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View from the Domestic Church: Tomorrow...

A REFLECTION IN HONOR OF ST. ROSE OF LIMA The life of St. Rose is indeed, as beautiful as a flower made sweeter and stronger by the "thorns" in her life.  Link to Article: As Sweet As A Rose photo credits: Catholic Online   * Coffee Moments with Sam A Catholic Mom's Thoughts on Life, Love, Family, Relationships, Blessings and Learnings.

View from the Domestic Church: Are we "salt and light" to the world?

My name is Cheryl. And I am a weakling. That’s the kind of group I want to be in: the kind of group where we each take the stand and own up to who we are—who we really are. Not the avatars we put out in the world through our blogs and our tweets; but who we are at the core. After all, that’s where we will all ultimately connect, where we will all see one another as Christ sees us: as humanity steeped in the dignity of our creation but as a weak humanity in need of strength found in him who has offered us salvation. I love being weak. It means I’m “needy” which seems, to many people I am sure, to be an unpleasant state of being. And I’ve been trampled on more than a few times in my weakened state. I don’t always fight back when society would say that I should. I’ve been hurt and I’ve been wounded. For years I tried to fight being weak. A bit ironic, right? I wanted to be able to pick myself up by my bootstraps. I wanted to be able to say with confidence and pride that I

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor turns 80 Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor celebrates his 80th birthday on Friday 24 August. Since leaving Westminster in 2009, the Cardinal has been kept very busy. His appointment to the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples has been an important one - he has been directly involved in the appointment of bishops for England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, as well as for countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. In 2010, he was appointed by the Holy See to oversee the Visitation of the Archdiocese of Armagh – a visitation intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal. He was sent to India in 2011 as the Holy Father's official representative to mark the Silver Jubilee of Pope John Paul II's historic visit. In November 2012, he will travel to Bangladesh as the Papal legate to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the creation of the Dioces

Embracing Motherhood: Back to School!

Besides the money thing, Ann Romney and I have a lot in common. Well, maybe not a lot, but we have enough in common that I consider her a woman who I admire. And I don’t admire a lot of women—at least not a lot of ones currently living. Is that bad? I’m not sure. I have my reasons for loving women from Scripture: we see how things “turned out.” We know they finished the race set before them. In some cases we know their struggles and the way they faced those struggles. We learn so much from them. That’s why I stand at attention when a woman of my own generation makes me notice qualities that resonate with me, qualities that I admire. Now does this mean that Ann Romney is perfect? I’m guessing not. But since no one is, I’m confident proclaiming that perfection doesn’t have to be a gold standard. The gold standard, for me, is how a woman engages in her life’s circumstances in a way that reflects commitment and acceptance. The gold standard, for me, is to see a woman make a cho

Message of Condolence from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on learning of the death of His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, on 16th August 2012 On behalf of Archbishop Vincent Nichols, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and Archbishop Bernard Longley, Chairman of the Department for Dialogue and Unity, I wish to convey to the members of the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in England and Wales, the most sincere condolences of all the members of the Bishops’ Conference on the death of His Holiness Patriarch Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. His Holiness is remembered with affection as a man of great learning and culture. He ministered in a most fruitful way to the needs of his own people in working for peace and reconciliation in his own country. He was a true bridge builder in a time of political and civil unrest. His Holiness also had a strong commitment to bui

Our Festive Thanksgiving.

  Sandhill Mass Rock   ('Carraig an Aifrinn', in Irish), County Donegal, Ireland. During the 17th century, when Catholics in Ireland were persecuted, Mass was often celebrated in remote places, with a   Mass rock   as the altar . Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   John 6:51-58   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my fles

Thankyou to Marion for managing this site. It  looks cheerful, uplifting & contains many posts of inspiration & help in the spiritual life. Do share the excellent posts among your readers and friends. Contact Marion m.bankswilkinson@btinternet.com

It is ironic that, as a Catholic, the most difficult part of having a chronic health issue isn’t the health issue itself but is the big question: Should I pray for healing…or should I carry my cross? And it is that question that often keeps us spiraling through a journey that is already burdensome and often overwhelming. In my own journey, which has lasted for the better part of two decades, I know that I’ve gone through many different phases. There were times that I tried to take on St. Paul’s attitude of embracing the “thorn” of an illness while at other times I was on my knees praying—between sobs of anguish—for healing. I’ve attended Healing Masses where I’ve been prayed over by a team of healers and have hands laid upon me; I’ve had private healing prayers said over me. I’ve done novenas and have sought alternative medical care—all at my own expense—when the established medical system failed me. I’ve been in bed unable to move from the dizziness that has enveloped me and hav

Love & Hisses: Your source for the cutest kittehs on the internet » 8/14/12    anyone in New York need a kitten or a cat ?, an apeal here from a lovely little family. I know we have readers in that general area, please help spread the information, after all "He liveth best ,who loveth best both man and bird and beast".

For years the only person who knew I suffered from a chronic illness was my husband. Over time, and out of necessity, a few more people were allowed into my world of health issues—and yet no one really knew the severity of what I went through, except my husband. What I’ve come to realize is that I prefer my world be divided into two clear parts: the private, reclusive Cheryl and the author, writer, teacher, social Cheryl. Mostly, though, at the heart of who I am is the private, reclusive Cheryl. My quiet, alone time is important to me—even more so since I began spiritual direction a few years ago and sought to understand the movements of God in my life and live accordingly. I need to be with God in a very real way and have learned how to respond to the ache for Him through my prayer life and “down time.” As the years progressed and I understood that my physical suffering had value, I began sharing bits and pieces of what I was going through: severe joint problems, nights of di

The more we pray, the more we wish to pray. Like a fish which at first swims on the surface of the water and afterwards plunges down and is always going deeper, the soul               plunges,                      dives,                           and loses itself                                 in the sweetness of conversing with God                                                                                St. John Vianney (reblogged  from A Prayer Corner ) (photo in public domain)

Litany of St. Clare Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy Christ hear us; Christ graciously hear us. God, the Father of Heaven; have mercy on us! God, the son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us! God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us! Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us! Holy Mary, Queen of Virgins, pray for us St. Clare chosen of Christ, pray for us St. Clare, lover of chastity, pray for us St. Clare, vessel of holiness, pray for us St. Clare, prayerful daughter of St. Francis, pray for us St. Clare, morning light, pray for us St. Clare, Mother and Foundress of the Poor Clare’s, pray for us St. Clare, humble follower of Christ, pray for us St. Clare, faithful imitator of St. Francis, pray for us St. Clare, humble servant of the servants of Christ, pray for us St. Clare, brilliant light of holiness, pray for us St.

Feeling footloose, fancy-free and frisky, this feather-brained fellow finagled his fond father into forking over his fortune. Forthwith, he fled for foreign fields and frittered his farthings feasting fabulously with fair-weathered friends. Finally, facing famine, and fleeced by his fellows in folly, he found himself a feed flinger in a filthy farmlot. He fain would have filled his frame with foraged food from the fodder fragments. "Fooey! My father's flunkies fare far fancier" the frazzled fugitive fumed feverishly, frankly facing fact. Frustrated from failure and filled with forebodings, he fled for his family. Falling at his father's feet, he floundered forlornly. "Father, I have flunked and fruitlessly forfeited further family favors." But the faithful father, forestalling further flinching, frantically flagged his flunkies to set forth the finest fatling and fix a feast. The fugitive's fault-finding frater, faithfully farming his father's fields

“From the beginning therefore he [man] is called to work. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence on earth. Thus work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons. And this mark decides its interior characteristics; in a sense it constitutes its very nature.” Blessed John Paul wrote these words in his encyclical Laborem Exercens in 1981. I’ve referred to this encyclical many times in my own writings and in attempting to get at the very nature of who I am as a Catholic woman, wife, mother, author, and teacher. I have found in his words a timeless truth—no surprise there!—and a certain sense of peace as well. Whether I have worked outside of the home out of necessity or out of a desire, balancing work with family al

, The Charity of St Lawrence , Bernardo Strozzi, painted 1639-40 Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  John 6:41-51  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) The Jews then murmured at Jesus, because he said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father.

Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for August 2012 General Intention Prisoners.   That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity. Missionary Intention Youth Witness to Christ.   That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Posted by  Fr Seán Coyle  at  11:46