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Advent Link Up: Week TWO!

Posted: by Monica McConkey

57 awesome Catholic posts linked up to the Catholic Bloggers Advent Link-Up Week ONE!
Let’s see how we do THIS week!

 

Join us!
Advent Link Up: Week TWO!
Don’t forget to share the Catholic Bloggers Advent Linkup button, invite other Catholic Bloggers to link up their Advent posts, peruse the posts linked up, comment over on the other blogs and share your favorite other Catholic Blogger posts on social media!

Also: Don’t forget to include a link to this link-up…in your post! If you link last year’s article, please include a ***2014 Update*** with this year’s Catholic Bloggers Network Advent Link.

Let us support one another!
Blessings for Advent!

In this Advent Link Up: Week TWO:  Please link up Advent posts
…you did not already link in the Advent Link Up Week One!

The Nativity- A Universal Story

Posted: by Steven Hepburn

The Nativity- A Universal Story

In which I reflect upon the appeal that the narrative of the journey to Bethlehem, the rejection by the Inn and the birth of Jesus has to those who are not necessarily Christian because it is an archetypal tale.

There are, I think, two chief elements which combine to universalise the appeal of the Nativity narrative and they are both centered on the figure of Mary. Firstly and necessarily she is pregnant. There are relatively few “journey” stories which feature pregnant women for reasons too numerous to list. One factor would be that pregnancy itself is a journey. Whether our Lady travelled to Bethlehem or not a child would have been born to her, her life would have been transformed. The external details of the trip are simply a reflection in the outer world of a development which in any event was taking place in her inner world. ….

Sponsor a Child – Practice Compassion

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

What a difference you could make if you were to sponsor a child! It is within your power to alleviate the suffering of a child.

Sponsor a Child

Back in 2005, we had a visiting priest come and speak to our parish about the opportunity to sponsor a child in a third world country, where living conditions were deplorable, yet the faith was ablaze. After Mass, I stopped by the table. I saw this picture of a small little Guatemalan girl, named Heydi, age 7. She was dressed in a simple little dress, yet she had no smile. She stole my heart! I immediately entered her sphere of suffering and wanted to do whatever I could to alleviate that suffering. There were many pictures on the table of children in need just like Heydi, but for some reason it was… Read more…

Pope Francis: The Greatest Modern Pope?

Posted: by Melanie Jean Juneau
Theology Degrees contacted me, wondering if I would share their latest infographic entitled “Pope Francis: The Greatest Modern Pope?”  The information  on this infographic is a concise history of Pope Francis, where he came from, what he believes and how he fits into both the history of the Church and modern Catholicism. It is an invaluable aide to help people get to know a little bit more about this unique pope.

To view the infogragh click here

Melanie Jean Juneau is wife and mother of nine children. The very existence of a joyful mother of nine children seems to confound people. Her writing is humorous and heart warming; thoughtful and thought provoking with a strong current of spirituality running through it. Part of her call and her witness is to write the truth about children, family, marriage and the sacredness of life.She blogs at joy of nine9 and mother of nine9 

Embracing Compassion – Step into the Suffering

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Does embracing compassion come easy to you? Or, do fears, doubts and past hurts get in your way and inhibit you from alleviating the suffering of others?

Embracing compassion: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40). Do you need any additional rationale for embracing compassion? When you care for those who suffer, you minister to the Lord, Himself! Jesus states this exhortation slightly differently, yet appeals with the same message in Matt 10:42 where He says, “ And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” Jesus is telling us that we have each been called to be compassionate to our fellow man, in the same manner as Jesus demonstrated compassion during His time on earth.
As humans, we are, by nature, social beings, meant to live in communion with each other. Therefore, we are called by Christ to have…Read more… 

Advent- The Final Countdown

Posted: by Steven Hepburn

Advent- The Final Countdown

In which I blog about the scorn poured on the idea of a Second Coming of Jesus and about how we should prepare for it.

“One day we shall encounter Him as He is, human and divine, and we shall do so face to face. This will not be a different Jesus from the Son of Mary, from the teacher who walks through the pages of the Gospel, from the One we encounter in the Eucharist. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.The most important question when that encounter takes place is not ‘will I be punished?’ or ‘will I be rewarded?’ It is ‘will my heart leap for joy, will my love for Him burst forth from me?”

Catholicscot.blogspot.co.uk

Catholic Bloggers Advent LinkUp 2014

Posted: by Monica McConkey

Join us!

Don’t forget to share the Catholic Bloggers Advent Linkup button, invite other Catholic Bloggers to link up their Advent posts, peruse the posts linked up, comment over on the other blogs and share your favorite other Catholic Blogger posts on social media!

Also: Don’t forget to include a link to this link-up…in your post! If you link last year’s article, please include a ***2014 Update*** with this year’s Catholic Bloggers Network Advent Link.

Let us support one another!
Blessings for Advent!


Week One:

An InLinkz Link-up

Week Three:

Week Four:

What is Christ-like Compassion?

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

What is Christ-like compassion? How often do we act like the Good Samaritan in our everyday lives? Are we good at expressing pity, but not compassion?

Compassion is defined as the desire to alleviate the suffering of another; to give care and concern. Compassion differs from pity in that compassion requires an act of charity, whereas pity requires only a feeling of sorrow for someone else’s suffering/situation. To have true compassion for someone means that you step into the sphere of suffering, without forming judgment, and you do what you can to alleviate the suffering of someone else. Sounds a little Christ-like, doesn’t it? Read more…

The Power of Prayer, a Baby and a Stressed Grandma

Posted: by Melanie Jean Juneau
The story of our grandson’s 8 hour surgery to reshape his skull. 
Before this surgery, I did not realize how stressed I was till someone in France passed on a word from God for me on Pinterest. God was giving me a gift of joy. IMMEDIATELY the fear gripping me left and I started grinning as joy slowly bloomed in my heart.This experience was an example of how the Mystical Body of Christ functions. It is an incredible reality.  continue
Melanie Jean Juneau is wife and mother of nine children. The very existence of a joyful mother of nine children seems to confound people. Her writing is humorous and heart warming; thoughtful and thought provoking with a strong current of spirituality running through it. Part of her call and her witness is to write the truth about children, family, marriage and the sacredness of life.She blogs at joy of nine9 and mother of nine9 

Practicing Gentleness – A Treasured Virtue

Posted: by Virginia Lieto

Practicing gentleness requires strength. Sounds contradictory doesn’t it, since most people equate gentleness with weakness?

Practicing gentleness first requires an assessment of one’s own behavior. Truthfulness and self-awareness should be at the heart of this assessment. If you determine that you are routinely aggressive, or overly assertive, than gentleness is needed. Expressions of aggressive behavior are emotionally based, not reason based, where decisions and reactions stem from emotion, not facts.

How many times have you watched the Dr. Phil show and heard him say to someone acting in an aggressive or overly assertive manner, “How’s that been working for you?” He knows that aggressive/overly-assertive behavior does not produce wanted results.

Practicing gentleness requires…Read more…