Category: Ordinary Time

Do You Know Why Names are Important?

A funny phrase popped into my head recently: “The Theology of a Name.”

You might be wondering what I mean by that… and I’m not sure I really know either!

But the bottom line is: names are important.

But why do I say the “theology” of a name, instead of just the “importance” of a name? Because God reveals himself to us by name. The Father, the First Person of the Trinity: “I am.” The Son, the Second person of the Blessed Trinity: “Jesus.”

The more I think about the beauty and importance and power of his name, the more I think God is teaching us something about how names reveal the identity of the one named, and how this applies to each of us.

And that’s what I want to dig into a little bit, today!

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by Categories: Meditations, Ordinary Time 2 Comments

In the Wake of the Storm, Rebuild Your Life on the Rock of Christ

It’s easy to do good things in fair weather.

Look at these two men in the parable of the house on the rock.

Notice: they both built houses!

Up until the storm, both these men appeared to be living good lives.

They built good things, they did good work, their outward actions seemed to be the same.

But there was something very different about their two lives…

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by Categories: Meditations, Ordinary Time, Prayer LifeTags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

The Line We Draw In Our Hearts

While the kids watched a movie, my husband and I both took the opportunity to relax in our own preferred ways – he with a few episodes of his favorite show, me in a nice hot bath.

As I soaked in the tub, I heard the movie end and the kids begin to get rowdy.

I waited for a minute or two, hoping my husband would corral them and start the bedtime routine, but he didn’t.

So I got angry.

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by Categories: Meditations, Ordinary Time, Prayer Life Leave a comment

An Introduction to the Theological and Cardinal Virtues

Virtues are the building blocks of a holy life. They’re the characteristics of how our relationship with Jesus is played out daily.

Virtue is tied up in our spiritual life.

So, don’t try to be virtuous for the sake of self-improvement.

Instead, try to practice virtue for the sake of growing closer to Christ, for the sake of being more like Him, whom we’re made in the image of.

“The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.”

– CCC 1803 quoting St. Gregory of Nyssa

Here’s the deal… I’m not a pro at virtue. I love studying them because I desire so much to grow in them.

So today, I’m going to introduce you to each of the theological and cardinal virtues, but I’m also going to draw on the wisdom of other bloggers who’ve been so amazing to share their knowledge and experience with us!

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by Categories: Meditations, Ordinary Time, Prayer Life, Virtue Challenge 1 Comment

How to Fulfill Your Holy Day Obligation

I have a new friend who is a Byzantine Catholic.

And I know, I’m butchering the terminology from line one, but I’m just figuring this whole Catholic rites thing out so gimme a break!

Anyways, I went to Mass on a recent Saturday and noticed it was the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

That Solemnity isn’t a Holy Day of Obligation for me (Latin Rite) but I happened to know (don’t ask me how) that it was a Holy Day of Obligation for my Byzantine friend.

So I got to wondering how she would fulfill her Holy Day of Obligation, since her Byzantine church is kinda far away.

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Our Rallying Cry: This is the Faith

#MyMassTakeaway for June 23, 2019, Corpus Christi. Cover photo by For the Taking Photography.

Do you have one of those phrases that pumps you up every time you hear it? I do.

In the liturgy of baptism, after the parents profess the baptismal vows, the priest prays, “This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.

There’s something about the string of I do’s followed by the simple phrase “This is the faith” that rocks me to my core.

I want to stand up and clap and cheer and shout and hoot and holler.

It’s hard to explain.

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by Categories: #MyMassTakeaway, Ordinary Time 1 Comment

Catholic Trivia: The Liturgical Year

We play Catholic Trivia over on Instagram each month. These are the questions and answers to this month’s #4thFridayTrivia game.

What’s more familiar to us than the year?

We live it every day, every week, every month, year-in and year-out. You’d think we would know it like the back of our hand.

The liturgical year is packed full of amazing feast days and celebrations. And those feast days and celebrations are surrounded by traditions, customs, symbolism, history, debate, and meanings you may not know they had.

Let’s see how much you know about the liturgical calendar!

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by Categories: Advent, Catholic Trivia, Lent, Ordinary TimeTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

God: the only surgeon qualified to remove splinters (and boards) from eyes

#MyMassTakeaway for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This post contains amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through the links, I make a small percentage at no extra cost to you.

First of all, could these planks and splinters not be sticking out of eyes please? Cringe-city over here.

It doesn’t matter what size the wood is – if it’s in your EYE we have a major problem.

And for that matter, you shouldn’t by trying to take a sliver out of your friend’s eye, regardless of what’s in your own. Keep your tweezers away from my eye-splinters, thank you very much.

That job is for a qualified surgeon.

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