The conversion of Elsie Briggs...

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:31

Mission Church ~ Roxbury, Massachusetts ~ USA

Elsie Briggs submitted this story of her conversion to the Boston Pilot:

“There is nothing brilliant or scholarly that attracted me to the Roman Catholic Church.  What attracted me to Catholicism was love.

It all goes back about ten years when beaten and disillusioned I crept into the rear of the Mission Church in Roxbury to rest.  I didn't go in because I was attracted to the church, or because I sought spiritual refreshment; it was only a place to sit down and get off my feet and find, if possible, a few moments of forgetfulness.

How long I sat there, I don't know, but I suddenly became aware of something living.  There was an actual presence all around that seemed to emanate from the altar.  It was pleasing and restful to feel.  And without half realizing what I was doing I moved up front until I was sitting in the first pew.

The weariness and strain all fell away and a great sense of peace and love came over me, combined with an intense desire to sleep…

And right here and now I want to explain that at that time I knew absolutely nothing about the Catholic teachings.  No one had ever told me of the Host or of the ever-present living God on the altar…

For the first time I learned how wrong the average Protestant is in his supposed knowledge of the Catholic Faith. There certainly is nothing more ignorant than nine Protestants out of ten, when it comes to the teachings of the Church of Rome.

All the old wives’ tales, all the lies I had heard from childhood about Catholics were exposed by the light of truth. What a pity there should be such ignorance of God’s truth and how many Protestants, such as I was then, would gladly and eagerly accept the church and her teachings If they only knew the truth that sets one free…”

Balm to every wound...

Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. 
Get up and take care of your mat." - Acts 9:34

 

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton received great solace

by bringing her sorrows to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

and speaking heart to heart with Him there:

"How sweet, the presence of Jesus

to the longing and harassed soul!

He is instant peace and balm to every wound."

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

United States ~ 1774-1821

Convert to Catholicism
Three basic points led her to become Catholic: 

1) belief in the Real Presence
2) devotion to the Blessed Mother,
3) conviction that the Catholic Church led back 
to the Apostles and Christ

Mother, Widow, Educator, Musician, Linguist, Religious

 Established schools and orphanages

Foundress of Sisters of Charity
Two great devotions: 
1) Abandonment to God's Will
2) Ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Feast Day - January 4

"The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends, but let us not despair. 
God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. 
The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are 
to those who belong to Him. - St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Click here: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: Mother Seton: Servant of the Good Teacher | Crisis Magazine

St Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

The Conversion of Elsie Briggs...

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. - John 8:31

Mission Church ~ Roxbury, Massachusetts ~ USA

Elsie Briggs submitted this story of her conversion to the Boston Pilot:

“There is nothing brilliant or scholarly that attracted me to the Roman Catholic Church.  What attracted me to Catholicism was love.

It all goes back about ten years when beaten and disillusioned I crept into the rear of the Mission Church in Roxbury to rest.  I didn't go in because I was attracted to the church, or because I sought spiritual refreshment; it was only a place to sit down and get off my feet and find, if possible, a few moments of forgetfulness.

How long I sat there, I don't know, but I suddenly became aware of something living.  There was an actual presence all around that seemed to emanate from the altar.  It was pleasing and restful to feel.  And without half realizing what I was doing I moved up front until I was sitting in the first pew.

The weariness and strain all fell away and a great sense of peace and love came over me, combined with an intense desire to sleep…

And right here and now I want to explain that at that time I knew absolutely nothing about the Catholic teachings.  No one had ever told me of the Host or of the ever-present living God on the altar…

For the first time I learned how wrong the average Protestant is in his supposed knowledge of the Catholic Faith. There certainly is nothing more ignorant than nine Protestants out of ten, when it comes to the teachings of the Church of Rome.

All the old wives’ tales, all the lies I had heard from childhood about Catholics were exposed by the light of truth. What a pity there should be such ignorance of God’s truth and how many Protestants, such as I was then, would gladly and eagerly accept the church and her teachings If they only knew the truth that sets one free…”

Home sweet home! ...

The LORD is near to all who call upon him, 
to all who call upon him in truth. - Psalm 145:18 

“It became obvious why Catholics had built such beautiful cathedrals and churches throughout the world.

Not as gathering or meeting places for Christians.

But as a home for Jesus Himself in the Blessed Sacrament.

Cathedrals house Jesus.

Christians merely come and visit Him.

The cathedrals and churches architecturally

prepare our souls
for the beauty of the Eucharist.”

Allen R. Hunt

 

Excerpt from: Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor: 
How I Discovered the Hidden Treasure of the Catholic Church (2010)

Click here: Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor - Free Book

Click here: Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor - Lighthouse Catholic Media

Click here: The Journey Home | Global Catholic Network

Photo above: Cathedral of St Paul (National Shrine of St Paul)  ~ St Paul, MN  - All are welcome!

Today is the FEAST DAY of St Bartholomew

Nee: Cana

Apostle and Martyr

"Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him."

-said of St Bartholomew by Jesus - Gospel of St John 1:47

 

Among the twelve apostles great…There was Bartholomew…Known also as Nathanael…Among Christ’s chosen few…He too received The Holy Ghost…And he preached everywhere…That every soul might turn to God…And no one might despair…St Philip introduced him to…The Master and The Lord…And thus he came to understand…The goal he struggled toward…Bartholomew proclaimed the faith…Through all the barbarous East…And in the truest Christian sense…He was a holy priest…His death was double martyrdom…As legend now abide…Condemned to death, Bartholomew…Was flayed and crucified.  ~ James Metcalfe, Poem Portraits of the Saints

Click here: St. Bartholomew - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: Discovering our Saints - St. Bartholomew - YouTube (3 mins)

St Bartholomew, pray for us!

Going to the end of our being...

..for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power 

and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. - I Thes 1:5a

 "The single greatest need in the world today 

is the practice of prayer 

before the Blessed Sacrament.  

How can we say this? Logically! We have seen that the conversion 

of our country calls for an outpouring of marvelous power from God. 
Christ promised to move mountains at the words of a person 

who believes.  We conclude: there is no greater profession of faith 

than during prayer before the Holy Eucharist.

Why should prayer before 

Christ in the Eucharist be so potent 

in  obtaining miracles of conversion? 

Because it is prayer that is animated by extraordinary faith. ... 

There is no miracle too great, and no miracle is greater 

than the conversion of sinners—provided we believe.

That is why we can say 

and say with complete security; 

the single most powerful means on earth for the conversion of America 

is for Catholic Americans to mobilize a crusade of prayer 

before the Eucharist for the conversion of our nation."  

 From The Conversion of America Through the Eucharist -  

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. (1998)

(Undoubtedly applicable to every nation! - Ed.)

 

FEAST* of the CONVERSION of ST PAUL

January 25

*This feast is at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an international Christian ecumenical observance that began in 1908, which is an octave (eight day observance) spanning from January 18 (Confession of Peter) to January 25.

"Being converted is simply meeting yourself for the purpose of going to the very end of your being. Conversion means a willingness to see the truth of things and conform one's conduct to it" (A. Serillanges). In the Voice and the Light that Saul encounters on the road, he sees the truth of things and willingly conforms himself to Jesus Christ.  "That dear preacher Paul ... was a wolf, but he became a lamb, a gracious vessel of love - and the fire with which Christ filled his vessel he carried through the whole world" (St Catherine of Siena).  "It is clear that Paul wholly fled from himself and cast out all his own will, and that his will was active only in relation to Christ.  Since with Christ there was nothing undesirable or repugnant to his will, it follows that his was a wondrous pleasure which was always present and with which he always lived" (Nicholas Cabasilas). Excerpt from Magnificat, Vol 20, No 11, January 2019 (pg 353).

Click here: Conversion of St. Paul - YouTube

Click here: 8 Things You Need to Know About St. Paul and His Conversion |Blogs | NCRegister.com 

St Paul, pray for our continued conversion!

Balm to every wound...

Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. 
Get up and take care of your mat." - Acts 9:34

 

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton received great solace

by bringing her sorrows to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

and speaking heart to heart with Him there:

"How sweet, the presence of Jesus

to the longing and harassed soul!

He is instant peace and balm to every wound."

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

United States ~ 1774-1821

Convert to Catholicism
Three basic points led her to become Catholic: 

1) belief in the Real Presence
2) devotion to the Blessed Mother,
3) conviction that the Catholic Church led back 
to the Apostles and Christ

Mother, Widow, Educator, Musician, Linguist, Religious

 Established schools and orphanages

Foundress of Sisters of Charity
Two great devotions: 
1) Abandonment to God's Will
2) Ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Feast Day - January 4

"The accidents of life separate us from our dearest friends, but let us not despair. 
God is like a looking glass in which souls see each other. 
The more we are united to Him by love, the nearer we are 
to those who belong to Him. - St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Click here: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - YouTube (3 mins)

Click here: Mother Seton: Servant of the Good Teacher | Crisis Magazine

St Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

What could it mean?...

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory,
glory as of the only Son  from the father. - John 1:14

“A cloud of incense was rising on high; 
the people suddenly all bowed low; what could it mean?

The truth flashed on him, fearfully yet sweetly;
it was the Blessed Sacrament - it was the Lord 

Incarnate who was on the altar, who had come

to visit and bless His people.

It was the Great Presence, which makes a Catholic Church

different from every other place in the world,

which makes it, as no other place can be – holy.”

Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Loss and Gain:  The Story of a Convert

Becoming more oneself...

"Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. 
Give me the faith to leave old ways 
and break fresh ground with You." - St Brendan



"The Mass is not only about

God becoming man,

it is about Man

becoming more himself."

GK Chesterton

His glance follows us...

"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us 

from our lethargy." - Pope Francis

“Make use of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

as a means of persevering in the practice of virtue. 

Let us go to Him toward evening

and tell Him about our shortcomings,

let us ask Him for help and forgiveness. 

Our Lord loves us, constantly, and His glance

follows us every moment of the day.”

Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val

Servant of God

"... when the door starts closing a bit because of our weakness and sins, 

confession reopens it." - Pope Francis

 

 "Put aside your hatred and animosity. Take pains to refrain from sharp words.

If they escape your lips, do not be ashamed to let your lips produce the remedy,

since they have caused the wounds. Pardon one another so that later on

you will not remember the injury. The recollection of an injury is itself wrong.
It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good.  It is a rusty arrow 

and poison for the soul. It puts all virtue to flight."— St. Francis of Paola

Going to the end of our being...

...for our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power 

and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. - I Thes 1:5a

 "The single greatest need in the world today 

is the practice of prayer 

before the Blessed Sacrament.  

How can we say this? Logically! We have seen that the conversion 

of our country calls for an outpouring of marvelous power from God. 
Christ promised to move mountains at the words of a person 

who believes.  We conclude: there is no greater profession of faith 

than during prayer before the Holy Eucharist.

Why should prayer before 

Christ in the Eucharist be so potent 

in  obtaining miracles of conversion? 

Because it is prayer that is animated by extraordinary faith. ... 

There is no miracle too great, and no miracle is greater 

than the conversion of sinners—provided we believe.

That is why we can say 

and say with complete security; 

the single most powerful means on earth for the conversion of America 

is for Catholic Americans to mobilize a crusade of prayer 

before the Eucharist for the conversion of our nation."  

 From The Conversion of America Through the Eucharist -  

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. (1998)

(Undoubtedly applicable to every nation! - Ed.)

 

FEAST* of the CONVERSION of ST PAUL

January 25

*This feast is at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an international Christian ecumenical observance that began in 1908, which is an octave (eight day observance) spanning from January 18 (Confession of Peter) to January 25.

"Being converted is simply meeting yourself for the purpose of going to the very end of your being. Conversion means a willingness to see the truth of things and conform one's conduct to it" (A. Serillanges). In the Voice and the Light that Saul encounters on the road, he sees the truth of things and willingly conforms himself to Jesus Christ.  "That dear preacher Paul ... was a wolf, but he became a lamb, a gracious vessel of love - and the fire with which Christ filled his vessel he carried through the whole world" (St Catherine of Siena).  "It is clear that Paul wholly fled from himself and cast out all his own will, and that his will was active only in relation to Christ.  Since with Christ there was nothing undesirable or repugnant to his will, it follows that his was a wondrous pleasure which was always present and with which he always lived" (Nicholas Cabasilas). Excerpt from Magnificat, Vol 19, No 11, January 2018 (pg 361).

Click here: Conversion of St. Paul - YouTube

Click here: 8 Things You Need to Know About St. Paul and His Conversion |Blogs | NCRegister.com 

St Paul, pray for our continued conversion!

Second Sunday of Advent: Repentance and Grace...

 Second Sunday of Advent

Repentance and Grace

It was of him (St John the Baptist) that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:  A voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. - Matthew 3: 3 



"A humble confession displeases Satan and,
if he could, he would make you
omit Holy Communion."

Thomas a Kempis, Imitation of Christ

 During this holy Advent season make frequent and good confessions that you may receive 
frequent and good Holy Communions.

 

On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry

Advent Hymn by Charles Coffin (+1749)

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Come, then, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.

Then cleansed by every Christian breast
And furnished for so great a Guest.
Yea, let us each our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.

For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge, and our great Reward.
Without Thy grace our souls must fade
And wither like a flower decayed.

Lay on the sick Thy healing hand
And make the fallen strong to stand;
Show us the glory of Thy face
Till beauty springs in every place.

All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Who advent sets Thy people free,
Whom, with the Father, we adore
And Holy Ghost forevermore.