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Where do we get novenas?

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This morning I went to Mass. Until very recently, we would have celebrated the Feast of the Ascension, but in recent years the Feast has been moved from this Thursday to the nearest Sunday. I’m not such a fan of this change since it obscures the origin of the “novena”, the Catholic practice of nine days of prayer for a particular intention.

Pentecost

Novenas are associated with the period of time between the Ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost:

[Jesus said] “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight…

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet… and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying… All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren…

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

 – Acts 1:8-9,12-14;2:1-4

If you’re looking for a novena to pray between now and Pentecost, my new favourite is the novena to one of my favourites, Pier Giorgio Frassati. What’s you’re favourite Novena?

Restless Heart: 2 – “Non-Catholic Dating”

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Dating

Welcome to Episode 2! In today’s show we tackle the tricky and sensitive subject of non-Catholic dating, the situation where a Catholic is considering dating someone who is not in full communion with the Catholic

Episode 2: Non-Catholic Dating (Download)

 

— Notes —

* For those of you who would like to dig deeper into this topic, you can find a two-part series I wrote earlier on the subject.

* If you have any feedback or would like to pose a question for an upcoming episode, you can always tweet us at @davidandnessa.

If you have iTunes installed, you can click here to launch iTunes and subscribe. Alternatively, you should be able to find us in the podcast section of the iTunes Store and Google Play. If you need to setup your podcast feed manually, our feed may be found here.

If you’re happy and you know it…

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Something has been bugging me for some time now. The vast majority of Masses I’ve attended in the States have ended with applause. Back in England I encountered this fairly often among non-Catholic congregations, but quite rarely in Catholic parishes.

guitar

Here in San Diego I play the guitar in at a LifeTeen Mass and there is applause every week as we finish the final song. Now, there was a time when I wasn’t fussed about the clapping, but now it really rather bothers me… 

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The List…

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So several years ago, after my return from Seattle to San Diego, I sat down and thought about what I was looking for in a wife.

Today I get married.

Here’s the list…

  • Compassionate. Endeavours to welcome newcomers. Takes an interest in the lives of others – asks questions. Has a heart that breaks for other people. 
  • Thoughtful. Actively looks for ways to bless others.
  • Servant-hearted. The sort of person who will see something which needs doing and will just get to work. Has initiative.
  • Laughs easily. Doesn’t take herself too seriously.  Can look on the bright side of things.
  • Generous with her time and resources.
  • Knows when it’s time for complaining to come to an end and it’s time to tough it out.
  • Independent. Has own thoughts, ideas and goals.
  • Self-forgetful. Her first thought will not be “How will this affect me?” Doesn’t talk about herself all the time.
  • Supportive and actively encourages others.
  • Passionate about stuff. 
  • Loves music. Would loudly sing along to the car radio and not care if she looked crazy.
  • Has good, solid, stable friendships with other females.
  • Loves books. Would think that a Sunday on the couch reading together would be a day well spent.
  • Gentle in speech. Thinks carefully about how her words come across. Doesn’t swear. Doesn’t gossip.
  • Likes the simple things in life. Doesn’t need lots of make-up, jewellery, expensive dinners or costly entertainment in order to be happy.
  • Up for an adventure or doing something new.
  • A bit of a nerd.

Mission Accomplished.

PWJ: S3E26 – Bonus – “Trent & The Great Divorce”

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Today I’d like to share an extract of my second recent appearance on The Counsel of Trent. In this episode Trent and I discuss The Great Divorce…

S3E26: “C.S. Lewis’s Letters From Heaven” (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunes, Google Play, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube.

If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.

The Season 3 roadmap is available here.

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When Jehovah Witnesses come to call…

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I have two Jehovah Witnesses (JW) coming to see me this weekend…

early_watch_tower_cover

Knock, knock…

You see, two JWs turned up at my door about a month ago. They asked about religion so I told them a little bit about my faith journey. I explained how the issue of the canon (the Bible’s table of contents) was one of the decisive topics which brought about my return to Catholicism. 

How did they know that the table of contents was correct, I asked. I knew the various standard Protestant answers to this question and found them all unconvincing, but I wondered how a JW would answer it. The two missionaries at my door said they couldn’t answer that question, but they’d go find out and get back to me.

(This was, by the way, an excellent answer. When someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer, it’s far better to say you don’t know, rather than trying to make something up on the spot. Just make sure that you do actually find out the answer and come back)

Well, this last Saturday I had two older chaps turn up at my door. I invited them in but they didn’t want to and instead booked an appointment with me for this weekend. I’m currently looking to find an icon of St. Nicholas to put up in time for their visit 😉

(There was a legend that St. Nicholas punched Arias in the face at the Council of Nicaea for denying the full deity of Christ, a doctrine also affirmed by JWs)

“But I’m no theology expert…”

I didn’t want to end this post without briefly mentioning something else on the subject of JWs. Not all Catholics will feel comfortable meeting with JWs and discussing theology, and others might just simply don’t have the time. However, I would like to share something that a friend of mine does when JWs call. She simply says the following:

glass-of-water“It’s really great that you care so much about your faith that you’re willing to give up your Saturday mornings to do this, but I should probably tell you I’m Catholic. In fact, I’m reeeeally Catholic, so I think I’d probably just be a waste of your time. 

It’s pretty hot outside today though, so would you like to take a chilled bottle of water to take with you?”

So, if you have to go pick up the kids for soccer practice or you’re busy getting brunch together and don’t have the time, I think this is a great response to give. It’s simple, it takes a grand total of thirty seconds to say and demonstrates concretely the love of Christ to those who love God enough to face rejection and abuse from strangers every week.

For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. – Mark 9:41

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