A list of Catholic convert bloggers

An interesting, well done list.

A brief history of the hatred of cilantro

As someone who would rather eat dirt than cilantro, I found this fascinating.

Is celibacy healthy?

A great article by bestselling author Fr. James Martin.

"The doctrine of Original Sin gets proven in every generation"

A great article on Church crises, anger and the importance of perspective. An excerpt:

The spiritual perils of anger are often caused a lack of perspective. We see what is going on around us, get angry and suddenly move from the realm of righteous anger to the mindset that “this is the worst age ever!” Problems of today are magnified under the lens of the 24/7 news cycle, while problems of the past are either forgotten or seen in a clinical, detached manner. We study the saints of the past, but ignore the sinners.

Being deep in history thus changes one’s perspective: you see the problems of today in light of past crises....Acknowledging the sins of the past doesn’t mean that we can’t have righteous anger today, but it does put that anger in proper perspective, keeping it from disturbing the peace all Christians should have at all times.

The Catholic who allows anger to be his controlling emotion is a Catholic who is full of fear.

Read the rest here.

The Dorito-stealing seagull!

The meeting on the road to Emmaus as a description of the Mass

Interesting!

"It is that very short distance that forbids us to judge"

A must-read post from Bethany Hudson about her hope for her father's soul after his recent suicide.

Insects with morning dew

Some great pictures.

The fascinating story of Mother Angelica and EWTN

A great story, and a great lesson in trusting that God will provide.

The mentality of a falling empire

Thought-provoking words from St. Augustine.

Quote to ponder: Merton on fear of suffering

"The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt."

- Thomas Merton

"Let Us Make This Week Holy"

A beautiful reflection from Sister Thea Bowman.

Choose your own Twitter adventure

Clever.

The One-Legged Golf Phenomenon

An inspiring story.

Freedom...from anger

A great collection of thoughts about the danger of anger in the spiritual life.

A cute video of some very well-trained dogs

Are big families bad for the environment?

Simcha Fischer has a great takedown of this issue. An excerpt:

Many large families also live with tight budgets. We happily trade a second income for another armful of babies. The quick and easy methods of saving the environment that make the news daily are hardly news to cash-strapped families: Turn down the heat, insulate, avoid anything disposable, buy in bulk, cook from scratch, breastfeed, don’t eat out, don’t waste this, don’t buy that. Turn out the light, close the door, unplug it, wash in cold water, make it do or do without. And if it does not get eaten for dinner, we serve it for lunch.

Read the rest here.

So Much Depends Upon the Airport Pickup

I enjoyed this thought-provoking post by Jane Friedman, and thought this quote that she included was great:

Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren’t bad people; they’re just acquaintances.

- Jay Leno

The Little Lost Marion: Abortion's true costs

A fascinating review of The Little Lost Marion and Other Mercies, an out-of-print book by the author of the famous memoir A Severe Mercy, which discusses the story of his seeking out the daughter that his late wife gave up for adoption after becoming pregnant at age 14.

"Hey, That's My Jet!"

An interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about high-end repo men:

He has reclaimed everything from $18 million Gulfstream jets and Bell helicopters to 110-foot Broward yachts, $500,000 recreational vehicles and even a racehorse. Before the financial crisis, most of the luxury items he pulled in were valued between $30,000 and $50,000. Today, they are valued at $200,000 to $300,000—meaning defaults are hitting people at a much higher income level.

Read the rest here.

Father Barron on Lent

Some great insights:

Love poem generator

Amusing.

St. Patrick's breastplate

I've posted this before, but I thought that this beautiful recording of "St. Patrick's Breastplate" would be appropriate to repost today:

A St. Patrick's Day blessing

A pretty video.

A tree through the seasons

A neat picture of a tree at various times of year.

Dorm rooms, 100 years before IKEA

I thought this was fascinating: a picture of a student dorm room at Yale in 1889.

Heart transplant recipient sustained by faith in difficult twins pregnancy

The inspiring story of a mom of twin daughters who were born despite serious pressure from doctors to abort. (Via Be Not Afraid, the excellent online support ministry for parents with poor prenatal diagnosis.)

How they made the new OK Go video

Here's an interesting article about how this impressive video was made:


via Testosterhome

The truth about the Church and Galileo

The Political Housewyf has an informative, interesting post that details the complexities of the Galileo/Church dust-up, and shows that it was not as simple as a truth-seeker being oppressed by the entire hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Making the pro-life case at Berkley

An inspiring story about a professor who goes to UC Berkley every year to make the case against abortion, which is very unpopular with the student body.

Hatemail from third graders

Children let the American Museum of Natural History know what they think about Pluto's removal from an exhibit about the solar system.

Remembering a World War II Death Trap — and a Miraculous Rescue

Amazing story.

Heresy Has Always Been An Option

Interesting points:

I've often heard Protestants who admire such figures [Augustin, Francis of Assisi, etc.] explain away their Catholic allegiances and beliefs with the excuse: "Well of course, all Christians were Catholic at that time; there weren't any other options." The only problem with this is that there were other options. There have always been groups outside of the Catholic Church that called themselves Christians.

Read the rest here.

31 Things You Can Do in 1 Minute (or Less)

Great list.

The mega-family blog roll

An interesting idea for a site: a collection of blogs by people with large (and sometimes VERY large) families.

"I was born..."

A great pro-life video:

Quote to ponder

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-Howard Thurman

Great thoughts from books and blogs

Video Meliora has a great collection of quotes from everyone from famous scholars to bloggers. An example:

One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe—a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power behind death and disease, and sin. The difference [between Christianity and Dualism] is that Christianity thinks this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong. Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion...Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. - C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity

Read them all here.

"UNWANTED" A Story About Choice

Wow:


via Fallible Blogma

16 Social Media Insights for Catholics

Some great thoughts from Matthew Warner.

New gene test may help you pick your diet

Some interesting data about eating a diet that's right for your genetic makeup.

How contraception fuels the vocations crisis

Some excellent thoughts. An excerpt:

Now, because of artificial contraception, the whole underlying assumptions and expectations about marriage have shifted. Marriage is no longer a way to give all, but a way to have it all. Therefore, when a young person today considers a religious vocation, they are not choosing between different paths of self-sacrifice; they are choosing between a life that seems to have it all and a life that seems to have nothing.

Read the rest here.

Life on the Bus

Abigail has a great post about the unexpected graces that came after her family had to give up their car for financial reasons. Very inspiring!

Homeopathic ER

Amusing:


via DarwinCatholic

Some thoughts on humility

Good stuff from Elizabeth Foss.

Name that landmark

A quiz to see if you can name the landmark with an aerial view of the location.

Scientists discover colors of ancient bird

Neat article. An excerpt:

The Science study analyzed color-imparting structures called melanosomes from an entire fossil of a single animal, a feat which enabled researchers to reveal rich color patterns of the entire animal.

In fact, the analysis of melanosomes conducted by Yale team was so precise that the team was able to assign colors to individual feathers of Anchiornis huxleyi, a four-winged troodontid dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period in China.

Read the rest here.

The conversion of Mosab Hassan Yousef

An interesting interview with the son of a Hamas leader, who converted to Christianity.

"I need to be open to lowering the bar without removing it entirely"

Some great thoughts from Tienne about faith, grace and perfectionism.

When one man's trash is another man's treasure - literally

A slap upside the head with a "perspective" bat:


via Catholic Family Vignettes

A skateboarding friar

via Da Mihi Animas

A video about Lebanon's winemaking monks

Neat!

You might have a large family if...

• You have to carry three health insurance cards in your wallet- because that's how many it takes to fit everyone's names.
  
  
• You have a laundry basket devoted entirely to lonely socks seeking their mate.
  
  
• When you can't take all of your children to the doctor's office at the same time because the waiting room has only 10 seats.
  
  
• You go shopping at Costco and the cashier asks if you're having a soccer barbecue.
  

See more in the left sidebar of this blog.

Small is the new big

Inspiring pictures from a family of three living in a 382-square-foot house.

via Owlhaven

What angels probably sound like

Some amazingly talented children:

Living on the cheap in one of the most expensive cities in the world

How one girl not only lived on a $30,000 salary in New York, but managed to save $5,000, put $1,000 in a 401K and take a couple of trips.

Like, I totally like that

Dorian Speed has an amusing reflection on Facebook (don't miss the links in there as well -- great stuff).

When the doctors say you "have to" use contraception

Theresa Thomas has a beautiful article about how she and her husband handled the situation when she was facing months of chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis and was told she had to use contraception.

How to Pray with Small Children

Some great advice and encouragement from Abigail (who's back to blogging after a long hiatus).

Fear and grace

Mrs. Parunak has a great post about a time that one of her worst fears played out: she thought she might die and never see her children again. She explains that she was actually filled with peace in the moment, and points out:

[W]hen we are simply imagining chilling scenarios, we are facing the horrible emotions without any of God’s sustaining grace. Every time we imagine something, we put ourselves through agony of a kind we will never have to go through in real life. Because when awful things are actually happening, God walks with us through them and gives us His grace and strength. The peace of God’s presence through a trial is something I can never conjure up in my imagination, and something that only comes with real trials, not the pretend ones I make up while driving. Now I know the difference.

Read the rest here.

The conversion of Brian Welch (guitarist for Korn)

An inspiring story:

What to Plant Now

A helpful regional planting guide for gardeners.

via Ecclesiastical Hipster

Defining your blog's purpose

Excellent tips about figuring out what to write about on your blog.

15 Design Tips to Learn From Apple

A good one for fellow design nerds.

via Christpreneurs (Twitter)

What's on the other side of the world from you?

Find out on this interactive map that shows you where you'd end up if you dug a hole through the center of the earth.

How to write a best selling fantasy novel

I laughed out loud at this. Some excerpts:

4. Create a Wise but Useless Guide: The Guide is wise adviser who knows all about the Quest, but never fully reveals it. He also appears to have immense powers but will not use them when they are most required.

And:

Technology: Fantasy Worlds...are ruled by councils of venerable sages who are the guardians of the accumulated learning of thousands of years and yet have never got around to inventing anything that might actually help them against wights, trolls and orcs -- such as a .44 Magnum.

Note: Fantasy Worlds never have working economies. Very few people work, there is little agriculture and it is not clear where food comes from.

Read the rest here.

via The Writer's Hole

"I'll be happy when..."

Some great thoughts on realizing that you already have paradise.

A Tiny Pietà

A beautiful story about how the loss of an unborn child thawed the heart of a Christian theologian. An inspiring read for anyone who has suffered the pain of miscarriage.

How to fall 35,000 feet - and survive!

Wow, fascinating stuff. It includes the story of Alan Magee, who survived a four-mile fall without a parachute in World War II.

via Patrick Madrid

Fear and creativity

An inspiring post about fear and writing (though it applies to all kind of art):

When you are intensely yourself, with all your quirks--and look, we all have them, no matter how normal you think you are--and you can create something, whatever it is, that expresses that, you're speaking to someone else's quirks. And the thing is, everyone thinks they're weird and unlovable, at some level. So when you speak to that part of someone, they open up. They feel better. They bloom a little. You've just changed someone else. Think about that. Five other people might not get it, but so what? A hundred people might think you suck, but you’ve just helped one person have a better day, and how incredible is that?

Read the rest here.