The Journey Home

I know we have some loyal Journey Home viewers here. I am running a week behind, so I sat down tonight and watched last week's program. Imagine my surprise when it was someone that I knew!

The episode was with Dr. John Bergsma, and he mentioned that living in graduate student housing with many devout Catholic families was a what got him started on the journey to Catholicism. I was friends with his wife, Dawn, there in the graduate housing complex, and we still exchange Christmas cards. They were already Catholic when I met them, so I wasn't aware of their long journey. I only heard in passing that John was a former minister!

I couldn't help sharing, since I know some of you probably watched it as well.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the program, The Journey Home is a show on EWTN which features converts to Catholicism sharing their conversion stories. You can see the show schedule and upcoming people here. Don't get EWTN? You can watch online, or listen to the audio of previous shows from the beginning, or the most recent.





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Call No Man “Father”? « Home2Rome: Exploring the Catholic Church

Vatican says - The Vatican repeatedly calls their pope "Holy Father."

God says - And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Matthew 23:9

This was Candy's entire case on this point. Frankly, if I were a Protestant apologist I would NEVER use this argument as it is so EASILY refuted. Rather than re-invent the wheel, may I direct the reader to these well written and wonderful articles that easily dispel the notion that on using the term "Father" the Vatican is against God!

Call No Man “Father”? « Home2Rome: Exploring the Catholic Church


Kiwi Catholic

This is a good example of rejecting a perfectly biblical Catholic practice by taking Scripture out of context. Jesus was simply using his customary hyperbole to emphasise the fact that no man is to take the place of God in our lives. The exaggeration is reminiscent of his exhortation to cut your hand off if it causes you to sin (Matt 5:29-30), or his saying that mountains can be moved with just a little faith (Matt 17:20) or his statement that one must hate one's father and mother to be his disciple (Luke 14:26).

Call no Man "Father" Catholic Answers
Father Richard Bellew
But is Christ's saying to be taken at face value? If so, several other passages in the Bible are immediately in conflict, including some statements by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. To the church at Corinth he wrote, "For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel".2 Does not Paul claim to be the spiritual father of the Corinthians--"Father Paul", if you please? Furthermore, he boldly refers to his spiritual ancestry as "our fathers".3 And he did address earthly fathers in Colosse in this way: "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged".4 It would appear the Apostle Paul certainly did not interpret the Lord Jesus Christ's words to mean only One was to be called "father", that is, the heavenly Father. In addition to this, when the rich man saw Abraham in heaven with Lazarus in his bosom, and addressed him as "Father Abraham", Abraham's response was not, "Do you not realize that only God the Father is to be called `father?" Rather, he replied, "Son, remember..".5 Instances like the above could be multiplied from Scripture to show that a great many people are acknowledged to be "fathers".


Father Mitch Pacwa -This Rock Magazine.


AN EXAMINATION of the New Testament shows "father" is a title applied to God, to the ancestors of Israel, to fathers of families, to Jewish leaders, to Christian leaders, and even to the Devil (the Father of Lies). Every New Testament book except 3 John uses the word "father" at least once.

As the table illustrates, the New Testament usually (63% of the time) uses "father" as a reference to God the Father. Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, and 1 John account for 189 out of 252 occurrences with this meaning. The second most common use refers to human fathers, both from Israel's past and contemporary parents.

(Certainly Christians agree that Jesus' prohibition against calling anyone "father" does not preclude the honor due to natural parents, living or dead, even though that could be taken as the literal meaning of his command, though not even the most literalistic Fundamentalist takes it that way.)

Those Christians who are troubled by the title "father" being given to Catholic priests say it is an honorific that belongs only to human parents or to God, not to religious leaders. This objection can be answered from the Bible: We have six New Testament books which show us that Jewish or Christian leaders may be addressed by this title.

Nearly half the uses of "father" in the Acts of the Apostles appear in Stephen's speech in chapter 7 (17 out of 36 uses). He refers to the ancestors as fathers, both individually and collectively (16 times), and once he addresses his audience as "brothers and fathers." Paul addressed a crowd of angry Jews in the Temple as "brothers and fathers" (Acts 22:1). These are places in which "father" is given to Jewish religious leaders. The title is also given to Christian religious leaders.

THE FIRST New Testament book ever written, 1 Thessalonians, refers to Paul "as a father exhorting his own children" (1 Thess. 2:11). By this usage Paul places himself in the role of a spiritual father. In fact, he insists on being called the spiritual father of the Corinthians when he says, "You have in Christ ten thousand teachers, but not many fathers, because in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through announcing the gospel. Therefore I exhort you to become imitators of me" (1 Cor. 4:15).

Preaching the good news constituted Paul's fatherly begetting of children, making him their spiritual father. He requests they imitate him, not only in good behavior but in bringing others to spiritual rebirth.

In 1 John a group of Christian men are addressed as fathers: "I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning" (1 John 2:13-14). By themselves these verses give us warrant to address Church leaders as "father."

WE HAVE, then, a clear authorization from Scripture to call our parents and religious leaders father or mother. It is true Christ gives us an admonition not to let any human being become as important as God the Father or Christ our teacher and rabbi, yet neither should we deny that certain people in the Christian community are our spiritual parents.











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We are now part of St. Blog's Parish!

I am happy to announce that Visits to Candyland is now a proud member of St. Blog's Parish!









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Poll in the side bar - should the boycott stay or go?

Feel free to vote and then let us know why you voted the way you did in the comment section!






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Bringing Joy in Peace

"Time is precious - use it for something that makes a difference. Use your time for something that brings joy and peace to people, not something that feeds fleshly desires, which results in conflict." CB

With that in mind, as well as the encouragement and support of our readers, the enthusiasm of Tracy and Erika, and Kelly - who is always pushing me to make the blog better, I have entered this blog into the
Saint Blog's Parish Directory , we will be entering one of Kelly's articles into the Catholic Carnival and I have updated the links section and the blog roll.








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KitKat, I haven't put anything false about the Roman Catholic church up. All of the information I gathered, was straight from The Roman Catholic Catechism, writings of the Vatican, and from personal interviews with current practicing, non-practicing, and ex- Roman Catholics. Specifically, take a look at my "Vatican vs. God" article under the 'Deceptions Revealed' section in the left hand side bar. That's all I did there, was show that what the Vatican teaches is often the very opposite of what God teaches in the Bible. I took quotes (most of them direct) from the "Holy See" Vatican website, and compared them to scripture.

I hope that discerning readers would take the time to look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church for themselves without just taking Candy's word for it. While it is true that Candy did consult the Catechism, just as with scripture, she cherry picks the parts that meet her agenda, and leaves out parts that do not. For example, Candy writes: Vatican says - "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day." Reference - Catechism of the Catholic Church #841 God says - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. -John 14:6 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. -John3:16-18 I'm not sure why Candy thinks this disagrees with even HER version of Christianity. Afterall, Candy believes that she is supposed to go out and make believers and bring them to Christ. Why would she do that if she didn't believe that everyone is included in the plan of the Creator? Don't all Christians believe that to some extent or the other, all are called to believe and that our purpose is to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ so that they can believe? And if that is true, wouldn't that also include the Muslims? So I don't understand why this paragraph of the catechism is being set up as being against the scripture when it seems to me it merely compliments it! Not so surprisingly then, she left out these paragraphs: 845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.334 2822 Our Father "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."95 He "is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish."96 His commandment is "that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."97 This commandment summarizes all the others and expresses his entire will. 183 Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself affirms: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). 849 The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men":339 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age."340 We debunked Candy's article "Vatican vs. God" in several places, all of which are saved on our side bar and archived here.

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Our New Look

I thought it would be nice to change our look a little bit and this template seemed to fit the bill!


I also want to readdress this comment from Candy last week in her com boxes:

There are several websites out on the net, whose sole existence is to be a blog, or rumor mill about this blog. :-?

That may or may not be but this blog isn't one of them! Never has been. Kelly suggested that to totally dispel that notion that I should change the picture in the side bar and she brought this lovely painting by Vermeer to my attention. I think it is perfect for this blog!

The woman stands between a depiction of the Last Judgment hung in a heavy black frame, and a table covered with jewelry representing material possessions. The empty scale stresses that she is balancing spiritual rather than material considerations. Vermeer's portrayal does not impart a sense of tension or conflict, rather the woman exudes serenity. Her self-knowledge is reflected in the mirror on the wall. Therefore, the painting suggests the importance of moderation, self-awareness, and a full understanding of the implications of a final judgment, and what it would be to be the woman who gave birth to it.

That's all we really have ever tried to do - provide a balance to the misinformation Candy provides, so that inquiring readers can discern for themselves about Catholicism.

Now, there were comments in the com boxes that more directly related to Candy as a person. I e-mailed her last week and said:

You are invited to go through our archives and and have me delete anything that you consider to be untrue or gossipy about you. I think we have tried very hard to stay on topic and NOT malign you as a person, wife, mother, woman and only keep focused on our theological differences. But if you find a post that you feel is offensive in that regard, let me know and I will remove it.

Candy declined. Nonetheless the offer still holds. However, I don't find any posts that specifically fall into that category. There may be comments in the come boxes and the other bloggers and I try to catch these. I am not inclined to take the time to go look at past archives to dig these up as I think the comments show a nice balance of us getting our butts kicked in the comment boxes as well (a fact that Candy never mentions). No one can accuse us of taking down comments whole sale simply because we don't like them or they don't agree with us!







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Candyland Compilation

As we've had another 150 or so new visitors since I posted this two days ago, I thought I would bump it up.

If you are now joining us, here are some previous blog entries addressing common questions about the Catholic Church.

Why did the Catholic Church ADD books to the Bible?

We didn't. Non-Catholics removed books from the Bible. Read more about the Catholic Bible.

Why does the Catholic Church believe in salvation by works when that is contradicted by Scripture. Why do you believe that Mary is a mediatrix when scripture says that Jesus is the ONE Mediator?

We don't, and we don't.

Why do you worship statues? Don't you know that's idolatry?

We might be kneeling in prayer, but we aren't worshiping.

Why do you pray the rosary with its vain repetition?

Because it isn't repetition that is the problem, it's the vain part.

But you have to admit that the word purgatory isn't found anywhere in Scripture!

The word might not be, but the concept is.

Requiring celibacy for priests isn't biblical. Even Peter was married!

Actually, we have married priests within the Catholic Church today. A picture of a priest with his family is the top picture of this post, explaining the tradition (with a small 't') of priestly celibacy.

Why confess to a sinful priest, when you can confess your sins directly to God?

Read the Biblical basis for Confession.

Plus, the ever-popular Tradition versus Scripture topic. Read here, here, and here for previous posts.


If anyone has any follow-up questions, please post them in the comments of this post. That's what we're here for!




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One Last Convert

This has been covered pretty exhaustively by the mainstream news, but I thought I'd still post it here as a postscript of my list of converts from this past year. Here is the interview from Zenit:

Yesterday evening I converted to the Christian Catholic religion, renouncing my previous Islamic faith. Thus, I finally saw the light, by divine grace -- the healthy fruit of a long, matured gestation, lived in suffering and joy, together with intimate reflection and conscious and manifest expression. I am especially grateful to his holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who imparted the sacraments of Christian initiation to me, baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, in the Basilica of St. Peter’s during the course of the solemn celebration of the Easter Vigil. And I took the simplest and most explicit Christian name: “Cristiano.” Since yesterday evening therefore my name is Magdi Crisitano Allam. . .

On my first Easter as a Christian I not only discovered Jesus, I discovered for the first time the face of the true and only God, who is the God of faith and reason. My conversion to Catholicism is the touching down of a gradual and profound interior meditation from which I could not pull myself away, given that for five years I have been confined to a life under guard, with permanent surveillance at home and a police escort for my every movement, because of death threats and death sentences from Islamic extremists and terrorists, both those in and outside of Italy.

(I just had to use the Yahoo! article because they called him "iconoclastic" without a hint of irony. I guess he had to use a lot of self restraint to keep from smashing all those statues in the Vatican!)





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Worldview Differences

Fr. Dwight Longenecker has written a really excellent article for Inside Catholic called Symbols and Systems: Why Catholics and Protestants Don't See Eye To Eye.

To put it simply, Catholics use things they know to try to understand the things they don't. Catholics seek to know God and His work in the world through material things: water, wine, bread, oil, incense, candles, images, and so on. For Catholics, some of these things are more than just symbols -- they are sacraments. They not only point to God, they convey His power and grace to us through the mystery of the Church.

For Catholics, this way of understanding the world, God, the cosmos, and everything is rich and multilayered. The Church is not only a symbol of the Body of Christ -- it is the Body of Christ. The bread brought forward by the members of the Body of Christ becomes itself the Body of Christ to feed the Body of Christ the Church. . .

Protestant theologians, rather than seeing how physical things and human culture connect us to God, emphasize the radical separation between God and the physical world. The Protestant focuses primarily on man's alienation from God, the fact of sin, the need for redemption, and the need for man's response. . .

Therefore, the idea that a visible church, a historic apostolic succession, a priesthood, and sacraments are necessary is -- at the very root of Protestant thinking -- alien and dangerous. For the typical Protestant, the Catholic Church is, by definition, worldly. Its very nature is materialistic and compromising with the world, the flesh, and the devil. For the Protestant there is therefore no relationship between Christ and culture. The faith is set up in dialectical opposition to the wisdom of man and the ways of the world.

It's great, go read it!



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Answering comments

From the Candy com boxes:

Oh wow, the lady above has a blog *about* this blog LOL (I'm not laughing AT you, Elena - everyone's entitled to have a blog about whatever they like - it's the blog-about-a-blog concept that tickled me)

Yea. Tickled me too. I never really set out to have this other blog. My main blog and the homeschool blog I'm supposed to be keeping are more than enough! Anyone can check the archives for our humble beginnings.

But much good has come out of it! We have met some wonderful people and of course the collaboration with my co-bloggers has really been a blessing to me!


Now Candy's comment:

Gravatar molytail, I must be doing something right for the Lord, because the enemy is mad.

Note the inference that if we are "against" something Candy writes, then we must be the demonic ones! (insert eye roll here)

But I rather think that this blog and the Coffee with Candy Blog are the result of divine inspiration - creative people with something to say looking for a way to say it and have it read... having a voice where a their voice was silenced.


There are several websites out on the net, whose sole existence is to be a blog, or rumor mill about this blog. :-?

Well we don't do "rumor." We do use Candy's topics as spring boards for posts over here. But I think we're even growing past that a bit over here. This is becoming a Catholic Woman's Apologetics Blog!


I don't waste my time on such foolishness, and I suggest you don't either. The Bible says to think upon those things that are pure and lovely, and I can honestly say that when I did visit above mentioned site, it was NOT pure or lovely.

Oh... you mean like infering another group of people worship the devil, have soul less eyes and are part of a cult? WE don't do that. I think someone is projecting?

The sheer amount of lies and gossip about me (much of it in the comments) was physically sickening to me.

A challenge, if anyone finds something on this blog or in the comments that is dishonest or gossip, let me know and I'll delete it. We tried to calm down the comments before and I did try to weed out some things but I might have missed something. Also since this blog is all about ALLOW COMMENTS and letting people have their say, we tried to edit lightly, but I certainly would remove lies and gossip if you guys care to point it out. Just e-mail me.

I have removed the link to said website in above comment, because many find it an offensive website, and I don't blame them.

Human nature being what it is, I bet our hits go up!










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A Christian Woman

Also, to Sara, I am astounded that feel like Candy "defies" the meaning of a Christian. How so? I'm sure Candy doesn't desire a rousing debate in her comment section but your comment really raises my hackles. I do not know Candy personally and have only visited her blog for a short time but she appears to be a genuine Christian who desires to be a godly mother and wife. Her site is a blessing to those of us who seek encouragement in these areas.

On this blog, when we have something good to say about Candy, we say it. While I STRONGLY disagree with Candy on many areas of her theology, I really truly believe that she is trying to be a Godly wife and mother and that she desires to flow Christ a closely as possible. I think her homemaking articles are inspiring, encouraging and educational and mirror what Proverbs 31 wife is meant to be. So while I think she is way off track on some things, I just wanted to acknowledge the stuff I feel she has really gotten right.










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Why I'm Catholic

Why I'm Catholic.










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"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism" Microsoft Word 2000 hyper-linked version, by Dave Armstrong eBooks Download

I just purchased Dave Armstrong's e-book A Biblical Defense of Catholicism at the sale price of $5.00. It has a forward written by the late great Father John Hardon, S.J.

I thought this part was particularly appropriate for our recent discussions with Ashley (where are you Ashley?) regarding sola scriptura.

Catholicism and Protestantism differ fundamentally with regard to the relationship of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition: the Bible on the one hand, and the historical doctrines and dogmas of the Christian Church on the other. Protestantism tends to see a certain dichotomy, or divide, between the pure Word of God in the Bible and the Tradition of the Catholic Church, which is considered to be too often corrupted by "arbitrary traditions of men" (in this vein Matthew 15:3-6, Mark 7:8-13, and Colossians 2:8 are cited).
For Protestants, Scripture alone (or, sola Scriptura, as the Reformers cried) is the source and rule of the Christian faith. As such, it is superior to, and judges all Tradition. It is sufficient in and of itself for a full exposition of Christianity and for the attainment of salvation.
The concept of sola Scriptura, it must be noted, is not in principle opposed to the importance and validity of Church history, Tradition, ecumenical Councils, or the authority of Church Fathers and prominent theologians. The difference lies in the relative position of authority held by Scripture and Church institutions and proclamations. In theory, the Bible judges all of these, since, for the evangelical Protestant, it alone is infallible and the Church and popes and Councils are not.
In actuality, however, this belief has not led to doctrinal uniformity, as the history of Protestant sectarianism abundantly testifies. The prevalence of sola Scriptura, according to Catholic thinking, has facilitated a widespread ignorance and disregard of Church history among the Protestants in the pews. Protestantism is clearly much less historically-oriented than Catholicism, largely for the above reasons. Recently, several evangelical scholars have frankly critiqued the weakness of either sola Scriptura itself, or else the extreme version of it which might be called Bible Only (a virtually total exclusion of Church history and authority).

Anyway, it looks like a fascinating read. You can get it here.
"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism" Microsoft Word 2000 hyper-linked version, by Dave Armstrong eBooks Download

Is there enough interest perhaps to do a weekly study of this book?

Let me know!







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Stress relief

I suggest that if the apologetics gets too heated, or if we ever get too exasperated with Candy, that we visit here!!

bubblewrap.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object)








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Answering Ashley

Ashley posted some comments in the article on Sexuality that I thought should have a separate posting. I handled some of them in that section and here are the rest of them.

Is there a place for church traditions? Yes, but they must be weighed against the teaching of the Bible. We know that "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 2:23. Peter was rebuked by Paul for his sin. The teachings of men are dangerous if left unchecked against God's book. Purgatory is a perfect example of the church adding to and contradicting God's Word. The New Catholic Encyclopedia states that purgatory cannot be found in the Bible. Yet, the teaching essentially says that Christ has not finished the work of salvation on the cross. We must personally suffer. However, while he is hanging on that cruel cross, where he received God's wrath for all of humanities sin, he professes that it is finished. It's either finished, or we need to go to purgatory. It can't be both. I put my faith in the words of my Lord and Savior, not it the teaching of fallen men.

Intereting tidbit, some of Jesus last words were "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is being interpreted My God, My God, why has thou forsaken me?" Mark 15:34b Jesus is quoting scripture, Psalm 22, which if you read it, will give you goosebumps. The Bible is unlike any other book in the way prophesy is fulfilled. It is God's Word to us.

Just because the catholic church teaches something, doesn't mean it is wrong (I agree with you on perverted forms of sexual expression in marriage. The Bible speaks very clearly of what the union is to be - procreative.) I do believe that we should be like the Bereans who were called noble because they searched the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was teaching was so (Acts 17:11).

Also, smoking is not a fundamental of Christianity, but the Bible teaches that our bodies are the temple of God (1 Cor 3:16). Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, an unhealty lifestyle, etc. are all hurting the temple of God. No book (the bible, catechism, quaran, watchtower magazine) can cover every single situation that you're faced with - that's where the Holy Spirit convicts us.

Elena, as well as other bloggers, have been very gracious in taking the time to answer my questions - I know how hard that is with all the blessed responsibilities of keeping the home...er...homemaking :) I am thankful for the dialogue and prayerfully submit this post in hopes that it stands for the teachings of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

Let me close with this... God's gift of salvation is a free one but it does require trusting in Christ, and Christ alone.

In Christ,
Ashley

We have handled the Tradition topic here and more generally here.






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Sexuality in Marriage

I think the summary in the comment boxes on the Marriage Bed Undefiled could be summarized this way:

The bible does not say anywhere specifically that oral sex is bad.
The bible says that we are not to deny our spouses.
So whenever our spouse wants sex, even if we can't have intercourse (menstruating, ill, recovering from childbirth, surgery, actual place for intercourse not available etc.) a wife not only can but MUST give them satisfaction.

I have some problems with that. First of all, I find it fascinating when sola scriptura Christians (a doctrine not in the bible) demand that something has to be specifically mentioned in the bible! I found this link from Christian Answers (submitted in the comment boxes) to be very simplistic and also contained some false dilemma logical fallacies.

So for the sake of completeness and to represent the Catholic thought on the issue, I present the following links for educational and informational purposes.



Theology of the Body

I have a question - Catholic Answers Forums

Catholic Writings

Notre Dame Seminary








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Thousands in U.S. to Join (Catholic) Church - Many Feel They Have Found a Home

Thousands in U.S. to Join (Catholic) Church - Many Feel They Have Found a Home: "Thousands in U.S. to Join (Catholic) Church - Many Feel They Have Found a Home
Zenit News Agency ^ | March 12, 2008

Posted on 03/12/2008 3:52:30 PM PDT by NYer

WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Tens of thousands of Americans will join the Catholic Church this Holy Saturday through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Many of those in the RCIA program participated in the Rite of Election with their bishops at the beginning of Lent and will be baptized, confirmed and receive Communion for the first time this Saturday. More, who already have been baptized, will embrace full membership in the Catholic Church.

The numbers vary across dioceses. The Diocese of Orange, California, for example, will baptize more than 650 people and welcome more than 500 others into full communion at the Easter Vigil.

The Archdiocese of Detroit registers some of the largest numbers with 589 catechumens receiving full initiation and 497 candidates from other Christian traditions being received into full communion. Although technically not part of the RCIA, 289 baptized Catholics will also receive confirmation and Eucharist.

In Ohio, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will welcome during the Easter Vigil 437 catechumens and 541 candidates for a total of 978 people; another 65 candid"








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Catholic Blog Awards 2008

Last year I wrote:

"I think a more accurate name for this competition would be The Professional Catholic Writer's Blog Awards. That's my opinion and so far nothing has convinced me that I'm wrong on that."

Well, the Professional Catholic Awards anyway. This year the big winner was the What Does The Prayer Really Say? blog, authored by Father Z, moderator for Catholic Online Forum and Ask Father Question Box

Father Z's blog was like the movie Titanic - it won just about everything.
Best Apologetic Blog
Best Blog by Clergy
Best Individual Blog
Best Insider News Blog
Best Overall Catholic Blog
Best Written
Most Insightful and Informative
Most Spiritual
Smartest

The other categories it seemed to come in 2nd or 3rd.

So I guess I should start reading it!








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C.S. Lewis and Catholic Church

"I got all of the major works of C.S. Lewis in one volume, which I've wanted to get for decades." CB



C.S. Lewis and Catholic Church

C.S> Lewis and the Catholic Church on Google books.








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