"A Humble Servant's Catholic Blog"

I always considered myself a good Catholic Christian, but I didn’t live it. Although I have been described as a “good guy”, “nice”, “kind and quiet”, I gave myself over to sin in one form or another, especially in pride. My friends from school tell me that they thought of me as a good Christian, so I must have masked my sinfulness pretty well, or it just got covered up in my shyness and insecurity, or I just blended in with the rest of a culture that doesn’t really see many sins as being sinful. I look back and see an arrogant narcissist, pre-occupied with my own wants at anyone’s expense, yet too insecure to let it make me into a snob, and only able to really hurt those who were closest to me, or who trusted me with their emotions. I can honestly say I did not hurt all the people in my life, but there those that I did, and making amends has been a process that has spanned years, and will probably never end. My friends in school were few, but the friendships were strong, and the...

It’s not so uncommon to run into a fundamentalist Christian who celebrates the reformers for leaving the “Roman” Catholic Church and “reforming” it. What IS uncommon, however, is running into a fundamentalist Christian who knows what these “reformers” actually taught and believed. Obviously, not all that they taught would be surprising, and less surprising is the fact that some of them disagreed with one another. But there are a few things that seem to shock some Protestants when they realize what their predecessors believed. I believe the reason it can be shocking is because Protestantism is an ever-changing thing, with no actual authority to draw a line anywhere on any topic, because every person is essentially free to interpret Scripture however they see fit, or however they feel the Spirit is guiding them, regardless of conflict with others. There is no basis at all for any person within Protestantism, including the so-called “Pillars of the Reformation”, to say what is or is not T...

When I first heard the term, it was worded as “Apologist for the Catholic Faith”. I couldn’t help the thoughts of some guy walking around apologizing for his Christian views popping into my head. I wanted to ask what exactly he’d be apologizing for…maybe for offending people with his beliefs? Usually when you hear the term “apologist” or “apologetics”, a name is associated with it. You might be familiar with Peter Kreeft, Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, John Martignoni or William Lane Craig. And most people who have done any historical research will have heard of Augustine of Hippo, Justin Martyr, Thomas Aquinas, or Ignatius of Antioch. These men could all be considered apologists in one way or another. But what does that mean, and where does the word come from? Apologetics involves giving a reasoned defense for one's faith, and apologists are people who do that. The word comes from the Greek "apologia", which means to make a defense for one's opinions, position, or acti...

Here are some true/false questions (with answers to follow) from The Missionary's Catechism by Russell L. Ford. Mr. Hammon sent these to me to serve as a fun, thought-provoking exercise on various Christian topics. I'll post the answers in the "comments" section, but try to answer on your own first. :) Feel free to discuss any question more in depth. True or False : 1. God changes, becoming more perfect each day. 2. The Incarnation is when God became man. 3. Mary is the Mother of God because she gave birth do a divine Person. 4. The Annunciation is when Mary was conceived. 5. Jesus is our Redeemer because He shed all His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. 6. Jesus ascended into Heaven to be our Mediator with the Father. 7. God did not give us free will, but predestined our entire lives. 8. The Holy Spirit is the Soul of the Church 9. St. Peter founded the Catholic Church 10. The Pope is the successor of Jesus. 11. The Pope is the visible head o...

CATHOLIC QUIZ* Please choose the best response for the following ten questions. Prayer and Indulgences   1.          a) The Catholic Church considers praying the Rosary “vain repetition” because meaningful words are repeated throughout the prayer. b) The Catholic Church considers praying the Rosary “a form of meditation” because by utilizing memorized invocations we can more easily contemplate the mysteries therein. c) To pray the “Hail Mary” is to quote both the Archangel St. Gabriel and Mary’s cousin Elizabeth directly from the Gospel of St. Luke. d) All of the above e) Only b and c     2.          a) A mystery is a divine truth the human mind cannot fully understand.             b) There are 20 mysteries of the Holy Rosary.             c)...