Association Of Catholic Bloggers

"Call me an evangelical charismatic liberal conservative progressive traditionalist" Catholic, stated  Fr. Dwight Longenecker  recently. I'm sorry, Fr. Longenecker, but I don't think that means what you think it means. And it adds more confusion than clarity to the issue of Catholic infighting. It's not possible to be all things to all Catholics nowadays. Sad to say, a lot of Catholics behave as if they have splintered into as many different sects as the Protestants have. We can only be liberal and conservative and progressive Catholics all at the same time if we ignore what these words have come to mean  and  the battling factions that these words represent. Read more...

When overcome with annoyance at someone, I really need to put my feet in their shoes and try to walk.  "...Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good."  Teresa de Jes ú s (Avila)       Will I grimace, hunched at the spine clutching my belly in pain, because they are too tight?       Will I try to wiggle out of them because they are filled with clammy, mushy mud or sharp, grainy sand and pebbles?       Will I walk with my head hanging down in shame  because they are old, stained, torn and faded?        Perhaps I will be dissatisfied with myself  because I cannot fill them!      The person I have judged so mercilessly is probably bearing their burden with much more grace than I ever could.  A walk in their shoes must bring my heart to a place of compassion and forgiveness... if I am willing to take the risk. "Let nothing upset you, let nothing startle you. All things pass; God does not change. Patience wins all it seeks. Whoever

written Sunday, September 01, 2013 +JMJ+ I had a dream last night - I was in Mexico, being shown around by a young priest who was newly ordained and native to that area.  He was telling me about the faith in Mexico, and I remember most clearly that he added, "Today is Sunday - today is the most important day of all time." It's the day of the Resurrection.  So I thought about that a great deal (yes, while still dreaming). I think we oftentimes (or I do, anyway) unconsciously downplay the importance of a Sunday.  Modern culture, after all, is definitely an anti-help to restoring the great reverence due to this day. link   (I thought the above vintage advertisement for Sunday school was intriguing and also a bit amusing.  But I loved how the women were so classy, even down to the little cloche and pillbox hats and their spotless white gloves... Don't go to Mass as if you were going to a baseball game.  Dignity, people.) Read the rest here. http://tr

While thousands of faithful   gather in St. Peter's Square  this Saturday at 7 p.m., I'd like to host a virtual prayer for peace in Syria. That will be at 1 p.m. New York time. I'm not sure where I will be since I am still sorting out my Saturday plans, which include a cyclocross race in Trexlertown, Pa.. But I plan to participate in the fast from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday and to pray for peace at 1 p.m.  Will you join me? Keep Reading...

Don’t let  sweet angel pictures fool you. Angels are huge, powerful beings with the ability to perform great acts of strength.  The phone call comes on a Saturday night. I listen to the police in shocked silence. “Your son has been in a serious car accident.” “No, we have  not ascertained the extent of his injuries.” “We did use the jaws of life to extract your son and his girlfriend from the vehicle.” “No, I told you, I cannot tell you the extent of his injuries but if you head over to Trauma 1 at the Civic, they will give you an update.” ” All I can tell you is it seems that the vehicle did flip end over end and then barrel-rolled down into a ditch filled with water.” ” Off the record, I will say that in 25 years of service, I have never seen a car look as bad as his does and not have someone dead on arrival.” Sheer heart stopping panic grips me. I can hardly breath and my heart is  pounding.We  pass his car on the side of the highway. Spot

9   Pray then like this:  First, how not to pray…now, the instruction of how rather to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, — I love that God is not just Jesus’ Father…and he’s not just my Father…but our Father.  I am not an only child here!  I have a huge family unit consisting of brothers and sisters, spanning the globe and the ages.  We are one big family!  “Father” is a personal, intimate term.  It indicates a family relationship, of favor, love, nurturing and protection.  We might not have the best example in our earthly fathers, but everything that we would expect and respect in our own earthly daddy, God is to us, and infinitely more.  In fact, He sets the bar for earthly fathers, even the best daddy in this world will fall short of the excellency of our Heavenly Father. Read more...

Rick Smith, the effervescent dad of "Noah's Dad" fame didn't see it coming. He ignited controversy by saying he wanted to "whack" the saying that God only gives special children to special parents. Tempers ran high and he was stunned to be attacked. He answered with typical good sense and a sense of humor, Christian charity, which is why, even though I disagree with his statement, I wanted to comment on it.  We both understand that if God were selecting parents of children with special needs, He's doing a crummy job, since around 90% of these parents abort their baby before they realize what a blessing they said "no" to. So maybe we special needs parents aren't so special. But hold on, I am not ready to toss out the special parent idea just yet. Which one of us hasn't marvelled in the patience we see in the mom or dad who, like Rick, take extra time to teach their babies the simplest skills and broadcast them over the blogosphere as

Every time a Catholic recites the Nicene Creed , he is proclaimingbelief in the “Four Marks of the Church.” He joins with all other believers and professes a faith which says, “We believe in one , holy , catholic , and apostolic church…” These “four marks” are called “indelible” in that they cannot be changed or removed. They are the same as when Christ founded the church and will remain the same until his return. As indicated in the Nicene Creed , they bind together the believers in a unique and significant way. The first mark: the church is one . As diverse as we are, we are also considered one in that we are one body in Christ. Even as we bring our different cultures to the one body of Christ, we all believe that this Christ is our Lord and Savior; in him we have our redemption. All who have been baptized are part of his one, true church. The second mark: the church is holy . The teachings of the church lead each believer to holiness . They never lead away from God—who

My heart melted upon seeing this video. Please spare time to watch this My child, you may not know me, but I know everything about you. I know when you sit down and when you rise up. I am familiar with all your ways. Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. For you were made in my image. In me you live and move and have your being. For you are my offspring. I knew you even before you were conceived. I chose you when I planned creation. You were not a mistake. For all your days are written in my book. READ MORE

SFC night has always been worth attending to for it is a venue of so much learning's.  In one way or another, people had a heart on teachings about love and relationship. Wonderful it is to be guided on issues like this. This is an excerpt from one of the many teachings given to us, sharing with you a copy. Whatever is the status of your heart, it’s always been rewarding to be reminded of the Lord’s wisdom. :) *************************************************************** Everyone longs for to give themselves completely to someone, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God says to a Christian, “No, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with living, loved by me alone, with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to me alone.” Here’s to continue on the details of His love letter for you… I love you, my child, and until you discover that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not

I have fallen in love with icons; looking at them is not like appreciating a great painting, there is a spirit to Spirit connection that occurs. Painted in prayer, saturated with the Holy Spirit, a wordless flow of the love, light and most especially and an energizing joy fills my soul as God himself blesses me.  I simply open my heart, soul and spirit to the icon. It is powerful and direct; the perfect way to connect with God when I am exhausted. God is in charge as I let go of mental logic and control and allow the Spirit of the Lord Himself to minister to me through the image. r ead more

     Our Blessed Mother valiantly remained with Jesus through every hardship and persecution. A suffering Mother, she never interfered with the Divine Plan of Our Eternal Father. Abandoning all that is of this world, she surrendered to His Perfect Will. The perfect Mother, she chose to spend her life obediently following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, never wavering in perserverence, regardless of the magnitude of joy or sorrow. As Catholics, we traditionally contemplate the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the month of September.  "May the power of Your Love, my Lord Jesus, fiery and sweet as honey, absorb our hearts so completely that we withdraw from all things of this world so that we may die for love of Your Love just as You died for the love of our love." The authorship of this ancient prayer,  known as  The Absorbeat ,  is attributed to  Saint Francis of Assisi En los corazones de Jesús y María ©2013Lora Goulet  mommynovenas

A warm mug rests in my hands while fairies, gossamer skirts and wings floating, chase their little monster through the house. I watch them run past empty and full laundry baskets, over the clean, unfolded towels and sheets. The breakfast dishes wait on the table while I stare at holiness in bare feet, Christ in comforting disguise.

                    I cannot get away from  the holy, it greets me with large-gentle hands and arms around   the morning  like buttery light over our waking: it comes with the sound of small feet over the floor boards carrying questions and the tousled realms of dream  tangling our stepping over  the sills of dawn; it comes in what needs to be done and what won't get done; it comes in our loving  and our turning away  from loving-- in our forgiving and our being forgiven all the same; it comes and does not have other places to be like the love of our Lord, the loveliest guest,  here and everywhere and nowhere; it remains like our very breath in the rooms of our hours and becomes the rich  and beautiful song  we are singing through each other while just opening  our eyes.

Let me write from my core self, intuitively,creatively and most of all authentically in unity with His Spirit.

  UBI CARITAS ET AMOR. DEUS IBI EST.                      Father Ignatius breaks a leg. The letter had been on Father Ignatius’ desk for about a week  now. A local firm of Solicitors had asked him to attend a meeting scheduled for this morning. He tried getting through to them on the phone, but was never able to contact the signatory to the letter. The person answering the phone could not help either. Reluctantly, he decided to attend the meeting. There were about a dozen people or so at the reading of the will. Mr Simmons was not particularly wealthy but he left a few small sums of money mainly to local charities, which the people at the meeting represented. He had no relatives or friends to speak of. Father Ignatius knew of him. He visited Mr Simmons at home a few times to see him when he wasn’t well, but usually Father Donald called on him since he never attended Mas

God is a circle whose centre is  everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere Voltaire

In the Inmost Being of the Soul                              'The dwelling of God is very different in different souls:                              in some He dwells alone, in others not;                              in some He dwells contented, in others displeased;                              in some as in His own home, giving His orders and ruling it;                              in others as a stranger in a house not His own,                              where He is not permitted to command or to do anything at all....                              We must remember that the Word, the Son of God,                              together with the Father and the Holy Ghost,                              is hidden in essence and presence                              in the inmost being of the soul.'         (from Sheltering the Divine Outcast, compiled by A Religious,   The Peter Reilly Co, Philadelphia, 1952, pp. 47-48) Anderson painting

When I remember that I am a writer, a born writer, not someone pretending to be a writer by wearing a mask, then work becomes play. God gave me a love of books and an artistic gift of writing and drawing. When I simply relax and enjoy life as a child of God, then I can allow Him to work through my fingers and my imagination. Now we create together. It is a joyful experience. MY FAMILY’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH BOOKS IS A GENERATIONAL BLESSING. My maternal grandfather, uncles and my mother love to read. I in turn love books.In fact, I have always loved books, reading voraciously as a child. I remember walking slowly home from the library with a tall stack of exciting choices, reading my first choice even before I managed to walk through the front door. My mother would cajole me in the summer, “Well, at least read outside in the fresh air.” read more

As anyone who has been married for a while knows, marriage has seasons: the early years, the years with babies and toddlers, and so on. Right now, my husband and I have two teenaged boys and no travel soccer on our family calendar any more. This means our weekends are wide open. Keep Reading...