lately from the blog
When I first started RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), back in the “precedented times” of 2019, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All of my Catholic friends had always been Catholic and received the sacraments at various times in their youth and I didn’t know anyone who had gone through the RCIA. Here are a few things that surprised me, and may surprise you, about RCIA and joining the Catholic Church. 1. It probably won’t be as “Catholic” as you’re expecting. Depending on y[...]
Every year, one of my goals is to read my Bible this year. Whether it’s reading the Bible in a year or simply getting into the Word each day, I try to set clear SMART goals to make sure I’m getting deeper into Scripture. Some years I’ve succeeded, others have been challenging, and even more, have been mediocre attempts at best. But in the last few years, I’ve started looking at what makes the successful years successful. What are the tools that help me read my Bible more? While there’s no magic b[...]
So much of the struggle to consistently devout time to Bible reading and study boils down to this: lack of planning. When we don’t have a plan for when, how, and what we will read, we spend precious time in our busy days trying to decide what to do and wondering if we're doing it right. As Mary Poppins (and my father every time we began a family project) said, “Well begun is half done.” Having a clear plan in place instead of haphazardly trying to make something work can be the difference in fo[...]
All throughout Scripture, we see a strong connection between fasting and prayer. When the people were repenting, when they were asking the Lord for a miracle, or as a form of spiritual preparation, prayer and fasting went hand in hand. The Bible repeatedly shows that when the people of God are dedicated to prayer, it is accompanied by fasting. This connection was something I missed for years. I knew prayer was important but thought of fasting as something mystical or dogmatic, neglecting to see how it would bene[...]
Until I read the entire Bible this year for the Bible in Lent challenge, I had never read most of the Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal books of the Bible. When I did this, I realized that, aside from a vague notion of Maccabees from Hanukkah books, I had absolutely no idea what the rest of the books contained. An Overview of the 7 “Apocryphal” Books of the Bible If you’re like me and are looking for a basic overview of these 7 books of the Bible, here’s a quick guide. Wisdom Wisdom is very similar to[...]