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I stopped believing in coincidences long ago. Our God is not a god of chaos, but a God of order. My heart and my stomach are hurting from reading excerpts of the grand jury report out of Pennsylvania. Horror and betrayal are probably the words that most accurately describe my emotions. It seems like each time we think, “okay, it can’t get worse”, it does. It gets so much worse. And sad to say, this seems to just be the beginning. While we as a Church have spent the last day in anger and mourning, today we are celebrating the great Solemnity of the Assumption. Today is one of the few remaining Holy Days of Obligation on the Church’s calendar. We the faithful are commanded to attend Mass today to pay homage to Our Lady. This is not a coincidence. Read more at Messy Buns & Latin Chant

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate this day every year, for several reasons: Mary was conceived without Original Sin. In accordance with God’s plan for salvation, Mary should be a pure vessel bringing forth the Son of God, because Jesus is sinless. He deserved a tabernacle (womb) free from sin. Mary never sinned during her entire lifetime. Because she was born without Original Sin, she did not have the concupiscence (tendency to sin) like the rest of us. She was “full of grace” and could therefore resist all temptation, unlike us. Because Mary was free from sin, her body should not, and would not, experience corruption in the grave, as noted by Pope Pius the XII in his Apostolic Constitution,  Munificentissimus Deus : [Mary,] by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have

From  The Gospel of John  (2003)  Directed by Philip Saville. Jesus played by Henry Ian Cusick; narrator, Christopher Plummer. [Today's gospel ends at 2:54] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   John 6:51-58 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus said to the crowd: I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’  So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my f

HAPPINESS WHAT IS IT? HOW DO YOU MEASURE IT? HAVE YOU GOT IT? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT

In today’s Gospel from Matthew, we hear Jesus ask some questions, as it relates to the payment of Temple tax. He is asking if we pay our fair share. What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?  (Matt 17:25)? These are rather tricky questions to answer. You see, Jesus and His Disciples are part of the Kingdom of God. So, with that understanding, they would be considered subjects, not foreigners. Therefore, they should not be subject to the Temple tax. However, if we read a little further, we see that Jesus instructs... Read more... 

Like many of the laity and I suspect, holy religious, I have been grieving over the state of the Church as the McCarrick scandal came to light this past June. Tom and I also recently watched the movie, Spotlight  about the widespread sex abuse that came to light in the Boston area in the early 2000's. I also wouldn't be surprised if more incidences come to light in the near future. I think we are going to see that the scandals and cover-ups run deep. Tom and I also know more than one person that has been personally affected by it all. Continue Reading @ Beautifulthorns>

CONVERSATION WITH THE DEVIL HOW WOULD YOU HAVE ANSWERED THE DEVIL? CLICK HERE

  En este Día Internacional de la Juventud es imperativo realizar que los jóvenes de hoy son distintos, y que el mundo al que se enfrentan también, y aún así, necesitan todo nuestro apoyo para alcanzar las metas que desean. La comunidad debe garantizarles las condiciones para alcanzar su desarrollo humano. Pero ¿Qué es hoy el “ desarrollo humano”? Con tanta tecnología y avances científicos… ¿Podrán finalmente las nuevas generaciones llegar al éxito y a la felicidad? ver más...  

The Mass of St Gilles , Master of Saint Gilles   [ 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   Mark 6:41-51 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition)   Then the Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’  They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’  Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves.  No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day.  It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the F