Association Of Catholic Bloggers

As the Morning Rising: Thanks be to God! : A world seemingly brimming over with sinfulness still produces great saints! Thanks be to God.

Today we celebrate All Souls Day. Yes, I said “celebrate.” This day is set aside for us to remember and celebrate God’s mercy. This day is meant for remembering all souls who have departed this life and now reside in Purgatory, where they are in the process of having their venial sins cleansed, as well as experience the temporal punishment for confessed mortal sins. As Catholics, we know that to see the face of God, we must first be purified by the fires of Purgatory, where we are cleansed of our sins; refined like fine gold – Only then may we enter the gates of Heaven and see the face of God. Praying for all souls, on this dedicated day, can only help them. Need some proof that your prayers actually help those in Purgatory? Okay, here is an excerpt from... Read more...

My Aunt Arline was born with cerebral palsy. A good Lutheran couple adopted her. Operations to straighten her arms left long scars on her. Her speech was slurred, and she walked with difficulty. Sometimes her slight body was marked with ugly bruises from falls. Nevertheless she was a delightful person, married to my father’s brother, who had polio. In the seventh grade I wrote an essay about Aunt Arline called “The Abused Handicap.” During the summer my sister and I each took a turn spending a week with Aunt Arline, working jigsaw puzzles and going shopping with her, as she held unto our arm. When my mother called one day to tell me that Aunt Arline had died, instantly I had a vision. In my mind’s eye I saw Aunt Arline in a large green field. She was doing cartwheels! Click to continue

Not all saints are known; many are hidden and do not receive any attention from the Church. The Gospel reading, the beatitudes, reminds us that it is precisely theses little people, the nameless, faceless poor, the  anawim , who are especially blessed by God. continue reading

Catholicism is, most importantly, an experiential faith, a living relationship with Christ. A Catholic is not a person who merely accumulates intellectual knowledge about God nor simply fulfills tradition and the letter of the law. Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have repeatedly emphasized that Christianity is an encounter with Jesus. Many people perceive Christianity as something institutional — rather than as an encounter with Christ — which explains why they don’t see it as a source of joy. Pope Benedict XVI The evangelization of the person and of human communities depends totally on this encounter with Jesus Christ.  Pope Benedict XVI We must always have the courage and the joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter with Christ, and being heralds of his Gospel. Jesus came amongst us to show us the way of salvation and he entrusted to us the mission to make it known to all to the ends of the earth.  Pope Francis Somehow we mistakenly believe the phrase “a personal r

I know it may seem that this weeks craft and activity was boring but we have something my kids and I needed to discuss.  You see last week in our review one of the questions was "Do we worship Mary". Unfortunately my class answered yes in unison. Time for a sit down.  First we all had to explain who is Mary. That my kids knew Mother of Jesus Answer of Prayers Saint   Next we needed to discuss the difference between honor and worship. So more thinking questions for the kids.       Click here for full lesson.

As the Morning Rising: Departed

Huh? Pray to a statue?  Well that sure does sound like a bizarre practice - doesn't it.  I can assure you I have never, ever prayed to a statue.  Having cleared that up, I can equally assure you that I count among my closest friends a Bishop from North Africa who lived in the 4th century, an 11 year old Italian peasant girl who was brutally martyred, and a globe-trotting, baby-kissing, truth-preaching Polish Pope. They are my "go-to" people for back-up prayers and spiritual advice. Ok, so these are not exactly people I met at the local homeschool group, but they are some of the best friends a girl could ask for.  And they most certainly are NOT statues.  Click here to read more....

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. Stealing Christ's Job Although we don't really understand what we are doing when we tackle sanctity like a chore, we are basically trying to save ourselves with our religious works. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  ( Ephesians 2:8,9 ) When religious practices are not motivated by love and humility but fueled by pride, they damage our intimacy with God. In fact, self-appointed spiritual disciplines that are  not  inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit are self-centered, not God-centered. To put this thought in more shocking terms, when we try to perfect ourselves we are stealing Christ's job o

Hey everyone I know that I am late with my CCD post but with mid-terms and papers and life in general I am just now getting around to it. Last week we continued with the Gospel of Luke. Our lesson was on Luke 18 9-14.  This is the parable was about the tax collector and the pharisee and their character qualities. So after reading the passage we sat down and talked about a few things: What is the tax collector like? What is the pharisee like? Who’s character does Jesus want us to model ourselves after? Is it okay to judge the sins of others? Instead of arroganance like the pharisee what should we be ?                                                             The answer is we need to be humble! Click here for full lesson

Showing this picture to a few online groups, I learned that Halloween , our version, is a somewhat "American" holiday. Today is also the feast day of St. Wolfgang of Regensberg , AKA The Almoner. He had a good reason for throwing his ax into a thicket, and that's another topic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I have this recipe that I like to make at this time of year. We call it Meat in the Gravy .  It is a recipe that my husband got from a friend’s father back in the 1970’s and it’s been a favorite of our family for decades! As I contemplated making it recently, I drew a correlation of Meat in the Gravy to that of life. Those meaty chunks represent those big moments in our lives: the births, graduations, weddings, etc. The seasonings and spices represent the flavor of the stew, but are also those occasions that added spice to our lives: that special kiss, the memorable family vacation, the romantic dinner at our favorite restaurant. And then there is the gravy; that soupy mess that... Read more...

'I would like us, in our meditation today, to make up our minds once and for all that we need to aspire to become contemplative souls, in the street, in the midst of our work... (continue)

(From Diliff, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) Authority, superstition, and misapplied technophilia (it's a real word ) rate at least one post each: but that'll wait until another day. Days. This time I'll take a quick look at all three, and then say why I don't believe in Progress with a capital P — and don't yearn for the 'good old days.' More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: In My Father's House : In My Father’s House In the early years of our marriage we lived for several years in a small semi which we eventually out-grew. Th...

This expression is heard among many people who consider this event as something Satanic, Pagan, or reprehensible. Actually the origin of Halloween comes the Druids and Celts who thought that the dead stood that day and if they did not have food for them they would inflict terrible punishments and very violent rites over the living. From there the phrase "Treat or Trick" used in the United States, was born. In Mexico it has been copied as a celebration for children without greater risk or scope than those who know the subject thoroughly and paralel to the local   visit to the graveyards on the day of the departed and the celebration of All Saints. I share with you some suggestions of father Francisco González Frich, L.C to live this celebration in a sanctifying way as catholics:}  

I've been busy writing, so I hope you'll take the time to read some past posts from my home web site, Being Catholic ... Really My post, "I wanted to spend this summer as if it was my last," won best photo gallery in September, so I'm very proud of that one.  There's a variety of posts about a lot of different topics including politics and the adoption of two members of our family , just to single out a few. There's also a book review of Colleen C. Mitchell's book, "Who Does He Say You Are?    This is a wonderful book that's perfect to leave out when you want to just concentrate on one particular chapter.  I loved Colleen's insights into the twelve women of the Bible.  "The woman crippled by a demon" really spoke to me and you can find that article on CatholicMom.com . I also write for Catholic365.com  so if you're not too sick of my ramblings, I hope you'll stop by there, too. I must admit, since quitting my jo

I am living in a fantastical delusion when I see myself as the center of the universe, viewing everything as it circles around me.  As believers, we sing and recite prayers that proclaim that God is the centre of all, but our psychological make-up screams the exact opposite. I view people, events, history and yes even God through my eyes, judging what is right, trusting my thoughts and my feelings as the final judge of what is real.  When Jesus says that we must die to ourselves, He is not speaking about some pious self-sacrifice that makes us look holy, no He has something much more radical in mind. The kind of inner transformation  Jesus wants to literally rip the rug up from under our feet and shatter our delusions, our world view. read more

At least one Homo habilis was right-handed, about 1,800,000 years ago. It's the earliest evidence of handedness in humanity's history. So far. Our jaws may have started out as armor plate, not gill arches. Paleontologists found a second Silurian placoderm species with surprisingly familiar jaws.... ...Before talking about Homo habilis, and new evidence showing how jaws evolved, I'll do my usual explanation for why science doesn't upset me.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

What is really essential, what is the most important thing for us to focus on during our life on earth? The saints all seem to agree that it is love. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things. -Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis continue reading