Why It's Awesome to Be Catholic

Reasons Why Being Catholic Is Awesome:

• The Holy Eucharist - the REAL Body and Blood of Christ - not something symbolic but the real deal! And this isn't a once-in-a-while opportunity - this is available at EVERY SINGLE MASS all over the world!

• The Catholic Church is the oldest Christian denomination, having survived centuries of persecution and She is STILL standing strong. And why wouldn't She be?  Christ himself said that even the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against it!

• The Catholic Church can make and prove the claim of apostolic succession - no other denomination can do that and prove it.

• The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ Himself over 2,000 years ago. Every other denomination has the name and date of its founder but none can prove that theirs was founded BY Jesus. Only the Catholic Church can do that! 

• We believe that our holy brothers and sisters already in Heaven can and DO pray and intercede for us here on earth!

• Is your Bible missing the books of Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom (of Solomon), Sirach, and Baruch (also known as the "Deuterocanonical Books"?  The Catholic Bible contains all of the books that dear old Martin Luther threw out because they went against HIS views when he decided to break away from the Catholic Church. The Protestant Bible doesn't contain Scripture related to intercession of the angels and saints, praying for the dead, purgatory or a host of other things because those were in the books that were tossed out. Pick up a Catholic version of the Bible and see what you've been missing!

• The Communion of Saints!  We have saints for who will pray for us at times when we aren't able to pray as we'd like to. After all, they're already in heaven with Christ, not down here in our hectic, busy lives!  Talk about having friends in high places. ;)  And what wonderful examples of role models!  

• We respect life - from the womb to the last breath. (This is why you cannot legitimately be Catholic AND pro-choice.)

• The teachings of the Catholic Church are the same now as they were when Christ established it. We don't conform to society. (We're rebels with a cause!)

• We have the Pope!  How awesome it is to have someone to guide us in our faith and to give us an example of holiness here on earth!

• You can go into any Catholic Church in the entire world and know what to do, how to respond, what prayers to say, what to expect - because it is the same all over the world.

• Unity!  You will not go into a Catholic Church and find priests arguing over Sacred Scripture with the congregation. 

• The rituals - We all kneel, make the Sign of the Cross, pray, respond and sing in unity. When I go into the church, I know that I am going to be doing what everyone else is doing (and if you're just visiting and not a Catholic and you don't know what to do, that's okay, too!). I much prefer going into the church, crossing myself with holy water and kneeling in silent prayer before Mass as opposed to going into a church and being distracted by social chatter, tuning of instruments, practicing of loud songs and feeling like I'm outside during social hour. When I enter a Catholic church, I truly feel like I am in the Lord's house. There's a time and place for socializing with other parishioners!

• Tradition - Not tradition like having turkey every Thanksgiving, but Tradition (with a capital 'T') which is basically the passing down of information from Christ throughout the generations the part of God's revealed word that is not contained in Sacred Scripture (most non-Catholics will argue over this one because they don't have Tradition and if it isn't specifically in the Bible, they are very reluctant to believe it ... of course, most of them also believe strongly in the Holy Trinity, but the word "Trinity" isn't in the Bible ANYWHERE!).

• The Holy Rosary - True, you don't have to be Catholic to recite the rosary (did you know that already?  Good for you!), but it is something super special that helps us to meditate on the life and death of Christ and in doing so, we find ourselves being brought even closer to our Lord. Additionally, the rosary is a powerful weapon against the devil!  We aren't just holding pretty beads for no reason!

• The seven holy Sacraments -  Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. 

• Sacramentals - Holy water, the holy rosary, novenas, religious medals, fasting, crucifixes, scapulars, icons and other items help us to focus our minds on God. We DO not worship idols, statues, anything or anyone else but God and God alone!

• Our Blessed Mother Mary - Granted, other Christian denominations have Mary, too. However, they don't give her the recognition and veneration that she deserves!  After all, she brought the Salvation of all mankind into the world when she, having free will just like the rest of us, could have certainly said no!

I could go on and on about why I love being Catholic and all of the amazing things that go along with it like the feast days, patron saints, a Lenten fish fry every Friday at the Catholic churches, incredible charities (the Vatican Bank donated $70 MILLION dollars to Catholic charities in 2012) and so forth. I knew that when I made the choice to become Catholic, that it was honestly the only right choice. The Catholic Church is the church Christ established on earth. It was, is and always will be. Granted, it may not always be the easiest (our own selfish natures sometimes prefer to do things our own way instead of God's way, which is why so many people leave to join the more liberal denominations) but it is always the best. This is the Bride of Christ. What better choice is there?  :)

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father almighty,

    maker of heaven and earth,

    of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

        the Only Begotten Son of God,

        born of the Father before all ages.

    God from God, Light from Light,

        true God from true God,

    begotten, not made, consubstantial

       with the Father;

        Through him all things were made.

    For us men and for our salvation

        he came down from heaven,

        and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate

        of the Virgin Mary,

        and became man.

    For our sake he was crucified

      under Pontius Pilate,

        he suffered death and was buried,

        and rose again on the third day

        in accordance with the Scriptures.

    He ascended into heaven

        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

    He will come again in glory

        to judge the living and the dead

        and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

        the Lord, the giver of life,

    who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

    who with the Father and the Son

        is adored and glorified,

        who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic,

     and apostolic Church.

    I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins

        and I look forward to the resurrection

        of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

My Conversion Story

I officially became a "card-carrying Catholic" on April 7, 2012. It was truly THE best day of my entire life. It had been a very long journey but SO worth it!

After having been a practicing Wiccan for almost 18 years, I found myself at a crossroads in 2005. Wicca didn't feel right anymore. It stopped feeling like a part of me and became more like something out of a fairy tale, something that wasn't real, something that was now a waste of my time. I tried to shake off the feeling, but it was pretty persistent. There was no doubt in my mind that it was time to move on.

But move on to what?  Where do you turn when suddenly the only thing that meant anything to you now meant nothing?  I knew I wanted the TRUTH. I wanted something real. So I went searching for it. I attended a charismatic church with my family. I researched Christian Science. I had some Vaishnava friends who shared their experiences (and some of their mantras, too!). I looked into Buddhism. None of these things worked for me. I just wanted peace and truth. That's all. Why was it so hard to find??

I finally began learning about the Catholic faith through a friend of mine who was a Catholic convert and raising her family as Catholic. It intrigued me. I loved hearing about her praying the holy rosary (I bought one at a Christian book store, learned all the prayers that went with it and the Mysteries, then learned them all in Latin as well). I loved reading about the lives of the saints, many who had lived lives full of sin before changing and committing their lives to God). I loved the prayers. I loved how I could walk into a Catholic church and not have my eardrums busted by loud music, or a room full of theatrics, or an overly-animated preacher yelling from the pulpit. It felt like it was just me and God. It felt sacred. It felt right.

But more than anything else, I knew that with the Catholic Church, I had found the truth that I was looking for. The Catholic Church can rightfully claim apostolic succession from the current Pope all the way back to St. Peter, whom Christ had given the keys to the kingdom (if someone wants to argue this point, the burden of proof is on them ... let them do the research and they'll find that they wasted their time). The Catholic Church is the ONLY church that has ALL four marks of the one true church established by Christ Himself (these four marks are: one, catholic, holy and apostolic). The Catholic Church has held strong to her teachings since she was established, not just swaying and changing when society decides it's time to relax the rules of faith a little. Why?  Because these truths come from Christ himself, not someone who is twisting and interpreting the Scriptures to suit whatever works at the time. The Catholic Church is essentially going to be the same wherever you go in the world; there aren't congregations that break up and form their own churches and denominations just because they don't care for what the preacher is telling them. I love that sense of universality and solidarity. I love that we have a Pope to guide us in our faith. THIS was what I was looking for and once I found it, I never looked back.

I am the only one in my family who is Catholic. It was a big step to take. Some people laughed when I told them I was going to convert. Some mocked. Some went into tirades about the scandals of the Catholic Church (yes, we have disgraceful people in the Catholic Church just as in EVERY OTHER CHURCH). Some didn't believe I was serious. But thankfully, some supported me wholeheartedly as I walked this new journey of faith.

And so on April 7, 2012, I was baptized. I was confirmed (choosing St. Faustina as my confirmation saint). And I was finally able to receive Holy Communion, the real (not symbolic) Body and Blood of Christ. My past was no longer there to haunt me. I was a new person because of the love of God and the sacrifice of Christ. I found the truth and have never looked back. :)

The Worst Thing You Ever Did

Sometimes the perfect blog topic falls right into my lap. ;)  A friend posed this question yesterday: "What if your identity, your existence was defined by the worst thing you ever did?"

I love this question because it not only made me think about how *I* would feel, but also how I handle other people's past mistakes. In my 37 years of life, I have done some pretty despicable things. If I were to be judged only on the worst thing I ever did, I just don't know if I could live with myself. There would be no chance for redemption. Of course, what one person saw as the worst thing I ever did may be totally different than what someone else saw as my worst thing, so I'd be going through life with all of this ugliness hanging over my head, branding me a big loser to everyone I knew!  I can only imagine the things I'd be branded with. I shudder just thinking about it.

What about you?  If you were defined by the worst thing you ever did,  how would you feel?  Is it something that you could deal with, or is it something that would eat you up inside?  Is it something you could brush off or something you would spend the rest of your life trying to get out from under?

Jesus told St. Faustina (my beloved confirmation saint, by the way!), "My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.” How thankful I am that no matter how awful my past is, no matter what the worst thing is that I have done, I can be forgiven. The only one whose opinion of me truly matters is God's. Granted, in this earthly life, I'd love to have everyone I've ever hurt or everyone who's been a victim of my past mistakes to forgive me, but even if that doesn't happen, I can find solace in God's mercy and forgiveness.

As our Blessed Savior was dying on the cross, one of the things He said was,"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34)  Stop and ponder that statement for a moment. After He had been subjected to all forms of cruel torture and the nails were hammered into His flesh, Christ asked God to forgive the ones who did it AND to forgive US because it was our sins that pierced his flesh with those nails. How do we handle forgiving those who hurt us?  How often do we leave the past in the past?  Speaking for myself, it's sometimes very hard. We equate holding a grudge against someone with having power over them. We can pull up their past and use it to hurt them. What does that say about us?  Does that not make us even lower than whatever they did?  Just something to think about.

Praying that today God touches my heart and really helps me to forgive those who have hurt me or caused me grief in the past so that I, too, may be forgiven by Him for things I may have done to others.

Understanding Purgatory (Yes, It Exists!)

One of the things I learned during my adult faith formation classes before I converted to Catholicism is that Protestants do not believe in purgatory. Up until I was taking those classes, I didn't know it existed as it does; I considered purgatory and hell to be one and the same. They couldn't be more different!

It is a popular belief (especially with Protestant denominations) that when a person is baptized and commits their lives to Christ, they are bound for Heaven, no pitstops in between. This is both presumptuous and erroneous. We are not promised that we're going straight to Heaven immediately upon death. That would be nice, but it's not realistic. We console each other by saying, after a loved one's death, that they're in Heaven now and that everything is fine. The truth is that, unless they lived a life of incredible holiness, they're probably not there yet. And unless they consciously chose to reject God and His love for them, they're not in hell, either. So where do they go?  The answer is purgatory.

Purgatory is a place where the dearly departed WHO ARE ASSURED OF GOING TO HEAVEN go to be purified of any stain of sin that was on their soul when they passed from this earth. If you drop dead the moment you walk out of the Confessional and you've really honestly confessed all the sins you could remember and were absolved of your sins, you can pretty much be assured of going straight to Heaven. But that's pretty much one of the only ways that I can think of. 

I believe that purgatory is just another one of God's mercies toward us sinners. He doesn't want us to be separated from Him, but nothing unclean can enter into Heaven (can you even begin to imagine how awesome it will be when we finally get there?!). In His mercy, He allows us to spend some time in purgatory to purge all of our sins, to cleanse us completely so we can enter into Heaven with Him. It is not meant as punishment (although some may view it to be so because they are temporarily separated from God).

Each time I pray the rosary, I begin with offering it up for all the souls in purgatory, especially the souls of my departed family and friends. We have many opportunities to help the souls in purgatory, but few take the time to do it, and even more don't even know that our prayers, rosaries, Masses, Stations of the Cross, etc., help them.  When I think about my loved ones who have passed from this world, I know that I don't know where they are, but I cannot think of any reason at all why any of them would be anywhere but in Heaven or headed there. A powerful prayer for those in purgatory is this:

O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee, face to face, in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: "Come, blessed of My Father; take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Another, simpler one goes like this:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

In turn for our prayers, once they are released from purgatory, they will be some of our most powerful intercessors before the throne of God!  They will help us because we helped them. There are so many souls in purgatory who remain there for terribly long amounts of time because they have no one to pray for them (or not one who WILL pray for them). No prayer for the souls in purgatory ever gets wasted. God's mercy will never be outdone, either. :)  So let us remember this the next time our loved ones leave this life for their eternal one. 

Offer Up Your Suffering

Last night was a very painful night for me. My entire body hurt. I mean it hurt right down to the bone, places that shouldn't even hurt at all. I'm not sure what the source of the problems was but it took quite a long time before I could fall into a restless sleep. I awoke this morning in a bit of a fog but at least I woke up. The pain isn't as bad this morning but it's still lingering in the background, reminding me not to take those days of feeling good for granted.

Suffering is nothing new to anyone. Suffering was brought into the world through the sin of our first parents and we have been reaping the repercussions of it ever since. It is so important that even through our own suffering, we remain compassinate to the suffering of others. I know from my own personal experience that sometimes this isn't easy. It's hard to step outside of our little bubble and realize that other people's pain (be it physical or emotional) is just as valid as our own. It really gets to me when I hear people who are in pain say, "I shouldn't complain because I know there are others out there who have it way worse". I guess if you really want to get down to it, none of us should complain -- we were all given another day to live, another chance, when so many didn't wake up this morning. Yes, there are others who have it worse. That doesn't invalidate your own sense of suffering!

Compassion. It is a word many know but few know how to utilize. Perhaps we don't realize how we come across to others when we're so blinded by our own sufferings. We often want to believe that our suffering is more debilitating than anyone else's who may possibly know us. In doing this, we form our opinion of others' suffering and lose that ability to really have heartfelt compassion for what the other person is going through. This is the beginning of a "me, me, me" situation that can quickly spiral out of control and isolate ourselves from those who genuinely care about us.

Catholics don't believe that we suffer in vain. We believe in "offering it up" for a specific intention. We could offer up our suffering for the holy souls in purgatory, or for our wayward brother, or for anything that will bring us or others closer to God. I'll admit that sometimes I forget to "offer it up" because my head is so wrapped around my own issues (ah, the perks of being human!).

So next time you are in bed with the flu or have that pounding migraine, say a prayer and offer it up for someone you love!

Lord Jesus, I unite myself to Your perpetual, unceasing, universal Sacrifice. I offer myself to You every day of my life and every moment of every day, according to Your most holy and adorable Will. Since You have been the Victim of my salvation, I wish to be the victim of Your love. Accept my desire, take my offering, and graciously hear my prayer. Let me live for love of You; let me die for love of You; let my last heartbeat be an act of perfect love.

~ St. Therese

God Doesn't Hate Us

In the past few days I have had two people claim that God hated them. I understand why they said it -- they were both struggling, both with different situations, but struggling nonetheless. They'd lost their footing and felt that God had turned His back on them in their times of need. So I could understand that in their frustration and anger, they would say those things. This doesn't mean that it didn't sting my heart to hear people who once claimed to love God say those things.

Where is God when it seems like everything in our lives is turned upside down?  Where is God when it seems that not a soul in the world is there for us?  Where is God when it feels like we're going through the motions every day but not really living anymore?

The answer is that God is still with us. He doesn't leave us, nor does He turn away from us. In fact, it's often the other way around. We expect God to work miracles every time something goes wrong in our lives, and when it doesn't happen that way, people begin to step away from Him or question His existence altogether. We live in a society with ways of communicating and doing things instantly, so we expect the same from God. We want quick fixes so that we don't have to suffer.

I have dealt with many trials in my lifetime and there have been times I've had to just sit down, cry my eyes out and try to figure out what in the world I was going to do. I have lost count of how many nights I've cried myself to sleep over this or that, or wasted precious moments worrying about how this or that would turn out, how we'd make it through -- but we always made it through. Often times, God's blessings were greater than anything I'd prayed for. It didn't always happen right when I wanted it to, but it always happened and it always fell into place perfectly.

God doesn't turn His back on us, or lose patience with us, or ever stop loving us. He never promised that because we believed in Him that we will never go through trials or suffering. John 16:33 says, "I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” Christ states very clearly that we will have trouble on this earth;  we will have trials and we will have sorrow. Rather than turning away from God, this is our time to cling to Him because our peace rests in Him. Our comfort rests in God and until we can accept this and believe this, our miseries will be tenfold.

It is SO important that we not fall into this way of thinking - that God no longer cares for us because we struggle so much in our lives or because we've had a string of unfortunate events. That is EXACTLY what the devil wants us to believe! As soon as he can plant that little seed in our minds, we begin to nourish it by continuing to doubt, continuing to walk further from God, continuing to blame Him for all of our trials, and by doubting God's ability to bring us through the storm. Before we realize it, the devil has both hands firmly around our shoulders and is quickly leading us into a path of darkness and despair.

Some people don't believe in the power of prayer. I do. I believe that God hears every prayer, even the unspoken ones, the ones that are stuck inside our hearts because we don't know what to say out loud. We have to trust that God knows what He's doing. We have to really open our eyes and our hearts and KNOW that God's got this. He knows what we're going to go through before we even go through it, good and bad. Some of our suffering is our own doing, some of it isn't. Regardless, God knows and He's got us covered, but we have to trust and have faith in His love, mercy AND in His timing.

God doesn't hate us. He created us out of love because He *is* love. Some people's love for God may change depending on their circumstances, but God's love is unending and beyond measure and always available when we need it.

Memorial Day

I said a rosary yesterday for my daughter's uncle who suffered a stroke (second one since February - fortunately, this one was less severe but scary nonetheless!). Whenever I hear the word "stroke", I automatically associate it with death. It's just what I have always thought. Maybe I saw it in movies or maybe it was something that only happened to "old people" and in their elderly and weakened state, they just could not pull through. Whatever the reason, I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone that I don't consider elderly having a stroke. If you pray, please say a Hail Mary for this man. He has a wife and children who love and need him dearly.

Today is Memorial Day and on that note, I'd like to say thank you to all who serve our country and that we should always honor the memory of those who have served in the past. This day isn't about parties - it's about remembering those who selfishly gave their lives for our country. It is something a lot of us would never do. So please, take a moment out of your day today no matter what you're doing, just to stop and remember.

Admonishing Sinners

There are a lot of "hot topics" on various social networking sites these days. The issue I have with certain people is that they try and stand behind the Bible, behind the words of Christ, in order to justify things that are wrong, that Christ has made known that these things are wrong and against God. They selfishly twist the interpretations until it fits their agenda and then they shout at other Christians for "judging". That seems to be a pretty common one right there - judging.

Is anyone familiar with "admonishing the sinner"?  It is one of the spiritual works of mercy. It doesn't mean to judge someone just to be ugly to them;  it's means to correct them on something that obviously isn't Biblical in nature (even though they're trying to make it out to be) and something that is sinful and against God. Now, for non-Christians who don't adhere to the teachings of Christ (either through the Bible or through Sacred Tradition, this will go right over your heads anyway because it isn't something you believe in. So you're out of the conversation altogether and can take a coffee and go sit in the lounge and watch television. ;)  I'm talking to the Christians here.

We often say that we don't judge others. We ALL do it. We may try NOT to, but we all do it at some point, even if it's over something so small that we don't realize we're doing it. But really judging someone and admonishing them so that they can see and correct their mistake or confusion are two different things. We admonish our children when they do something wrong so that they can be corrected and learn. We're not judging them. I believe people really need to wake up and understand the difference because the phrase "stop judging others" seems to float around rather freely!

Christians are called to do the right thing, to live as Christ wants us to live. I fall short of this every day of my life, but it doesn't mean that I'm not trying. If we believe in God and the words of Christ, we are to take these words to heart. If we see someone praising something that is wrong, it's our responsibility to gently correct them  (annnnnd this is usually where we erroneously get labeled as being judgmental). If we participate in another's sin with our approval, our praise, our consent, our silence, our defense of the situation or our assistance in supporting the situation, we, too, are committing a sin!  This is why we are not to sit idly by and have our silence interpreted as approval!

Something I've noticed is that people are too afraid to stand up for God. They are afraid of ruffling feathers, of making waves, of upsetting friends because their views clash. (I'm sorry, but if your friend is going to toss you aside over opposing views, that's not a friendship anyway.)  We live in a society that would rather offend God than offend our friends!  Or even worse, strangers!  What is wrong with this picture?!  Why is it like this?

So next time someone speaks out for their faith and points out that something is wrong, realize that you're not dealing with someone from the Westborough Baptist Church - you're dealing with someone who genuinely cares and is trying to do their part in keeping you close to Christ.