Posts tagged catholic
The Little Red Haired Girl
"There is no one alive who is youer than you"
St. Joseph, pray for us!
Anonymous asked:
What kind of a person does it take to be a catechist?
I honestly think that if you are committed to prayer, and are open to the direction of the Holy Spirit that you would make a great catechist. Really, you just have to be willing to form yourself spiritually and intellectually, and to go where God is leading you. It takes a lot of humility and patience because if you are a person who is actively seeking God’s will, you will find quickly that not everyone is. You may find yourself not agreeing with your boss, coworkers, pastors, etc, but you have to be charitable and obedient to those who are above you, all while working for the spreading of the Kingdom of God.
Basically, if you love God, and you feel the desire to serve and form others, and bring them into intimate relationship with him, and you are committed to prayer, God can do a lot with you and you will be a great catechist. But you cannot give what you do not have, so forming yourself is very important as well.
Also, many parish catechists are volunteers, so you need to have a heart to serve. And as a catechetical leader (DRE, RCIA, Youth Minister, etc…), you need to have this missionary spirit because of the souls entrusted to your care.
Hope that helps, anon!
Today my middle schoolers told me that they want to read the Bible and pray one on one with the elementary students.
Heart. Melted.
(Source: dontyouthinknineteenstooyoung, via sweetandlovelygirl7)
I PASSED MY CATECHISM EXAM!
I AM GOING TO GET MY DEGREE AND TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD AND EVERYTHING IS AMAZING. It’s funny how I go back and forth on whether or not I’m called to this, but it’s things like being among the few to pass on the first try that make it more clear. Ugh. So excited.
(Source: dukegirlz)
Right now, I feel incredibly blessed.
It’s one of those times where I can just feel it, ya know? I just know that he hears me, and that he is with me, and that he is whispering to me, revealing to me his plans. I’m just so content and happy. The past few years have been worth it— just to be healthy again, to be more aware of who I really am, and to be living in his love. :-)
(Source: catholic-problems, via flowers-for-hamlet)
Niko's Nature: A short apology for my comments from last night on the nature of salvation.
We are told to love all humanity in the way Christ loved humanity. Christ loved humanity by sacrificing himself for all mankind in the hopes that by his sacrifice all men will be saved. Therefore, should we not also hope that all men are saved? While I am prepared to accept the possibility that…
All of those points presume faith in Christ. Jesus DOES say that faith is related to salvation. In fact in Mark 16:16, he says “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
The Church teaches: “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation. ‘Since ‘without faith it is impossible to please [God]’ and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life ‘But he who endures to the end.’” CCC 161.
Thomas Aquinas says in the Summa Theologica:
“After grace had been revealed, both learned and simple folk are bound to explicit faith in the mysteries of Christ, chiefly as regards those which are observed throughout the Church, and publicly proclaimed, such as the articles which refer to the Incarnation, of which we have spoken above (Question 1, Article 8). As to other minute points in reference to the articles of the Incarnation, men have been bound to believe them more or less explicitly according to each one’s state and office.” http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3002.htm
The Church does not teach that faith is not necessary for salvation. She teaches the opposite. Thomas Aquinas does go into the whole idea of implicit faith. He says:
“Therefore, as regards the primary points or articles of faith, man is bound to believe them, just as he is bound to have faith; but as to other points of faith, man is not bound to believe them explicitly, but only implicitly, or to be ready to believe them, in so far as he is prepared to believe whatever is contained in the Divine Scriptures. Then alone is he bound to believe such things explicitly, when it is clear to him that they are contained in the doctrine of faith.”
It is necessary for our salvation to have faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself tells us this. If this were not true, there would be no need for evangelization or spreading the gospel. But Jesus tells us to do these things. He says “Go make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have comanded you. And behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20. However, God knows all of his people. He sees our hearts, and knows everything about us. He is the ultimate judge. This is why we entrust all people to his mercy. We cannot judge because we do not see anyone’s heart and true desires. We just entrust them to God’s mercy, which is so very wide.
I hope this was helpful. We CAN hope that all men are saved, but we also must heed the words of our Savior. He doesn’t lie to us.
Proverbs 31 Movement.
Alex Eklund, a student at Baylor University, posted a status on Facebook stating, “I’d rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a Victoria’s Secret Model”. Since then, other Baylor students and their friends have reposted, made graphics, and even a page has been made for it all because of the positive reaction it received from the people that saw it. Here are Alex’s thoughts on the movement’s beginning as well as some of his goals for the movement and what he believes the message means to so many people
TLC's "Virgin Diaries"
Really TLC?? You’re gonna make a show ridiculing people who choose to wait until marriage? There is so much beauty if saving yourself for your spouse. Teaching kids that “you’re uncool” if you don’t have premarital sex is really crappy. Sex is not a recreational activity, it’s a beautiful life-giving union between man and woman. We don’t need to “just do it” to avoid being a virgin by a certain age. Ugh…
My heart is aching for you,
even though you are far from me in every sense. But my hope lies in God, that if he wills, he will lead you to me… and I know that we are always united in Christ. every Sunday when I receive Communion, I think of you… because I know that somewhere you are celebrating the same liturgy doing the same thing. And I know that one day in heaven (God have mercy on us) we will be together there too. I prayed for a year that I could be whole again, but I still feel like a part of me is missing.
Catholic and Gay?
So, yes, it’s hard to be gay and Catholic — it’s hard to be anything and Catholic — because I don’t always get to do what I want. Show me a religion where you always get to do what you want and I’ll show you a pretty shabby, lazy religion. Something not worth living or dying for, or even getting up in the morning for. That might be the kind of world John Lennon wanted, but John Lennon was kind of an idiot.
What an inspiring and courageous person.
Director of AIDS Prevention Research Project reaffirms Pope's stand on condom use in Africa.
This an oldy but a goody.
“There is… a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded ‘Demographic Health Surveys,’ between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates.”
”The pope said ‘monogamy’ was the best single answer to African AIDS, rather than ‘abstinence.’ The best and latest empirical evidence indeed shows that reduction in multiple and concurrent sexual partners is the most important single behavior change associated with reduction in HIV-infection rates (the other major factor is male circumcision).”
“More and more AIDS experts are coming to accept the above. The two countries with the worst HIV epidemics, Swaziland and Botswana, have both launched campaigns to discourage multiple and concurrent partners, and to encourage fidelity.”
“I’m jealous of your virginity” - A Testimony
I’m a college student at a big state partying school where all the gossip Monday morning is about how people go wasted over the weekend and had sex with strangers. And I’m here living my life of chastity, going to mass and adoration multiple times a week. I’m saving myself for marriage.
And recently I met this guy, two years older than me. He has been brought up in a strict Mormon household. He had decided at the age of 17 that there was no God. However, we’ve come to talking and we’ve grown close. We’ve started to like each other. He’s told me that my strong beliefs in my Catholic faith made me more attractive to him, and that he was starting to doubt his conviction in Atheism. He’s asked me questions about my faith and has sat there, intently listening, while I answered. He’s told me that if my faith is what makes me happy, then he wants it to grow. I didn’t know that people who didn’t believe in religion would support me in mine.
And as our conversations progressed, my virginity came up. He told me he was jealous of me for being able to live a life of chastity and purity. When I asked him why he said “Because on your wedding night, you will have the most intense surge of emotions. You’ll feel love, passion, lust, happiness and even a bit a fear. I’m never going to be able to experience that”
Even those who have failed to live their lives purely are still able to admire the beauty in chastity, they even realize that they want it and that it’s worth waiting. This story is to prove that. This is to give hope to those who believe that living a life of purity and chastity won’t attract those who are non-religous. This is prove that chastity can be your crowning glory, and that you will be admired for it.
This is so true. I get scared for the conversation sometimes because no one wants to be rejected, but I’ve found that guys (especially ones who are far from the faith in my experience) really have an appreciation and respect for it. I went on a date with a guy a couple of years ago, and as a double major in theology and catechetics, the topic of religion came up. He identified himself as catholic. He seemed to feel that it was part of who he was. He considered himself to be a practicing catholic, too… He went to Church on Sundays, and wanted to raise his kids catholic someday.
But he also told me about the girl he used to date… The one he used to live with. I sat listening politely to his story, empathizing with the hurt that comes with ending a relationship, when he stopped. He looked at me and said: “Okay, you’re totally judging me.” I assured him that I was not, and that I wanted to hear what he had to say.
“So, if you were with someone for four years and you knew you’d be at each other’s places all the time, wouldn’t you just move in together?” He asked me.
”No… I wouldn’t. I really don’t believe in living together before marriage.”
I looked at him, apologetically, because I didn’t want him to feel bad. Yet, this was what I believed and I was going to be honest.
“No, trust me, you’re probably the one who’s morally right here.”
…silence…
“Wait,” he said, “so you’ve never had sex before?”
Then, panic stricken, he added “Don’t feel like you have to answer that if it’s personal.”
Obviously that is extremely personal. But I felt like I should just be honest. And I told him that I was waiting until marriage, that I wanted my first time to be with my husband on our wedding night.
For about 30 painful seconds, I waited for the response. His mouth was open and he looked absolutely astonished. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. He finally just said, “That’s awesome. Good for you… whoever he is, he is a very lucky guy.” And he meant it. I could tell.
From then on, I have never worried about what guys would think of me for my decision to pursue chastity. I’m not perfect, and I’m definitely no saint. But it makes me hopeful to know that guys really do have a lot of respect for women who choose to wait. It makes me feel empowered to know that.
