Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Christ the Good Shepherd , Murillo  [ WikiArt ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 10:11-18 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus said: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father

  Estás en todos los Sagrarios de la Tierra desde hace más de dos mil años. Estás desde aquella "noche" en que te quisiste quedar para no dejarnos solos, para acompañarnos como se acompaña al amigo en sus momentos felices, en sus horas tristes y amargas, también en el lecho de la enfermedad, en la soledad de los años viejos.... Estuviste, estás y estarás. La generaciones pasan, el tiempo no se detiene y Tu quisiste quedarte porque sabías que te íbamos a necesitar Y vamos recordando como te afanabas por enseñarnos cuánto es tu amor por los que te olvidan, por lo que dicen que no creen en ti... por los que un día, quizá sin saber por qué, se fueron de tu redil… del que recuerda como una cosa lejana y bella el día en que te recibió por primera vez y después...nada, del que te empezó a negar porque se rieron de él el grupo de aquellos nuevos amigos... del que por una pasión, donde hubo lagrimas en otro hogar, comenzó una vida encadenado o encade

As parents, all we want is for our children to be happy and healthy. You hope that you raise your child right so that they develop into an amazing adult. An influential component of raising your child comes with spending time with them.  Early bonding between you and your child can impact their mental health, including their communication and social skills. Your child’s values and personality traits are going to develop as they grow, and you want to have the knowledge and control to help them be the best version of themselves... Continue Reading ...

The novena to Saint Zita begins today.  Repeat the following prayer for 9 days in a row. Her feast day is April 27. Saint Zita is the patron saint of housekeepers, domestic workers, servants, and waitresses. She is also invoked to help find lost keys. Saint Zita came from a poor, but deeply pious family. To help support the family, she became a maid of the Fatinelli family, in the nearby Tuscan city of Lucca, serving them loyally for 48 years. Continue reading.

As Christians, we are all called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can do this in several ways. You don’t need to be a Catholic blogger/author/public speaker like myself. You can preach the Gospel, without ever saying a word; by the mere witness of your charitable actions. Most people will never remember eloquent words spoken to them. But, they will remember a kindness done for them. Deeds speak volumes! A police officer who runs toward danger, when others run away. The witness of his or her bravery and courage speaks volumes. A man or woman who volunteers at the local soup kitchen to serve the needy. The witness of his or her generosity and love speaks volumes. A child who... Read more...

Recently a group of us Sisters met and talked about compassion. Using quotations about it as a springboard, we reflected on how Jesus told us to be compassionate as our Father is compassionate, how God's amazing compassion was shown in sending Jesus and ways Jesus had compassion, and how compassion is an infinite ocean of love that spills over into all of creation. All who studied Latin are aware that our word "com-passion" comes from two Latin words meaning "to suffer with." We women especially liked the fact that the Hebrew word for compassion (rachum) is comparable to "womb." This implies that being compassionate is life-giving, nourishing, and protective. Compassion means being responsible for the needs of others both near and far. Sister Carol McHenry put a lot of thought into preparing for our conversation. She asked herself, What does it mean to be compassionate. Here is the list she shared with us that I found insightful and inspiring, and y

I received free cognitive therapy because I was surrounded by a crew of little people who greeted each morning with wonder and awe . Gratefulness is the key to spiritual joy, no matter how little we think we have in the eyes of modern society. In fact, St. Teresa thanked God for the Things she did NOT own. The fleeting dream which eludes many of us is happiness. We are running around, miserable in our insular little worlds, only catching glimpses of the world around us through dung coloured glasses. The solution to our dilemma is easy. continue reading

The saint of the day for April 17 is Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, a Third Order Franciscan and pilgrim. He is the patron saint of homeless people. Born in northern France in 1748, he was the oldest of fifteen children of a prosperous shopkeeper and his wife. He was a quiet, thoughtful child with a friendly nature who was both serious and a bit sad. At the age of 12, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest, to prepare for the priesthood. His uncle taught him Latin and the Scriptures. Due to poor health and a lack of appropriate academic preparation, he was unsuccessful in his efforts to enter the religious life in the Trappist, Cistercian, and Carthusian orders. Continue reading.

Image : Saint Bernadette Soubirous April 16 is the feast of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, a mystic and visionary at Lourdes, France. Saint Bernadette is the patron saint of: Lourdes, the poor, the sick, and people ridiculed for their piety. Born in Lourdes, France, on January 7, 1844, Bernadette was the first child of Francois and Louise Soubirous, a poor peasant family. A severe asthma sufferer, Bernadette was such a poor student that she was unable to make her First Holy Communion until she was 14. She had many trials to contend with as a child — poverty, health problems, which caused her to be behind in school, many responsibilities as the oldest child of six siblings, moving from one poor place to another, and a father who escaped from his financial problems by drowning them in alcohol.  Continue reading .

Do you believe in Jesus’ power? I don’t ask this question flippantly. I really want to know if you place your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Do you believe that all things are possible with God (Matt 19:26)? Can you begin to fathom the extent of Jesus’ power? We live in turbulent, vitriol times. It would be hard to miss the massive corruption, dishonesty and incivility, originating from the halls of government, that permeate throughout our society as well. As human beings, we like to think that we are in charge. We don’t like anyone else trying to usurp the power that we think we possess. When someone tries to usurp our perceived power, times become even more turbulent and vitriol. It’s a vicious cycle. All the while, we lose focus on who really has the power – Jesus Christ! I believe in Jesus’ Power! I’ll admit, that I’ve been grappling with this internal tug-of-war. I want to place my full faith and trust in Jesus. But, there are days when I ask, “ God, where are you

UNSOLVED DILEMMA CLICK HERE

Robots are starting to look and act a lot like humans. Wondering if robots can be people, or if humans are merely biological robots, involves assumptions about reality. I'll look at one of those assumptions in this post and why I believe there's more to me than chemicals. Whether a robot could be a person is more of a philosophical question than a legal issue. So far. The question would be particularly interesting if a robot asked to be recognized as a person. Or disturbing, depending on how you look at it. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Unless I embrace the cross, I cannot embrace the Resurrection. Don’t get stuck on the cross. We draw our strength from the resurrection. My life as a mother helped me learn how to live out my call to live with the resurrected Christ. When life was stripped down to the basics of survival I was forced to turn to God. Suffering was actually the key to learning how to live in joy. My difficult life was miraculous when I relaxed and allowed myself to live in the moment,  continue reading

            Recently I saw a Facebook post that described one teacher's attempt to end bullying in her class. She got two apples and, while the students were not present, dropped the second one on the floor several times. After her class came in for the day, she had them individually praise the first apple. When they were done, she sliced it in half, showing a nice, juicy apple.             Then she had the kids demean the second apple, the one she had dropped. She had them call it names and tell it how ugly and stupid it was. When she sliced it open, it was of course bruised inside. She told the kids that that's what happens when you bully someone.             Frankly, I have a couple of objections to this demonstration. First, it would teach little kids a lie, that name-calling bruises apples.             Second—and more importantly--it would increase bullying rather than decrease it.    https://reflections911.wordpress.com/2017/06/21/apples-and-bull

Are you doing things that you prefer would never see the light of day? Things that might bring you shame? Or, do you live the truth, and walk in the light of Christ; where your deeds are worthy of God’s praise? “Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God” (John 3:21).   If you live with shame, then I invite you to live the truth. Come bask in the light of Christ. I invite you to change your ways. Choose to Live the Truth When you do the right thing, with good intentions, then your deeds are good and clearly done in service to the Lord. God has given each one of us a conscience. This conscience informs us of right from wrong. It’s amazing how our consciences speak to us. It’s as if God hard-wired each of us with a rule book, and that rule book is called God’s Natural Law. When we listen to our consciences, we receive error-free advice from the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, we disregard what our consciences tell us. When this

Mending the Heart: A Catholic Annulment Companion by Lisa Duffy This is a valuable book for anyone who is divorced and considering an annulment—especially those who fear or question the process. Because the author has endured the horrible, heartbreaking experience of an unexpected divorce, she can identify with other divorced people. In addition, she has spent almost twenty years helping people recover from divorce and move on.  As a result, she has put together a practical and thorough explanation of the annulment process, including Pope Francis’s recent changes.  More than that, in a gentle, compassionate way, she offers advice for recovering from the pain of divorce. Click to continue

S he was a young mother when she had the dream, just thirty, with four little boys between the ages of one and five.  She would not give birth to her fifth, and last, son for several years. She was normally not a dreamer.  Always an exceptionally deep sleeper (the alarm had not yet been invented that would easily wake her--except, of course, for the middle-of-the-night cries and calls of her children), she rarely dreamed--and even when she did, she even more rarely remembered the details of her dreams, which would grow hazy as soon as she opened her eyes and then quickly evaporate, like a misty fog being chased off by the sun.  "I was having the strangest dream," she might tell her husband.  But when he asked her what it was about, she could almost never clearly recall the particulars. This dream was different. THIS one the heavy-sleeping young mother remembered vividly upon waking--every excruciatingly painful detail of it. If you'd like to read the

In answer to a recent letter asking me how to pray, I sent back nine prayers that have been a great help to me over the years. It seems  the receiver found them very useful and so did her friends. I thought therefore they may be of some help to you too, so here they are. Begin with Psalm sixty-nine with which St Benedict instructed his monks to start the divine office. Then it can be followed by the Glory Be, immediately followed by Psalm sixty-two. O God, come to my aid O Lord, make haste to help me (Psalm 69). Glory be to the Father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, you are my God, for you I long; For you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you Like dry weary land without water (Psalm 62)  read on...

          "‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.'"      Luke 1:35 What comes is the holy will of God we turn toward or away in our willful multitudes. Rather, we would open  like a desert rose receiving light  from descending light. May we give our "yes"  to You as  Mary now and long ago, allowing herself to be carried into the impossible; shining her faith  like a lamp of grace into Your will. Even now, she wields her fierce light through the harsh exiles of our hearts, so far from Eden, so far from You.