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As the Morning Rising: Fire of God

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As the Morning Rising: Fire of God : Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit   and they shall be ...

10 Minute Daily Retreat: Pentecost Sunday Reflection

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A mighty wind invades the world, So strong and free on beating wing: It is the Spirit of the Lord From whom all truth and freedom spring. The Spirit is a fountain clear Forever   leaping to the sky, Whose waters give unending life, Whose timeless source is never dry. The Spirit comes in tounges of flame, With love and wisdom burning bright, The wind, the fountain and the fire Combine in this great feast of light. O tranquil Spirit, bring us peace, With God the Father and the Son. We praise you, blessed Trinity, Unchanging, and forever One. (Hymn from The Divine Office)

You Can’t Make a Silk Purse Out Of A Sow’s Ear

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Attendance at Mass, regular confession, spiritual exercises, fasting, and prayer are wonderful vehicles of grace but if we think pious activities will sanctify us, we will only appear to be holy on the outside like the Pharisees: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.   (Matthew 23:27) Now, the Pharisees were not evil men; they were earnestly striving to be good, to follow the Law but they thought they could perfect themselves through religious practices. However, man cannot transform himself into a holy being. As my Irish grandmother would say,  “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”  In other words, only Christ can transform us into His image and draw us into the heart of His Father. continue reading

As the Morning Rising: Birdsong at Twilight

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As the Morning Rising: Birdsong at Twilight : It was way past dusk when I heard birdsong from a tree in a neighbouring garden – blackbird sweet. And early this morning, around 4am I ...

'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.' Sunday Reflections, Pentecost, Year C

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Pentecost , El Greco, 1596-160 Gospel John 20:19-23 ( 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.” Or Gospel John 14:15-16, 23b-26( NRSV,Catholic Ed ., Can) Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, an

As the Morning Rising: Follow the Icon - Rosemount House Belfast

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As the Morning Rising: Follow the Icon - Rosemount House Belfast : http://www.followtheicon.ie/ http://www.121-web.co.uk/rosemount/?page_id=21 The sun did not disappoint those who came...

Slow, Loving, Gentle Healing

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Dr. Helen Scieszka's desire to heal the emotional wounds of people is a calling; it is definitely her mission. To accomplish this, she has turned her talents to Catholic fiction and uses the mighty pen as part of the healing process.   She writes from her experience as a therapist and her love of the Catholic faith in the Catholic fiction series Little Girl Lost, Little Girl Found . With each entry in the trilogy, Dr. Scieszka takes the reader on a slow, gentle, loving healing journey. She use her fiction series to address the pain of long-held emotional or physical trauma in a way that allows and encourages the reader to experience healing as well.   To read more about Dr. Scieszka's Little Girl Lost, Little Girl Found series, read the current article on her work in The Compass .        

NO STRANGER AT THE DOOR

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COMPELLING STORY CLICK HERE

Blessings

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I’m not used to it, but that has to change. One of the priests at Church, Father A., ends a conversation with the words, “God Bless You.” The first time I heard him say that to me, I didn’t know what to say. It took a heartbeat, but I did respond, “And with your spirit.” We both chuckled because he wasn’t saying Mass at the time.  Read More at Prayerfully Yours

Living solutions for large families

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Being part of a larger Catholic community who really, really love life..  I mean, we REALLY love life.  In all its messy, demanding and chaotic iterations.  This also means we LOVE babies, children, families, old people, grandparents, teenagers and even (sometimes) cranky mothers like me.  One of the challenges, however, in a  "Culture of Death"  as  St John Paul 2  put it, is the the issue of shelter.... Read more

As the Morning Rising: Gathering Spaces

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As the Morning Rising: Gathering Spaces : Gathering Spaces There are gathering spaces Quiet places where kindred souls can meet And offer a prayer. Believing...

Sadly...

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(from The Breadbox Letters)

UNDERCOVER BOSS

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DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF CLICK HERE IF YOU DARE

Live Today Well by Fr. Thomas F Daily O.S.F.S - Book Review

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Live Today Well: Saint Francis de Sales’s Simple Approach to Holiness , by Fr. Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S is a gem! This five-star book offers anyone wanting to grow closer to God a practical means of doing so. Fr. Dailey takes the reader through Saint Francis de Sales’ Spiritual Directory , using contemporary ways of applying this ever useful, and timeless instruction of St Francis on how to live today well; from one’s first rising in the morning until one lays their head down to sleep at night. This book offers prayerful ways that we can grow in virtue; thus grow in holiness. My favorite line from Fr. Dailey’s book is this: By seeking ways to practice a particular virtue throughout the day, we can counteract those imperfections toward which prior examinations have revealed we may be inclined (page 113). How to Live Each Day Well How often have we looked back on our day and said to ourselves... Read more...

Mary's Holy Boldness

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In this month of May devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, it is fitting that we reflect on her. I’d like to focus on one of the many ways that she is a model for all Christians: Mary had courage as she fulfilled her mission of bringing forth Christ into the world and furthering the kingdom of God. As human as any of us, Mary experienced fear several times during her life. Yet, she conquered her nerves to do what she knew she had to do. Granted, since she was “full of grace” and filled with the Holy Spirit, she had a special reservoir to draw on for her accomplishments. Still, her life was not a bed of roses. She encountered several thorny situations. Click to continue

A Prayer and Thoughts from My Prayer Journal: Seen and Unseen

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I sit. I wait. I hope. What else can I do? I’ve asked. I must wait in faith. You Who command the world unseen, You Who command the angels. You Who command the forces of good. You Who created that which can be seen and that which cannot be seen.   Read More At Prayerfully Yours

Time for some Country

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Letters to My Lord

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Have you written a letter to God lately? Fr. Daniel Lord, SJ, will inspire you! Join me at Praying with Grace for some excerpts and inspiration.

We've Forgotten

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“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” Taken from the Nicene Creed.  Read more at Prayerfully Yours

Tim McGraw: "Humble and Kind"

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Not sure if y’all knew this or not, but I am a big country music fan. I heard Tim McGraw sing his new song, Humble and Kind , at a recent Country Music Awards show. Then, I seemed to catch it every time it played on the radio. Tim McGraw has a wonderfully distinct voice and this song speaks to my heart. Being the lover of virtue that I am, I immediately honed in on the lyrics, as well as the melody, of the song. I had some thoughts on the underlying message, but I was interested in learning how Tim McGraw interpreted the lyrics. So, I went to YouTube to see the video. Visual messages seem to have a way of really drilling the concept home. The video... Read more...