Association Of Catholic Bloggers

oday we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (formerly considered a day to honor all twelve apostles). We honor Saint Peter, the first Pope, and Apostle to Jesus, as well as Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. (This post originally posted on June 29, 2016, but given that today is their solemnity, I thought it #worthrevisiting).  Saint Peter It was to Saint Peter that Jesus declared that whatever Peter and the Apostles determined to be bound on earth would be bound in Heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth would be loose in Heaven (Matt 16:19); and with that Jesus bestowed upon Peter, as the first Pope, the keys to Heaven. Peter came from humble beginnings and grew to become a fisherman, until that day when he met Jesus, and after that became a “fisher of men.” With a simple style of humble means, Peter grew in courage and perseverance, wisdom and understanding to become the first leader of the Church as Christ’s successor, and to this day, through apostolic su

Derek Chauvin, a police officer, killed George Floyd about a month ago. I don't know whether a court will call that homicide a murder, or assign some other label. I do know that there was and is no apparent excuse for ending Mr. Floyd's life.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . News and Views A Drive-Through Nap The Mystery of the Transferred Tazer Duality and Death St. Cloud, Minnesota: An Arrest, Social Media and Riots Good Neighbors and Ersatz Facts Rumors and Looting Fear and NASCAR Flags Prudence and Perspective "A Highly Charged and Emotional Time" Freudian Slips, a "Cavalier" Comment Moral Panic, Then and Now "A Day of Reckoning:" He Said, She Said Attitudes "Hooray for Our Side" Irish Lives Matter??? Cartoons, Slogans and Some Logic Statue Panic? Public Safety and Making Sense Minneapolis: [insert feared technolog

CLICK HERE

                             Brittanica In today’s Old Testament Reading from 2 Kings (Chapter 25) we read about the fall of Jerusalem.   Jerusalem was THE home of temple worship and when the city was breached and its walls came down, the people ended up in exile in Babylon, it affected the way they worshiped for generations. How do you worship without your central place of worship?   In exile, they had to figure out how to worship differently. But today I want to talk about walls. Specifically, the silos that we create—or at least allow to exist—in our churches. Churches are not immune to establishing walls, not at all.   While we may not put up physical walls, it is easy to create territorial walls founded on the ideology that the work I do, or the group I belong to, or the way I think things should be done, is more important than the mission of the church at large. My intention is not to be negative, but unless we recognize our weakness, we will not address

The Calling of Saint Matthew (detail) Caravaggio [ 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   Matthew 10:37-42 ( New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Jesus said to his Apostles: ‘ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. ‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous;  a

Here’s what you don’t want to happen. You show up at heaven’s door and God says “I never knew you.   Depart from me . . .” Yikes! But what if you spent your whole life speaking God’s name to other people, doing good deeds and trying to fight evil? According to scripture, Jesus says that just because you do all of these things, it does not mean you are guaranteed a place in heaven. He puts it like this: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” “What then,” you ask, “is it going to take for me to get in?” Jesus continues: “only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven [will enter the kingdom].” It really is not enough for us to just go through the motions.   There isn’t a master checklist that we can follow that will get us in. You see, we can only do the will of the Father if we actually know the Father.   If we are in relationship with God, then we will know what his will is—or at least have a g

Is God expecting you to do big things for him?   Is the quiet, little way you are serving in your family, at work or in the church, enough? How will I know if I am doing what God wants me to do? As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist today, the Book of Isaiah could be a foreshadowing of John’s life.   It can speak into our lives as well. At the beginning of Chapter 49, Isaiah, recalling what he has heard from the Lord, says: “You are my servant, he [the Lord] said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory.   Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.” If you have ever wondered if what you do is a waste of time and energy, just consider that one of God’s great prophets wondered the same thing!   The Lord, in speaking to Isaiah of the things Isaiah has done, tells him he has bigger plans, greater than that which Isaiah can e

Today we celebrate the birth of Saint John the Baptist, the man who prepared the way for Our Lord. His preaching to the Israelites was prophesied in Isaiah: A voice crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’  (Is 40:3). Saint John the Baptist preached of the coming of the Messiah. John would baptize people at the River Jordon, with water. This baptism was a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, John always proclaimed a caveat that someone greater than himself would come after him. He prepared the Israelites for Jesus’ arrival and ministry. Jesus’ form of Baptism would not only take away our Original Sin, but all additional sins committed to date. John merely prepared the way for the Lord. Saint John the Baptist Saint John the Baptist is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and Elizabeth is Mary’s cousin.  When Mary, pregnant with Jesus, visited Zechariah and Elizabeth, Elizabeth, herself, was six months pregnant. The c

For quite awhile I could not for the life of me figure out why the maps app on my phone would show me a route but not say it out loud.   It is a little frustrating when you have to keep an eye on the app rather than just hear it say “In half a mile turn right,” but all in all I suppose that’s still better than having a big map unfolded on your lap like we used to do. One day, quite accidentally, I realized that my app problem was caused by the Bluetooth icon.   When it is turned on, my maps route becomes silent. Anyway, as we make our way through the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is laying down a roadmap of sorts for those who are paying attention. This gospel is packed with great advice for those who are striving for holiness. We should definitely be paying careful attention. It teaches us not to judge others and assures us that God hears and answers our prayers.   We are encouraged to “Enter through the narrow gate” which leads to life and beware of the wide gate and the broa

For awhile now my brothers have been teasing me about writing in my name in the upcoming presidential election.   One even came up with a wonderful slogan: “For a vote that can’t miss, vote for my sis!” I like it.   I’m ready. But like I told my brothers, I will need to get a haircut first.   And, I suppose, some cash, backers, a comprehensive platform and all that other stuff.   Then there’s the need to convince YOU to write in my name as well! Who’s in? I’m already making promises.   My one brother is going to be Secretary of Camping; the other my co-campaign manager (I think I promised this position to our oldest daughter as well, which explains the “co,” but who remembers promises?)   My third brother seems to be waffling in his support for me.   I’ll have to work on him a bit.   If he joins me, I initially thought his working title would be Secretary of Literature (non-fiction) but since he wants to write a tell-all book about my childhood, ide