Why there are “spiritual tumbleweeds?”

There is a somewhat long but worthwhile read about the new Avengers movie in this week’s volume of Crisis Magazine.

The evidence is clear.  God is being systematically stripped from our culture.  Oh, of course the omnipresent God is still actually here, but secular sightings of Him are gone which is causing, what Anthony Esolen says, “spiritual tumbleweeds in a dust bowl of oblivion.”

Slams against God, both subtle and overt, in today’s arts and entertainment culture, as well as the peeling away of any reference to or about God in what our students are expected to academically consume in all levels of education, are systematically destroying the once-easily perceived path towards God.  Before Modernism, we understood that God was essential to our very breath, our very being.  The last two centuries of thought and culture, however, have provided a fertile environment for the individual and the inclination that God is not necessary for, well, anything.

At any rate, do your soul a favor and go read the article at Crisis.  If we are disciples of Christ and the adage – “we are what we consume” –  is correct, we should be very particular about what we watch for fun and wary of most offerings coming out of the entertainment industry, especially when we ask ourselves: “Will this this movie/song/book/activity bring me closer or take me away from God?”

Thursday Thoughts

“Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.”

— Saint Francis de Sales

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – May 31

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  From the CatholicCulture.org website:

“This feast is of medieval origin, it was kept by the Franciscan Order before 1263, and soon its observance spread throughout the entire Church. Previously it was celebrated on July 2. Now it is celebrated between the solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord and the birth of St. John the Baptist, in conformity with the Gospel accounts. Some places appropriately observe a celebration of the reality and sanctity of human life in the womb. The liturgical color is white.”

For more information on this feast of Mary, please visit the Franciscan Media website:

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/visitation/

Or see CatholicCulture.org’s entry for May 31st:

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2018-05-31

Saint Joan of Arc – May 30

“Trust in God. Make confession, and be shriven, for so God will help you.”

~Saint Joan of Arc

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Discipleship is a commitment to the Christian life

To be a disciple of Jesus is to be committed to living a true, authentic Christian life.  Many of us are not sure what this means exactly.  We go to Mass, we say our daily prayers, we believe in Jesus, etc. But is this discipleship?  In its most basic form, discipleship is imitation of a master or in this case, the Master, Jesus Christ.

In the time of Jesus, if you wanted to be a disciple of a rabbi, for example, you would live with him, dine with him, pray with him, study his teachings, literally walk so close behind him you’d have the dust he kicked up all over your tunic!

While we cannot physically walk with Jesus in this way as to get dust all over us, as did his apostles, we can still live with Him, dine with Him, pray with Him, and study His teachings.  Over the course of the next few months, under the blog post heading “Discipleship is…” and “DISCIPLESHIP|Be transformed.” banner, we will explore what it means to be a true follower of Jesus with practical ways to grow closer in our relationship with our Lord.

What people are saying about “Bishop Barron’s THE MASS”

Free Prayer Card for Our Newest Feast!

UCatholic.com is offering a free, printable prayer card for our newest feast on the liturgical calendar:  Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.  To download your free copy, go to:

https://www.ucatholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/UCS-MMotherChurch-PrayerCard-4.pdf

Or access it from here:  UCS-MMotherChurch-PrayerCard-4

Mary, Mother of the Church…A New Feast Day for our Blessed Mother!

Did you know?  Today is a new feast day for Mary, under the title Mother of the Church, instituted by Pope Francis as a Memorial.  This new feast in the Roman calendar will take place every year on the Monday following Pentecost.  The devotion to Mary, Mother of the Church, reflected in the Mariology of Church Tradition and in the writings of the Church Fathers, used to be celebrated as a Votive Mass since Pope Paul VI inserted into the calendar during the Holy Year of Reconciliation in 1975.

For more information, please see the Vatican Press news article from March 5, 2018 at:  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-03/pope-institutes-new-celebration-of-mary–mother-of-church.html

Make Baby Blankets for PREPARES!

Do you know someone who loves to knit or crochet? PREPARES has very special moms and babies, who would be touched for a lifetime by a baby blanket made especially for them. If you would like to craft a baby blanket for this very important, pro-life, pro-baby, pro-mommy organization, please message Lindy Styer through Facebook Messenger (https://www.facebook.com/tricitiescatholicmoms).

For more information on PREPARES in Washington state, please visit their website at:  http://www.preparesforlife.org/