Do You Pray For Other People

  I just thought I would like to give some examples of how I like to pray for other people. Just maybe someone will read this and do the same. I find myself on facebook quite a bit these days. I have met family members that I never knew I had. I have joined quite a few different groups on facebook and I noticed that there are people asking for someone to pray for them. I have also had various family members that needed someone to pray for them.
  What I did was join different Catholic Prayer Chains on facebook. I get notices that someone is in need of prayer. I then go to the prayer chain site and let the person know I am praying for them. There are quite a few different people doing this and as Mother Angelica would say it's awesome. I believe it's the least I can do for someone and it may mean the most to them. That is the most important thing to myself. In other words not what I can do for myself, but what I can do for others. I feel that's what Jesus would want us to do for our friends, family and others.
  Another way that I pray for others is to go to websites such as Lourdes and ask them to pray for someone. They will email me and let me know that the prayer will be placed at the grotto. Every time I  do this I get this feeling that there is an awesome power at work. There are other websites out there on the internet where people will place your prayer on a prayer chain. Some may be in a church or they may just be people out there who genuinely care for others.
  I do not necessarily have one place in particular that I pray. Sometimes I may be in the shower and pray for my children, family and friends. Other times I may be driving to work and I start to pray for whoever comes into my mind. When I am at Mass I will say special prayers for whatever the cause is. I also sometimes sit on the edge of my bed before I sleep and say a prayer at the foot of the crucifix. I can remember nights when I would take my dog out and look up at the clear nights sky and say a prayer for someone while looking up at the stars. There are times when I pray and ask my loved ones and friends that have passed on to pray for someone or something. They are called the communion of the saints.
 
                                                  Catholic Spiritualities
                                                     by mariomusicmadness

I guess the whole point of this post is that is does not matter where you pray. The point is that we should always be praying for one another.
  Well I hope you enjoyed reading this short post, Thank You and God Bless. 

Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

Seven Gifts Of the Holy Spirit  Isaiah 11:2

  So what are the Gifts Of The Holy Spirit and how many Gifts of the Holy Spirit are there. Well these are gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us when we are in a state of grace. So when do we receive these gifts from the Holy Spirit. We receive these Gifts when we are Baptized. By having these Gifts we will be more acceptable to do whatever the Holy Spirit wants us to do. These gifts will help us through our lives and they will give us the necessary materials for whatever we have to deal with and therefore make everything more meaningful.
 Here is a a list of the Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit.

• Wisdom
• Understanding
• Counsel
• Fortitude
• Knowledge
• Piety
• Fear Of The Lord

   The first Gift is Wisdom. This is the highest Gift Of The Holy Spirit. This is the highest gift, because we will be able to see whatever it is as God sees it. To have this gift we must always be seeking it by praying to the Lord at every moment. Also by the study of scripture and having an extremely close relationship with God. With the gift of wisdom we will be able to judge whatever come our way in a divine context.
  The next gift is the Gift Of Understanding. With Understanding we will be able to understand the mysteries of our Christian Faith so we can deal with it in a deeper way. We will also be able to understand the truths of the Catholic Faith and all of the Teachings Of Our Catholic Faith. By this understanding we will be better equipped to help lead others in our faith.
  So what exactly is the Gift Of Counsel you might ask. When we are placed in a difficult circumstance we will have the knowledge of how to deal with whatever it is properly. We will know exactly what steps to take to get to the goal the Lord would want us to achieve. With this gift the Holy Spirit can speak to us in our Heart and by this we will know the correct action to follow.
  We are going to need the courage and strength at some time in our life to do whatever Gods will is for us. This is called the Gift Of Fortitude. Ordinarily this is not an easy thing to do, but with God all things are possible.We will be able to finish whatever obstacle is placed in our way, because God is at our side.
  With the Gift Of Knowledge we will be able to anticipate and identify whatever the will of God is in all things that we come across in our Catholic journey. We will be able to judge everything according to the sacred aspect. With this gift we will be able to choose very quickly when there is a temptation and also when there is an inspiration of Grace from God.
  What exactly is the Gift Of Piety. This is a gift that allows usto have a pure love for God as our Father. With this fatherly love we will love and respect him as our paternal father and we will then learn to obey him just as we love and obey our earthly parents.
  Finally what is the Gift of Fear Of The Lord. This gift gives us the terrible feeling when we sin. It also gives us the awful feeling in our Hearts and Souls when we have offended God our Father. By this terrible feeling we will follow the right path and repent of our sin and be forgiven by our heavenly Father.
          
           Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Abridged) with Fr. Robert Barron
                                             by Saint Matthew

Here are some further links for some reading on the Gifts Of The Holy Spirit, http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/spira3.htm and http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/spirmenu.htm .
  Thank You For Reading and God Bless.
   

What is A Pope And Why Do We Have One

Saint Peter With The Keys To The Kingdom

  I hear comments all the time about the  Pope in the Catholic Church. Some people will say you do not need a Pope. They also tend to make fun of the Pope. It is another one of those things where people do not understand the Catholic Church so they make fun of it. Sometimes I feel that all of us never get the message that Jesus taught us. That message is to love one another and he has loved us. That also means to respect each other even if we all have differences of one kind or another. Just because someone may have different beliefs does not mean I can not respect that person. I would advise anyone to learn about the History Of The Papacy. There are plenty of books on the Catholic Papacy available at various resellers on the internet.
  So what exactly is a Pope and why do we have a Pope leading the Catholic Church. The word Pope in Latin is papa, which is what a child would call father. A Pope basically is the leader of the Catholic Church. He represents God our father and is like a good parent guiding the church in all matters. No he is not God and has never claimed to be God. The Pope not only works with everyone within the Catholic Church, but also works with people in over 100 nations. In other words he is mainlining diplomatic relationships between countries. Within the church he performs liturgies, appoints new bishops and travels throughout the world spreading the love of Jesus Christ.
  The question that comes up quite a bit is who started as pope and who appointed the first pope. Well the first Pope was Peter. The person who appointed Peter as Pope was Jesus. Here is an excellent article from Catholic Answers on the origin of the Pope so check out the link and paste it into your address bar http://www.catholic.com/tracts/origins-of-peter-as-pope . Here in scripture we see Jesus making Peter the first Pope. Matthew Chapter 16 Verse 17 through 19 "  


17 Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

18 So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.''

  Here is a link to the Catholic Encyclopedia that has an abundance of excellent information. Just copy and paste the link into your web address bar and press enter http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12260a.htm . The fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to Peter did not happen until the resurrection of Jesus. For even some further reading online I would check out this Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope .
  So in conclusion we have a Pope to lead the church in all matters. As you can see the first Pope was instituted by Jesus himself. I would definitely recommend purchasing various books on the early church fathers as well as the Catholic Catechism and the Catholic Encyclopedia. It is better to learn the truth about various matters, so when someone questions something we can answer them properly and correct whatever has been misinterpreted. It is up to all of us to educate everyone in a loving and caring way.
  Thank You For Reading and God Bless on this Mothers Day 2014.     

What Is May Day In The Catholic Church

  When I was a young child growing up in the Catholic Church I always remember May Day. No we did not dance around a May pole and worship the Spring Festival. No we would show our devotion the the Blessed Virgin Mary The Mother Of God. No we did not worship Mary as some will say. What we do is honor Mary, because she is the mother of God in the flesh. She is the Mother of Jesus who is God in the flesh. I believe that right there gives her a very special place.
  So you may be asking how did we celebrate may day. Well what we did was all gather together around the statue of Mary that was outside the church and school. There would be many beautiful flowers placed around the statue. I remember that the priest would give some kind of a speech ans lead us in prayers. I remember the flowers as mostly being tulips with some very beautiful colors. No we did not pray to the statue either. The statue is only a reminder of who Mary is. At times we may pray and ask Mary to pray for us.
  This information is from Wikipedia on the origin of May day devotion to Mary "

Origins[edit]

A number of traditions link the month of May to Mary. Alfonso X, king of Castile wrote in his "Cantigas de Santa Maria" about the special honoring of Mary during specific dates in May. Eventually, the entire month was filled with special observances and devotions to Mary.

The origin of the conventional May devotion is still relatively unknown. Herbert Thurston identifies the seventeenth century as the earliest instance of the adoption of the custom of consecrating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin by special observances.^[1] It is certain that this form of Marian devotion began in Italy. Around 1739, witnesses speak of a particular form of Marian devotion in May in Grezzano near Verona. In 1747 the Archbishop of Genoa recommended the May devotion as a devotion for the home.^[2] Specific prayers for them were promulgated in Rome in 1838.^[3]

According to Frederick Holweck, the May devotion in its present form originated at Rome where Father Latomia of the Roman College of the Society of Jesus, to counteract infidelity and immorality among the students, made a vow at the end of the eighteenth century to devote the month of May to Mary. From Rome the practice spread to the other Jesuit colleges and thence to nearly every Catholic church of the Latin rite.^[4] In Rome by 1813, May devotions were held in as many as twenty churches. From Italy, May devotions soon spread to France. In Belgium, the May devotions, at least as a private devotion, were already known by 1803. The tradition of honoring Mary in a month-long May devotion spread eventually around the Roman Catholic world in the 19th century together with a month-long devotion to Jesus in June and the Rosary in October. "

  If you are interested in more information check out the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_devotions_to_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary . If you would like more information on devotion to Mary check out this link http://www.catholic.org/prayers/merton.php .

  Thank You For reading and God Bless.

Anyone Ever Asked You Are You Born Again ?

Baptism Of Jesus

  

Has anyone ever asked you are you Born Again ? My journey so far has taken many turns. When I met my wife I was catholic, just not a practicing catholic. I was young in my early twenties and not thinking too much about anything religious. Don't get me wrong I have always believed in God, Jesus, Holy Spirit and everything in the Catholic Church. I always remember when I look back and remember the 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 verse 11 "¹¹ When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways."