My Top Ten Reasons to become a Roman Catholic

10. Universality - We are an EOE (Equal Opportunity Ecclesia). We accept people of all sexes, nationalities, backgrounds, and cultures. All that is required is faithfulness to the teaching of Christ’s Church. Dissenters need not apply.

9. Obedience is bliss! Find the peace and joy that comes from submitting to His Church's teaching.

8. The Sacrament of Holy Orders - Encounter Christ (In Persona Christi) through the grace of Sacraments brought to us through His Bishops, Priests, and Deacons.

7. Apostolic succession – Join the Church that has the authority Christ gave to his apostles to interpret the Sacred Scriptures with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Be a part of the one true Church that Jesus founded circa A.D. 33 in the heart of the Father from all eternity.

6. Papal Infallibility – stay connected to the successor of St. Peter the Rock upon which Jesus founded his Church and protected by the Holy Spirit from teaching error in faith and morals.

5. Ask for the prayers of that great cloud of witnesses the Saints!

4. Sanctifying Grace: Only received from the seven Sacraments. Don’t just get right with Jesus – be made holy!

3. The Sacrament of Confession – sins forgiven, wiped away, grace to live a new life, and confidentiality is guaranteed.

2. Ask Our Lord’s Blessed Mother (Luke 1:48) to pray for you! Don’t you ask you own family and friends to pray for you! Why not ask Jesus closest relative who is alive with Him in Heaven? You know you want to!

1. Receive the Risen Lord Jesus Christ – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the EUCHARIST!!!

The weeds and the Wheat...

Do you remember the parable of the weeds and the wheat? I have been meditating on the great truths that Jesus reveals to us in the parable about the nature of his bride the Church. I have been talking to some friends that are protestants who have joined or started "new" protestant 'congregations' (we refer to them as ecclesial communities since there can only be One Church). As I listen to them and some of their reasons for starting new 'communities', it reminds me of one of the main reasons that I became Catholic.

The reality of the Catholic Church is that it was founded by Christ and that it is perfect because the Holy Spirit makes it so despite our sins. I like to say that I joined the one and only perfect Church made for imperfect people. One main difference of those who remain in the Catholic Church from those who leave is that we understand that it will not be until the end of time that the weeds will be separated from the wheat.

We need to be humble and accept Christ's mercy and wisdom. Mercy is God's greatest attribute. It is how God shows us He loves us. Let's always strive to be the wheat in the Church by prayer and growing in holiness. May God give us the grace to turn weeds into wheat.

Long time no See

Not long after I started this blog I went through some major changes in my life. First, I found myself looking for a new position and have been making a career transition as a financial advisor. Second, my wife and I found out that we are expecting our fourth child. We are very excited and would appreciate your prayers for the health of mom and baby and for my new position.

I am planning to start focusing on getting this blog up and running. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

The intention of this blog is to focus on the topics relating to the fullness of unity found in the Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ.

In my journey to the one true Church, I encountered several groups of people that I found confusing. One of these groups were the "Traditionalists".

I came into the Church in Birmingham, Alabama while I was in college. During that time, I spent a great deal of time at EWTN. In fact, I like many people who embrace the ancient traditions of our Church. Some of my closest friends and people who I have a great deal of respect for are people who embrace the use of Latin in the Mass and prefer the Tridentine Mass. Some might call them Traditionalists.

Personally, I don't like stereotypes or categorizing people. I make an exception for those who choose to label themselves. So when I refer to Traditionalists, I am not refering to those Catholics who accept the current Successor to St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI but who prefer Latin or the Tridentine Mass. I am referring to those who refuse to accept the authority of the Pope.

A common theme I found between many Catholics who choose to leave the Church whether for liberal or "traditional" reasons is a lack of hope and unwillingness to practice true Charity. Let's remember those of us who strive to remain obedient and faithful to the Church's teaching that we must trust that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church and that in our interaction with those who reject the Church's authority, we must always respond with love which is humble and respectful. This is much easier to say than to do. So let's do it by always assuming the best of intentions while we prayerfully seek to draw the person closer to Christ and the fullness of the Faith found in the Church.

Apostolic Succession and Optimus Prime!

Last night after posting my first entry to my new blog, I was watching "Transformers: The Movie" with my wife and we were discussing the symbolism behind Optimus dying statement, "Till all are one." As we were watching this scene as Optimus makes his final statement he passes on the matrix of leadership. It was at this moment that my wife turned to me and said, "That's like Apostolic Succession!" My immediate thought... God thank you for my wife!

Besides the self-evident truth that "Transformers: The Movie" is the greatest movie ever made and the standard against which all other movies should be judged, it contains such pithy statements such as, "All we need is a little energon and a lot of luck." If you are an addict for cheez-e 80's rock and transformers like me check out this link - http://www.seibertron.com/media/video/thetouch/index.php and click on "download the music video". I only have one thing to say AWESOME!!! If you're not into it, all I can say is there's no accounting for taste.

All right, seriously unity is vital due to the nature of the Trinity and God's plan for us to share in His life. This is a significant part of what Jesus the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity reveals to us in St. John's Gospel (17:21). If we then link this to Jesus statement in St. John chapter 6 -"...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;" we begin to understand that this sharing or communion is attained through the reception of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion! From this and the surrounding context of the passage I came to three conclusions,

1) That total unity in the Trinity was what Jesus intended and
2) ...that unity is attained through receiving the real presence in the Eucharist,
3) ...and that the Eucharist could only be received today via Apostolic Succession (i.e Bishops - successors to the Apostles and Priests ordained by those Bishops - dispensing the Sacraments)

The decision to become a member of the One Church JESUS founded was clear!

12-15-05

How "Transformers: The Movie" Made Me a Catholic!

In short: I came into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 1997 from a Southern Baptist background. I was in my senior year in a Baptist college where I had been studying to become a minister. It was my reflections on the following passage from the Gospel of St. John that finally led me join the One Church that Jesus founded.

"..Holy Father, keep them in thy name,

which thou hast given me,

that they may be one, even as we are one." - Jn 17:21

I like to say that "Transformers: The Movie" Made Me a Catholic! ;o) This was probably my favorite movie when I was a kid. In TTM, Optimus Prime with his dying 'breath' says, "Till all are one!" It was my search for unity that allowed me to be open to the truth about the Roman Catholic Church.