If I'm not off hiding somewhere with a good book, chances are I'm chasing a toddler or a Jack Russell (or sleeping, because every mom can use a nap!). I found Prince Charming and married him, and now we enjoy the idiosyncrasies of life in an old farmhouse. Oh yeah, and we root for the Buckeyes. Every time.
Catholic Carnival 110: A Lenten Medley of Posts
I didn't have time to be fancy this week with the carnival, but I think you'll find the good stuff all the same. This is quite a collection, as it is every week, of the Catholic blogosphere's goodies. Interested in joining in? Check out the details!
“Great Ways to Help Your Church Without Spending a Dime” at Getting Green: “Financial support for one’s local church is definitely a good thing, however a lot of people just don’t have the resources to give a serious amount of money to the local church. Fortunately you can give your time and energy to the church instead, here are some great ways to help out your local church without giving a dime.” As a parish employee, I thought this list should be posted in bulletins and on refrigerators throughout our parish, so go take a look and think about how you can help your parish.
“So What's the Problem?” at Postscripts from the Catholic Spitfire Grill: A Protestant Pastor blogged (sternly) about the evils of "church shopping." I agreed and suggested that perhaps he would do better to reconcile to Rome rather than blog about a problem that he is part of. I used the word 'heresy' liberally.
“It Began Here. Let It End Here.” at and if not: A post about my experience during the first First Friday of our groups efforts to end abortion, starting in Dallas.
“Don't Give Up on God” at Living Christ's Eucharist in Our Daily Lives: As we follow Jesus of Nazareth through his public ministry and passion, we can see his adversaries persecute him. In every case he remains faithful to the Father. People and events can become our adversaries too, and we must remain faithful to the Father. In the Eucharist the Risen Christ shares his and the Father's love with us as we face our adversaries.
“The New Paganism by Hilaire Belloc” at The Kid Sister of Blessed Imelda: An essay by Belloc accurately predicts the full effects of the Reformation.
“New Bishop of Lake Charles” at Christus Vincit: (Admittedly, a “shameless plug” – but we take those here at CC…) While the Church (especially in Louisiana) rejoices for and welcomes Msgr. Glen Provost as the new Bishop of Lake Charles, it gave us at Christus Vincit bragging rights, as one of our own contributors, Jason Pennington, is organist and music director at the Bishop-elect's present parish (come next month, it's his "former parish") in Lafayette. One needs only to go to http://www.fatimalafayette.org/ to see the EXCELLENT music going on there (Jason's work, obviously supported by Bp.-elect Provost). It makes me believe that Lake Charles will be in good hands.
“Bunnies and Sheep” at Domestic Vocation: I discuss The Runaway Bunny (yes, the children’s book by Margaret Wise Brown). I’ll leave the rest for the post to say. (Hey, if I give it all away here, how will I get anyone over to the blog?) (I agree, so go on over there and enjoy it, people!)
“Growth in Love” at HMS Blog: A reflection on the Mass readings for the third Sunday of Lent, focusing on what they tell us about the importance and meaning of Christian love.
“Lenten Reflection” at Legens et Cogitans: This is a reflection that I gave during Solemn Evening Prayer some weeks ago here at the seminary. It addresses general Lenten themes, so a more common audience might find it edifying, though it was orginally addressed to my brother seminarians and some affiliates of the seminary who were visiting us that weekend.
“Hell” at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii: An explanation of Hell from My Daily Bread.
“Ministry of Reconciliation” at Profound Gratitude: Explores the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Do we ask for forgiveness or as a Protestant writer states, "just thank God" for his forgiveness because "to repeatedly ask for forgiveness would be admission that we believe that Christ's work was imperfect?"
“Begin at the Beginning (Into the Desert for Lent)” at Monastic Musings: A short reflection in a series on the Desert Fathers, on care for our neighbor, both body and soul, as a foundational element for the spiritual life.
“Gender Equality: Vatican Statement” at Monastic Musings: (A bonus!) Looking at the recent statement by the Vatican's permanent observer at the U.N. on gender equality, and expressing the tension between women's right to have access to work and the need to protect and nurture their roles as mothers and homemakers.
“Personal Piety” at Catholic Matriarch in my Domestic Church: Each of us seeks the combination of devotions and practices that fits our spiritual needs at any given time. We must be careful to avoid passing judgment on those whose personal practices vary from our own.
“Going Home” at Rifugio San Gaspare: I finally finished posting the journal of my pilgrimage to Rome. I have been home for nearly two months, but things like First Confessions, and Lent made life just a bit busy. The entire journal can be found at the following link: http://gasparian.stblogs.org/archives/rome_2007/
“Sign the Petition to Stop ‘Tiller the Killer’” at Catholic Fire: I have written extensively on my blog for the past 17 months about George Tiller, the late-term Kansas abortionist who appears to be indestructible and above the law. The former Attorney General in KS who went after Tiller and attempted to charge with 30 counts of illegal actions was removed from his position by Tiller, as Tiller supported Kline's democratic opponent, Paul Morrison with his "blood money" in the last election in exchange for Morrison's agreement to look the other way. Morrison won the election and does exactly what Tiller tells him to do. Most importantly, he allows Tiller to protect rapists, to harm women and in some cases to kill women. Two women have already been killed in his clinic. Tiller controls Kathleen Sebelius, the democratic pro-death governor of KS and has halted all of Kline's avenues for justice as he has paid off every politician in the state. By the way, both Morrison and Sebelius call themselves "Catholic." At last - a new website and a petition - perhaps a possible way of bringing justice to KS.
“Lives of Loveliness of St. Patrick” at My Domestic Church: This is my lesson plan for my children this week in preparation of St. Patrick's Day.
“Attachments to Sin” at Adoro te Devote: (If you don't like spiders, then don't look at the post! Necessary but scary image alert!) Sin is ugly and repulsive. Are we so complacent that we are willing to allow our attachments to keep us seperated from God?
“Why Eat Fish on Fridays? And Other Lenten Surprises” at Deo Omnis Gloria: An apologetics article that explains the point of Lenten sacrifices.
“My Witness Talk: Special Celebrations of the Eucharist” at just another day of Catholic pondering: I was asked to give a witness talk about special celebrations of the Eucharist, and in reflecting on what that means to me, I found that the everyday celebrations are the secret to my faith.
Late Addition (let's blame it on the time change, what say you?): Educational Touring for God and Country at
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