, With Nitrogen in the Atmosphere — Maybe Tidally Locked Ocean Planets: Simple, and Not-So-Si