Last week before Mass I was stopped by Sr. Annette she asked me if we would like to light the Advent Candle before Mass. Of course I said yes! My hubby even said he would go to Mass with me (Miracles happen everyday!) She was saying that she was trying to get the "new" parishioners that had joined the church in 2013 to help them feel welcome and involve them with the parish activities. I think it's a great idea!
I light my candle at the 5:00pm Mass on December 21. I am so glad that I finally decided on a church and started going back to Mass. This is the first year that I have even been excited about Christmas in 41 years!
When my mother died, November 30, 1972 and since then all my Christmas's have been rotten (only because I let them be), this year is different, I'm excited just like I was when I was a kid! I really think that it's because I'm going to Mass like I should have been doing all these years. I know this is true because the only difference in all those 41 years and now is I'm go church on a regular basis! I know I am right where I am supposed to be. I love this feeling....I love my religion!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Catholic's and Bible Study
I found this article on Parish World....It's the burning question of the week. Whether or not it is ok for Catholics to participate in a non-catholic bible studies. There were many opinions on this one! Here are some excerpts from that site:
"Catholics who willingly participate in non-Catholic religious activities are sinning for two major reasons: They are exposing themselves to contrary faith positions which could cause serious doubt in their hearts about their own Catholic Faith, and secondly, they could be giving the bad example, "scandal" to those Catholics who know them as Catholics, thereby causing doubt in the hearts of those who witness these Catholics participating in Protestant things. So yes, it is a sin to participate in Protestant religious things. It has always been a sin, not just since Vatican II."
Really? It's a sin? Not sure about that one.
"I personally think it is not a good idea to attend a non-catholic bible study. The reason being that protestant faiths usually depend on the King James version of the bible. Their interpretation is in many times conflicting to ours. I know this from talking to a friend of mine who is Baptist. He is totally way out there. And who was King James anyway to declare himself an expert in rewriting the bible ? We as Catholics believe in the salvation of the cross . They usually do not put any kind of emphasis on our Lord's death."
"Catholics who willingly participate in non-Catholic religious activities are sinning for two major reasons: They are exposing themselves to contrary faith positions which could cause serious doubt in their hearts about their own Catholic Faith, and secondly, they could be giving the bad example, "scandal" to those Catholics who know them as Catholics, thereby causing doubt in the hearts of those who witness these Catholics participating in Protestant things. So yes, it is a sin to participate in Protestant religious things. It has always been a sin, not just since Vatican II."
Really? It's a sin? Not sure about that one.
"I personally think it is not a good idea to attend a non-catholic bible study. The reason being that protestant faiths usually depend on the King James version of the bible. Their interpretation is in many times conflicting to ours. I know this from talking to a friend of mine who is Baptist. He is totally way out there. And who was King James anyway to declare himself an expert in rewriting the bible ? We as Catholics believe in the salvation of the cross . They usually do not put any kind of emphasis on our Lord's death."
Hmmmm................
"I personally feel it is okay to attend a Non-Catholic bible study, because frankly they read the bible and we as Catholic don't read the bible that much and know very little about the chapter and verses. I have read the Bible twice and it is an awesome tool for everday life."
I like what she said!
"As far as non-catholic bible studies go, if you go willingly you put yourself in a position (especially if you're not strong and grounded in your faith) to have an opinion of the bible pressed on you that the catholic church does not teach. because that's really what these bible studies are based on sometimes, opinions."
He has a point!
"This subject hits very close to home for me. I was co-leader of a bible study at St. Patrick Church and had a hand full attend. Clearly there is a need for Catholics to become more familiar with Holy Scripture.
There is however a difference in how Catholic's and Protestants interpret Holy Scripture. Roman Catholic's have an "exegesis" interpretation and Protestant's tend to have a more literal interpretation. Also, there are passages that are strongly Catholic that our Protestant brothers and sisters gloss over or ignore altoghter. The one that stands out for me is "The bread of life discourse" in John chapter 6. Christ says many times in this discourse that you MUST eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life in you or to be "raised on the last day'. Our Protestant brothers and sisters feel and teach that Christ did not really mean that "literally" even though many of his disciples stopped following him because they could not accept this teaching. Christ did not correct them but then turned to the 12 and said do you want to leave as well.
If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything. I feel that Catholic's should first have an understanding of Roman Catholic interpretation of scripture before attending bible study outside the Catholic Church."
There is however a difference in how Catholic's and Protestants interpret Holy Scripture. Roman Catholic's have an "exegesis" interpretation and Protestant's tend to have a more literal interpretation. Also, there are passages that are strongly Catholic that our Protestant brothers and sisters gloss over or ignore altoghter. The one that stands out for me is "The bread of life discourse" in John chapter 6. Christ says many times in this discourse that you MUST eat his flesh and drink his blood to have life in you or to be "raised on the last day'. Our Protestant brothers and sisters feel and teach that Christ did not really mean that "literally" even though many of his disciples stopped following him because they could not accept this teaching. Christ did not correct them but then turned to the 12 and said do you want to leave as well.
If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything. I feel that Catholic's should first have an understanding of Roman Catholic interpretation of scripture before attending bible study outside the Catholic Church."
I am on board with this guy!
What do you think?
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Books I've Been Reading
A few weeks ago when I went to Mass our parish was handing out free books...."Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic" by Matthew Kelly. I have to say it only took me a day to read it, it was pretty interesting. After I finished the book I got online to see what else he had to offer. The book titled "Rediscovering Catholicism" caught my eye, I knew I had to read it. I went to work on Monday and told my co-worker and friend who is also Catholic said she thought her mom had been given a book after Mass and she thought it was that book. She was right, she borrowed it from her mother so I could read it. I was not really impressed with the book it was rather dry and hard to read. I just kept reading chapter after chapter pretty soon I got to the middle of book, by then I was hooked, since it was a borrowed book I couldn't highlight so I did the next best thing I went to our local Half Price Book Store and I was in luck they had a copy! I'm still not done with the book but at least I can now highlight now!
I think it's a book every Catholic should read. I don't think a lot of Catholics actually know how beautiful our religion really is......The chapter I'm on now is about reconciliation, I know it's something people are not comfortable with, I have to admit it can be very scary especially if you have avoided it for long periods of time (like only going once a year). Because of the this book I challenged myself.....I went to confession (as they used to call it). I've never gone to reconciliation at my church...ever. I usually go to another church to "air my dirty laundry". It was intimidating to say the least I was totally out of my comfort zone!!! I hoped Father wouldn't recognize me....(if he did he didn't let on!). I have to say I do prefer my "dirty laundry" priest to my parish priest. But the point is I took the challenge and I (Nike) "just did it". I have to say it was liberating. I always feel good after I confess my sins....and I forget that part of it I only remember the part where I get nervous and don't want to go in the "box". I think I need to make myself more comfortable with reconciliation by going on a regular basis. When I was attending Catholic school we HAD to go to confession every Friday whether we needed to or not. I don't remember being stressed out by going back then. I am sure my sins as an adult aren't any worse than they were when I was kid. Anyway, I am going to make it a habit to get to confession at least once a month if not every other week.
I think it's a book every Catholic should read. I don't think a lot of Catholics actually know how beautiful our religion really is......The chapter I'm on now is about reconciliation, I know it's something people are not comfortable with, I have to admit it can be very scary especially if you have avoided it for long periods of time (like only going once a year). Because of the this book I challenged myself.....I went to confession (as they used to call it). I've never gone to reconciliation at my church...ever. I usually go to another church to "air my dirty laundry". It was intimidating to say the least I was totally out of my comfort zone!!! I hoped Father wouldn't recognize me....(if he did he didn't let on!). I have to say I do prefer my "dirty laundry" priest to my parish priest. But the point is I took the challenge and I (Nike) "just did it". I have to say it was liberating. I always feel good after I confess my sins....and I forget that part of it I only remember the part where I get nervous and don't want to go in the "box". I think I need to make myself more comfortable with reconciliation by going on a regular basis. When I was attending Catholic school we HAD to go to confession every Friday whether we needed to or not. I don't remember being stressed out by going back then. I am sure my sins as an adult aren't any worse than they were when I was kid. Anyway, I am going to make it a habit to get to confession at least once a month if not every other week.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
My Mother, My Hero
My brother asked me a question the other night when I went over to help him fill out his questionnaire for my annulment......it made me think. He asked why I was doing this annulment was it just so I could get confirmed?
To tell the complete story I have to start at the beginning......
My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1963 and it was advanced at that point, I was only 5 years old. My dad sat me down and told me that she had cancer and was going to die and that I needed to be strong and help out with my brother and sister from then on. I doubt I really knew what he was talking about but I sure do remember the talk we had! My Mom was a convert to the Catholic faith my father and myself were cradle Catholics, my brother and sister had not been baptisted till they were a bit older. We went to Catholic school where my mother was the vice president of the school board. She was very highly involved in everything Catholic we used to call her "Super Catholic"!
My mother had to go through her own annulment, and studied for years with our priest to become Catholic. She was the strongest person I know. She was dying....and it took her 8 years to finally receive all of her sacraments and finally be married in the Church. This woman was raising 3 kids, cooking dinner, running errands, keeping house, doing laundry, never missed any of my brother's baseball games because she was the scorekeeper, worked full time, was the vice president of the school board, president of the Alter and Rosary Society, regular volunteer for whatever was going on at school or church. She NEVER complained about how sick she was even though we would go out to eat and she would go to the bathroom and vomit her entire dinner all without complaining.
I remember coming out of church every Sunday and she was always asked how she was doing.....her stock answer was "I'm fine I have 3 kids to raise!". She didn't dwell in the past or feel sorry for herself. For all that woman endured, from surgery to surgery and chemo session to chemo session NOTHING stopped her! She was an amazing person, to be able to do all these things without complaining, without making excuses, she NEVER felt sorry for herself. She just moved forward never looking back at the past, there was nothing she could do about what HAD happened all she could was deal with it and put it where it belonged and didn't make others miserable by letting the past ruin her future.
Everyday she lived was a blessing to her, don't get me wrong she was not a saint, she was a sinner like all of us are, but she got it.....she knew what she had to do, live everyday like it was her last which ironically each day that passed could have been her last. She finally died at 11:00 am on Thursday November 30, 1972. Finally she made it home.
For as much as we all missed her, I have come to the realization that she is the person I most admire and need to emulate. My (and my siblings) childhood was not a good one by any means but she taught us that you can overcome anything without complaining without feeling sorry for yourself. She taught us to live each day to our best, deal with problems the best we can and not carry them around for years and make others miserable in the process. She went through things with grace and dignity all her life, what a great example she was! I just wish our children could have known her.....my brother said something that I thought was genius...he said...she taught us to go on even if things are bad at the time they will get better, she taught us that life is short, don't live in the past, live for now.She taught us to live our faith because she loved the Catholic Church, she loved God and she loved her kids. Because she knew she wouldn't be around to give us advice as we grew up, she gave us the most precious gift of all the thing we could fall back on, the thing she knew we needed the most.....our spiritual foundation the same "thing" that kept her going.
This is why I'm going through with the annulment and I NEED to be confirmed. If my Mom can do all those things while she was in the process of dying, without complaining then I should be able to do the same, especially since I have out lived her (she was only 47 when she died I am healthy and 55!). I can proudly say my Mom is my hero!
So my goal from now on is to be like her, quit complaining about the hoops I have to jump through to get this annulment, I have it easy, I need to shut my mouth period! I honor my Mother by being the best Catholic I can be. I know every Saturday as I attend Mass, I know she is proud of me for being there. She so loved her religion and it was so important to her, I now realize the same and it is just as important to me. I know she is there with me, sitting in the pew next to me, that is a comfort for me. I have to thank her for giving me (us) a great spiritual foundation to draw from. I love you Mom.....
To tell the complete story I have to start at the beginning......
My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1963 and it was advanced at that point, I was only 5 years old. My dad sat me down and told me that she had cancer and was going to die and that I needed to be strong and help out with my brother and sister from then on. I doubt I really knew what he was talking about but I sure do remember the talk we had! My Mom was a convert to the Catholic faith my father and myself were cradle Catholics, my brother and sister had not been baptisted till they were a bit older. We went to Catholic school where my mother was the vice president of the school board. She was very highly involved in everything Catholic we used to call her "Super Catholic"!
My mother had to go through her own annulment, and studied for years with our priest to become Catholic. She was the strongest person I know. She was dying....and it took her 8 years to finally receive all of her sacraments and finally be married in the Church. This woman was raising 3 kids, cooking dinner, running errands, keeping house, doing laundry, never missed any of my brother's baseball games because she was the scorekeeper, worked full time, was the vice president of the school board, president of the Alter and Rosary Society, regular volunteer for whatever was going on at school or church. She NEVER complained about how sick she was even though we would go out to eat and she would go to the bathroom and vomit her entire dinner all without complaining.
I remember coming out of church every Sunday and she was always asked how she was doing.....her stock answer was "I'm fine I have 3 kids to raise!". She didn't dwell in the past or feel sorry for herself. For all that woman endured, from surgery to surgery and chemo session to chemo session NOTHING stopped her! She was an amazing person, to be able to do all these things without complaining, without making excuses, she NEVER felt sorry for herself. She just moved forward never looking back at the past, there was nothing she could do about what HAD happened all she could was deal with it and put it where it belonged and didn't make others miserable by letting the past ruin her future.
Everyday she lived was a blessing to her, don't get me wrong she was not a saint, she was a sinner like all of us are, but she got it.....she knew what she had to do, live everyday like it was her last which ironically each day that passed could have been her last. She finally died at 11:00 am on Thursday November 30, 1972. Finally she made it home.
For as much as we all missed her, I have come to the realization that she is the person I most admire and need to emulate. My (and my siblings) childhood was not a good one by any means but she taught us that you can overcome anything without complaining without feeling sorry for yourself. She taught us to live each day to our best, deal with problems the best we can and not carry them around for years and make others miserable in the process. She went through things with grace and dignity all her life, what a great example she was! I just wish our children could have known her.....my brother said something that I thought was genius...he said...she taught us to go on even if things are bad at the time they will get better, she taught us that life is short, don't live in the past, live for now.She taught us to live our faith because she loved the Catholic Church, she loved God and she loved her kids. Because she knew she wouldn't be around to give us advice as we grew up, she gave us the most precious gift of all the thing we could fall back on, the thing she knew we needed the most.....our spiritual foundation the same "thing" that kept her going.
This is why I'm going through with the annulment and I NEED to be confirmed. If my Mom can do all those things while she was in the process of dying, without complaining then I should be able to do the same, especially since I have out lived her (she was only 47 when she died I am healthy and 55!). I can proudly say my Mom is my hero!
So my goal from now on is to be like her, quit complaining about the hoops I have to jump through to get this annulment, I have it easy, I need to shut my mouth period! I honor my Mother by being the best Catholic I can be. I know every Saturday as I attend Mass, I know she is proud of me for being there. She so loved her religion and it was so important to her, I now realize the same and it is just as important to me. I know she is there with me, sitting in the pew next to me, that is a comfort for me. I have to thank her for giving me (us) a great spiritual foundation to draw from. I love you Mom.....
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Another Door Slams Shut
We really thought we were on our way to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel When low and behold the door slams shut once again. We got my hubby's marriage licenses and thought that everything was in place, well we were wrong. Apparently the Tribunal was not happy because his ex-wife's baptismal record had her birth surname and the marriage license had her adopted name so they didn't match and they wanted documented proof it was the same person. We called the courthouse and they said the record was sealed and it would take an act of God to get it unsealed, not to mention there was a flood in 2008 which probably destroyed the files anyway. So the Tribunal had Sr. Annette draw up an affidavit and we had to get two people to verify that she had been adopted therefore the name change. My hubby dropped it off at the church and had some words for Sr. Annette about all the hoops they have made us jump through! He also told her he was leaning towards maybe becoming Catholic but after all of this hoop jumping he thinks it wouldn't be worth it.
I totally get why they needed this information, but come on lets make it as difficult as you can. I know being Catholic is privileged and I would NEVER be anything but Catholic, but they had a potential convert and the dwindling number of Catholic practicing their religion is very sad, but to put off someone considering conversion is just crazy. It's stuff like this that makes people leave the church in droves. Being nit picky about stuff is a real turn off.
Hopefully my hubby will reconsider but for now he just has a real bad taste in his mouth from all this!
I totally get why they needed this information, but come on lets make it as difficult as you can. I know being Catholic is privileged and I would NEVER be anything but Catholic, but they had a potential convert and the dwindling number of Catholic practicing their religion is very sad, but to put off someone considering conversion is just crazy. It's stuff like this that makes people leave the church in droves. Being nit picky about stuff is a real turn off.
Hopefully my hubby will reconsider but for now he just has a real bad taste in his mouth from all this!
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