Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Recently God brought into my life a woman who I now call “friend.” I spent some time with her recently where we enjoyed a cup of tea and chatting. As I left I was buoyed by our visit. It got me to thinking how perfectly she fit into my life and reflect on the question: What sort of friends does a woman “need” in her life? I know lots of women: the mothers of all the friends of my sons; women with whom I’ve worked and those with whom I’ve worshipped. There are women neighbors and there are women relatives. I’ve been blessed by meeting women at speaking engagements who have touched my heart. But friends? I have but a few. I remember once being told that at the end of your life, if you can count on one hand your true friends, you will have been very lucky. I guess that was the secular way of saying you have been very blessed. At 54 years old, I see that I have been very blessed. If we’ve got one hand to work off of, I believe these are the five friends each woman needs:

The Lord's Prayer in Filipino Sign Language Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  Mark 7:31-37   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Then Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were asto

Little Johnny did not know that his family was poor. One day he came to school wearing just one shoe. The teacher asked, "Johnny, did you lose a shoe?" "No ma'am," he said, "I found one." [forwarded by Al Keeney] today'sTHOT============================ Did you hear about the two air-heads who froze to death in a drive-in movie? They went to see "Closed for the Winter." ======================================= PASS IT ON! Yeah, you can send this Funny to anybody you want. And, if you're REAL nice, you'll tell them where you got it! www.mikeysFunnies.com ===============================

It's easy to let ourselves become anxious. But  when we consider our lives in the light of God's  overwhelming love and mercy for us, anxiety  has a way of dissipating. Keep reading...

Well the ACWB blogg is ticking along nicely, I think we are a varied and various bunch. We seem to cover a wide range of the Catholic Church and treat each others posts with respect and enjoyment, not all of us agree on everything, but we all agree with Pope Benedict so that's all right! I will be taking a holiday now and Jackie is minding the store for a while. I'm hoping for a very relaxing and peaceful break and will try and take some suitable photos to share. My prayers and love to all. Marion

Francis Phillips writes: Pro-lifers cannot win the debate by bargaining over the lives of the unborn | CatholicHerald.co.uk

While posting the link  Misyononline  link  for today's  Sunday Reflections  on Facebook I saw there a link to a new video by Jean Vanier, founder of  L'Arche  and co-founder with Marie-Hélène Mathieu of  Faith and Light . He is speaking to a young fellow-Canadian, Maya Pot, a fifth-grader, about hospitality, which I had also focused on in Sunday Reflections, where a Filipino seminarian told me about the experience of hospitality that he had when he went to visit some workers from Kerala, India, living in an overcrowded labour camp in Dubai. Marie-Hél è ne Mathieu I've since discovered that Jean speaks to Maya in a number of short videos on hospitality, each directed to a different group. The one above is for parents. He speaks to teachers (below), to senior elementary students  here , to junior elementary students  here  and to secondary students  here . Full post here .

A silver cup  for  netilat yadayim , the Jewish ritual washing of hands Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defil

The following came from a writing prompt.  The challenge was to think of someone from history who intrigued me, and to write about them having supper.  I chose to write about J.R.R Tolkien and a friend of his by the name of C.S. Lewis.  These are two people who always make it on to my “Who would you invite to dinner” list. Tolkien and Lewis. It is mid to late autumn. The men are walking among Tolkien’s beloved trees nearby, their differences evident in how they walk: Lewis, taller and vital, walks quickly.  Tolkien likes to stroll, stopping occasionally to look at the trees, drive home a point, or light a pipe. They debate whether the purpose of a walk is the walk itself, or getting back home again. The evening is crisp, with an edge of oncoming winter chill.  The sun is nearing the horizon, soon to leave their little bit of England in darkness. Feet crunching through fallen leaves on their approach to a cosy house set well back from the quiet country lane, two men anticipa

Paralympics 2012 opening ceremony: Athletes in gold wheelchairs, 1bn viewers and a Stephen Hawking cameo | Mail Online

The Five First Saturdays for the Blessed Mother

      O mother-my-love, if you'll give me your hand, And go where I ask you to wander, I will lead you away to a beautiful land,-- The Dreamland that's waiting out yonder. We'll walk in a sweet posie-garden out there, Where moonlight and starlight are streaming, And the flowers and the birds are filling the air With the fragrance and music of dreaming. There'll be no little tired-out boy to undress, No questions or cares to perplex you, There'll be no little bruises or bumps to caress, Nor patching of stockings to vex you; For I'll rock you away on a silver-dew stream And sing you asleep when you're weary, And no one shall know of our beautiful dream But you and your own little dearie.   And when I am tired I'll nestle my head In the bosom that's soothed me so often, And the wide-awake stars shall sing, in my stead, A song which our dreaming shall soften. So, Mother-my-Love, let me take your dear hand, And away through

Wrapped Up Companion Journal Wrapped Up A woman asked me how to start a study for her friends in her parish. After that a young college girl inquired about starting a bible study in her sorority. That was followed by a mother wanting to begin one, in her home, with her friends. It got me thinking...How many women would like to start a study but feel it might be more than they could handle? The good news is, starting a woman’s study is easier than you think!  Here are a few guidelines; and, I would be more than willing to answer any questions as well. I can be contacted at Cheryl@BezalelBooks.com or by calling 248-917-3865. Getting the group together: If you already have a group of interested women, your best bet is to look at your own schedule and offer a couple of options for getting together. I would suggest an hour and a half to two hours, once a week. So, for example if Tuesdays from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00 p.m. work best for you, send ou

Jerome Lejeune, the French doctor who 'discovered' the cause of Down Syndrome

St Monica, Luis Tristán de Escamilla 1616 A post from 2009 .   And a post from 2008 . 

I gripe a lot about the state of the world.  I think I may have found a solution. The answer, most obviously, is love. How powerful is love? Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Cor. 13:7). I know it’s true, because when my youngest nephew (4 years old) whom I love to absolute bits, broke my favourite necklace and said, “I’m just strong” I felt a pang of “darn it, why did you do that” but was more concerned that he felt bad about it, and gave him a hug, cautioning him to be more careful of other people’s stuff.  A total stranger walked off with my pen, and I had invisible plumes of temper. As a friend recently told me, “the power of love raises the mundane to the level of sublime because through love we see God's hand in everything we do”.  I see this in action in two ways: when I undertake a task I’m not entirely overjoyed about and do it with reluctance or resentment, it remains a loathsome chore.  Howev

I glanced at the clock when I heard my husband say to my oldest son, “Call me when you get home.” “Where is he?” I asked. When my husband replied, “He’s on his way home from work,” my stomach began churning. Not the hunger-type churn but the worried-mother-type churn. Our son had purchased a home just months before and was still getting a handle on things but between work and other demands, it wasn’t easy. My husband and I—and his brothers—had all helped out with painting, cutting the lawn, some electrical and lighting things and so on. It took all our willpower (my husband’s and mine) not to completely take over, but to just be available to help if and as needed. We wanted to take care of our son, get him set up in his new house. Mostly, I wanted—needed, really—to know that he was “okay” and that he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the demands of new home ownership. The point of the call was to set up a date and a time that my husband would be able to come and help wit

Embracing Motherhood: Discovering Our Lord at home with us.

Main Altar, Monastery of Miraflores , Burgos, Gil de Siloé (1496-99) Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel John 6:60-69 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Many of the disciples of Jesus, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless

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