When a Neo-Pagan becomes Catholic
Here’s an episode from The Journey Home which I found rather interesting. In this episode, Marcus Grodi interviews Dr. Brennan Pursell, a former Neo-Pagan, on his journey to the Catholic Church:
Month: January 2017
Music Monday: Britain’s Got Talent
Something a little different for this Music Monday, a portion of the show “Britain’s Got Talent”…
Sunday Lectionary: Blessed are the unblessed
Back when I started this blog, I led a Young Adult Bible study group, so each week I would post my notes concerning the upcoming Mass Readings. My goal was to produce a commentary for the entirety of the Sunday Lectionary. However, this came to an end when I started attending an Eastern-Rite parish and handed the Bible Study over to another leader. The Eastern Churches have a different liturgical calendar and Lectionary, so the project came to an end.
This Wednesday I was leading a Bible study at a Roman-Rite parish, so I thought I would revive my tradition of posting my notes for today’s readings…
Charlie Johnston’s Farewell
You may recall at the beginning of last year, I wrote an article about a man named Charlie Johnston, a Catholic layman who claimed to have been visited by Jesus, as well as by a number of Saints and angels.
As a result of these visitations, Charlie warned people of a coming “storm”, a series of catastrophic and calamitous events which he said would befall humanity. While he wasn’t predicting the end of the world, his descriptions of economic collapse and widespread war certainly carried with them an apocalyptic character. Although he said that it would be a very dark time, Charlie promised that the Immaculate Heart of Mary would ultimately triumph and this victory would usher in a period of unity and peace.
At the time I wrote that earlier post, Charlie had already been on my radar for some time. Although I had reservations concerning his teachings, I was rather impressed with the way he seemed to be operating. He was obedient to his Bishop and was also under spiritual direction. Despite the content of much of his message, he ultimately presented it as one of hope. Finally, there was nothing to suggest that he was attempting to profit from his message in any way. As a result, despite my skepticism regarding his predictions, I defended Charlie against those who immediately dismissed him as “crazy”, or who called him “a charlatan” or “liar”.
Having said that, I was becoming increasingly concerned. Quite a few of my friends had enthusiastically embraced Charlie’s message and I started to worry about the effect of his teachings upon them. When one of my friends cancelled an out-of-state trip for fear that it might coincide with Charlie’s “storm”, I decided that it was time to speak openly about my concerns…
Friday Frivolity: Christian Mingle Inspector
A lot of my friends have complained about their experiences on Christian/Catholic dating websites. Well, it turns out that John Crist has the solution…
TEA: How I met your Blessed Mother (St. Brigid)
Last night I led Bible study at a local parish and I was asked to give an informal talk beforehand on the Virgin Mary.
My talk was entitled “How I met your (Blessed) Mother” and in it I told a little bit of my story and explained how I overcame my deep-seated resistance concerning Mary and how I ultimately came to embrace the Catholic teaching concerning the Blessed Mother.
Some friends couldn’t make it last night and asked me to record the talk, so for anyone who would like to hear it, the audio is available below.
How I met your (Blessed) Mother (Download)
Wise Words on Wednesday: Earth Crammed with Heaven
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes…”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning