Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Everyone knows by now that  Steve Jobs, the "visionary" behind Apple, has passed away,  at the "young old" age of 56. His was  a life well-lived , and in many ways, he "changed" the world as we know it. After all, where would the modern world be without the Mac, I-pod, I-pad and I-phone? (although admittedly, we don't have ANY of these in our possession.. yet! haha!) Steve Jobs  thought different  and challenged others to do the same. He said many things that inspired many, such as the quote below: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to  do what you believe is great work .  And the only way to do great work is to  love what you do . If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  Don’t settle . As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.  And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it....

In September 2010, Chiara "Luce" Badano was beatified . Something of her significance for young people of our times can be found here and in this report of a presentation of her life that was offered as part of the cultural programme of the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid. Chiara Badano is perhaps a particular role model for teenage girls. Magnificat published the following short account of Chiara Badano's life, under the heading "Saints of Today and Yesterday", for Saturday 8th October. One detail of this account appears to differ from other sources, that is, the description of the initial pain of Chiara's illness being felt in the spine rather than, as other accounts suggest, in the shoulder. As a child, Chiara Badano, of Savona, Italy, imbibed from her mother a deep love for Jesus and Mary. At the age of nine, she learned of the Focolare apostolate, of which she became a devoted member. Chiara was sixteen when as she was playing tennis she suddenly f...

Fr Rufus Halley with friends Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Second Reading: Philippians 4:12-14. 19-20 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and ever. Amen. My Columban confrere and friend since 1962, Fr Rufus Halley, murdered in an ambush in Lanao del Sur, Philippines, on 28 August 2001, came to mind as I read St Paul’s words for today. He came from a well-to-do family in county Waterford, in the south-east of Ire...

Lala and Hachi I don't know if St Bruno, the founder of the Carthusians and whose feast it is today, had a dog. I know I associate his name with canines and I had an extraordinary experience with a dog named Bruno in the mid-1980s. Bruno belonged to the retreat house of the University of San Carlos in Talamban, Cebu City. He was, as I recall, part-Labrador, or at least the size of one and liked to be around people. I was giving a directed retreat at the time and sometimes would meet with a retreatant outside, as the weather was quite hot. On occasion Bruno would come and put his front paws on my knees and, after I patted him and spoke a few friendly words, would wander off. One night I couldn't sleep because of a very strong and unusual feeling of loneliness. Around midnight I went outside and sat on the low wall outside looking down on the lights of Cebu City. The retreat house is built on a hillside. I was telling God how sorry for myself I was feeling and s...

Grace is on my mind. Why don't people notice God's grace in their lives at times? Part of it can be from sin: Imagine a stream dammed (damned) up. The water cannot flow, it pools and becomes very dirty from stagnation. This is a soul in grave sin. It is very ill and the water inside the pool is poisonous. The soul is choking on  the noxious fumes of its own sin. Hopefully, the person gets disgusted and looks to God for help. This makes a chink in the dam and water starts trickling through. Water (grace) is strong and the chink grows into a hole and the water begins to flow more steadily. As the hole grows bigger pieces of the dam (sin) start breaking off. More and more water flows with increasing strength and power until the dam collapses and water floods through it. This is grace, a free gift from God. Streams flow into rivers. As a stream grows stronger obstacles are swept away by its current. Rivers are even more powerful and not much can stop them from flowing. They fl...

Jordan, in wheelchair, and Lala Readings (New American Bible: Philippines and USA) Gospel Matthew 21:33-43 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 'Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. "They will respect my son" he said. But when the tenants saw the so...

In June of 1895, two years before her death, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face made an " Act of Oblation to Merciful Love ." She expressed her gratitude to God for the grace of suffering: "Since you deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion." ( The Story of a Soul , trans. by Fr. John Clarke, OCD, p.277) In the mental and physical sufferings that St. Thérèse experienced in the weeks preceding her early demise, she came to resemble her Crucified Spouse very much. As the tuberculosis consumed her body, a trial of faith and hope, in which heaven and eternity seemed closed to her, tortured her soul. The coughing of blood and persistent sore throat led to a treatment of painful cauterization with silver nitrate. Eventually, "gangrene ate away her intestines and she lost blood two or three times a day. Drinking only ...