Association Of Catholic Bloggers

  There are people who argue against the current synod (gathering) going on in the Catholic Church now. They fear the outcome. They are afraid it is too open, that it is misguided, for a variety of reasons. So I thought it might be good to share a quote with you from Pope Francis, from the opening of this important gathering. This is how he thinks: "The blessing and welcoming gaze of Jesus prevents us from falling into some dangerous temptations: of being a rigid church -- a customs office -- which arms itself against the world and looks backward; of being a lukewarm church which surrenders to the fashions of the world; of being a tired church, turned in on itself." Be sure to check out the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website to read more and follow the synod, but note that the Pope has asked for a "fast" and silence so participants have time to pray, reflect and discern without distraction. How beautiful that the Church is being led by such an i

I was so inspired by this VIDEO , I thought I would share it with you. I know the saint's day he refers to has passed, but I figured you wouldn't mind. How did it inspire me? It reminded me of the importance of solitude in our daily life. It reveals different ways we might find time for it. Think of solitude not simply as following your daily devotional routine--scripture reading, rosary, whatever--but time alone with God as he describes in the video, reflecting on your life with God and your communion with him. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It's only 5 minutes. You can find it on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops link I have provided; it is presented by Father John M. Mckenzie of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Blessings, Janet Cassidy  

  Una mirada desde dentro del Sinodo de la Sinolidad nos explica la naturaleza de este Sínodo que tanta expectación está causando en el mundo. Austen Ivereigh, en calidad de experto participante en el Sínodo, nos lleva a través del proceso y preparación de varios años que ha llevado esta reunión y cuáles serán sus alcances y objetivos y, sobre todo,  la riqueza que traerá para cada uno de los miembros de nuestra Iglesia Católica. Por: La Iglesia te escucha. YOU TUBE

Every time we develop new tech for studying this universe, we find something new. New to us, that is. This week, I'll be talking about unexpected Jupiter-size objects in the Orion Nebula, and why scientists at CERN dropped a few hundred antihydrogen atoms. Baffling Binaries, Planetary Problem: JuMBOs in Orion Low Expectations, a Pleasant Surprise A Planet by Any Other Name JuMBOs and Questions Antimatter, Gravity, the Universe: and an Experiment at CERN A Quick Look at Antimatter, From Hicks to Dirac, and Weirdness (Most) Antihydrogen Atoms Fell Down Mystery of the Missing Antimatter 'Where's the Antimatter?' — Broadening the Search Ptolemy, C. S. Lewis, the Universe, and Assumptions "...Its Inhabitants Like Grasshoppers...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Unexpected Jupiter-size binaries in the Trapezium Cluster, antimatter and gravity experiment at CERN. New data, new puzzles.)

  The Parable of the Wicked Tenants Abel Grimmer [ Web Gallery of Level ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 21:33:43  ( English Standard Version Anglicised, India) Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence round it and dug a wine press in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.   When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.   And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.   Again he sent other servants, more than at first. And they did the same to them.   Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’   But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and

  I've been following the chaos that is happening in Washington, D.C. lately, disheartened as I am sure many of you are. It is a complicated mess, that really doesn't need to be. The ugliness that has been on display is disturbing, and the reality that so much of it comes out of sin, is striking. You name the sin--pride, egotism, posturing for position--it's all there. The lack of humility displayed is scary. The narcissism of individuals out for themselves or their party, instead of this country, prohibits anything from being accomplished. Forgive me, as I do not typically write political commentary here, but the men who have announced they are now running to become Speaker of the House are real pot-stirrers (not in a good way) who can only make the mess worse. I was thinking about this and the importance of uncomplicating our own lives. I know I write a lot about simplifying and so forth, but that word "uncomplicate" can really identify for us a need we may have

 Madonna of the Rosary   Lorenzo Lotto [ Web Gallery of Art ] Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.  When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.  All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers ( Acts 1:12-14 ). First Reading, Mass of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Madonna of the Rosary   Lorenzo Lotto [ Web Gallery of Art ] Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.  When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son o

  I started reading an online book/diary by Dorothy Day (of the Catholic Worker) that describes the life of women on the farm in 1948. No easy life, that's for sure. The book can be found on the Catholic Worker site and is called "On Pilgrimage."   Anyway, I thought you might be interested in a description by Dorothy of how she prays for friends who are in sorrow. Here is an excerpt in her own words:   "We are so far from church, and the snow kept us from getting to Mass Sunday. So we read the epistle and gospel for the day and have been doing it daily since. Sunday’s epistle was about the marriage feast of Cana. When my friends are in sorrow and trouble, or even when they are just without spirit, I like to pray, “Jesus, they have no wine,” or “Mary, they have no wine.” It is a good prayer for many sad hearts today." (January 19, 1948)   Isn't that a great way to pray with scripture?   When you say, "Jesus (or Mary), they have no wine," you are

After a good night's sleep, our grandson got up--how shall I say this?--well-rested with lots of energy. He was really moving. In fact, before I could tell him and his sister to make their beds, both had already done so. Yay! If you have never had the pleasure of watching an eight year-old with lots of energy, you're really missing something. In fact, I would describe him as bouncing that morning. At one point I held him and told him to look at me, to just stand still and take a few breaths as he was getting ready to brush his teeth. Reflecting on this later I started thinking that, in a different way, there are many of us adults who have similar behavior. We bounce around from one thing to another, running here and there, barely taking a breath before we move on to the next thing. As I wouldn't advise this for an eight year-old, I likewise would not advise this behavior for us adults. If you are running from work, rushing through dinner and moving on to the next thin

    I can't remember where I came across this, but I thought it was good, so I turned it into a prayer, asking God to let me "have a love that is not calculated, but extravagant." I find the idea of loving "extravagantly" both challenging and essential. When I think of extravagance, I think of "over the top." To me, extravagant love is exactly the kind of love Jesus showed us on the cross, which should continue to compel us toward holiness and goodness today. To love in such a selfless way, freely, completely, unreservedly isn't particularly easy, but when you push away all calculations and allow such love to flow from you, there is nothing like it. It is pure freedom. It is the love we see in saints. Calculated love isn't free at all. It causes us to hesitate before giving of ourselves. It measures the cost of personal sacrifice. It holds back. It is the opposite of extravagant love. It asks, should I help them? Do they deserve help

      It was a super quiet weekday morning and I was reading through a reflection on the day's scripture passage. It was one of those oh-so-peaceful moments and there was something in the scripture passage that made me ask myself, "If this was your last day, what would you want to be doing right now?"   The answer that rose up inside of me was, "Nothing."   There isn't any site I need to see, adventure I need to take, or restlessness in need of settling. I think what I was experiencing that morning was pure contentment in that moment. It was a beautiful thing.   I hesitate to write about it because it never fails that as soon as I take a breath and utter the words "Wow, everything is good right now. Everyone's fine. No worries," something happens. I'm not kidding.   My husband and I got away for a short weekend a few years back and we were able to take a little boat ride to an "up north" island for dinner. When we returned t

NASA's "UAP Independent Study Team Report" used the words stigma, destigmatize, or destigmatizing about a dozen times. At 31 mostly-text pages, that works out to one of those words every two and a half pages. That's nowhere near the frequency I've seen for terms like "communist threat" or "climate change" in fevered philippics, but it was enough to get my attention. Particularly since I'm both a nerd and a convert to Catholicism. That's given me opportunities for experiencing scorn and/or bemused puzzlement: along the lines of 'how can you believe in that stuff'; or 'well, I don't believe in...'. Oh, boy. Before getting around to perceived existential threats and B movie space monsters, I'd better talk about "believe in". More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (UAPs and UFOs. Beliefs, assumptions, and science fiction movies of the 1950s. Extraterrestrial intelligence as a perceived exis

Fr Anthony Collier 20 June 1913 - 27 June 1950 Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Matthew 21:28:32  ( English Standard Version Anglicised, India) Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’   And he answered, ‘I will not’, but afterwards he changed his mind and went.   And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir’, but did not go.   Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them,  “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.   For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterwar

  I am re-posting something a friend of mine (Fr. Phil Schmitter) posted a week or so ago because I thought it was so beautiful and someone might need it today.   Have a blessed weekend.   Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com   For all those who are grieving, may someone reach out to you with kindness and love.. For those who are ill May God bless you with healing and hope and may someone reach out to you with love. If you are painfully lonely today, may someone you love reach out to you in kindness. May you feel God's loving presence encouraging you today. Thank you, Dear Lord for all who read this prayer today. May each of you know I love you and pray for you.

  We went to a familiar orchard in search of some of those warm cinnamon doughnuts. Always a favorite this time of year. When we walked in, there wasn't a doughnut in site. There were apple pies, apple butter, and caramel apples, but no doughnuts. So I asked the lady behind the counter if they had any. I couldn't believe her response. Without a smile on her face, she said: "Do you go into McDonald's and ask them if they have hamburgers?" I must have looked stunned, so she continued, "We have them here in this warmer." So I ask you, was she being cute/funny or rude? We bought some of her doughnuts--which weren't the best--and then went to a different orchard where they had better doughnuts and staff. Sorry, I'm just venting about my First World "problem." For some reason, I really take issue with service people who don't know how to interact with customers. I always try to give them a break and assume there is something going o

  Why is furniture called furniture? Which cheese puff is longer? Oh the things six year olds ask. Our granddaughter took an inordinate amount of time trying to measure out two cheese puffs before she could figure out which one to eat first. I can relate. When I was young, I would lay on the grass looking up at the sky wondering how trees got their name. Who named them? Why are they called trees? Curiosity is a good thing, as long as unanswered questions do not become an obstacle to faith, which can sometimes happen in matters of spirituality. If you find yourself struggling with questions that do not seem to have any answers, do not let this prevent you from growing in your faith. While there are some answers we may not be able to definitively know in this world that does not mean we will not learn them in the next. Trust. Patience, and a good dose of acceptance allows us to become believers without full knowledge. As they say, "We walk by faith, not by si