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I have homeschooled my children for five years, and currently I have four eager students in my charge. The question comes up occasionally why we homeschool. The question comes from our children as well as from my husband and me. To a large extent the answer is a listing of pro’s and con’s, where the pro’s quickly outweigh the con’s. Sometimes this is sufficient for all of us, and we continue with renewed vigor. Sometimes, however, the question takes the shape of a doubt: are we doing the right thing, or does there exist a better option? One answer to this doubt leads thus: a homeschool is one integrated part of a   family . It is a fruit of the life of the family, and will be there as long as there is a family, whether the children are formally enrolled in a private school, home-based or other-based, or they are enrolled in a public school. To whatever extent there is life in a family, there is a homeschool. Continue reading...

Joy is spontaneous. Joy is contagious. Joy is courageous. Joy is laughter. Joy is sharing. Joy is now. Joy is the Hand of God reaching down to touch His Children. Joy is the Love of His Sacred Heart. Joy is knowing that my God is madly in love with me. Joy is knowing that He offers forgiveness when I seek reconciliation. Joy is knowing that I am forgiven.  In my life, A brisk walk, dodging ice, brings me joy.  Making glass beads fills me with joy. Read more at:: His Unending Love

Photo Source . . . Suffering and sin pressed on me heavily this morning, making me feel constricted, helpless. Feeling burdened and discouraged, I boarded the bus for work. Immediately I noticed something new on the bus: a PA system recently installed that announces every upcoming stop. I couldn't help but notice the new system, because it's loud and relentless. The computerized voice blared out each bus stop as we approached: 120th Street! 118th Street! Watertown Plank Road and 116th Street! Watertown Plank Road and Mayfair Road! Transfer to Route 31, State Street Branch! Given how deflated I was feeling, my first reaction was to be annoyed by the new two-block warning system. And then, by God's providence, I started to imagine why the automated voice had been installed in the first place. Read on at Praying with Grace

As we announced last week , Ave Maria Press will be releasing our Catholic marriage help book in 2016. The working title (although publishers always change the title!) is Secrets of Turning Water into Wine. Why are we writing the book? What can you learn from the book? Read on to find out! SECRETS OF TURNING WATER INTO WINE Divorce rates for Catholic marriages have almost tripled since the early 1970s, proving that Catholic marriages are not immune from the terrible epidemic of divorce. Catholic couples today desperately need a transfusion of spiritual truths combined with solid practical advice.  Secrets of Turning Water into Wine  offers a warm catechesis that illustrates how God’s plan for marriage can free us to experience deep, lasting, and soul-satisfying love in our everyday lives. Weekend or one-day marriage preparation programs might not give couples all the information they need or want.  Secrets of Turning Water into Wine  shows how Biblical principles c

Sunday Morning by Thomas Waterman Wood (Wikimedia Commons) How can we know that God will hear and answer our prayers? I learned a new word the other day that I want to share with you: impetration. Impetration is a prayer that God infallibly answers. The concept comes from such New Testament passages as this: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Mt. 7:7) Now we know from experience that God does not answer every prayer. Or, as we like to say, He sometimes answers with a “no.” So where is the fulfillment of this verse? St. Thomas Aquinas taught that there are four requirements for impetration: We must be praying for ourselves, since freewill is involved. We must be praying for something necessary for salvation (but theologians include in this all the goods that could help us grow in grace). We must pray piously–in Jesus’ name, with humility, trust, and attention. We must persevere in prayer wh

Columban Fr Noel O'Neill with Myeong Sek in Kore The  Universal Prayer Intention of Pope Francis  for September is  That the mentally disabled may receive the love and help they need for a dignified life . Fr Noel O'Neill is a Columban priest from Limerick, Ireland, who has been in Korea since 1957. In  this article  from the September-October 2014 issue of  MISYONonline.com , the magazine of the Columbans in the Philippines that I have been editing for 12 years now, he shows how he has been living this prayer intention - and how he himself has received love and help for a dignified life from two persons in particular, among others, whom he describes as 'differently abled' and who were on the fringes of society because others didn't recognise the gifts that God had given them. With Myeong Sek at the grave of  You Ha Myeong Sek, Theresa, was special. She was special because she was differently abled. She was special because it was she who a

You may have read  10 books that have stayed with me  by Tom Perna or have seen The Ten Books Challenge on Facebook this past week (though it's been around for a  long time ).  Someone asks you to list 10 books that have stayed with you the longest.   You can read my selections at Being Catholic ... Really .

Our Blessed Mother  Earnestly cradled Within her young heart  God's love and promises  ( Saint Anne's Shrine ~ Is le La Motte, VT ) Mother's lessons Inspired by the Holy Spirit  Sculpted Mary's life~and ours To Jesus through Mary! Happy Birthday to our Most Holy Virgin Mary~ ¡Feliz Cumpleaños a Nuestra Santísima Virgen María!

Sept. 8:  Feast  of the Nativity Mary see more images>

Today was a rough one.  But I knew it would be, I had been warned ahead of time.  I went to Holy Mass and as usual, I stay after and pray.  This situation is ideal, because no one sees me.  This is important.  If you are truly seeking the good of another soul in your petition to God, and nothing for yourself, then your petition, ideally, should just be between you and God.  Hidden from the eyes of everyone.  No guile, no hidden agendas, just you and God as you plead to Him for His mercy on those He has chosen you to pray for.  (Oh yeah, you usually don't get to pick whom or what you pray for.) .... to find out what happened when praying the stations , CLICK HERE!

  František Dvořák, in US public domain due to age  Just what IS Lectio Divina?   Is it something I can practice in my ordinary daily life? The answer to the second question is "yes." The answer to the first can be found here (continue) ...                                                                                      

Where I grew up, on the Minnesota-North Dakota border, quite a few folks said "morality" when they were talking about about ethics and sex. Their "morality" apparently focused on some zipper issues, plus a few cultural values. That myopic view of morality helped inspire stories of Chickenman's battle against "crime and/or evil," and that's almost another topic. "Morality of the Passions" — Emotions, Ethics, and All That The Catechism of the Catholic Church doesn't have particularly catchy titles for the different sections. For example — Part Three, Life in Christ; Section One, Man's Vocation Life in the Spirit; Chapter One, The Dignity of the Human Person; Article 5; is is called Morality of the Passions . Some of these "passions" might involve sex: but what the word means here is "emotions:"... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Vian Dakhil MP ,  is the only  Yazidi  member of the Iraqi parliament. Though she gave this speech on 5 August I came across it only yesterday. It speaks for itself. The MP  was injured a week later  when an Iraqi helicopter on a mission to help the besieged Yazidi people crashed, killing the pilot.

The Repentant Peter , El Greco, c.1600 Phillips Collection, Washington [ 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 18:15-20  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition : Canada)  Jesus said to his disciples: “If another member of the church   sins against you,   go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.     But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.     If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.     Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and

Faithfulness to God was never equated with respectability in sacred scripture. Just look at those biblical characters who we raise up as examples of faith today. In their own time, these paragons, who obeyed God in their personal lives, were considered quacks and for good reason. What would you think about a fellow like Noah who built a huge ship, far from any large body of water? Or a man like Abraham who still trusted God for a son for decades, even after his wife was menopausal? Or what about a general  like Gideon who challenged a huge army by ordering his dwindling troops of 300 to bang on their shields and uncover lanterns after dismissing 31,700 men in his army? Jesus himself shocked the respected, religious of his day. He upset their conventions, shocked their sensibilities so much so that the Pharisees thought Jesus was a bad influence. In the opinion of the Pharisees, God Incarnate was not holy but from the evil one. From our perspective this reaction seems shock

I decided it was time to write down Joel and my story. It's a bit long so I've broken it into two parts with lots of photos (all for your amusement of course). Putting together the pieces of our full story is actually kind of hard to do because when we first met, we certainly didn’t think we’d ever get married (or at least I didn’t) so remembering important dates and events wasn’t important. However, we put our heads together and I think we’ve come up with what we’ll call Our Story with semi-accurate dates and timelines. I’m glad we’ve done this now… cause there is no way I’m going to remember this in 10 years unless I write it down! Read all the romance here .

A Wet Sunday Morning by Edmund Blair Leighton In the following piece of advise, St Francis talks about what is required for our Sunday obligation in which we receive Jesus in Holy Communion.  The last bit of counsel for married couples was quite interesting. "There is no danger in doing all sorts of good and necessary tasks and in working on the day when one has been to communion.  In the primitive  church when everyone went to communion everyday, do you think that they sat their with their arms folded for the rest of the day?  And St. Paul, who generally said Mass, went on earning his living by the work of his hands. To read the rest, visit The Sincere Gift

A Hermit Praying in the Ruins of a Roman Temple by Hubert Robert Last week I wrote about St. Teresa’s of Avila’s method of mental prayer. Today I want to discuss misunderstandings about prayer from a different angle. Since we desire contemplation, should we sit still in prayer and wait for it? Should we try to make it happen by quieting our minds? Like last Friday’s post, this series speaks to the differences between Carmelite teaching and Centering Prayer, yoga, and other types of meditation influenced by eastern religions. Some people falsely equate silence with supernatural (infused) contemplation. They read about the need for interior silence in prayer, and they mistakenly think that if they sit quietly, God will necessarily bestow contemplation upon them. They equate the peace they find in silence to communion with God. The Vatican has cautioned us about certain methods of prayer In 1989, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as head of the

About 39,000 years back, maybe more, Neanderthals made a mark that looks like a hashtag. Maybe it was a 'you are here' sign, the first tic-tac-toe game, or something completely different. I think humanity's back-story , implications of DNA's high phosphate levels, and why rocks (occasionally) move in Death Valley, are fascinating. Your experience may vary.... ...Folks have known that God's creation is vast and ancient for thousands of years: and seemed confident that God wasn't overextended. ... I figure that part of my job is appreciating God's creation: not telling the Almighty how it should have been designed.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

So, I had planned on posting a new {p,h,f,r} with Auntie Leila , since it has been a whole month since I have. Where does time go?  However, it seems God has other plans, since I cannot get my pictures to load and something has just come through my news feed that I must share!  So here is an unconventional, but important {p,h,f,r} post. Pretty   On September 20th at the beautiful Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, there will be a "kick-off" event for the International Week of Prayer and Fasting.  All Catholics are asked to pray, fast, give, adore, repent, and attend Mass during this week for the conversion and defeat of ISIS.  Please join in.  The Basilica's website has information as well as the official IWOPF website and this article from Zenit .   Please read more at Veils and Vocations .

UNEQUAL REWARDS IN HEAVEN? REALLY? CLICK HERE

Where did these past 3 weeks go?? …Three weeks since I first mentioned on ‘The Way to Nourish for Life’ my desire to share a personal journey with you---my journey back to being well again, back to being me!  So I apologize for this delay in explaining what brought me to this point [plus much more] still… But I’ve remained very much in awe & wonder of the many changes occurring in and around me--- and with all I’ve been learning this past month (which indeed I’ll be sharing soon).   Meanwhile, though, I needed to come back here once again to offer praise--- with the help of two Psalms and a song…  A contemporary Christian song being played on the radio here, which struck a chord with me upon hearing it this past month, as I’ve been spending much more time this summer with my Bible (rather than my laptop!)—being filled by Him, and for Him, with love… A love that cannot be contained— so much so that I’ve been wanting to sing & shout. (:  So here are three such ways …

Make Me a Saint! Lord, Let my life always be Yours. Let my heart always be Yours. Let my thoughts always be Yours. Let me praise You with all my being. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Let Him direct me in  His ways, For His ways are Your ways. Let Him guide me and counsel me So that I will walk in Your Footsteps. Your burden is easy and Your yoke is light, Be with me that I might carry my cross with joy Knowing that by embracing my cross, I am filled with Your love and peace. Read More At:: His Unending Love

We believe that God communicates with us through Sacred Scripture. His word, which is living and effective, can speak to us personally in many ways. When I was in the novitiate, one day the novice director explained that the Scripture readings for the Eucharist on our birthday contain a special message for us from God. My heart sank. My birthday is July 29, the feast day of St. Martha. If you recall, when Jesus was a guest at her house, he chided Martha for fussing preparing a meal while her sister, Mary, sat at his feet absorbed in him and his teachings. I figured that each day on my birthday I would hear God him say to me, “Kathleen, Kathleen, you are busy about many things. Stop being a workaholic and pay more attention to me.” That scolding would be my birthday gift from God. But I wasn’t entirely correct. Click to continue

Normally the word contemplation is used to describe the mystical awareness of God's action in a person, working through the Holy Spirit as they are being gradually transformed into the image and likeness of Christ. It begins not when we so choose, but when he chooses. Although we can prepare for it, it is essentially God's gift. To begin with it is often called 'obscure contemplation' , or 'the prayer of faith' or a ' ray of darkness' . This is because at first, the action of the Holy Spirit only highlights all that separates us from the transformation into Christ that he is working to achieve. The 'ray of darkness ' suddenly becomes a 'ray of light' when God chooses, giving the believer ever deeper experiences of the presence of God within, as the journey into Christ deepens. read more...

Well, school has begun.  After months of researching, planning, charts, lists, and book shopping--we are here in our school, which looks an awful lot like our kitchen.  While others are posting about first day victory dances at the bus stops, champagne toasts, and kid-free afternoon celebrations; us homeschoolers are breathing deep, girting our loins and plowing ahead.  Parenthood is life's toughest job, homeschooling takes it to an enitrely different level. ... But what do we do when our efforts don't pan out as we planned, or worse our children don't grow to be men and women grounded in faith and love set to rock the Catholic world? I am continually reading about homeschooling philosophy, curriculum, and teaching methods.  I seek out articles, blog, books, and magalogs to fill my head with all that is good and encourage me for the long journey ahead. ... The title of one lingers in my memory and gives me hope on the worst of homeschool days--"B

  I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks back about having hosted a potluck get-together most Fridays this summer.  We just had our last one of the season a few days ago. Issuing this invitation was a huge step for me.  Although I've often hosted holiday meals and birthday celebrations, opening my home on a weekly basis seemed next to impossible.  Normally when hosting, I'd plan weeks in advance what to cook and would go out of my mind trying to figure out how to maintain company-clean amid daily life.  What caused me to take the plunge and have people over almost every Friday?  I realized that it was the sin of pride, a lack of humility, and fear of what I think someone might think of me that was holding me back (and my family), from enjoying an even more rich and full life, even in this small way.   Sinful pride left me with little time and energy to put on the mask of perfection when there wasn't a compelling reason to do so.   The fine line b

Don't you just love a season with an unnecessary letter? A misspelled  Autum  looks so weird, while  Autumn  embraces its gratuitous silent letter and invites us to linger on that final  mmmmnnn  sound. I am excited about autumnnn. Strangely, autumn is the time for school to start and family calendars to EXPLODE. Sometimes I want to hire an event planner just to help us get through a week of school, work, sports, music, theater and church activities. This autumn is no different than any in that regard; we really do have an abundance of scheduled opportunities. Nonetheless, I plan to slow down. Read on at Praying with Grace !

FACING FAILURE CLICK HERE

Accepting God's Will May I resist the inclination To present Him with A "multiple choice test" Of my own feeble design It is He who tests me When  unbearable trials And  frightening... Please continue reading here @ mommynovenas.org Thank You

Jackie Parkes: Christianity without the Cross : Matthew 16 : 21-28 Douay Rheims 21From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples, that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer man...

I used to have very little appreciation for the Liturgy of the Hours. I considered it ‘too structured,’ ‘too formal,’ and a mere recitation of words other people had written. It could be spoken while the speaker’s mind wandered anywhere and everywhere (I decided)… so wouldn’t such a practice just lead to dry, lifeless prayer? I could not have been more wrong..... (click here to continue) 

After nearly five hundred years, the Roman Republic had grown from a small city-state to a major world power: and it was a mess. I'm not talking about the chronic SNAFUs perpetrated by America's Congress. If America's government was like the Roman Republic's, we might see the House ways and means committee lead an armed assault on the Senate: while their assassins took care of a filibuster the hard way. Yes: things could be worse. Run-ins like the Catilinarian Conspiracy and Second Catilinarian conspiracy made the worst Washington mudslinging seem like a sedate poetry reading. The Roman Senate finally named one of their members " dictator perpetuo " ("dictator in perpetuity") — hoping that Julius Caesar would solve their problems. A few Senators got nervous: cutting the term, and Caesar's life, short. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

WHEN ALL HOPE IS LOST CLICK HERE