Association Of Catholic Bloggers

The Breadbox Letters: Comes the Winter.. : “I see that all the seasons are to be found in your soul ; for at on e time you feel the winter of sterility, distractions, disgust, and ...

The Breadbox Letters: Find Me, O Lord : Find me, O Lord!  I am lost except in You.

Peter Robinson: "A majority of Protestants and Catholics alike support our constitutional position within the United Kingdom" Continue reading the main story Related Stories NI leader hails cross-border link Irish minister at DUP conference Irish PM in Enniskillen ceremony Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson has said he believes a majority of Catholics now support Northern Ireland staying within the UK. Speaking at his party's annual conference, the DUP leader said the peace process had helped to secure Northern Ireland's place in the UK. Sinn Fein are pushing for a referendum on keeping the union as Scotland is. Mr Robinson said the result would not be in doubt, and said republicans "should take the hint". He compared Sinn Fein's push for a vote to "turkeys voting for Christmas". Mr Robinson also paid tribute to the Royal Family and said: "Long may you reign over us. God save the Queen." He described the

Deacon Gerry's Blog: Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, t... : THE BLESSING OF THORNS Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her lif...

Deacon Gerry's Blog: May the world be kind to you...

With just over a month to go before Christmas, the Pope has declared that the presence of animals like cattle and donkeys in traditional Nativity scenes is based on little more than a myth. The inclusion of domestic animals in the Nativity scene may have been inspired by pre-Christian traditions   Photo: ALAMY By  Nick Squires , Rome 7:32PM GMT 20 Nov 2012 251 Comments As churches and families around the world prepare to dust off their Nativity figures for the festive season,  Benedict  writes in a new book on Christ that contrary to popular belief, Jesus's birth was not presided over by oxen, asses, camels or indeed any other beasts. "There is no mention of animals in the Gospels," he wrote in the third and last volume of his biography of Jesus Christ, which like the previous two books is expected to become an international best-seller, with an initial print run of a million copies. The inclusion of domestic animals in the

The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed. The Pope also weighs in on the debate over Christ's birthplace   Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP By  Nick Squires , Rome 4:02PM GMT 21 Nov 2012 2110 Comments The 'mistake' was made by a sixth century monk known as Dionysius Exiguus or in English Dennis the Small, the 85-year-old pontiff claims in the book 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives', published on Wednesday. "The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years,"  the Pope  writes in the book, which went on sale around the world with an initial print run of a million copies. "The actual date of Jesus's birth was several years before." The asse

From  The Gospel of John  (2003)   Directed by Philip Saville. Jesus played by Henry Ian Cusick; narrator, Christopher Plummer.  Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 18:33b-37  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world." Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a

Revving Up for Advent and Christmas

Nov 21, About Today for Presentation of Mary

Humblepiety: His Spoken Voice : His Spoken Voice His spoken voice pierced the f...

Humblepiety: I Stand and Knock! : The first “task” a priest has to do is to be a believer and to become one ever anew and ever more. Faith is never simply there automatic...

One of the hardest things about Thanksgiving Day, and then of course the Christmas holidays, is dealing with loss and grief. It's just difficult to be in the holiday season when you are still dealing with sadness over the death of a loved one, loss of a marriage or other changes in life that take us away from our traditions and ties to the past. But there are ways to make the holidays bearable and even pleasant.  Here are some things that have worked for me in the past.  1. Grieve. Take the time to be sad, angry, quiet or talkative about the lost loved one. I really think we do grief badly in this country. It's almost as if the day after the funeral, life should be back to normal, but for someone who has lost a dear friend or a loved one, that "normal" life is over and it takes time to find out what the new normal is.  2.  The same will be true for families after a divorce, or a serious illness, or for family with loved ones not able to be with them for the holida

+ Stella Maris +: A tribute to St. Joan of Arc and a remarkable film... : The film "Joan of Arc" with Ingrid Bergman was made in 1948. It is remarkable for its time. The studio butchered it, but thanks to dedica...

+ Stella Maris +: For Blessed John Henry Newman and for all who are ...

+ Stella Maris +: A retreat on The Two Hearts : I shall be giving a retreat at Pantasaph Friary, North Wales, on the theme of "The Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary" from 16th to 18th Novem...

Over the Edge of the World

Repost: "Come down quickly" Tuesday Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:1-10. He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house." And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner." But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." And Jesus said to him, "

Saint Agnes of Assisi

The battle to protect patients in a so-called vegetative state from euthanasia took a positive turn today with the news that doctors have been able to communicate with one patient. A Canadian man who was believed to have been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade has been able to communicate with scientists that he is not in any pain. It’s the first time an uncommunicative brain-injured patient has been able to communicate. The news could change the way doctors and society views such patients.  From the story : Scott Routley, 39, was asked questions while having his brain activity scanned in an fMRI machine. His doctor says the discovery means medical textbooks will need rewriting. Routley suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident 12 years ago. None of his physical assessments since then have shown any sign of awareness, or ability to communicate. But the British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Owen – who led the team at the Brain and Mind Institute,

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your Name forever. Great has been Your kindness toward me; You have rescued me from the depths of the nether world.                           Psalm 86:12-13 Public domain photo

My Domestic Church: Facebook Finds : Catholic aprons for Christmas! via Catholic cuisine blog! via Facebook http://catholiccuisine.blogspot.com/2012/11/catholic-aprons-perfe...

Whitby Abbey “All who knew her called her mother because of her outstanding devotion and grace” (The Venerable Bede) A consecrated virgin, a skilled and wise leader and teacher, Abbess of Hartlepool and then Whitby (Streonshalh), a ‘double monastery’ where both male and female religious worshipped together but lived separately. She attended the Synod of Whitby called by King Oswiu, which agreed to keep the feast of Easter according to the Roman calendar, as well as agreeing the adoption of the Roman tonsure. This decision led to the monks of Lindisfarne, led by Colman, moving first to Iona and thence to Ireland; the declarations of the Synod may be seen as one stage in the ‘Romanisation’ of the church in the British Isles, although Roman practice was already widespread and this Synod affected the kingdom of Northumbria alone. When she died at the age of sixty-six, a nun saw her soul being carried to heaven by angels and local legend says that when sea birds fly over