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©mocoo/Getty Images Only the best for God I spent most of high school and college assuming I would never marry or have children. God had set me on fire with faith, and I wanted to give him my absolute best. In Catholic terms, as far as I knew, that meant entering religious life. For a couple of years I attended campus ministry meetings for wanna-be nuns and priests, and my weekends were often scheduled with "come and see" retreats at various religious communities. And then I met a guy. . . . This guy, David, was different from others I had dated. He loved life, he loved God, and he knew God wanted him to be a father. Please join me for the rest at Praying with Grace .

I have been Catholic most of my life however the topic of Indulgences is something I never really thought much about. Until this year, the topic of indulgences never really came up. The only time that I thought about indulgences in the past was after reading through one of my grandma's Pre-Vatican II prayer books. After each prayer, it would say how many indulgences a person would receive after saying the said prayer. I thought that was a little odd! After all, shouldn't we be doing spiritual acts out of love for God and not just to gain an indulgence?! Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns >

I like great art and not shoddy paintings or modern images which border on the obscene.  Images of the Virgin, pale, limp, crying with her eyes rolled back in her head do not appeal to me either. So, I have collected 3,509 images of the Madonna on Pinterest which either appeal to me or are of historical significance and I have barely scraped the surface. To see more images you can visit  my blog post or Pinterest at  https://www.pinterest.com/motherofnine9/ The Virgin with St. Joan d'Arc Our Lady of The Rockies ~ Montana- 90 ft. tall

Prayer cards have been a Catholic tradition going back to  the 1400's in Europe .  As a convert, I was aware of prayer cards and have had a few over the years.  However, now I've become obsessed with them. My prayer card obsession can be blamed on  Melanie Rigney . Please read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Someone I know died yesterday. She wasn’t a close friend, but she was a friend. The last time I saw her, she was the picture of health. That was in April. We attended the same retired teacher’s breakfast that is held monthly. She was happy and talking about traveling. She was scheduled to go to an event that focused on her specialty, English. I don’t know what happened. In the month and a half since I had seen her last, she was diagnosed with advanced stage lung cancer. She was not a smoker, nor had she been a smoker. She was a good woman and touched many lives. Read More at: Prayerfully Yours

THE HOLY TRINITY AN EXPLANATION BY FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE CLICK HERE

'How seldom do I remember  that at any time, in any place, I can find You, commune with You,  by simply turning towards You  the eyes of my soul.'   B y 'A Religious,' LISTENING TO THE INDWELLING PRESENCE, Pellegrini, Sydney, 1940,  p. 55   From The Cloistered Heart

I grew up in a mainstream Protestant household, so I think of today's Gospel reading, Matthew 28:16 - 20 , as describing the "great commission." The phrase started rattling around in various European languages a few centuries back. Hudson Taylor , a Protestant missionary, popularized the English translation. Folks at the Vatican describe evangelization as the "great commission" occasionally, generally when communicating with those who are more familiar with Protestant culture.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When I made my First Holy Communion, we were taught to fold our hands like a church steeple with hands together and fingers pointing upward to heaven. This, we were told, was the proper way to approach the altar when we were preparing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Look around today as you walk up to receive Holy Communion. What are the others doing with their hands as they prepare to receive Jesus? Better yet, look down at your own hands. I have to admit that I no longer walk up to the altar with my fingers pointed up and hands together, but I do walk forward with my fingers knitted together in a prayerful position. Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

MY FAITH WALK CLICK HERE

Australopithecus deyiremeda, a newly-discovered member of humanity's family, was in this week's news. We're also learning more about when some wolves started becoming dogs, and have discovered really old stone tools.... ...Humanity's family history is nowhere near as simple as folks figured when Carl Linnaeus published " Systema Naturae " in 1735.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Where are you going for summer vacation? My only plans this summer will be to continue my series, "Touring Chicago's Beautiful Churches. My daughter and I went to  New York City in March , so I'm financially tapped out for another vacation. To read about where I'm going, you can read the rest at Being Catholic ... Really .

Did you get a load of this  New York Post article ? A New Yorker named Wednesday Martin just wrote a memoir called  Primates of Park Avenue , due out June 2. The book chronicles her experience with Upper-East-Side women who wear motherhood like an assault rifle. According to Maureen Callahan's article about the book, these moms pay $400 an hour for play-date tutors, enroll 3-month-old infants in music classes, and time pregnancies so their children will be the oldest ones in class. Loyola Press offers a  rosary kit  for children ages four and up. They sent me a kit and asked me to share my thoughts. So, I turned right around and shared the kit with some families (including one family with a son who has developmental delays), and asked what  they  thought. The  Loyola Press  rosary kit includes 61 prayer cards, 1 lacing string, 4 Mysteries of the Rosary cards, and a diagram explaining how to pray the rosary. Join me at Praying with Grace for the whole article!

We spend a lot of time talking about God.  Jesus is all over social media; he is on billboards, he is depicted in paintings and worn as jewelry. He is on bumper stickers. There are all kinds of books written about how to find him. We argue about him. Some of us spend our lives trying to disprove him. Others plan new and exciting ways to try to bring others to him--flashier, louder, more exciting--" A new faith for a new generation ." We come up with innovative slogans and new and improved programs.  We judge people who don't follow him. We shake our heads at those who walk away. We worry that our young people will ignore him. We think we have all the answers. We want others to know that  we  know him. But  do we actually talk to him? Do we listen to him?  Are we in relationship with the Risen Christ? Have we ever actually met him? Shortly after his death, two women went to the tomb... Read more:  http://www.restfulwaters.net/they-doubted/

Did you read Matt Walsh’s latest (or one of his latest) posts  Maybe Christianity in America is Dying Because It’s Boring Everyone to Death? I have to say, this just made me feel even more thankful for the “vibe” of my own parish, and the passion I see in the members of its community.  Catholicism and our culture today needs  true belief  and  true repentance . These are the things that I admire in the members of my parish.  These are the things that the world needs.  What do I mean by that? 1. True (sincere) First of all, the Church needs sincerity.  This means a disposition of really meaning what we say and living it out.  The church right now suffers from dissipation. Perhaps it is an apathy because of the various weeds that need to be uprooted. Perhaps it is because of greed, or entertainment-saturation, or materialism arising from great wealth. Whatever it is, we need to shed the snake skin of discouragement, cynicism, and apathy, and rise up, claiming all of the blessin

Fr. Mike Driscoll's new fiction book  The Father Capranica Mysteries: Stories of the Strange and Supernatural  is now available. Delving into his dissertation on Catholic exorcism, Driscoll's  Father Capranica Mysteries  is sure to please fans and those curious about the "strange and supernatural."  Fr. Mike Driscoll is a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, IL.  He was ordained in 1992; has been pastor of several parishes; and is currently serving as chaplain of St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Ottawa, IL.  He has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois, an M.A. in Moral Theology from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University.   His doctoral dissertation is entitled “How Catholic exorcists distinguish between demon possession and mental disorders.”  His non-fiction book on the subject of spirit possession, Demons, Deliverance, and Discernment, is published by Catholic Answers.

As we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Church, it’s good to reflect on just who this Person is and who he is for us. Remember when we called the Holy Spirit the Holy Ghost? That spooky term did not do much to encourage a relationship with the third person of the Trinity. As it is, except for at Confirmations, we rarely give the Holy Spirit a thought or prayer. That’s why the Holy Spirit has been dubbed the Cinderella of the Trinity. This is unfortunate. It is also totally contrary to the major role the Spirit plays in our lives as Jesus described it at the Last Supper. The Spirit is actually more like the Venus of the Trinity, for the Spirit is love personified. click to continue

This is the  second  in a  series  of posts on the works of Mercy and how to live them as a family.  Today we will explore Giving Drink to Those who Thirst. Source 1 Like feeding the hungry, reaching out to the poor and homeless is a great first step.  Food pantries can use donations of bottled water or other healthy drinks for those who frequent them.  Likewise, soup kitchens need drinks to distribute to the hungry that pass through. It's a niche that is often overlooked.  Unfortunately, one of the greatest threats to the homeless is dehydration. It is very difficult for them to find adequate ran water supplies and they are most often provided with carbonated or sugary beverages... Continued on Veils and Vocations.

I am part of an upcoming anthology of four other Catholic mums due to come out in about a month. All the women are great writers, each writing from a completely different perspective. Roberta Cottam is the creator and editor for this project. It started out as a project for a class but with her mother’s illness and the death of one of the contributor’s full term baby, the book was put on hold. Now Roberta is working on this book because she is passionate about it, working strictly pro bono along with designer Laura  Wrubleski.     continue reading

Does God always hear our prayers? Yes, God hears our prayers, all of them. If God hears all of our prayers, why doesn’t He answer them? God always answers our prayers. That’s not true! I’ve prayed for years for my family to come back to the Church, and they never go to church! Do you always go to Mass on Sundays? Well, I try to go. I go at least 1- 2 times a month, if I can. Is this the kind of example you should set if you want your family to attend Mass regularly? That’s not the point. God is not answering my prayer. I’d go to church more often if they would come with me. Maybe, they would come with you, if you attended Sunday Mass regularly. Read More at Prayerfully Yours