Association Of Catholic Bloggers

For Lent I gave up computer games. …..BOY!!! Was it hard!! It became obvious that games had become a knee jerk reaction to any lull in time, any ambivalent time, any lazy time. Actually … any time time. It gave me tremendous pause to see how ingrained under my skin games had become, first while I eat, then after I eat; well, dinner is cooking….  I’m thinking of dinner…. Without the games I faced my lull, my ambivalence, my laziness, my wasted time, what discovery!!! Such discovery showed me just how much time was lost, unused, squandered…. Yep, squandered…. It brought a mild cold sweat about me, I realized that time is among the greatest gifts from God we have. Time to conquer our iniquities and I just dwelled in mine. Oh boy!! to continue  http://theoutlawedgod.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/the-sacrament-of-the-moment/

Children have so much to teach parents,  if we are humble and open enough to listen to the Spirit of God within them. Our children come from the heart of God; He knew them in the womb and they knew God. Then at baptism, these little people become one with Christ. As I mothered nine children, I discovered that this sacrament is not simply a meaningless ritual but a  powerful encounter which actually transformed my children into spiritual people, albeit little people who could teach me about the nature of God and life in the Spirit. When I started to mother, I was determined to raise committed Catholic Christians and so I tried too hard. I had the mistaken notion that my kids were blank slates and I had to teach them everything. I assumed the role of teacher; I was the resident expert. However God had to shake me out of this arrogant stance by humbling me in the face of my children’s unique, innate spirituality and their pure, open relationship with their heavenly Father and the

Do some of you teach your kids at home? Or just want to help them strengthen their reading skills after school or over the summer? Here are some ways to make reading fun, as well as educational. I highly advise them if you have a child you are motivating to read more, but even if your child already loves reading, they can make their experience more enjoyable and family-oriented. You could even use some of these reading ideas with religion if you teach it at home - there are some GREAT saint biographies and autobiographies out there! I've also includes some printable graphic organizers, a book report format and fun alternatives to book reports. Head over to Eyes On Heaven to download these printables or browse through the suggested reading activities.

Self Portrait with a Friend by Rafael. In the middle of Lent, I received an email from a new reader I’ll call Jill. Jill shared with me her years of darkness in her personal and spiritual life. My heart went out to her. I wanted to do something for her, more than just writing an encouraging answer. So I thought about it and prayed about it. Then I had an insight. Here, in part, is how I replied: “I explore these questions [about God and suffering] a lot in my book. I will give you a brief version here. Rabbi Kushner, writing in When Bad Things Happen to Good People, said that we shouldn’t ask why when we suffer. Instead, we should ask, What now? How am I to react? Finding meaning in our suffering “Similarly, Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning wrote, “Suffering ceases to be suffering in some way in the moment that it finds a meaning.” He found that in the concentration camp, those who were able to survive and be psychologically

Scabbed heads, burned faces, and stomach viruses might not seem like a lucky start to my fourth child Marguerite's First Communion day. Poor Marguerite tripped over the curb at school a few days before her First Communion and went flying up, up, up, and then down onto the pavement. Scabbed knees, scabbed hands, but the worst was a big scab on her forehead right by her hairline. Not the best for close-up shots. Then there was my husband's burned face. He got scalded in the shower (horrible, I know -- how did that happen?), and the entire left side of his face was covered by a reddish-purplish burn. To disguise it, we had to decide between a Phantom of the Opera style mask, a Middle Eastern veil, or Loreal True Match foundation. We went with the foundation. Read more of our story here...

Star Trek fans might recall my favorite episode in which aliens test a woman to see if her race is worthy of saving on another planet. The woman is an empath, someone who can absorb the suffering of others. Her test is to take on the pain of Dr. McCoy when he is dying, and thereby give her life for his. She passes the test. This theme echoes the situation we are in. We are each given a certain number of days on earth to prove that we deserve to live in eternal bliss in another world. The fallen angels failed their test. Our first parents, representing the human race, also failed their test. Thanks to the mediation of Jesus, we have the chance to retake it. Some people are fortunate to have short tests. Saint Therese of Lisieux, for example, only lived for twenty-three years. Others have tests that last for decades. Click to continue

One of my favorite bible verses is  2 Corinthians 3:18 - And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Anyone who thinks that walking with the Lord and the spiritual life is boring probably isn't serving the same God I serve or perhaps they are just not in need of as much transformation as I am. With the Lord there is never a dull moment especially as we press into the light. The more transformation a person needs, the more exciting it can be. continue reading >

Calling 911 in the event of an emergency is a procedure I have drilled into the heads of my children since they were old enough to talk. It is second nature to most of us that this is the first thing we should do in the event of an emergency, fire, crime, poisoning or other calamity. We call 911 to quickly alert those who are in a position to help us that we are in trouble and first responders are dispatched immediately to come to our aid. The system is universal and virtually foolproof -but is it enough? As human persons we are comprised of both temporal and spiritual components. Calling 911 addresses the temporal side of an emergency , but we need to have procedures that address the spiritual side of the emergency. Click here to read more "Emergency Procedures",  especially what Blessed Mother Teresa did in an emergency. 

Would you want your Facebook page memorialized?  Would you want it frozen in time forever?  Or would you want it deleted? As an administrator of a page, I would want my  Being Catholic ... Really  page to continue and my daughter would be the perfect choice to do that if she's willing.  I don't really care about my personal page.  My family may or may not want it to remain. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

I love being Catholic. And the mass and church community is one of my favourite things about Catholicism. I grew up going to church every Sunday and aside from the other obvious reasons, the mass holds a special place in my heart: it is tradition and it is comforting. If I wasn't Catholic, I would truely miss the mass, I would miss the community, the tradition and the faith I have grown up in and grown into. Continue reading here...

While many people see the term "discipline" as synonymous with "punishment". The two words, however, mean something very different. "Discipline" means to guide, instruct an impart knowledge. "Punish", on the other hand, means to chastise, penalize, or inflict pain. If we keep the original definitions of each word in mind, there would be no doubt whatsoever that punishment isn't the way to go. Discipline is much more in keeping with the dignity of our children as made in the image and likeness of God. It's also much more effective in helping our children grow and learn. Head over to Eyes On Heaven to read more about the difference between discipline and punishment - why one works and the other doesn't!

In our Catholic faith we honor many saints. We celebrate feast days throughout the year. May is the month we honor Mary. We do not worship Mary but we do honor her. She is the Mother of God and without her YES to The Father's will, we would have no Savior. So we think it's pretty important to honor her! Before I show you how my family honors Mary I want to share a few things for my non-Catholic friends who may wonder why we give Mary such honor. As I mentioned on my prayer page we (Catholics) call on the saints to pray for us. What do you do when you have a need? When someone you love is sick, dying, or in trouble? You call on a prayer chain of friends, right? I have even heard of people calling up to Heaven to ask family members who have gone before them for help, guidance, or prayers. Why not call on our friends in Heaven who are right there with God to pray for us as well? All the saints who lived such a holy life are so close to The Father. Mary is the h

As a  person tries to observe  the  new commandments  by making acts of love through all  they say and do, they are  gradually able to rise step by step towards journey’s end. Their progress is made possible, because it is made in, with, and through Christ who claimed to be the vital living embodiment of Jacob’s mystical ladder (John1:51). He is  The Way ,  The Truth , and  The Life  (Jn 14:6). He is  the way to our destination, the  Truth  who both reveals and  embodies that destination, and the eternal life that constitutes that destination. The journey stretches from here to eternity where the traveller finally enters into  a profound and ongoing  Holy Communion  with the One who dwells in the eternal ecstatic joy, that flows from the  mystical  vortex of  loving  that constitutes God’s very being. Faith in what is to come, is fortified by hope that is derived from the tangible experience of the  love enjoyed  in the profound intimate Holy Communion, that has already begun here a

A Reflection from Today’s Gospel:  Luke 24:13-35 What a stirring sight. An illiterate fisherman, a man who cowered in fear mere hours ago, now stands up with the eleven, raises his voice and proclaims the truth about Jesus. Peter does not just speak, he proclaims as he stands tall, with dignity, grace and courage in front of a crowd of strangers, men from all nations gathered in Jerusalem.  This mere fisherman dares to preach with authority. Scripture flows effortlessly from his lips as he interrupts the Old Testament by applying prophecy and the words of King David to Jesus.   continue

Mothers' Day is just around the corner! Here are some cute ideas to help you prepare for your family celebrations! Our kids are 3 and 2, so my husband and I do the planning, but I sure do love hearing their little "I love yous" and "Happy Birthdays" (yes - every time we have cake, which we will on Mothers' Day, they think it's someone's birthday!). Don't forget to take a moment this Mothers Day to also thank God for our Mother the Church and our Mother Mary, and to think about what you're most grateful for in your own mother! Head over to Eyes On Heaven for 26 fun and frugal ideas!

'This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel.  It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern metropolis.'  ( St. John Paul II ) Painting:  Vincent van Gogh, Rooftops; in US public domain due to age From The Cloistered Heart 

John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God , so quite a few churches display pictures of a young sheep with a halo. That's a visual metaphor , though. WiseGEEK has a fairly painless discussion of visual metaphor , and I'm drifting off-topic. I don't worship a lamb, of course. Jesus is human, which is how my Lord is often portrayed. Details vary with time and place. Jesus, All Over the World The artist's image Jesus I've seen most often looks very European, hardly surprising since my native culture is rooted in Europe. Folks in other parts of the world often show Jesus and Saints as nice, normal people from that region. We don't know what Jesus looked like, at least not before the Resurrection. My guess is that my Lord's appearance was Middle-Eastern, but that's just an educated guess. Tradition tells us that Mary is a descendant of David, and Joseph, husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, is "of the house of David." T

Father Ignatius teaches an important lesson about forgiveness. Don't miss this. Click HERE

As we begin the month of May, traditionally the month of Mary, may we pray for all new mothers and mothers to be that they be strengthened by the intercession of the Mother of all of us. My newest grandson is 17 days old. His dad must work 12 hour days for the next two weeks and his mum, my daughter is recovering from a traumatic birth experience, the kind that happens in one in  thousand births. Basically, she almost died. So I am helping out during the weekdays. After walking and rocking for hours, I wonder how I managed to mother nine newborns because it is exhausting. Life is indeed reduced to the basics as we mother new life. I AM REMINDED OF HOW DEMANDING LIFE IS WHEN WE ARE YOUNG MOTHERS. As every mother knows, a newborn takes at least eight hours a day to nurse, burp, rock and comfort, bath, change clothes and diapers (at least ten times a day), and to wash diapers, clothes, receiving blankets, sheets and baby blankets as well as y our  clothes which tend to get cover

I look forward to my regular column called "First Fridays with Francis" where I share what   our Holy Father has   said that has been inspirational to me.      This month I have taken my inspiration from his homily at  Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence on April 24 .   Pope Francis spoke of Christians who are afraid of the joy of Christ’s resurrection.   He compared them to bats hiding in dark caves that prefer the shadows and avoid the light. “This is a Christian’s disease. We’re afraid of joy. It’s better to think: Yes, yes, God exists, but He is there. Jesus has risen and He is there. Somewhat distant. We’re afraid of being close to Jesus because this gives us joy. And this is why there are so many ‘funeral’ (mournful) Christians, isn’t it? Those whose lives seem to be a perpetual funeral. They prefer sadness to joy. They move about better in the shadows, not in the light of joy, like those animals who only come out at night, not in the light of day, wh

Several months ago, Pope Francis said he frequently asks married couples, "Do you play with your children? Do you waste time with your children?" That statement really moved my heart. We work so hard to give our kids great opportunities, but the greatest gift we have to give them really is our TIME. In the end, I think that's what they remember the most. They might not remember what we got them for Christmas or birthdays each year, but they WILL remember the great things we did together. With that in mind, I've put together a "summer bucket list", or list of 53 different activities I hope to do with my kids this summer. I'm sharing it in hopes that it gives other families some ideas too! Head over to Eyes On Heaven to read the bucket list!

One thing that serves as a  great consolation to the heart of Jesus and helps give him strength to continually pour himself out and give himself to us in the Eucharist is his people laying their lives down and joining their sufferings to his sufferings. Every disappointment, every tear, every heartache, every physical suffering joined to the heart of Christ becomes a sweet smelling offering of crushed wheat given at the table of the Lord. Jesus then takes this finest wheat and forms it into bread which is consecrated into Jesus' body and blood, broken and given for us all. Beautifulthorns

Getting scared silly by the latest doomsday prediction is silly. So is ignoring real threats. (Copyright M. Ahmetvaleev, via NASA News, used w/o permission.) The Chelyabinsk meteor didn't kill anyone. Only 1,100 or so folks needed medical treatment: for injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to a broken spine. Next time, we may not get off so lightly. Now is a very good time to start getting ready for an incoming asteroid.... ...Looking Ahead (Reaction Engines Limited/Terra Novus, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Reaction Engines Limited's Skylon spaceplane.) Apart from Space Shuttle fleet, now out of service, and recoverable capsules like Space-X's Dragon, launch vehicles are still a single-use technology. That makes getting into space very expensive. A decade from now, we'll probably see shipping rates go down: dramatically, I suspect. Reaction Engines Limited's Skylon is scheduled for a test flight to the International Space Stati

Road to Emmaus Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308-11,  Museo del Opera del Duomo, Siena [ 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  Luke 24:13-35   ( New Revised Standard Version,  Catholic Edition , Canada)  Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.   While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,     but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.   And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?”  continue gospel  here . From 1968 until 1971 I studied music at Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York, not too far north of New York City. At the time it was run by

When the gearshift pulled up and into his hand, my husband realized it was time to junk our 21-year-old car. The Saturn we bought as newlyweds had about 232,000 miles on the speedometer - six years ago when the speedometer broke. It has no horn, no ceiling upholstery, no working gas gauge and so on.  Since New Jersey only checks emissions on cars now, it did pass inspection recently. After a long winter that felt as if everything was stalled, life is moving at a fast pace. Keep Reading...

If you put yourself into your child’s shoes and think about how  they  understand things, there are several things many of us do as parents that could easily confuse our kids. Things like telling them to always say the truth and then lying or at least stretching the truth in front of them (e.g. telling someone we love the sweater they gave us when our kids know we won't wear it because we think it's so ugly).  As parents, we want the best for our children. We want to teach them rightly. We work hard to give them good guidelines and not slack off... in parenting. But sometimes, we don't realize that while we are working very hard to instill values in our kids, we ourselves might have slacked off a little bit. Not deliberately, nothing major... but enough to confuse our kids, who are looking to us as a role model of who to behave. Teaching our kids is an invitation for us to revisit our own behavior as well, and tighten up a little in those areas that might mislea

I'd always been ready to poke fun at the culture-vultures who were bussed into Florence to  'do the city' in a single day until I found myself in a far worse predicament. I had but three hours in which 'to do' the same city while awaiting my connection for Rome. The day was hot and I was tired and felt inclined to curl up in the waiting room to try and make up for the sleep I lost on the train from Brussels, but how would I ever live it down! Somehow I managed to force myself up and out of the station to try and imbibe as much culture as I could in a few hours. By accident rather than design I found myself in the church of La Santa Croce gazing in awe at the works of Giotto. But it wasn't Giotto who impressed me most but Cimabue, whose stunning crucifixion hung in the apse illuminated by soft ethereal lighting that accentuated the delicate beauty of his masterpiece.   read on ..... http:/davidtorkington.wordpress.com http://www.davidtorkington.com

FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE

Pope Francis has proved himself to be a revolutionary, setting some hearts on fire with love and other hearts on fire with anger and dismay. After nearly every telephone call or off-the-cuff remark by Pope Francis, at least one Catholic commentator complains that Pope Francis should just stop speaking so freely. I don't see that happening any time soon. Some of Pope Francis' most controversial comments are actually my favorites. But all of his comments display a clear-sighted vision of the problems facing people today and the immense possibility our Church has to solve those problems through grace and action. Without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite Francis quotes: Read more here...

Just as our first words are mama and daddy , the Our Father is one of the first prayers we learn as members of God’s family. Little children mangle it by praying “Howard be thy name” and “deliver us some e-mail.” During the liturgy a couple weeks ago, the Our Father prayer was presented to the elect as a special inheritance before they were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. This fifty-six word prayer is precious because it is from the lips of Jesus himself. The apostles had asked him to teach them how to pray.  Click to continue.