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Easter is when we celebrate "the crowning truth of our faith in Christ" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 638 ) It's among the top major events so far. Depending on how you count them, there have been only three to six: the creation of this universe; humanity's creation and fall; and our Lord's arrival, execution, and resurrection. There's another big one coming, eventually, and I'll get back to that. The idea that the Son of God was human and divine has seemed insufficiently 'spiritual' to some folks for two millennia now. But like John 1:14 says, 1 "...the Word became flesh...." The crucifixion, and what happened later, wouldn't mean much otherwise.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As the Morning Rising: Risen - Poem : Risen No mere listeners to a story Passed down the generations For this, the miracle of all miracles Is ...

Great griefs are like great joys: they bend time. My sister died twenty years ago. Sometimes it seems so long ago that mercifully, I can barely remember the details. Other times, those details rush back at me so sharply I have to steel myself for impact. Suicide does that. I can smile now at the memory of my sister. I felt disloyal the first time I did that, as though permanent grief could be the only fitting monument to her memory. Time, mercy, and God’s grace have done their work, bit by bit. For the first time since her death, I am writing about her and about losing her. This is an anniversary, and the time is right. For years, I thought she had taken Easter away with her and left nothing behind but wreckage. Gradually I found that she left me other things: a greater appreciation for the gift of my family, and how to live with gratitude despite wounds that are bone-deep. Those aren’t compensations. They don’t cancel out anything. They are gifts nonetheless. I extend my hand

One image from Holy Saturday stays embedded in my mind my mind and never fails to move me to tears. Every Catholic Church in the world begins the Easter Vigil Mass plunged into darkness, a symbol of our world before the Resurrection.  After burning a bonfire outside and lighting the Pascal Candle, the main celebrant carries this bright symbol of Christ’s death and Resurrection. From this single candle, light spreads as each person turns to light all the candles around them and so a gentle wave of light ripples from the Pascal candle.  Do we really grasp the ramifications of this historical event? Do we really allow the reality of the Resurrection to sink in and save us, transform us? If we did, we would all be saints—real, miracle-working saints. Christ depends on us to be a light to the world. continue reading

What we're learning about Mars, and a new type of really small spacecraft, reminded me of earth, air and kilts. Also pharaohs, Thomas Paine, and Lord Kelvin. By then I was running out of time to write something more tightly-organized. I figured you might be interested in some of what I have written. On on the other hand, maybe not. So I added links to my ramblings before and after what I said more-or-less about the science news, and figure you can decide what's interesting and what's not. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

JUST TEN MINUTES TO REFLECT ON HOLY WEEK PLEASE CLICK HERE

Easter Sunday Resurrection, Léonard Limo Sin The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible At the Mass during the Day Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible) Note that the above links also give alternative gospels that may be read on Easter Sunday. Gospel John 20:1-9 ( NRSV, Catholic Ed .) Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.

As the Morning Rising: Within the Wounds - Good Friday Poem : Within The Wounds Somewhere within the wounds There is a language deeper than words Deeper than wells Deeper than w...

I tend to rush through my daily duties like a solitary soul, disconnected from God and other people. However, I became aware that humans are actually intimately connected not just to God and the living but also to those who have died and are alive in Christ after recent encounters with birth, death, and dying. There is only a thin veil between heaven and earth; I can communicate with all who abide in the Mystical Body of Christ simply because I am a member of the communion of saints. A Near-Death-Experience Exactly three years ago, I finally became cognizant of how thin the line between life and death really is when I nearly lost one of my daughters as she struggled to give birth. During labour, she almost bled out when she lost a litre of blood in mere seconds after an emergency C-section, the result of a series of unforeseen complications, a one-in-ten-thousand chance. continue reading

  “But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last’’.  Mark  15:36 Death has many  guises ‘This dying man  has no relatives, I want you to sit and hold his hand.'  What compassion this nurse had so many years ago. I was very young and in my first year of nursing. What did I know of death and pain and dying? ‘Dying is a  lonely process,' she said as she led me into the patient’s room. 'He is unconscious but on some level he will know that you are there.'  Read on: https://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

WHAT IS THE REAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WASHING OF FEET? DO YOU REALLY KNOW? CLICK HERE

As the Morning Rising: The Way of The Cross : The Way of the Cross If someone should spit in your face, hold back, walk away, and go to the Cross. If someone by their ...

Con el   Evangelio de San Juan 13,1-15 quedamos introducidos en la parte central de los acontecimientos más relevantes de nuestra fe. Ya estamos de lleno en ellos. LA ÚLTIMA CENA. Jesús quiere despedirse   de   sus seguidores, de sus compañeros, de sus amigos . Otra vez su gran humildad. Su gesto fino y lleno de ternura. Va lavándole los pies a aquellos hombres que lo habían visto ordenar a los vientos y a las   olas, la quietud en la   tormenta. . . que le habían visto dar la luz a los   ojos de los ciegos. . . hacer andar a los paralíticos.... sanar a los leprosos. . .   resucitar a los muertos, que lo habían visto radiante como el sol en su Transfiguración y ahora, con un amor inconmensurable, con una humildad sin límites les está lavando los pies.

What is the best gift you have ever received?  How about one that you have given? Learn how God loves and why the gift of love is the ultimate imitation of Christ.   Read the talk here at Veils and Vocations .

Who doesn't like to be pampered like a princess?  This talk is the second in my retreat series and explores how a princess of God should be treated.   Read it at Veils and Vocations !

Early last summer, I had the pleasure of hosting a mini-retreat for preteen girls and their mothers.  It ahs been a long time in coming, but I finally am sharing the talks and resources from that retreat so that others can host their own.  To read the first talk, visit Veils and Vocations .

Who Do You Have to Forgive truth is, we all have someone to forgive(1)," writes R. Scott Hurd, in the very beginning of his life-changing book Forgiveness: The Catholic Approach ("Forgiveness"). The following is Scott's list of people we may need to forgive; the comments in the parentheses are my two cents. 1. Rude drivers (very appropriate for those of us who live in Massachusetts) 2. Spouses (thank goodness for Sacramental Grace - that is all I have to say!) 3. Friends (they can hurt or betray us, or over time may become our "frenemies") 4. Bosses (those who steal our ideas, treat us unjustly, or are just plain grumpy) 5. Bullies (even as adults we can find ourselves faced with cruel people) But Wait, There's More! I would add: 1. Ourselves (often the hardest person to forgive) 2. God (It is okay to admit this, He will not send down lightning to smote you for being honest. Furthermore, let's face it: He already knows you are angry. If He

When I was a young mom with four kids under the age of six, I had one emotion: OVERWHELM. I distinctly remember wanting to wear make-up or exercise or plant flowers. Mostly, I had a baby attached at the hip or the breast and toddlers in various stages of mess and undress. I.Was.Neck.Deep.In.Survival.Mode. SO, when I would hear of a mother and how she had created this beautiful Easter project for her two angelic kids, I would have this instant envy. Then I’d feel defeated. I just couldn’t muster up the energy or grace to do beauty. But I still wanted to honor Jesus and His Agony and Glorious Resurrection. I wanted to TEACH my children. So I stumbled upon this one idea and we have used it ever since that time. For three hours on Good Friday, from noon til three, we maintain silence in our home.

Many people approach Holy Week in great anticipation of liturgical rites scheduled for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Many even enjoy taking part in the blessing of their Easter food on Holy Saturday. For me, I find Holy Wednesday to be quite intriguing every year; for Holy Wednesday is representative of the day before the world would change forever! By that I mean that on Holy Thursday, the Lord would institute the sacrament of the Eucharist, where He would, for the first time, change bread and wine into His own Precious Body and Blood. Jesus knew exactly what would happen over the Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday-Friday-Saturday). Therefore, everything was in place,  with a plan ready to execute. I often wonder what was going through Jesus’ mind on Holy Wednesday. I’m sure that He made the most of the day, surrounded by His mother, friends and followers – loving others and being loved in return. Approaching Holy Wednesday Holy Wednesday is the “calm before the storm.” I always

By Jane Borg  When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.  John 19: 25-27 This is the  moment Jesus commended his mother to us all. Just as she had been Jesus’ mother, she is now to be ours. Mary, the perfect  mother. She nurtured her son into a man – she fed him, she washed him, she taught him, fixed his scrapes, she faced his challenges with him as he grew, listened to him as he shared his life, watched him develop in his trade with his earthly father, supported him as he explored his vocation, and loved him unconditionally.   Read on:  https://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

Weeks before Easter, my mother would begin creating Easter eggs. She used melted beeswax in a coffee tin lid to make strokes on the eggs using a straight pin in the end of a wooden matchstick. Then she soaked the eggs overnight in Chick-Chick dye. When she scraped off the wax with a butterknife, the white patterns stood out against vivid colors. My new book Living Faith at Home, which offers suggestions for nurturing the Catholic faith in “the domestic church,” includes ideas for celebrating Easter. You might adopt one or two from the following excerpt: Click to continue

As the Morning Rising: Dying - Poem : Some people die Not on a cross as we know it Not with nails and mockery all around But yet they die A hundred little deaths In a daily t...

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; then they sat down and kept watch over him there.  And over his head they put the charge against him, which read: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews”.  Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right hand and one on the left.  And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying: “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the Cross”.  So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying: “He saved others; he cannot save himself.  He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the Cross and we will believe in him”.  Matthew 27:35-42 As horrific as  this scene is, don’t we do it too in some ways?   Whenever we wonder why Jesus allows suffering, loneliness, starvation, aren’t we expecting Him to come down and save us, prove to us that He is there? Read on: 

SO ... DO YOU FEEL SORRY FOR JUDAS? OR DO YOU BLAME HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE? DID HE HAVE A CHOICE?  OR WAS HE DOING GOD'S WILL? PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMPARE YOUR VIEWS

My Marian Consecration was scheduled for February 11th, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. If you've ever thought of doing a Consecration, beginning now will have you finishing on the 100th Anniversary of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Can there be anything better???  Here is my original Consecration post... An inspirational Christian friend once told me the prayer God always answers positively is her request to  want  to know Him more, to be made more hungry for Him. Her words stuck with me and describe what I have been experiencing the last several weeks. I hunger. With an intensity that is almost indescribable, I hunger. I have grown in my understanding of trust in, and love for the Lord in ways I didn't know were possible before ( Before now always means before my husband left...) . I am amazed by how far I've come and by the Peace and Joy in my life today. Make no mistake, this is no Peace and Joy from my own power, but a Peace and Joy that surp

Jesus didn’t enter Jerusalem on a beautiful stallion, or better yet in a covered canapé. No, He entered Jerusalem on the back of an ass; one of the simplest and hardest working creatures known to man. In Christ’s simplicity, we see Christ’s humility. Throughout Christ’s entire Passion and death, He consistently placed the wellbeing of each one of us ahead of Himself. He thought more about us that He thought of Himself.  For example, He took the verbal abuse of His accusers in silence, not wanting to draw attention to His followers. When tensions escalated, He took... Read more... 

HOW MUCH DO YOU GIVE TO CHARITY? WHAT IS YOUR DONATION REALLY WORTH? CHECK HERE AND FIND OUT - YOU'D BE SURPRISED BY THE RESULT CLICK HERE

I'm a perfectionist, a frustrated one. Somewhere between childhood and adolescence, I felt that if adequacy had a numeric value, it'd be greater than two and less than one; or something equally impossible. More accurately, I felt as if that was the standard imposed on me. I realized that it wasn't possible, and that there was no point in trying to reach it. Like I said, frustrated. That goes a long way to explain, I think, why results from aptitude and intelligence tests showed that I should be getting stellar grades: and I wasn't. Autism Meets Perfectionism Academics interested me, and I was paying attention. I just didn't see a point in "good grades." Besides, there was a whole universe full of things not being covered at any particular moment: including some inside the classroom. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Jesus had drawn  support and loyalty  from a large group of people, especially from those regarded as misfits. Some of the women in this scene would have been amongst those who had left behind their homes, families and friends and travelled with Jesus from town to town. They then supported Him and his disciples, providing for all their needs. Read on https://susannetimpani.blogspot.com.au/

As the Morning Rising: Palm Sunday Reflection : They say that heaven is not a place but is best described as another dimension. The picture that Palm Sunday paints is heavenly. There is jo...