Association Of Catholic Bloggers

A relationship to the living God is child’s play.  Children are open to the Spirit in a simple and natural way; their spirituality is not only taught, it rises from within them as they listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their own hearts. St. Paul assures us that all men have the basic laws of God carved into their hearts. In modern language, we all have an awareness of good and evil or a conscience.The problem is tapping into and living out from my core where God has inscribed a moral code on my heart. It is  hidden in my deepest self. Actually, first we must recognize that our own ego and selfishness are a barrier between us and God. Thank God for Christ because He offers an easy way to love and easy way to live in His Spirit as saints. Relax.  Give up striving in your own strength, self-righteousness and pride and accept that you need Jesus as your Saviour. St. Paul understood that only Christ had the power to deliver him from himself. In Romans 7: 24 …. Wretched ma

You get to that age when you are really concerned about falls, and, justifiably so.  Who wants a broken hip, arm, or any other body part?  I know I don’t, and I didn’t when it happened.   I missed a step at home fell, heard pop! pop! pop!  In that single motion, I managed to fracture a bone in my foot and sprain my ankle.  Ouch!  The result of this fall was that I had to slow down.  Hospice work is not an option for a while.  Then there’s the yard work.  I love doing our yard work, but this year, Ouch!  I couldn't.  So, it was time to find someone to take care of those beautiful leaves falling from the fire maples in our front yard.     Read More Here At "His Unending Love."

The National Pro-Life Petition that is circulating in social networking  -  http://wh.gov/lTwUZ IF YOU DON'T BECOME PART OF THE SOLUTION THEN YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM

Green 4 God: Book Review-The Book of Helen by Sherry Antonetti : What do you get when you cross a dethroned demi-goddess with a childhood rival?  (And , no.  This isn't the beginning of a bad joke!...

The photos above were uploaded on October 30 on her Facebook account by my friend Rhea Gladys Mae Sarigumba, a social worker who lives in Tacloban City. She is with one of her two daughters in the top right while her mother Mrs Vicenta Matildo is in the photo below with her to granddaughters, the children of Rhea and her husband Rogel who is pictured in the top right with his two daughters, his mother-in-law Vicenta and sister-in-law Lalai with her daughter Barbie. Rhea with her husband Rogel and their daughters whose nicknames are 'Xycy' and 'Xie Ann'. I've had no news about Rhea since Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda hit Tacloban City early on Friday morning, 8 November. One of the last entries by Rhea on the timeline of her Facebook is a link to an update on the approaching storm on the website of  PAGASA , the national weather bureau in the Philippines issued at 6AM on 7 November, less than 24 hours before it hit the islands of Samar and Leyte in

How many times have we said, "Jesus, please, please, please grant me this", "Lord, please help this work, please give me it...", "God, please - I  need  this to work out", or even the famous last words of "Lord, if you'd only grant me this, I'd never ask for anything again"? When we pray like this, it's as if we have just grabbed the steering wheel from Our Lord because we think that we can drive better than He can.  But can we?  Of course not.  It's so hard to let Him take full complete total control of our life.  When we surrender to him, we let go of all of our petty handrails and we take the jump.  Sometimes, it feels like we're falling.  It's frightening.  But if we try to plan our own lives, we enclose ourselves in a small cage.  If we give our lives to God, He will shatter the chains that we would have been tempted to cling to, and He will set us free. We don't trust Him enough, do we?  Do we  really  believ

November 13 is the first anniversary of Contemplative Homeschool. The 14th is the Feast of All Carmelite Saints. To celebrate, I’d like to introduce you to a few Carmelite saints and blesseds  you may not know. In the future, I hope to delve deeper into the spiritual insights of more Carmelite saints on my blog. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity   Elizabeth Catez was born in 1880 in France. Her father was in the army. He died when Elizabeth was seven. She, her mother, and sister moved to a home in Dijon that overlooked a Carmelite monastery. When Elizabeth made her first Communion, the mother superior told her that Elizabeth meant “House of God.” That impressed the young girl. It became the central idea of her spirituality–the realization that the Holy Trinity lived in her soul. She made a private promise of virginity at age 14 and entered Carmel at 20. She spent only five years in the cloister before her death from a prolonged illness in 1906. Read the res

UBI CARITAS ET AMOR. DEUS IBI EST. Father Ignatius was on his way back from a school trip to the museum in the big city with the young children from St Andrew’s School. The young seven-year olds were a little boisterous and excited after their first school outing; and the six adults on the bus had their work cut out keeping them in their seats. When everyone was seated, Mr Foster, the Headmaster, took a roll-call to ensure that no one was missing.   As the bus made its way slowly through the busy traffic the children discussed amongst themselves their museum visit and the souvenirs they had bought from the museum shop.  A few of them sitting next to Father Ignatius discussed the various ancient exhibits they had seen from years gone by and asked him which were his favorite.  “I wouldn’t say I had a favorite as such,” replied Father Ignatius, “but I suppose it is impressive how many of these exhibits have survived all these centuries and how much we

As preparations heat up for Pope Francis'  2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family , it's a good time to revisit some ideas for fixing what's broken about the marriage preparation and annulment process in the United States. Catholic author John Zmirak recently asserted that we could  fix Catholic marriage in five easy steps . But can we? Although thought-provoking, Zmirak's proposals underscore the need for more thorough education about the annulments process among Catholics today, say some canonists. Let's take a look at Zmirak's five proposals and see what might work, what might not work, and what's already being done. Read more here...

~~~~~~~SELF LOVE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HOLY LOVE~~~~~~~~~~~~ Is motivated towards self________________________Is motivated in every thought,                                       advantage in thought,___________________________word, and action by love of                                     word and deed._______________________________God, and neighbor as self.                                     Sees only others' faults,________________________Sees himself as full of                                    not his own. Considers_________________________imperfections. Is always seeking himself on the right____________________________to be perfected through Love. path-perhaps even_____________________________Considers others to be more humble and virtuous.__________________________humble and holy than himself.  continue reading

Advocata Nostra    mckenzie  -Black Madonna   Advocata Nostra , the oldest icon of Mary in Rome, at the Dominican Sisters Convent on Via Trionfale on Monte Mario. This icon can be traced back to its origin in Jerusalem, where tradition has it that it was painted by St Luke after the Resurrection, at the request of the apostles. But the tradition also states that after St Luke had sketched the outline, the image of Our Lady appeared on it. No human hand was involved. Such works are referred to as achiropita—'made without hands'.                                                             Fr. John Giuliani    Japenese Carmelite Nuns BLESSED VRGIN MARY CUZCO PERU ART Madonna of the Lilies, Alphonse Mucha

As television commercials and store circulars clamor for you time and money this Christmas season, you may be feeling—like so many others—a yearning to get back to basics. To reclaim Christmas and its meaning. One way to do just that is to make a commitment to give gifts that matter—gifts from the heart. A perfect gift to consider for friends, teachers, co-workers, and family this year is a Christmas basket. A Christmas basket is something that you create with the recipient in mind which means you can make a dozen of them and they will all be a bit different, or you can consider ways in which all your friends and family are similar and make the same basket for a dozen different people. Here are some easy tips to get you going for the perfect Christmas basket: ü Make a list of the people for whom you typically shop so that you know how many baskets to purchase. Your baskets can be any size and kind of container (sewing basket, garbage can, pet bed, hat box, utility buck

It's been a year later since Sandy, and now Typhoon Haiyan?  The worst storm to hit land ever?  Unbelievable. I saw this picture and my heart ached. Completely ached. Photo by Reuters/Erik De Castro from emergencies.crs.org As Thanksgiving approaches I've focused heavily on gratitude for the blessings in life.  The good things.  I think most of us probably aren't aware on a daily basis of how good we actually do have it.  This week my husband didn't pass the bar.  That's right, didn't pass, and not only that, but the poor guy missed passing by  two points .    Two lousy, stinking points.  Two good for nothing, lame points. After a few days of "mourning" this loss, we've both officially recovered from the initial shock, and have focused even harder on his achieving this goal come February.  The bottom line is, we're going to be just fine.  We may be living with my in-laws a little bit longer than  hoped,

Somewhere along the line, it seems America lost sight of the whole way… the “whole-food” way, that is!    Over the years, as a more “have-it-your-way” approach became a part of our everyday way of eating, our food & nutrition began moving further and further away from nature.  And our faith in isolated nutrient supplements grew strong... But is this a wise approach for us?  Is this the way it’s meant to be? Well, of course, it’s not. Plus research even shows that some supplements may deliver no benefits, or may actually come with risks, as well.  But why?  Why are there so many cracks in the foundation of a diet that’s built on weak foods, still fortified by high-dose supplements?  Could it be that we’re missing the whole point?    In seeking the riches of individual (and separated) nutrients, we begin to lose the treasure that’s meant to be there.   The full benefits of nutrients really come as a result of a communal relationship that’s built on interaction an

I saw Three White Doves Soaring from the Altar toward Heaven.   St. Faustina  -  November 2/1936   In the evening after Vespers, I went to the Cemetery (in the sisters' park). I had been Praying for a while when I saw one of our sisters, who said to me, "We are in the Chapel." I understood that I was to go to the Chapel and there Pray and Gain the Indulgences.  The next day, during Holy Mass, I saw Three White Doves Soaring from the Altar toward Heaven. I Understood that not only the Three souls that I saw had gone to Heaven, but also Many Others who had Died beyond the confines of our Institute. Oh, how Good and Merciful is the Lord! (Diary-748) An Offering of the Precious Blood for Souls O My God, I beg of Thee in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the merits of the Precious Blood offered Thee in every Mass throughout the world, to grant that this day one mortal sin may be averted, one soul in doubt may be converted to the tr

Tonight found me in an unlikely-for-me place: a glow-in-the dark indoor miniature golf course in a strip shopping mall off a state highway. I proposed the location for a Saturday night date with my husband and he agreed. While we waited our turn at mini-golf, we played skee-ball and a few rounds of Hoop Fever. We had a great time. Our teen sons would be grateful they had not come along since while we played - me cheating and my husband diligently marking his own score with a glow-in-the-dark pencil - I was singing and dancing to the 1970s music that blared through out the facility. Why did we end up here tonight? Keep Reading

It has become clear that Super Typhoon Haiyan ('Yolanda' in the Philippines) has caused enormous destruction and, very possibly, many deaths. Tacloban City, on the island of Leyte in the eastern Visayas, the group of large islands in the centre of the country, looks as if a bomb had been dropped on it. I have visited it a number of times. Much of the damage was caused by a storm surge, which is similar to a tsunami. I heard an official of  PAGASA , the national weather bureau, explain on television today that where the seas is shallow, as it is in Tacloban City,  such surges tend to be much higher than where the sea is deep and therefore much more destructive. Part of downtown Tacloban City There are now  reports  that more than 10,000 may have died as a result of the storm.  Reuters quotes a senior police official on this . Continue here .

  "Opportunities are offered hourly for us to perform with great love seemingly unimportant works.  Gentleness and patience toward others, overcoming our own moods and inclinations, acknowledging within ourselves our own imperfections, and persevering effort to keep ourselves tranquil and at peace:  this faithfulness is greater than we can imagine."   Sister Joanne Marie Wenzel VHM, In the Midst of the World, Brooklyn Visitation Monastery, 1985, p. 9 Painting: Girl Sweeping, William McGregor Paxton,1912   from The Cloistered Heart

I   am learning to live in the Light, remain in the Light and stay connected to the Light within me. My tendency is to switch back to living in misery, burdened with interior pain because this is what I am accustomed to. Ridiculous? Insane?Absolutely, but now a mere glance to the Light and bang- I switch again from misery to joy.  To nurture His Risen Life in me, the life of the Messiah, I am discovering that spiritual communion is powerful. I just  whisper a desire for the Eucharist and He is present like a fire burning in my heart, burning even my skin.  I  could dance for joy, like a child of God in the sunshine. St. Thomas Aquinas defined Spiritual Communion as  “an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him.” The basis of this practice was explained by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical,  Ecclesia de Eucharistia : “unlike any other sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it  brin