Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Disinterestedness is one of the least known virtues. I have to admit, until I had read Father Romano Guardini’s book, Learning the Virtues That Lead You to God , I had never heard of it. So let’s start with a definition. Look in any dictionary and you will find definitions such as an absence of interest; objectivity; unbiased. So how does that make disinterestedness a virtue? Father Romano Guardini shows how: The more we seek to gain our own ends, the more the other person closes up and is put on the defensive. But the more clearly he perceives that… Read more...

I don't know why divorce happens sometimes, why every year people who certainly aren't perfect, but who certainly have done nothing to deserve divorce or the kind of treatment a cruel, self-centered ex spouse delivers are forced to endure such trauma. Even less, do our innocent children deserve this kind of division, this kind of treatment, this kind of loss. This is not fair.  I do not deserve this. My children do not deserve this. And yet here we are.  Like most divorced women and children , we have seen a substantial change in our post-divorce lives. Even with state garnished child support, we live on less than half the income we had just a few years ago, with more expenses than we had just a few years ago, and less time than we had just a few years ago. Like most men, the abandoner's income has increased substantially. His expenses have also increased because of his purchase of a vacation/rental homes and other items hidden from the courts under th

Via Franciscan Media Early in the fourth century St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ's life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite, which tradition held was built over the Savior's tomb, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the tomb. During the excavation, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. The cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good  Friday  celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century, according to an eyewitness, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus' head: Then "all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down, touching the cross and the inscription, first with their foreheads, then with their eyes; and, after kissi

CLICK HERE

If you’re active in parenting social media groups and the blogosphere, you know that we talk a lot about ways we can be more patient with our kids, more kind, more balanced. We talk about ways to get over anger and stop yelling. And all of this is important. The next time I have a rough week with the kids, I’ll probably be reading more such tips. At the same time, there’s a different perspective I think we need to consider once in a while. Sometimes, it seems like we can place too much pressure on ourselves and, collectively, on each other, to be perfect.  Basically, if you take a look around at parenting pictures, stories and tips, we’re often telling each other in subtle ways that to be good parents, we need to be happy most if not all of the time. And, we’re sometimes saying:  when you’re not happy, try not to show it. The basic logic here is that we want to be fair and kind to our kids. We want to be strong for them. We don’t want to react hastily or for the wrong reasons

Isn’t this amazing! Pope Francis will visit our country beginning next week. I won’t be going to visit him, but I will be glued to the television watching as much as I can of his visit. That aside, here’s where you can go to get ready for our Pontiff’s visit. If you go HERE , you’ll find the official schedule for Pope Francis’ visit. It’s nice and detailed, so you will be able to follow Pope Francis around. so to speak. Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

DID JESUS HAVE A UNIVERSITY DEGREE? I WONDER ... WHAT DO YOU THINK? YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT THE ANSWER THAT'S IF YOU CLICK HERE

While our Sisters and Brothers in monasteries are chanting Vespers, we who live 'in the world' may well be in the busiest time of our day. The world, at Vespers-time, is right in the middle of rush hour. It is when many are leaving work, pouring into roads and trains to make the journey home. Some of us are preparing an evening meal, knowing that growling tummies will not be soothed if we hide away in prayer corners to sing and chant praise. So we do what must be done.... (click to continue)

Spiritual Direction with St. Teresa of Jesus Two Types of Peace In this excerpt from the writings of St. Teresa, she instructs us to be on guard against the false experience of peace that comes from a conscience that has no sense of sin and no remorse when it has fallen into sin. It is the awful predicament of a soul without self-knowledge. St. Teresa teaches us that prayer and the gift of contemplation bring us to self-knowledge. In this blessed state, we have the light of the Holy Spirit to guide us and convict us when we have fallen into sin.   Continued Peace be with you! Rosemarie, OCDS

St. Cyprian. (Image via Catholic.org) I decided a few months back to sign up for a service that sends me the biography of each day's "Saint Of The Day".  Over the last few months since I signed up for the service, I've found that I look forward to seeing the emails in my inbox every morning.  Not only have these informative emails helped me to be prepared in advance for daily Mass, but more importantly, I've been able to get to know the saints on a human level.  It was such a comfort to me, for instance, to learn that St. Cyprian struggled with patience and anger - things I struggle with, also. And I loved reading that St. Thomas of Villanova did not bow to peer pressure "...h e wore the same habit that he had received in the novitiate, mending it himself. The canons and domestics were ashamed of him, but they could not convince him to change." I've been daily inspired (and mentored!) by these human examples of imperfection and their st

I was surprised and flattered when two tourists from Thailand asked me if I was Jewish. That was about four decades back, at Grand Canyon National Park, near the visitor center. I'd brought a big topographic map of that massive gulch, spreading it out at intervals to see what I was looking at, and taking photos. That's not mine, by the way: it's from Tom Bernard Anyz . I think the Thai tourists had noticed that I had a full beard and never took my cap off. Quite a few gentiles in America wore caps indoors and out at the time, and still do: but not many American men grow a 'haven't shaved in years' beard. The plain black jacket I wore probably helped, too. I enjoyed being mistaken for one of our Lord's relatives, but my ancestors are about as gentile as it gets, west of the Urals. They probably hadn't even heard of Abraham or Isaac until missionaries arrived, and that's another topic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I'm embarking on a new project of translating the Summa Theologiae from "English" to English. It's a process of trying to simplify the language and examples to what I can relate to. You can look at it as an informal summary of the Summa. It's already making me think overtime--I hope it proves useful to you too! Here is Question 1 Why should I study theology? Objection:  It seems like we can learn everything we need to from science, experience and philosophy. All these are based on human reason: but theology is not based on human reason. It’s beyond what human reason can know, and so we shouldn’t study it. Reply:  Some truths cannot be explained by science, experience and ph ilosophy, but only by theology (for example, the nature of man’s final purpose). There are also truths that can be discovered by science, experience and philosophy, but which are harder to discover without the guidance of God through theology. And the reason why it is important to know bo

This is a polymer clay pendant that I have been working on for several days. I’ve added different paints. I’ve sanded. I’ve added more paints. When I am not happy with what I have done with a piece, I put it down and leave it alone. I walk back to it several times a day and look at the work. It’s taken as long as a month, but one day, something changes, and I see the piece in a new light. This time, the process took 3 days. I was looking at the leaf pendant. I picked it up and held it in my hands, then I saw it! Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

The secular world desperately needs to hear the perspective of Catholics on pressing issues, especially on the sanctity of human life. However most religious authors write in a small niche, read mainly by fellow Catholics and perhaps a few other critics we would secretly love to block. An amusing analogy came to me the other day which clarifies this dilemma. Consider the life of an ant, not a queen ant, a worker ant. Worker ants scurry about, hauling loads of food that are bigger than they are. They are completely oblivious to the world around them, fixated solely on their own tiny society. Often this narrow viewpoint leads to disastrous results, with whole colonies wiped out of existence when the macrocosm surrounding them crashes into their little world. continue reading on joy of nine9 or on CatholicStand

As Pixie and I were out for our evening walk, I began to think about prayer. God does reveal His ideas in the silence as we walk. This revelation, made me stop as we walked, to ponder some things about my prayer life. I realized then, that I use prayer very selfishly. I pray so that I might have a communication with God. I pray so that I might ask God for His help in my life. I pray so that God will give me what I ask. I pray so that God will love me. I pray so that God will… Read More at:  Prayerfully Yours

I was spending a little time this late afternoon on Pinterest and came across the above pin, which took me to  this wonderful story of conversion . It really made my day!  If you're on Pinterest, please re-pin! Happy Friday to you and yours, Sabrina

My daughter and I traveled to New York City in March.  One of the highlights of that trip was our visit to the  National September 11 Memorial & Museum . To read the article and view the photo gallery, please visit Being Catholic ... Really .

Neanderthals apparently had bigger eyes than folks living today. One scientist says that means they didn't play well with others. Bonobos , chimps living south of the Congo River, squeak. The squeaks are the same, whether they're happy, sad, or angry — and may tell us something about how language developed.... ...I think accepting God's universe 'as is' makes sense, so I'll ramble on about hubris, movies, and St. Thomas Aquinas, before discussing Neanderthals and squeaking bonobos .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .