Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Beloved: Many waters cannot quench love,      neither can floods drown it.  SS 8:7 Read on Blog:  http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

My sister goes to Florida to escape the dark, dreary days of winter in Cleveland, Ohio. The Florida sun makes her feel better physically and mentally. Not everyone can move to Florida during January and February. So what can we do to shake off the dull sadness that might cloak us at least occasionally during these months? Surprisingly, I've learned that the great St. Thomas Aquinas provided some practical answers, including taking a bath and sleeping! Granted, we will not experience perfect happiness until we move to heaven, where "God will wipe every tear" from our eyes. (Revelation 21:4) Still, we can take steps to stay reasonably happy on earth. Click to continue

Living Catholic artist, Ladislav Záborský was sentenced in Slovakia for treason to seven years imprisonment in 1954 but was released on Christmas Eve 1957. His crime? He painted Christ as a worker in 1949.  His other religious art was labelled corrupt. While imprisoned, Ladislav felt as if his hands were nailed to the cross because he could not paint but only seek God in the depths of his soul.   He felt as if he was crucified because he could not walk where he wanted to.  In poems written after his release, Ladislav expressed the deep spiritual transformation which occurred during his imprisonment. The result of his inner crucifixion meant he no longer fulfilled his own desires but only sought God and His desires. continue reading

©Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images "Not only among men, but not even among angels is there anything more noble than glorifying the Creator." -St. Ignatius of Loyola Join me at Praying with Grace to read more Ignatian insights into the glory of God.

As the Morning Rising: Mercy : Mercy Make a meal for someone who lives alone, or have a chat with them over a cup of tea. Eagerly read one or two pieces of...

Beloved: for love is strong as death,      jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire,      a most vehement flame.   SS 8:6 Read on Blog:  http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

We know that Lent is a time for praying, fasting and giving.  However, those three words have a multitude of meanings for each of us. What I have come to realize as I peruse the plethora of ideas on what to do for Lent  that can be found online and in print, is  that what makes for a meaningful Lent for me, may not have as much, or  any, meaning for you.      We are each uniquely and wonderfully made by our God.  And we are each called in unique and wonderful ways to serve Him. So how can you excel this Lent?     I don't have any new ideas that haven't already been shared.  What I do have are some suggestions to help you discern what you could  do this Lent:  Be authentic .   Don't compare yourself to what others are doing in their Lenten journey.  If giving up one simple thing (sodas, chocolate, meat, etc.)  is what works in your life and allows you to more deeply enter into this season, then do not judge yourself harshly because your friends are giving up something which

Beloved: for love is strong as death,      jealousy is cruel as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire,      a most vehement flame.   SS 8:6 Read on Blog:  http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

As a "casual Catholic" growing up in an affluent Long Island suburb, I never thought about shopping for clothes as a moral act. I just went out and bought what I wanted. But as my faith has deepened in adulthood, and I take my promises as a Catholic woman to heart, so too has my awareness that every choice that I make, from the car I drive to the clothes I wear, makes a statement about who I am and what I believe. One choice that most of us take for granted is the choice of what we wear. I'm not talking about whether to wear pants or a skirt, no makeup or makeup. I'm talking about where your clothes come from, and the impact that their manufacture, shipping and sales have made on countless people along the way. From the people making the fabric to the people hunched over sewing machines for 12 hours a day sewing cuffs and collars, your clothing choices can either help or hurt the world around you.   Read more .

From Saul to Saint Paul Saint Paul, whose Feast Day is celebrated today, serves as the perfect example of a person who turned away from sin and turned toward God. Before his astounding conversion, Saint Paul was known as Saul. As Saul, he participated in the stoning (and killing) of Saint Stephen, our first Martyr of the Christian faith. Saint Paul is well known as originally starting out as a persecutor of the early Christians, as he was a zealot for the Jewish faith. In his efforts to remain true to the Jewish faith, Saul departed Jerusalem for Damascus, in search of men and women who had sworn allegiance to Jesus. Saul wanted to bring them back to Jerusalem in chains (Acts 9:1). However, Jesus had other designs... Read more...

As the Morning Rising: God the Gatherer : God the Gatherer If I am full of myself Where will God who is much bigger than me, find rest? If the house of my ...

Tonight, God assured me that He is in charge and working in our lives. Kelly, Fred, and my daughter showed me that God works in the quiet of our hearts and souls. He seems to have more room to work in silence. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

The Curé d'Ars said that,  “All that we do, without offering it to God, is wasted,”  and he is of course right, but it must be emphasized that the Morning Offering isn’t a magic formula. It does not automatically transform the forthcoming day, that’s why something further is required.  My mother told me that after she had made her Morning Offering she would spent a few minutes reviewing the day ahead and making a few resolutions that would enable her   to try and consecrate every moment of the day to loving God directly in prayer , and indirectly  to loving our neighbours through all we say and do. It might be to do humdrum tasks that we keep putting off, like changing the sheets on the bed, putting air into the car tires, defrosting the freezer, or something that’s more important. There’s always that friend or relative who’s sick or in need, who we should ‘phone, or write to, or even visit for a few minutes. Alternatively, perhaps we should make a resolution to apologize to one

We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them. — from   Pope Francis and our Call to Joy It’s a balmy 40 degrees outside today, yet even this isn’t meant to stay for very long. Temps will be dropping along with continual rain for the next few days. With a supply of hand and feet warmers and aluminum blanket in hand I prayed “Dear Lord help me to find who these warm essentials are meant for. Help them to know that they are thought of and loved.” Walking up I recognize one woman who I know to be apprehensive of human connection, keeping to herself even among her fellow homeless.  Read More.. .

(From The Cloistered Heart)

The prospect of a long winter ahead is daunting especially with memories of the epic snowfall amounts of last year still haunting many of us. I once anticipated January with dread. Winter can be dark, oppressive and confining: the arctic air and biting winds… the deep snows burying the landscape … ice covering the streets and sidewalks … darkness that greets us when we rise and meets us at the end of each work day. January is a quiet month. Birds don’t come to the feeder; their songs no longer greet me in the morning. Crickets and locusts have gone silent at night. January was a month without life. Then I read Henry Beston’s classic, The Outermost House and it changed my perception of winter forever ...   Click here to continue reading ...

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, saw a connection between power and responsibility: " The possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility. " (" The Parliamentary Debates From The Year 1803 To The Present Time ," Vol. 36. (1817)) Quite a few other folks have said pretty much the same thing, including a now-famous comic book writer: " With great power there must also come — great responsibility! " ( Stan Lee , in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) (the first Spider-Man story)) It's hardly a new idea: " ...Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. " ( Luke 12:48 ) - - - and that gets me to today's second Scripture reading, 1 Corinthians 12:12 - 30 ; the gist of which is in the shorter option.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Beloved: For love is strong as death   SS 8:6 Read on Blog: http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au

Join Allison Gingras, host of A Seeking Heart on BreadboxMedia.com as she takes a 30 day incredible reflection book and SQUISHES it into one hour! An uplifting, often witty, discussion about this insightful b ook about Spiritual Resilience: Theme's covered include:  Childish vs Childlike faith and relationship with trusting God (tantrum anyone?) Patience LIKE Job -- In Scriptures Job spend 6 chapters in patient trust and waiting, and 36 complaining and lamenting!!  How does this relate to resilience?  Anxiety, Depression, Tragedy --  My desire to get God to do things my way and the pseudo-independent game we play when facing the many trials of life Jacobs wrestles with an angel - an analogy for how we should persist in prayer and pursuit of God Communion of Heaven - saints and us.  The gift God bestows to be connected beyond the veil - when the unseen and seen interact and bring us strength! "People LIVE cautiously because they PRAY cautiously" find out how

We in the flesh are hindered in such a way that with our senses we cannot perceive eternity.   The God who took flesh in the form of Jesus in order to be like us in all things chose to forgo some knowledge in agreement that such temporarily 'forgetting' was part of the perfection of the plan of God.  As God shielded Moses when God passed by, Moses was denied a knowledge of God because his flesh could not look upon the face of God and live.  So to Jesus while incarnate in the flesh would suffer a 'shielding', or a lack of knowledge of some things that He would have had access to prior to the incarnation and would again gain access at the exact moment of His last heart beat.  This 'forgetting' of certain things for a time was part of God's participation in our humanity and the perfection of His passion on the Cross.  The God who knows all could by His own will decide to forgo knowledge in order that an infinite benefit could be given to us by His Passion.

Snow is NOT the most popular weather topic in the Scriptures, but where it is mentioned it teaches us some valuable lessons about the Lord, His goodness and mercy, and our response to Him.  Click here to transform a snowy day into a powerful encounter with the Lord through his word:

As the Morning Rising: Miracles of Love : How many times has it happened? You're sorting or tidying or moving books about when all of a sudden a little prayer card falls out ...

Beloved: Set me as a seal upon your heart,      as a seal upon your arm;   SS 8:6 Read on Blog:  http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

The most effective way to refill the  ‘grace well’  at the heart of how we may more easily choose the things of God over that of the world is by participating, in what I affectionately refer to as, the “ Grace Trifecta” . The secret is simple – immerse yourself in God’s abundant grace through the frequent, it not daily, practice of prayer, sacrament and scripture. For specific ideas on how to embrace the grace God has abundantly available for us through prayer, sacrament and scripture  - read more ...

The long Christmas break is over and the letdown is leaving me a bit melancholy. The stretching of the heart that comes with the empty nest made full, and then made empty again, hurts. Both of our adult children were home for the holidays. Our daughter spent both Christmas Eve and morning with us despite the fact that she also needed to see her fiancé’s family (she got engaged in November). Our son spent the week with us, having come up from New York. Each time they come it’s an adjustment, requiring me to make room, not just in my house, but in my heart. Of course I do it without hesitation, but it is still an adjustment. It took me ten years to get to where I enjoy the empty nest. Robert S. Donovan empty nest,Flickr Creative Commons Click here to continue reading.

We've been learning quite a bit about humanity's family history recently: thanks partly to our increasingly-detailed knowledge of DNA and the human genome . I'll be taking a look at what scientists are learning about Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxons, and headless skeletons.... ...I'll also indulge in an uncharacteristically-terse (for me) explanation of what science is doing in a 'religious' blog.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Beloved   I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,     do not stir up or awaken love     until it is ready!  SS 8:4 Read on Blog: http://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

The second  Catholic Conference 4 Moms: Faces of Mercy  is  coming up in February. It is hard to find childcare or travel to a conference, so Tami brings the Catholic Conference 4 Mom right to us. The 2016 “Faces of Mercy” Catholic Conference 4 Moms will offer: 20+ all new popular presenters and presentations  (see them here) a Spanish Track, featuring presentations specifically for Hispanic moms access to all the videos all the time throughout Lent Live-streamed sessions on Saturday morning featuring Jennifer Fulwiler and on Saturday afternoon of the Divine Mercy Chaplet HD videos also available as MP3 /Podcasts for download read more

An extract from Franco Zeffirelli's  Jesus of Nazareth  [Today's gospel ends at 2:28] Gospel Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 (NRSV, Catholic Edition, Canada) Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isa

As the Morning Rising: What On Earth Are We Doing? : The church in Ireland has had many heroes of the faith. Edmund Rice, Matt Talbot,Catherine McAuley, Edel Quinn, Alfie L...