Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Blanca nos invita a mantener nuestra salud espiritual, manteniendo activas y positivas nuestra mente, nuestra imaginación y nuestra memoria. Por Blanca Ahumada Otero

Parenting is a pyramid scheme.   It is generated by two people who come together, committed to a belief (in God, family, children, etc.), who through an experience of true love, add more and more people to their pyramid.   Eventually these will move outward and touch the entire world for generations to come. The benefit of the parenting pyramid is that there are no losers.   Not one person genuinely invested in it, who supports and promotes this pyramid, experiences deception or finds themselves in danger like they would in a fraudulent pyramid scheme. In fact, if we consider the pyramid as being God’s structure (sans any trickery) for the family, it is a wonderful way to grow disciples and bring others into the fold where they can experience all of the joy and depth of being a child of God, including, hopefully, eventual salvation. Beginning with the Father who loved us into being, we have received an innate desire to share that love with each other.   Whether it is throu

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Do you worship false gods? If your quick “No!” comes from the idea that a false god has to be a spiritual being, let’s take a closer look.   There may be false gods in your life that you do not even recognize. In Psalm 16, which is in the Old Testament, the idea of a false god would be a reality.   People believed in all sorts of gods—and they worshiped them as well.   Whether it was a golden calf or a god of the sun or soil, there were any number of gods people looked to. Today, while there may be some people who still hold to this practice, we tend to think of false gods as those material, sometimes intangible things or concepts that we adhere to and sometimes inadvertently worship. Psalm 16, Verse 4 says, “They multiply their sorrows who court other gods.” This is a good word of warning to us.   If we focus our attention on false gods—rather than the God of creation—we are simply going to multiply our sorrows. So what are these false gods we might be allo

In these times of the Coronavirus, civil unrest, and injustice for the marginalized, we might ask, “Where is God?” How can so many people become sick and die without healing, in such a short amount of time? Why do looters and rioters wreak havoc in the dark of night, taking advantage of righteous causes? Why after 400 years, do we, as a nation, condone any form of systemic racism? When faced with the unfathomable, it is normal human nature to ask, “Where is God?” Why? Because we feel abandoned. And yet, it is not us who are abandoned, it is us who abandon God. Where is God? God is at the bedside of every person suffering from the Coronavirus. For those who die, He is there to greet them and bring them to eternal life. And, for those who recover, He heals them. For those who seek to wreak havoc, God weeps, as looting and rioting offend God. Such acts violate the Seventh Commandment. How so? Well, such actions seek to steal/destroy property owned by another. Why doesn’t God sto

When we were camping years ago, those evening trips to the bathroom after dark meant carrying a flashlight.   Most flashlights pretty much shine a light directly in front of you so you can see where you are walking.   Some of the better lights allow the light to spread out more, which was always an advantage. I don’t like walking in the dark without some form of light.   To do so increases the likelihood that I will miss something in the road, and these days when you are camping, who knows who or what you might run into? As we continue reading today in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, today’s passage is about light.   Here Jesus makes what seems like pretty obvious observations: If a city is set up on a mountain, it cannot be hidden; everyone will see it. If you put a light under a bushel basket, it’s not going to give you much light, but if you set it on a lampstand, it will light up your house.   Like camping, who is going to take a flashlight with them and put

As I have mentioned before, sometimes reading and understanding scripture can be a bit of a challenge.   That can certainly be the case with the gospel reading today from Matthew, Chapter 5. The Beatitudes that are given at the beginning of this chapter can leave you scratching your head as you try to understand them, but they are beautiful and definitely worth investigating. I recently read the words of someone named Andrew Murray (non-Catholic) that I thought could easily be applied to the Beatitudes.   He said that humility is “the place of entire dependence on God.” That statement could be a simplification, albeit an accurate representation, of the spirit of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, Jesus taught much about humility and our own response to the trials and issues we face in this life, but a large part of that is recognizing our entire dependence on God.   The Beatitudes teach us, among other things, that God is the one who provides for us in all things.

Where the Ten Commandments tell us, for the most part, what not to do, the Beatitudes tell us how to live in a Christ-like manner. They highlight all the good virtues that we should possess. The Beatitudes serve us well. Virtues Associated with the Beatitudes Humility : “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:3). Caring/Compassion : “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matt 5:4). Meekness : “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land” (Matt 5:5). Justice : “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). Mercy : “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt 5:7). Piety :  “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God (Matt 5:8). Peace : “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God” (Matt 5:9). Faith : “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom o

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Here is a video EVERY high school graduate and their parents need to hear. It is good for the rest of us as well.  It is a commencement address given by Bishop Robert Barron to a high school class of 2020. It is packed with gems like his jaw-dropping quote from David Brooks that we should not be seeking a life filled with "resume values" but "eulogy values." What he means is that we should consider what we want people to remember about us, what they will recall about our life when it is time for our eulogy to be given, and live that life. He acknowledges the importance of a resume that highlights worldly accomplishments, but suggests creating a life founded on eulogy values, where at your death, people can recall your sound character, goodness and love, or as he puts it--the magnanimity of your soul. But don't take my word for it.  In this all-encompassing talk about the wider vision of life, it gives a great overview that offers a signifi

I LOVE the Second Letter to Timothy!   It isn’t very long—just four chapters—but it is so packed with sound advice! If you have ever struggled with reading scripture (you are definitely not alone) you will want to take in Paul’s words of wisdom. In Chapter 3, he gives his testimony about all that he has endured and how God delivered him.   The he offers this to Timothy (and us!): “. . . from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Bear with me while I unpack this a little bit. I would guess that there are many people who do not feel like they fall into the “from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures” category, so let’s lay that part aside for now. In Jesus we have salvation.   Salvation means we will enjoy freedom from sin—the Catechism of the Catholic Church says specifically, salvation is “The forgiveness of sins, and restoration of friendship with God,

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Do you ever try to influence the decisions others are making, maybe your children or friends? Do you ever struggle with saying or doing the "wrong" thing? Today I have posted another prayer to my prayer site.  I hope it will speak into whatever you may have going on in your life today, especially in regards to your relationship with those around you. You can find today's prayer here as well as all of the other prayers I have posted. Also, if you click on the tab above, it is there as well. God bless, Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.blogspot.com janetcassidy.blubrry.net (podcasts)

A partir del comienzo de la cuarentena por la Pandemia del COVID-19, las autoridades de México alertaron sobre el aumento en las llamadas de mujeres a los servicios de ayuda sobre violencia ejercida hacia ellas. La escalada parecía alarmante y provocada por el encierro con sus agresores en su hogar. En esos meses las llamadas aumentaron en un 110% con respecto al año pasado. Y el mensaje que se trataba de sacar de esta campaña era que las mujeres estaban en más riesgo en su hogar que en otro lado. Pero las características de las llamadas dejan ver que eran más llamadas de mujeres solteras que casadas, lo que desmiente que el matrimonio sea una estructura patriarcal que aumenta la violencia de pareja como algunos movimientos alegan. Además las llamadas eran de más mujeres empleadas en comparación con menos llamadas de las que están dedicadas al hogar, que contradice la teoría de los movimientos feministas que la emancipación es la única forma de salvar a la mujer de l