Association Of Catholic Bloggers

We are free to laugh and even enjoy religious humour because people who are secure in their faith understand their Father in heaven chuckles along with them. God actually has a sense of humour. ( Melanie's Theology 101) read more

Are you tired of Lent? Debbie, over at  Saints 365  is definitely tired of Lent and so is Regis Martin, who appears in the video below. You can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

DON'T WAIT UNTIL WHEN I'M DEAD AND GONE CLICK HERE NOW !

Day two is here. Today, I am praying for hard-working fathers and fathers who are struggling to provide for their families. Please pray with me and remember to leave any intentions you have in the comments. God bless! Second Day VIRGINAL HUSBAND OF MARY Saint Joseph, I honor you as the true husband of Mary .  Scripture says: "Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, and of her was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matt. 1:16). Your marriage to Mary was a sacred contract by which you and Mary gave yourselves to each other. Mary really belonged to you with all she was and had. You had a right to her love and obedience; and no other person so won her esteem, obedience, and love. Continued on Veils and Vocations.

The other day, I baked chocolate chip cookies for my kids, and didn’t eat a one. I then decided to Who eats their kids' leftover milkshakes, anyway?  I wondered to myself. forgo my usual afternoon cup of tea. Insert personal pity party right here. Earlier in the week, I had bought them a couple of chocolate milkshakes, and completely forgetting that I gave up chocolate for Lent, I took a sip, upon noticing Anders wasn't going to come close to finishing his, then remembered and had to watch them drink their shakes while I drank water.  I threw a tiny pity party in my head again as I threw the leftovers away, but I sat down with a good book, and I felt a flooding of relief and peace coming from nowhere. I’m finally doing some spiritual reading, and the book  Catherine of Siena , by Sigrid Undset, mingled with the deep conviction that observing Lent is so important to me, and I love it for my family, is giving me deep joy. Even though the momentary sacrifice feels painful, the

Last week on the Internet I saw James Martin, S.J., interviewing Stephen Colbert, who is Catholic. Fr. Martin asked the following four questions. Colbert’s answers follow. For fun I answered the questions too. I wonder if Colbert was prepared in advance. It took me awhile to think of my responses. My answers are in parentheses. I’ve also added a few more questions. You might enjoy reflecting on how you would answer all of these if you were being videotaped for the world to see: Who is your favorite saint? St. Peter. My Confirmation name is Simon. (St. Catherine of Siena) Click to continue

Lord, may I return to You all that You have given me. When I die, and I see You face to face, may all I give You is my empty hands because, that which You so freely gave me, I used in service to You for Your greater Honor and Glory. May I have used Your graces to bring You Your Heart’s desire: Souls, Many, many souls. Lord, Before I die, May my knees be sore from worshiping. May my fingers be bent from praying. May my arms be empty because I have nothing left to give. Read more at: His Unending Love

I mentioned that I would be hosting a link up (my first ever) on March 16th in last week's post . Well, your dyslexic blogger got her dates confused and it's up today! Never fear, if you're not ready to share your Marian consecration reflections, you have until the actual day of consecration (March 25th, The Annunciation) to link up with us. By us, I mean Elizabeth Reardon of Theology is a Verb . Isn't that a great blog title? I've always loved it. This is my third time making consecration and I have used a couple of different books to do it. This year, I went back to my favorite, 33 Days to Morning Glory by Fr. Michael Gaitley . Before we get ahead of ourselves though, what is Marian Consecration anyway? Read more at Filling My Prayer Closet and if you are making consecration now, consider linking up your post !

Today begins the novena in preparation for the feast of St Joseph on March 19th. I am sponsoring a pray along. Each day I will post the Novena prayers for the day along with intentions that need prayer. Please share with family and friends, and share any prayer requests in the comments. Let's pray for and with each other! Today, I am praying for struggling marriages, reconciliation within families, and those trying to sell their home. God bless! Source Novena to  St. Joseph Day One FOSTER-FATHER OF JESUS Saint Joseph, you were privileged to share in the mystery of the Incarnation as the foster-father of Jesus .  Mary alone was directly connected with the fulfillment of the mystery, in that she gave her consent to Christ's conception and allowed the Holy Spirit to form the sacred humanity of Jesus from her blood. You had a part in this mystery in an indirect manner, by fulfilling the condition necessary for the Incarnation -- the protection of Mary's virg

The man in the purple wheelchair is my brother Mark. The happy little girl with him is my daughter, who dearly loved her Uncle Mark. Mark passed away in 2007 at the age of 39, but I think about him every single day. Mark had a unique personality, as well as severe mental and physical disabilities. Mark was blind, but he trained me to see; without him as my brother, I might never have paid much attention to people with special needs. As it is, I am always on the lookout for folks who respect people with special needs, and who learn at least as much as they teach. I met just such a person a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Joellyn Cicciarelli, the director of curricula development at Loyola Press. I sat down with Joellyn one fine morning at her offices in Chicago to learn more about her and her unique work. Read all about it at Praying with Grace!

When I was a student I stayed with a lecturer and his wife in London. There were six other students and a young psychology lecturer called Mark, all staying in the same house. Mark and I found we had a lot in common and, before I realized it, a deep friendship had grown up between the two of us. He was a brilliant lecturer and I often went with him to the many outside engagements that he accepted. Wherever he went, he would always begin by belit­tling his own competence, assuring his audience that he felt sure they knew far more about the subject than he did. If the contents and delivery of his material hadn’t blatantly belied his preamble, you couldn’t have blamed his audience if they had walked out before he’d finished. I think it was what I originally took for genuine humility in Mark that initially drew me to him. It was only later that I came to realize that he took a morbid delight in denigrating himself. It was only because we had grown close that I was able to ask him why he

Lent. Silence. Listening. This lent, I have noticed barrenness in my life. Although my days are filled with the busy-ness of writing, studying, practicing, cooking, cleaning, facebooking, and the many other thousands of activities that fill time, by scheduling more time for prayer, I’ve noticed a deep and all-pervading silence and emptiness. Perhaps a lot of the busy-ness with which I cover my days is my way of running away from this lonesome silence? All the activities that fill my life give me a sense of importance and achievement. I grasp at this feeling, because it masks the reality of my smallness and insignificance in the eyes of the world. I am anxious for this feeling, because I fear my identity without it.                                                                                                                          This silence is softened by faith in God and sharpened by His silence.  Read more...

I read “Miracle Man” in two and a half  days!  Normally, books take me a lot longer to read, but  I couldn’t put “Miracle Man” down.  “Miracle Man” is the true story of a man named Bernie and the fulfillment of God’s plan for him and his family.  Not what was expected or wanted, the journey directed by God affected not only Bernie and his wife, Judy, but countless other lives of people who came to serve.  Prior to the start of the book, tragedy had touched both the lives of Judy and Bernie, tragedies that many people could not survive. Both had lost children, however, in spite of these tragedies, Judy and Bernie stayed the course of their faith and marriage. When tragedy again reared it’s ugly head, God intervened, and His graces poured forth.  Bernie’s heart kept beating in spite for the dire predictions of doctors and medical professionals.  Surprise, God was in charge! Read More at:  His Unending Love

Carving of St. Patrick at My Parish Church Some of my Chicago Irish Facebook friends humorously posted that Valentine Day indicates that St. Patrick Day will be here soon.  The Chicago Irish, like American Irish in other large cities, celebrate St. Patrick Day in a big way.  And one doesn’t have to be ethnically Irish to join in the festivities. I have observed in the past decade or so that St. Patrick Day Celebrations, like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, have degenerated into a kind of day of debauchery, especially characterized by drunkenness and overall immoderation.  This sort of celebration is a far cry from how I remember St. Patrick Day celebrations in our family, perhaps a half century ago.  Also, it seems to dishonor, rather than to honor, St. Patrick, the one whose holiness Catholics celebrate on that day More  here.

Dear mom who's pregnant again and tired, I know you feel like you are supposed to be excited. I know you feel like you are supposed to be overjoyed. But maybe this time, you are feeling a little (or a lot) overwhelmed.  Maybe this time, you are wondering how you are going to handle the newborn world with another little one (or maybe three other little ones) at home. Maybe this time, you are wondering how you are going to navigate getting up and driving to school instead of sleeping when your newborn is sleeping. Maybe this time, it isn't all about wandering the stores looking for little shoes. Maybe this time, you are cramming the crib into the corner of the master bedroom and apologizing when your sweet husband is already stubbing his toe on it. It's ok. I hear you. {Read More Here}

What do these words mean to someone who's not already pro-life? Pro-life. Anti-abortion. Anti-choice. Pro-abortion. Pro-death ... and so on, ad nauseam. When does a term stop being descriptive and start becoming a weapon? How can I learn to listen, and listen well, when someone who fights for abortion approaches me for a conversation? If we are all to work together to respect humanity's God-given dignity, connect we must, in charity and truth. But how? I need to crowd-source an answer to a question I've already addressed. I'm sure there are wiser responses than mine. Someone asked me today why I used the word "preborn" in a recent post. To me, the term is descriptive and appropriate and needs no elaboration. My questioner takes a different view. How do YOU bridge verbal divides when it comes to the life issues? Read more here.

I needed a touch of comfort overnight. A power outage plunged the house into darkness, sending us in search of flashlights we could not find. I recalled having written, yesterday, of a "wall" between me and the publishing of a blog post (this due to a computer glitch). I had realized the wall was not between me and God. What a simple thought, and what a real one. It's a thought I found, in the dark of a cold night, to be as comforting and protecting as a soft, warm cloak. Storms may rage and plunge the world around into darkness. But not one storm can place a wall between me and God.... (continue)

I'm a Catholic, so I say "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" a lot: mostly when I start praying. Coming from a recovering English teacher, that may seem shocking. Since it's the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: shouldn't it be "in the names of the et cetera?" No, because I am referring to God's name: the one God; the almighty Father, his only Son, and the Holy Spirit — the Most Holy Trinity. 1 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 233 ) I worship the God of Abram: God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth. ( Genesis 14:18 - 19 ) Abram's name got changed to Abraham, Abraham and his wive Sara got impatient, waiting for God's promise; three dozen centuries later, we're still dealing with that domestic disturbance ; and that's another topic. Topics. ( Genesis 16:1 - 12 , Genesis 21:2 - 14 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

These tips are taken from:  Pope Benedict XVI, Questions and Answers . Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2008. The elaboration is mine. The Bible is not an ordinary book First of all it is important to realize that the Bible is not an ordinary book (or, to be more precise, collection of books). It cannot be read with the mindset of a historian or a literary critic. It cannot be correctly approached from a distant academic standpoint. More poetically, the Bible is read by both the heart and mind, not by the mind alone. Start by praying and talking to God Prayer is communication with God. By praying before reading, we permit our hearts to be open to his message. In a sense, we open the line of communication with God, who, although always present, waits patiently for us to speak with him. By beginning with prayer we are more likely to be receptive to the message that he will send us through his Word.

A h, parents A ren’t we great? A lways running around serving, A cting like a combination of Martha and Mary. A+ parents  who are in control, right? . Think again. When any one of us, whether  a mother or not, refuses to give up control, we shut out the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we end up acting just like vacuum cleaners when it is God’s job to purify our family in His power, mercy and grace. He desires that we simply become conduits of His Love. It is by Christ’s suffering that mothers and their families are healed, not by the mother acting like a sacrificial lamb or a scapegoat like in the Old Testament. But  He   was  wounded for our transgressions, He  was  bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace  was  upon  Him , And by  His  stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)       continue reading