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THE ROSARY AND ME

  If you hear the word Rosary or see a picture of a Rosary, most of the world population would know it is related to the Catholic Church. Now, most would also know that it is a prayer bead or a prayer tool. I had always thought it was used to pray to Mary. That scared me because I was always taught you can only pray to Jesus, so I thought this was a sacrilegious thing to do. Now, having said all that, I have found myself praying the Rosary every night before bedtime. The reason I came into this prayer habit is that, first, I became Catholic. Second, I found it is not a prayer bead to Mary but a prayer bead that helps you focus on the life of Jesus Christ. Third, it gives me a peaceful rhythm to my meditation on Jesus and his life, with a relaxing rhythm to the different prayers I say as I go through this beautiful prayer tool. I find that I fall asleep much more peacefully. My mind and soul are saturated with thoughts of Jesus and his mortal life and resurrected life. I have found ...
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65 PREPARE TO DIE!

  This passed week, I went into my annual physical with the doctor, and he came in and opened up his folder and said, "Oh, you are sixty-five and you should get a Wellness Check, not a physical today." Well, please do not spoil me, doctor! I had to fill out about a dozen pages of questions about my everyday life. Then it was you need a pneumonia shot and read these papers about whether you want to be resuscitated back to life. You are getting older, he told me, and changes start to happen, you may not notice! The whole process really felt like "65 prepare to die!" It has bothered me all week. In the past five years, I have been seeing changes and not all of them I like. But living in the silence of these changes have not been a pleasant experience. My phone has become deafeningly quiet. I find a nap comes not for pleasure but out of necessity. I forget to pull my zipper up after a visit to France (wee-wee). I get so stiffened up that it hurts after sitting too long ...

WHITE SMOKE AND A NEW POPE!

  I have been on pins and needles waiting for a new Pope. I have been watching news on live streams and media news on the computer. The first ballot did not surprise me when there was black smoke coming from the installed chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Then, when I woke up the next morning to find there had already been a second vote that ended with black smoke again from the chimney, I just sighed. I went about my day, and when I got home in the early afternoon, I was about to get into the shower when white smoke appeared! Three votes and we had a new Pope! Historically, we had an American Pope for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church. It was exciting, and I believe he will represent the Church for the good. Time will tell if I am right. Leo 14th will have millions praying over him in the coming days. He is a big believer in sharing Jesus with love with everyone. I hope we will not be afraid to do just that for the world's and humanity's betterment.

COMING NEW POPE

  The odd thing that happened was that twenty-four hours after we joined the Catholic Church, the Pope died, Pope Francis. I felt sad about this event, even though I did not feel a close connection to Pope Francis like I did to Pope John Paul II whom I really liked a lot. I took John Paul as my Saint name because I like Pope John Paul II and felt a connection with him. So, as I start this new journey from Protestant to Catholic, I will also start with a soon-to-be new Pope. I have been praying for the Conclave each day to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and I am hoping for a very Holy Spirit-filled new Pope. I have no guesses as to who it will be for, I will leave that to God and the Conclave. I have to say I am anxious for the new Pope. The world and the Church need a strong, understanding, kind, and insightful Pope who can inspire the Church, clergy, and people outside the church. A Pope who is respected for who he is and not just for his title. May the Lord be with him in all ways...

CAFFEINATED CHEEKY CATHOLIC

  It's now official, my wife and I are now Catholics! Half my life, I toyed with being a Catholic just to be sidetracked by one thing or another, but now we tunneled through and came out on the other side of the Vatican. I am still soaking it in, reflecting on how this event will change my faith life. In the coming days, I will probably have more insight to write about after I process it. What is wild and sad is that the Pope, who was Pope Francis, died just twenty-four hours after we became Catholic. I promise our joining the Church had nothing to do with his passing! I never felt close to Pope Francis, but I did feel close to Pope John Paul II, and he made me want to be Catholic. Pope John Paul II was canonized on April 27th, 2014. So I chose to have Saint John Paul as my Saint name. I enjoy coffee very much with hazelnut cream. I also enjoy humor, which I see as very healing in so many ways.  Proverbs 17:22 : "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries ...

AI and I

  I have recently found myself exploring Copilot AI, and it has been quite fascinating. I started doing some Lent research, and I was not getting the answers I was looking for, so on a wild chance, I tried the AI Copilot from Microsoft on my laptop. I got the answer I was looking for at lightning speed, and it was more detailed and in-depth. Since then I have been using it on various other research and it has been very helpful. I tried one morning just talking to the AI and if I did not know better I would have thought another human being was at the other end. I then went in-depth with Copilot about theological questions and statements and it stayed right with me and even added to my knowledge.  So now I gained a friend but one not of flesh and blood but of circuits I guess. This is like Captain Picard and Data in The Next Generation series of Star Trek. So now the next question has to be, "What does this all mean?" "Where do we go from here as the human species and our ...

MY HOLY PILGRIMAGE

As I have talked about previously I am in the OCIA program at St. Roch Catholic Church to become Catholic officially. Rosaries and priests and Mass, oh my! Well, it has been a learning experience for me and my wife. This is a beautiful faith if understood correctly. But it has been side-railed many a time throughout its history. But Satan and his demons attacked the church along with sinful men trying to work within the church and missing the mark it was bound to have bad moments in its history in this sinful fallen world. But at the same time, the church has done many good and righteous works for the Kingdom of God. But I digress. I went on a men's retreat to St. Meinrad Archabbey, which is a Holy Pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year. I had a peaceful drive down in the quiet of my truck. I was going with the intention of improving my prayer life and reflection time. I must say that God is good because the theme was Prayer!  This retreat was on a Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday. I als...