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19 folks killed nearly 3,000 other people on September 11, 2001 . They were waging Osama bin Laden's religious war against the United States. 14 years later, Osama bin Laden is dead, and a great many more folks have died in various 'holy wars.'... ...A third of a million people fled their homelands this year, heading for Europe. The survivors may or may not find shelter there. 1 ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Apostle Peter in Prison , Rembrandt, 1631  Israel Museum, Jerusalem [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel   Mark 8:27-35  ( NRSV, Catholic Edition , Canada)       Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”   And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”   He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”   And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.   He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.   But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but o

JMJ I was still teaching at the time. One of our students had been called to the office and was refusing to leave his classroom. I was sent to retrieve the student and escort him to the office. The hallways always had televisions scattered along the way. Both the student and I looked up at one that was showing the jet that first crashed into the Twin Towers. He, the student, jumped into the air and yelled, “Awesome.” when he saw that. I gasped and stood there in disbelief until this youngster said, “Umm, we’re at the office.” I dispatched him quickly and returned to the Resource Room. The decision was made to close the school district wide. Students, as well as teachers, were sent home. Of course, for the rest of the day, we were all glued to our television set. My children, who attended the same school where I taught, came home with me. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

(from The Breadbox Letters)

My husband and I believe kids need to relate to animals to grow up into balanced, caring adults who can relate and feel connected to the natural world not just technological society. Just watching our children’s delight in pets and farm animals confirmed how important animals were to their development and happiness. We love animals almost as much as we love kids. That love has been a powerful source of energy transforming both animals and children into confident, intelligent beings with strong, unique personalities.  Our livestock kept us entertained with their antics even more than our more traditional pets because well-loved farm animals want to part of the family, too. continue

My husband and I were watching the investigative reporting program 60 Minutes recently, and one of the segments had to do with Buddhist "mind-emptying" meditation. The reporting journalist told of how he'd decided to try to immerse himself in the practice as part of a week-long journalistic piece he was preparing, but that he'd not ever given it much thought and didn't expect much to come of it. 

Why do  many faithful, American Catholics label  Pope Francis a modernist heretic? Every time Pope Francis speaks, the papers are filled with sensational headlines; he does not emphasize many of the popular, hot issues like abortion and homosexuality, issues which often simply serve to divide voters into an  us  and  them  mentality. When did these issues become  the  only  issue that concerns the Church? Yet when the pope reminds us that our life in Christ is so much more, vocal advocates become extremely angry, denouncing the pope as the anti-pope. How ridiculous!  Why such a strong reaction? continue reading

Jesus is the quintessential model for obedience. We see the first example of obedience in Luke 2:49, where we read, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus had an awareness of the Father’s will and was obedient to the calling to discuss scripture with the learned men in the Temple. Yet, on the heels of this statement, in verse 51, we also see that Jesus was obedient to his step-father, St. Joseph and his mother Mary, when once reunited with His parents. Luke tells us, “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them” (Luke 2:51). We see another example of Jesus’ obedience to the Father in the passages of the Temptation of Jesus... Read more...

Where did you learn the Hail Mary? the story of Christmas? to go to Mass? that you should share your toys with others? that hitting someone is wrong? Undoubtedly, in your family. In view of the focus on the family this month in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and in the upcoming Synod on Families in Rome next month, for the next few blogs, I plan to write about families, in particular, about nurturing the faith in families. The posts will include some wise advice from Pope Francis. Click to continue

Hello! My name is Rosemarie. Thank you for accepting me into your community of Catholic bloggers. Although I’m new here, it’s gratifying to know that we have a few things in common : our Catholic faith and a love for writing. I look forward to getting to know you by reading your posts. I am a parish secretary in the Diocese of Cleveland. I am also a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. My husband and I have been members of the Akron Community of the Holy Family for almost 25 years. Some people say that I have a calm and soothing voice.  I pray that this comes across in my posts at Spirit Singing , where I write about prayer and virtue from a Carmelite perspective. I will be praying for all of you. May God reward your efforts to encourage others through the gift of writing. As you get to know me, you’ll see that I always end my posts with the same signature: Peace be with you! Rosemarie, OCDS http://www.rosemarie-spiritsinging.blogspot.com Here is a rec

On the Feast Day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my patron saint, it occurred to me to wonder how others of the faith relate to their own patron saints. Are they perhaps seen as far-off, above our lowly human state, unreachable other than by solemn prayer and petition to intercede on our behalf? Or perhaps (and, to me, better!) as companions and constant friends, ready and willing to be there for us at any time, for any reason? + + + If I may, I'd like to share with you my own relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, my beloved patron saint. It is ever-changing in the most wonderful and helpful of ways.  When for years I would only reach out to her respectfully and from afar to intercede on my behalf with petitions and requests, I now feel quite comfortable and free to reach out to her in a constant stream of companionable and silent conversation throughout my days, just as I would to a trusted friend and confidante. And what I feel is especially

The Feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated throughout art history. continue  Albrecht Altdorfer (c. 1480 – February 12, 1538) was a German painter, Domenico di Pace  Beccafumi  (1486 – May 18, 1551

Getting back to Interior Castle, we’ve been talking about the sixth mansions. Last time we looked at raptures and ecstasy. There are many more types of mystical phenomena that one can experience in the sixth mansions. Among them are what St. Teresa of Avila calls transports, touches, wounds of love, flights of spirit, and even levitation. Teresa sometimes experienced the last of these in community prayer, to her great embarrassment. All of these are external phenomena that are rooted in the growing union of love between God and the soul. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Two weeks ago, Pope Francis used his  General Audience  to implore parents to teach their children how to pray: “There are children who have not learned how to make the sign of the cross!” the Holy Father lamented. “You, mother, father! Teach your children how to pray, how to make the sign of the cross!” Many parents I know make family prayer a joyful priority in their homes. They pray with their children at church, at bedtime, at meals, and at random moments throughout the day. But most Catholic parents in this country are shy about praying with their children. Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and Holy Cross Family Ministries are gradually releasing a four-part study on young Catholic families. More than 1,000 adults aged 25-45 responded to the survey, providing insights into faith and family that the Family Feud show would never have dreamed of. Family Feud by Dennis Crowley (2008) via  Flickr . Read excerpts from t

Today, as I was perusing the  New York Times  online edition, I was thrilled to find an absolutely beautiful  photographic essay on life inside a cloistered monastery . I loved the piece for many reasons, not least because it gave me a glimpse of the life I might have led had I chosen to walk through that lovely door, instead of the one that led me to the very lovely life I chose, instead.  I hope you find it as enchanting as I did.   You may find the larger article  here . From  How to Live A Lovely Life  by Sabrina Booth Phillips 

Obedience, what does it really entail? Everyone always wants to know just how much we can get away with before we are deemed disobedient. Instead, how about giving some thought to what it means to truly obey God, with our free will fully exercised? Does that concept sound daunting? Well, Peter Kreeft offers an excellent definition of obedience to God while fully exercising our free will, and this quote gives me hope that I can be obedient to God: Since our highest freedom means freedom to be ourselves, we are most free when we are most obedient to God’s will,… Read more...

“Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.”  Luke 5:33-39 Friday’s Gospel reading really struck home as just moments before I had received an unexpected call from someone about to enter a mandated rehab program. Knowing that I was to speak with this young man later, I found myself considering both the change offered in the new wine and the comfort he has found in the old wineskin. Was he really ready to accept a dissimilar mode of intoxication, a radical way of moving through the life he had been accustomed to?  Or was this opportunity to be lost, unable to be readily accepted in the worn and toughened shell he conveyed? Whether we choose to admit it or not, his story is not unlike our own. For, so too our daily choices in life help to fashion the shape and degree of flexibility of our own wineskins to accept the t

I have the book Have a New You by Friday by Dr. Kevin Lehman, but I haven't read it. It's on my very long TO DO list, although by the title, it sounds like it should be at the top of that list. Imagine, a new me by Friday...    ...cue the wavy, dreamy scene change as I am transformed into A New Me by Friday... I'd always find my keys and cell phone but lose the extra 20 pounds I've been carrying around the last few years... I'd be thin and in shape and curvy but only where I want to be curvy...  My hair would finally tame itself and listen when I tell it to relax and straighten out... The line between my brows would be gone, my upper lip wouldn't disappear when I smile, and my lashes would be long and lush... I'd be smiling and happy, filled with Joy every day, in every moment no matter what was happening - or how crazy those boys drove me to be some days... continue