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Picture source . Happy Feast of St. Anthony of Padua! The following is from an old Catholic newspaper article that my mom has on her refrigerator.  I find it useful to read and follow at least one of these suggestions daily. "...1. No matter what happens, try to let no displeasure appear. 2. If possible, attend daily Mass and secure God's blessing on your work. 3. Bear daily annoyances in a spirit of resignation in your imitation of the Mother of Sorrows. 4. You are aching to tell a bit of news. Wait an hour; it will keep. 5. Are you in bad humor? Laugh if possible. 6. When you hear the clock strike, repeat the indulgenced prayers, "Divine Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying and release souls from purgatory." 7. Have you received a letter? Wait a while before reading it. 8. Do you wish to avoid certain persons? Say a little prayer and put yourself in the way to meet them. God goes before you. 9. Do good to the souls of

I have been reading through Hosea every night this week, one of my most beloved of OT books, and was struck by these verses: Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortingly unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. [Hosea 2:14-15] Achor means trouble, or suffering. It is the place where, in the book of Joshua, Achan and his sons and daughters were stoned to death by the Israelites because of Achan's greed. [Joshua 7] And although Hosea's use of the Valley of Achor as a metaphor is in direct reference to this incidence, as his unfaithful wife Gomer would have warranted stoning according to OT Law, it is also a useful description for those times we find ourselves in the wilderness, when times are troubled, or when we are suffering in one way or a

Do you struggle with worry? I know I do on occasion. Life for the Christian is a daily exercise in surrender to Divine Providence and  Venerable Solanus Casey knew this all to well. Recently, I have found the following quote from Venerable Casey to be most helpful. It is a wonderful reflection to use during your prayer time, especially if you are struggling with worry.  “Worry is a weakness from which very few of us are entirely free. We must be on guard against this most insidious enemy of peace of soul. Instead let us foster confidence in God, and thank Him ahead of time for whatever he chooses to send us.  If we only try to show the Dear Lord a good will and ask Him for resignation to the crosses He sends or permits to come our way, we may be sure that sooner or later they will turn out to have been just so many blessings in disguise.” Venerable Solanus Casey, pray for us.

This post is by way of making amends to St Anthony of Padua. I must confess that he impinges on my life only when I can't find something. He has never failed me. I do thank him when I find the lost object - and then forget him till the next time. On one occasion when I was doing a mission appeal in the west of Ireland I was chatting with the sacristan. We got around to St Anthony and how he had helped both us of. She then mentioned something that for the life of her she couldn't find. We both prayed to this saint from Lisbon, Portugal, but associated with Padua, Italy. Then we found the lost object - right in front of us in the sacristy! The hymn above was written by a Filipino Franciscan friar, Fr Mariano Montero OFM, and sung at the shrine of St Anthony in Sampaloc, Manila.   This great saint is a doctor of the Church and was known as 'The Hammer of Heretics' . Here is an extract from his writings, part of the reading for the saint's feast day in the Office o

In a commentary on the gospel of St. John, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop , wrote the following on the subject of transformation by the Holy Spirit. “It can easily be shown from examples both in the Old Testament and the New that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell; he so transforms them that they begin to live a completely new kind of life . Saul was told by the prophet Samuel: ‘The Spirit of the Lord will take possession of you, and you shall be changed into another man.’ Saint Paul writes: ‘As we behold the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, that glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit, transforms us all into his own likeness, from one degree of glory to another.’ Does this not show that the Spirit changes those in whom he comes to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives? With the Spirit within them it is quite natural for people who had been absorbed by the things of this world to become entirely other-worldly in outlook, and for c

I have always thought of Pentecost as an ending because it concludes the great season of Easter. However, today I was reminded by the priest at Mass in his homily that Pentecost is actually a beginning; it was one of those aha moments .  With the coming of the Holy Spirit, something new was started~first and foremost the Church. But something new was begun in each of the Apostles as the gift of the Holy Spirit was breathed into them by Christ. They went and did things they never had before, probably never thought of before. I somehow suspect that like most things Jesus told His Apostles, they probably didn't quite get what He meant when He told them He would sent another Advocate, the Paraclete. It probably wasn't until after Jesus ascended and after Pentecost that they understood more fully what He meant. As Father reminded us in his homily today, there are no endings in Christ. His Passion, Death and Resurrection conquered death. He tells us that He makes all things new and

I hope each of us has had the experience of loving someone so much that words fail us when we try to express that love. Or perhaps a simple "thank you" just doesn't seem like an adequate response to a great gift someone has given you. Similarly, someone may have asked you to pray for them but you find yourself at a loss for exactly what their real prayer need is at that moment. Or, closer to home, we know that we ourselves have a deep down need for healing in some corner of our being but we have no idea where or what that corner is. In each of these situations and so many many more, the gift of tongues which the Holy Spirit gave me gratuitously years ago has helped me alot. Often, especially after receiving Communion, repeating 'thank you' with all my heart just doesn't seem like enough. Often people, some of whom I've never met, ask for my prayer support. I can easily respond to these intimate moments of prayer because I let the Holy Spirit speak for me &

First of all apologies if you received this 3 times! If I missed anyone off the email list can you email me on jacquelineparkes@hotmail.co.uk I just noticed we have 2 Kellys..sorry if that was confusing.. First monthly report: ( First post & start of this blog was 9th May 2011 ) Can I just say thankyou to our 34 blog authors! Particular thanks to Marion..I still haven't got full internet access..SKY are slow! It seems as though the ACWB is proving very successful. In our first month we have 52 followers! We have 3 priests writing for us... Fr Sean Coyle, Fr Patrick Brennan & Fr John Abberton. Thankyou so much Rev Fathers. Although I notice we discuss such things as head coverings & Facebook..etc we are aware that the ACWB has no official preference & tries to avoid the "liturgical wars" that are such a feature of Catholic blogging. Naturally our authors are entitled to their own preferences & generally the more contentious issues are best

heart speaks unto heart: " In this House of Brede " : "I'm re-reading & enjoying very much In this House of Brede..below & here is a review: In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden The Viking ..."

I would imagine that at least a FEW of you here also have a Facebook account and this question is for you...how do you feel about posting things that others may not agree with you...for example something like Abortion??  I'm thinking of deleting my FB account, lately reading it just gets me in a bad mood.  Does anyone else feel this way?? Thanks! Lindy

Recently I won an online contest from  Glam-O-Mamas , which is a website for moms set up by Amanda Griffin-Jacob and Nicole Jacinto. This was the first time for me to ever win an online contest, so I was pretty psyched about it. My prize: a makeover from  Make Up Forever . This is what I looked like after the makeover: Thank you Glam-O-Mamas and Make Up Forever for the free makeup session! And this is what I looked like in my new dress, a gift from The Florence Fling, which was also part of my prize. Thank you The Florence Fling for this chic dress! But you know what made me even happier and feel most “glam” that day? Coming home to my family. Yup, I value my family a lot. (I guess you can glean that from my personal   blogs  too!) Right after the makeover at Bonifacio Global City, which incidentally took up my whole morning, including travel time, I rushed home to be with my ever-supportive and loving husband and adorable, sometimes-quite-a-handful kids. As a mom who has never re

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a nice lady who was grieving her own early miscarriage, asking for some suggestions and guidance on how to get through her grief journey. I'm posted my advice on my blog  for future reference and to help others who might want similar information. Grieving for a miscarriage is different I think than for a stillbirth or death of an older baby. There is not a grave to tend or a lock of hair, pictures or shared memories to cherish. Yet every little death still leaves a hole in a mother's heart that wants to honor that and be the keeper this little one's memory. These are a few suggestions that might find be helpful. Name the baby and send the name and information to the of the Holy Innocents .There the name is entered into their Book of Life and a mass is said for all the children in the book regularly. In addition they send a beautiful cerfificate with the child's name to be printed out. I did that for my son and his certificate is

Pentecost, El Greco, painted 1596-1600 Readings for Vigil Mass The Vigil Mass has its own prayers and readings. You will find them in the lower part of the page that the link above opens. The texts for the Mass During the Day should not be used on Saturday evening, though many priests seem to be unaware of this. Pentecost is one of a number of feasts that have a Vigil Mass. A Vigil Mass is not an 'anticipated Mass'. It is a liturgical celebration in its own right, for a specific day and time. Participation in the Vigil Mass fulfils our Sunday obligation.   The readings here are from the Jerusalem Bible, used in the lectionary in Australia,, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland. Readings for Mass During the Day Gospel, John 20:19-23 (Jerusalem Bible) In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his

Here is a post from my early blog posts. I just wanted to share it with you lovely ladies and pray you are blessed. " Fear is useless; what is needed is trust ." Luke 8:50, Mark 5:36 Easy to say, right?  I have heard and read lots of good teaching about this subject. But the best teacher has been life itself.  I've found that trust comes a bit easier for the long term issues for which I pray--especially eternal salvation for my family and other loved ones. Also for people of whom I am not personally acquainted, the Pope for example. I pray for his intentions at the conclusion of each Rosary, and sincerely ask God for his protection and guidance; but I do not suffer the same pangs as when I am praying, for instance, for my two hospitalized  daughters, one here, one in Michigan. (that was quite a time!) In that state of  prayer, I awake all throughout the night. Every waking moment I have the intention in the foreground of my thoughts, often accompanied by  the phys

Priestly Grace Loved, created, called, sent upon a mission Ordained to follow, in obedient submission Sustained, nurtured, cared for passionately Guided by an unseen hand, close beside me Held in the tenderness of a gentle embrace Silently touched by God’s consuming grace Captivated by this unseen force of the divine Lost in emotional worship, praise so sublime Praying consecrating words, in hushed tones Trembling with respect, through to my bones Grateful for the abiding, grace filled presence Anointing me with a true sense of reverence Patrick Brennan © 2010 I enjoy writing about the experience of being a priest. I wrote this last year and felt I wanted to repost it here as the last few posts have been about priests! Please keep praying for priests it helps!

We continue to pray this month for priests, that they may always be true witnesses to the caring and merciful love of God. Prayer For The Sanctification Of Priests O God our Father, rich in mercy, who in the Blood and Water which flowed from the Heart of Christ, your Son and our Lord, poured out your infinite love upon all humanity, we beg you to grant that we may respond faithfully to your goodness which has made us ministers of reconciliation among our brothers and sisters. Let us pray together saying: Pour out your mercy upon us, OLord! 1. For all priests scattered throughoutthe world, that they may rediscover their priestly vocation as a "mystery of mercy" and, drawing plentifully from the sacramental source of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, may become channels of mercy for the world, let us pray: 2. For the new evangelization, at the dawn of this millennium, that in every priest the Lord may inspire a deep desire for holiness in his own specific state to live the

 God reveals Himself to us in a multitude of ways each day. One of these moments came this past Sunday at a Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by one of our parish priests who was celebrating his tenth anniversary as a priest. It was one of those special Masses that made me happy and proud to be a Catholic. There were several moments during this Mass that stood out, but the one that remains with me is one that occurs anytime I attend a Mass that is concelebrated. Fr. Luke had not only our pastor and one other priest from our parish, but also two other brother priests from another parish concelebrating with him~seven priests total. Seeing them around the altar especially during the Consecration was a powerful sight. All I could think at this moment was:"There is the powerful line of defense against the powers of hell." Now I know it doesn't matter whether there is one priest or 20 celebrating a Mass, but as I said the visual was powerful. About three years ago, I felt the

Dearest Catholic Women, During the next few months, the Catholics of the USA will be, or should be, preparing for the third revision of the Roman Missal which has undergone some changes and revisions over the past several years.  There will and has been opposition to it and dragging feet on the part of priests, bishops, and the parishioners.  We will need your prayers during this time of change and renewal. Here is the link to one of many of my posts on the subject and some inner links that, if you have time in your busy schedules, you may learn more about these changes. Thank you and many blessings!

Fiftysomething: Rest in Peace,may light perpetual shine upon him. ... : "Jonpaul Baker who died on Saturday , we have just found out about this sad event, today is his birthday. I worked with Jonpaul at LTSB con..." Click here to join