Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Moving slowly? Trapped behind a fence spiritually? Can’t get that momentum going? The fence is too hight to climb? What’s going on? Did you ever have a pet who was literrally your “velcro” pet? I used to own a greayhound named Bailey who had been a racer. Racing dogs are not necessarily treated very well. When Bailey became our dog, he liked where he was, but he was very much afraid of being abandoned. He was my velcro dog. Where I went, he went. At times, he was, literally, attached to my hip. (He was a big greyhound!)  Read more at Prayerfully Yours

As the Morning Rising: A Blessed Moment : A Blessed Moment Nothing has seemed the same since then Neither hill nor stream Nor the pine trees' scent.  Even the cawing of crow...

You've been together for a while. You love this person, and you cannot wait to be Married! Marriage is a Good thing, a holy Sacrament given by God and reflective of the Trinity, and yet many Marriages now end in divorce. The Good news is - it doesn't have to be this way! There are many in the Catholic Church who say there are too many invalid annulments while others say there are too many invalid marriages. Either way, you don't want to be another sad statistic. You don't want to be on the end of a failed relationship wondering whether your marriage or your annulment was the invalid act, and you don't have to be! For the past several years, I've worked with women through life coaching. Some of these women are in the process of recovering from a failed relationship. Others are ready to start new relationships, and still others are considering taking current relationships to the next level. All want to be sure this is the right move at the right time

The Gospel of John   (2003) Directed by Philip Saville Narrator: Christopher Plummer Gospel  John 21:1-19  [or 21:1-14]   ( NRSV, Catholic Ed . , Canada)  read the full gospel here [ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”   A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.”     He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.     Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, a

Do you remember that phrase from ages ago? You’d fall down and skin your knee and someone would say, “Offer it up.” You’d have to eat, oh. my. goodness!, gag, “beets” or “liver,” and even though you would fall on the floor gagging dramatically, you’d be told to get up off that floor, sit at the table, eat what you were given and “offer it up.” Maybe when , your favorite TV show was not on TV that night and something else was on, and you disappointed, you were told to “offer it up.” We don’t hear much about “offering it up” in this day and age, but the power of redemptive suffering is still as strong today as it was when I was a kid. Read More at Prayerfully Yours

(from The Breadbox Letters)

The BEAM Bigelow Aerospace habitat module, will be launched toward the International Space Station (ISS) today: if all goes well. BEAM is packed in the Dragon spacecraft's pressurized section. This cargo run also carries supplies for the ISS crew, and for several dozen of the roughly 250 experiments planned for Expeditions 47 and 48. ( SpaceX press kit ) After getting attached to the ISS and inflated, BEAM will mostly just sit there for at least two years: empty except when someone in the ISS takes samples and swaps out radiation sensors. I think that's a good idea, since BEAM is testing technology for Bigelow Aerospace rental properties in low Earth orbit. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Getting to the true roots of the problem [whether dealing in body, mind, or soul]... In The News: “People with high levels of good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein, are not as safe from heart disease when high levels of a newly identified biomarker of inflammation in the arteries are also found in their bloodstream, according to a new study.” “Historically, C-reactive protein has been used as an indicator of inflammation… ‘GlycA is a new particle we didn’t know much about...'" >> Click Here to Read More at: The Way To Nourish For Life >>

Jared Zimmerer, author of Ten Commandments of Lifting Weights and Man Up! Becoming The New Catholic Renaissance Man is currently on EWTN's Women of Grace television series with Johnnette Benkovic in a 5-part series about Catholic men .   Man Up! Becoming The New Catholic Renaissance Man received honorable mention in the 2015 Catholic Press Awards for Gender Issues and speaks well to the dilemma facing men in general today. The ideas of heroism, virtuous living, and recognizing and honoring what masculinity truly is are central to Jared's work.   Jared himself has wide appeal as both a man of intellect and a man of physical strength. He builds his body as well as his spirit and in that way walks the talk quite well. Contributors to Man Up! include Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Kevin Lowry, Kevin Vost and other great voices for our times. The foreword is offered by Fr. Dwight Longenecker.   The Women of Grace episodes are available to watch online if you aren'

“Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.  “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’  Luke 10:4-9 This week I was reminded of this notion of “traveling light” as I left the ministries at my local parish to join the staff for two parishes a little over half an hour away.  Having already met numerous parishioners, and attending several staff and collaborative meetings, there was little concern that I would be welcome. With open arms, warm smiles and sincere prayers I have already been made to feel, within these first few days, a part of this b

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