Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Some cyanobacteria — pond scum — swim toward brighter areas. Scientists didn't know how the microorganisms could tell where the light is, until now. Other scientists discovered four new species of an odd-looking sort of critter: including one that looks like a purple sock. I'm fascinated by this sort of thing, your experience may vary.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

During Lent, I will be giving away a total of 500 blessed Miraculous Medals on my blog.  If you're a teacher, religious ed instructor, homeschooler, parent, or grandparent who would like some of these medals for your classroom, co-op group, or loved ones, stop on over at String of Pearls for more details .

What are you doing for Lent? Every year I try to do something a little different to make my Lenten experience more meaningful. This year, I decided  I was going to get fit  and I returned to an exercise routine I had given up. I know that doesn’t sound very spiritual, but when I feel better physically, it does help my prayer life. You can read the rest at Catholic365 .

I'm sure whenever you log into Facebook, you've noticed the Facebook Memories: On This Day.  It can either be seen through a friend's sharing of their memories or there's a tab on the left of your newsfeed under "Apps" that you can click on and see your own. Sometimes I wonder what's in other peoples' On this Day.  Is it the same political stuff they're posting now?  Their favorite cause?  They never seem to post anything very personal, so I wonder what their life is really like. You can read the article and view the photo gallery at Being Catholic ... Really .

(from The Breadbox Letters)

As the Morning Rising: Our Lady of Lourdes : When I think of Our Lady of Lourdes I think more of joy than sorrow, more of promise than dread. In some cases a pilgrimage to Lo...

Often we tend to think of Lent as a time to share in the suffering of Christ yet when we do so, we become morose and end up centering more on our own sacrificial devotions than on God. Lent  is  a time to get rid of the flub in our lives but only so we are able to connect more to the Heart of our Beloved, more on the people around us who are in need. Lent is not an excuse for dramatic acts of fasting  by wearing sackcloth and ashes, figuratively or literally. As Isaiah says: Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? continue reading

Rather than giving up chocolate, only to devour the solid chocolate Easter Bunny on Easter Sunday, seek virtue this Lent. Rather than giving up drinking alcohol, only to pop the cork on the Champagne this Easter Sunday, seek virtue this Lent. Rather than giving up television, only to sit in front of the TV all day Easter Sunday watching your shows on demand, seek virtue this Lent. So many times, year after year, we temporarily give up something we love as a sacrifice for Lent in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. I suggest taking a different and possibly more... Read more...  

Remember how we celebrated St. Valentine’s Day in grade school by passing out valentines to our classmates? In the fourth grade I was crushed when the boy I liked best did not give me a valentine. But then after school, he appeared at our house and handed me a valentine. It wasn’t one of those penny ones that come in a collection, but a special large 25¢ one! My nine-year-old heart was healed. He loved me after all! Every February we focus on telling people “I love you.” Interestingly, the first and greatest commandment is to love God with every atom of our being and every ounce of strength. In prayer, we tell God we love him. But words are not enough. Recently I came across the story of a boy whose father told him “I love you” every day. But the father never showed the boy love. The father’s words were empty. How sad. So, how can we show God love? The same ways that we show people in our lives that we love them. Here are six “valentines” we can give to God. Click to con

Public domain.  Wikimedia Commons. Your name, O Lord, is holiness. Your name, O Lord, is mercy. Your name, O Lord, is divine. Your name, O Lord is eternal. Your name, O Lord, makes demons tremble and flee. Your name, O Lord, makes the earth quake and roar. Your name, O Lord, destroys the boundaries of earth. Your name, O Lord, empties the swiftly flowing rivers. Your name, O Lord, makes waste of our enemies. Read More at Prayerfully Yours.

Love Soup? Yes, indeed!  ...What’s not to love?? After all, soup can be oh-so nourishing & satisfying & comforting & hydrating & healing & abounding with endless possibilities, even fitting to our Lenten practices! Today's featured "Soup of the Day" [just in time for Lent]... > > Click HERE for Cabbage Soup at: The Way To Nourish For Life >>  True "Mmm, Mmm, Good-ness"!

Have you READ this little gem yet? My Lent will never be the same. Join me at Praying with Grace to hear why this book can transform Lent. Also, free printable!

As the Morning Rising: Christ Be Near At Either Hand : No matter how hard people try, no matter how skilled they have become at concealment, the hurt they carry within has a way of slipping o...

A year ago, I returned to the practice of covering my head in Church. You can read the article HERE. After a year of inspirations and promptings from the Holy Spirit, I wore my first veil at Mass since the 1970’s when it was no longer required for women to cover their heads. Wearing the veil, began on Ash Wednesday, 2015. It was to be a Lenten practice. I decided I would evaluate this practice at the end of Lent. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

THE PERILS OF CHARITABLE GIVING A MUST READ STORY CLICK HERE

Yes, thank you, but it took all afternoon wandering through aisles and aisles of stuff that I don’t need now or ever, and getting stressed out that I was losing precious time I wanted to spend with my family. This happens almost every time I go into Walmart or some other mega-store. Our local Walmart is big enough to be a village. Seriously. I’ve been around the world, and some ancient villages really and truly would have fit inside the Walmart, with room to spare. Yesterday’s holdup: birthday candles. After getting misdirected a couple of times, I did find my way to the party section: FIVE aisles of cards, hats, dishes, decorations, and more party favors than you can imagine. I was feeling pretty good with myself because I’ll be throwing several kid birthday parties in the next couple of weeks (I have 3 kids and they all have February birthdays) and I was stocking up everything I needed for all of them. Forward thinking, right? The mom next to me in the party aisle was also thin

Clothing those in need and sheltering the homeless are considered “corporal” acts of mercy because they physically impact the human body. Everyone has a need to be physically clothed and sheltered from the weather. They have a human right to these things; to act otherwise, would be disrespecting the dignity of the human person. Expressing such indifference towards the naked and homeless indicates that we do not live up to Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). In this Year of Mercy we are given ample opportunity to extend acts of mercy to those in need of clothes and shelter; ample opportunity to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” What Can You Do to Help the Homeless? Read to learn more...

It's so hard to be stuck in a loveless Marriage. It's so hard to wake up every day, day after day knowing your spouse thinks you're not good enough. It's so hard going through the motions to get through the day while your concentration is scattered and your attention is elsewhere. It's so hard dreading the moment he walks through the door with the long hair that doesn't match yours on his shirt and smelling like the other woman's perfume. It's so hard dreading the moment you walk through the door after a hard day at work to find the house a mess and your wife nagging about whatever it is you didn't do right today. It's so hard going to bed each night to lie next to someone you can't stand anymore. It's so hard to lie in the darkness wondering how you made such a mistake and how you can get out of it. It's so hard to silently, desperately lie in the darkness searching for a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card to release you from the bon

Beautiful Souls: A Series on Parenting Pt. 3~ We Interrupt This Program (Practical Parenting Tips) Today what was scheduled for my Parenting series - Was: Why bother with Baptism and the other Sacraments? -the anticipatory act of Baptism -the comprehension that we are changed by the Sacraments -learning healing from the Grace of God However, I'm interrupting the regularly scheduled programming to share a fun little quiz/interview I did with my kids and to just give you a few practical parenting tips... read the rest at Picture a Skyline

Twice stolen by Susanne Timpani This post appears in 'Christian Writer's Downunder'