Association Of Catholic Bloggers

One of the books I am reading at the moment is the autobiography of the late Rosemary Clooney. I was drawn to her story because I heard that she died a "good Catholic", but her journey to that point was often horrendous. I recommend it to those who have problems with addiction and suffer from depression. Rosemary's main suffering came from the breakdown of her marriage to the actor Jose Ferrer. She was a loveable person and had many admirers and friends, one of them being Bing Crosby who was a great help to her when she was really down. Towards the end of her life, she "came back to the fold" as she described it, "to stay". When I was a child and teenager I didn't care for her style of singing. I have rediscovered her and was able to get a wonderful CD of her jazz recordings which are excellent. The book is available at Amazon. Mine is a used copy in very good condition. The CD was also fairly cheap. If you are interested in "show

Who are we as women? How does motherhood change us? How have we been called? These are the universal questions that women ask as mothers. I love the response of one mothering friend who said I am more than just a mom, I am still ME! And that speaks to how motherhood changes us. It changes us subtly, profoundly and permanently: We will always be someones mother. Let's explore how we can be mother and still be ourselves. It is important that we look at our Baptismal roles. Through them we have idea of our mission with God, our responsibility to our family, community and self, and finally how these help us understand that all our roles are important and essential in creating who we are now and will become in the future. First let's look at the role of Priest. For those of us who are Roman Catholic, we understand that a Priest has a distinct role as minister to the community, to be of service to the community, to build up the community. These are all very nurturing aspe

Readings ( New American Bible : Philippines, USA) Gospel , Matthew 21:28-32 ( 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: 'What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He went and said to the first, "My boy, you go and work in the vineyard today". He answered, "I will not go", but afterwards thought better of it and went. The man then went and said the same thing to the second who answered, "Certainly, sir", but did not go. Which of the two did the father's will?' 'The first' they said. Jesus said to them, 'I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you, a pattern of true righteousness, but you did not believe him, and yet the tax collectors and prostitutes did. Even after seeing that, you refused to think

Fr Finbarr Maxwell, a Columban from Dublin who worked before in Pakistan and is studying in the USA at present, drew this painting to my attention when he gave a group of us here in the Philippines a retreat three or four years ago. The gospel of today's Mass for the Feast of St Matthew has a starkness and urgency about it. It's not how most of us hear our vocation or call, whatever it may be, from Jesus. Fr Mike McGovern in the video points out that while Jesus and St Peter are dressed as men of their time and place, Matthew and his companions are dressed as contemporaries of Caravaggio. In other words, Jesus calls us where we are and in our times. Matthew 9:9-13 (RSV Catholic Edition) As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his dis

I’m a planner. I like to be in control, to know what is going on now, and what is going to happen later. Fear and pride are at the heart of this of course, but the myth I tell myself is that only I can do it right. I have been on a slow journey to a goal. I believe that God has made the pursuit of this goal possible. It has to be God, because too many diverse circumstances resulted in just the right situation at the perfect time, incorporating several people and events – far too complex for me to have orchestrated. And yet. And yet I still hold on tight to the reigns; I still fret and worry and wonder and scheme. On top of that, I have noticed a disappointing tendency in myself: while I try to wrest control of my life away from God, I also expect Him to do most of the work, like the man who prays to the saints to help him win the lottery, but never buys a ticket. I’d been expecting to hear positive news regarding the goal I mentioned earlier. In this particular instance, I

+ Stella Maris +: Dana to run as Irish President : Dana - Rosemary Scallon - is making another attempt to be elected President of Ireland. Ireland needs her now more than ever. If it happens ...

. St Andrew Kim Taegon , (1821-1846), Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul St Andrew Kim Taegon's last words : This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively : if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him . Today the Church honours the 103 Korean martyrs canonized on 6 May 1984 by Blessed Pope John Paul II in Seoul. However, around 8,000 Korean Catholics were martyred during periodic persecutions between 1839 and 1868. Among the 8,000 was the grandfather of the first Korean cardinal.  In an article published in July-August 2009 in  Misyon , which I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines, after the death of Cardinal Kim Columban Fr Donal O'Keeffe told this extraordinary story:  Kim Sou-Hwan (Stephen) was born in