With Jesus, in the Streets

Yesterday, as often, our pastor led us out the doors of our church and into the streets of town with a Eucharistic Procession after Mass.

This particular day, my son Jacob, 14, had the great privilege and honor of being the Cross-bearer and leading us through the streets.

Just behind our pastor and Our Lord in His Holy Presence, was one of our best friends, Mr. G. who was carrying the procession flag or banner (sorry I do not have a proper Liturgical term for this item)...and just behind him...were myself and two of my sweet little daughters; Mary Clare, who is 7 and currently preparing for her First Reconciliation, and Sarah, 6, who was thrilled to be "taking a walk with Jesus".

I was overwhelmed with JOY at being SOOOOOOO close to the Savior.

As we passed by pedestrians, traffic at red lights, and people coming and going at convenience stores, I prayed for each of them; that the sight of JESUS in the streets would somehow move their hearts closer toward God...especially, the unbelievers.

Father J., our pastor, will usually stop at least 3 times during a Eucharistic Procession...he turns toward us and lifts Our Lord on high...and of course...no matter where we are at that moment...be it the sidewalk or the black top of the Sheetz parking lot...when he turns the Blessed Sacrament to face us... WE KNEEL.

During one of our kneeling moments of Adoration, a group of teenage boys who were across the street on bicycles began to laugh and jeer and mock us. My prayers increased and grew more intense as I begged God to help them SEE HIS SON and come to believe in HIS TRUE PHYSICAL PRESENCE.

Behind me, I could hear my husband's beautiful voice, singing and praying the rosary with us. I could hear my daughter Laura's voice too...She is 16, and I noticed that her voice became just a little more pronounced as we passed the laughing boys..."Thank you, Lord",  I prayed. "Thank you, for giving her courage and the grace to NOT be ashamed of YOU".

Later, at home, a few of my kids asked if I had noticed the boys. I told them I did and that I had prayed for them. Little Mary Clare wondered aloud why they would make fun of Jesus and I explained, as gently as I could, that they do not KNOW that Jesus was truly there.

I am so glad and grateful that my children knew it...and believed it...and humbly followed their Savior through the streets...led by their own brother...on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon.

WE BELIEVE and WE BEG PARDON FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE.

Content in Ignorance?

Recently, I felt compelled to respond to a post on a website that had published a link to an online class being given to high school students to learn about various approaches to the Bible and different religious charism, if -you -will.

I was astounded and shocked (and saddened) to see that instead of listing "Catholic" as a subtopic, our Faith had been labeled as "Romanism".

Initially, I responded to the writer of the post to let her know that this is considered a highly derogatory and offensive term; and, as such, is defined as just that in many dictionaries.  I suggested she look up the word in an online dictionary where she will most likely find a definition similar to: Romanism ~ An offensive term used to describe Catholicism.

The incident grew more troubling in nature, when I downloaded the suggest online class and proceeded to find page five (the section on "Romanism") to be wrought with inaccuracies and falsehoods about Catholic beliefs and teachings.

All was written with intermittent grains of truth, thereby skewing the underlying falsehoods unless a trained and observant reader (such as a devout Catholic or one who has studied the Catholic faith at-length) would be able to pick up on them.

I ended up writing a post on my personal blog, Benmakesten, and you can visit there if you'd like to read more about that particular story...but what I'd like to discuss here in our new Catholic Community is this:

Why is it that many people seem so "content in their ignorance"?  Here are some questions that I'd like you to share your thoughts about, please:

1) Why are so many so inadequately educated about Catholic belief? Is it because they were raised and taught falsehood? Is it because our Church has done a poor job in explaining Her beliefs to the world at large? Is it because people would rather assume an explanation than take the time to do some leg work and really research a topic...or simply ASK a reliable source?


2) Is it just me, or do others notice that it seems to be more prominent (misconceptions, false assumptions, inaccurate teaching) with regard to the Catholic Faith more than other faith backgrounds?


3) Are we not responsible, as Christians (no matter what our specific affiliation might be) to make sure that when we are teaching others or writing in a public forum, that we have our facts straight?


4) Finally, how can we help to correct this seemingly growing problem?  I can't get the high school students who have taken this class out of my mind...I wish I could contact each one of them (which probably numbers in the hundreds if not thousands) to let them know that they have been taught incorrectly regarding Catholic belief.


I am so thankful for this blog and the community of believers who visit and write here. I look forward to reading your replies to this post:)

Do Catholics Worship Mary?

I'm hoping that some of the visitors we receive on this wonderful new community blog of ours are those who hale from different faith backgrounds than ourselves.
That being the case, I offer this post for their benefit:

I have found that this is one of the most common misconceptions about the Catholic Faith.
The plain and simple answer is: NO, Catholics do NOT worship Mary. Catholics worship ONLY the ONE, TRUE, GOD in the MOST HOLY TRINITY...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

True, Mary, as Mother of Our Redeemer, holds a special place of honor in our Church.
The proper term for the respect and esteem given to her in the Catholic Church is: veneration.

We "venerate" Mary.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "venerate" as follows:
venerate - Definition

[vĕńə-rāt́]

(v.)	To regard with respect, reverence, or heartfelt deference.

As is made clear by that definition, to "venerate" is not the same as "worship", which is defined by the same dictionary as follows:worship - Definition

[wûŕshĭp]

(n.)

The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity

(v.)

To honor and love as a deity. Deity, is to be defined as: deity - Definition [dḗĭ-tē, dā́-] (n.) A god or goddess. (n.) The essential nature or condition of being a god; divinity. Catholics believe in One, True God, therefore "deity" pertains to that same God and no other. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states in # 963: "The Virgin Mary...is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of Our Redeemer...She is 'clearly the Mother of the members of Christ'...since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of Its Head"..."Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church". (Following are my personal thoughts): If we are to follow the example of Jesus, in His life on Earth, then we can not help but offer our respect, honor, and obedience to Mary, just as HE did. Well known is the story in Scripture of the Wedding in Cana, (John 2: 1~11), where Our Lord performed His first public miracle at the beckoning of His Mother! When Mary first said, "They have no wine", Jesus responded, "Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come"...However, Mary goes on to tell the servants, "Do whatever He tells you"...and Jesus, AT THE REQUEST OF HIS MOTHER, honors her, respects her, and fulfills her request by changing the water into wine! : So to, must we "Do whatever He tells us"...and clearly, by His actions in Cana, He tells us that Mary is to be respected. The Angel Gabriel told this humble handmaiden, that she had found "favor" with God. So to then, should she find "favor" in our hearts if we are to follow His Way. As a homeschooling mother, I find SUCH comfort, and peace, and JOY contemplating Mary as she held, cuddled, loved, taught, cared for, and raised THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD! Think of how close you are to your son...(if you have one)...very often, if we wish to know something about someone, the best person to ask is his/her mother. This is what Catholics are doing when we venerate Mary. We are not "praying" using the sense of the term as to "worship"...we are "praying" using the sense of the term as to "ask, or request"...and what we are asking, is that she tell us about her Son...that as she kneels before Him in His Kingdom of Heaven, to please ask Him to help us, to bless us, to come to our aid, to bring us to Heaven with Him....and we trust, that just as He listened to her and granted her request at the Wedding in Cana...He will listen to her and grant her request on our behalf!

Interview

Hello, fellow Catholic Bloggers!

Recently, I had the pleasure and honor of being interviewed for an interesting blog entitled, "You, Me, & Religion". The author attempts to forge bridges amongst a diverse group of people from various faith backgrounds by allowing her blog to be used as an ecumenical sounding board via the interview process.

I was very happy that, as a guest, I was free to express my thoughts and opinions without sensor and my interview was published exactly as I submitted it.

I hope you will take a moment and stop by the following link to read it:

http://youmereligion.blogspot.com/2011/07/judy-dudich.html



Peace and joy to each and all of you as we strive to share the Faith with the world by means of "blogging"!