Association Of Catholic Bloggers

http://melaniejeanjuneau.wordpress.com/ Thank-you first to the Holy Spirit and then to all our writers, especially all our new ones; since July 2013, our reads have risen from 5,000-6,000 a month to 16,323 and even 34,296 views in December! Keep writing and praying that the Lord will continue to inspire, teach, heal and transform all of us, both writers and readers, drawing us closer to His Heart. Oh, and the door is still open for new Catholic women bloggers to come join our family. Just email me a request at mjmjuneau@gmail.com., giving me a link to your blog.

  I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for a magic bullet to bring me closer to God. Let’s be honest: the Christian life can be a slog. Day in, day out, struggling against sin and making little measurable progress. I’m always looking for the secret to help me reach sanctity faster. But is there one? St. Therese asked herself this same question. She sought a fast way to climb the ladder to Heaven, as it were. The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood was her discovery. She said that if she made herself little, Jesus could lift her up in His arms. His arms would be her elevator to help her advance quickly. Why am I still not a saint? But there is a catch. As much as we might think the Little Way means Jesus does all the work for us, we still have to strive against ourselves. The Little Way is not magic. We can’t just say a few words and be instant saints. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

I  am so very excited to share this post with you. As far as I'm concerned we need to hear more from our husbands who are also part of the NFP journey. Tom writes a beautifully written piece on his and his wife's journey with NFP and I am proud to have it be part of the NFP collection. Thank you so much Tom for allowing me to have your post on my blog. I am truly grateful. Please check out Tom's blog  http://www.prodigal-dumb-ox.blogspot.ca/  where he writes more about his return to God through the Catholic Church, you're going to love it! Writing History Before it Happens: Pope Paul VI, me, my wife and our journey toward NFP  By Tom at  http://www.prodigal-dumb-ox.blogspot.ca/ Recently I was considering what my primary responsibility to my wife is as her husband. Is it helping out with the dishes? Folding the laundry? Taking out the trash? The nearest thing I could come up with is that, although all of those things are helpful and contribute to running the hous

I  don’t want to argue about the reality of the communion of saints, both the living and the dead. I just want to encourage believers and seekers with the thought that there are tens, hundreds, why maybe thousands of saints, most of whom we will never meet, who pray for us, who are in communion with us. The Holy Spirit is  my companion, but in His Body, He has gifted me with many other faithful companions, and Agnes is one of my special friends. Most people have never heard of Agnes Sanford (1897-1982), but she has been and, in fact still is, a dear friend of mine. She was an interesting woman who was born to missionaries in China, married an American Anglican ( Episcopalian), and became mother to three children. Agnes suffered postpartum depression. The doctor finally diagnosed her as suicidal after one of her children came close to dying. A tiny flame of hope was lit within her heart after prayer healed her son physically, and she slowly began the process of her own emotion

John's Story:  I died.  I went through the darkness to the light and was before the throne of judgement.  Looking around I saw his Guardian Angel, instantly recognizing him, although this was the first time I had ever laid eyes upon him.   I turned to my left and saw a hideously deformed creature that had nothing by hate and evil in his eyes, especially directed at me.   For the first time I had breathed my last breath, I was afraid.  There was someone else there also, a woman, I didn't immediately recognize.  I knew where I was, I was at my judgement, and that scared me even worse.  I hadn't lived the best life, I wasn't really nice to people, kind of selfish really, even in my own family.  Even when I was near death I didn't want to give anything to anyone, not even very many kind words.  Being given a time to die was a great gift, because, although I wasn't a perfect saint, I did have a chance to repair some damage I had done in my family and with God,

Queen of Sheba before Solomon Nicolaus Knüpfer, 1640s [ Web Gallery of Art ] The First Reading from today's Mass, 1 Kings 10:1-10 ( NRSVCE ) When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon  she came to test him with hard questions.  She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.  Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.  When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,  the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the  Lord , there was no more spirit in her. So she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom,   but I

So excited to announce my second guest post by Colleen Martin. Colleen runs a busy life as a working mother of 5 with a 6th on the way who also finds time in her busy life to keep up a fantastic blog. I especially love  her blog "Martin Family Moments" because Colleen and I have a lot in common. I appreciate her love for the Catholic Faith, her love for exercise and her witty opinion on everything and anything in life. Please take a minute to check out her blog  www.martinfamilymoments.blogspot.ca  . Thank you so much Colleen for being my cyber guest and sharing your honest experience with NFP. I am truly grateful. Our Journey with NFP                                                         by Colleen Martin  http://www.martinfamilymoments.blogspot.ca I encourage all of you to open your minds to Natural Family Planning. It's good for your  body and soul ! Phil and I were so lucky to be raised in big Catholic families that used Natural Family Planning, attend

Valentine's Day is approaching and the flower of the day is usually roses.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen has a different perspective. You can read the rest of the article here .

In honor of National Marriage Week (Feb. 7 - Feb. 14, 2014), here's a fabulous defense of traditional marriage from fellow blogger and lawyer Carlos X.  Part 1 explores the common mythological roots of the male-female union as expression of the divine in Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. Part 2 details the scientific acceptance of male-female union as the essential archetype of humanity. Please welcome Carlos, who will celebrate fifteen years of marriage this year. He's the author of the  Super Martyrio  blog, which tracks the canonization cause of the Servant of God Óscar A. Romero, whom Carlos met when he was growing up in El Salvador.  Carlos also serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Thomas More Society of Orange County, California, a Catholic lawyers’ guild. Read on to enjoy Carlos' post, and for more National Marriage Week resources, be sure to check out  Catholic Match Institute ! *********************************** Traditional marriage is unlike any o

A friend ,  Ann Marie,  posted this on Facebook . Someone in the Postal Service needs to be rewarded.  A letter from the Post Office. This is absolutely the best!! We don't know who replied, But there is a Beautiful soul working in the dead letter department who understands LOVE. Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.  She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.  I told her that I thought that we could, so she dictated these words: Dear God ,  Will you please take care of my dog? Abbey died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I 'm happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.  Lo

I have  mentioned before  that I spent many years not praying. I didn't believe in God, so I didn't believe in prayer, so I didn't pray. It's only been a little over a year since I started to pray again, and I have found that I am still uncertain about how to do it right. I realize that there isn't just  one   right way  to pray, but it seems I'm not quite on target in the way I do it. I feel clumsy and inadequate. I mentioned this to my husband the other day, and he was surprised that I would feel uncertain about praying. Apparently to some people,  how to pray , is never really a question or concern. But I've noticed that there seem to be all sorts of unwritten rules about how to do it that no one really ever  teaches  you. At least not when you're 37. I may have learned as a child, but I don't remember.   Continue reading here.

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection   (1611 – 1691)   I find it amazing that this simple brother wrote in the 1600′s because his spirituality and wisdom are so throughly modern. Look at this quote. It is humourous, wise and speaks just as powerfully to a 21st century Christian as to one living in the 17th century.I think that one sign that a book is inspired by the Holy Spirit is that it transcends time and place  when the author speaks from his heart to the heart of his readers.  continue reading>

I believe people are put in front of us for a reason. Today was an example of that... Today was super busy: studying, Mass, lunch with friends, a visit to a grant competition for our older son and then the fitness center, where I haven't been in more than a week. Tomorrow looks even busier. Keep Reading...

I stood at the doorsteps of Heaven in full anticipation. It was not a large Pearly Gate shining brightly as we’ve often been told and is depicted in some pictures; no … this was just a small wooden door. A humble ordinary wooden door with no sign or any distinguishing features foretelling where it led to. I remembered the quote from the Bible: “Knock and it shall be opened to you …”   Please continue reading HERE

I wrote about Tonya Reaves two years ago.  It is a heartbreaking story that happened here in Chicago, blocks from one of the best hospitals in the country.  In all likelihood, she could have been saved had someone just called an ambulance. You can read my blog post here . Planned Parenthood will pay damages and you can read that story here . Her face haunts me to this day.

"The novice promises not just to obey orders but to 'live IN obedience.'  The phrase has a splendid ring to it, as though she were throwing up imposing castle walls around her whole life.  And that is precisely what she does.  She makes her whole future existence a kind of vast dwelling place through which she can walk in perfect security always."(Mother Mary Francis PCC, A Right to be Merry, 1956 edition, p. 99.  ( This book is now published by Ignatius Press) In the analogy of "the cloistered heart," I am invited to live within the boundaries of God's will as these are clearly defined for me in Scripture and in 2,000 years of authentic Church discernment..... (continue) Painting:  Edmund Blair Leighton, The Roses' Day, in US public domain due to copyright expiration

For hundreds of years, spiritual directors in  the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic  and Protestant churches, have used the metaphor of an onion to explain the spiritual life. I have referred it for decades because it is a perfect symbol, an image that really is worth a thousand words. It is easy to become discouraged when I seem faced with the same issues, wounds and weaknesses again and again. The mistake is to believe that nothing has changed since the last confession and subsequent experience of grace. That the encounter with the Divine was ineffective, that it was a failure. Nothing could be further from the truth.                                           The reality is that I am human and as an earthling, living in a body, made from dust, I must allow the Holy Spirit to transform me slowly.  continue reading> Share this: Press This Google Twitter 2

My girls and I attended Mass this morning and it happened to be a funeral. It was a small celebration of life of a wonderful woman, who was very much a part of the church community. The girls and I were a little shocked at first because there was no funeral home nor was there any fuss. Simply a few of her family members, all of her CWL community and a few other parishioners. The priest reflected on the deceased woman's life with such kindness. To read more click here  http://www.yearsofmilkandhoney.blogspot.ca

Happy First Friday. ♥ Time for little heart to Heart. ♥   → Click HERE to view a friendly bird's reminder .

Sermon on the Mountain   Károly Ferenczy, 1896 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel:  Matthew 5:13-16  ( New RevisedStandard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.   No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.   In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Sophie Scholl  (9 May 1921 - 22 February 1943) O