Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Driving along in town to pick up our daughter in the new Catholic high school I got to thinking about Ash Wednesday and what it means to be repentant.  The ancients would put on sack cloths, roll around in ashes and walk through town to prove that they are a sorry sinner.  Since doing that in modern times would cause more serious result, what can I do this year that would be different and more in keeping with my personal relationship with God.  I surprised myself one afternoon while driving home with carpool students in the car. I always ask them 2 questions after they're settled in and we are on the road home, "What was the best thing that happened and what was the worse thing that happened to you today."  I give them the choice of which question they want first, but they have to have an answer for both.  One day I asked the kids what they were doing for Lent?  They all said what they were giving up, candy, chocolate, soda, etc, then I said, "OK that's your phy

This is my first posting for 7 Quick Takes Friday ; this is a meme that shares those 7 things that were most important, interesting, or faith-filled for the week past.  I am kinda of excited by it is the opportunity to share with other moms/bloggers about our lives and I thought it might be something ACWB's would enjoy and a new way to share our faith with others. 1.  Spent this week without my hubby, he was away in Europe on a business trip.  :(  Find much strength and good will :)  But the week got very long in the tooth as the girls and I missed him by day 5 :( 2.  Had a great week getting to spend time with the kiddies. :) 3.  Shared more laughs than drama with our twinnie 16 year old girls :) 4.  Listened to their funny, inspiring, thought provoking stories about life at a Catholic High School and learned that our girls are so wise, caring and loving :0  Related some of my own, I was in an all girl Catholic High School in my beloved Washington DC 5. Was there when o

Lately I’ve been stumbling across articles in the mainstream media about NFP, written by Catholic laywomen, who are taking a stab at the mysterious reason that so many women ignore this Church teaching choose instead to contracept.   One popular idea seems to be that it’s because NFP just isn’t “hip” enough.  They seem to think that if the Church just did a better job “marketing” NFP and upgrading the books and methods to make them more attractive, women would be falling all over themselves to sign up for NFP classes, while tossing their birth control pills out by the handfuls.  They go on to say that maybe if the NFP teachers looked a little cooler, with a few less children, women would be more attracted to the idea too… and can’t we make the methods less scientific?  That shouldn’t be hard, right?  It should be easy! Each time I read an article like this I was left with a feeling that something was a bit off in the understanding… Read the entire post here !

 Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Mark 2:1-12 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) When Jesus returned to Capernaum, word went round that he was back; and so many people collected that there was no room left, even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them when some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowds made it impossible to get the man to him, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'My child, your sins are forgiven.' Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, 'How can this man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God?' Jesus, inwardly aware that this was what they were thinking, said to them, 'Why do

I recently read a magnificent novel, The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau, which deals  with the fate of some English  Dominican nuns during Henry VIII's "reform." I was delighted and honored when Nancy agreed to be interviewed. I will be reviewing the book as well in a future post. To quote from the book description: An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .   EMV : Nancy, welcome! Congratulations on your magnificent novel, The Crown , which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was especially impressed by the research that went into making it one of the most authentic novels of the Tudor era that I have ever read.  You bring to life the beauty and peace of the cloister even as it is about to be destroyed. Can you tell us a little about how you began your journey into the past, and where you found the best sources on such a turbulent, controversial e

I wonder if people still carve hearts in trees on St. Valentine's Day?  Or at any other time, for that matter:  names of loved ones etched inside a heart, linked together by a + . Names not just scribbled on a piece of paper, but put onto a more permanent object; something expected to last.  "I will love you forever," the hearts declare. "I shall carve your name inside this heart, for I never intend to let you go." "What will we do," asks St. Francis de Sales , "when, in eternal glory, we see the most adorable heart of Jesus through the holy wound in His side.. a heart in which, written in characters of fire, all of us will be inscribed?  Ah!  We will then say to the Savior, 'is it possible that You have loved me so much that You have even written my name in Your heart?'" "See, I have carved your name on the palms of My hands," says the Lord to us. (Isaiah 49:16). He never intends to let us go.

We have four children so we have been through all the spiritual-emotional issues that come with a variety of children.  One thing that we, as mother/parents, do not consider is the spiritual development of our children. A twitter conversation between Meredith Gould and I  @MeredithGould  RT @USCatholic: Why aren't Gen X and Y in church? Ask them... bit.ly/yphT3l and my response: @MeredithGould as for why Gen X and Y aren't in church, they need being feed emotionally, have a priest that does that they will be there One of the books I studied during my formation for Spiritual Direction: 1994 - 1998, was Professor James W. Fowler, a developmental psychologist at Candler School of Theology, was the book Stages of Faith.  In it he describes children's spiritual development from birth to mid-life: Stage 0 – "Primal or Undifferentiated" faith (birth to 2 years), is characterized by an early learning of the safety of their environment (i.e. warm, safe and secure

Fiftysomething: Ecclesiastical treasures saved : Press release from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales Ecclesiastical Treasures Saved The Archbishop of Southwark, the Most

Shrine of St Valentine , Church of the Order of Carmel (OCarm), Dublin  I have been 'crusading' for some years now to put the 'SAINT' back into SAINT Valentine's Day. Below is what I posted a year ago.  St Valentine's Day is a big thing here in the Philippines, though usually called 'Valentine's Day'. For some it is an excuse fo fornication and adultery, for others a day to be grateful for friends. It is also a day for getting more money from consumers. You can find something of the true story of St Valentine, a priest who was martyred for his defence of the sacrament of matrimony,in  Misyon , the online magazine I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines. You can find it  here . Below is the Opening Prayer from the Mass of St Valentine. You can find all the prayers and readings for his feast on the  website of the Carmelite Friars  (OCarm) in Ireland. Though the feast of St Valentine is no longer on its General Calendar – 14 February is no

I posted this piece at The Feminine Gift.

Yesterday I was a time traveler, myself and 30 or more others stood or sat freezing on a cold Cardiff day and for a span we were in pre-reformation Wales. As our presiding Priest said in his homily, this building is normally a shadow of a church, without its congregation and the services of a Priest it isnt a church, but today we join with the generations of people for whom this church was a part of the story their lives and a memorial to their souls, For an hour it was a church again. The service was organised by the Cardiff University Chaplincy, and has becom an annual event for the Saturday after St Teilos day (9th Feb) The figure of St Teilo astride his faithfull white deer can be seen to the left of the altar in the picture below.  A small group were singing Byrds Mass for three voices, in Latin in the chancel of  St Teilo's Church which is as near as modern archaeological skill can make it a church rebuilt and decorated to what it was before The Kings Great Matter.

When you think of how God calls us to be the first teachers of our children, what can a father teach his daughter if he decides to act like a teenager himself? There is a much talked about viral video of a disgruntled father shooting his daughters laptop, the message he records for his daughter is entitled: Facebook Parenting for the Troubled Teen. Right there you can imagine that there is more to this story, and its not a good a story. The father is clearly sick and tired of his daughter and her actions. It can be surmised from the very scant evidence that he is not too pleased with his daughters friends. All of this is something that parents deal with on a daily, week, sometimes hourly basis. There is no house, no parent, no family...read the whole post  here

Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel Mark 1:40-45 (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: 'If you want to' he said 'you can cure me.' Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. 'Of course I want to!' he said. 'Be cured!' And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, 'Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.' The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him. An Soiscéal Marcas 1:40-45 (G

The young man was showing his friend something on his cell phone. "What are you looking at?" I asked him. "It's my brother. A picture of my brother learning to walk," he told me, looking up with a big smile.   Read more here....

Talking with my sister-in-law, a maternity ward nurse, the other day about the new Health and Human Services mandate (HHS), I was curious about how things are going since she works at a Catholic hospital.  She told me her hospital is totally orthodox and perform no procedures that would hurt/prevent/end life at all.  There is a place across the street patients go to have their tubes tied after delivering their decidedly last child, but no pills, procedures are done in the hospital.  I was happy to hear that and she also said the doctors she works for would not want to be part of the other industry.  She knows fellow nurses that went over to the state hospital looking for more money and opportunities and came back saying that "they couldn't do what was required of them there."  There, they do all procedures, no questions asked.  They told her that women (her words "rich bitches") would come in there for abortions because the baby was the wrong sex! I can't

Church debate: Who'd be a bishop? - UK Politics - UK - The Independent the post I wanted to post, has been lost due to computer problems so as an interesting look at our Anglican bretherens problems I recomend the above article!

Ministry has grown exponentially since 1967. 'As long as we have poor to feed, we will need deacons,' says Chicago official. By Jim Graves The Church is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council this year — and the 45th anniversary of the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the Latin Church. Pope Paul VI released an apostolic letter, Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem in 1967, after a recommendation made by the bishops of the Council. The permanent diaconate has since had a major impact on the Church in dioceses around the world, as the number of deacons has steadily grown. Also, as time passes, Church leadership is able to reflect on the proper role of the deacon and help the laity come to a proper understanding of it. The diaconate has its roots in the very early Church. The Book of Acts relates that the first seven deacons, “filled with the Spirit and wisdom,” were ordained by the apostles to assist them in performing corporal works of mercy

Click here to sign and tell the Administration know that this mandate cannot stand. The present Administration, through the Health and Human Services Department, is mandating that all employer healthcare insurance plans provide coverage for procedures which violate the beliefs of the Catholic Church, and Catholic institutions. Basically, the new rules require the Catholic Church, and the institutions operating faithfully under the aegis of the Church, to provide coverage for contraceptive drugs and procedures. This requirement violates the beliefs of the Church. Never before has the United States Government deigned to represent "transcendental truth" on matters of conscience for any religion within these United States. That in itself is unprecedented, which is also why it is unconstitutional. ]

View from the Domestic Church: Meeting Jesus at the "Well" of Prayer

http://www.theholyrosary.org/maryundoerknots for anyone saying the Novena with me for their own intentions here is the link to the site for the last three days. I have already found help and comfort in Our Lady undoer of knots, I pray that you will too.

Novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots - Day 6 1. Make the sign of the cross 2. Say the Act of Contrition. Ask pardon for your sins and make a firm promise not to commit them again. my God I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell. But most of all, because I offended you, oh my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen Novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots - Day 6 1. Make the sign of the cross 3. Say the first 3 decades of the Rosary. 4. Make the meditation of the day (to be posted each day) 5. Say the last 2 decades of the rosary 6. Finish with the Prayer to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots Meditation for Day 6 Queen of Mercy, I entrust to you this knot in my life...and I ask you to give me a heart that is patient until you undo it. Teach me to persevere in the living word of Jesus, in the Euch

I've become fascinated with a blog called "One for the Journey," written by a woman named Carrie who lives and works at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, at the bottom of the world. Her writing is detailed and clear. I feel like I am right there with her as she stands in awe of the landscape and also knits to pass time. Her photographs are spectacular. I learned from Carrie's blog the other day that Antarctica includes a statue of our Blessed Mother, called "Our Lady of the Snows," A.K.A. "Roll Cage Mary."  It is a memorial to a man who died when his bulldozer fell through the ice. In 1995, the statue was restored by a group of Carmelite nuns from Christchurch, New Zealand. Read more here

The Association of Catholic Women is now on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/CathWom

Novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots - Day 5 1. Make the sign of the cross 2. Say the Act of Contrition. Ask pardon for your sins and make a firm promise not to commit them again. 3. Say the first 3 decades of the Rosary. 4. Make the meditation of the day (to be posted each day) 5. Say the last 2 decades of the rosary 6. Finish with the Prayer to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots Meditation for Day 5 Mother, Undoer of Knots, generous and compassionate, I come to You today to once again entrust this knot...in my life to you and to ask the divine wisdom to undo, under the light of the Holy Spirit, this snarl of problems. No one ever saw you angry; to the contrary, your words were so charged with sweetness that the Holy Spirit was manifested on your lips. Take away from me the bitterness, anger and hatred which this knot has caused me. Give me, o dearest Mother, some of the sweetness and wisdom that is all silently reflected in your heart. And just as you were present at Pentecost, ask Jesus to