Association Of Catholic Bloggers

I like to feel in control of my life. It is hard for me to trust a God I cannot see and usually cannot feel or hear. However, when I refuse to give up control and submit to the Father, I shut out the power of the Holy Spirit in my day-to-day life. It is not easy to let go of control because I am naturally wired to act just like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up all my children’s pain. Likewise, my children are compassionate vacuum cleaners, who attract other people’s negative emotions. They are all aware  they learned this dysfunctional behaviour not only from observing my husband and me in action but also because they have inherited this trait from both of us. continue reading

My Mother: Virginia Duffy Today would have been my mother’s 95 th birthday has she still been alive. Virginia Christesen Duffy was smart as a whip, yet only received a high school education. She’s the only person I know that would dare to complete the New York Times Sunday Puzzle in ink ! I fondly remember the time my parents took me to Europe for a vacation. I was 19 years old. I took French for three years in high school, and I was ready and anxious to use it! We were in a French café, one day, looking at... Read more...

Once upon a time there was a priest who got fed up with the number of parishioners who confessed that they committed adultery. Every week, in the confessional, it was the same thing - adultery. One Sunday he said in his sermon that he was angry about this continuous sin of adultery amongst his congregation. He promised that if he heard this sin one more time he'd give up the priesthood and leave town for ever. His congregation loved him and did not want to lose him. They agreed a secret code amongst themselves. From now on, instead of saying they committed adultery, they would say they have "fallen". All went well for years until eventualy the bishop moved the priest to another Parish and replaced him with a new one. The new priest did not know the code. He was most disturbed that so many parishioners kept falling so he complained to the Mayor that the sidewalks in town are un-even and that he should do something about it to stop people from falling.

(from The Cloistered Heart)

(From Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Jesus and the Adulteress, Rembrandt .) I figure you know what happens in John 8:1 - 11 . The scribes and Pharisees haul one of two folks who were committing adultery to the temple, tell Jesus what she'd done, and remind our Lord that it's a capital crime under their law.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: Adoration and The Housebound : We can draw boundaries round love. We can box ourselves in, putting limits where God puts none. Adoration can take place before a beautiful...

10  Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  11  She said, “No one, sir.” [ b ]  And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”  Reading:   John 8:1-11 "How I wish  that there was some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again, Where all our mistakes and all out heartaches And all our poor selfish grief Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, And never put on again." 'In Jesus, there  is the gospel of the second chance. He was always intensely interested, not only in what a person had been, but also in what a person could be.  He did not  say that what they had done did not matter; broken laws and broken hearts always matter, but He was sure that every man has a future as well as the past.'  Barclay That is Good News .

A divorced single parent faces difficulties married families can't begin to imagine when raising children. Not only is the single parent responsible for food, shelter, clothing, and protection, but she must also provide a positive role model, live her faith out loud, and know when to be quiet. And she must do this all without a partner to back her up when things go wrong. There is never a time when she can say,  "Hey honey, is it bad enough that we should bring him to the doctor?" or "I'm too tired. Ask Dad when he comes out of the bathroom." Every decision big and small must be made alone. Doubts must be pushed through and small victories are celebrated quietly, often after the kids leave for the weekend and mom can finally reflect on the whirl of the week that just passed. Without a doubt, the hardest moments of single parenting come from...  What are the hardest moments of single parenting and how can the divorced, single parent rel

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville Gospel John 8:1-11 (NRSV, Catholic Edition, Canada)  Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus

We're learning more about why ichthyosaurs died out. Climate change was almost certainly involved: but it wasn't our fault, and I'll get back to that. Long before the first not-quite-an-ichthyosaur made the transition from land back to Earth's ocean, a tiny little fungus came ashore and started turning rock into soil.... ...First, though, my usual spiel about why I'm not upset that Earth isn't flat , Adam and Eve aren't German , and poetry isn't science .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: The Beautiful Gate - Poems - Ann Murray : The Beautiful Gate by Ann Murray | Make Your Own Book ...

‘I remember, I remember the house where I was born, the little window where the sun came peeping in at dawn’. (Thomas Hood - 1826) I remember the bomb that smashed that window into pieces and spread them over my bed and all over the bedroom floor. I remember cutting my feet, as I ran for the open door. I remember seeing Our Lady’s statue, as I ran down the stairs, and the Sacred Heart looking down on me from his picture on the wall. I remember two buckets of sand for ‘incendiaries’, standing each side of the grandfather clock. I remember running into the shelter that had squatted in our dining room. I remember the sirens sounding as my mother bandaged my feet. I remember kneeling to say the rosary with my parents, and my brothers. I remember praying for the bombs to stop, for our family to be kept safe and for other families too, and for all our relatives at the  ‘front’ . We prayed the same every night of the week before we went to bed, as we prayed at the Sunday Masses that were

Sometimes, it seems theologians love to write circles around the average Christian. Sometimes words merely complicate the simplicity of the inexplicable. Othertimes, theologians can laugh at themselves. I rarely remember even the simplest joke but I have never forgotten this intellectual, theological joke told 30 years ago by a Jesuit priest in front of a University New Testament class. Jesus was walking alongside of the Sea of Galilee when he turned to Simon Peter and asked him,“Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Why you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was pleased with his answer. So, Jesus turns to the modern-day theologian and asks,“Who do you say that I am?” The modern-day theologian answers,“Why you are the eschatological manifestation in the ground of our being.The kerygma, which finds its fulfillment in interpersonal relationships.” And Jesus replies,“What?” continue reading 

As the Morning Rising: Hiking The Barrios : I came across a phrase 'hiking the barrios' in Fr Daniel Cummings' book Rest and Be Thankful, which is the autobiography...

As the Morning Rising: The Tulips of Parish Life: Over the last few days I have noticed how the tulips have changed position and I think their movement illustrates what happens us as me...

Friday, I begin the Novena to St. Joseph, asking for his intercession to pray for me. St. Joseph is known for being a faithful servant to God, for his protection and caring for the infant Jesus throughout his life. I am trying to be faithful to Jesus’ call for me to be a public speaker for the Catholic faith. Who better to go to for encouragement and prayers said on my behalf, for the virtue of faithfulness, than the saint known for his faithfulness! This Novena culminates on the ninth day, which happens to be the Feast of St. Joseph (March 19 th ). Saint Joseph is known to intercede on our behalf when looking for work, which I am doing as well, as a public speaker. I have firsthand testimony on the power of prayer regarding this Novena, when it comes to looking for work. This time last year, my husband... Read more...  

What we say can have a powerful positive impact on others, even though we might never know it—until we get to heaven. In the movie "Boyhood," the mother comments to a young workman digging around a pipe in her yard that he should think about going to the Community College. She tells him that he is smart. Years later as she dines in a restaurant, a man approaches her table. He identifies himself as the young man she spoke to. He is now the manager of that restaurant as a result of her words. Yes, God speaks to us through Scripture and creation, but sometimes he also speaks to us through other people. I've been reviewing my life to see what words from others have nudged me along. You might do this exercise sometime too! Click to continue

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (NLT) This concept of "praying without ceasing" that St. Paul speaks of has always fascinated me. How can I have a life - read, work, be with friends and family, shower, etc. and yet still be praying? After nearly 10 years of trying to stay connected to Christ throughout my day - here are 5 ways I have learned to never stop praying. Pray Your Newsfeed. How often we encounter requests for prayers when perusing Facebook or Twitter? How about the many situations and persons we read about that could surely use our prayers. I don't stop at every post to pray - unless something is so dire that I feel it truly warrants such attention. Usually, I merely keep God at the forefront of my thoughts as I read through my social media outlets - and offer a passing, "Lord, hear my prayer" or "Lord, h

(from The Breadbox Letters)

Well if the title of this post doesn’t say “Children’s Book,” I don’t know what does! The truth is that Curious George is as much a staple for American kids as apple pie. In fact, for most US children, Curious George television shows and stories are some of the first to be introduced. As parents, we can well remember the beloved monkey and the man with the yellow hat, navigating through their sordid adventures and comical mishaps. But Curious George almost… wasn’t , because his creator; H.A. Rey, had a narrow escape from the Nazis 76 years ago! I was intrigued as I began to uncover more and more of the back story of this fascinating author. His talents, life on three continents, pet monkeys, published books, and finally, his long and arduous escape on bicycle from the Nazis! Imagine how many talents and contributions such as Curious George were lost to that tragic holocaust. Thankfully, the story of H.A. Rey is one to be told!