Catholic Revelation

I cannot deny that there are sinners inside of the Church, but I am forever Catholic and proud. The day when sinners in the Church cease to exist is the day the Church on earth will cease to exist because at that time, her mission will have been accomplished. Jesus said to the self righteous, 'I come not to save the righteous, but the sinners'. As long as the Church on earth exists there will be weeds among her wheat, but so will there be those who take joy in the scandals of her members, most especially the sins of her shepherds who are called to lead. As long as the Church exists there will be those who utter all kinds of falsehoods against her without bothering to look into the facts. They will repeat the biased words of our media and the world because they want to see her fail. But fail she will not, because blemishes and all, she belongs to Jesus.

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." Matthew 5:11

We Catholics get it from both ends, those put in a position of trust who proclaim the word and then sin against the word, and those, Catholic, Protestant, and non-Christian alike, who don’t truly know the word but see fit to smear what they don’t know. But, thanks be to God, none of this changes the ancient and steadfast pillar of truth in our midst, the Catholic Church; the Body of Christ.

I sat down in front of my computer looking at my almost finished homework from Catechism class, and stared blankly at this next question, “It has been said that the most urgent task we have is to learn to die well. What are some practical spiritual preparations we can make for death?” I sighed. We are now reading and studying the section on last rites and funerals in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, something I would prefer to put on the back burner. I am not ready to die, and here I am forced to think about my own mortality. Telling myself that perhaps some quick answer would come to mind in the morning and I could be done with this least favorite assignment, I turned off the computer and went to bed.

As so often is the case, however, it is those things I prefer not to think about that God calls me to think about. I believe that questions that we would rather not think about and refuse to think about are the stumbling blocks that prevent us from furthering our faith journeys. I have also discovered, that for myself, answers to questions like these are slow to come, but when they do they often are very powerful and move me into deeper relationship with Christ. Read more...

I would be lying if I said that sickness and death never scare me. I want to hang onto all that is dear to me here on earth, my family and the health to enjoy my family, good food,, God’s trees and mountains, warm air on a spring day, and the beautiful sun in the early morning.

As a child growing up, family was everything. Not one holiday passed that wasn’t shared with a wonderful meal and family at my side. The most memorable holiday celebration was Christmas. My dad has a big family, and on Christmas Eve, all of my cousins, aunts and uncles, and my immediate family would gather together in my grandmother’s small home. There were many of us cramped together, but the small house did not take from our enjoyment, rather, things felt comfortable, secure, and cozy. The grandchildren were all excited anxiously anticipating Christmas morning and Santa, and the small home was filled with all of the wonderful smells of Christmas. My grandmother was an amazing Italian cook, and we feasted on fried fish, Italian stuffing, cookies, etc. The adults gathered at the table talking, laughing and joking, and we children listened to them, sharing in their enjoyment as we played well into the early morning hours. Finally, tired, and worn out from all of the fun, we left for home carrying in our hearts what would become yet another glorious memory and hope in the promise of the next familiar, yet magical family gathering. Read more...