Faster Acting Than Tylenol
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Wednesday, March 28, 2012
From guru to Jesus is a video I hope you’ll watch.
In it, Belgian priest Fr. Joseph-Marie Verlinde tells the story of his spiritual odyssey from Christian upbringing to Hindu guru to the occult and, finally, back to Catholicism.
His account of what attracts a soul to Eastern religions and how they differ from Christianity is lucid, fascinating, and objective in the sense that he gives these religions... READ MORE
Lenten Reflections
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This Lenten season, we’ll be running a daily essay from a Lenten booklet I helped compile. If you’d like more information on the project, please read here.
Ash Wednesday, February 22
An interesting phenomenon will occur the week of Mardi Gras. Parish Office phones will be ringing off the hook. “When do you give out ashes?” “When can I come and get ashes?” And this will be verified on Ash Wednesday... READ MORE
Conversion of Paul
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the day when God knocked Saul off his horse, took away his sight and miraculously created a new man on fire to serve the Lord.
This is a painting by Caravaggio, Conversion on the Way to Damascus; a few years ago a good friend gave us a print of this for our home. I love how the artist keeps the focus on Paul, there on the ground arms extended... READ MORE
Something Old Is New Again
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
“The Rev. Mark Lewis awoke early on the last morning of his life as an Anglican priest and dressed in a suit and tie instead of his usual priestly regalia.”
Thus begins the Washington Post story about the conversion of St. Luke’s Episcopal church in Bladensburg, MD to St. Luke’s Catholic church last weekend.
Click over to see a picture of Mark Lewis being confirmed as a Roman Catholic by Cardinal... READ MORE
What Do You Wish You'd Known?
Posted by Rebecca Teti in Faith on Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I’ve been asked to prepare the friend of a friend to be received into the Church at the end of the summer.
This is a great joy.
The person in question has already done a great deal of the work herself and is a lovely mixture of both hunger for truth and the kind of wisdom that comes from praying seriously. She’s been reading a gazillion catechetical books and can already answer most of her own questions.
I have guidelines from my pastor, with whom I’m working closely, and an RCIA syllabus to work from.
I can’t help but think the converts and experienced RCIA teachers in the audience might have some insight about what converts from evangelicalism most need to understand as they prepare to come into the Church—perhaps something not likely found on a typical syllabus?
If you were planning our sessions together, what would they include?
Finalmente!
Posted by Rebecca Teti in News on Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Last Saturday, the pro-life movement lost one of its most cogent Jewish thinkers.
Prof. Hadley Arkes was received into the Church.
He writes a little bit about it here.
I am only kidding about losing a Jewish thinker. In remarks he made at the celebration dinner following his initiation as a Catholic, Hadley made it clear he doesn’t consider himself to be leaving Judaism behind, but only following it to its fulfillment.... READ MORE
Patrick Kennedy Retires
Posted by Rebecca Teti in News on Friday, February 12, 2010
Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island announced his retirement yesterday.
He was last in the news for a public tiff with his bishop over his support for abortion and receiving communion.
Even as that debate was going on, however, Kennedy, having just lost his father, was re-thinking his life.
I think you’ll find this “exit interview” with the Boston Herald touching.
It’s a good reminder that grace is always at work, and our political opponents—even when they are emphatically in the wrong, for example on the abortion question—may be closer than we know to conversion.
I can say in my own life that I was never more emphatically “Protestant” than when I was closest to conversion, but not yet ready to admit it to myself or anyone else.
I pray for Patrick Kennedy, and I hope he finds what he is looking for.
From Planned Parenthood to Pro-Life
Posted by Danielle Bean in News on Monday, November 02, 2009
“The money wasn’t in family planning, the money wasn’t in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that,” said Johnson.
Read more here. Check out the news story in this video clip (15 second commercial precedes the story):
You Can Stop Looking for God - I Found Him!
Posted by Sr. Patricia Proctor, OSC in Just me on Sunday, April 26, 2009
Have you ever looked for something only to find it was right, smack in front of you? All the frantic searching, pleading to Saint Anthony and yelling out, “Who stole my ? (fill in blank) was totally unnecessary. It wasn’t lost in the first place. You were just confused, addled and not seeing what was in front of you.
Hi! My name is Sister Patricia and I am a Poor Clare nun in Spokane, Washington.... READ MORE
Our Journey
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thank you all for the thoughtful and candid comments in the NFP post below. If you haven’t had a chance to say anything, I’d still love to hear from you.
I have come away from reading all of this feeling blessed and encouraged. God can use so many different circumstances—and people—to draw us closer to Him and to perfect freedom in Him. I read the stories about your experiences with NFP and it’s beautiful to hear about God changing hearts and opening eyes.
It reminds me, too, that we are all on a journey. We are all on a path of deeper conversion and better understanding of what the Church teaches and why and, most importantly, how the point of all of this is one thing: to point us in the direction of Christ and send us into his loving arms.
