Iraqi soldiers donate $1000 for California wildfire victims

A humbling sample of solidarity by the Iraqi soldiers (go to CNN for more). This is not the first time the Iraqi soldiers donate money to the U.S. as it is reported that they contributed $680 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

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This Week’s Reflection: On Recognizing Our Sins

“Thank goodness I’m not like those people who talk during Mass…” “Thank goodness I’m blessed with so many gifts…” “Thank goodness I’m not like those women who wear immodest clothes…” “Thank goodness I’m a practicing Catholic…” “Thank goodness I’m not like one of those people who are alcoholic or drug addicts…” Have not all of [...]

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Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

(Mark is the first Gospel that I have ever read from start to finish.  It was a very enlightening and inspiring experience to say the least, so it has a very special place in my heart! Hope you enjoy this paper I wrote for my Gospels class) The Gospel of Mark, considered independently of the [...]

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Weekly Meditation: On the Incarnation

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (Jn 1:14) Do we live intentionally every instant of our lives acknowledging that God became man? Do we want to kiss the earth every time we realize that our God walked on it?

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The Need for Awareness

In case you haven’t noticed, I have included “awareness” as one of the many ways in which we can build a “civilization of love.” What do I mean by “awareness”? Well, I had not appreciated this point until recently. I am myself an immigrant and you would think that I should have known better when [...]

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Fear and Self-giving

Michael called me yesterday after his philosophy class and told me: “we’re not going to heaven.” When I asked him why, he said that his former Catholic and now atheist professor said that he and his wife go to nursing homes or other places to visit broken people every Sunday just to be with them [...]

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The Later Prophets and Social Justice

(When we start looking at Catholic Social Teaching, we always have to go back to its main source: Sacred Scriptures and the Later Prophets have a message that is never out-of-date. Below is a short essay I had to write for my Old Testament class) The Deuteronomistic History is comprised in the books of Joshua, [...]

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On Silent Retreat this Weekend

I will be out this weekend on a Silent Retreat starting today. It is definitely a time that I’ve been needing for a while now. I think I have recently reached a pinnacle of frustration, because of my strong desire to become a wife and a mother since I have met Michael. I didn’t know [...]

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The Rule of St. Benedict (For Daily Living)

Hat tip to Soutenus from A Catholic Notebook who posted this on her blog from the Rule of St. Benedict! As Soutenus says, this list is also a great aid for examination of conscience: In the first place, to love the Lord God with all one’s heart, all one’s soul and all one’s strength. Then [...]

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Christmas and Consumerism

I heard this morning on the news that retailers are worried, because they don’t expect a significant turnout this upcoming holiday season. They are reducing prices significantly to attract buyers, but they are not very optimistic. And then I thought: that is exactly what Christmas has turned out to be–all about shopping. I always remember [...]

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Bloggers Praying for World Peace

Let us join Marie and Ginny over at View from the Pews to pray for World Peace as talks over Iran intensify.  Let us not forget that it is only through agape that we can defy the evils in this world.

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“Why am I Catholic?” Video on EWTN

Michael and I were pleasantly surprised to find out that a little video we had made last year for a Confirmation retreat was played on EWTN this past Thursday night. The video, Why am I Catholic?, was shown in its entirety on Life on the Rock. It was quite fitting that it aired on the [...]

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Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi!

A little bit of trivia on this great saint: St. Francis of Assisi’s real name was Giovanni. His mother was French and he was fond of the songs of French troubadours. Soon after, his friends in Assisi called him “Francesco” or “the little Frenchman” and it is by this name that we call our beloved [...]

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The True Essence of a Woman

A new birth control pill that eliminates a woman’s menstrual cycles was approved recently by the FDA. What are some of the critics saying? But some critics say the elimination of a period as a “lifestyle choice” could be bad for women’s health. “Menstrual suppression is unnatural,” health psychologist Paula Derry wrote in an editorial [...]

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A lesson of patience and humility

I went to the Dominican Republic recently for business and I have to say that the Dominicans gave me a great lesson: one of patience and simplicity. Merengue, a fun Latin music to dance to, runs in the veins of the Dominicans. They have produced most of the best musicians out there in this genre: [...]

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