Association Of Catholic Bloggers

image-  Nancy Noel, The Butterfly. When I first started to mother, I was determined to raise committed Catholic Christians and so I tried too hard. I had the mistaken notion that my kids were blank slates and I personally had to teach them everything. I assumed the role of the teacher, the resident expert. However, God had to shake me out of this arrogant stance by humbling me in the face of my children’s unique, innate spirituality.  Kids have a pure, open relationship with the heavenly Father and Mother Mary. continue

Fr PJ McGlinchey (6 June 1928 - 24 April 2018) Patrick James McGlinchey was born in the village of Raphoe, which gives its name to the Diocese of Raphoe, on 6 June 1928. He was always known as 'PJ'. In Korea he was known  by the Korean name of Yim Pi-jae, a derived from the first letter of each of his English names: Yim for the 'M' in McGlinchey, pi for the 'P' in Patrick and jae for the 'J' in James. (This information is from a fine article published in Korea in 2014:  Sixty years on Jejudo: Irish priest shares his memories ) . He died in a hospice he had built on the island of Jeju - 'Jejudo' is the Korean for 'Jeju Island' - where he had lived for most of his life and was buried there on. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.  May his noble soul be at the right hand of God. Fr PJ McGlinchey with President Mary McAleese of Ireland and her husband Dr Martin McAleese Jeju, March 2005 Below is a post I published on 16 Octobe

Faith is the bedrock of Christian living. Without a strong faith, we would easily lose our way. But, the grace of Faith guides us, and aides us in getting to know God intimately. It is through the grace of faith that we come to know God, our Father, Creator of all that is good. Faith is a gift from God, a supernatural virtue infused by him. ‘Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy for all to accept and believe the truth.’ 1 The Grace of Faith leads us to God Faith, combined with the use of reason, leads us to determine what is true. So, rather than believing in “alternative facts,” we apply our faith, and use our reason, to determine objective truth. With the knowledge of objective truth, we choose to follow God’s way. We know this is the right thing to do because... Read more...

Revived pig brains, memory backups and ethical questions have been in the news. It sounds like a B movie scenario, but the research is quite real. So are the questions. I'll be talking about research, technology, and I'm glad that folks at MIT decided that brain backups were a dubious goal. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

This week I've been visiting religious goods stores and offering my latest book, "Heart to Heart with Mary: A Yearly Devotional," in which Mary speaks to us personally each day. This book is perfect now for several reasons. It makes a nice gift for Mother's Day. We are in the month of May, which is dedicated to Mary, our heavenly Mother. Moreover, we have a newly proclaimed "Mary Mother of the Church" memorial to observe on Mondays after Pentecost (for the first time on May 21 this year). The book is available as a softcover book and an e-book. When it was published, Sister Margaret Kerry, FSP, wrote the following review for it, which appeared on the Catholic Mom website and is reprinted here:  click to continue

Fr  Seán J. McGrath (15 June 1930 - 27 April 2018) Seán Joseph McGrath was born on 15 June 1930 at Killen, Coalisland, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Educated at Aughamullan Public Elementary School and St Patrick's College, Armagh, he entered St Columban's, Dalgan Park, County Meath, Ireland, in September 1948. He was ordained priest on 21 December 1954. Main Street, Killen  [ Wikipedia ] Continue here .

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Let me take you back in time, to the early 1860’s, when the American Civil War was raging. There, we meet Brigid McGinnis, in Amanda Lauer’s  A Life Such as Heaven Intended .  Brigid is 17, and coming of age, as a typical southern belle. However, rather than marrying, Brigid sees herself giving her life to God as a nun. That is, until one day, when Brigid finds a very handsome stranger, lying injured in her backyard. Charitable young thing that she is, Brigid tends to the injured soldier, who seems to have lost his memory because of a head injury. Together, she and the injured soldier try to make sense of what might have happened to him. As he recovers under Brigid’s care, love blossoms between the two. From the onset, Lauer takes us on a romantic journey of chaste love, valuing the virtue of chastity. In this second book in a series, we see the virtues of charity, compassion, honesty and love on full display. There are fascinating sub-plots addressing the horror of slavery, and

En nuestra vida tenemos muy bien programadas nuestras horas, nuestras semanas. Tiempo para trabajar, tiempo para el ejercicio, tiempo para tomar alimentos, de preferencia los que más nos gustan, tiempo para descansar o divertirnos, pero...   ¿y el tiempo para Dios?.    No encontramos tiempo para Dios, para orar. teniendo comunicación con El que es quién precisamente nos da ese tiempo que repartimos en nuestro muy personal plan de vida. Y llega el domingo... Si estamos en un lugar de descanso, de monte o de playa, ¡qué difícil es programarnos para ir a misa!. Si nos hemos quedado en la ciudad, ¡con qué mezquindad le damos a Dios la media hora de misa de los domingos! ver más...  

Whether or not I believe in ghosts depends on what's meant by "believe in" and "ghosts." And how I see myself, for that matter. I'll be talking about ghosts and why I think seances are a bad idea. Also, briefly, superstition and metaphysics. I don't fear that an ancestral banshee might come to the new world and find me. Or think spirit photographers were selling pictures of ghosts. If that's 'believing in ghosts,' then I don't. On the other hand, I'm not a materialist. I think part of me won't die, no matter what happens to my body.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

FATHER IGNATIUS FACES FAILURE CLICK HERE

Some folks act as if they think physical reality is bad and having a body is icky. The notion's 'Biblical,' sort of. Galatians 5:19 through 21 call bad ideas like licentiousness, hatreds and idolatry "works of the flesh." With a little paraphrasing, I could claim that 1 Corinthians 3:3 says jealousy and rivalry are "of the flesh." Romans 8:3 mentions "sinful flesh." Taking those verses, ignoring Genesis 1:31 , Psalms 84:3 , Ecclesiastes 2:24 - 25 and two millennia of Catholic teaching, and I might see loathing physical reality as an option. But not, I think, a reasonable one.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.” –St. Gianna Beretta Molla As I raised a large family on a small farm with little disposable income, I received free Christian cognitive therapy. It was my children who taught me how to live in the present moment with joy. I couldn’t help but learn how to live a child of God 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 of Avila once said she “thanked God for the things she did NOT own.” St. Teresa always stressed the need for gratitude: “In all created things discern the providence and wisdom of God, and in all things give Him thanks.” When Joy Eludes Us continue reading

The Red Vineyard , Van Gogh  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 15:1-8 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  You have already been cleansed   by the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.  Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gath

I have a special affinity for Saint Mark, especially for his writing style. Like Saint Mark, I try to say what I need to say in as few words as possible. When reading the Gospel of Mark, you find crisp, clear passages, delivered with precision; no fluff. As an evangelist, Saint Mark was the first to document the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. He considered his Gospel as a message, or announcement, of the Good News of Jesus’ salvific actions. In true evangelical form, the message, as documented, is timeless. Consider this: Within the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks 42 questions. Here’s just a few: Who are my mother and brothers?  (Mark 3:33) Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?  (Mark 4:40) Who do people say that I am?  (Mark 8:27) What do you wish me to do for you?  (Mark 10:51) Why are you testing me?  (Mark 12:15-16) Saint Mark: My Inspiration! Over the next few months, as we traverse through the Year B cycle of Gospel readings from Saint Mark, I will

Fourteen high-profile murders are in the news. Four died at a Waffle House in Nashville, 10 were killed on Yonge Street in Toronto. The accused killers have been caught. I put links to BBC News and Wikipedia pages about the murders at the end of this post. 1 I'll mostly be saying why I think murder is a bad idea, and how I see being human and making sense — or not, in some cases. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Well, spring is officially here! Despite the recent snow and cold weather, a few daffodils bravely appeared in front of my house. Did you know that a daffodil is called Mary's star? In doing research for my book "The Catholic Companion to Mary," I discovered that more than 700 flowers and plants have been named for Mary or are connected to her through legends.  This makes sense because our Blessed Mother is the most beautiful of women, and flowers are arguably the loveliest of God's creations. Chaucer called Mary “the flower of flowers.” This Scripture verse is applied to her: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys" (Song of Solomon 2:1). Mary gardens, where "Mary" flowers grow, beautify the grounds of our National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and some parishes. Here is a "bouquet" of Marian flowers for you as found in my book: Click to continue

There’s something universal about kids: how they try to manipulate their parents. Take, for example, an incident with my younger daughter when she was about three. My husband had taken her with him to the swap meet one Sunday. She happened to see a vendor with a lot of stuffed animals, including a couple of quite desirable pink elephants. Of course she wanted one. Now, normally you’d think she would have asked her Daddy if he would please buy it for her. Nope. That’s not the way kids go about something like this. Instead she informed him, “I don’t have a pink elephant.” What, exactly, did she think her father would do? Drop to his knees, raise his hands to heaven, and cry out in utter agony, “Oh no! She doesn’t have a pink elephant! Whatever can we do?” Well, my husband took the hint and bought her one. When they arrived home, I took one glance at this new acquisition of hers, folded my arms across my chest, and stared my husband in the eye. “Sucker,” I told him. “You

In  Thirsting for God , by Mother Teresa (in conjunction with her editor, Angelo D. Scolozzi, M.T.), we catch a glimpse of Mother Teresa’s insights, via 366 daily meditations. These meditations shed light on Mother Teresa’s call to bring souls to Christ; to satisfy Christ’s thirst for souls. She teaches us that by thirsting for God, we satisfy His thirst for each of us. A love given, a love returned, is what it means to thirst for souls; to thirst for God. Everything Mother Teresa teaches us, through her many quoted adages, comes down to loving God as He loves us. Mother Teresa drives home the message that we can show our love for God by loving our neighbor. It is through acts of kindness, forgiveness and mercy, that we express charity. She says it best in her meditation of March 12 th : “ Be kind and loving with each other, for you cannot love Christ in his distressing disguise if you cannot love Jesus in the hearts of your neighbors ” (p.45). When we humble ourselves, we find

I couldn’t fault my doctor when I went for a private consultation, but in his own home on his own pet enthusiasm he seemed to have left his  common sense in the surgery. He was fascinated by visionaries and their private revelations and seemed to assume that most religious had them. When a local mother superior sent a nun to him who said she was hearing voices, he sent her back with a clean bill of health. There was nothing wrong with her, he told me, the voices she was hearing were not coming from her head, but from the tabernacle! Whenever I visited him at home he  was engrossed in a massive three-volume tome detailing the private revelations of some obscure seventeenth century German nun. Apparently her revelations filled in all the gaps in the Gospel story with outrageously pious nonsense that made me bite my lip to blood to stop me laughing.   read on....