Thoughts Along the Journey

What do people see when they encounter you?

Just a few thoughts on this beautiful fall evening: When our family became Catholic in 2007, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  With 2,000 years of history, there is a lot to learn.  So many wonderful saints' lives to investigate.  So many writings to read.  So many documents to study.  So many amazing resources to examine.  So many incredible prayers to incorporate into my prayer life. (If you've read any of my articles at Catholic365 , you can learn a bit more about this.) In the midst of all this growing and learning, though, there are a couple of things I have discovered that I think is super, super important: -Don't forget the basics.     1.  Though we attend Mass almost every day, corporate prayer and worship should never be a replacement for personal times of prayer and worship.  (This is a both/and, not an either/or...)     2.  Though I hear Scripture read every time I go to Mass, it should not be a replacement f...

In light of the current Synod on the Family,  I took the opportunity to read Humanae Vitae.   If you are unfamiliar with this document,  it was written by Pope Paul VI in 1968.  The full text can be found here.   Humanae Vitae Keep in mind the year 1968--the time of "Free Love," the sexual revolution,  and  "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll."  The cry of the day was against "the establishment" and the trend was, "whatever feels good,  do it." Yet Pope Paul VI stood strong in the midst of the tidal wave of individualism, and reasserted the teaching of the Church, even when some voices within the Church were calling for a more "open" view to contraception,  abortion,  sex, and family life. I was amazed by the prophetic nature of this writing.   Though written almost 50 years ago, he foretold that, if the course of things continued as they were, the government would one day decide the issue. "It could well happen, ...