I grew up with a version of the Prosperity Gospel. Not a pure version, mind you. Because we were not wealthy. We were pretty healthy though, despite everything. Maybe we couldn’t manifest money, but in lieu of health insurance, we certainly saw more than our share of divine healing. I say that without an ounce …
Last night I got to share my conversion story with the women’s group at my parish. It was the first time I have given my testimony in a public way. It was a blessing to be able to share my excitement and the honor I feel in being Catholic.
(I apologize for how fast I talk and for hand movements that when seen without the audio look something like interpretive dance.)
I got there early, one of the first, because my son was serving at the altar and my daughter was singing with the cantor. I sat in the back and prayed. Breathing deeply I took in the stained glass windows, the wood work, the altar piece. And I watched people come in. Old people who …
I didn’t grow up with the Sacraments. Yes, I was baptized and received Communion (as often as it was offered, which was about once a month. The focal point of a Protestant worship service is not the Eucharist.) but I don’t recall them ever being called Sacraments. They were symbols. I was also married in …
Long before I even considered becoming Catholic, I found that on moral issues I was in the Catholic camp more often than not. For some reason, in my own Protestant churches, I could not find a lot of common ground on some things I considered very important. Such as: the indissolubility of marriage, abortion, birth …
I read Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God when I was a seventeen, I think. It quickly became one of my treasured books. I read A Man For All Seasons and watched the movie. St. Thomas More was the man! I read Tolkein and Lewis. At my wedding my Bridesmaids carried the …
Here’s the first video that broke my heart:
“So far as a man may be proud of a religion rooted in humility, I am very proud of my religion; I am especially proud of those parts of it that are most commonly called superstition. Continue reading
How often have I heard the following: Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship. It has several variations. But the gist is the same. Religion = bad. And everything gets lumped in there. If it is liturgical, ritual, sacramental, well…..that’s just legalistic, man-made and…religious.
reconciling things 