Association Of Catholic Bloggers

                       "Clear and crisp, substantive and yet easy to follow."   "Successfully communicates Catholic wisdom on marriage and family by weaving well-selected quotations drawn from the tradition with living examples from her family and other faithful Catholic couples today."   "Shows that married couples who are faithful not just to one another but to the example of Christ the Bridegroom and the teaching of his Bride will find their love flourish and be fruitful now and in the life to come, for it will be fed by deeper wellsprings than anything available in our shallow culture today." I am so grateful for these words of support from Dr. Michael Hoonhout, professor of systematic theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception here in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.  More...

No Women Priests...and why... NO WOMEN PRIESTS...AND WHY... I was preparing to go to Holy Mass at St. Stephen the Martyr, talking about the clustering of the two parishes, and how we need more priests.  The woman I was talking to said, "We need women priests." I was very clear, I said  NO .  Man is God's only priest, and from the beginning that it is how it has been.  But instead of just saying, "No".  I think I owe her and explanation of why there is no women priests and why there can never be. Just by saying No to her, I haven't taught her anything.  I'd like to correct that.  The way for Jesus to come was prepared for, it was not a random act of God.  It is no coincidence that the sacrifice for the Passover of the Jews was the blood of a  MALE lamb, and a lamb without blemish.  And as God wastes nothing, but takes what came before and transforms the pascal sacrifice into something greater, Jesus. And with his sacrifice on the cross, hi

I thought that might get a couple of clicks over here... ;) ;) I'm not pregnant. Well, not in the traditional sense of the word. But in many ways, I do feel pregnant. I was thinking about this yesterday. My mind wandered to all of the times I heard women complaining about being pregnant, and all of the times my fellow-infertile friends shared their similar accounts, and how each complaint used to cut like a knife. Used to. I remembered one particularly hurtful comment I read on a Facebook status years ago... it wasn't even a close friend, just an acquaintance from high school, who wrote (while pregnant with child #3): "Does any woman actually enjoy being pregnant??!" That comment haunted me for weeks... it hurt so badly, because all I could think was how I wanted to scream at her, and every complaining pregnant woman, that YES, I would enjoy being pregnant, and YES, there are women who would gladly trade places with her, and YES, no amount of suffering in pregnanc

My husband has been coaching our sons in  basketball  for more than a decade. This afternoon, he coached as a father for the last time. During more than 20 years of knowing my husband, I have rarely seen him cry, even in private moments. Today he nearly shed tears as he spoke with his eighth grade recreation department team after their final game. He has been filled with sadness the past few days with the sense of loss over this part of his life. How blessed I am to have this man in my life and as the father to our two teenaged sons.    Keep Reading...

O Holy Mary, Help Us Go Against the Grain O Holy Mary, you help us to receive the Sermon on the Mount, Those beatitudes much talked about but seldom applied, Because they go against the grain, as if the Gave river in Lourdes Were flowing backwards up the glaciers of the Pyrenees. O Holy Mary, you help us to become the people of the Word, The people of the Eucharist, the people of the message. What is the use of going faster, if we do not know where we are going? What is the use of producing more and more, if we do not know how to share? What is the use for the poor to get richer and for the rich to get poorer, If neither one nor the other knows how to live like Christ? O Holy Mary, in a world dominated by money, you teach your generosity, In a world of glitz and lies, you show your transparency, In a world that sneers and soils, you offer your purity. Teach us how to avoid being a fully printed page; But instead, a blank page, where the Holy Spirit can write down A

This That and the Other Thing: Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Long ago I used to be a young man and dear Margaret remembers that for me. The Dutchman  is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968. It's about an elderly couple living in Amsterdam, Margaret and the title character. The unnamed Dutchman has dementia and Margaret cares for him with a sadness over what has happened to him over the years. It's a story of unconditional love. Portrait of an Old Man with Beard ,  van Gogh, December 1885 ( Web Gallery of Art ) I became involved with  The Pastoral Care Project  in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, England, while based in the Columban house in Solihull from September 2000 to April 2002 when I moved to Glasgow, Scotland, though I stayed there for only a few months before returning to the Philippines. The mission statement of the Project is above. I first got involved when the founder of the Project, Mrs Frances Molloy, invited me to celebrate Mass in a home for old people. The mission statement of the

Of theology he was not the least Continent Africa was his conquest The greatest thinker of the Romans then He studied what was to become of Man And changed the Christian faith for that The empire would worship the one Spirit He made the ancient faith all powerful Like Jesus healing at the stirring pool He turned away from fornication And even those times of insufflation The world stopped going round the sun And the angels played their Carillion To bring all those saints and sinners back home Thanks to St Augustine’s world of wisdom

A few years ago at Mass in another diocese, the priest began a homily on the importance of daily prayer. I was elated. We hear this far too seldom from the pulpit. My elation soon turned to disappointment, however. He talked about being aware of the world around you, and your own thoughts and feelings. Shockingly, he didn't mention God at all! I realized the priest (apparently without knowing it) was not really advocating prayer, but a Buddhist-inspired form of meditation. Both Christians and Buddhists use the term “meditation,” so it's no wonder sincere people confuse the practices of the separate religions. But they are quite different. Keep reading to learn the difference.  (I had a problem with my post this morning. If you tried to read this and couldn't find it on my blog, please try again! Sorry for the inconvenience.)

War The flowers shiver in the summer breeze Fields full waving on the mountain The village girls dance Men with guns wait near the snow-capped peaks What will the new year bring? More planes? More death? More victory? Onward they plod Along gravel paths Winding Village to village You cook Ten thousand men No one makes anything better with the rations than you But when you get home You will have lost your confidence I too lost my confidence I just learned to live in a different box Joanna Bennett

I am looking for someone who has the time to take over as editor of this Blog.  It involves moderating any comments, posting and commenting and approving new Blog editors - if you are interested then please email me at j.bennett150@btinternet.com  Thank you

Well, I thought it high time to introduce myself here at the Association of Catholic Women Bloggers. Hello! I am Amy, and I blog at This Cross I Embrace. I've been blogging for almost 5 years now, and what started as a whiny, venting Infertility Blog has morphed into a ( still whiny, venting ) Life Experiences through Infertility Blog. I am so happy to be a part of this blog association, and look forward to sharing more! Here's a recent post from my blog to wet your whistles: Unnatural Family Planning

If you think being chaste means not having sex, you're wrong. Chastity means using your sexuality in the way God intended. Single people who are chaste don't have sex (and don't do a lot of other things as well). Married people who are chaste DO have sex. But, one reader asked, what exactly is chaste sex? Read more...

Rooted in Love: Our Calling as Catholic Women: A Worthwhile Use of Time! : A Worthwhile Use of Time! When "Rooted in Love" came onto my path, I'd recently made the difficult decision to leave a wel...

Catholic author Nancy Carabio Belanger has posted an incredible blog about worship. Nancy is a talented writer whose books for tweens (Olivia and the Little Way; Olivia's Gift) are the kind that draw kids in, build them up and encourage kids without being too sugary-sweet or--hold onto your hats--without introducing vampires and witches! Anyhow, in Nancy's current blogpost, she pulls back the curtain on Catholic worship and makes some increidble points--well worth our time for reflection this Lent. http://nancybelanger.blogspot.com/2013/03/who-are-we-worshiping-exactly.html Enjoy. Cheryl Dickow www.BezalelBooks.com

Here is a reach out from our dear Catholic Books and more store, please see how you can help them...I WILL!!!  Let's keep them in business! Friends, I write to you tonight with an announcement to make. As you all know, after 10 years, Aquinas and More announced it would be closing at the end of February. This was not an easy decision for us. To our wonder, the outpouring of support for Aquinas and More from our customers and the Catholic community at large has been overwhelming. We graciously, graciously thank you. This has left us in a bit of a quandary. We could not realistically continue in our present state of affairs But the void in Catholic shopping and Catholic service left by the closing of Aquinas and More is also real. We've always felt that Aquinas and More was truly a mission. Are we being called to continue? Are we not? I know what I want, but I also know that -- more importantly -- I want God's Will. In this regard, Aquinas and More.h

Since Sacred Scripture is at the center of our homeschool, I decided to begin our studies on the papal conclave with a look at the origins of the papacy in Matthew 16. We have been reading The Golden Children's Bible chronologically. We are just finishing the Sermon on the Mount with a unit on the parable of the wise and foolish builders. Reading Matthew 16 at this point provides a good bridge to studies of the pope. For the best start to this unit, you (the parent) should prayerfully read Matthew 7:24-27 and 16:14-20 ahead of time. Make it the subject of your daily meditation. (If you don't know how to do Christian meditation, read my recent post on mental prayer , or see this sample meditation .) You may want to share your insights or resolutions with your kids in the course of your studies. Then use as many of the following activities as you see fit. View the whole lesson plan.

Waiting She hates this house How it feels like one step up From a cardboard box on the street Scrooge throws one more coal on the fire He’s gone for the day Won’t be paying for gas So we shiver and wonder When we can have that big house On the avenue And when will our fortunes change So we can live in a cottage Like the ones in Country Living Or look out over a Cornish coast And be bourgeois and Paint and write and enjoy long walks on the beach And maybe if fate is smiling Like a full moon Or the sun in the summer Someone to walk and hold hands with As the waves break against the sands of time When? Jane Frances

It all comes to this, then. We must discover a simple means to obtain from God the grace needed to become holy. It is precisely this I wish to teach you. My contention is that you must first discover Mary if you would obtain this grace from God. Let me explain: 1. Mary alone found grace with God for herself and for every individual person. No patriarch or prophet or any other holy person of the Old Law could manage to find this grace. 2. It was Mary who gave existence and life to the author of all grace, and because of this she is called the "Mother of Grace." 3. God the Father, from whom, as from its essential source, every perfect gift and every grace come down to us, gave her every grace when he gave her his Son. Thus, as St Bernard says, the will of God is manifested to her in Jesus and with Jesus. 4. God chose her to be the treasurer, the administrator and the dispenser of all his graces, so that all his graces and gifts pass through her hands. Such is the po

Catholic Church Must Allow Bigger Roles for Women, Influential Cardinal Says A senior cardinal, who has been mentioned as a papal candidate and will be influential in electing the next  pope , said in an interview the Roman Catholic Church must allow women to have more  leadership  positions in the next pontificate and beyond. "The role of women in the world has increased and this is something the Church has to ask itself about," Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Vatican's office for Eastern rite churches, told Reuters, even as the Vatican's central administration is to choose the man to succeed Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Read more at  http://www.christianpost.com/news/catholic-church-must-allow-bigger-roles-for-women-influential-cardinal-says-91193/#xfoflwRmbzoZcbiH.99  

View from the Domestic Church: "My Confirmation Book"

I went to Holy Mass and I was crying, not for myself, but sometimes God puts in on my heart to weep for souls that are lost.  This day I was crying very much for the lost.  After we received the Holy Eucharist, the Priests (we had two that day at St. Luke) began to pray for me. I know this because I could feel their prayers for me.   I could feel these men's beautiful hearts praying for me. Men by their nature are made to be the protector of the family.  How much more so is a Priest a protector, not just by his nature of being a man, but by being "in persona Christi" for those in his church 'family'? I could feel these beautiful Priests hearts praying for me, praying out of a desire to protect me, to shield me from any pain as evidenced by my tears, and if that was not possible, to have God intervene so that I would no longer cry. Good and holy priests, with hearts like St. Joseph, loving, protecting those in your charge.  Yet this heart was also like our

Mary Teaches Us to Kneel The Immaculate Conception of Mary, the luminous origin of her being, is revealed in the virginal conception of Jesus by the power of the Spirit. Mary is totally expressed in this mystery: she doesn't exist for herself, but to give herself to God's work. Similarly, humankind recreated through forgiveness cannot just aim towards earthly and temporal development, since it was made for otherworldly happiness, for God's happiness. Humanity was made to welcome and share God's life, listen to the Word and put it into practice, and make it bear divine fruit. By agreeing to be recreated as an immaculate being, the believer lives only through God and for God. Mary's privilege doesn't make her an exception within humanity, but she becomes the one in whom humanity’s grace and fecundity is restored. Mary remains in the heart of God, in the hollow of the rock from which the spring flows. She remains there, as the first tabernacle in history, a

  1.  Please pray for the soul of my sister-in-law Barbara's father, who passed away Wednesday. His name is Wilfredo Salvador and he and his wife raised their five children in Dumaguete City in the Philippines. You might remember I wrote about one of his grandchildren, Brennan Kyle Alcantara, who was miraculously rescued from flood waters during Typhoon Sendong. Keep Reading...

How is your Lent going? Did you accidentally eat meat today? Did you give in and eat chocolate, drink coffee, or indulge in whatever else you promised to give up? Have you missed your prayer time, slept through daily Mass, or skipped your spiritual reading? Don't despair. This could still be your best Lent yet. Continue reading.

Today is the Feast of St David! David, or Dewi, was a monk and a bishop in the sixth century. He followed a very ascetic spiritual life but was also highly regarded for his kindness and compassion to others, particularly the poor and the sick. He is believed to have founded the monastery at Menevia, now St David's, and also at least a dozen other monasteries. The Rule for these monasteries was based on that of the Egyptian desert monks, with a strong emphasis on hard work, abstinence from alcohol and a refraining from unnecessary speech. He died in about the year 601 and has been regarded as the patron saint of Wales since at least the twelfth century. The picture is a mosaic from Westminster Cathedral, and photographed by Lawrence OP at flickr.com

I know my purpose here on earth is to love and serve God so that I can spend eternity with Him in Heaven… But at my age, even having some of the answers to life’s bigger questions doesn’t mean there still aren’t a few things I wonder about… For instance, I was recently watching a rerun of I Love Lucy and found myself saying out loud—to no one in particular: I don’t remember Ethel being so young and pretty! In fact, she’s beautiful! How did I ever miss that? Or there was the time I was answering questions for a survey and wondered why my age group was the last choice. I thought everyone was living longer. Was I mistaken? Shouldn’t there be an age group after mine? I felt it was important to bring that to the attention of the gal conducting the survey: Have you not updated your survey recently? You know people are living much longer now and there is no way I should be in the last age group!   And yet on that same survey, my income was in the first, lowest