The once "fake-it-until-you-make-it" Catholic suggests you do the same

It is exactly 3 years ago today that I began writing a column as a way to serve Jesus and Mary, and share the truth of our Catholic faith. At that time I considered myself "spiritual, not religious." I was what you might call a "fake it until you make it" Catholic. All I can say is that it sure has worked for me. God's grace is truly amazing. His faithfulness, mercy, and forgiveness is very real. He heals us. You only have to ask the Lord to take the lead, and then take those unsure, wobbly baby steps forward. Our holy mother Mary helps us learn to walk. She's right there, if we want to take her for our own, as St. John did at the foot of the holy cross.

I am very grateful for this new creation that God is making of me. For the good and the bad in my life, too, I am appreciative. The days of my life are like the multiple threads of an elaborate tapestry that God has used to lead me to repentance of my sinful ways and to cooperate with the grace of God in striving for holiness.

Did you know that in these muddled opinions of all sorts, and in these confusing times, there is one thing you can always be sure of? We all have a calling for holiness. I do. You do. One way to get there is to "fake it until you make it." Just try. What better day than today, on Ash Wednesday. Tomorrow, dust yourself off and get up and try again. You may fall a whole lot at first. You may get hurt. Conversion is an on-going process. Like a spiritual toddler, don't give up, keep on. You will learn to walk eventually. You may even find you love to run.

Evidence that the communion of saints scored big on May 20th

There is a young person, not quite a teenager yet, whose mother makes it a rule that the television is kept on EWTN just about any time that it is on to add a counter voice to the lives of those in the household who get bombarded every day with pagan and secular and anti-Christian messages from everywhere else. It may seem to her that her son is opposed to learning anything related to spiritual matters, but much to her surprise, going to Mass each Sunday, praying the Rosary each evening together as a family, and the daily influence of this Catholic channel have begun to impact him.

As a part of his education at home, he was required to write an essay. About anything he wanted to write about. There was no prompting on any subject. Her son has no habit of writing anything to please her. Here is the ultimate surprise produced by the hands of her child...

Why we need priests

We need priests. If we did not have them then the world would be more corrupt. We need priests because God wants us to have them for Mass. In Mass the priest makes bread and wine into the body and the blood of our Lord. The priests also are the mouth and hands of God. Like Confession and the Eucharist. The priest makes the bread and wine body and blood, and Confession he absolves us of our sins.

Without priests there would be no church and no one going to church. That is why we need priests. We would not be forgiven of our sins and it would be harder to go to heaven. Lots of people have been saved because of the priests. They are very important in our life.


My heart is thankful to the priests who have set good examples before my son, and for the vocation that they have chosen to serve us in the Catholic Church. I am grateful to Mother Angelica and all who serve us at EWTN through so many excellent programs. And I wish to especially give a shout out to those who usually go unnoticed by the rest of us who still exist in this physical world.

So thank you so much:

Albert of Bologna Alexander of Aegea Amalbert Anastasius Jakob Pankiewicz Anastasius of Brescia Aquila of Egypt Arcangelo Tadini Asterius of Aegea Asterius of Edessa Austregisilus of Bourges Bartolomeus Holzhauser Basilla of Rome Baudelius of Nîmes		Bernadine of Siena Columba of Rieti Ethelbert of East Anglia Guy de Gherardesca Hendrina Josefa Stenmanns Hilary of Toulouse Lucifer of Cagliari Orlando of Vallombrosa Plautilla of Rome Saturnina of Neuenheerse Thalelaeus of Aegea Theodore of Pavia

From: http://saints.sqpn.com/20-may/ And happy feast day to all :)!

Here's a little plug for Mother Angelica's birthday

Mother Angelica has done a great service for Catholics world-wide by creating EWTN. April 20th is her birthday, so I just couldn't let this day end and get any sleep before giving her this special birthday gift. Enjoy...and be transformed...

 There are so many wonderful programs on EWTN that help to build your faith. Faith formation is something that every single one of us needs and with the variety of programming on this channel, you are sure to find several programs that are not just rich in Catholic teaching, but are personally interesting and appealing to you. If you haven't yet forced yourself to be a viewer there, you are really missing some excellent opportunities to grow in your faith.

The Daily Mass is repeated several times from early in the morning until late at night, so you can be a part of it sometime each day, at least turn the volume up while you wash the dishes to hear the Liturgy of the Word and the homily. Regularly there are programs on that teach the Catholic faith by way of interviews with converts who recount their research and experiences, through faithful Catholic priests and theologians who share what they have studied, and with reruns of the ever-humorous Mother Angelica taking questions from callers and explaining practical and heavenly things from God's perspective from the Holy Word of God and our Catholic Catechism as naturally as it is to have a bite to eat.

One thing that was a huge help for me to begin to gather the family together to pray the Rosary together daily is that twice a day Mother Angelica leads the devotion to our Blessed Virgin Mother praying along with her nuns. In fact, this is where I learned how to pray the Rosary, and so can you. Don't worry if you don't have a rosary yet, I didn't have one when I first prayed the Rosary. You may also enjoy praying the devotion in a different context, perhaps from the Holy Land, they've got it, too, EWTN Holy Land Rosary with Father Mitch. The Holy Rosary and The Divine Mercy Chaplet are wonderful devotions and please our Lord and our Lady of the Trinity very much. Most of us know that we should be praying more. Having EWTN on encourages the viewer to have a life of prayer and to better reflect Jesus in our lives.

Bob and Penny Lord feature the lives of the saints while traveling to historical places and presenting their wealth of research just as if they are friends with each of them. And why not? I've found that saints are some of my best friends. Why not find out about them. They will enrich your life tremendously in so many ways.

Saturday mornings are a great treat for children. Tune in and see why. It wasn't an easy change for my kids at first to have EWTN on Saturday morning, but several months later they were asking me to wake them up to see their shows if they didn't wake up on their own. I confess I love a couple of those programs, especially The Knights of St. Michael.

Dramatic presentations and musical talent are included in the lineup, along with programming directed toward our youth, combining the serious with fun. Raymond Arroyo never fails to provide vital interviews while providing news that is of importance to faithful Catholics. Programming for women is smart, intelligent, warm, and informative. Watch a couple of these and you'll be quite surprised that strong women of faith are not dull and brainless. And yes, there is great programming that is geared toward men. Young or old there is something on EWTN for you. So check it out.


If you already enjoy EWTN and learn a lot, please remember them with some funds. Thanks.

Happy birthday, Mother Angelica :) Thank you for your obedience to God and love for souls.