Association Of Catholic Bloggers

UBI CARITAS ET AMOR. DEUS IBI EST. Father Ignatius was certainly the product of his up-bringing. Raised in a poor family who had known real hardship; yet at the same time a family held together, despite all the turmoil that life threw at them, by a common bond of mutual love and basic Christian principles. It’s because of his up-bringing, and because he grew up with very little materially, that he developed a habit of frugality and saving whatever he could rather than wasting it away. He had taken a private vow of poverty when he became a priest, and since then he spent as little as possible on himself. He was not mean in the sense of avarice since anything he had, or whatever else came his way in terms of money or goods, he eagerly shared with the poor in his parish. The little he kept for himself was usually either books or certain items he had collected over the years and kept for their sentimental value. One Friday afternoon he decided to clear up the sp

Writing Trusting God with St. Therese , I have purchased or checked out from the library several book about the saint that I had not read before. I have also revisited some old favorites. There are countless books about Therese, but not all are of the same quality or focus. Here are some of my favorites, in brief. Throughout this year, I hope to give you more detailed critiques of them and others. I Believe in Love I Believe in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux by Fr. Jean C. J. d’Elbee is by far my favorite book on Therese. In fact, it’s one of my favorite books of all time. I have given this book away twice before. I just received it for Christmas for the third time and am rereading it. The point that struck me most on my last reading was that we shouldn’t say, “I’m striving to love God.” Instead, we should simply say, “I love God.” Love is a matter of the will. If we truly will to love, we achieve love. Read the rest of

Since I'm new to the Association of Catholic Women Bloggers, I thought I would introduce myself. I started blogging at ChicagoNow  three years ago.  This was my very first post:   Yes I'm Catholic ... Really . I hope you'll stop by and take the time to read that and some of my other posts.  You can also find me on Facebook  and Twitter . Come join the conversation and the fun!

On the Feast of the Holy Family, December 29, 2013, Pope Francis invited all Catholics to pray for families as the Church prepares for an Extraordinary Synod to examine the troubling disconnect between Church teaching and the reality of modern family life. In his  Angelus address  given to the crowds in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis recited for the first time his new Prayer to the Holy Family. (Full text available  here .) The prayer seeks the help of the Holy Family while at the same time revealing Pope Francis' vision of the family as it is and as it could be. It paints an ideal portrait of family life and yet acknowledges the severe difficulties faced by many. It concludes with a heart-felt petition for the renewal of the sacredness and inviolability of the family. Pope Francis' prayer is a short primer on the theology of the family and deserves careful contemplation. Let's see what he says. The Splendor of True Love Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we cont

Delivered... Because I'm truly Yours!   Thinking back, one year ago, January 2013, do you remember where you were in life; more-so, where you were in your prayer life? Surprisingly I do!  But this is because it involved a very special series of prayers for me (a “novena") dedicated to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots . So there I was, one year ago, on the 1st of January, Day 1, entrusting my very own ribbon,  with all its messy knots,  into the hands of our Blessed Mother.  And it just so happened at this same time, I was also reading Fr. Michael Gaitley’s “ 33 Days to Morning Glory ” (so good!) .   But what about these knots of mine? …Which one knot entangled my life the most?   It was a big one... ► Click HERE to read more at The Way to Nourish for Life including an Audrey Assad song .►

Forgiveness and the Lord's Prayer Of course, I could have written the title of this post the other way, but forgiveness seems to be the main lesson God is trying to get through my thick, red-haired head these days. Without any kind of a prayer life, how can we accomplish the least of the tasks in our daily lives, much less forgiveness of another.  Reflecting on the Lord's Prayer, I am completely in awe at how perfectly the words are, I know, consider the author.  Jesus taught the apostles this prayer which covers all bases in a very short and simple way.  But it also puts us to task in a very blunt and severe way in the forgiveness department; He will forgive us, AS we forgive others around us...ouch! "As" Now, we all remember the Clinton days when he fought the infidelity accusations with an idiotic argument on the meaning of the word "is".  He wanted to escape the reality of his marital sinfulness with a present/past tense wording. 

I've found some great new shows to watch whenever I read the tv guide's yearly "The Best Shows You Aren't Watching" article. And since I've been invited to guest on a number of radio programs this January to talk about great reading during the winter months, I thought that with a "twist" it was a great way to offer some books definitely worth reading for anyone's budget. I'll be talking about.... The best historical fiction you may not have read: The Green Coat: A Tale from the Dust Bowl Years by Rosemary McDunn which is just $2.99 on Kindle! Perfect for all ages. Really! http://www.amazon.com/Green-Coat-Tale-Dust-Years-ebook/dp/B005KLSL28/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389006390&sr=8-1&keywords=green+coat+mcdunn Then there's Joan L. Kelly's Hiding the Stranger: The Trilogy which has received the prestigious Catholic Writer's Guild Seal of Approval. A great book for the kids and easy on the budget at $2.99! http:/

'Cloister thy mind, thy senses and thy heart, and keep within a silent sanctuary, where thou with Me may live a life apart... (click for more)

Today’s Gospel:  John 1:35-42 It is amazing, really, that John’s disciples simply hear their teacher announce that Jesus is “the Lamb of God” and they follow Him, without question, without speaking a word. They are on a journey, so they do not cling to John possessively but let go to continue their search for God. These men are hungry for God and they are open, recognizing the light when they see it. These former followers of John cannot even answer Jesus when He asks them, “What do you seek?” They probably don’t have a clue what they are really seeking: they simply know in their deepest selves that He is who John says He is—the Lamb of God—and that is enough for them. They are seekers of the truth. Yet they cannot articulate that fact,  so instead they answer with another mundane question, “Where are you staying?” Even that question is not answered because Jesus basically says, “Well, if you trust me, if you want to follow me and learn from me as my disciple, come, and you w

Tradition has it that the wisemen who came to honor the infant Jesus were named Caspar, Balthasar,and Melchior. So we mark everydoorway to the outside with their intials'plus a sign of the cross and year:  20+C+B+M+14 They had studied the Hebrew Scriptures and the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Among these they found the words of Balaam: “A Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers 24:17, ) . They were acquainted with the prophecy of Micah: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2, ; Matthew 2:5, 6). On the night of Christ’s birth, a mysterious light appeared in the sky which became a luminous star that persisted in the western heavens (see Matthew 2:1, 2). Impressed with its import, they determined to go in search of the Messiah. They knew not where they were to go, but followed as the guiding star led them

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas. I've been trying to explain to people since the day after Christmas, that the twelve days of Christmas starts AFTER Christmas day.  I'm not getting through to them.  They are still complaining about the smattering of Christmas songs being played in the stores (imagine retailers acknowledging that!), but are horrified to see that Valentine's Day cards are out. You can read the whole article here . By the way, thanks for taking the time to read my article.  I do appreciate it!

Adoration of the Magi , Murillo, 1655-60 [ Web Gallery of Art ] THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD In countries where this is a holyday of obligation, eg, Ireland, the solemnity is celebrated on the traditional date, 6 January. Where it is not a holyday of obligation, eg, the Philippines, it is observed on this Sunday. The Epiphany has two different Mass formularies,  At the Vigil Mass , celebrated on Saturday evening, and  At the Mass during the Day . While the prayers and chants are different, the same readings are used at both Masses. Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE NATIVITY (Years A, B, C) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible)  THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Gospel  Matthew 2:1-12  ( New RevisedStandard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  In the tim

That's right, I did ask you the question, has your saint for 2014 chosen you yet?  Actually, that has already happened, now, it's your job to find the saint who has chosen you to be your patron for 2014. How do you go about discovering which saint chose you?  The easiest way that I have discovered is to to HERE .  There is a list of saints who might have chosen you.  If you like, you can download a pdf file to cut up or you can do as I do and scroll down the list to find your saint.  I like my method the best! 1) Begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking Him to guide you as you begin to scroll. Read More about this topic HERE at "His Unending Love."

It was just last year that I discovered the tradtion of asking for a word to focus on for the New Year. Well, when I asked for a word for this year with a fuzzy, mush brain on Jan.1, the word that popped into my head was quite unexpected, a surprise really because it is not a word that I would usually focus on. What popped into my head seemed boring and mundane at first..steadfast. Then, unexpectedly, I started to smile because I realized that when I remain constant and steady, all sorts of wonderful things happen deep within me, seemingly without my participation, if I just stay focused and constant, steady. My intuition, creativity, bubbles up when I remain still in one spot and give those gifts a chance to form and rise up. Now for some people , this might seem to be a boring, stodgy sort of word but for  some reason  I started to smile as bubbles of joy started to pop up and float through my whole system. In fact I a grinning quite foolishly right at this moment. umm why?.. I

2014 Version of Me Every year I make New Year resolutions. I believe that it's good to improve myself for the honor and glory of God. I know I need God's grace to improve. When God is gracious enough to bless me with a particular grace, I should cooperate with Him. That's where personal effort comes in. So many get discouraged if or when they break their resolutions that they give up. I understand the feeling. One of my Facebook friends has a good suggestion for that problem of perseverance. This is a slightly edited version of what Elizabeth wrote: Lots of us set goals - resolutions - for each New Year. Many of us do not achieve those goals over the course of that 365 days. We lose sight of the goal or we "cheat," and decide there is no point in continuing. But what if you made that your goal for just January? And then, make it a new goal for February, and so on through the year? Do you think you would be more successful? My answer is yes.  I think I

Today we honour Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin,  Most Holy Mother of God because she is  the True Theotokos – God Bearer – Dei Genitrix. Let us pray As we begin this New Year let us accompany the Mother of God in following her Son. Let us fall deeper in love with our Saviour. On this Solemnity of Mary,we focus on her vocation as the mother of Jesus; she is the “Theotokos,” the Holy Mother of God. The Church, at the Third Ecumenical Council in 431 AD, bestowed that name upon her emphasizing not only who Mary is but also who Jesus is – fully God and fully man. She was not the mother only of His human side but of God Himself in human form . As a mother I have written about the fact that when my babies were born, I was reborn as a mother.  This is what I see happening to the Blessed Virgin Mary as well; the birth of Jesus transformed her into a mother but not just of the physical infant Jesus but of God himself and of all of us. Mary is my mother, too.  So join me as I walk with th

Adoration of the Shepherds , Jacob Jordaens, c.1617 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God So the shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.  When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.  ( Luke 2:16-21, NRSV CE ) May God, the source and origin of all blessing,  grant you grace,  pour out his blessing of abundance,  and keep you safe from harm throughout the year. (Roman Missal, Solemn Blessings, The Beginning of the Year)

UBI CARITAS ET AMOR. DEUS IBI EST. It was a lovely Spring evening, quite bright and warm for this time of year, when Steven Milliner, the Youth Club leader, decided to take the children to the park opposite St Vincent Catholic Church for some fresh air and exercise. Most of the boys had gathered with two Club Leaders at the far end of the park to play football. The rest of the children stayed in the playground area and played on the swings, the slides, round-abouts and seesaws; supervised by a couple of Leaders and Father Ignatius who’d turned up to help. The priest sat on a bench and kept a watchful eye when he was joined by Tony a young volunteer who helped at the Youth Club every now and then. “Could I ask you something Father?” he said hesitantly as he sat down. “Fire away …” replied the priest. “How is it that you priests can be so strong and steadfast in your Faith. You and Father Donald are so saintly and you preach on Sunday so

 Curiosity about the dazzling beauty of the ice drizzling upon the evergreens turned into caution as I heard the sharp splitting sound of falling branches and crackling icicles. I quickly returned home from my walk. Well, my steps were not as rapid as I would have liked because my feet were sinking through the crusty layer of ice into the snow. The tips of many of the towering pines had snapped, altering the usual appearance of the otherwise majestic trees.     Our family enjoyed a cozy, quiet evening at home,  baking pumpkin chocolate chip cookies while our latest impromptu vegetable soup was simmering in the oven. This blogpost is continued here at mommynovenas .