Caring Catholic Convert

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T01:25:00.000-08:00

God, thank you for a new year.

May everyone in our family be willing

to begin anew with a clean slate.

We know that you are always ready to forgive us.

Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves

and to forgive one another.

As we begin a new year,
remind us of our truest values
and our deepest desires.

Help us to live in the goodness
that comes from doing
what you want us to do.

Help us to put aside anxiety
about the future and the past,

so that we might live in peace
with you now, one day at a time.

(From Loyola Press, a Jesuit Ministry's New Year's Prayer)

Stomping Out Christmas

2011-12-26T14:00:00.000-08:00

Please Click on the Link Below:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/Stomping-Out-Christmas

Morning Offering

2011-12-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

I found the most beautiful morning prayer in an old St. Joseph's Missal that I recently purchased. Its copyright date is 1963. . .

"Lord God Almighty, Who have brought us to the beginning of this day, defend us during this day by your power, that we may not fall into sin but that all our words, thoughts and deeds may always proceed and be directed toward that which is just in Your sight."

Why the Latin Mass?

2011-11-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Please Click on the Link Below:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/Why-the-Latin-Mass

All Saints Day -- November 1st

2011-10-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Please Click on the Link Below:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/All-Saints-Day-November-1st

Carrying Our Crosses

2011-10-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was watching television, I found myself wishing for the easy life and opulence that was reflected in the program I was watching. Because television symbolizes real life; doesn’t ? Perhaps real life in Fantasyland, but not in the world that you or I live in! But, yet, we escape into a television program and often finding ourselves wanting to have lives like those that we are watching. Even “reality” shows are ions away from real life.

Real life in this world is about jobs we dislike, children who don’t do their homework, houses that we are too tired to clean, and unfinished business, dirty laundry and cars that need tune-ups and oil changes. We deal with less-than-perfect marriages, two-faced co-workers, traffic tickets, layoffs, high food prices, viruses, questionable mammogram results, ailing elderly parents, lumps in our gravy. Let’s face it. Real life is messy.

A couple of Sundays ago, when the homily was about purgatory, our priest told us that – we wouldn’t need to worry so much about winding up with a long stint in Purgatory – if we would only just learn to carry our crosses. After meditating on this for a while, I understood what the priest meant.

God allows us to endure difficult times on earth. (Remember, “In the world you shall have tribulation. . .”?) But there is more. The rest of that verse goes, “but be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world.” If we can just carry our crosses for a little while, beautiful things can happen. We can offer up our travails, uniting them with Christ’s suffering. We know, as Catholics, that though we may not understand why a loved one was taken from us too soon, we know that their suffering and ours, united with Christ’s suffering, can move great mountains in prayer. This means that every single cross that we carry, be it a bad marriage, a sick child or even just “too much month left over at the end of the money,” our difficulties have multiple purposes. We can carry our crosses, offer them up and bring about glorious results both here and in the hereafter.

God, help me to align my problems, my disappointments, my worries and my fears with the cross that you so willingly carried for me.” A-men.

I Remember My Dad

2011-10-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Please Click on the Link Below:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/The-Anniversary-of-My-Dad-Passing

The Media's Obsession with Obesity

2011-10-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

The Media's Obsession with Obesity

The Catholic Visionaries at Medjugorje

2011-10-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

Please Click on the Link Below:

http://www.helium.com/items/2171046-medjugorje-visionaries-seers

Catholicism: What it means to offer something up

2011-10-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Please click on the link below:

http://www.helium.com/items/2186454-offer-up-suffering-suffer-offer-up

The Dark Soul of Mother Teresa

2011-09-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Click on this link:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/The-Dark-Soul-of-Mother-Teresa

Anti-Catholic Whoppers

2011-09-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

Click on the link below:

http://www.helium.com/items/2165301-harlot-of-babylon-catholic-church-refute-apologetics

St. Tarcisius

2011-09-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/St-Tarcisius

An Insomniac Attends Morning Mass

2011-08-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have insomnia, and this has been my primary reason for not attending morning mass. But I have always heard that if a Catholic attends morning mass, it will help him through the entire day. Granted, I don’t work outside of the home because I am retired, but I knew that meeting Christ in the Eucharist would make me a happier, less stressed individual, nonetheless.

So last night I went to bed at 8:30 and got up at 5:00 a.m. During the night I woke up hourly. I wondered if I would have felt better just staying up all night. But that would have defeated my purpose. So after some strong coffee and a couple of drops of Visine, I went to morning mass.

I was surprised at the number of people there. I loved the mass, and I even stayed awake from beginning to end. Now, hours later, I must say that, even though my “dogs-are-draggin’,” this is becoming one of the best days that I have had in months. I have an indescribable inner peace, and I have accomplished housecleaning and grocery shopping and a number of other things that I would normally have never done being as sleep deprived as I was today. But somehow, everything has worked out.

Sunday, our priest challenged us to start going to daily mass before work. He told us that if we were unable to stay for communion at the end, he would give us the Eucharist before the mass started.

God’s peace is one that passes all understanding. Now, let’s see if I can do this two days in a row. No more leaning on insomnia as a reason for skipping morning mass.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13

Babies Kissed by the Pope

2011-08-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

I got tears in my eyes watching Pope Benedict kiss all those babies at the World Youth Day broadcast last night.

Imagine being able to tell your children that you had been kissed by the Pope!

Planned Parenthood

2011-08-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Those ning-com-poops at Planned Parenthood sent me a card asking for money. They talked about wanting to "help" women. Help women what? Kill their babies?

Please pray that Planned Parenthood goes out of business.

Thanks,

Jen

Apparitions of Mary

2011-08-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Click on the Link Below:

http://jennapope.hubpages.com/hub/Apparitions-of-Mary

Catholics Visiting Medjugorje

2011-08-09T23:36:00.000-07:00

Click on this link:

http://www.helium.com/items/2211794-miracles-medjugorje-our-lady-mary-apparitions

What the Eucharist is to Catholics

2011-08-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

By what authority do Catholics say that the Eucharist or host is the body, blood, humanity, soul and divinity of Jesus? The answer to this question is so simple that most Protestants look past it. Even the fundamentalists, who believe the Bible at its face value, have difficulty with the concept of Jesus being in the bread and the wine.

It is all about the Bible -- where Jesus says, “This is my body.” He doesn’t say, “This is a symbol of my body.” We take the Eucharist in remembrance of him because it is him.

Starting in John 6:51, Jesus says, “I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever. The bread I will give is my flesh for the light of the world. Let me solemnly assure you that if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will have no life within you. For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. “

From the very beginning of the Catholic Church we have believed this. The same church that said that this was the real Jesus in the Eucharist is the same church that said that the Bible was the Word of God at the Council of Rome in 390 A.D. The Eucharist goes back to the very beginning.

When Jesus tells his disciples to “do this in remembrance of me,” he is telling them that He didn’t want the Eucharist to become a meaningless ritual. Instead, he wanted all believers to understand that the reason we eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood is because we have a relationship with him. This is why the Bible says it.

I Corinthians 11:29 says, “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” That is why many among you are sick and infirm and so many are dying.” Would the Bible say something as grave as this about a mere symbol?

There are multitudes of texts in the Bible that reiterate the real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Some of them were prophesies from the Old Testament. Others were from the words of Jesus, while others were instructions given to us in the Epistles.

By what authority do we Catholics take the Eucharist as the real body and blood of Jesus? God’s authority: by the Bible, the Magisterium of the Church from its beginning through today, and by tradition as it has been recorded since Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

The next time you take communion, remember…

Do Catholics Pray to the Saints?

2011-04-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

Click here to find out.

2011-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

What does Catholic social teaching mean? Click here for Jenna's article.

Please follow my writing site!

2011-03-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

I finally have a writing site. . .

Click here to read my work.

Tsunami in My Little Sister's Town in Hawaii!

2011-03-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

Click Below: Downtown Kona where my sister lives

Saint Samantha

2011-02-23T18:35:00.000-08:00

Click here
to read about Saint Samantha.

Perspectives on salvation: Catholicism vs. Fundamentalism

2011-02-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Caring Catholic Convert

Happy New Year!

Stomping Out Christmas

Morning Offering

Why the Latin Mass?

All Saints Day -- November 1st

Carrying Our Crosses

I Remember My Dad

The Media's Obsession with Obesity

The Catholic Visionaries at Medjugorje

Catholicism: What it means to offer something up

The Dark Soul of Mother Teresa

Anti-Catholic Whoppers

St. Tarcisius

An Insomniac Attends Morning Mass

Babies Kissed by the Pope

Planned Parenthood

Apparitions of Mary

Catholics Visiting Medjugorje

What the Eucharist is to Catholics

Do Catholics Pray to the Saints?

Please follow my writing site!

Click here to read my work.

Tsunami in My Little Sister's Town in Hawaii!

Saint Samantha

Click hereto read about Saint Samantha.

Perspectives on salvation: Catholicism vs. Fundamentalism

Click here to read.

Click here
to read about Saint Samantha.