Monthly Archives: January 2008

I was called….

St. Anastasia

Okay, last year on this date, I decided that I was going to join the Catholic Church (before I ever stepped foot in the door). But, I was certain, and so I Googled “Catholic churches troy mi,” and found two: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Anastasia. Since SEAS was located closer to my old high school (and I was worried that I might run into parents of friends, which would be awkward), I decided to attend St. Anastasia the next day, with the thought that if I didn’t like it, I could always go to the other church the following week.

So, while tomorrow is the anniversary of the first day that I stepped foot inside St. Anastasia and attended a Mass, today is the anniversary of the day I felt that I should be Catholic and resolved to do something about that.

How incredible was it for me to go to Mass today and hear our pastor give his homily on the baptism of our Lord, and how He was called to start His ministry; and how we are called to be the light of Christ to others. Then, he had us renew our baptismal promises. This was all so special and meaningful to me, because it was this day that I also felt called to follow Christ, and He lead me into His church. I know that Easter, too, is going to be this amazing time for me, as the anniversary of when I was baptized and officially entered the Catholic Church, but I wanted to take some time here to acknowledge all of the amazing people who have come into my life, and helped me on my journey last year; who welcomed me and taught me and included me, and so much more! God bless you all! And Praise God for His goodness!

As an aside, being me, I had to make sure that our pastor knew of the significance of this day for me, so I told him all this after Mass.  He said, “Happy Anniversary!  I’m so glad you made that decision [to come to church last year and become Catholic]!”  Now, I just have to reach my other priest (pastor of the church where I attend daily Mass), the one who baptized me, to thank him for scaring me to death last year, January 14th.  🙂  But, I’ll leave the details of that for tomorrow’s posting….  🙂

Happy Birthday to The Clam!

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Ah, Clammish as she is, she is not announcing, loudly, the anniversary of her birth!

Here’s a little song for you:
“Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday to you!  We missed you at chur-urch!  But we prayed for you, too!”

It’s an occasion to rejoice!  Yippee-skippee!  The Clam was born!  On the baptism of Jesus this year, too — how cool is that?  As we are all called to a renewal of our baptismal promises, does this also mean that The Clam, as this is her day, too, must seek inside herself to discern Christ’s calling of her life and the meaning of that?

A New Favorite

Bible Study

This week in our Bible study, we are reading 1 Maccabees, with supplemental passages from 2 Maccabees, Sirach, and Wisdom.

I just wanted to comment that Sirach, chapter 2 — I love it!  For some reason, this passage really spoke to me when I was initially writing this blog entry (before I was taken down), and now reading it again now, it still captures my heart in a special way.  I think I still agree with my initial assessment — that I may have to post this somewhere in my house, even if it means expanding the Holy Hallway (I have one central area in my house where all my crosses and crucifixi are concentrated)….  🙂

Here are the little comments on the passage, at least as given in the footnotes of one of my Bibles:

Sir 2:1-11:  “Serving God is not without its trials; moreover, it must be done with sincerity, steadfastness and fidelity.  Misfortune and humiliation merely purify man and prove his worth.  Patience and unwavering trust in God are always rewarded with the benefits of God’s mercy and of lasting joy.”
Sir 2:12-18: “A warning to those who compromise their religion in time of affliction; they fail in courage and trust and therefore have no security. But those who fear the Lord through obedience, reverence, love and humility find his mercy equal to his majesty.”

Logos Bible Study Software for Catholics

Bible Study, Critical Mass

This looks like a lot of fun — except for the purchase price!

http://www.bibletheology.com/Product.asp?ID=105

Thank you, Steve Ray, for giving me new ways to drain my bank account!  🙂

Question(s) of the Day

Question of the Day

Sometimes a girl just needs Catholic Answers, you know?

1.  Why would someone exclaim, “Jehoshaphat”?  I know he was one of the “good” kings of Judah during the Divided Kingdom, but how does that relate?

2.  When and why did the Israelites start self-identifying as Jews and Hebrews?  What is the etymology of those designations?

Thwarted again!

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Okay, first the Archdiocese of Detroit refuses access to my LiveJournal account.

THEN, in an effort to combat the large number of spam accounts that have been created in the past 72 hours, my blog was deleted by Stblogs.com!

I’m feeling repressed!  Hug me and support my little blog!  I’ll try to re-create what I had, but it will be difficult….