CATHOLIC CARNIVAL 161

And now . . .

From the four corners of the Catholic Blogosphere to your computer it’s:

Catholic Carnival 161!

Welcome back to Adam’s Ale all you Catholic Carnivalers. There are a lot of attractions to see and read as the Carnival sets up here beneath the bell tower of Saint Clare Parish in beautiful (but quite cold) Cleveland, Ohio.

I must say that there is quite an incredible collection of posts this week. (Am I just acting like a proud parent of this carnival or is this bunch exceptional?) Either way, thank you for your submissions (and thanks Jay for having the Carnival stop by Adam's Ale) and enjoy reading C. C. 161. I think there is something here for just about everyone.

N.B. I have gone to visit my sister and a mighty winter storm has cut me off from my computer. If you sent a listing late yesterday I cannot get to it until tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience. UPDATE: I made it back safetely to Cleveland. All should be well now. Let me know if anything is amiss!

THIS WEEK'S OFFERINGS

PARODY - "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." You know the tune! James over at Real Life Rosary Weblog cleverly rewrote the words to this tune here for those of us who think that this is the most wonderful time of the year.

AUDIO BOOKS - Sean at A Catholic Canadian is "a volunteer reader for Librivox.org, recording public domain audio books. For a while I’ve been participating in a project to record Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible" Here he graciously shares some of his audio book readings!

HELP AND ADVICE - Elana shares in this post, "I have felt for some time that my experience with delivering a stillborn son at 23 weeks came with a purpose." She uses her experience and fuses it with her faith to bring words of healing to those who are hurting and confused in A Mother's Grief Over Time at My Domestic Church.

REFLECTIONS ON OUR ROLE AS CATHOLICS - Dennise begins this insightful discussion with a quote from Pope Benedict XVI, "We draw from this a final lesson: while there is no lack of unworthy and traitorous Christians in the Church, it is up to each of us to counterbalance the evil done by them with our clear witness to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior." Read more HERE over at Catholic Matriarch in My Domestic Church aka Catholic Mom.

OFFER - LoveToBeCatholic.com is marching toward to another milestone. In the interest of helping the community and rewarding our members, we are offering a gift of 100 free Catholic faith wristbands to the person who becomes the 1000th active member to join LoveToBeCatholic.com. The lucky winner is free to do what they wish with the wristbands. They can give them to their parish for a fund raising project, or simply hand them out as a way to evangelize their love of the Catholic faith.

SHOPPING - Finding bibles on the Internet is easy, but getting them at good prices can be very time-consuming. A Blog About the Books You Love gives seekers a hand to save time and maybe a few bucks!

MUSICAL OPINION SOUGHT - The Organ-ic Chemist is seeking advice about communion antiphons. Perhaps you have something similar at your parish that might provide her with some direction and support.

GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE DOMESTIC CHURCH - I was surprised by this post. It seems the nuclear family is not on the endangered species list as it so often seems through the popular media. See what Leticia has to say over at Causa Nostrae Laetitae.

FRIENDSHIP AND GODLINESS - Get this, "Of all the jobs on earth, I think you are in one where the Mother of all Mothers stands in your presence, putting pressure on you (us) , to emulate her in every way. Isn't it ironic that in the end, she had to give up her child, so that he could pursue HIS destiny for a much higher purpose. All Mothers everywhere spend their lives preparing themselves for that day when our children leave us, but just like Jesus, they always stay in our hearts.” Wow. A good read not only for women but for everyone over at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering.

HOW TO GIVE MORE AT MASS - A Catholic Mom in Hawaii shares this powerful letter written by (Saint) Padre Pio to one of his spiritual daughters directing her on how one is to behave in such a way as to show reverence during and after Holy Mass. Pass this one on to catechists!

RIGHT TO LIFE - Peace, a student at the University of Virginia, writes about the recent visiting speaker, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., and her passionate message of the civil rights of the unborn. This is fascinating. Peace! Be Still has given us much to chew on in this post.

SPIRITUALITY - Run over in your mind the Gospel from this past Sunday before you read this post. (The Samaritan Woman and the well . . .) Then, when you need some inspiration, go over to Kate Wicker and read Jesus the Thirst Quencher.

CONTINUING EDUCATION - Steven writes, "I am in the process of posting all the essays I have written over the last 10 years as I did a Religious Studies\Theology Degree part time. This is the first about St. Paul. Written in Winter term 2001. It has extensive appendices, and outlines my approach to Pauline Studies. My three area's of focus have been Catholicism, Judaism and Pauline Studies. I look forward to feedback on this offering." This is his post over at Book Reviews and More for those who wish to expand their horizons.

SPIRITUAL REFLECTION. This would have made a good homily for the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. Red Neck Woman asks, "Why did Jesus call Peter, the son of Jonah when his father's name was John?" Find out over at Postscripts from the Catholic Spitfire Grill.

SOCIAL JUSTICE - "You can’t do an evil in the name of social justice. You can’t look the other way when something is wrong and call that social justice." Cathy of Alex gives us some great insight into the miss use of the term "social justice" that is so carelessly thrown around these days. In Social Justice Distortions she makes "an attempt to repudiate and reclaim the dissident Catholic's distortion of what social justice means" by focusing on what it definitely does not mean.

THOUGHTS ON LIFE, DEATH & MERCY - In Thoughts on Mercy," Heidi Saxton writes about a woman who committed suicide after aborting her twins ... and the Mercy of God that extends wider and broader and deeper than the human heart can conceive. She invites you over to Mommy Monsters Inc. to contemplate God's mercy and the favor He extends to us in allowing us to cooperate in it.

THE BIBLE MEETS GRAPHIC ARTIST - The Oran-ic Chemist wants to introduce you to a former seminarian and artist who is using his talent for the glory of God and the building up of the human spirit.

AT THE MOVIES - Aggie Catholics - aka "Mary's Aggies" writes about "a review of the movie The Human Experience. This documentary was screened in town and the producer and star of the production were on hand to answer questions afterward. A moving tale of finding what it means to be human."

LENTEN TRADITIONS - Mary over at Not Strictly Spiritual writes, "I recently wrote an article on Lenten family traditions for Our Sunday Visitor, a national Catholic news weekly for whom I am a contributing editor. I thought some of you might like to hear what other people are doing to celebrate this special season. Some families go the whole nine yards, giving up TV for the entire season of Lent. Whoa! We are nowhere near that level of holiness at our house. Give up watching Lost? But I waited so patiently for new episodes to begin -- almost simultaneously with Lent. Bad timing. Anyway, here’s the article with some great ideas from some really cool people and a few links to other Lenten resources as well" Take a gander at Making Lent More Meaningful.

ABOUT BISHOPS - Wonder what happens when people take the faith seriously? Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor "cleans house" at a Catholic Hospital that has been providing IVF, birth control, and abortion referrals. Christine tells you more at The World . . . IMHO in this article.

FROM THE SHADOWS - Rich over at Eyehacker reminds us that there is still work to be done and perhaps we should focus on re-evangelization in The Mass Dutch Style.

REFLECTIONS ON CONFESSION - Adoro gives us pause to consider the wonders of the gift of the sacrament of confession in A New Creation over at Adoro Te Devote.

A CALL FOR PRAYER - Jean writes, "I am inviting all my readers, wherever you live, to join in the novena from your churches and your homes." The goal: to help end abortion. Find out more HERE at Catholic Fire.

Consider offering a post that you are particularly proud of at the next Catholic Carnival. Click HERE for a handy dandy form with which to submit.