+JMJ+ Our most recent loosely-themed series, Catholicism 101 or What is Christianity, has ended for now. While I decide what to do next (and I have some ideas), why don’t we do a giveaway? We haven’t done one in a while, Pentecost is coming up, so that sounds like as good an excuse as any. Now we just have to decide what to give away. What will it be?
Continue reading “Time for a Giveaway!”
+JMJ+ (We’re continuing our series on Catholicism 101 or What is Christianity.) People have said to me, people who should know better, but the secular world has gotten to them and their minds have been affected and they have said things like, “I understand why you need religion, it gives you comfort.”
Continue reading “It’s not about comfort”
+JMJ+ (This week our informal series, What is Christianity, continues.) I wear glassess. When I was younger, before the days of plastic lighter weight lenses, I wore thick glass glasses. They were heavy, too. But without them I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. My third-grade teacher had observed that I couldn’t see the chalkboard at school so I had to move my desk right up next to the board when an assignment required reading it. That was embarrassing. But that same teacher told my parents about my poor vision and that’s how I got my first pair of glasses. What a difference they made. And not just in the classroom. I was amazed at all the things I could see now. Is this the way it had been all this time? I never knew!
Continue reading “I can see clearly now”
+JMJ+ We’re continuing our What is Christianity series tonight. I’ve shared some lectures with you and some thoughts of my own. Tonight there’s no lecture and no me trying to be a philosopher. Tonight I’m sharing a memory with you and then sharing something beautiful with you, at least, I hope you find it as beautiful as I did and do.
If you’ve been Catholic for a while, you’ve probably taken part in the Friday devotions of Lent and I don’t mean just the fish fry dinners. I mean the Stations of the Cross, reading the words in one of those little booklets, turning to face each station on the wall.
Continue reading “The Stations of the Cross”
+JMJ+ It’s Lent, the season of suffering, one could say, and it seems like a good time to mention this in our ongoing Catholic Christianity 101 or What is Christianity series. This one is more, perhaps, about how to be a Christian and less about what Christianity is, but I’m going for it anyway. I know it will contradict what a whole lot of people say—people who should know better but have forgotten or never knew—but Christ did not suffer so that we don’t have to. He suffered so that we could learn how to suffer. More, so that we could suffer and unite our suffering to His redemptive suffering. So we could offer our suffering for the benefit of others. That they may be healed physically, well, yes, if the Lord wills that. But mostly so that they, and we, may be united to Him, now, in this life, and in the next.
Continue reading “Christ didn’t suffer so that we don’t have to”
If the ignorant rantings of certain people–especially the recent and most ignorant ranting of a certain ignorant politician–have accomplished nothing else, at least they have brought attention to a subject that has suffered from lack of attention; or when it has garnered attention, the motive has most often been that of ill will, and rather than spreading light, has instead increased the darkness, already pervasive enough, even in Catholic circles. Perhaps especially in Catholic circles. That darkness and ignorance is partly our own fault for not taking it upon ourselves to dig and learn, and to demand that our teachers actually teach, and teach the truth; and partly the fault of a culture that has produced an education (I use the term loosely) system that both distrusts and even hates Holy Mother Church.
(Post continues below the video.)
The video above is a lecture by Dr. Thomas F. Madden, entitled “Catholic History: Dispelling the Myths.” He talks about the Crusades and much more. As Dr. Madden reveals, we Catholics have much of which we should be proud. This is not revisionist history; this is sweeping away the absurdities of the revisionists who foisted a great hoax upon us instead of teaching us real history. Listen up, Catholics. Seek the truth, find it, embrace it, hold onto it. And share it with everyone you can. Share it with your family, your friends, and share it with other Catholics. We need to know these things. We need to stand up and speak out. We need to be able to defend our Faith and our Church, now more than ever. Or, perhaps, now as ever. The Church is always under attack from her ancient enemy, her adversary and ours, who never sleeps, who goes about seeking whom he may devour.
I am going to continue to post information and links and videos here often in order to help spread the good news about our Faith and our Holy Mother Church. This is the least I can do after all the Church has done for me, which is to completely change my life, to transform it, to bring me fully into the Body of Christ, and welcome me Home. One day I want to be able to say, at last, with St. Teresa, “I am a daughter of the Church.” May it be His Will. Amen, amen!
Want to do something special during this Year of Faith? Want to help bring souls to Christ? Join The Four Men Prayer Groups, also known as God’s Marines. This world is a battlefield between the forces of good and evil and God’s Marines pledge to leave no soul behind on that field. Watch the video below. Get more information and sign up today at The Four Men.
Updated Oct 17: Dr. Taylor Marshall (Howdy, fellow convert!) wrote a book called The Catholic Perspective on Paul which I devoured when I discovered it. (The ebook was released in Nov 2010 so it was sometime after that but I don’t remember when.) (Links to book and ebook below)
I’ve discovered that the author has a related podcast [dead link removed] on his site, Paul is Catholic [dead link removed]. I have read the book and listened to the podcast, and I can say without reservation that both of these receive the status of Highly Recommended! Plus I really like the podcast icon. ;) During this Year of Faith treat yourself to an easy and effective way to deepen your knowledge of the Bible and the Church with these excellent resources by Dr. Taylor Marshall. Peace be with you.
Paperback
Kindle
Full disclosure: When you make any purchase through my Amazon affiliate links (or my general Amazon link) on this site, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you. And thank you for your prayers and support.
I love to visit the blog Sonitus Sanctus and today I found an unusual treat, Confession: A Roman Catholic App. Imagine having an aid to the daily examination of your conscience, complete with various prayers and acts of contrition, and the ability to customize the whole thing for your state in life, your age, etc., for one user or several and with password protection. Well, imagine no more. Now you can have all this on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Get it at the App Store. I’m going to leave a little review there now because I like this app and I want it to do well. Gotta do my part, no matter how small.
Get Confession: A Roman Catholic App at the App Store.
Read the original post at Sonitus Sanctus.
The App Store on iTunes (requires iTunes).
App Store Downloads Mobile (iTunes not needed).
I was reading the Manhattan Declaration all the way through and looking at the list of original signers again and I just noticed this: one of the three members of the drafting committee is Timothy George, Dean and Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School*, Samford
University. That’s right here in Birmingham! (I suppose it would actually be in Homewood, which is right outside of but not part of Birmingham properly speaking.) How about that? Made me smile when I saw it. Oh, here’s another local signer: Dr. David Platt, Pastor, Church at Brook Hills. Well, well, whaddaya know? Other names of note (that I noted because I recognize them) are listed below. Continue reading “Manhattan Declaration and Birmingham connection”
I just signed a very important and historic document. I hope you will read on and that you will add your name, whether you are Christian or not, to the growing list of Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic Christians and other citizens who are uniting “to protect the intrinsic dignity of the human person and to stand for the common good.” In signing this document, I consider myself to be in excellent company. Here is the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, with the original signers listed at the end it. Continue reading “The Manhattan Declaration, A Call of Christian Conscience”
I found this Eastern Orthodox liturgical music sampler the other day. Check it out, it’s free, just fill out the page at the Liturgica site and then download the zip file. And poof! Instant beautiful sacred music from our Eastern brothers and sisters. And, by the way, these seem to be full-length songs. Free, beautiful, full-length. Three out of three! :) (Track list below.) Continue reading “Eastern Orthodox liturgical chant sampler CD for free”
Catholic Heart and Mind 