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See k   the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.   Isaiah 55   The women’s hand was not even completely in the air before the question came bursting forth, and the tears welled in her eyes.  “How can we let go of wanting to hear we are forgiven, when we’ve begged for it, but the other person is not willing to extend it. As a human person, I want to hear those words not from God but from the other person.” My heart truly ached as I heard in her voice the depth of her pain and her desperation for an answer.

As the Morning Rising: The House of God : I have always thought of churches as being there to give glory to God, to raise minds heavenward, and as places to which we are drawn in uni...

Visiting Those in Prison – A Corporal Act of Mercy As promised, each month this year, I will cover an act, or acts of mercy. This month we will focus on visiting those in prison as part of the Year of Mercy series, where we explore the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Visiting the imprisoned is a corporal act of mercy. My guess is that you are thinking of the incarcerated, as the only people who fit this bill. Think again! Anyone enslaved to sin is in some sort of prison. Anyone in need, who can find no way out, is in some sort of prison. When thinking of the imprisoned, I am reminded of a line from... Read more...

I just finished reading The Little Paris Bookshop, an international bestseller. It's a delightful novel about a man who sells books from his "The Literary Apothecary" located on a barge. He has a gift for "reading" people and presenting them with just the right book to meet their needs. The book is a love story on many levels as well as a travel book as the man makes his way through France. Any word-lover will savor the language in this book: "a man with a leathery skin like an iguana's," "the countryside beneath glittering stars and red summer moons," "hair like coarse flax on a spindle," cats' "tails bristling like scrubbing brushes," "weeping willows trailed their branches in the water like playful fingers," "thinking felt like wading through treacle," "wallowing in our happiness like roast beef in gravy." The book conveys the lesson that books have the power to chang

“Laugh and grow strong.” ( St. Ignatius of Loyola) I was stunned when I first discovered this quote by St. Ignatius because I associated the soldier-saint, who founded the intellectual Jesuit order, with the serious, arduous  Spiritual Exercises . I could hardly imagine St. Iggy spouting a phrase which appears at first glance to be flippant. Yet, this quote illustrates that Ignatius grasped a deep, spiritual truth which many Catholics do not understand:  joy is a gift from God. The average Catholic does not associate joy with holiness, but believes holiness is synonymous with Christ-like suffering. However, the truth is even redemptive suffering is not miserable when we are suffused with the love of God and filled with His Spirit. Joy is at the core of our spirit when we live in, with, and through Christ. This  holy joy is the source of a Christian’s strength. “God Made Us For Joy”- continue reading

The Word became Flesh through the “Yes” of Mary. Mary made a commitment to become pregnant by the Holy Spirit, trusting that God knew what He was doing. She had no idea of what lay ahead of her, she only knew that God was blessing her with the gift of His Child. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

Raymond Gawronski, SJ. All rights reserved  WWW.TOGOMISSIONPARISH.ORG Pope Francis carries a prayer intention close to his heart: African Christians. In the month of April, he asks all Christians around the world to unite in prayer for followers of Christ on the world's second-largest continent. Here are the words to his April evangelization prayer: That Christians in Africa may give witness to love and faith in Jesus Christ amid political-religious conflicts Earlier this year, the Christian charity  Open Doors  produced a report called    Freedom of Religion and  the Persecution of Christians . Though the report confirms North Korea as the most difficult place in the world to be a Christian (for 14 years running), many African countries are downright lethal. The report's six most dangerous countries for Christians are in Africa: Nigeria, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Cameroon. Nigeria, at the top of the list, has more than 8

In the Compass Catholic small group bible study: Navigating Your Finances God's Ways -- week 5 examines the 4 elements of giving: attitudes advantages amount approach   Attitudes My discovery here was si mple and was  eluded to in the last week's post .  I have no trouble giving money. I think it is a wonderful gift to be able to share with others.  I do need to be weary of my motives - the whole don't let your left hand see what your right hand is doing.  My trouble honestly is not in my generosity with treasure but with time and talent.  Although, I have also learned that my monetary generosity needs to be budgeted and that 'giving from your poverty' does not mean  going into credit card debt .  My attitude needs some tweaking as I consider how I will share my time. I am very stingy with my time.  Perhaps this is best explained by sharing that I am an extrovert with introverted tendencies; meaning I love being with people and I especially love sh

There are a lot of words we use to describe God and his mercy. God is generous and kind. His mercy is endless, boundless and limitless. We use words like faithful, agape and constant when we think of his love. One word that has never, ever come to my mind (and maybe not yours either) when I think of God is "reckless." So Fr. B. had my attention this past Sunday--Divine Mercy Sunday--when he spoke of God as being reckless. I mean he really had my attention. I tend to love homilies as they sort of wash over me and refresh my spirit, but this one had me on the edge of my seat. read the rest here

The other day, as I was hovering over the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, blowing disorderly strands of hair out of my face, in order to properly clean the pee off the bathroom floor, my two-year-old snuck up behind me. Placing his small childish hand on my shoulder, he looked at my work, and like a tiny foreman, he proclaimed boldly, “ Great job Mommy! I’m so proud of you .” Well, if that’s all it takes…! As I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the shiny pee-covered tile (I know, so poetic), I was transported to prior days. I remembered the days when I would get out of bed and choose one of my “professional” outfits, before coordinating hair and earrings. Lets just face it, I’m always running late (even in my flashbacks), so makeup usually happened somewhere between the metro and work. Work! So much of  who  we are in this society is what we  do . Think about any new conversation you have with someone. Shortly after your name, comes what you  do . And what you do is not

Becoming More Like Christ: A Daily Prayer Guide to Living the Beatitudes by Monsignor David E. Rosage Christ is sending me a message, and I am hearing it loud and clear. As with last month’s book review of Blessed are the Stressed , by Sister Mary Lea Hill, the Holy Spirit seems to have placed another book in my path centered on the Beatitudes! Becoming More like Christ , by Monsignor David E. Rosage, is a wonderful daily prayer guide to living the Beatitudes. Given that the Beatitudes are focused on discipleship, via the embrace of such virtues as humility, meekness, peace, and justice, I was in my glory reading this book. Monsignor Rosage took pains to find the most appropriate 365 Scriptural passages and aligned them with the Beatitudes, so that... Read more...

My mother's death happened so quickly and was so unexpected that I had difficulty coming to terms with it at the time. Everything seemed so unreal. I just didn't feel anything. Jobs had to be done and I had to do them. Someone had died and I had to make all the practical arrangements.  My relatives and friends were there but they didn't support me, I organised them. I heard them say all the things you expect them to say, and I said all the things I was expected to say. It was as if I was acting a part, and I was conscious of it - but what else could I do?  When I got back home and returned to work I carried on as if nothing had happened. The workload had built up during my absence and it took me months to catch up. The sudden cancellation of a major conference gave me two weeks off. Although I didn't realize it at the time, it gave me the space and time I needed to come to terms with my mother's death.     read on......

As the Morning Rising: Venerable Matt Talbot : Our Lady of Lourdes Church Dublin People come from all over the world to visit and pray at Venerable Matt Talbot Shrine.  A stri...

(from The Cloistered Heart)

(From John Martin, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) I care about God's mercy because I'm a sinner, which doesn't mean what you may think. First, a quick review of what I don't believe is true. ( March 15, 2015 ) I'm not "some loathsome insect," and neither are you: " ...every unconverted Man properly belongs to Hell.... " " ...The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you.... " " ...you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God.... " (" Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God ," pp. 6, 9, 15, 18; Jonathan Edwards (July 8, 1741) (via Digital Commons@University of Nebraska-Lincoln)) Samuel Clemens apparently had a well-defined attitude regarding "converted" folks, and I can't say that I blame him.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Reading: " …As the Father sent me so I send you."  John 20:21 The Father's plan  relied on Jesus' obedience. Our salvation depended on it. Jesus tells us today that He sends us out in the same way as the Father sent Him. With expectations of obedience. Jesus had every  right to say no. The account of His passion and death in the Gospel reflects rejection, hatred, ridicule, physical suffering, and a humiliating death. He relied on  the Father to sustain Him. On the night before He died, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed. He poured out His desperation and honest fear. He received His Father's power to carry out God's plan. When we stumble  on our journey of faith and forget why we follow Him and feel powerless, Jesus left us an example. We return to a place of prayer. Jesus relies on  our obedience to pass on His message of salvation. He provides the power for us to carry out His plan. And like Jesus, we receive the

One day I died and went straight to Heaven where I was met by St Peter at the Gates. “Ah … you’ve arrived!” he said looking at his electronic notepad, “it says here that you claimed to have a sense of humor when alive; let’s test that shall we? “Tell me a joke … make me laugh and I’ll let you in!” I was astounded at his attitude on such a solemn occasion; I stumbled to find the right thing to say. “Ah … not so funny now, are you?” continued the Saint. “But … ehm …” I mumbled sensing my throat getting drier with nervousness.     “So, what will it be? A funny joke; or will you go straight down without a parachute?” chuckled St Peter through his thick beard. “You’ve just laughed … a little!" I pointed out sheepishly, but not without a modicum of forlorn hope, “surely that counts as a joke!” “That’s true,” replied St Peter, “you’ve always been ridiculous to look at anyway; so I’ll let you in.” I smiled, wiping the cold sweat from my brow.

What has Thomas to do with a fox? CLICK HERE

My six year old got off the school bus yesterday looking awful. "Mom," he said in the voice that makes him sound more like 60 than six, "I'm going to bed." I immediately went into Mom-mode. I felt his head. No sign of fever. I kissed his little cheek. Nothing seemed amiss, but his shoulders were slumped and he just repeated that he was going to bed. "Okay," I replied and, concerned, I reached to take his hand, but it was gone before I could grasp it. Suddenly the little hand that had been so close to my mine, the little boy with the sad look and slumped shoulders darted away, backing up, and laughing at me. "April Fools!" he shouted scampering across the driveway in an attempt to outmaneuver my hands which now reached out to throttle him. As a teacher and as a single mom of five boys I can't believe I fell for his trick! April Fool's Day is usually a big deal here with lots of tricks going on as the boys an

The Incredulity of St Thomas , Rembrandt, 1634 Pushkin Museum, Moscow [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel John 20:19-31 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed ,Can) When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in t

Syn 3.0, developed by the Ventner Institute, has fewer genes than any 'wild' bacteria. The 'artificial' microcritter is another important step in understanding how life works. On the other side of the Atlantic, folks in the United Kingdom will be deciding what to do about a bureaucratic SNAFU and their national DNA database.... ...I've seen attitudes toward science and technology shift from silly optimism to equally-silly pessimism. I am reasonably certainly that mutant safflowers won't destroy civilization. On the other hand, ethics matter as much now as they ever did.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I was flying home from Chicago and was seated next to a young black man. We began to converse, and he told me that he was on his way home from Washington DC. He had been there visiting his girlfriend for the weekend. Of course, he was grinning from ear to ear. He said that they had a wonderful weekend together. Since it was Sunday, I asked if he had attended church that day. He just smiled and said, “Nah. I haven’t been to Mass in years.” Of course, my ears perked up at the word Mass. We continued to talk for a bit. I asked why he had stopped attending Mass. He said that he didn’t really know. He just wasn’t interested any more. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

Success #1   Returned home - safe and sound - and healthy from my business trip to Washington, DC.  While there for the  Napa Institute 's Human Ecology conference on the campus Catholic University of America - I learned: All about Uber (as the Metro was down while I was there);  $1500 a night hotel rooms are WAY better than $400 a night hotel rooms (our reservations were given away by the Days Inn so they had to put us up at a Marriott for one night - it was nice albeit very inconvenient at midnight)!; Planes travel 'wicked fast' when there are only 11 people on board with no stowed luggage! (except the one bag my traveling companion, Jennifer Longworth had with our  Breadbox Media  swag in it!). Success #2  Jennifer and I were able to spend some time in the  Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception  in Washington, DC at the end of the first night of the conference.  ...   read more  ...  All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

(from The Breadbox Letters)

Some twenty years ago, when Nick and I lived in New Jersey, my banking career was drying up. All of the banks were merging together and therefore, banking jobs in New Jersey were scarce. Nick and I were both born and raised in New Jersey. Everyone we knew and loved lived there. As Divine Providence would have it, while I was unemployed, we were invited out to Salt Lake City, Utah so that I could be Godmother to my friend’s little girl. In July 1996, we traveled to Utah for the Baptism. While visiting, I looked around... Read more... 

You see this wreath? I made it. I made it to hang on my door for Easter. I added the lights, yes, the plastic tulips are solar lights, but, no matter what I did, the lights would not go on at night. I couldn’t take them back, and now, I’m glad I didn’t because I finally figure it out. It took me over a month to figure out the problem.  Read more at Prayerfully Yours

In our writing, let's witness in love, without sinning against other Christians who have yet to experience the joy of the Eucharist or a deep relationship with their Heavenly Mother. I am proud to proclaim I am a Catholic writer. To use Protestant terms, I am a saved, born-again, Spirit-filled lover of Jesus who expects to be accepted by Protestant lovers of Jesus, because I am a sister in Christ. However, my culture conspires against my attempts at reconciliation, because my language habits sound foreign to Protestant ears.  I am misunderstood and judged to be against the true faith by Bible-based Christians. Initially, I wrote for secular and Protestant sites and felt I had to hide my Catholicism. When I finally wrote about my Catholic faith, I was immediately grilled and interrogated by shocked readers and co-authors. Yet God had His own agenda and through the moderator, forgiveness and unity began. Of course, the site decided to simply ignore my Catholicism and centre o

As the Morning Rising: God's Presence : Sometimes all we need do is take God in, the way a new-born baby takes a first breath – this too is prayer. To look in awe at a flowering ...

Another week of life usurping my time with the  Navigating Your Finances God's Way   and our small group gathering - I guess Easter evening not the best time for such things.  We are scheduled for later this week - so I better get caught up on my reading!!   Though, truth be told, it is not really difficult for me to be drawn into this study.  The text, scriptures and questions are not only engaging but also RELEVANT! This week is GENEROSITY ... as Jesus teaches, " It is more blessed to give than to receive ." (Acts 20:35)  I have often thought of myself as  generous to a fault , it will be interesting as we move through this chapter if others would see me that way too.  It will also be interesting to discover if my generosity has played any role in where we are financially - both to the positive and the negative.  Without reading a word - I am going to speculate on something.   My giving when done with the purest of intentions and through the counsel of the Holy Spi

The following report was emailed yesterday, 28 March 2016, by Columban priests in Pakistan. The Columbans have been in Pakistan since 1979. Columban Sisters serve there and Columban Lay Missionaries have been assigned there. On Easter Sunday at about 6.30pm, there was a suicide bomb attack at a popular park in Lahore, Gulshan-i-Iqbal park in Allama Iqbal Town. The park is about one kilometer from the Columban house. The park was particularly crowded, due in part to many Christians out celebrating Easter. Many feel that Christians were the main target of the attack though the District coordination Officer (DCO) of the district government has denied that Christians were the target of the attack. As of now, the official death toll is given at 70 with about 250 injured, the majority being women and children. The city hospitals were completely over-stretched and an emergency was declared at all government hospitals in the city; there were urgent appeals for people to donate b