Today’s history lesson includes…. October 24, 2011

 Many Craddle Catholics, born into the faith do not know what they truely believe, and many of them just go because the only thing they know is that, church is good, whether or not we enjoy it. More often then not couples of mixed Catholic and Protestant faiths, end up not getting married Catholic, but rather taking the easier road, and head down to the Protestant spouse’s church that, is less work. 50 years ago, if you were Catholic and were engaged to a Protestant, 8/10 times, the Protestant converted to Catholicism. How times have changed. I’ve come to the conclusion on how I feel about the differences in Protestant and Catholic doctrine. The heart and soul of the Christian faith are present in both sides. However, the Catholic church has studied so deep into the faith  from long ago when scholars used to study day in and day out, that ever part of the mass is directly related to different parts of the Bible itself. In fact, the church goes through the entire Bible in 3 years using the Missal, a book comprised of what each week’s readings, feast days and psalms were. The faith is almost taught as if everyone should know the basics already, and we go right into the ritals and traditions of the church, with less focus on the written word of God. The written word is there, but is “hidden” under the traditions. Protestants on the other hand, use the written word, and only the written word. I can still remember certain Bible passages from when I was Lutheran, because you had it drilled into your head. Here is my thoughts on this; I believe that the Catholic church is for the most part right on all teachings, if not all. But I feel that the Catholic church is the “High School” of Christianity. If you were to start a student out in high school, he or she would not succeed without the history of the education you needed in elemetary and secondary school. This is where the Protestant side comes to play. They are a great beginning to any new Christian, or even an old Christian that needs to know the basics of the faith. The Catholic church has all of the same beliefs, but more extended and in depth. Without the Protestant Reformation, there may still be lots of people in this world that don’t know what they believe. It’s sad that many families just believe blindly, rather then looking into the beliefs.

I’ve heard it multiple times, that convert Catholics seem to be better Catholics then the spouse ( if any) they marry. I’ve did my research on this subject, and what I’ve seen, it seems true. My friend grandparents, on both sides, one was a Lutheran Man who married a Catholic Woman. The Catholic Woman has since passed, but the now Catholic Man is still into the Catholic faith more then she even seemed to be. Same thing on the other side of the family. He was a Catholic man, married a Lutheran Woman, she converted. He has since passed, but she is deep in the faith. I think the reason is, is that to become Catholic, you have a lot to learn, and because you have that Protestant background, it makes it easier. I think that this is why I am such a strong Catholic. Although there are a few things I disagree with the church, it still has stood the tests of time.  When I get to the pearly gates, and have the opportunity to ask God myself, I’ll find out myself.

Tell me your thoughts. This is not a rip on Protestant churches, I’m giving you kudos for your Biblical, and Biblical only reasoning, however I don’t understand when I see Protestants that rip on the Catholic church for “adding” books to the Bible. The Bible was put together by Catholic men and woman. It was Martin Luther, that took 7 books out of the old testament. These same people that complain about this, are the same ones that celebrate Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s Day,& St. Patrick’s Day. They also tend to be educated men and women, and when sick, use hospitals…all of these things we’re started by the Roman Catholic Church. Even if you don’t agree with your history, remember the Catholic church is apart of it, and has brought you to where you are today. Without this church, you would not have yours.

 

As I said, what are your thoughts, and no need to hold back, I’m all about discussing the faith within reason, and no need for fights.

Two roads… June 8, 2011

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

                                   – Robert Frost

It has been a while since I wrote. I haven’t really known what to talk about, but I’m going to continue writing when I can. Geez, looking back at my writings, I haven’t written since Easter… yikes. We’ll we are in full bloom at work. It’s wedding season, and planting season, so it’s relatively busy right now at work. I have been toiling around with things going on in my life right now that I don’t know what I should do… Some say follow your heart, some say it’s just a cross to bear, and after your journey with this cross, you shall recieve a crown. I’ve actually been quite down about everything frankly- and don’t know who to talk to, and who not. I have such trust issues because I’ve always been disappointed in the past, no one has ever given me the time to just vent, and keep it to themselves; and without judging me for my thoughts, words, or actions. I feel alone, as if no one else feels the need for responsibility, and here I am beating myself up, over small things. Why can’t I find comfort for the things I worry about? We all have our flaws in life, some physically show, and some we keep bottled up, and let it destroy us from the inside- Sometimes I feel that I’ve been given too many flaws and not enough coursage to deal with them, or stand up for myself. Sure there are people that die from cancer, live with deformities, or don’t even get the chance at a true life. I don’t know what to do with myself anymore… Why is it that when I try to do something that might encourage others to think differently or try to improve things, that I slapped across the face, and kicked in the mud. I play my feelings off with jokes, and try not to let others see the pain I feel, but sometimes I know it seeps through. I pray that everything begins to fall back together again….

Dying you destroyed our Death, Rising you restored our life… April 25, 2011

 Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed! There is no better way of saying it, He is Risen!

This was my first complete Holy week in the Catholic Faith, and let me tell you it did a number

on my emotions. Beginning Maundy Thursday, when the priest took the Real Presence of

Jesus in the Eucharist out of the Tabernacle, I started to feel “abandon” from God. Good

Friday, I started the day out at work. It was drizzly and very “down” weather, which was

honestly good, I thought, I thought about Christ death the whole day! Even at work, I didn’t

feel the energy to do anything, I felt that I should not be doing work on Good Friday, it’s the

holiest day of the year. My co-workers seemed as though it was just another day. To many of

them, it was, not being a member of any religious affiliation, but the ones that surprised me

the most was the good Catholics and other Protestant faith believers, and how it did nothing to them. Maybe it’s another example of

me over thinking things. I truly felt down all day, as if God had forsaken the world. I went to bed early that night, and knew I had to

get up early to deliver the Easter flowers to St. Patrick’s in Stiles, and Holy Trinity in Oconto. Once I got the flowers delivered, and

started decorating the churches, I began to feel the peace of God again. I also had the opportunity to bring a fellow friend, a United

Church of Christ minister, who is out of the position of pastor, but rather writing a book right now about church closure. I brought

her to both the Good Friday Tenebrae Service at St. Patrick’s in Stiles, and then to Easter Vigil at Holy Trinity. I was surprised to find

her comfortable with the different prayers, traditions, veneration of the cross, the litany of the saints, and even the Eucharistic part

of the Mass. She did not partake in Communion, but I kind of observed her all night, and it was as if she was Catholic as well. Not

many people, who are non Catholic can feel comfortable to sit, stand kneel, and practice the Catholic faith, because there is a lot of

background knowledge you need to know to understand it. My Easter day consisted of Church in Stiles in the morning, and spend the

day at my friend, Erin’s house and spent Easter with them. My family does not get along long enough to have holidays, it’s always

something. Since highschool I always went to Erin’s house, or another friends house for the holidays. It’s sad to say, but I don’t feel

the holiday cheer nor joy when I am at home. I feel more anger, depression and anxiety. We finished of the day with going to see

Madea’s Big Family Reunion best movie ever I feel, it has lots of humor and also good, powerful Christian messages!

I hope everyone had a great Easter and pray that all felt the same joy I felt this morning as the woman and disciples felt that first

Easter morning.

(Here are some pictures of the two churches I decorated for Easter)

Complete Separation April 22, 2011

Today we Christians celebrate the death and crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. All

day I felt as though God was nowhere to be found. I felt that I had been cut off from God,

and was on my own. All day, even at work working on over 120 church orders of Easter

lilies, tulips, daffodils, and other spring plants getting ready for the biggest feast day of

the year. The one thing that seemed to bother me, was that no one else at work

recognized it as a holy day. It was just another day filling orders, and I felt like I was the

only one acknowledging the sorrow and passion of our Lord. I attended two services

today after work, one was the traditional Good Friday Service in Oconto. The other was at St. Patrick’s in Stiles, which was

Tenebrae Service. Going and sitting in the church, alter stripped, and nothing there but an empty tabernacle, I felt the lack of God’s

presence. I know Good Friday is just a remembrance in which we do not have to attend nor observe I guess, because the deed’s

been done. God was there, but I think that he kept his distance to help feel the pain our Mother Mary and the disciples felt after they

put Christ’s cold body in the Holy sepulcher.

May we all find peace this Easter as we are once again with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My best friend died today…

Good Friday.

My best friend died today,and I killed him.

I didn’t mean to, but I did. I had other friends and other activities, things I knew he wouldn’t be proud of.

Then I discovered a lot of people who felt the same way.

We wanted him gone. Finally he was out of my life for good.

But as he hung on that cross, dying, I realized that he was the only real friend I’d ever had, and he was dead.

My very best friend died today.

And I killed him

 – Father Joel Sember

The King of Glory comes the Nation, Rejoicing… April 18, 2011

 Imagine being there in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday when Christ rode in on a

donkey, of course it wasn’t referred to as Palm Sunday then, but what if you were

one of the towns people, waving your Palm Branch as the King of Kings rides

through your town. Being a Jew, they did not see Jesus as being a King, but rather

a nu-since to the faith. The same gate that is in Jerusalem, also known as the Golden

or East Gate, still exists today. Although it is no longer a gate in which anyone can

enter through. Turks, out of hatred for both Christianity and Judaism, bricked up

the gate and buried dead in front of it, creating a cemetery. Since both

faiths believe that the Messiah would enter through the gate, Christians believing

Christ entered through it and will return through it, and Jews believing the Messiah

has yet to come, they thought that blocking it out, neither would be fulfilled. Jews will not cross an unclean cemetery and they

believe that a the Messiah will not cross it either. Christians believe the Christ came, and bricks nor  headstones will keep his second

return.

What was the feeling of Jesus as he rode through the town, did he take it in like a super star. No. Was he distressed knowing he would

have to die for the same people waving these branches, that soon would turn on him? No. Instead he rode in both with majesty and

also honor. He was humble. He was Jesus the Christ. The same Palm branches we receive each year are the ashes for the next year

Ash Wednesday. Palm Sunday begins holy week.  Many have church every night of the week, remembering a different aspect of

Christ final days and hours before his torturous death, he had to suffer for our sins and deeds. May we all remember the price He

paid for all of us. Jesus paid a bill he did not owe, we get to keep the change.

Green with Envy

 Jealousy. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. We all have it. We all experience it, but

when is it too much?  When it effects everything, and others. I’m a florist, a very

creative and your style shows in your work. I am all about doing things different,

making people see things in a new way, and also prefer asymmetrical designs. I

work with a woman who has been doing floral design for about 25 years.  She has a

customer base, and has her own style. I started at my employers about a year ago,

with much experience, it was actually coincidence that I got hired because my

friends mom told me to try applying there one more time, so I did. I sent them an

email one day, then next day I got a call to come in for an interview, and then next

day I had the job. I was informed that there are many people that have their own

style, and don’t like other’s work, but not to let that bother me. Right off the bat, I started out doing things as if I had been doing it for

years, and everyone was amazed. I became friends with everyone, including the woman, she “took me under her wing”, hence the

quotations, and tried to teaching me her style. When she realized that I do my own things, I’m more of a trend setter rather then just

a follower, she turned against me. She back stabbed me to the point of literally destroying my work. I, being multi-talented, do not

have a department like everyone else. Normally your either in Wedding, Funeral, Silk, Dish Garden, Wholesale, or Sales Floor/

Phone sales. I do all of them, I now have a customer base that people specifically come in to get my work, and I also design the sales

floor. It is very rewarding, but also at the same time I feel like a doll being pulled apart. I have so many things I am in control of, but

yet at the same time I don’t have control of them. Floral design is a hit and miss career, either you have it or you don’t. Design comes

naturally to some, not to all. I am grateful for my talent, but at sometimes I feel as though it’s almost too competitive. I am all about

new styles and trying to do things different. We all have our own style, some will like it; some won’t. We just need to accept that not

all people are the same. That’s what makes this world go round.

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore… April 10, 2011

We’re all familiar with the movie the “Wizard of Oz”- It’s a tale of a young girl who is upset with things at home, nothing is going right. She runs away from home and speaks with professor Marvel. On her way back a tornado, takes the house up into the cyclone, and drops it on the Wicked Witch of the East in the Munchkin land of Oz. Sounds like fun, eh? Travel into your dreams, “over the rainbow” might I add. Today was so humid out, it was actually miserable at work. I work at a flower shop, connected to a green house, so you can imagine the heat penetrating through the store. While on the way home, the weather had turn quite dark. Mother Nature didn’t know what to do with it’s self, after all, two days ago we were all in our winter jackets, and today humid as all hell, and the rain was like a water faucet, on and off, on and off. After getting home, I turned on the weather. Many tornado’s had touched down south. I tried not to think about it, because I can recall when I was younger, a tornado threat . We were all in the basement and I don’t know how many prayers I said, I turned into a basket case. I had those same feelings tonight. I went to my friend Erin’s house, and brought along with me my seasons of Roseanne. I knew there was an episode called, “Toto, were not in Kansas, anymore” so we watched it, in honor of what was going on outside. In it, Roseanne uses lots of humor to cope with the fact of something as deadly and scary as a twister. I realized that I do the same thing. I am scared of death, and a tornado just scares me, almost to the point of being hysterical. Why do I fear death? Am I not a Christian, that believes in the Resurrection of the dead, the life of the world to come, the saving promise of the Easter Sacrifice? Why is it that I fear death so. Is it separation? Is it the fact that I can no longer control my environment. I believe that is why I am always trying to keep on God’s good turf. I don’t want to mess something up, and disappoint him, for who knows, I could be killed in a car accident tomorrow, am I clean in the eyes of God?

There was a reading this weekend at church which is one of my favorite readings.

John 11: 25- 26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Everyone faces their fears differently, some just brush them under the rug, and try not to think about them, some confront them head on. Me, I tackle them with humor, I try to make jokes and brush it off, but it sits and eats at me on the inside, I think that is why I like the television series, Roseanne. She has many problems with life, like all, and you know what she does? She plays them off, it’s reality. Shit happens, we can’t change it, sometimes you just have to laugh about it, even when it makes you want to cry. What are your fears? What makes you coil back, and linger in dispare?

where is the love…. April 4, 2011

In the past few months, there has been much talk about the Florida minister plotting to burn the holy book of the Muslims, theKoran. It was a big deal the first time around months ago, and many threats were made about it. I sat and watched the news intently studying what was all happening. I was so angry about  it, but at the same time what can you do? Our solders and citizens are endanger now because of this. If someone was publically going to burn the Bible, or desecrate a statue or something along those lines, I would be just like the Muslims and be upset. Actually, I was searching YouTube one day and came across a video of a Baptist Church that had a St. Therese Statue in the front of the church, ( claiming it was a statue of the Virgin Mary)

They were going on, and on about how Catholics pray and worship Mary and statues, how we believe it to have special powers.He then took a sludge hammer and destroyed the statue of St. Therese. It hurt know that a wonderful statue was being destroyed, an object that give another person a visual to focus on while praying and thinking about how to live a life for God.  Just to clear up this, we don’t worship statues and we don’t worship Mary. We honor her as the holy Mother of God ( God being Jesus, the second person of the Trinity) We ask her, like we would ask someone on earth, to pray on behalf of us to God. She, and the other saints are the closest way of prayer there is to God. That being said, we do pray to God directly. Anyway, as I was saying, I don’t exactly believe the belief of Islam, but I do understand they’re hatred for Christians, because of this minister. Many Americans feel the same way about Muslims, ever since the terrorist attacks. Muslims do have a different belief than Christians. They reject Jesus as the Christ, but only see him as a prophet, just like Jews. Jewish people reject Christ as the messiah, some accept him as a prophet, some reject him all together. They have there beliefs, we have hours. I don’t believe we should judge another by the color of their skin, the faith in which they profess, their sexual orientation or any other reason to hate. Christ says in the book of Matthew to love thy neighbor as thy self. He put away with the separation between Jews and Gentiles, basically in smaller words, allowing us to speak with those of another creed. without religious tolerance, we will create more enemies than friends. Even the Pope goes and visits with other faith leaders, why can’t we should compassion for those who don’t know Christ?

Not one single thought goes by… April 2, 2011

Why is that I feel that I over think things? I feel that something comes into my life and I either question it, or over think things that don’t need to be thought over so.

Why does it feel that I am the only one that does the things I do. I feel I am the only one my age that actually interacts with religion, teaches it , professes it and defends it. Other 21 year olds are out drinking and partying without a care in the world. I wish I could not care so much, I could go out and live that kind of life. I do drink occasionally, but can’t go out every night like everyone else does, I’ve seen enough damage caused by it. I’m not saying the things I think about are always related to religion and morals, but it does impact alot of my thinking. I feel it is a blessing and also a curse to think the way I do.

I tend to hide my feelings alot, for fear of being put down. I feel that my whole life I was always downgraded, never good enough. I did not have a normal life, what so ever. I try to live as normal of a life I can possibly lead, but it always comes back and gets me. Damn you brain! Why must you work? ( Better then not working I guess)

 

Every relationship I have been in I tend to over think things and lose trust.

Every friendship- I tend to not trust them either. I’ve been back stabbed too much in the past.

I can honestly say I have never had a true best friend- someone that I can just say how I feel and not worry what they think. I have so many things I want to share about life, many thoughts that just end up bottled up and go unsaid.

Ever since I was young, I always had the feeling that my life had a purpose. I always felt that God had a plan for me, but to this day I still don’t know exactly what He wants me to be doing. I don’t want to disappoint Him. I also felt that I was going to die young, but I have been through many things that could have killed me, but God has helped me through it.

God, what is your plan for me? Is this the struggle I must go through to live the life you chose for me? Are these the crosses I must bear everyday?