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St Joseph, Husband and Father; fatherhood.

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The Presentation in the Temple Philippe de Champaigne [ Web Gallery of Art ] A few years ago while at home from the Philippines I was celebrating Sunday Mass  in Blanchardstown, Dublin, when I noticed a family coming in a little late. I realised the parents were Filipinos. They came right up to the front of the church. What touched me was that the husband/father was carrying the couple’s infant. In November 2014 I was in the pre-departure area of Incheon Airport, Seoul, for a flight back to Manila. I saw a Filipino father with his son who clearly had just recently learned to walk and was taking sheer delight in running around. He wasn’t disturbing anyone as there was plenty of space. The child’s father stayed at a distance, moving around and keeping an eye on his son while giving him space. I can imagine St Joseph doing exactly the same with the Child Jesus when he had just learned to walk. Philippe de Champaigne’s painting shows St Joseph carrying Jesus into the temple, just as the yo

St. Patrick's Day: Prickly Problems, Shamrocks and Saints

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March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. It's a public holiday in Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador. Chicago plumbers celebrate by turning the city's river green. It's a day when folks wear something green, and I've heard that some even drink green beer. Why anyone would think green beer is a good idea is beyond me, and that's another topic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

'For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.' Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B

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  Nicodemus Unknown Flemish Master [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   John 3:14-21 ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) Jesus said to Nicodemus: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,   that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.   For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.   Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.   And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were e

Returning Home

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    I was in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, reading the Parable of the Lost Son, also known as the Prodigal Son.   It’s a passage I’ve read a million times. I’ve analyzed it time and again, from every angle.   I recognize the father who welcomes home the son who spent all his inheritance, as our Father in heaven.   I love how the father runs out to meet his son, embraces him and kisses him, even though the son didn’t deserve it.   The father throws him a party as he celebrates his return. I am confident that every time one of God’s own children turns back to him, he likewise meets him (or her) without hesitation.   No groveling needed.   No begging necessary.   Just pure rejoicing in the return of one who has gone astray. Interestingly, it wasn’t until the younger son had squandered away all of his inheritance and found himself hungry, that he began his journey back home, seeking out his father.  Scripture tells us that he had been “dead” and came back to life again; he was lo

Pope Francis in Iraq: Peace, Prayer and a Sign of Hope

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I've been listening to Vatican News coverage of the Pope's trip to Iraq.... ...Watching, too. All 53 minutes and 42 seconds of that video. I'd have preferred seeing more of the medal presented to Iraqi authorities. And the speeches were pretty much what I expected: reviews of past events, current situations and future hopes. That drama deficit.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Women's Day and the femenine treasure they transmit (Spanish) Dia de la mujer y la riqueza que hereda.

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    Blanca nos invita, en este Dia de la Mujer , a valorar lo que nos han dado nuestras madres y abuelas a traves de gneraciones. Pero también nos hace consciencia de que las mujeres podemos mejorar algunas de esas herencias y transformar las que pueden destruir o herir.  Por Blanca Ahumada Otero

To sin ... the unforgivable sin ...

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  . CLICK HERE

Christopher Marlowe and His World

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I'd started writing about soliloquies in Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus...." That reminded me of film noir and the Gunpowder Plot. So today I'll be discussing Christopher Marlowe, but mostly his era: Elizabethan England. Along with European politics and whatever else comes to mind.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

A Vision Of Hell

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  . HELL IS NOT WHAT YOU IMAGINE IT TO BE EXPERIENCE  A VISION OF HELL CLICK HERE  

I, as a humble servant of Jesus Christ, will continue to serve the suffering, victimised and persecuted communities . . . 'Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

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  C hrist Driving the Money-changers from the Temple   Rembrandt [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel  John 2:13-25 ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I