Biography of John Henry Newman

In this video Father Juan R. Velez author of "Passion for Truth: The Life of John Henry Newman" speaks about his biography of Blessed John Cardinal Henry Newman.

Passion for Truth The Life of John Henry Newman by Fr. Juan Velez

From The Dignitatis Humanae Institute: French Government: we will "dissolve" "religious pathology" and "excesses" in the Church

Note: The following is a press release from The Dignitatis Humanae Institute

Rome, 6 January 2013

The liberties of French Christians have long been in a perilous state, however now the recently elected Socialist Government is set to impose a new form of secularist surveillance upon the Church and lay organisations, seeking to discover and 'dissolve' any potential cases of what it deems 'religious pathology.'

The month of Advent saw a disturbing spate of attacks and desecrations of Christian icons and buildings across France; from the burning of a Nativity scene in Savoy, statues decapitated in Frejus and Churches attacked in Mayenne and Soissons. Yet rather than defend the religious liberty of her persecuted people, the French government is pushing ahead with a further curtailment of religious expression.

Announced by President Hollande, the new 'the National Observatory of Secularism' will come into being this year, tasked with closely monitoring religious organisations for any potential 'excesses.' French Interior Minister Manuel Valls highlighted various Catholic organisations, stating that "All excesses are being minutely registered in case we have to consider dissolving it."

This aggressive form of imposed laïcité is coupled with the proselytization of what the Socialist education minister Vincent Peillon called a 'secularist morality' within the state education system. This compulsory form of re-education will seek to remove any ethics other than the core, secularist, tenets of the Republic. The Federation of State School Parents has already protested against what could be viewed as child indoctrination.

In response to these worrying trends, Benjamin Harnwell, Founder of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, warned of the dangerous precedents being created:

"The French government has already defied its own constitutional courts on its tax policy and now seeks to redefine its notions of justice and due process. A government that can predetermine your guilt before any actual crime has even been committed, based solely on a supposition of religious belief, has abandoned any claim to being a pluralist democracy and has become something far more sinister. This disturbing move marks yet another descent in a country which already heavily curtails the universal right to public displays of religious expression."

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute aims to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.

Time

God's time may seem slow to the human mind, but it's always the right time.

This Is The Truth!

A Little Boost

The last month found me short on work hours (I only got to work 3 days last week), and once again with too much month left at the end of the money.

I would greatly appreciate a little boost if possible, and as always, your prayers are greatly needed and valued.

Thank you!

Are We Being Too Political?

Almost everyone agrees that the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election is one of the most important, if not the most important elections in the nations history.

People are somewhat divided however as to what issue is the most pressing or important issue of the day. The economy...abortion...same sex marriage...religious liberty...education...and the list goes on and on.

People are disagreeing right, left, and center about what is the most pressing and important issue of the day, and many feel, that there is more than one pressing issue, and that we shouldn't focus on just one issue alone, and throw the rest under the proverbial bus.

My question is, have we been so focused on the "issue of the day", that we Christians have taken our focus off of God?

Many of us have gotten so caught up in politics that we have allowed our faith to take a back seat to the elections. For instnce, I shared the news from Fox News on Saturday, that Iranian pastor, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was origianlly sentenced to death for his Christian faith, was released after 3 years in an Iranian prison. A reason for great joy among Christians around the world. Yet that news seems not to have been noticed until today.

Apparently, the ending of the Democratic Convention was still too fresh in people's minds for them to take any notice of anything not related to politics. While there should have been, and still should be great rejoicing over Nadarkhani's release, there was instead an almost deafening silence.

Therefore, I have decided that on my blogs there will be no mentions of either candidate except in ways that relate to religious liberty, abortion, or same sex marriage.

Why? Because I don't want to be a party to focusing our attention on the world when we should focus our attention on God, and as Catholic, those are the faith issues I will be sharing as regards the elections. If we would all take the time to focus our attention on God, ask for His help, His belssings, and His Grace, then through Him the rest would take care of itself.

Below are some scripture passages for you to consider:

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you: my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled: nor let it be afraid.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall have distress. But have confidence. I have overcome the world.

Romans 12: 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and the acceptable and the perfect will of God.

1 Corinthians 1: 20 - 21 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?  For, seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world, by wisdom, knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save them that believe.

1 Corinthians 3: 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness.

James 1: 27  Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one’s self unspotted from this world.

2 Peter 2: 20  For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former.

1 John 2: 15 - 17  Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life, which is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof: but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever.

1 John 4: 1 - 6 Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits if they be of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. By this is the spirit of God known. Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God. And this is Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he cometh: and he is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, and have overcome him. Because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore of the world they speak: and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Top All Time Posts For Faith of the Fathers Blogs

I was looking at the stats for some of the Faith of the Fathers blogs, and it occurred to me that I had never looked at the "all time" top posts of the blogs.

So, I decided to share here what the Google Stats says are the top posts for all time, and thought that some of you might want to read some of those posts.

So here they are in no particular order:

Faith of the Fathers: The Digital Catholic Bible

Apologetics: Why Don't Catholics Read The Bible

Saint Quote of the Day: Saint Quote : Saint Anthony of Padua

Daily Mass Readings: Daily Mass Readings for Sunday, January 01, 2012

No Walls: The Beatitudes

Pope Benedict XVI: News Vatican Information Service 09/10-12/2011

Church Under Attack: Gospel of Judas

The Early Church Fathers: Saint Jerome: Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Favorite Prayers And Scripture: Prayers Before And After Reading Holy Scripture

Our Lady: Mary's Way Of The Cross - Fifteenth Station: Jesus is Raised from the Dead

Saints of the Faith: Sister Josefa Menendez-Victim Soul

Spirituality and Mysticism: Mystical Suffering of The Victim Soul

Busy Mom's Notebook: Shepherds Pie With Mushroom (Yes, we have recipes)

Prayer Requests: Prayer Request for Fallen Away Catholics

Approved Apparitions: Our Lady of Kibeho

Spiritual Warfare: The Seven Deadly Sins-ENVY

Bible Stories (one of our Kid's Corner blogs): The Story of Gideon

So, give them a read if you have the time. I hope you find them enjoyable and informative.

Copyright © 2005-2012 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.

Seven Years And Still Here (By the Grace of God)

In late July of 2005, Marie and I had an idea to start a Catholic blog. We had several discussions about it over the phone, and invited Emmy and Ginny to join us in contributing to the blogs.

Marie is from Australia, Emmy is from the Netherlands, Ginny is from Trinidad and Tobago, and I am from the United States. So our blogs were an international effort.

We discussed a name for the blogs, and came up with the name "Faith of the Fathers". Marie and I discussed the look of the blogs, and the different blog topics, and decided each of our primary topics deserved it's own "blog" under the name "Faith of the Fathers".

We started with the main blog under the name "Faith of the Fathers", and the others were (in no particular order) "Our Lady", "Pope Benedict XVI" (the only blog of ours that has been regularly visited by The Holy See), "Spiritual Warfare", "Church Under Attack", "Apologetics", "Approved Apparitions", "Saints of the Faith", "Daily Mass Readings", "Favorite Prayers and Scripture", "The Early Church Fathers", "Spirituality and Mysticism", "Saint Quote of the Day", and "Prayer Requests".

Later we added "Catholic Books And Movies", "No Walls" (a youth section), "Busy Mom's Notebook", "Faith of the Fathers Links", "Faith of the Fathers Report", and then our "Kids Corner" blogs (which was primarily attended to by Ginny) which included these blogs for kids: “Learning and Understanding Our Faith”, “Our Blessed Mother and The Holy Rosary”, “Bible Stories”, “Angels and the Saints”, “Prayers and Scripture”, and "Fun and Crafts".

Whew...no wonder I am so tired....

So our first posts were published on July 31, 2005, and now 7 years later, our blogs are still here and still growing. During our first year we had the following stats: 55,348 page loads, 26,908 unique visits, with 23,000 first time visits, and 3.908 returning visits. That was a monthly average of 152 page loads, 74 unique visits, 63 first time visits, and 11 returning visits.

For the period of August 1, 2011 through July 31, 2012 we show the following stats: 214,273 page loads, 170,224 unique visits, with 156,311first time visits and 13,913 returning visits. That's a monthly average of 585 page loads, 465 unique visits, 427 first time visits, and 38 returning visits (which I would love to see get better). Not too shabby an increase overall but, it perhaps could have been better if not for a few setbacks.

The setbacks that occurred were health related, financially related, and due to personal obligations as well. First, I had a "light heart attack" (I think health professionals call it light because they weren't the one's that had it), and since I had no health insurance (still don't), and was out of work for about 2 months, I eventually wasn't able to contribute much. Then Marie's health got bad, and the others personal obligations prevented them from contributing as before. I keep their nameshere as contributors because the posts they wrote are still here, and I will never remove them unless they ask me to for some reason. Marie apparently removed herself as being listed as a contributor a couple of years ago, but her posts are still here, and all the posts by all of them are still worth reading and reflecting on.

Anyway, it's 7 years later, and "Faith of the Fathers" is still here. Let's pray and hope for another 7 years!

Your brother in Christ, Steve Smith.

A Request

If you are able, I would appreciate any donation you might be able to make over the next couple of weeks. Thank you!

May God bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!

Computer Woes---Again

My computer (which is 7 + years old) is acting up... again. 

I installed a new hard drive about 3 weeks or so ago, and reinstalled the operating system, but....alas, poor Compaq.....I knew it well.

Anyway, it is essentially on life support as I type this. How much longer it will last, I am not sure, but I don't think it will be too much longer. It has more wrong with it than is worth repairing.

So, tomorrow, my day off from work will be spent scheduling as many posts for the Daily Mass Readings blog as I possibly can. If it survives, and allows me to, I will also schedule as many posts for the Saint Quote of the Day blog too.

So, please keep me in your prayers, and if you can, please make a donation by clicking the "Donate" button on the upper right sidebar of the blog. It will help me with my living expenses, and hopefully enable me to buy a new computer so I can keep the Faith of the Fathers blogs all up and running.

And just for those who have wondered, my internet service is free, as my landlady allows me to connect to her ISP wirelessly.

Also, if anyone has any information about assistance for individuals needing cataract surgery in North Carolina, I would greatly appreciate it if you would pass any information my way. You can email me at faithofthefathers@gmail.com

Thanks for all of your much needed prayers and support!

May God bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!

Thankful To Be Here

Today, is my 57th birthday...or as I like to say...it's the 18th anniversary of my 39th birthday. 

I thought I should be clear about being 57 from the start, because there are some people who would find adding 39 plus 18 too much of a challenge. After all, in todays world, there are too many who seem to think that adding 2 plus 2 equals 9...or 11...or 42.

The last year has been a rough one for many of us, but I know that once again, God will see all of us through. He always does, if we just trust in Him and follow what He wants for us, all will be well.

I know that this is true, because six years ago, just about 3 weeks or so before my 51st birthday, I received an early birthday present in the form of a "light" heart attack.

I don't know about that "light" stuff. I think they call it "light" because they weren't the ones who had the heart attack in the first place. "Light" indeed.

Anyway, I survived thanks to paying attention to my symptoms from the beginning, and by God blessing me with great doctors from Asheville Cardiology.

All the prayers and well wishes at the time helped, too. As did my having faith that God would see me through all of that. He did, and four days later I returned home with a stent in my chest, and with a greater appreciation of life.

Not that I didn't appreciate life before, but now with a greater understanding of how precious life is, and how precious the people in my life are, and how wonderful having God in my life is.

Anyway, I just wanted to say how grateful I am to still be here six years later, and to be able to share my insignificant little thoughts with you.

May God Bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!

A New Book On The Life of Cardinal John Henry Newman

Tan Books will soon be releasing a new book on the life of Cardinal John Henry Newman entitled, “Passion for Truth: The Life of John Henry Newman”.

This biography of John Henry Newman is written by Father Juan R. Vélez, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei who resides in San Francisco, California. Father Vélez received a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre, where he completed his doctoral thesis on John Henry Newman. Before his ordination to the priesthood, Father Vélez also received a medical degree from the University of Navarre, and he was previously board certified in internal medicine.

Father Vélez's interest in the life of Cardinal John Henry Newman began with his doctoral studies under Professor José Morales. Father Vélez is author of a number of academic articles on Cardinal Newman, and co-edited a short anthology of texts entitled “Take Five, Meditations on John Henry Newman”.

Below is a portion of the information about this book from Tan Books website:

"In Passion for Truth, author and scholar Fr. Juan R. Vélez painstakingly uncovers the life and work of Blessed John Henry Newman. In the story of his early years, his family upbringing and university education, and through his vast correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues, Vélez acquaints us with Newman, the loyal friend, profound thinker, prolific writer, and holy priest. A true Catholic gentleman, who can be admired and loved by all who love the Truth."

The publication date for “Passion for Truth The Life of John Henry Newman” By: Fr. Juan R. Vélez is March 2012, and the book can be pre-ordered from Tan Books by clicking here.

You may also want to visit the website for the book by clicking here.

Thanks!

I want to thank all of the readers and followers of Faith of the Fathers blogs for your support the last couple of months.

Your purchases of Mystic Monk Coffee from these blogs have been a great help to the good Carmelite Monks of Wyoming, and to me also. The purchases you made allowed me to earn a commission, which enabled me to pay my power bill. As you may know, my work hours have been cut back, and your purchases allowed me to continue to have lights, heat, and water (as I am on a well).

Thank you also for your support through the other items and links on these blogs.

So, whether you are a subscriber to my blog pages, follow the blogs from Facebook or from Twitter... no matter how you come to Faith of the Fathers blogs, thank you very much!

May God Bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care!

Your brother in Christ,

Steve Smith

Anglican Catholic ordinariate for US formally established : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Pope Benedict XVI has formally established an ordinariate in the US for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church, and named a former Episcopalian bishop to lead it.

Read more by clicking the link below:

Anglican Catholic ordinariate for US formally established : News Headlines - Catholic Culture

Suggested Reading

Here are some of our most popular posts (according to Blogger) from four of our blogs:

• On Approved Apparitions -  "Our Lady of Kibeho"

• On Spiritual Warfare - "The Seven Deadly Sins -Envy"

• On Favorite Prayers and Scripture - "Prayer For Non-Believers"

• On Spirituality and Mysticism - "Mystical Suffering of The Victim Soul"

Comfort In Christ or Comfort In Self?

Note:The following was first posted in August 2005 on our blog "Church Under Attack".

There is a most disturbing trend today, and that trend is going unnoticed and unchallenged by a great number of people, especially, in the Christian Community at large. It is something that has began slowly, and continues to grow at an alarming rate, and within every community in the United States, Canada, and around the world in general. That trend is called “Political Correctness”(PC), and people have been beguiled into being “PC” at the expense of their own self-respect, and even more disturbing to the point of denying their faith, and even being ashamed of their faith.

An even more alarming trend, is that “PC” has governments from the local, to the state, provincial, and national levels passing laws with the intent of inhibiting, and in most cases prohibiting Christian morals and Law being expressed from the pulpit. If a Catholic priest or Protestant minister gives a sermon in which homosexuality as seen in God's Law is the subject, they can be charged in many places with inciting “hate crimes”(as if perpetrators of hate crimes need inciting), and face fines and/or jail time. If a Christian opposes heterosexual couples living together outside the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony they are seen as repressive, puritanical, and “old fashioned”. Christians opposing abortion are seen as being “invasive of privacy”. Does Freedom of Religion no longer apply in Christian teaching on morality? Does only freedom from religion apply? Sadly, the answer to both questions is... yes.

This trend raises several questions. Why have people, particularly Christian, people remained so deafeningly silent with the passage of these laws? Why are we allowing ourselves to be so blinded by “PC” that we will not see that we are being told to deny GOD in a very open and yet subtle way? Why do we remain silent on these issues? Why do we want to seem “nice”, “progressive”, or “open minded” when these are code terms for denial of God? Why do we use the feeble excuse, that it “doesn't matter because it doesn't affect me”?

When Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, the great Bishop of Smyrna, was martyred, he was asked to deny Christ by the proconsul, and he refused. When threatened with the “wild beasts” by the proconsul his reply was, “Call them then, for we are not accustomed to repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil; and it is well for me to be changed from what is evil to what is righteous”. In essence, Polycarp proclaimed himself Christian, and refused to exchange God and Eternal Life for what was absolutely evil and unholy. Where is this Spirit of Faith today? Does it exist? I am afraid it exists in too far small numbers anymore, especially with todays “PC” mentality. It is apparent, that today there would be a very, very few who would and could stand like Saint Polycarp did, like Saint Ignatius of Antioch did, like the Apostles did, and not “repent of what is good in order to adopt that which is evil”.

We have become unwilling, even afraid to call sin just what it is...SIN! We don't do this for the other person, no not at all. We do it for self! Because self has become more important to us than God! We want people to think of us as “nice”, as “kind” and we think only of how we appear to people, when we should be more concerned about how we appear to God! Whenever we say that what God calls sin, is not sin, but, that it is alright, it's OK, then we are denying God and God's Law! When we say what someone else does has no affect on us, we just lied to ourselves, because by saying evil is just, we have called God unjust, and that most assuredly does affect us!

Granted, we are not called to judge, we are not to condemn, because “all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God”. Yet, we ARE called to correct and by not correcting we fail to properly instruct those who falter. We as Christians should place our trust in God who will uphold His Law and those who follow His Law through Christ Jesus and not deny Him by any word from man or man's law.

Luke 17:1-3 He said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, and that they may return to their senses out of the devil's snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will.

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

1 Peter 4:14-16 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let no one among you be made to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as an intriguer. But whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour.

Copyright © 2005-2011 Steve Smith. All rights reserved.

Little Catholic Bubble: Why is the Left Ignoring Church Burnings and 'Near...

Below is a very good guest post on the blog "Little Catholic Bubble" by Lisa Graas. It's a very good post well worth the read as it asks why the Left and the mainstream media is so deafeningly silent on the plight of Christians in the Muslim dominated countries.

I follow both blogs, so be sure to read them and be especially sure to read the post by Lisa as indicated below.

Little Catholic Bubble: Why is the Left Ignoring Church Burnings and 'Near...: "Many of you are familiar with Lisa Graas and her work, both from her comments here and from my blog roll. She is an amazing lady, and the s..."

Archdiocese of Atlanta and Diocese of Savannah Undertake New Initiative

The Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah are partnering in a new undertaking called "Catholics Come Home". The campaign which will run from December 16 through January 29 will be using television commercials, the Internet, and social media among other efforts to bring the once-faithful back into the fold. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a story on this effort available online which you can read by clicking here.

One item in the story gives this information : "According to a recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, those who have left Catholicism outnumber those who have joined the Catholic church by a nearly 4-1 margin" ( source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

So here are some experiences, statements, and opinion from yours truly in regard to this effort (an effort which falls in line with  Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization). An effort in which I hope and pray for great success.

I think this effort by the Archdiocese of Atlanta is a great idea, and one that is long overdue. Some of those fallen away Catholics sadly enough are "new" converts.

As a convert myself, I know that some of the folks whom I went to RCIA with are no longer seen at Mass. A good friend of mine, who converted several years before I did noticed the same thing. She decided to go see one couple whom she knew that had converted and then stopped going to Mass, and ask them why.

The husband told her that when they were in RCIA, attending Mass regularly, and participating in the rites, people were "making a fuss" over them, always offering suggestions and encouragement. Then after coming into full communion with the Church, all the friendliness, suggestions, and encouragement stopped. People would gather in their own little groups (as happens at all parishes, and I am sure without any intent to slight anyone), and this couple was not included. The priest and the parish seemed to have little time for them after they entered into the Church. The husband even said, "they seemed to forget all about us once we entered the Church. Since we stopped going to Mass, we haven't heard anything from them, except the letters we get that ask for donations for various reasons. When they want or need money, they always remember us then."

I have to admit, that I also stopped going to Mass for quite awhile myself. And it wasn't because I became "just another face" in a pew. I ended up being very disappointed in the whole parish.

Just shortly before my 51st birthday, I had a heart attack. I was fortunate that it wasn't a "major" heart attack, but was what the doctors call a "light" (they call it light because they weren't the one who had it) heart attack. Upon my first day in a regular hospital room, I called the parish to inform them myself of my situation. I was there in the hospital for 4 days, and then was recuperating at home for the next 6 weeks.

In that whole time, I never saw or heard from anyone at the parish. Now granted, our priest had been chosen by the bishop to head the planning for the Eucharistic Congress that was taking place in Asheville at the time, but I was never contacted by anyone. Even my doctor (who is Catholic) couldn't understand why no one came by or called.

For a long time after I didn't attend Mass. Then I realized I was only hurting myself by not going to Mass. So, I began going again when I could. I don't get to go every Sunday, usually just one Sunday a month because of the job I have (in retail), and I really would like to find employment that would allow me to go every Sunday. That is a problem though. When you only have a high school education those Monday through Friday jobs are hard to come by.

I will say this, and it pains me to say it.

There is one area where Protestant churches have "one up" on the Catholic parishes. If one goes to a Protestant church, and then doesn't go as much, or stops going altogether, the Protestant churches will come knocking on your door. They want to know why you aren't in church. They come to encourage you to return to church, and to let you know that you are wanted, and are missed. They will come to your home.... whether it is the minister, a deacon, or someone from the membership of that church... they will come.

I think that the Catholic parishes tend to think, that once one has converted, been confirmed, and/or baptised, that is that, and it all ends. Not so. One must never forget, that conversion is not a one time event. One's conversion, like all of one's salvation, is a lifetime process that never ends until we draw our last breath. We must always be learning, always be converting, always be working out our salvation "with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2,12) as Saint Paul said.

We must be ever vigilant and mindful of our souls and our salvation, and not just our salvation and our souls, but we must also be vigilant and mindful of the souls and the salvation of all of our brothers and sisters. We must all help to feed and nourish those hungry souls with caring, with encouragement, and with love. Caring, encouragement and love not for just a day, but for all days.

© Copyright 2010 Steve Smith. All rights reserved.

Poor Performance By Catholics On U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey

The Pew Research Center has the results of a telephone survey, “U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey”. The results don't look too good to me regarding the average American's knowledge of not only their faith, but a lack of knowledge about other faiths as well.

The amazing result of this survey is, that Agnostics and Atheists scored a higher number of correct answers than did those who identified themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or “Nothing in particular”. Of the 32 questions asked on this survey, people who identified themselves as: Atheist/Agnostics averaged 20.9 correct answers; Jewish 20.5 correct answers; Mormon 20.3 correct answers; White Evangelical Protestant 17.6 correct answers; White Catholic 16.0 correct answers; White Mainline Protestant 15.8 correct answers; Nothing in particular 15.2 correct answers; Black Protestant 13.4 correct answers; and Hispanic Catholic 11.6 correct answers.

What disturbs me the most is the less than acceptable (IMHO) per cent-age of Catholics who answered correctly the question regarding the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion. The question was answered correctly by 59% of White Catholics and 47% of Hispanic Catholics. This means that too many Catholics either do not understand or do not know the teaching about the Holy Eucharist. If this is not a blatant example of poor catechesis in the United States today, I don't know what else is!

I am a convert, as many of you who read this blog regularly already know. Awhile back, I wrote a post here regarding a “cradle Catholic” who had written on his blog how much he disliked converts to Catholicism. In that post I wrote where he said “we are overzealous, far too eager to discuss our faith, and even far too eager to share it. He more or less said that he did not need any convert to tell him how to be Catholic and that we need to realize that we don't know everything about Catholicism.”

True, I don't know everything about Catholicism, and I certainly have never claimed to. I am always trying to learn and to grow in my faith. There is a great danger however, when people have complacency in their faith, think they have learned all there is to learn, and actually dwell in blissful ignorance of what Catholicism is, and teaches.

Perhaps it is not such a bad thing when converts to Catholicism are “overzealous, far too eager to discuss our faith, and even far too eager to share it”.

Catholics who took the survey did a little bit better on questions about who Moses is and about the Ten Commandments, but did very poorly on the question of what Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering.

There is an online version of the survey that you can take, and then see how your answers compare to the survey participants. The online version has 15 questions instead of all 32 that are in the original survey.

I took the online version, and I won't say what my score was. I'll just say it was better than the majority who participated in the original survey, and I am not bragging, just stating the fact.

If you want, you may share your score here by using the comments from Disqus at the bottom of this post.

You can also see the report from Pew Research by clicking here.

My Faith Journey

I came into this old world in the year 1955, the first of three sons to be born to my parents.

There were three hospitals in Asheville, North Carolina where I was born. The smallest was Aston Park Hospital that ceased to serve as a hospital sometime in the 80's. The other two hospitals were Memorial Mission Hospital, and Saint Joseph's Hospital which was a Catholic hospital operated by the Sisters of Mercy. Memorial Mission and Saint Joseph's merged in the 1990's when Saint Joseph's was purchased by Memorial Mission.

That bit of hospital history aside, I will continue.

My parents were both Baptists, yet when I was born they had chosen Saint Joseph’s Hospital maternity ward (I am assuming it was a ward, as I was extremely young and don't remember much about it) over the one at Memorial Mission. As my mother later told me, “because patients got better care and treatment at Saint Joseph’s, and the sisters made sure of it”. So there was my first Catholic “connection” in my life.

Time went on, and I became old enough to start school, and my parents enrolled me in Saint Joan of Arc's school in West Asheville. The school was operated by the Catholic parish of the same name. I don't recall much about the school, except for one event that somehow stayed with me. The priest was talking to the kids in my class (we were 5 or 6 years old), and he began to teach us about the tabernacle. I realize now that he was explaining to us about Christ's Presence, but I only recalled what impressed me the most. I remember telling my mother that “Father showed us this box (tabernacle was too big a word for me then), and he said that this man died, and they have all his blood in it”. That was my second Catholic “connection”.

My youngest brother had been born about a month before I started school. I went to Saint Joan of Arc school that first year only. I suppose the financial strain and expense of three young boys didn't justify sending the oldest to a private parochial school. Especially since my mom was a stay at home mom then and my dad's job was the sole source of income.

I recall one other event that was related to my time at Saint Joan of Arc School. There was a lady who came to visit my mom often. She was a Sunday School teacher at a local Baptist church, and she once told my mom, “you should be careful sending Stevie to Saint Joan of Arc. They'll try to turn him Catholic”. Now my mom was not the kind of person who would take any intrusive suggestions from anyone when it came to her family. She looked straight at that woman, and without so much as blinking an eye said, “and what would it matter if he became Catholic? Catholics are just as good as anybody else, and a whole lot better than most”. The woman didn't say another word, and she never brought up Catholics in our house again, either.

Time went on, and when I was about 10, I started attending church at a baptist church with a school friend, and when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I went up to the altar where I accepted Jesus, and then was later baptized. I remember when I went up for the altar call, I told the preacher that I was a sinner and wanted to confess my sins to Jesus. I don't recall his response, but looking back, I don't think he thought much of an 11 or 12 year old kid wanting to “confess”. In fact, when he came to our house to visit later that same week, I remember he told me that baptism wouldn't save me and that I needed to be “sure” this was what I wanted to do. I was more sure than he was, and I was baptized at the church a few weeks later.

I grew older, and began to attend church less and less. By the time I got out of high school my church attendance went from little to none. I started working nights at a store after my junior year at high school and continued working there for several years after. I still read the Bible, went to work, went home, and often felt very guilty for not going to church. I wasn't a party animal or trouble maker, and had no social life to speak of. It was a life of going to work, then going home, with an occasional fishing or hunting excursion thrown in.

My dad passed away in 1978, and then my mom in 1995. I had attended church a few times. I felt a call to go but was not happy with what I was finding. I tried going to different protestant churches. I went from Baptist to Presbyterian to Baptist and then Evangelical Presbyterian. There was the desire to go, but I was never happy with what I found. I prayed on it. Read the Bible, talked to some friends about it, and talked to some ministers about it, but still had an unfulfilled spiritual yearning and hunger.

A couple of years before my mom died, I remember looking at some classified ads in the back of a newspaper from another state, and there was an ad that simply said “thank you Saint Jude for prayers answered”. The ad went on below that, and said something about Jude being the patron of desperate cases. The first thought that crossed my mind was, “who is Jude?” I did some researching (this was before I ever had a computer or heard about the internet), and discovered Jude is one of the Twelve Apostles. My curiosity satisfied, I didn't think much more about it. That was my third Catholic “connection”.

Time went on, and again I continued my spiritual search but to no avail. Looking back now, one would think that the “introduction” to Saint Jude would have given me more of a direction to follow, but it didn't. It's kind of like the old saying, “I can't see for looking”. I would think about the classified ad that was thanking Saint Jude from time to time, but otherwise didn't give it any further thought until some few years later.

Now, I am going to tell you about my fourth Catholic “connection”. There was a show that was on the A&E cable channel called “Mysteries of the Bible”. I would watch it on occasion, and I really thought (and still do) that the show was more bent on disproving the Bible than providing any enlightenment or information about the Bible.

Then one night I was watching “Mysteries of the Bible”, and it was about the Maccabees. I had never heard of the Maccabees, and they kept mentioning it being in the Old Testament. Being something of a student of the Old Testament, I knew that Maccabees was not in my King James version of the Bible. So once again I did some investigating and discovered what Maccabees was. It somehow didn't sink in that the Maccabees were two books that had been removed from protestant Bibles. I still was on my search and still didn't realize that I was being “nudged” towards the truth once again.

A few years later, I got a computer and went online. I discovered new things, and met new people from around the world. I met one lady from Britain who was living in the United States in Arkansas at the time. We became good friends and spoke on the phone occasionally. We were talking on the phone one day, and somehow religion was brought up. She then said to me that I might not want to talk to her again. When I asked why she said “because I am Catholic”. I told her that her being Catholic was no reason not to talk to her or be friends. That was my fifth Catholic “connection”.

We began talking about the Catholic faith, starting then and continuing for several months. The more I learned, the more it sounded like where I wanted to be. I told her this, and she suggested I attend Mass and read “Catholic Christianity”, a book by Peter Kreeft. This became my sixth Catholic “connection”.

I decided to read the book first, as I didn't want to attend a Catholic “service” without some idea about what the Church taught, and an idea of what was going on during the Mass. After several months of reading and studying the book and then comparing what I learned with scripture, I decided to go to Mass. What parish should I go to though?

There are five Catholic parishes in Buncombe County where I live. I was trying to decide. Should I go to the Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Asheville, Saint Eugene, Saint Joan of Arc or another? I had started going to a Catholic chat group, and was still trying to decide. A friend in Kentucky asked me if I had ever been to Saint Barnabas Roman Catholic Church in Arden. I replied no, but I was familiar with it because a former co-worker had attended Mass there. He told me that I should go there, because Father Roger Arnsparger was an excellent preacher. So Saint Barnabas is where I went. This was Catholic “connection” number seven.

I cannot explain it, but the very moment I went into that church, I felt at home. It was not anything someone said. It was not anything someone did. I was at home and I knew it deep in my heart. I took a seat in a pew, saw the crucifix on the stone wall, the altar and the tabernacle, and I had a feeling of peace, a feeling I had been looking for, searching for.

Father Arnsparger's reputation as an excellent preacher was understated. His homilies were well thought out, presented and explained. Here was a man who truly saw himself as a shepherd of his flock.

I finally decided that I wanted to be Catholic and not just an outside observer at a Catholic parish. I started going to the RCIA classes in September, and I was welcomed and well received by Father Arnsparger and the people of Saint Barnabas. Every Wednesday evening I attended Mass and then went to the RCIA class.

Then in December, about 3 weeks before Christmas, an obstacle was thrown in my way. I and some others lost our jobs when the company we worked for began closing its locations one at a time. I had to take a job at a call center for a dial-up internet service company, and the job was working all nights. I had to work on Wednesday nights and could not continue RCIA.

I still attended Mass whenever I could, but my conversion was temporarily put on hold.

When I first lost my job, I was desperate to find employment. Jobs are not easy to come by in December in a town where tourism is the main industry. I was talking to a Catholic friend in Texas online one night late after work. For some reason, the ad I had read years earlier thanking Saint Jude came to mind. I mentioned this to her, and asked her about Saint Jude. She had a great devotion to Saint Jude, and sent me a pamphlet in the mail with a Novena to Saint Jude. She told me to pray the Novena since I was certainly in a desperate situation. So, I did pray the Novena, and two days after completing the Novena, I was hired at the call center. Four months after that, I got a second job. I tried working both jobs for a while, and then I left the first job, since the second job paid better and was only 4 miles from my home.

That fall, I again started going to the RCIA classes. I continued the RCIA classes, and the week before my entering the Church, I went to confession for the first time.

That was quite an experience, let me tell you. Father Arnsparger had done a wonderful job in preparing us for our first confession. He explained that we were not confessing to him, but to Jesus through him. I was nervous about my first confession but Father Arnsparger explained to us that we would not be confessing anything that had not been heard before. He also explained the Seal of the Confession which is the grave duty of keeping absolutely secret all sins that are told in confession.

So early one Sunday morning I went to my first confession. Father Arnsparger helped guide me along, and I received absolution. No one can ever explain to you the wonderful, euphoric feeling, that finally being able to confess your sins gives you. It is a feeling of extreme joy and happiness that no mere words can convey. It is joy in knowing that your sins are forgiven and that your guilt is gone.

So on the Easter Vigil Mass of April 10, 2004, I “came home” to the Catholic Church, and received the Holy Eucharist for the first time. That was the epitome of joy and happiness for me. I finally found where I belonged, and most importantly, I found the fullness of the Truth that is Christ's Church. The Roman Catholic Church.

Thanks be to God!

May the Good Lord Bless you and Our Lady keep you in her care.

Copyright © 2010 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.

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