Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Just have to laugh at this, right?  I mean what man in his right mind would show up to Mass in a tank top?   But what if we totally relaxed the dress code or basically took the "Hey, at least he came!" attitude that has become the norm in American parishes?  Do you think we would find a hairy guy in a tank top standing next to us in the near future?  I think so!  So, what do we do about this situation?   Well, awhile back I talked about how respect is shown in how you dress with the example our daughter's volleyball coach, who always wore a suit jacket and tie to the games.  Yes, he looked handsome and well dressed, but you knew he took his job seriously.  Getting paid for doing a job should be respected with hard work and an outward display of some interest and he did that in his attire.  Attending these games, I was always proud of our new school...yes, one man, one team, representing the entire school! Sadly, our young coach's wife found a better position north a

By Allison Salerno   Given that my husband is a major movie buff and has shown me so many wonderful classic films, it surprised me he's never seen Vittorio De Sica's neorealist masterpiece, The Bicycle Thief.   I'd never seen it either. So Saturday night, we sat down with a good friend in our family room to watch this masterpiece on cable TV. Even if you have seen this film before, rent it. Given the perilous state of the American economy, the film speaks to our hearts now as never before. The movie's setting is post World War II Rome, when Italy was poor and politically unstable. The plot concerns a young father, Antonio, who is struggling against every odd to support his small family. Bruno, his 7-year-old son, accompanies him throughout most of the story and so we see the father's pain through the child's eyes. The theme: the price we pay for what matters most. The story begins as Antonio lands a day job putting up movie poste

heart speaks unto heart: Stamp Collecting - request! : When I was a girl! I used to collect stamps. Someone gave me some stamps recently & I thought I'd start collecting again. I wonder if any o...

This is a post-script to my post about our son's 12th birthday. I'm writing this upstairs in  our bedroom. Downstairs are five 12-year-old boys, watching "Dawn of the Dead" and eating an inordinate amount of candy they bought at the local convenience store and at the Rite Aid downtown. What just happened moves me deeply. One of their friends, who has been my son's friend since preschool, just left. C. became deeply troubled by the movie. He called his parents on his cell and told them he wanted to go home. They were on a date and told him they would come home soon. Then C. headed up the stairs and knocked on my bedroom door. "There is no way I can sleep here tonight," he told me. "I am terrified."  His parents said to head home and they would be back in a few minutes. Read more...

This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in

 Donaghadee , County Down, Northern Ireland Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 (NAB) When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." +++ Gelato Italiano  Sister Perpetua was Mercy Sister from County Down, Northern Ireland, who died earlier this years. A nurse by profession, she spent some years in Iceland, working in a Catholic hospital there. She had a great love for those who were sick and especially for those who were bereaved. A few years ago when I visited

  Sto Niño Church , Lianga, Surigao del Sur, Philippines Readings (New American Bible: Philippines and USA) Gospel Matthew 22:15-21  (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God

I posted this article at my own site but thought I would share it here, also. It's the second part of a two part post on the dignity of the human person and the everyday means that God uses to sanctify people. In the first post I joked about some of the funnier moments in life that God uses to teach and sanctify us but, life, despite its more humorous moments, is preparing us for eternity: All joking aside for a moment - my last post on how God makes saints out of "regular" people contains an element of truth to it. More than an element, actually. I use the term "regular" people loosely. In truth...there is no such thing as a "regular" person. That bald, chubby, man that you stood next to in the grocery store yesterday is a saint-in-the making. If you were to see his soul with the glorious indwelling of the Trinity you just might fall to your knees in wonder. We are, each and every one, children of the King. And the glory of God surrounds us. It&#

Outside of the presbytery here in Cannock the leaves are falling off the trees and blowing around the drive. It is a sure sign of the onslaught of the autumn.   The wind is breezy but unusually mild for the middle of October, it seems that later this week the colder air will make a return. The leaves on the ground are dry and brown, decaying, obscuring the natural green of the grass, turning the landscape into a returning autumn canvass. There is something familiar about the scene as I stand in the garden. I am observing the passing of times and seasons, reflecting on the comings and goings, the toing and froing of living. I acknowledge my link with the past as a passing pilgrim on a journey. I am a humble part of a body of people who have praised God during their brief stay on earth. I am a part of a communion of people, who for centuries have uttered the name of God on their lips, in times of joy or sorrow, of fear or trust. I am a member of humanity, grateful for my being a c

King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba , Rubens, 1620 Today's gospel is Luke 11:29-32 in which Jesus mentions 'the queen of the South'. She is also known as the Queen of Sheba. Some scholars say she was from Yemen, others from Ethiopia. Yemen is one of the Arab countries that is unsettled at the moment. Two days ago President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 33 years, promised to step down 'in a few days' . It seems very few believe him. The day before his announcement Tawakul Karman, a Yemeni woman was announced as one of three winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.  Yemen's Catholics belong to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia , which also includes Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Catholics number 2,129,000 or 3.4 percent of the overall population of 62,498,240. However, in 1950 they numbered 5,840 or 0.1 percent of 10,000,000. The increase in the number and percentage of Catholics is due to the in

Our family just pulled into the driveway from a whirlwind weekend in upstate New York, where we helped to celebrate the wedding of one of my husband's cousins, a 28-year-old nurse, to a wonderful man. The wedding took place at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Ballston Lake. The bride's side of the church was filled with siblings, first cousins and second cousins who had flown in from as far as Idaho and California, a sprawling clan of Irish Americans that I was delighted to introduce our sons to. (We loved spending an hour and a half at a diner before the wedding meeting blogger Fran Rossi Szpylczyn , who lives and works nearby.) On the drive home, my husband told me he was surprised to hear one of the newly married couple's friends refer to the bride as a nostalgic girl, as a girl who likes to do things the old-fashioned way, including marrying in the church. This led us to reflect on what draws people to the Church and what prompts them to leave.

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. Don’t settle.”

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 Ireland

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 flo

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

A police station in Albany Georgia is populated by men of all races and personalities. There is one tie which binds them, a tie which reaches even deeper than the bond shared by police. They are all fathers, yet most of their fathering falls short of what their wives and children long for in their loneliness.  That is the theme of "Courageous" which is another film by the Sherwood Baptist Church which brought you "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". Sherwood Baptist Church is a unique phenomenon, a movie-making Baptist Church, but they have come a long way since their first film, "Flywheel", and "Courageous" is proof that an openly faith-based film can be riveting. Although I had a long day at the Catholic Marketing Network trade show, and viewed another film before it,  I was emotionally involved the entire film,and noticed, when it was time to leave, that my sides ached from laughing and my eyes were wet with tears. Courageous is no

September 29 th is the Feast Day of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. The New Age movement talks a lot about angels but these are the three main ones mentioned in the catholic Church. We must not forget that when the devil fell to earth he took a third of the angels with him and also that they can masquerade as angels of light. Many people seek to experience connection with an angel in some way or have experienced angels, perhaps in the form of a guardian angel who has protected them from sort of danger or they have felt the spiritual comfort of an angel when going through a difficult time. Saint Michael was the Archangel who fought against the devil and his demons for God and all His followers. He protects us from the snares of the enemy like Mary who is able to tread on the serpent’s head and keep us from harm. Originally this was just the feast day of St Michael (and all the angels) – also called Michaelmas Day and we have the well known plant which f

Everyday Catholic Woman: Framing Faith : As a Catholic and mother of an artist student with a speciality in photography, I looked forward to reading “Framing Faith” a book by autho...

Standing on My Head: Atheism and Schizophrenia

In his encyclical Mediator Dei, Pius XII links liturgy with the last will of Jesus Christ. "But it is His will, that the worship He instituted and practiced during His life on earth shall continue ever afterwards without intermission. For he has not left mankind an orphan. He still offers us the support of His powerful, unfailing intercession, acting as our "advocate with the Father." He aids us likewise through His Church, where He is present indefectibly as the ages run their course: through the Church which He constituted "the pillar of truth" and dispenser of grace, and which by His sacrifice on the cross, He founded, consecrated and confirmed forever."

Everyday Catholic Woman: False Doctrines : How do we discern false doctrines. I think we have to be careful of false preachers especially in the Protestant Charismatic movement – as...

The connection between the Carmelite Order and the Royal House of France originated in the Middle Ages, when St. Louis IX encountered the hermits on Mt. Carmel and brought them to France. When the Discalced Reform came to France from Spain in the early seventeenth century, the royal family assisted the nuns with their patronage. The French court was shaken in 1674 when Louise de la Vallière , the former mistress of Louis XIV, publicly begged the queen's forgiveness and entered a Carmelite monastery. In his book To Quell the Terror , William Bush details the many connections of the later Bourbons with Carmel, particularly the patronage of Queen Marie Lesczynska and her daughter Madame Louise . When Louise herself chose to become a Carmelite nun in 1770, it cemented the spiritual ties between those in the worldliness of Versailles and those in the austerity of the cloister. Marie-Antoinette of Austria married the Dauphin in the same year that Madame Louise entered the mo