Catholic Beliefs Class (Faith)

What is faith? What challenges your faith? When have questions or confusion about your faith led to personal growth?


A catechism I once read defined faith as “the virtue by which we firmly believe all the truths God has revealed, on the word of God revealing them.” But faith is more than that. Faith is also believing in God’s plan for our lives, every part of it. We must give our complete trust to Him, and being able to do that is having faith.

Living in a world of family, friends, and co-workers who do not share the same faith is always challenging. The greater challenges however come from those who have no real faith at all and as a result usually have no moral code by which to live. In today’s world your faith must be strong to stand up to those challenges the world presents.

My conversion to the Catholic Faith has been the greatest experience of personal growth I’ve ever known. The faith I have today has not always been as strong as it is now, and it didn’t come overnight either. I found the most difficult thing for me to have faith in was being worthy enough to receive God’s love. Once I overcame that dilemma the answers to my questions were easier to understand and much less confusing.

Modest Swimwear

It's a dreaded time of year (well, almost) for me as far as what to wear when a bathing suit is required. The "modest" bathing suit I ordered last year turned out to be backless and the straps do not stay in place if you're actually swimming, which is a problem for me since I like to play in the water with the kids. I can't believe some of the bathing suits I've seen in the stores, especially Target, most of the one pieces there have large cut outs on the sides. HELLO!!!

I did a search again this year and the picture below is the one I liked best. Last years suit looked like a regular bathing suit so nobody made any comments, but I am fully aware of what lays ahead if I chose this style. I do not preach modesty to my friends & family but i do try my best to dress that way. I do love wearing jeans & always have, but the tops I chose to wear do not show my chest or bra strap, I also will not buy a skirt if it is above the knee, and for this I do get made fun of at times. But I don't mind it too much.

The bathing suit here can be found at Christa-Taylor.

LOVE STORY (Taylor Swift) meets VIVA LA VIDA (Coldplay) - Piano Cello - by Jon Schmidt

Catholic Beliefs

Today is the first day of an online course I signed up for. The course is the same as the title of this post. Part of the course involves posting a reflection I think once a week on the questions or statements which they provide.

I will be posting both the questions and my reflection for all of you to read, and please add your own if you wish. I would love to hear what you have to say.

Here you go!!

What is your earliest memory of realizing that you were Catholic? What did that mean to you? What in our culture makes it difficult to be a believer?

My mom was raised Catholic and although I was always fascinated by the Catholic faith I still knew nothing. I also never asked any questions, I never knew what questions to ask. Once I met Paul (my husband) and saw how true to his faith & what an awesomely good person he is, (long before we started dating) I started asking & learning. It wasn't long before I was serious about converting to the Catholic faith. I was baptized in July of 2007. I received the Sacraments from an FSSP Priest in Sacramento and I was immediately drawn to the Traditional Latin Mass and since then we have been attending the TLM. Since my Baptism I have felt a sense of peace and strength in my soul that I can’t quite explain.

I don’t find that it is difficult to “believe” as much as is it difficult to stay true to what we believe. For me it is often very difficult. There are only 3 other members of my family that are Catholic but I am the only one that is practicing. It is difficult for most to understand why I will not participate in certain celebrations/activities and I know it will only get worse once we have children because we will not allow them to be exposed to anything that might injure their souls.

Happy Feast Day!

St. Rita was born at Spoleto, Italy in 1381. At an early age, she begged her parents to allow her to enter a convent. Instead they arranged a marriage for her. Rita became a good wife and mother, but her husband was a man of violent temper. In anger he often mistreated his wife. He taught their children his own evil ways.

Rita tried to perform her duties faithfully and to pray and receive the sacraments frequently. After nearly twenty years of marriage, her husband was stabbed by an enemy but before he died, he repented because Rita prayed for him. Shortly afterwards, her two sons died, and Rita was alone in the world. Prayer, fasting, penances of many kinds, and good works filled her days. She was admitted to the convent of the Augustinian nuns at Cascia in Umbria, and began a life of perfect obedience and great charity.

Sister Rita had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. "Please let me suffer like you, Divine Saviour," she said one day, and suddenly one of the thorns from the crucifix struck her on the forehead. It left a deep wound which did not heal and which caused her much suffering for the rest of her life. She died on May 22, 1457. She is the patroness of impossible cases. Her feast day is May 22.

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=205

My First Post!

The first post I ever made was on this exact date & time 1 year ago. I've had so much fun on this blog, and it's interesting to go back & read my early post's.

I have learned so much this past year, not only through my own blog, but from those of others. I have a whole list of sites that I visit regularly, I love learning about my Catholic Faith from all sorts of places. No matter how much you think you know, there always seems to be more, I love that.

I would like to spend this next year answering questions about Catholicism for those who are not Catholic or just don't know much about their faith. Now, I am not saying I have all the answers (I still have a lot to learn myself), I will more than likely have to do a great deal of research & that's where it becomes fun for me. I will still be learning as much as I can while also helping others. So ask away! You can go to my profile to send me an email if you'd like to keep it private.

Thank you to all of you who have made this a really fun year.

Clich here to read my FIRST POST!!

Boot Camp

Three weeks ago I joined Code Pink Boot Camp and this coming week is the last of the first session. I had signed up for 3 days a week, and I LOVE IT!!! Before I started I thought for sure I would not want to continue, but I do. The next session starts on June 1st (pretty sure) and this time around I will probably be going 5 days a week. Working out in the outdoors especially at the beach has been tons of fun & it's a great environment. Paul has been trying to find away for me to like exercising since we started dating so I think he's thrilled with the fact that I wish to continue.

What do you like to do for exercise??

We Are All Blessed

"If at all times we want what others have, we will fail to see that we already possess what they are lacking."

ND Response - Official Video

Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb ground Italian Sausage & 1lb ground Chicken

(recipe called for pork & beef)

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 large slightly beaten egg

½ cup Italian breadcrumbs

2 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic

2 teaspoons of salt (can use less)

1 teaspoon of black pepper

½ cup of milk

2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 1/2 teaspoons of dried parsley

Step 1: Mix all of the ingredients into a large bowl.

Step 2: Shape the mixture into small-medium sized meatballs. At this point if you don’t want to cook these right now you could put them in the freezer for later.

Step 3: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and place the meatballs on a baking sheet. As you can see, I had to use pizza pans.

Step 4: Put your meatballs in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.Another cooking method is to simmer the meatballs in pasta sauce for about 40 minutes. This will give them great flavor and texture.

** I let them simmer in sauce for 3 hours. And they were amazing!!

Fr. Corapi on Notre Dame Scandal

Taylor Swift - 'The Best Day' Video

My Favorites

I stole this idea from a fellow blogger. Please keep in mind that all of these are favorites of the moment.

20 Of My Favorite Things
1. Color~ Turquoise Blue
2. Dessert~ Bread Pudding

3. Smell~ Paul coming home from golf.
4. Flower~ Sunflower
5. Animal~ Dog - any one I'm not allergic to.
6. Month~ February
7. Beverage~ Godiva chocolate drink. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

8. Pair of Shoes~ Black Boots
9. Snack~ Sardines & crackers
10. Song~ Carrie Underwood, I told you so (version with Randy Travis is best)
11. Book~ Pride & Prejudice Jane Austen
12. Fruit~ Watermelon
13. Hairstyle~ down & straight
14. Store to clothes shop~ Macy's (during a sale)
15. Piece of Clothing~ Blue Jeans (always)
16. Season~ Winter , would be Autumn if we lived somewhere that looked like it does in the movies.
17. Hobby~ Blogging. Is it bad that blogging is my fav hobby?
18. Things to collect~ Kitchen Fairies
19. Movie~ Sense & Sensibility
20. Restaurant~ King Lobster's Palace

Just Because!

Paul came home today with a bouquet of Sunflowers (my favorite). No special occasion, just because. :)

I didn't have a vase large enough so I put them in a glass pitcher that was painted by my Great Grandma.

I think they're beautiful. Thank you Sweetie!!!

That Catholic Show - Charity and Mercy

I Really Like This One.

"Is Prayer your Steering Wheel or your spare tire?"

~Corrie Ten Boom

Lemon Water

I have been trying to drink more water, but have trouble doing so, while talking to someone about this they gave me a suggestion which was to squeeze a lemon slice into a glass of water with a packet of Steevia.

Well, today I tried it & I loved it. Then I filled a pitcher with water, added 3 packets of Steevia, squeezed in 1 1/2 lemons, I also cut 1 lemon into pretty slices & added them to the pitcher. We really liked it, so I thought it would be neat to know the health benefits of drinking water with lemon.

Some noteworthy benefits are:

- Perhaps the most noticeable benefit of all, your skin will look healthier. If you have acne or your skin looks slightly sallow, this is definitely worth a shot.

- Suffer from heartburn, have nausea, or have a difficult digestion system? Your tummy will feel much better.

- Lemons are high in Vitamin C. Since I've begun taking a daily dose of lemon water, my sinuses have gotten far better and I've not gotten sick once. It'll give your immune system a boost.

- Keeping your insides clean is just as important, if not more, as keeping your outsides clean. This will cleanse your body from the inside. The water we normally drink is essential, but with a few drops of lemon, we can clean out our blood and wash up our inner system.

- Some people even claim it helps you lose a little bit of weight, but I wouldn't pledge this is a valid truth (though it does kind of make sense, because it cleans out your digestive system..).

- Others claim it works as an energizer or waker-upper. Admittedly, I've felt more alert after drinking it at times, but perhaps that may have been because I squeezed a little too much sour into my water.

If you're looking to solve the acne, heartburn, allergies, or whatnot over night, this is certainly not your remedy. But if you stick with it solidly, you should begin to notice some changes within a week. Go with it - you've nothing to lose.

Some people will say drinking this mixture will weaken their tooth enamel. I asked my dentist about this, and she said it was false. However, if I was truly worried about it, I should drink the water through a straw, with the straw in between my teeth, which is what I've been doing since.