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From  The Gospel of John , directed by Philip Saville Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   John 1:35-42  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)   The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples,     and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”   The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.     When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?”   He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.     One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.   He first found his

Praying the Rosary can be a challenge. The 15 minutes required to complete the meditation (for some reason) appear as 15 hours, longer than a session of heavy cleaning…or working out. Should you manage to overcome the “time constraint” and actually pick up some beads, you are faced with new obstacles. You must sit idle and focus – kind of like when you binge watch Netflix, only not. What’s more? You are expected to meditate, not only upon the words of the various prayers, but upon the Mysteries of the Rosary depicting key events in Christ’s life. Needless to say, the Rosary is not for the faint of heart.

European officials seem to think that planning about what to do when an asteroid heads their way is a good idea. I think they're right. A SpaceX cargo run to the International Space Station arrived on time, but the flight's experimental reusable booster didn't land properly. Actually, it crashed.... I started writing about asteroid impacts, which reminded me of ice ages, dodos, and responsibility. This isn't the most tightly-organized post I've ever done. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A few weeks ago, while entering our church I saw a stack of prayer cards on a table.  I found out through one of my Facebook followers that  Saint Expedite  is the patron saint of procrastination. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

I write for Catholic 365. Most writers already attract a lot of exposure on this new site. The editors are looking for new writers, as well as for people to sign up for their newsletter. Sign up to Catholic 365 newsletter for your chance to win “The Gospel According to Morty”. Just go to their site at  http://www.catholic365.com/contests/giveaways/Jan2015/Morty/ “The Gospel According to Morty” is a collection of faith essays by humor writer and recovering atheist Bill Dunn. The title essay is the story of Mordecai “Morty” Thunder, the unofficial 13th apostle and cousin of James and John. Morty was an eye-witness of Jesus’ ministry, and he refutes the claim that Jesus never laughed, and explains that joy and laughter are crucial aspects of the Christian life. Also included in the book are these essays: “A Connecticut Yankee in King Jesus’ Court,” “Is the Real Presence Really Real?” and “The Unauthorized Homily.” read more

A whisper. A touch. A strong attraction or desire. A fork in the road. A turning point. God draws near and we want to follow. Sometimes his call is subtle. Other times it is confusing. Often we are led in a whole new direction. John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God." The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.  Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, "What are you looking for?"  John 1:35-37 He walks by, without saying a word, yet he has your full attention. What are you looking for?  You don't know. You don't answer... Full Post:   http://www.restfulwaters.net/what-are-you-looking-for/

What is your prayer routine?  I have to admit, mine is not very impressive when compared to  Brandon Vogt's !  The fact that he engages his small children is award-winning parenting. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

I asked myself today, "Do I understand the Holy Spirit?" No, I don't, but here's what I have learned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, equal to the Father and Son. He is called:: Paraclete, Advocate, Counselor. He is also called:: Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Promise, Spirit of adoption,  Spirit of Christ, Spirit of the Lord,  Spirit of God. He is Holy. He anoints. He Heals. He Transforms. He writes on the human heart. He teaches. He lives. He gives strength in our weakness. He brings us into communion with God. Read more at:: His Unending Love

A friend, who is an Oblate Brother from Portugal, has always detested Canadian winters. Usually, he simply wants to hide from winter with its icy, raw coldness and grey skies. This year, he decided to tackle his grumbling attitude head-on looking for winter’s beauty and blessings. He inspired me to praise God for winter. It is time to welcome winter. Beautiful snowflakes absorb sound waves, Over a pure, white earth. It is time to discover beauty in winter and thank God. read more

According to the Church calendar, this is the first week in Ordinary Time. The weeks are referred to by ordinal numbers, which is why they are called ordinary. There are 34 of them. In the usual sense of the word ordinary , these weeks are not special seasons like Advent or Easter. But is any week actually “ordinary”? Considering that out of the zillion or so planets and other things floating in the limitless universe, our little planet daily sustains our lives, I’d say that any week is extraordinary. The fact we human beings can think, create, imagine, choose, and love, unlike other creatures such as the billions of insect species, I’d call that extraordinary. click to continue

Living an  unequally yoked marriage  is not easy, especially when one person is an atheist and the other decided six years into their marriage to convert to Catholicism. Whatever your faith denomination, or not, as the case may be, here are some quick Do's and Dont's that I've collected that may help you get through some of those tougher moments. Do ask your children to pray for your spouse.  I don't know where I heard this, but  children's prayer's are powerful . Maybe it's that scripture verse  Matthew 19:14 . Simply praying as a family for them to have a good day, or a safe flight is perfect. Don't tell your children to pray for the conversion of their parent's soul.  Don't create a divide in your marriage this way. In essence what you're doing is pitting your spouse against the rest of the family and if what you want is peace in your marriage, do your best to eliminate unnecessary us vs them scenarios. Do participate in church

I have written several times about guided meditations I do with my young boys. Now I am working with my oldest, who is in 7th grade, to help him take the next step in mental prayer. He is a choleric, and I hope to write in more detail about this method in my upcoming book A Spiritual Growth Plan for Your Choleric Child. I plan to make a template for children to fill out as they practice. Here is the method I am planning to use for my eldest now. I will show you an example along with the method. 1. Read a small section of the Gospels. First, choose one of the four Gospels to pray through from beginning to end. Then choose a passage of 10 to 20 verses. For this example, we’re using Mark 1:1-11 , last Sunday’s Gospel. Read it silently and slowly. 2. Use your senses. Record the sights, sounds, smells, etc. you would encounter if you were present when this story took place. Brainstorm as many as you can think of. Here are a few for our example: John’s camel hair

Just over a year ago, Pope Francis gave the world his Apostolic Exhortation  Evangelii Gaudium ,  in which he extends an invitation: I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. So how are we doing? Check in at Praying with Grace to take a little prayer quiz!

I’m not sure if they are still around, but do you remember the “Love Is…” cartoons? They had simple little drawings and a completion to the “Love Is…” sentence starter that almost always made you say “Aww! How sweet!” You know: Love is…sharing your last cookie Love is…going skating when you’d rather be at the movies Love is…holding hands under a starry night sky Lately (okay I say “lately” but what I mean is in the last decade or two) I notice that just about everything I do could be a completion of a “Life is…” sentence starter. read more here

I see the tree cradling Your Body as You are delivered from its wood.  Oh, Blessed Tree to be blessed to hold Our Savior's body!  Shreds of flesh and blood absorbed in its fibers; deep, thunderous stains of heaven in the wood.  Iron nails, hardened and tempered in the fire, by the metal smith who pounded them, not knowing the nails would  be blessed to hold You prisoner on the Cross.  Blood stained, the nails are cast off to the side.  The crown, the crown You wore on the cross, the crown saturated with the storm of blood, hair, and flesh ripped from Your skull lays next to the nails.  King of the Jews!  King of All! Your Mother holds Your body and weeps in silence.   Her tears clean your face.  The storm is silent and past.  Your Mother gently wipes Your Sacred Contenance with her veil.  She carries Your Blood in her heart and on her hands.  Angels surround You both.  They worship and adore their Lord.  They give strength to Your Mother, the first Tabernacle of Yo

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(From Facebook, via SkyNews; and BBC News; used w/o permission.) ( Clarissa Jean-Philippe , and Ahmed Merabet : two of 20 dead so far, apparently in response to Charlie Hebdo's editorial policy.) Some of the 20 known dead are important by my culture's standards, others not so much.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Even though you've sought forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, do you still find yourself burdened with regret? Susan Bailey from beasone.org offers a prayerful way to use your imagination to let it all go. Click here to read ...

Michael Keaton pays tribute to his Catholic family at the Golden Globes. You may view the video at Being Catholic ... Really .

Before Advent, I began looking (here) into our calls to be heroes of the faith in our everyday lives.   Little you and little me: heroes of the faith. Imagine..... (continue)