Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Another time praying the Stations.... I was at the 6th Station, offering the Station to God, asking the Father that one drop of blood that just one drop of our Lord's precious blood cover what I was praying for.  At this station, I am all the way at the back of the Church, with my back to the Altar.  I hear the Lord say to me,  "Don't Turn Around."  ....  To find out why I was told that. . . CLICK HERE . 

--- 1 --   Every week has it’s ups and downs.  I’m fighting an ongoing battle with depression.  I have to remember there are good days and bad days whether you have this illness or not.  I have to acknowledge that depression is a mental illness.  To have your mind be infected with such a disease is not something about which anyone should be embarrassed.  Depression, like all illnesses, is real.  It is something I feel in my body and in my mind.  My body hurts, at times, because of this illness.  My mind suffers from the sorrow.  I’ve controlled this disease for 3 years, now, there has been a flare up.  As with any illness,  is time to explore more treatment options.  I need strategies to cope with my days.  I have to hold my head high when people shake their heads and say, “Get over it.  It’s all in your head.”  Yes, it IS in my head.  Everything begins in the brain.  Right now, my brain is sick.  Like any other organ is not functioning properly, I need treatment.  I

Imagine this.  A woman just entering monastic life prepares to don a habit for the first time.  She looks at the pieces of fabric folded neatly on a table before her.  Soft veil, long dress, layers of material she has waited to wear.  Her new habit smells like it was dried in the sun and pressed with just a hint of starch.  It carries the scent of the wind. She picks up the dress and slips it on, sliding it down over the stained orange jumper she wore through the enclosure door.  She lifts the veil onto her head, covering a tattered woolen hat.  The veil snags on her mismatched earrings, but never mind..... (continue)

Theology has become the field of egocentrism. The Church of God, Our Creator, is a simple Church; it is not complicated. It is deep, without a bottom deep. But in its simplicity and logic, there is no room for making a mark trending into egocentrism to be distinguished and admired for new discoveries. But all it is, it’s the flowering of egocentrism on the fields of error. There is a simple truth of what the Church is, and how it is represented. Since the 4 th Century the pattern has been set, and though there are no 2 churches the same, the same pattern is used. Make no mistake. The beauty is not coloring outside the box in this field. The beauty is exulting veneration and worship within the patterns set for our Church by our Church. Here is the pattern,................ http://theoutlawedgod.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/theology-of-the-wall/

When we read the parable of Jesus about the sower and how some seeds ended on the footpath, and others on rocky ground, and others among thorns and only a few on good ground, we think of the Word of God spread amongst many who would not listen. But let's consider who is the sower? Is it God teaching us? Or Jesus preaching throughout the Holy Land? Or the prohets and Disciples? The sower is of course all of these. But he is us too. Yes ... you and me. We have a duty and responsibility to evangelise and spread the Word of God to everyone, far and wide. Not just Christians. If the Word of God was meant for just Christians we would dig a long furrow and make sure that the seeds are planted one by one carefully in the furrow and none are wasted. But Jesus does not say that. He spread the seeds far and wide and if people do not want to listen that is their problem. Not yours. Of course we're not all good at preaching from the pulpit, or standing in street corners, or kno

" The avenger of blood may execute the murderer, putting him to death on sight. " ( Numbers 35:19 ) I ran into that bit from the Pentateuch in "Judas on a Pole," an episode in the second season of Bones . The writers used an 'Olde Englishe' translation that many Americans perceive as 'Biblical,' and that's another topic. If someone murdered a member of my family, I would be very angry. There'd be something wrong with me if I wasn't. Anger, Sin, and Getting a Grip Anger is a "capital sin," a sin that's particularly serious because it leads to other sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1866 ) That doesn't mean that I've committed a sin every time I experience anger. I'm human, so I experience emotions. Emotions aren't good or bad by themselves. What matters is what we do with them. (Catechism, 1767 ) If I hang on to anger, let it build into a desire to harm or kill someone else: that's

At our July 4th Mass, we sang every verse of every song, something Catholics rarely do. It got me thinking about the major role song plays in our lives. I believe we are the only earthly creatures that can sing, not counting birds who each have their own sound (except for the mockingbird). Whale sounds too might be considered song, but not like ours. Song is woven throughout our entire lives. Chances are that during our first years on earth our mothers sang us to sleep with lullabies. Then we learned children’s songs like “Are You Sleeping, Brother John?” and camp songs like “Found a Peanut.” In school we added to our repertoire in music class. Famous singers are among the most popular and richest people on earth. Some are called American idols!  One of the most beautiful things I ever heard was at an opera when at one point a soprano’s voice seemed to shiver in the air. It was indescribable. Click to continue

On Pinterset, I help pin on Catholic Fun for CatholicMom and on Catholic Memes for Catholic Feast. here are a few jokes to make you smile and maybe even laugh for more giggles>

LET HIM DIE CLICK HERE

I'm sure that every Catholic blogger has asked themselves at least once why they do it. Is it really worth the time spent away from work, from family, from prayer? Is anybody listening? Does anybody care?  One of my friends recently shut down his personal blog altogether , saying "While I have a lot of respect for many bloggers, I feel the blogosphere to be a net negative to the Catholic Faith.  ... It is the epitome of Francis' 'self-referential Church.'  Far from leading to a deepening of the faith, it has led to a corrosion of it." Could this be true? My friend's words certainly don't describe the work of CatholicMom or any mommy blogger I know. But I've seen the corner of the Catholic blogosphere he describes -- the place where people attack one another viciously over minute points of doctrine or liturgical practices that baffle non-Catholics and fail to bring anyone to a holier and more peaceful frame of mind. I regularly engage in verbal

We've been learning a great deal about human origins in the last century: and discovering that there's much more to learn. Scientists studying bones from a cave used by both Neanderthals and the current human model found DNA from a girl who was 'none of the above.' She's from a previously-unknown species, or sub-species, of human Other scientists discovered that chimpanzees communicate in an unexpectedly 'human' way. We live in an exciting era: or a disturbing one, depending on a person's assumptions and preferences.... ... Denisovans lived in or near the Altai mountains about 41,000 years before we started playing baseball. Some scientists call them a different species, others say they're a subspecies of homo sapiens sapiens . Either way, they're part of the human family. We don't know much about the Denisovans yet, apart from a bit of finger bone, two teeth, and a toe bone. That's not much to work with: but scientists found i

The Sower , Vincent van Gogh June 1888, Arles, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo [ 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)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel   Matthew 13:1-23 (or 13:1-9)   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.   Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.     And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.     And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.     Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.     But when the s

Guess who's in Heaven? Your nemesis. The person you dislike the most. There in Heaven. WHAT DO YOU DO? CLICK HERE

Preparations are heating up for this October's Extraordinary Synod on the Family, scheduled to take place in Rome. What will Pope Francis do? What can he do?   M y debut post on the popular Catholic news website Aleteia  answers some of these questions. *********************************************************************************** The recently released  working document for this October's Extraordinary Synod on the Family  presents a remarkably candid  view  of the troubles besetting Catholic marriages and families today. Young people are frequently afraid to commit, marriage preparation is often seen as a useless obligation, there is wide ignorance of Church teaching, few understand that using contraception is sinful, and many parents show limited interest in the religious education of their children. There are bright spots. In contrast to the wide-spread confusion over contraception, most Catholics realize that abortion is a serious sin. The faithful also expr

  In ancient Athens there was no such thing as taxation. There was no income tax, no capital gains tax, no value added tax, no inheritance tax - no tax at all, at least as we know it. I know it all sounds too good to be true, because even Utopians need roads and bridges, civic buildings and public amenities. They need to protect themselves too and armies and navies don't pay for themselves. So how did they do it? They invented a unique method of public service that expected every citizen to be responsible for financing one major public work once in their lifetime. It may be erecting a statue, building a temple or equipping a battle ship to defend their shores. When they'd done that they'd be free of any other financial responsibility for life. Now this act of public service performed by one person for the benefit of the whole community was called his 'liturgy'. read on.....

Once I was at a meeting with a group of church leaders. One woman there was the mother of a teenage daughter. She was lamenting how some of her daughter's friends had gone astray and she was wondering how we could keep our own children from going astray. One of the men spoke up and said, "We just need to pray continuously for them!". This didn't sit well with me. Afterall, how much prayer would be enough? Also, that seems to put it all on us. It also makes God out to be an ogre who witholds his mercy and grace from his children. Continue Reading>

Mom and Dad Head-to-Head in Family Jeopardy Today is my first post on this lovely, collaborative blog. How exciting! I'd like to share some intriguing stories about my recent family reunion which involved 43 people, a giant tent, a rotted board with rusty nails, a shattered patio table . . . and prayer.  Here's an excerpt to pique your interest: My mom and dad gave our whole family a great gift: they taught us how to pray. We prayed at meals, at bedtime, and whenever we heard a siren. We prayed the rosary. We went to church every weekend. We prayed at tense moments: when fighting grew chaotic, Mom would holler above the noise: "LET US SPEAK OF THE CHRIST CHILD!" We are strong-willed, flawed human beings, but we pray. I am convinced that this instinct to pray--an instinct cultivated by my parents through God's grace--has helped us remain conscious of our dependence on God. Read the whole report at Praying with Grace !

  Today I’m taking a break from talking about my book to return to the new project I’ve talked about a little before–making a spiritual growth plan for children of each temperament.  First I’ll give a little overview of the four classic temperaments, tell you a little more about this project, then delve in deeper to help you with your choleric children. At the bottom you’ll find a special download to help you. What are the four temperaments? The four classic temperaments are choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, and sanguine. Catholic philosophers adpoted them from the Greeks. There are several good sources for learning about the temperaments from a Catholic perspective. Art and Laraine Bennett have written several books on the temperaments. Fr. Conrad Hock’s treatment of the temperaments can be read online. Traditional books on spiritual direction usually address the temperaments as well. To figure out which temperament you have, ask yourself two questions: Ar

I, a straight married woman with a young child, learned something and got inspired by this book. I mention that right off the bat because I want to make it clear that you don’t have to be gay and Catholic to get this book. Gay and Catholic  written by well-known blogger  Eve Tushnet  in part chronicles her discovery of her sexuality and her conversion to the Catholic faith. This is not the majority of the book, but it sets the foundation for everything she says later on. She’s been there. She is one of a very few gay Catholics who openly talk about their struggles being faithful in a world that approaches chastity with suspicion or disdain... Read more of my review here at True Dignity of Women .

"Jesus stood still." That simple sentence can be found in the story of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52).  I was reading about this Gospel story in Fr. James Martin's book,  Jesus: A Pilgrimage .  In Father's book he mentions how a nun was deeply moved by that simple sentence and explains why. You can read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

When Laura Pearl first brought  Finding Grace  to Bezalel Books, I was impressed with her writing. At Bezalel Books, we don’t publish everything that comes our way—even if the author is willing to pick up the publishing costs. Rather, we read a sample chapter or two, a synopsis and then get a “feel” for the author’s passions and skills. Pretty much the Holy Spirit is part of everything and we are okay to say “no” if things don’t seem like a good fit. Laura was a great fit. Laura’s work at marketing and blogging and even entering the world of Twitter continued to impress me. Laura is the mother of five grown sons and I am the mother of three grown sons so there’s that, too. But I just continued to find her wit and insight to be inspiring. Every time I read a blog of hers I found myself smiling or laughing or in some way connecting with her spirit. Finish reading here (the picture used is ID 5121949 ©  Connie Larsen  | Dreamstime.com)

Holy Innocents  is the third parish my husband and I visited while touring Chicago's beautiful churches.  Neither of us had ever been there so we were discovering this treasure for the first time. What always amazes me when visiting an older parish is the sacrifice of the people who built it.  Intricate stained glass in memory of loved ones testifies to their faith and love of their church. You can read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

Monasteries are not drought-proof.  When skies close up and rains no longer soak the ground, monastery fields and gardens are no less subject to dryness than are any other plots of land.  The monastery of the heart is not drought-proof, either.  Sometimes we feel as if our souls are barren, lifeless, parched.  There are days when our prayers seem to go nowhere, times when we feel that God Himself has left the universe to dry up and wither to dust.  If we’ve ever felt this way, we are not alone .  “I could neither pray nor read,” wrote St. Teresa of Avila about one such experience, “but there I remained, for hours and hours together, uneasy in mind and afflicted in spirit on account of the weight of my trouble......"  (continue)

This might be a touchy subject but it comes up quite a bit so I thought I would address it. I know some Protestant, non-denominational, evangelicals who pride themselves on not "being religious". "It's about a relationship not religion" they will say. I know where they are going with this and to an extent, I would agree but I'm not sure they really know what "being religious" means. They are usually too polite to tell me to my face but sometimes they will imply that I am involved with a 'religious institution', as if it were a bad thing and say it is not for them.  Continue Reading >

Image from the movie "Maria Goretti" On July 6, the church celebrates the feast of  St. Maria Goretti , one of the youngest saints ever canonized.  I count this young girl among my closest heavenly friends - she is my "go-to" intercessor and her short earthly life is an unending source of inspiration to me. While taking on a Moral Theology course, I have also come to discover that this eleven year old, illiterate, Italian peasant girl - martyr is also an astute moral theologian. Click here to read more....

(From NASA/Jim Grossmann, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Some of America's new citizens at the Kennedy Space Center. July 1, 2010.) ...The Irish and Other 'Threats' Some of my ancestors were none too pleased when one of those Irishmen came sniffing around their daughter. When asked about her daughter's suitor, one of my foremothers said, "he doesn't have family: he's Irish." ( November 13, 2008 ) I can understand her attitude. Quite a few 'proper' folks were convinced that those Irish were violent, indolent, and chronic drinkers: hardly the sort one would want marrying into the family. The daughter of a decent family and that Irishman got married, anyway. I think we earned our reputation for being garrulous and charming, and that's another topic. When my father's father died, my father received a small inheritance from his maternal grandfather. My father figured that his grandfather didn't want 'that Ir

Is your priest a magician? Able to solve all your problems with a magic wand? READ MORE CLICK HERE

It looks like cloudinids, critters whose skeletons look like a stack of ice cream cones, made Earth's first reefs.... ...Thinking about God's Design Decisions Every time I write one of these 'science' posts, I wonder if I need to explain why thinking is not a sin . If you've been here before, feel free to skip down to 'Cloudinids and a Precambrian Reef.' As a Catholic, I'm obliged to believe that God creates everything, including us. We're designed with a thirst for truth, which should lead us to God. Thinking about the world's beauty and order doesn't get in the way of faith. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 27 , 31 - 35 ) God's design decisions don't upset me. I like living in an immense universe: one where we keep finding new facets of reality. It's as if God created a world loaded with puzzle games for us to solve. But since so many folks seem convinced that science and religion are at war, an explanation may be

The first people called to follow Jesus are four Jewish fishermen. (Mt 4, 18-22). Now Jesus calls a tax collector,a sinner, a man who is unclean in the eyes of the observant Pharisees. Yet, this man’s name is  Matthew , which means  gift of God or given by God. And just  like the first four men who followed Jesus, Matthew, the tax collector, stands up, leaves the tax office, his source of revenue and without vacillating, against all common sense and worldly wisdom, follows Jesus. The Calling of St. Matthew – Hendrick Terbrugghen What would have been like to look into the deep, piercing eyes of Jesus which looked right into my soul with insight but also with profound love? No need to pretend. Jesus would have loved me just as I am  because he embraced the broken, marginalized, sick ones who realized that they were hungry and empty and needed the love and healing power of God. read more>

NOTE: To understand this posting, you have to read Fearless (Part 1) which you can read.. .HERE Sometime after my first experience as written about in Fearless (Part 1), I was again praying the Stations of the Cross.  I get to the fourth Station, the Station where Jesus meets His Mother and I the Lord reminded me of the day when the pews made all that noise and St. Michael and my Guardian Angel showed up.   Then He said to me,  "I want to show you what was coming after you that day."  To read more... CLICK HERE!

Shane O’Flaherty’s has launched his own company called, Growing the Faith.   They created an app for Catholics and have been all over the country working with priests to bring this free app to Catholics.  Their mission is to help people grow in their faith.   The app has great Catholic content, Catholic radio, daily mass readings, saint of the day, personal daily motivation, parish directory, daily tweets from the pope and so much more.   Preview YouTube video Growing the Faith Launches OneParish App Growing the Faith Launches OneParish App find more information via  www.oneparish.com .  readmore >

Happy Fourth of July 2014! Please read the rest of the article at Being Catholic ... Really .

Christ blessing the children , Nicolaes Maes, 1652-53 National Gallery, London [ 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)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel  Matthew 11:25-30    ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada) At that time Jesus said, “I thank   you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;   yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.     All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.   Take my yoke