Association Of Catholic Bloggers

I don't know anyone who gets married with the intent to divorce. I'd say no one does, but in today's world where right is viewed as wrong and wrong as right, I'm not 100% sure that's true. I will go out on a pretty sturdy limb though to say very few get married with the idea that divorce is a possibility, never mind a certainty or even a probability. Yet, divorce happens. Divorce rates are climbing. This is in part due to no fault divorce brought about by women's lib and the best of short-sighted intentions, but it is not solely the fault of no fault divorce or the court systems, the media, or even the betraying spouse. Fault does not lie with the innocent spouse either. Many know from experience that there can be one who hoped to make marriage work despite increasingly overwhelming odds. Many know from experience that one partner can choose to love while another chooses to turn away. To read the rest of my post on Marriage, divorce, and the F

It seems that in the United States this measure has had opposite effects to what was sought, and the irony is that the central factor of failure has been something that the Catholic Church has insisted for years on this issue. Desde hace décadas, los gobiernos y organismos internacionales han basado sus métodos de prevención de embarazos adolescentes y enfermedades de transmisión sexual ETS en el uso del condón, con la certeza de que la distribución libre y gratuita de   condones resolvería los problemas que el sexo desprotegido acarrea a los jóvenes. Pero al parecer, en Estados Unidos esta medida ha producido efectos contrarios al que se buscaba, y lo irónico es que el factor central del fracaso ha sido algo en lo que la Iglesia Católica ha insistido por años alrededor de este tema.

(from The Cloistered Heart)

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ends today. Some Catholics celebrated the year's start in Rome. I didn't. Like most of us, I've been participating in my own way, where I live. The biggest change in routine for me has been during Mass. We've been receiving the Eucharist under both forms: our Lord's body and blood. If you think that's sounds gory and repulsive, you're not alone.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: Christ the King

(from The Breadbox Letters)

The Power of Images To Change Lives Marie Constantin, the photographer and author of  Finding Calcutta: Memoirs of a Photographer ,  understands   images have power, more power than words alone to impact lives. It was an image in a documentary film that turned Constantin’s life completely around in the early 1990’s. She was a young journalist, completely focused on establishing her career and partying with friends when an image of Mother Teresa holding a starving person flashed across the t.v. screen with the words, “God didn’t do this; we do it because we do not share what we have”.  Suddenly tears streamed down Constantin’s face. The very next day she found herself washing dishes in a soup kitchen run by Mother Teresa’s nuns in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was one photo of Mother Teresa on t.v. which catapulted her into volunteering with the sisters and opened the door to her calling, her vocation. continue reading

Someone from the Netherlands gained a small measure of freedom after learning to use a prototype computer-brain interface. I see that, and experiments with rhesus monkeys, as a good thing.... ...As usual, I'll also talk about why I don't think God is offended when we help folks.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

My  recent post about the alleged lack of naming after women and moms  inspired me to write two different articles on different aspects of  the conversation — one for Catholic Mom and one for Nameberry. Both are now up! Check out  Gender inequality in naming?  at Catholic Mom and  Why So Few Girl Juniors?  at Nameberry. I'd love to hear your thoughts on both articles, either in the comments for the articles themselves, or  on my blog !

Crucifixion ,  Pedro de Campaña, c.1550 Musée du Louvre, Paris  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Gospel   Luke  23:35-43  ( NRSV,Catholic Ed )   The people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at Jesus, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah   of God, his chosen one!’     The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,   and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’   There was also an inscription over him,   ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding   him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah?   Save yourself and us!’   But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?   And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’   Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into   your kingdom.’   He replied, ‘Truly I tell you

These finger puppets can become the shepherds, wise men or the Holy Family I have more time than money so I like to make my gifts for all my adult “kids,” kids-in-law, and grandkids. It is important in our consumer-driven society to show children they can create toys with things around the house. Boxes can become dollhouses or a car; a blanket can be used to make a tent rather than buying a playhouse. Parents have to encourage and model creativity, making use of material around the house. Teach little ones how to substitute and make do when they don’t have what they  think  they need. continue reading

As the Morning Rising: His Dream for the Children of Light : God has the answers before we pose the questions His orchards are fragrant with fruits from seeds not yet planted Paths are laid d...

This coming Sunday, on the feast of Christ the King, Pope Francis will officially close the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. During this past year, what efforts did you undertake to learn more about Christ’s Mercy? Did you seek it for yourself and your loved ones over the past year? I would love to hear about your endeavors. Please share in the comments section. For me, it has been an extraordinary year learning more about the gift itself, as well as Christ’s expectation that we share it with our neighbor through our own willingness to grant it to others. Over this past year, I devoted one post per month to describe, define and show practical ways of incorporating the various corporal and spiritual works. In case you joined this journey mid-stream, and might have missed a post or two, here’s a recap; with direct links to the associated posts. Read more...  

We’ve just finished a presidential campaign which was discouraging to many because both candidates were flawed. This prompted me to resurrect excerpts from an article I wrote decades ago: “Nobody is perfect.” How glibly we say that, but some of us have difficulty realizing that “nobody” includes us. Most of us, however, wake every morning to find we are our same weak, sinful selves. Seen in the proper perspective, having faults is not so horrible. In fact, just as St. Augustine referred to original sin as a “happy fault,” we can view our weaknesses as special graces. Click to continue

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This showed up in today's news ... CNET's piece quoted part of this Twitter blog post: " Progress on addressing online abuse " (November 15, 2016) "...The amount of abuse, bullying, and harassment we’ve seen across the Internet has risen sharply over the past few years. These behaviors inhibit people from participating on Twitter, or anywhere...."... All that reminded me of a familiar sentiment I saw on Twitter last year: "Sometimes I wish I was religious so I could have an excuse for hating people." ...That's a lot of folks discussing religion and hate. Some agreed with the "excuse for hating people" quote, some didn't, and some discussed something completely different.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Divorce is a brokenness that reaches into the very soul of the individual, the family, and society itself. Divorce devastates financial security leaving women and children destitute, increasing unemployment, poor performance in school, behavioral issues, and homelessness. Divorce increases suicide in men, powerless to protect their families from destruction. No one is immune to persecution in divorce, especially innocent spouses and children. The temptation to sink into the anger, bitterness, and hatred of betrayal can be overwhelming. The warmth the heat of those emotions produces pulls us in, drawing us ever closer like a moth to the flame or a traveller to a blazing hearth on a cold winter night, but warmth from the fires of hate is not warmth for the soul. It is a pull toward living hell. Hell is hot. Souls there suffer burning flames for eternity. Perhaps this is a result of actions committed and words harshly spoken, but I would guess many are also there simply for d

As the Morning Rising: The Hope of the World : We are aid workers, sanctified at baptism, fortified by sacraments and then sent out to alleviate the suffering of others whether physic...

Hello all! I'm delighted to be a new member of the ACWB, and wanted to introduce myself! I'm Kate and I write about naming (baby and otherwise) from a Catholic perspective at my blog Sancta Nomina . Expectant parents, Confirmation candidates, clergy and religious, and namiacs of all kinds are very welcome! I post a name consultation every Monday; birth announcements as I receive them; articles at CatholicMom monthly and Nameberry occasionally; and various other bits of information and resources and recommendations for those who love the names of our faith as I do. I love to connect on social media as well -- all that information and anything else you'd like to know can be found here . Thank you for welcoming me!

Ornamental Graces , by Carolyn Astfalk, is a wonderful story, with interesting, compelling and authentic characters that you immediately come to love. Dan Malone, a tortured soul with a troubled past, meets Emily Kowalski, a young woman with dreams unfulfilled. Throughout this story, we see God at work bringing these two souls together time after time, until one day their relationship blossoms. From there, we see these two characters traverse through the journey we call life, with all of its ups and downs. Will Dan ever come to grips with the mistakes he made? Will Emily ever fulfill her dreams? And, will obstacles deprive them of developing the relationship they seemed destined to live? Carolyn Astfalk takes you on a roller-coaster ride, with a story that you will not put down until you obtain the answers to these questions. This is truly a page-turner! While reading this book, I couldn’t wait... Read more...

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR? NOT LIKELY! NOT ME ... CLICK HERE

St Bonaventure described God’s love as ' a shaft of light that flashes out from the divine darkness',   that suddenly enables believers to see the truth  they have never seen before. For the first time they begin to see the truth about themselves that they did not want to see before. Then it enables them to see the truth about God who they had once created in their own image and likeness and then fallen in love with. This mystical  shaft of light  fills them with wisdom and understanding that enables them to interpret the truth and then fills them with the strength to do the truth, that they could never have done before.  This is why Francis was able to hear and understand the Gospel reading on the feast of St Matthias when he was told to go out speaking the Good News and calling people to repentance. He was given something else too that he didn’t have before, and that was the inner spiritual strength to do it, as Jesus had done before him.       read on.....

'For my heart is always with Him; day and night it thinks unceasingly   of its heavenly and divine Friend, to Whom it wants to prove its affection.' St. Elizabeth of the Trinity   (The Cloistered Heart)

Depending on who you listen to, Satan prowls Earth's surface, lives in the White House, lurks in Hell, or doesn't exist. About Satan and devils in general, I think C. S. Lewis made a good point.... ...I like most of Gustave Doré's work. That's his illustration for Canto XXXIV of Dante's " Divine Comedy ," Inferno .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: And we can go there....

As the Morning Rising: And we can go there....

E n las últimas décadas el movimiento feminista preponderante ha abogado y luchado por la equidad de género, la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres, pero a través de la eliminación y descarte de las particularidades y necesidades específicas de las mujeres. Sus efectos ya se han dejado sentir y la insistencia de incorporar a la mujer a todos los ámbitos laborales y sociales en los mismos términos que los hombres han acarreado infinidad de consecuencias para ellas. Uno de estos es el aumento de las violaciones y abusos sexuales que sufren en los ambientes de ocio y entretenimiento. (1) Esto sucede especialmente las mujeres jóvenes del primer mundo de universidades y preparatorias, donde se supone que las políticas de género ya se han aplicado por varias generaciones.

As the Morning Rising: Do not worry about anything : This is what a holy old Russian woman said to a Legionary friend - 'Do not worry about anything.The Bogorodica will take care of eve...

Today is Armistice Day . Over the decades it's been called Poppy or Remembrance Day , and now Americans call it Veteran's Day .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America

Deciding who's dead and who's not isn't always easy. But getting the answer right can be a matter of life or death.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .