“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” – C. S. Lewis

This Sunday’s Readings

This weeks readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which uses the New American Bible.

Ascension of the Lord (Year B) May 20 (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20)

Click here for THIS SUNDAY’S  readings

The Word on Fire

The Word On Fire – Fr. Robert Barron’s internet site offers many interesting insights into all things Catholic. Fr. Barron has a full library of homilies that he has prepared and we will be featuring a link here to his 15 minute reflections on this week’s readings.

This Sunday: “The Ascension of the Lord empowers the Church to fulfill its messianic mission: to gather the nations of the world into a relationship with the God of Israel. …”

Click here to listen to Fr. Barron’s Homily for This Sunday

Fr. Scott Lewis

Fr. Scott Lewis is associate professor of New Testament at Regis College in Toronto.  Each week Fr. Lewis writes a short reflection on the upcoming readings in the Catholic Register.

This Sunday: “We can only imagine the thoughts and emotions of those who watched Jesus ascend to heaven. Joy, to be sure, that He was risen from the dead — but also bewilderment and anxiety. Where was He going? When was He going to return? Was He going to restore the kingdom of Israel or not?”

Click Here to read the rest of Fr. Lewis’ reflection for THIS SUNDAY

Fr. Greg Friedman

Sunday Soundbites is a weekly, 90-second radio homily based on the Sunday readings, written and read by Fr. Greg Friedman, O.F.M. Sunday Soundbites is also heard on Catholic radio stations around the country.

This Sunday: “Being a missionary is a tough job, especially when your message is rejected….”

Click here to listen to This Sunday’s Soundbite.

The ChurchYear.Net site is a resource that provides short and highly readable information on the Church Liturgical Year.

Click here to read more about the Feast of the Ascension

I look at the young Moms and Dads sitting in the pews, frantically trying to keep their babies from crying, and I always tell them about the last time I ever spoke to my Mom.

These young parents are at the start of this adventure. That Wednesday night three years ago  my Mom had come  to the end of her time as a mother on earth.

Mom had recently moved into a retirement home. It was a nice place, and surrounded by new friends she came back to life after spending so much time alone in her one-bedroom apartment. The night before she had been to the dance that was held at the Centre with my younger brother.

I remember she was sitting in her green chair, and I was lying on her bed. The TV was on, but we weren’t really watching it. For a brief moment I felt as if I was 8 years old again. My Mom just listened and we talked about the old days.

I said good night and left her sitting in the chair watching a show. I never spoke to her again. She had a stroke and would die a few days later.

It was a great gift to have had a mother who would sit with you, even though you were 50+ years old and by the kindness of her presence make you feel that all was OK with the world.

Like the quote at the top of this post says- “A mother understands what a child does not say.”

Happy Mother’s Day Mom- I miss our talks and those special quiet times we had together.

All is well so there is no need to worry.

Below is a brief biography of one of my favorite philosophers- Theodor Seuss Geisel or as he is better known, Dr. Seuss. This is from a young guest blogger who delivered this as a speech to her elementary grade school. Long live Dr. Seuss and his cast of crazy characters.

Dr.Seuss: Short Bio and Tribute

Imagine a world of rhyme and no time. A world where characters flip and slip, slide and climb. 

Today I would like to talk to you about an author that uses the pen names such as Theodor LeSieg, Rosetta Stone but I’m sure you are more familiar with Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss became the master of imaginative characters, rhyme and taking children to a new world within the comfort of their own homes. 

One of Dr. Seuss’s most famous books for young readers is called “Green Eggs and Ham “. This book came about after a bet between Dr. Seuss and his publisher. His book ” The Cat in the Hat “used 225 words. His publisher challenged him to write a book with just 50 words. Green Eggs and Ham is the forth bestselling english – language children’s hardcover book of all time. 

The famous Dr. Seuss was born on March 2nd, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father worked in the city as a beer maker. His mother often soothed him and his two sisters to sleep by reciting rhymes from when she was young. Dr. Seuss credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create rhymes which he became so well known for. Dr. Seuss left Springfield when he was a teenager, so he could attend Dartmouth Collage. He became the editor and chief of Dartmouth’s humour magazine. He was soon fired when he was caught throwing a drinking party. After that he started writing for other newspapers and magazines, but instead of signing his work Theodor he signed it Seuss, which was his middle name. This was the first time he ever used Dr. Seuss as a pen name. 

Later on he attended Oxford University where he was suppose to become a collage professor. However; his studies bored him so he decided to tour Europe instead. Though Dr. Seuss disliked Oxford, he did meet a beautiful young lady named Helen Palmer who became his first wife. She was also a children’s author and book editor.  Dr. Seuss began to pursue a career as a cartoonist. The Saturday Evening Post and other publications published his early pieces, but he was more devoted to creating advertising campaigns for standard oil, which he worked for more than 15 years. After world war two passed his wife Helen died. 

A year later he remarried an old friend named Audrey Stone. She not only influenced his later books, but now guards his legacy as the president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. At the time of his death September 24th, 1991, Dr. Seuss had written 44 children’s books, including such all time favourites as 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish, Fox in Socks, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. His books have been translated into more than 15 languages. Over 200 million copies have found there way into homes and hearts around the world. 

This is a poem I wrote in honour of Dr. Seuss.

Idioms appear here there and everywhere. We quite often use idioms in our day to day life without giving a thought about their interesting origin. An idiom is an expression whose meaning is unpredictable. For example, “That’s as easy as pie” and “piece of cake. “Pies I know are not that easy to make. Perhaps they meant as easy as eating a pie.

I’m sure you all have heard of ” You’ve got ants in your pants.” It’s meaning today is that you are restless. You can easily imagine where this saying came from. What if you actually had ants in your pants? You would find it difficult to settle down. You’d keep squirming to try to get rid of the ants.

If an expression or idiom becomes overused it is called a cliché. Once these expressions were brand-new and original but today they are ancient and stale. Here are some examples of cliches:

• “I’ve got butterflies in my stomach.” This means to have a fluttery feeling, usually caused by nervousness. If people are anxious, have stage fright, or are troubled about what will happen next, they often experience dull spasms in their stomachs. Some people call this sensation the flutters. Others say they have a nervous stomach. Once a clever writer imagined butterflies in his stomach when he felt panicky or uneasy and that creative metaphor caught on. I’ve heard this idiom said over and over again without really knowing where it came from. My sisters say it to me when I touch something that is theirs,

•  “You’re as dead as a doornail.” This means I am hopeless and in a whole lot of trouble. A book in the mid-1300′s first used this expression. Its origin is a doornail, which is a metal plate, being hit so hard and so many times it got the life knocked out of it.

Idioms come from all different sources, from the bible to horse racing, from ancient fables to modern slang. Famous authors and storytellers such as Shakespeare made them up to add spark to their writing.

I never knew idioms could be found in the bible. Here is one that is in the New Testament. It is call “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. Its meaning is somebody who appears to be harmless could be really dangerous. That is why your parents might say to you “Don’t trust strangers they could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. The idea behind this saying is when people think of a wolf they think of a dangerous animal but when people think of a sheep they think of something soft, cute, and cuddly. So if a wicked wolf wanted to fool people into thinking he was a nice guy he might dress in a sheep’s costume.

Now I’m going to “jump to a conclusion” and hope that you have learned that behind each idiom is a story that can be meaningful and funny at the same time. “I know I can’t teach an old dog new tricks” but I hope next time somebody asks you “penny for your thoughts” you might be able to “blow your own horn.”

This Sunday’s Readings

This weeks readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which uses the New American Bible.

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B)  (Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17)

Click here for THIS SUNDAY’S  readings

The Word on Fire

The Word On Fire – Fr. Robert Barron’s internet site offers many interesting insights into all things Catholic. Fr. Barron has a full library of homilies that he has prepared and we will be featuring a link here to his 15 minute reflections on this week’s readings.

This Sunday: “Today’s Gospel present the distinction between a generic spirituality which emphasizes our decision for God, and authentic Christian Faith, which is the recognition that God has chosen us in Christ. It is God’s choice, his election of us in Christ, as not only his followers, but his friends, that matters most . …”

Click here to listen to Fr. Barron’s Homily for This Sunday

Fr. Scott Lewis

Fr. Scott Lewis is associate professor of New Testament at Regis College in Toronto.  Each week Fr. Lewis writes a short reflection on the upcoming readings in the Catholic Register.

This Sunday: “There is never a dull moment when the Holy Spirit is involved. The Spirit was probably the most exhilarating and disconcerting experience of the first generation of Christians. It has a mind of its own and cares little for our prejudices, opinions, preferences or theologies. That is probably why we try to keep it under lock and key. The Spirit had already shocked Peter and his companions by commanding them to eat foods without distinction — nothing that God created was to be called unclean.”

Click Here to read the rest of Fr. Lewis’ reflection for THIS SUNDAY

Fr. Greg Friedman

Sunday Soundbites is a weekly, 90-second radio homily based on the Sunday readings, written and read by Fr. Greg Friedman, O.F.M. Sunday Soundbites is also heard on Catholic radio stations around the country.

This Sunday: “Hello, I’m Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Many years ago I was reminiscing with a married couple who are close friends about how our relationship began. I recalled that they had invited me to dinner after Mass one Sunday at our parish. Their version: I had stopped to talk to them and said we ought to get together. “

Click here to listen to This Sunday’s Soundbite.

The ChurchYear.Net site is a resource that provides short and highly readable information on the Church Liturgical Year.

Click here to read more about Easter (Pascha), Easter Sunday, and Easter Season