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Transfiguration, Blessed Fra Angelico [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Mark 9:2-10 (NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition) Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jes

Lent is an excellent time for seeking God’s forgiveness, via the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament, God cleanses us from our sins and reunites us to Christ. Although you may be apprehensive at the onset of disclosing your sins to priest, it is really Christ in whom you are confessing your sins, as the priest is acting in persona Christi , in the person of Christ. You will exit the Confessional filled with God’s graces of gratitude, humility, joy and peace. As a Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) Coordinator for my parish, I work with people coming from other Christian faiths, (or no faith), who wish to consider becoming Catholic. One of the most common questions I get is “Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest? Why can’t you just ask God directly for forgiveness?” To answer these questions, this video from Bustedhalo.com gives the best answers: Read more...

What do you DO? Three Questions but back to the series... "Three things are necessary for man's salvation," said Thomas Aquinas, "to know what he ought to believe, to know what he ought to desire, and to know what he ought to do." In this three part series, during Lent, I am going to take apart this quote from Aquinas. In this quote, he begs the question.... actually three questions. What do you  believe ? What do you  desire ? What do you  do ? These are the three essential questions for faith and for salvation.  Aquinas said it: it must be true!  :0) This year during the season of Lent, this will be the focus of my conversations.  Today, I'm discussing what we do. How's the 'no shopping' going for Lent? Well, it's interesting. It is really opening my eyes!   read the rest here

As we hear the latest news reports, we might wonder, Where is God in all of this? As we struggle with personal calamities or are heartbroken by hardships our loved ones are facing, we might ask, “Where are you, God?” The answer to these questions is God is omnipresent–living and active everywhere. As Paul said, “In him we live and move and have our being.” Becoming more conscious of this truth is a good goal for Lent as we strive to renew our spiritual life. One place where God dwells is in the deep center of our very selves. Jesus promised, “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20). St. John of the Cross lamented that we seldom give thought to this mind-blowing mystery. Coming in touch with God in our hearts makes us more aware of his hand at work in the world. It also brings forth in us the fruits of peace and joy no matter how stressful our life.  A prayer practice that cultivates being sensitive to God at the core of our being is centering prayer.

The Olympics are here! Have you been watching? I’ve watched some: snow boarding, a little of the sking, and my favorite, figure skating. I mage by PublicDomainPictures (2013)  via Pixabay ,  CCO Public Domain I am always amazed at the level of talent and effort put in by the Olympic athletes, and all serious athletes, really. There’s a reason St. Paul often used the analogy of athletes for the spiritual life. They are a great example of what we need to succeed in the spiritual life and in life in general. Here’s three of them: READ MORE

A REFLECTION FOR LENT WHAT IS WEALTH WORTH? CLICK HERE

I hope Association of Catholic Women Bloggers continue to indulge me with another podcast.  David gave a talk at his Book Launch of Wisdom from the Christian Mystics - How to Pray the Christian Way on 15th February 2018 at The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, London. "A Ground-breaking Spiritual Classic" -  From The Catholic Universe Christmas Edition 2017 -  Michael Winterbottom, deputy editor   David Torkingtons latest book - Wisdom from the Christian Mystics has already been described in superlatives by reviewers, even before it has been officially launched at the Athenaeum, Pall Mall.  Kevin Grant, the former Editor in Chief of the Catholic Universe and  former Master of the Catholic Writer's Guild simply called it, 'a masterpiece'. For a writer and a poet, who is so careful with words, it is remarkable that in his endorsement of the book he even suggests that the author could be canonized for writing it - hopefully not in the near future! We need to hear much mor

I hope Association of Catholic Women Bloggers will indulge me by listening to a podcast rather than reading a blog. Introductory talk at Book Launch of Wisdom from the Christian Mystics -  How to Pray the Christian Way by Professor Henry Mayr- Harting -  Emeritus Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Oxford, England. at The Athenaeum, 107 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ER on Thursday 15th February 2018 Professor Mayr-Harting gives his impressions and his review of the book..... not without humour...... Wisdom from the Christian Mystics - How to Pray the Christian Way Published by Circle Books of Winchester, UK and Washington, USA    Please find the podcast here.....

Fr John Lagomarsino   [ Source ] (6 November 1939 - 3 February 2018) John Lagomarsino was born on 6 November 1939 in Sacramento, California, USA, to Louis L. Lagomarsino and Helen (Higgins) Lagomarsino. He is survived by his older brother, Dr Paul Lagomarsino, and his younger sister Mrs Lucia Foster.   He attended Sacred Heart Grade School, and later Christian Brothers High School (1953-55) as well as Sacramento Senior High School (1955-57). Afterwards, he attained a BA in History from Sacramento State College. Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento    [ Wikipedia ] In 1961 John joined the Peace Corps and was among the first group assigned to the Philippines. There he met the Columbans while teaching English as a Second Language in Ilog, Negros Occidental. [ Wikipedia ] He returned to the United States in 1963 and applied to the Columban seminary. He began his studies at St Columban’s College and Seminary in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. His Spirit

Did you know that Saturday was Random Act of Kindness Day? Might someone have provided you with a random act of kindness that simply made you smile? If so, please share the experience in the comments section below. We could all use a little good news about now. It would be nice to know that some people are out there doing good for others. How grand it would be if we applied the principle of Random Act of Kindness Day to our everyday lives! Oh, just think of what a nicer world it would be, if we were all kinder to each other. Kindness Produces Good Ripples When someone is kind to you, you naturally want to respond in a positive way. Kindness produces good ripples!!! If everyone did one kind thing for someone else every day, then kindness would spread everywhere. For example, ... Read more...

This year's Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day were the same day. Folks exchanged greeting cards. Many got their foreheads marked with ashes. And 17 were killed at a high school. Someone's already called last Wednesday's mass murder the 'Valentine's Day Massacre of 2018.' The famous Valentine's Day Massacre was in 1929 . It happened when a Chicago gang tried resolving a disagreement over bootleg booze. It didn't succeed. Not quite.... ...I'm quite sure the 17 folks killed at Stoneman Douglas High School will be missed by their families, friends, and acquaintances.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Quite a bit happened this week. We started Lent's 40-day stay with our Lord in the desert. Not literally. That's mentioned in today's Gospel: Mark 1:12 - 15 . I've talked about deserts and Deuteronomy, penance and porridge, before. ( February 11, 2018 ; February 26, 2017 ) There's a more technical — and more useful, probably — discussion in Catechism of the Catholic Church 538 - 540 .... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

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A Huge Oopsie The other day, after picking my oldest up from her volleyball practice (she joined the team last week and will begin competing in games in the near future),  I let the kids play in water outside because despite being February, we had the rare 70 degree day.  They were squirting the hose, and playing and laughing.  I put Conrad down for his nap, checked my iPhone, then went outside, to find no one in the backyard.  I called for Annabel (the toddler) but she was nowhere to be found. I looked in the front yard first, then ran upstairs and asked Molly and Frances where Annabel (and Anders and Madeleine) were. read the rest at tacywilliamsbeck.com

I’d like you to meet Michael.  He’s one of my heroes. Michael is the nephew of my second-born son’s wife, the third-born of her sister's six children. He just turned nine years old and I am going on sixty; but believe me when I say that when I grow up, I want to be just like him .  When you hear his story, you will undoubtedly feel the same way. T-shirts were made for Michael's friends and family to wear in support while he fights the toughest battle of his young life against a bitter foe, a disease that has ravaged his body but not his spirit.  The shirts have this logo on the front: #MICHAELSTRONG And oh, is he ever strong!  His poor body has been through the wringer ever since he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, T-cell leukemia, in March of 2017.  He's gone through a series of intense chemo treatments with their merciless and horrendous side effects, treatments that would test the spirit of a person of any age.  To read more about

Falcon Heavy's test flight last week wasn't perfect. But I'll call it a success. That's good news for SpaceX. Not my opinion: the largely-successful flight. The test flight's dummy payload included an actual dummy. "Starman" is that mannequin wearing a spacesuit at the wheel of a red Tesla roadster. I'll be talking about that, how I see the news, technology, and humanity's new horizon.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Temptation of Christ, Tintoretto [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Mark 1:12-15 (NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition) The Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ Ordination of Columban to the Priesthood Please pray for the Reverend Erl Dylan J. Tabaco who will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday 17 February in Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, where Columbans worked for many years. May the Lord grant him many fruitful years as a

Image by 472301 (2016) via Pixabay , CCO Public Domain Hello, Carol D'Annunzio here. I have been a long-time reader of the Association of Catholic Bloggers and very happy to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and posts with all of you here. About me: I am married for almost 15 years to a wonderful, truck-driving guy named Michael and we hail from New Jersey. Together we have an almost 13 year old whom I homeschool and an adorable rescued Dachshund-Chihuahua named Nugget. I am passionate about my faith and writing and love being able to combine the two on my blog, Simple Catholic Living . I look forward to connecting with some one you. God bless.

From February 15-19, my Christian novel Amaranth will be free on Amazon Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/Amaranth-J-Avila-ebook/dp/B00WSCJT64 About the story: Would you take an elixir that made you perpetually young and physically immortal? What if the price for it was your eternal soul? Billionaire Desmond Sceller acquires such a wonder drug. But when eighty-year-old Marie Long is rejuvenated by it against her will, she quickly discovers unending beauty and youth is not the paradise it seems. Sceller, however, intends on using the elixir to entice all mankind into submitting to his tyrannical control. When Marie and her grandson Peter unearth this evil scheme, they soon discover that only an extraordinary sacrifice on their part can free humanity from Sceller’s nefarious plan. For ages 13 and up. During this promotional offer, my other Christian novels— Rain from Heaven, Nearer the Dawn, and Cherish —will also be just 99 ¢ each on Kindle with all net pro

As you watch a program about the millions and millions of galaxies that lie beyond our own, or when you are adrift in the daze before falling asleep, you might wonder, “How did everything begin?” The answer is, “No one knows.” This lack of knowledge, however, does not stop creative human beings from proposing theories. Currently I’m working on a book that had me investigating how people explain the existence of the universe. Now at the outset of this post, since it is Valentine’s Day, I state the Christian position: All of creation is a tremendous act of love from God, who is best defined as love. It is an overflowing of his divine love. God fashioned us, his children, in his likeness and created the world as our home. Just how God did this remains a mystery, since no one was present to make a video of it.  Click to continue

Wow! Ash Wednesday & Valentine’s Day on the same day! Hearts and Ashes in one fell swoop! Today is the day when we show our love for our spouses and loved ones, with valentines. It is also a day that we show our love for Christ, with ashes on our foreheads; marking ourselves as belonging to Christ. Today, we can consider the ashes on our foreheads as our own personal valentine to God, acknowledging Christ’s sacrifice on the cross because of His love for us. Talk about bittersweet days! No hearts filled with assorted chocolates this year! Considering that Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and abstinence, there is no going out to dinner tonight either. Yet, the love of Christ is ever-present on this day, and we soak it up. I’ll give up a candy heart, and a steak dinner, knowing that Jesus loves me. There is no better Valentine than that! My fasting and abstinence is a small sacrifice of self-giving love back to Jesus for His sacrifice on the Cross. Read more...

Three Questions "Three things are necessary for man's salvation," said Thomas Aquinas, "to know what he ought to believe, to know what he ought to desire, and to know what he ought to do." In this three part series, during Lent, I am going to take apart this quote from Aquinas. In this quote, he begs the question.... actually three questions. What do you  believe ? What do you  desire ? What do you  do ? These are the three essential questions for faith and for salvation.  Aquinas said it: it must be true!  :0) This year during the season of Lent, this will be the focus of my conversations. I am going to start that conversation here, with part one on my blog! Let's Talk About Lent And before we get into that question, I want to discuss Lent for just a minute.  I remember in years past, I heard about a girl who was going to give up creamer in her coffee for Lent. However, it was too tough for her, but she still wanted to honor God by doing some kind of sacr

Almighty God,  you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you; so lead us by your Spirit that in this life we may live to your glory and in the life to come enjoy you forever;-  St. Augustine Over the years, I have attended many retreats and masses, followed by healing prayer led by Fr. Albert MacPherson. For over 30 years, Father Albert MacPherson O.S.A. has traveled the globe on a healing mission. He takes his special healing ministry to parishes and provides parish communities with healing Masses and retreats. One mass I attended a few years ago was especially memorable. After mass, dressed in a black cassock, using holy water, blessed salt, holy oil and  traditional prayers of the Church,  Father simply blesses the people with God performing wonderful miracles in his wake. continue reading

I must start this post by telling you that I have been a friend and fan of Tony Agnesi for approximately four years now. Several years ago, as a fledgling Catholic blogger, I reached out to him, seeking advice. You see, Tony has an awesome blog over at tonyagnesi.com , where he blogs about virtue as well. Where I write more from a theological/academic point of view on virtue, Tony writes from experience. I once asked him, “How do you come up with such great stories? You are quite creative!” His reply, “Those things really happened to me!” God uses Tony, daily, to reach out to the less fortunate; to witness to the faith; and to use his gift for storytelling to reach the hearts of many. In A Storytellers Guide to a Grace Filled Life , we see Tony Agnesi at work in God’s Garden of life. A Storytellers Guide to a Grace Filled Life … captures the best of Tony Agnesi’s stories aimed at showing you how to find God’s Grace in your own life. As a master storyteller, Agnesi shares with u

DID HANK DONE IT THIS WAY? CLICK HERE

Lent is fast approaching. How I see it and what I do is up to me. Ash Wednesday is next week, so I don't have much time to decide. Christians, Catholic and otherwise, in my culture generally change what we eat for this season. I'm a Catholic, so I've got rules. But not all that many. Mostly they're guidelines. I put a link to my territory's rules about diet under ' Fast & Abstinence ' near the end of this post.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

      Por: Lourdes de Domenzain

I have worked with Pete Socks online for years.  Pete is an example of someone who volunteered to serve the Church by writing articles on his blog and for online Catholic sites without pay for years till God opened the door to a full-time paying job creating  Catholic podcasts and helping manage BreadBox Media. He is a humble guy, was a manager at a factory, and a happily married father of five who converted to the Catholic faith in 1996. After a few years, he found himself simply going through the motions, just trudging to weekly Mass.  God had other plans, though. Pete experienced a reconversion when he stumbled on a book by Father Larry Richards and then attended one of his conferences. It was a turning point. Pete had discovered the key to reviving his lackluster faith in books; he began reading voraciously, a book a week, to nourish his spirit. In 2012, he decided to start a self-hosted blog writing book reviews, writing a review each week. continue reading

Scientists figure a comet started breaking up about 12,800 years back. Nothing unusual there. Many comets break up while they're this close to our sun. This time Earth got in the way before the fragments spread out much. Fire rained from the sky, consuming forest and meadow alike. Sounds a bit like Genesis 19:1 , now that I think of it. Except we didn't start building cities until a few millennia later. Or maybe we haven't found our first cities yet. And that's another topic or two.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Christ as Saviour, El Greco [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel Mark 1:40-45 (NRSV, Anglicised Catholic Edition) A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. Dr Carlo Urbani - (1956 - 2004)

Last week the kids and I met Tom at the church for an event. Fifteen minutes before we had to leave a neighbor kid came to the door. It was her birthday so she brought everyone cupcakes. She left and my kids were scarfing down the chocolate cupcakes before we had to leave. Thick globs of chocolate icing ended up on my new rug. We were supposed to leave the house by this time but instead I was frantically scrubbing my rug trying to get the stains out. In the hectic chaos, I guess I forgot to lock the front door.   Continue Reading@ Beautifulthorns>

Can you believe it? Lent is only one week away! We’ve barely left the Christmas season, and we are about to walk the journey, with Christ, to Calvary. Are you prepared to enter the Lenten season? Are you ready to make the most of it? Things You Can Do to Make Your Lent Fruitful Prayer : Make a point to set aside a few minutes each day to pray. If you have enough time to say a full Rosary, great! But, sometimes, the day gets away from us. So, a vow to say a single Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be is a commitment I think we all could easily make. Prayer is talking with God. He wants to hear from you! Fasting : At a minimum, make the effort to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. By fasting, I mean a reduced breakfast and lunch, and a full dinner. No desserts! If you can do this on a set day of the week, once weekly during Lent, all the better! Fasting helps us to understand that without God, we are nothing. It is God who provides for us: our homes, our jobs, our food, ever

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Are you weary of snow, slush, and black ice? Are you tired of putting on layers of clothing to protect against the cold? Take heart! Spring is March 20—only a few weeks away. Then it will be time for spring cleaning, when we move the sofa and wash the windows. We are quickly approaching Lent, which is called the springtime of the soul. It’s a time to do some serious spiritual cleaning.The undertaking will not be difficult because we have a willing partner. The Gospel recounts that once a leper said to Jesus, “If you wish, you can make me clean,” and he heard, “I do wish it.” And at Jesus’ touch, the man’s body marred with ugly sores became as good as new. We too can appeal to Jesus to help renew us, and we can be confident that he will respond eagerly. Click to continue