"A Humble Servant's Catholic Blog"

Using pebbles or beads as tangible prayer minders was nothing new by the 9th century, when Monks had begun making a daily or weekly recitation of all 150 Psalms.  It made perfect sense, then, when the lay faithful, who wanted a way to participate in this pious practice, yet had difficulty learning the Psalms due to various reasons (e.g., widespread illiteracy), instead recited 150 prayers daily or weekly and kept track of them by means of pebbles or beads.  Eventually this practice evolved into beads being strung together on a cord.  The daily prayers would typically be the "Pater Noster" (the Lord's Prayer, found in Lk 11:2-4 or Mt 6:9-13) or the "Ave [Gratia Plena]" (the "Hail, Full of Grace" found in Lk 1:28, 41-42).  Gradually, the second half of what we know today as the "Hail Mary" was added, reflecting Lk 1:43 and passages regarding praying for one another (e.g., James 5:16).  This recitation of prayers on beads would eventually evolve...

Too many times, man receives a nudge from the Spirit to do something, only to decide to "do it my own way" and completely mess it up for himself, and usually for everyone else around him.  What would happen if we would just do what God says, and follow exactly the way He says to do it? I felt a nudge from the Lord to tell my wife something...something I KNEW would become an argument, because it did the last 3 times I brought up the topic. It's a topic regarding a particular family devotion that has been a point of contention which, in the past, had left us both with hurt feelings.  The nudge was to reintroduce the topic, and to state it in a very specific way:  " I want us to start doing [this particular devotion]". I prayed about it and reminded the Lord ( because hey, who doesn't think that the Lord needs us to remind Him of things?? ) that this was a very contentious topic, and I was not up for having the argument, because it's not something obliga...

I continue to see comments lately that pit “relationship” against “religion”, as though there’s a new trend with Christians trying to distance themselves from “rules” that they might be expected to follow. The latest I heard was " Religion gets you to church, but relationship helps you grow in your faith ".  Other examples are, “ Having a religion is against my relationship ”, or “ God gave me a relationship, not a religion to follow ”, or “ I have a personal relationship with Christ, I don’t need a religion’s rules to tell me what to do ”. There are various ways of saying it, but the main message is that “ Christ gave us a relationship with Him, not a religion to follow”, and it's an incredibly short-sighted and incorrect view of what Christ has given us.  The religion that Christ gave us to follow is a reflection of our relationship with Him .  "Religion", from the Latin "religio" means to  bind oneself  [to something]. In this case, our Christian ...

- " If I touch the holy water font, it'll melt. " - " I better not go to confession because, if I enter the church, it may burn down! "   - " I'm just too 'dirty' to go before God right now...I need to clean up first. "   Whether they are an excuse to not go to church, or a genuine notion that someone actually has to 'get right with God' BEFORE they receive the Sacraments, these comments (paraphrased, but you are likely familiar with many variations of them) are wrong minded, backwards, and completely miss the purpose of the Sacraments.   You may have read in any number places, in any number of ways, that " the church is not a museum for saints; rather it is a hospital for sinners ".  And this is the truth of the matter.   We need not be "clean" in order to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (i.e., going to confession).  Reconciliation is given to us by Christ for exactly that purpose...to reconcile us to Hi...

Before this pandemic hit our nation, I considered myself a good Christian. I give to the Church; I help others when I can; I give an honest day's work to provide for my family; I raise my children in the faith handed down to us by our Lord. But this pandemic has opened my eyes in the past couple weeks. My wife and I quickly realized that the burden that would hit us, as our state went on "lock-down", would impact other people as well...and probably hit them harder. After all, I have a job that allows me to work from home, so I won't lose a paycheck (yet). And despite the initial mob that emptied our local grocery store, we have a place nearby to buy the essentials and we are both capable of going shopping. ("Both capable of going shopping" is something I didn't realize I was taking for granted until recently.) And while it meant having six children at home, like wild rabbits being chased by a cage, we are more adjusted to that than most becaus...

I noticed it this past Ash Wednesday, as the local news channel was covering "drive-thru ashes" for Christians who wanted to get their Wednesday ashes but didn't have time to stop into a formal service or Mass. Various denominations had set up stops in various places for people to stop by for a quick dusting upon their foreheads, grab a donut and coffee, and then go about their busy day. I'm sure the intention was genuine: meet people where they are in their lives and attempt to bring bits of the faith to them. It's a good sentiment. But that's about all it is, and I believe it delivers a message that completely contradicts the whole point of "Ash Wednesday" from the very start. Here's the message: "We know you are busy and don't have time to 'make time' for things of the faith, so we'll make it more convenient for you so that your faith life doesn't get in the way of your 'other' life". But isn...

My brother shared a video of the first sitting President to attend a March for Life event giving a speech at said event.  The speech was wonderfully supportive of babies' right to life and I think it's historic and precedent-setting that a President has made this pro-life move, regardless of his motives.  Yet, there was one gentleman who kept trying to dismiss the pro-life message and draw focus away from it by trying to refocus on the person of the President.  It led to some interesting dialog but gave me an opportunity to dive back into a question to which I have yet, after years of asking, to receive an actual answer or any focused discussion.  You can decide whether this ended differently. Ray's words will appear in plain text, mine in blue. Ray: It's called pandering and it doesn't mean he is a good and moral man. Trump once declared in a 1999 interview that “I am pro-choice in every respect.” ( Nevermind that people can change. As another person in t...

Have you ever felt like your life was in full gallop, heading in the right direction and with no obstacles in your way, only to suddenly have things screech to a halt? An image comes to mind of that picture of a person on what they think is their life journey, with nothing but the hill they climbed behind them, and the goal in front. Then a second picture shows a zoomed-out version, “God’s Plan” so it is called, with many more obstacles ahead, but the goal no less achievable. Have you ever been indignant about that sudden stillness, or the additional obstacles? We should be thankful for these times. These are times of reflection and assessment and can stop us from galloping over a cliff in some situations. I’ve got a real-life example for you. Things at work have been going great, and I truly believe it’s because I have been growing in my faith-life. I have an opportunity to go to Mass pretty much any morning that I want, and I have decided on a couple days per week in parti...

"Help! I can't sleep and I don't know what to do!" Photo courtesy of  Bionews . "Insomnia" I've said these words myself before, and I hear similar ones often from coworkers, friends, strangers having too-loud conversations with their friends in public, etc. Most of us are familiar with the typical advice: "try counting sheep; go through the alphabet in your head; count numbers until you dose off; drink herbal tea; take a warm bath; use essential oils; make your room darker"...the list goes on and on. Some of these are helpful, some are not. And most of them won't work for everyone. I'd like to recommend the thing that helps me the most when I find I am having trouble falling asleep at night: I pray. To someone who is a-religious (agnostic/atheist, for example), that may sound as meaningful as "rub lavender essential oil on your pillow". But I would encourage you to at least give it a shot. If there really is...

I had a prediction for the end of the world come to me a week or two before Christmas. It was a comment by a fellow named "E", nestled as a comment in one of my other articles, automatically flagged as spam. Now that his predicted end of the world has come and gone, I thought I'd offer feedback on what went wrong with the prediction. I visited with the person who sent the message, and it turns out that this was much more than just another " I have predicted the end of the world " preacher.  The person actually believes himself to be, not just a prophet, but THE prophet.  Because of this, and my suspicion that there are some psychological issues, I have removed his identifying information, which includes his websites. "E's" comment began with a call to attention: " You are part of a search and rescue for lost Catholics. Regular updates to the countdown to the Day of the Lord by the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven at : [ website link red...

Why do Catholics, and other Christians who honor Christ's Mother, ask her to pray us? It's because we know she can help lead us to Christ like no other person can. In fact, everything about Mary magnifies God and points us to Christ. Mary is the most pure Virgin, conceived without sin. From the very first instant, she was made entirely immaculate by God, her Savior. Gloriously full of grace, she is the mother of our God, the Queen of Angels and of men. We humbly venerate her as the chosen mother of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords chose Mary, from among all other women that existed, or ever will exist, for the singular grace and honor of being His beloved mother. By the power of His Cross, He preserved her from all sin. Therefore, by His power and love, we have hope and bold confidence in her prayers for our holiness and salvation. We pray that her prayers will bring us to imitate her holiness and submission to Jesus and the Divine Wil...

Someone was sent the following, explaining how veneration and worship are supposedly the same things, and that venerating the Saints is the equivalent of giving them the worship due to God alone. " The simplest definition of worship is to “ascribe worth.” Worship can be more completely defined as “showing respect, love, reverence, or adoration.” Based on the dictionary, no clear difference between veneration and worship exists. In fact, veneration and worship are often used as synonyms for each other. The Catholic Church has different degrees of worship: dulia, hyperdulia, and latria. Dulia is the honor given to the saints. Hyperdulia is the honor given to Mary alone, as the greatest of the saints. Latria is the honor given to God alone. In contrast, the Bible always ascribes honor, in the context of worship, to God alone [ 1 Chronicles 29:11; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16; Revelation 4:11 ]. Even if there were biblical support for different levels of worship, there still would be no bi...

Giving gifts thoughtlessly, or without consideration, is something we probably all have done. It seems like giving someone a gift that's "nice" or cheap, is a harmless act of charity, and the recipient will probably never know whether the giver has put much thought or effort into it. Some people don't even like giving gifts to others, yet they do it because they think they have to and therefore don't put much effort into it.  But, as they say, it's the thought that counts; and if your thought is, ''Do I have to give someone a gift?",  then how does that show that you love or care about the receiver of the gift?   It really doesn't.   When the occasion calls for giving your friend a gift, do so with love, and not with the desire to get the cheapest item available, or to reluctantly just get it over with. Don't buy them a $700 watch, but also don't buy a cheap dollar store item. And don't buy them a super-expensive gift they w...

  In this time of yet another scandal, there are good and faithful Priests who encourage their flocks.  This letter can be, and has been, written in the various words of other such Priests in many parishes around the world.  This is just one example.  I keep it anonymous because I don't personally know this Priest.  (The parish name is a common one.)   " Dear Parishioners of Holy Family, Praised be Jesus Christ! I write this letter to all of you as something separate from the pastors column with the hope that I can more fully communicate my message to you. The timing seems to be perfect as we are within the beautiful Octave of Marian feasts, following the Solemnity of the Assumption and concluding with the Queenship of Mary. I write this under the protective mantle of the Holy Virgin to each of you who as disciples of the Lord Jesus are also her well-beloved children. Over recent weeks our Church, Our Mother on earth, has had to endure yet another...