Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Pope Francis Prays for Church to Be ‘Free of ‘Clericalism’ | Daily News | NCRegister.com

Shameless Popery: The Awesome Power of the Five-Step "Lectio Divina" Method to Scripture

On the plus side of the equation... I'll bet when the ship started to capsize that he did some pretty heavy praying!!! Priest who took a week off 'to pray' was on Costa Concordia

Two of my favorite things: faith and food! I hope these programs will be available in Canada. It does though put me in mind of my favorite New Year's prayer.  " Dear God. This 2012 I would like a fat bank account and a thin body. Please don't mix them up like you did last year! Amen. " Delia Smith wants to do for Catholicism what she has done for cooking - Telegraph

Sad, but once again the local Member of Parliament that represents the majority of the diocese of Pembroke is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. I say it's sad because she is an avid (and usually more capable) defender of the pro-life agenda. Now the local pro-choice advocates are heaping opprobrium on their opponents in this debate by ridiculing them as being associated with other malapropisms. Such are the tides of life in these parts. I take comfort in knowing that the tides may ebb and flow but time marches on towards its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Such a perspective helps keep fresh one's hope and energy in these contests in the public square. It speaks to the need for all who argue for the enshrinement in legislation that which our faith teaches to remain personally connected to God, both in His church and individually. This is nourished and sustained best through an active personal prayer life and communal celebrations of faith. It is also sustained by d...

H/T to Michael Brandon (Freedom Through Truth) for this delightful post by an American (religious?) who blogs to offer and inspire prayer as the remedy for the sex abuse scandals. She does not diminish the evil, nor the steps needed to erase it from the Church. Nor does she condemn the media for (most of) their reporting. She recognizes the harm and the good being done through their exposing rot within the 'wood' in parts of 'Peter's barque'. This is a necessary step in any effective repair: to determine the extent of the corruption and then apply the necessary remedy to bring about healing. Thus she prays for healing: for the victims, the church and in the world. Here is a prayer she invites all to join: PRAYER FOR HEALING Lord Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go back into my memory as I sleep. Every hurt that has ever been done to me, heal that hurt. Every hurt that I have ever caused another person, heal that hurt. All the relationships th...

This is well worth the time to read and listen to get some perspective in these troubled times.

Here is a story from the National Post that lifts the spirits which speaks to the power of prayer.

During my seminary training, I was taught the value the making an annual retreat when we take ourselves away from the pressures and distraction of everyday life to re-focus ourselves on Christ once again. The Anchoress , a regular blogger on the First Things website, using a movie ("Enchanted April", 1994) offers a suggestion on how women (and I believe men too) can take advantage of their own home to make a mini-retreat for themselves. Given the stresses of the modern family life, people might benefit from scheduling a few such retreats into their lives. Any suggestions as to other movies that might serve the same purpose as "Enchanted April" ?

I should not have been surprised. Yet, as I stood outside this morning, cleaning up from the mess that the black bear made in my back yard as he munched through the pumpkins left out beside the compost (who knew bears held pumpkin seeds to be a delicacy) I was stunned to see that interplay of light, shade and fog that created long, spectacular rays of light that radiated out over the town: rays that resembled a beatific embrace which seemed to offer a divine blessing our small village. I could not help but be moved to spontaneous prayer of praise as I beheld the glory of that moment. Even my annoyance with the mess left by that the bear faded into nothingness in my consciousness. Further reflection led me to ask myself whether or not other people experienced these same manifestations of God in creation in their daily lives. This epiphany seems all the more appropriate for me today as I will be heading out after my last mass today on a 26 hour round trip journey by car to pick up ...