This is where I am, follow me to where I am going

2008-10-25T20:44:00.002-05:00

My Story in Catholicism

So, John Arnold has brought forth the question of my sort of religious background, and what Catholicism means to me, and what I find important about it, etc. I have already written a post about my religious trek to where I have ended up religiously, so I will just put a little bit of a nutshelled version on this post, then move on to the second part.

So, I was baptized Catholic after I was born, like every other child born to a Catholic family. However, soon after that, my parents left the Church, and didnt really find a new church home. So, the only experience I had with organized religion during that time was with my dad at his Baptist church, and I became the stereotypical baptist teenager that you see on TV and such. Then, when I was in High School, for some reason, I felt myself drawn back to the Catholic faith. The only explanation I have for it is that the Holy Spirit spoke to me through my baptism to remind me of where I came from, and to show me the path to the faith I wanted to have. I havent looked back since then.

It was really one of the best decisions of my life. After I started doing some reading on my own, and looking into what the Catholic Church teaches, I found out that it wasnt the evil thing that I was originally taught. Things like devotion to Mary and the saints, confession, Immaculate birth, Priests, etc, were actually closer to what I felt made sense to me. When I went back to Mass for the first time, I felt absolutely amazing. I hadnt felt closer to Jesus than I did that service. I love the ritual aspect of the Church, and the reverence that it offers. In that way, I guess I would describe myself as a somewhat "old school" Catholic. I dont enjoy Masses that have more contemporary music, dont follow the GIRM in the correct way, etc.

My personal faith is something that had similarities between what most Catholics practice, and what most dont do anymore. For example, I find myself kneeling a lot more than most Catholics. During communion, after the consecration, most people stand or sit to wait their turn to receive, but I stay keeled the entire time. Also, when I receive communion, I receive on the tongue. I dont feel like my sinning hands are worthy of touching the physical body of Christ, so I dont receive on the hand. I also dont care for the excessive use of Extraordinary Ministers of Communion. The priest has the consecrated hands, we dont. Plus, in most churches, it is not necessary, just a convenience for Catholics to speed up the Mass, which they should be happy to be attending.

I also have a pretty strong devotion to the Blessed Mother and 2 saints, St. Michael the Archangel, my patron saint, and St. Benedict, the patron saint of religious orders. I am enrolled in the Confraternity of the Rosary, which requires me to recite each set of mysteries once a week. I enjoy these devotions because it brings me closer to the mother of Christ. Why would I NOT want to have a close relationship with the mother of our savior? I also cant think of a better way to have a close relationship with Jesus than also having a relationship with the holy person who gave birth to Him...dont think anyone can know him better than that.

While I follow the Catholic teaching that all religions hold some sort of truth, and all Christians are brothers and sisters through a common baptism, however, the Catholic Church, instituted by Christ, and following the lead of the Holy Spirit through the Magesterium offers the fullness of faith, and is the one true truth. Its where I feel home, its where I feel Christ, and I love my place in this Christian world.

A full discourse into the beliefs of the Catholic Church would take a HUGE amount of time. If you are interested in that, the Phatcatholic blog on my links list will offer you a searchable writing from a student of Catechesis from Stubenville Catholic college in Ohio. I hope that I answered what I was asked. :-)

2008-08-14T13:50:00.002-05:00

New Tat

Between all of my olympics watching and getting ready for school stuff, I have managed to find time to get another tat. Here are two pictures, one shortly after its completion, and one from today.

2008-02-01T14:41:00.000-06:00

Naive idealism? It shouldnt be...

So, I have yet again had another conversation with my group of friends about my main man Dr. Ron Paul. Problem number one is that 90% of my friends are liberal to slightly moderate democrats. Few of them can see past their own party lines. Second, Everyone sees Dr. Paul as a "fringe" candidate, so they will not even look at anything about him because they dont want to "Waste their vote." Few problems with that...

First, why would you let someone or something influence you in such a way that you would no longer look at a candidates message. In other words, just because the media and a few pundits say that he doesnt have a change, you take their word for it, and dont even open your ears to the message of liberty and hope. Ron Paul has radical ideas (radical only in the way that he wants to follow the constitution (aka the LAW) and bring American back to the great republic it was meant to be), and he has such an amazing plan for America, but few people are listening to it around me just because of what a few people have to say about him. Frustrating.

Second, it has been my belief that you only waste a vote by not casting one. By voicing your opinion, you are WINNING. You are letting your voice be heard, sending a message. Just because your beliefs and message may not be the mainstream, "go with the flow" idea, doesnt mean that you should not vote for the candidate that upholds them. Since when did we let people tell us what our voice should be. We became the greatest nation in the world by thinking for ourself, evolving as a society, and changing to make ourselves better. Why cant we continue to do that?

2008-01-31T20:31:00.000-06:00

Nothing new for today, just a thought.

Would to vote for a candidate even if you thought they didnt have a chance of getting the nomination?

I dont think that should be an issue. You should vote for the candidate that you believe in, no matter what anyone else says about their "electability". Nonsense....

2008-01-29T08:43:00.000-06:00

I have not written in this blog for far too long. To be honest, it is probably for the best. Since the last time I wrote, the majority of things that have happened to me are stupid, teenage type stuff anyway that no one wants to hear about. :-) I will try to recap some of the stuff that matters though, and then try to do better at updating this area, but, I also promise to try and not write about anything too juvenile.

I guess the biggest change is that I am not in school anymore. Not by choice, that is for sure. I tried to get a loan to pay for the rest of my school costs, but I am not able to do that on my own. Being 19, and not having any credit anywhere makes it difficult. Well, My mom and step dad did not want to co-sign because of my performance last year. Valid reason I guess. I did not do that good, but I dropped pre-med, and I chose a major that I am better at (well, 2, but more on that later). The rest of my family either couldn't or wouldn't sign with me, so I had to cut my losses, and leave school half way through the semester so I could take a bit of a tuition reimbursement. So, I am taking a year off, and it sucks. It is something I do not recommend to anyone.

I have finally decided what I want to do with my life now that my plans for medical school are gone. At then end of the 2008-2009 school year I will declare my plans to double major n Religion and Politics. Religion was always in my plans (I was a Biochemistry/Molecular Biology major and a Religion minor), so that is not a big change. The politics came in after I realized that I A) loved politics, and B) Would like to end up in the federal system in some capacity. This is all in preparation for when I go to Catholic University of America for either my Law Degree, my Masters in Religion, or my JD/MA in Politics. Either way, I am going to Catholic. It will be nice to get out of Arkansas for a little bit and experience life in the big city.

Speaking of politics, this race for the White House is getting out of control. If I have to hear another news story about Clinton and Obama bickering, or one more story about that nutbag-I cant make up my mind on the issues Romney, I will literally throw up all over the place. It was so hard to pick a candidate to support in this election cycle. The Republicans (to which party I belong) have strayed so far from their roots as the party of change that it is hard to find a candidate worth supporting. The Democrats cant do anything but complain about the problems of the current administration, but cant be bothered to offer solutions that make sense. Its just plain crazy. However, through the rubbish, I did find the golden nugget that is Dr. Ron Paul. (www.Ronpaul2008.com) He is the only true republican candidate running. (He is not a libertarian, hush. Its not his fault that the libertarian party is trying to be what the republicans should be) He is against the war and wants our troops back, calls for an end to the current tax system, loves small government, and wants to cut government spending, INCLUDING funding for our overseas empire that should not exist. He is the most amazing candidate I have ever come across. Founding Father reincarnate so to speak.

Just as a though, lets bring back the good ole days of Barry Goldwater Conservatism. It was the republican party at its greatest. If we as a party could get back to its roots (small government, states rights, and letting people make their decisions) then we would be the party for america again. Too bad the Religious Right and the Neo Cons are too bust running the party into the ground.

Alright, I think that I have written to much as it is. I will leave it at this, and write more later when I think of something worth sharing.