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Do you go to  confession ?  Do you still go to a priest one on one?  Or do you just do the Communal Confession at Mass? To read the rest of the article and to respond to my very scientific poll (!), go to Being Catholic ... Really .

The Inspiration of St Matthew , Caravaggio, 1602 Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome [ 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 22:1-14 [or 22:1-10]  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition : Canada)  Jesus said to the chief priest and the elders of the people:  “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.   He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.   Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’   But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business,   while the rest seized

One of the greatest gifts that God gives us in the Holy Mass, and the Holy Eucharist is to prepare us for Eternity.  There is no where you can go on the planet and prepare for your own Judgement and Eternity like you can by going to Holy Mass, Holy Confession and taking the Blessed Sacrament.   There is no Preacher or Church service in the world that prepares you for heaven like what happens every day at Holy Mass.   To Read More CLICK HERE.

Some time ago on Facebook, I got a message from (what I thought was...) my Bishop.  He was very kind and ministering to me, asking about my walk, quoting scripture, and even giving me the link to his blog to read.  These messages happened over several days, and I was rather enjoying our little private conversations....  CLICK HERE FOR MORE

The Sower , November 1888, Arles; Vincent van Gogh   Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam [ 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)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel  Matthew 13:24-43 (or 13:24-30)   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;   but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.   So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.   And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’   He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The slave

Another time praying the Stations.... I was at the 6th Station, offering the Station to God, asking the Father that one drop of blood that just one drop of our Lord's precious blood cover what I was praying for.  At this station, I am all the way at the back of the Church, with my back to the Altar.  I hear the Lord say to me,  "Don't Turn Around."  ....  To find out why I was told that. . . CLICK HERE . 

In this age of social media, we all have to have a status, whether it is what we ate for lunch, where we are, or the old nemesis... the relationship status .   We have all seen it multiple times, and we all have those family members or friends that should have a limit on how many times they are allowed to change their relationship status.   I've had friends that their relationship status changed in hours...not days.   So, if we were to post our relationship status with God and His Church...what would it be? TO FIND OUT WHAT RELATIONSHIP STATUS YOU ARE.. .CLICK HERE!!

Pentecost  Juan de Flandes Museo del Prado [ Web Gallery of Art ] Pentecost Sunday, at the Vigil Mass (Saturday evening) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Pentecost Sunday, Mass During the Day Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)    [This link is to the readings for the Vigil Mass and for the Mass on Sunday] Gospel   John 20:19-23   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace

What Really Happens at the Holy Mass. This is where I am happiest, at the Holy Mass.  Now I will tell you what really happens at Holy Mass. The Lord told me some time ago, "I want you to go to Holy Mass everyday."  I thought, "O.k., I can do that."   At the time I was only going to Holy Mass once a week, an occasional day Mass but I mostly just prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  I didn't understand, but I obeyed.  Going to Holy Mass everyday required some coordination, I would have to get up earlier and find a Mass along the way to work.  Also, the Mass would have to be close enough to work that when it was finished I could still get to work on time.  I found several different permanent options, and a few back up plans if for some reason I couldn't get to my regular daily Mass. It took about a year of going to Holy Mass daily, but then things started to change.   This was no longer an obligation, but a joy!    God started to open my eyes t

Many of us never know how close we have come to going to hell.  I found out today just how close I really came to being in the place of eternal torment.  Really close. When my husband was alive I had come back to the Catholic Church and I prayed my Rosary and loved to spend time with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.  After my husband died, everything hurt, and I mean everything.  Little things like going to the grocery store or watching t.v. was painful, and yes going to church was painful too because everywhere I was, I could feel his absence.  (He never went to church with me, but I prayed for him much there.)  Well, after his death, I was hurting so bad, that I just didn't care about anything, myself included.  All I wanted was to not hurt just for a little while.  I worked 50 hours a week, because I knew if I kept busy the 'demon' of sadness was kept at bay.  (There is a physical law that you can't think of two things at the same time, so the busier I was

St John the Baptist , El Greco, c.1600 [ 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 3:1-12  (Canadian Lectionary,  New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition )  In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,   “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”   This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,      make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.   Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan,     and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confess

Do you know what you are doing when you walk into the confessional?  Such a grace is present there that it cannot be adequately put into words.  The confessional is one of the greatest gifts God gives us to reconcile us to Himself and to have the possibility to attain heaven.  Walk quickly to the confessional when you err, but only with the true intention in your heart to amend your life and never hurt God again.  You cannot use the confessional as your own 'fire' protection, and then continue your life the same way you did before you walked into the confessional.  Don't you know that the confessional is the fire of heaven?  The same fire that Elijah called down and burned the wood that was soaked in the water, for there is nothing it cannot change. I went to Holy Confession to Father Bob at St. Matha's Catholic Church..  Father Bob laid his hands on my head at the end of my confession and gave me absolution.  The next day I was at St. Michael praying the Chaplet of

Crucifixion ,  Pedro de Campaña, c.1550 [ 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  Luke 23:35-43  ( Revised StandardVersion – Catholic Edition )  And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at Jesus, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we

Zacchaeus receives Jesus , Church of the Good Shepherd, Jericho [ Wikipedia ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 19:1-10  ( Revised StandardVersion – Catholic Edition )  Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in

While kids are merrily jumping in piles of fall leaves, moms of many are getting buried in piles of last season's clothing. Denim shorts and fluttery sundresses get ever so gently yanked out of clutching hands to be stored away for younger siblings. Executives of Rubbermaid and other containerizing companies must grin ear-to-ear at this change of season. Because, really, is it possible to have too many plastic storage tubs? Not in my house. So last season. In the picture above, you can see three of my daughters sitting in a sea of last season's clothes. (That's actually more like a week's worth of laundry, but you didn't think I would dump it  all  out, did you?) Read more...

At the Secular Carmelite retreat I went to last weekend, I heard a message I didn't expect and it has changed the way I'm hearing scripture, liturgy and homilies. I have different ears somehow. The topic of our retreat was, "Rediscovering the Riches of Divine Intimacy," with retreat master Father Robert Barcelos, OCD. I had been wondering how to grow in intimacy with God, pondering how it was that I had been feeling stuck for so long and even having a hard time following through on my prayer commitments.  Father Robert said that Jesus loves us MOST where we are weak. He doesn't love us DESPITE when  we're weak, but loves us MOST when we are weak. It's his preference. Whenever Jesus picks a place of encounter, it is in a place where life is messy, shameful or overwhelming for us. Where did Jesus choose to encounter mankind, face to face, in the flesh, for the first time? In a dank, smelly stable, in the middle of the night. He coul

To understand why Jesus has to be God, we have to understand the Father also.  The Father is infinite, with no beginning and no end.  Therefore, his attributes are also infinite.  His knowledge is infinite and, most important to us, his memory is infinite.  We were created, and we have a beginning, but with a soul that shall exist forever.  God is the creator of life, and if the angels shall not taste death or annihilation, then neither shall we, to say that our souls face an annihilation is not consistent with the nature of God as creator of life.  We shall be "somewhere" for all time.  A short time, (very short when you think about it) in the flesh, and then eternity either with God or banished from His presence.   So let's go back to the Father's memory.  The Father's memory is infinite, which means He will remember all things for all time.  (He is actually not bound by time, but that is another blog post) So think about that, what you do in the flesh G