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Mark’s Gospel Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mark, author of the Gospel According to Saint Mark . In Mark’s Gospel, we read succinct passages central to the life of Christ. Mark was not loquacious, but, rather to the point! His gospel was termed, urgent, brief and direct. For example, the evangelist’s entire message can be considered summed up within one verse: “ This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel .” (Mark 1:15) Mark wrote his gospel for the Roman Gentiles. Therefore, he wrote it in Greek, sometime around 67-70 A.D. It is considered to be the first of the four Gospels to be documented in writing. Saint Mark portrayed Jesus as... Read more... 

(from The Cloistered Heart)

(From N. F. Gier, University of Idaho; adapted from an illustration in the New American Bible: St. Joseph Edition; used w/o permission.) (A Mesopotamian cosmology, about two dozen centuries back.) 'The Bible says Earth is flat.' If you live in America, and haven't heard that as a reason for rejecting Christianity: you're not paying attention. Word seems to be getting around, though that the "dark" ages were anything but. I've discussed post-Roman Europe, science, and autopsies, before. ( January 22, 2016 ; August 28, 2015 ; August 15, 2014 ) About Earth being flat — I've yet to run into a Christian who says that; although I did meet one who informed me that our sun goes around Earth, not the other way around. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Have you ever  shed tears over the experience of utter rejection? The devastation in relationship breakdown runs about as deep as it gets. Or perhaps the rejection is the loss of a dream, a goal we worked so desperately to achieve?  Writers are encouraged  to re-enter those experiences, examine them and from the depths, produce a story written from the heart. Yet, it's not  the pain readers want to experience. That's only part of the story. Whether Fact or Fiction, the power of a story is in victory over adversity. It's the power of love, the promise of hope, the moment when tears are wiped away. No one can escape  episodes of grief and pain. Today's reading tells us that God is with us in those moments, and that He promises to wipe away our tears.   This is a sampler  of the heavenly promise that one day there will be no more tears at all.

As the Morning Rising: Music : Music We lift up our hearts. The buried song resounds Once more. From ocean depths To highest heaven There soars In silenc...

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Frs Owen McPolin, John Blowick, Edward Galvin China 1920 Gospel John 13:31-33a, 34-35 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed ) When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” On the evening of 29 January 1918 an extraordinary event took place in Dalgan Park, Shrule, a remote village on the borders of County Mayo and County Galway in the west of Ireland. At the time Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, which was engaged in the Great War. Thousands of Irishmen were fighting in the trenches in France and Belgium. Many, including my great-uncle Corporal Lawrence Dowd, never came

Going to the doctor can be a trial if you are not feeling well and you have to wait to be seen in the waiting room filled with other sick people. When you’ve waited for a long time, it’s difficult to be pleasant and kind to the people who will serve you, once you get into the examining room. God uses so many ways to teach us what we need to know, and one of the things I need to learn is patience. Today, when I visited our local Urgent Care Center, I could almost feel God smiling as He directed my lesson in the Virtue of Patience.  Read More At Prayerfully Yours

As the Morning Rising: Earth Day : Earth earth is the song of songs the grass at dawn dew-laden earth is clay and wattle ocean and wind fish in an opal...

Chameleons may be more famous for changing color than for their rapid-fire tongues: but today I'll be talking about both.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The logo in honor of the extraordinary jubilee year of mercy, designed by Father Marko Rupnik, S.J., is in the style of an icon. This means that all of its elements symbolize something. Learning about the significance of these various parts can deepen our understanding of this year established, “in hopes that a new flood of mercy will flow over the world.” In case you aren’t aware of the meaning of icon features—and if you haven’t been introduced to the mercy logo already,—here is some information. The two figures stand for Christ, who has the halo, and “Adam” or humanity…us. Christ carries the person over his shoulders the way a shepherd carries a sheep. This obviously refers to the Good Shepherd, Jesus who rescued the human race that had gone astray. The Divine Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep. The black slats Jesus stands on in the logo remind us of the cross. The wounds in his hands and feet are scars from his redeeming sacrifice. The redemption of the worl

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For me, gardening helps me relax as I allow the Spirit of God to heal and soothe my inner spirit. It is the perfect way to let go of distractions to prepare to receive even more of God’s Presence. ( All the photos in this article, including the header, were taken at our home.) continue reading

I don’t know when it happened, but things have changed. Today would have been my husband’s 70th birthday. I met friends today at a local “hangout” to “celebrate” the day. When I walked into the restaurant, before my friends arrived, I I saw them! All the “OLD” people there! Oh, my goodness! I almost ran out of the restaurant. This can’t be! What happened? When did it happen? Read more at Prayerfully Yours

To invite God into our hearts to love and heal us is an act of Mercy, a gift from God, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The invitiation is ours, but the gift is from God. This offer to come into our beings is not a request that God will refuse. He seeks us, but waits until we are ready, if ever.  Read more at Prayerfully Yours

On our 6th wedding anniversary, sitting in a busy pizza place, I was flipping through our local diocesan paper when an article jumped out at me. I was excited as I read a statement by Pope JPII which stated that using contraceptives not only damaged a couple’s intimacy but also harmed their spirituality. We were both struck dumb, sensing a powerful Presence of God as this truth pierced our hearts. Michael and I try to never let anything hinder our journey into God’s heart, so this truth now meant artificial contraception was definitely not an option. Of course, I cannot find the exact quotes we read that day but the following is close enough: read more  

“… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control ” (Gal. 5:22-23) Do you notice something in common with all of these fruits of the Spirit? Each one of them is also a virtue! As I was studying for my Master of Arts Degree in Pastoral Theology, I came across this passage from Galatians, and it hit me: Virtue must be very important to the Holy Spirit, when six of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, received at Confirmation are virtues, and all nine of the fruits of the Spirit are virtues. Bearing fruits of the Spirit is the outcome that results from... Read more...

#WorthRevisit - Praying Your Newsfeed          4/20/2016 0 Comments Prayer is a power gift . Perhaps you have not thought prayer in terms of gift. The interesting thing about gifts to be USEFUL — they need to be: Received, Opened, and well...Used. In putting it to use the receiver can truly express gratitude for the gift. If we are presented with a new book, dress or game, and put it in a drawer never to be touched again, couldn’t we be considered ungracious?  The irony is the only one missing out from not using the gift is the recipient.  Even Great Aunt Hilda’s itchy multi-color sweater can be put to some use with a little imagination; and should we not want to try to figure out how to do that, after all Great Aunt Hilda put into getting it for us? Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above.     James 1:17 If it is important to be attentive to sweet Auntie Hilda, how much more should my response be then to  every good gift God offers  

As the Morning Rising: Bread of Life : Bread of Life The bread of life come down from heaven Is alive in me. I will live forever If I abide in the One who loves me - The same...

I’ve been watching the old series, The Twilight Zone . I think I’m on season 3 now. Even by modern standards, the series is strong on odd and unexpected. One of my favorite shows in the series, so far, has been the one in which a woman is tormented because the doctors have tried everything to make her beautiful rather than the hideous woman that she is. The woman’s face is wrapped in bandages until the end of the show. When her face is revealed, she is a beautiful, blond haired woman. She is in despair because the doctors and nurses have told her that nothing else can be done, and she is going to be sent away to live with other people who look like she does. Read more at Prayerfully Yours

Cover design by Rhonda Ortiz: a thing of beauty My first e-book,  The Lost Sun: Looking for Light in the Midst of Depression , was about acedia, spiritual sloth, and the need for medication in cases of anxiety and depression and other mental disorders.  I'm thankful to God for this opportunity to write another e-book, and I am so thankful for all of you, my wonderful, faithful readers! It is because of you that this was possible. I have learned so much from this process, and I'm taking that into the next step of my writing journey. My newest e-book,  Beautiful Souls  was born out of a realization. I suddenly realized that  autonomous, I am not . It was a process that has been actualized with help. The e-book was written entirely by me, but it did not end there. The helper was  Rhonda Ortiz . The copyediting and formatting was all done by her. The editing was done by her. The inspiration for the cover was conceived and carried out by her! The end product of that team e

SANTACROCE'S LAST SUPPER ©SEDMAK/GETTY IMAGES Most paintings of the Last Supper show the Apostles shifting restlessly--just like our children at Mass! How long is your child’s attention span? Most research suggests that children’s attention spans relate to their age: how many years old are they? That’s the same number of minutes they can sustain interest in an activity. Four-year-old children, for example, can pay attention for four minutes. Some studies claim attention spans extend up to two times the child’s age. In that case, under the right circumstances, our 4-year-old children can accomplish eight minutes of acceptable church behavior. Depending on your parish, the eucharistic prayer occurs about 40 minutes into the celebration of Mass. Forty minutes of liturgy is FIVE TIMES those eight minutes we can expect from our little ones. And some of our children struggle with medical or behavioral challenges that make the basic eight-minute mark a miracle. Read the rest at

As the Morning Rising: Breath of the Living God : There's a kind of quiet we experience when the din of traffic noise dies down after the rush hour. Then there's the kind of silence...

So ... Where Are We in this Process I thought I would take this week to share where Kevin (my hubby of 26 years) and I are mentally in this process. As I begin my Weight Watchers journey this month, I realized the similarity of the discipline the Lord is trying to create in my heart.  This mind shift from spending as we wish on what we wish, much like my eating what I want and when I want, is a process.  IT is not overnight.  As we say in the weight loss world - YOU did not get 20 lbs over weight overnight, you will NOT shed it overnight. It has been literally 32 years of mistakes and missteps; along with some serious emotional and mental baggage that has brought us to be this over our heads with debt.  Add to that my desire to serve God in the ever lucrative (read only for Joel Osteen) ministry world - and this is not going to be a quick fix.  The  Navigating Your Finances God's Way   study has truly been a God Send - but it has not been the miraculous fix all I had hope

“… we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.   Romans 5:3-5 With the Easter season upon us, once again my thoughts turn to the witness of the disciples and experience of new believers in an unbelieving world. Where, such witness of faith in a risen Christ required courage in the face of certain punishment or death. Here in the Western world, we may feel a measure of comfort, secluded from persecution or reproof. Though one glace at the evening news reminds us that death is but a daily reality for countless Christians in other parts of the world.  And yet we too are called to witness, resisting the temptation to become complacent or falsely secure in the practice of our faith. In this current culture of relative truth, quite often we might even fail to speak to the soundness of our belief for

Adventures of Faith, Hope, and Charity: Finding Patience (The Back Story) Faith was anxious about moving to a new town. That meant a new house, new school, and new friends. Faith was shy and found it difficult to make new friends. She dreaded the move and all of the change that would ensue. Faith had very little patience. She wanted to claim her “new normal,” ASAP, for she knew that once things settled down, she would feel more comfortable about this move. Faith did not welcome change! It was all her Daddy’s fault for getting that new job. If it wasn’t for him, she would be at home in her old house, with her friends from her old school. Being eight years old stunk! If it was up to her, she would have stayed put, where she felt most comfortable. Yet, it wasn’t up to her, so... Read more...

Archbishop Anthony Bloom gave one of the best retreats I ever attended. He began by telling the story of a retired headmistress who offered her services to him as his chauffeur. As they were returning home one Monday afternoon she stopped the car in London to pick up her new glasses from the opticians and proceeded to try them out for the remainder of the journey.  It was less than a mile, but it turned out to be the most terrifying journey either of them had ever made; her driving was simply atrocious.  She got out of the car shaking all over, opened her handbag, took out her driving licence and ceremoniously ripped it into little pieces.  "I'll never drive again".  she said.  "Why ever not?"  asked the Archbishop...  continue..

Nuns and monks dress anew in their habits every morning, usually turning even the act of dressing into an opportunity to renew their consecrations to Christ. And what about those of us who do not wear the pieces of a habit? I find great richness in the following morning prayer... (continue...)

A special collection was taken up today at Mass. It was for the seminarians in our diocese, for their continuing education, as they discern their call to the priesthood or not. We are extremely blessed in our parish. Read more at PrayerfullyYours

A dozen folks, three families, rode back to the Vatican with Pope Francis. I think that's a good thing, since their homes in Syria aren't there any more. They survived, obviously, and had made it as far as Lesbos, 1 an island in the Aegean Sea. "A Gesture of Welcome" (From AFP, via BBC News, used w/o permission.) (" The migrants are travelling on the same plane as the Pope back to the Vatican " (BBC News)) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .