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Showing posts with the label love

Receive Christ's Love This Christmas - My Wish For You

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It’s almost time to celebrate Jesus’ birthday! Christmas is almost here! I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! If you are traveling, safe travels. As we close out 2016, and look forward, with hope, to 2017, I want to share with you one of my favorite Christmas carols, performed by the late Bing Crosby and the late David Bowie. It’s called, Little Drummer Boy. The message of the song is that one little child “can give all the love he can.” Enjoy the video, then read my comments below on how we can take this message and bring it to life this Christmas season. Read more...

Hate, Justice, Forgiveness

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Islamic centers in California got hate mail recently. At least one of the letters was addressed "To the Children of Satan," and started with "You muslims [!] are a vile and filthy people...." 1 Details are new, but the attitude is all too familiar. Hating Muslims , Hindus , Jews , Catholics , or other 'outsiders' may be easier than coming to terms with personal issues. I don't know why those letters were sent. I also don't know why a Somali refugee drove into a crowd at Ohio State University and hurt some folks with a knife this morning. 2 He had been a student there, and now he's dead. I'm not happy about that, but I think he shouldn't have attacked those folks. I do not think we should deport all Somalis, lock up college students, or ban knives and automobiles. I'll talk about what I think would make sense, after explaining why I'm not upset about Americans who don't look and act exactly like me. More at A Cathol

Advent and Being Prepared

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Today's the start of this year's Advent cycle, leading up to another Christmas. With my culture's annual focus on flying reindeer, decorated trees, and overflow crowds in Bethlehem, this verse from today's Gospel reading might sound odd: " 25 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." ( Matthew 24:42 ) We know when Jesus came, and where. That happened about two thousand years ago, near the east end of the Mediterranean. Advent is the season when we look back at our Lord's first arrival. That's important. It's also when we look ahead, to the day when the Son of man returns. That's important, too. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Celebrating Mercy

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Here we go again. The headlines are accurate, as far as they go. " Pope Francis Extends Priests' Ability to Forgive Abortion " Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times (November 21, 2016) " Pope Francis extends Catholic priests' right to forgive abortion " Tim Hume, Cristiana Moisescu, Lindsay Isaac; CNN (November 21, 2016) I'm pretty sure we'll see a replay of last year's sound and fury over the Pope's 'changing stand on abortion,' expressed in a letter dated September 1, 2015. 1 The reality was nowhere near as horrific or hopeful as many folks apparently thought.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Mercy: Still Practicing

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The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ends today. Some Catholics celebrated the year's start in Rome. I didn't. Like most of us, I've been participating in my own way, where I live. The biggest change in routine for me has been during Mass. We've been receiving the Eucharist under both forms: our Lord's body and blood. If you think that's sounds gory and repulsive, you're not alone.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Hating People: Not an Option

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This showed up in today's news ... CNET's piece quoted part of this Twitter blog post: " Progress on addressing online abuse " (November 15, 2016) "...The amount of abuse, bullying, and harassment we’ve seen across the Internet has risen sharply over the past few years. These behaviors inhibit people from participating on Twitter, or anywhere...."... All that reminded me of a familiar sentiment I saw on Twitter last year: "Sometimes I wish I was religious so I could have an excuse for hating people." ...That's a lot of folks discussing religion and hate. Some agreed with the "excuse for hating people" quote, some didn't, and some discussed something completely different.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Ornamental Graces, by Carolyn Astfalk - Book Review

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Ornamental Graces , by Carolyn Astfalk, is a wonderful story, with interesting, compelling and authentic characters that you immediately come to love. Dan Malone, a tortured soul with a troubled past, meets Emily Kowalski, a young woman with dreams unfulfilled. Throughout this story, we see God at work bringing these two souls together time after time, until one day their relationship blossoms. From there, we see these two characters traverse through the journey we call life, with all of its ups and downs. Will Dan ever come to grips with the mistakes he made? Will Emily ever fulfill her dreams? And, will obstacles deprive them of developing the relationship they seemed destined to live? Carolyn Astfalk takes you on a roller-coaster ride, with a story that you will not put down until you obtain the answers to these questions. This is truly a page-turner! While reading this book, I couldn’t wait... Read more...

Love Remembered; Love Planted, Producing Good Fruits

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Today would have been the 71 st wedding anniversary of my parents, if they were still with me today. The veil between heaven and earth divides us, but the love remembered between my father and mother, and their mutual love for me remains in my heart. My parents married shortly after my father returned from World War II’s European front in 1945. From their love first came my sister Joan, now a mother to two children and grandmother of four children. Then came my brother Ed, father to three children, and grandfather to one child. Next, my sister, Susan arrived, followed by me. I tell you this to demonstrate that this love, a love remembered, between two people, is responsible for an additional fourteen people populating this earth! Love has a way of... Read more... 

Sin, Original and Otherwise

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There's trouble everywhere, and that's not news. It's not new, at any rate. "Your princes are rebels and comrades of thieves; Each one of them loves a bribe and looks for gifts. The fatherless they defend not, and the widow's plea does not reach them." ( Isaiah 1:23 ) "Yes, I know how many are your crimes, how grievous your sins: Oppressing the just, accepting bribes, repelling the needy at the gate!" ( Amos 5:12 ) How come the world is such a mess, and has been at least since we started keeping records? More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Greed Will Debilitate You; Fear is Behind All Greed

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We continue with the fifth installment of our seven-part series on the seven deadly sins. Today we discuss Greed. Greed, also known as avarice, will debilitate you because you’re dealing with a bottomless pit; an abyss. The unending desire for more money, power or fame, leaves a person feeling empty, insecure and unfulfilled no matter how much one tries to garner. There is no amount of money that guarantees security, for the fear of losing it all is ever-present. No amount of power garners confidence and self-assuredness, for the fear of losing control is ever-present. No amount of fame makes one feel like he/she “has arrived,” for the fear of being discounted and dismissed never goes away. Anyone who seeks more money, power or fame, for the purpose of filling a void, fights a losing battle. Read more...

Love ... Love?

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WHAT IS LOVE? ARE YOU INTERESTED ENOUGH TO FIND OUT? THEN CLICK HERE

"Wait For It"

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(From Radomir Vrbovsky, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) (دروازه ایشتار, Ishtar Gate, eighth gate of Babylon's inner city: a reconstruction using original bricks in the Pergamonmuseum , Berlin, Deutschland.) Prophets had their bad days, too — like Habakkuk, from today's first reading ( Habakkuk 1:2 - 3 , 2:2 - 4 ): " 1 How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene. "Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord. "Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision Clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. "For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late." ( Habakkuk 1:2 - 3 , 2:2 - 3 ) This was about 26 centuries back, and not a good era in our Lord

Love, Neighbors, and Voting

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(From Wiley Miller, via GoComics.com, used w/o permission.) (Wiley Miller's January 16, 2016, Non Sequitur. The field of major candidates has narrowed considerably since then.). I have no great enthusiasm for November's election, but I plan to vote with whatever prudence and wisdom I can muster. Being a good citizen, contributing to the good of society and taking part in public life, is part of being Catholic: or should be. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1915 , 2239 ). In my country, that includes voting intelligently: thinking about issues and candidates, voting for whoever and whatever is best; or likely to do the least damage, in some cases. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Amos and Social Justice

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I think social justice is a good idea. I'd better explain that. I think acting as if people matter is a good idea: all people, not just the 'right' ones. I'll be talking about "the poor of the land," private property, the universal destination of goods, and a job that's not even close to being done. There's nothing wrong with prosperity, by itself. As 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5 say, it's love of money that gets us in trouble. Some Saints, like Francis 1 and Claire , both of Assisi, were poor. Others, like Elizabeth of Hungary and Sir Thomas More , were anything but.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Shopping Center Attack: Why I Care

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Saturday night's attack in a St. Cloud shopping center was uncomfortably close to home. Crossroads Mall is about an hour down the road from where I live, and a place I've enjoyed visiting.... ...I'm still upset about the attack: and sorry that the attacker is dead. That, I'd better explain.... ...Some of the bad news is good news, sort of, from the 'you're known by the enemies you make' viewpoint... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Love, Mercy, and 9/11

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Airliners were flown into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon 15 years ago today, killing nearly 3,000 folks whose chief offense had been living in an American city and going to work Tuesday morning. The 19 immediately responsible died with their victims. They were waging Osama bin Laden's religious war against the United States. Osama bin Laden is dead now, and so are a great many others: perpetrators and victims; Christians, Muslims, and folks who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. On top of that, about 1,800,000 folks were stopped last year, while trying to get into Europe. Some may have had ulterior motives; but most were trying to stay alive, fleeing because their former homes had become a war zone. It's the biggest problem of that sort Europe's had since the 1940s. Quite a few folks are upset: partly because most of the refugees hadn't had opportunities to fill out all their paperwork before entering Europe. More at A

My Heart Beats for Christ! For Whom Does Your Heart Beat?

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I was recently at the doctor’s office for my annual visit. While sitting in the examining room, with nothing to do but wait, I read the ad on the door. It showed a picture of an older woman, holding a placard that said, “My heart beats for______.” She filled in the blank with “my grandkids.” She had a huge smile on her face. The ad promoted preventative health exams. As I sat there looking at the ad, I asked myself, for whom does my heart beat? I hope my husband isn’t too disappointed, but my first instinct was to answer, “My Heart beats for Christ!” Sitting there in awe for a minute, I realized my response, as well as my accompanying relationship with Christ. I love my husband very much. We’ve been together almost 40 years (married more than 37 years). Yet my response was Christ. I live for Christ; to do His will. My Heart Beats for Christ I cannot say that Christ would have always been my first response. In my early thirties... Read more...

All Lives Matter

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(From BBC News, used w/o permission.) ...I was quite upset about the incident when I heard about it on radio news the next day. Philando Castile had apparently done exactly what he should have done: followed instructions of the police officer.... ...Later Thursday, I heard and read that someone had started shooting police officers at a demonstration in Dallas, Texas. So far, six people are dead as a result of that incident: five police officers, and the person who apparently killed them. Seven officers and two civilians are still alive, but injured. I was quite upset about that, too.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Death in Orlando: Love and Solidarity

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The 49 folks killed at an Orlando entertainment venue late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, and the person who killed them, are still dead. Others are hospitalized, and may or may not survive. A whole lot of folks are mourning the loss of family and friends. Repeating what I wrote Sunday afternoon, I should love God, love my neighbors, see everybody as my neighbor, and treat others as I want to be treated.... ...Here's what a Bishop, an Archbishop, and someone at the Vatican, had to say.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Mass Murder in Orlando

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A young man killed more than four dozen folks at an entertainment venue last night/early this morning. He took some of the survivors hostage, and is now dead, too. I've run into several assumptions about what happened: and a few facts.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .