2021-11-22T15:09:35-08:00

The Catholic Church has a mission to bring forgiveness and healing to all its members. That includes the women who are in need of post-abortion healing. One in four women in America has had an abortion. As discussed in a previous blog, Catholics are as affected by abortion as any other group. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/10/p361/ Chances are that some of the women at Mass have had an abortion. In addition are all those avoiding church because they are afraid they aren’t welcome... Read more

2021-11-20T13:59:35-08:00

Redemptive suffering is the practice of offering up our suffering as a sacrifice to God. It is a way to connect our suffering with Christ’s so that God can use it to grant further blessings just as God used Christ’s sacrifice to redeem the world. Suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with Christ’s Passion, can reduce the punishment for sin and alleviate our physical or spiritual needs or that of others. If redemptive suffering is a way to... Read more

2021-11-17T21:23:13-08:00

As the “Wandering Pew,” my husband and I are ceaselessly amazed by the incredible stories we encounter in Catholic churches. For example, the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, Missouri, is the site of two miracles! The First Miracle – a Terminal Illness Cured Built by Jesuits in 1844-46, St. Joseph’s witnessed its first miracle in 1864. Three years earlier, a German immigrant, Ignatius Strecker, had suffered a breastbone injury at his soap factory job. Within a couple of... Read more

2021-11-14T19:41:57-08:00

Is there such a thing as appropriate dress for church? Should we be able to attend Mass in any old thing, or should we dress up for church? In my humble opinion, western civilization has turned into a bunch of slobs. All one has to do is walk through Walmart to see that there is no sense of shame left in some people. Not that I would want to go back to the days when high society people changed clothes... Read more

2024-05-18T15:07:51-07:00

A serious concern in the Church is that a majority of Catholics do not believe communion involves receiving the actual body and blood of Christ. Apparently, these Catholics are unaware of the miracles that prove transubstantiation. A 2019 Pew study showed that 69% of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the bread and wine are symbolic only and are not converted into the actual body and blood of Christ. Fortunately, about 62% of those who regularly attend Mass believe, but... Read more

2021-11-09T16:45:10-08:00

A dangerous way of thinking is that some people have more value than others. Therefore, it is acceptable to kill those of lesser value through abortion or euthanasia. The Church teaches, however, that there is equal value in everyone. On October 30, 2021, Michael Johnson died at the age of 33. His death made national news, and he was mourned by thousands of people. Who was Michael Johnson? You may know his father, Ernie Johnson, the host of TNT’s “Inside... Read more

2022-07-11T15:38:35-07:00

Isn’t the purpose of a Catholic college to strengthen and promote the Catholic faith through its students? To educate future Catholic leaders in their spiritual development and cement their Catholic principles? The Catholic nature and environment of a school should permeate student education and not be altered to accommodate forces outside the Church. Loyola Marymount University and Planned Parenthood The shocking situation at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles this past week is an example of how far astray from... Read more

2021-11-04T21:48:11-07:00

Perinatal Hospice is only part of the picture when an unborn child is not expected to live past birth. There are other issues to consider when a diagnosis is termed “lethal” or “incompatible with life.” In a previous blog on September 22, 2021, I discussed using perinatal hospice to comfort parents of a stillborn or dying baby. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/musingsfromthepew/2021/09/blogs-musingsfromthepew-p272/ However, in cases where the unborn child has serious medical issues, there is more to be considered before death occurs, if it... Read more

2021-11-01T19:36:50-07:00

Opposition to capital punishment involves forgiveness, hope and nonviolence, but the main issue is God’s sole power over life and death. In 2018, the official Catechism of the Catholic Church was changed to declare that capital punishment is “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and “inadmissible” in all cases. The previous Catechism had permitted capital punishment if it were the only way to defend human lives against unjust forces, but such executions were thought to be... Read more

2021-10-30T18:09:10-07:00

Why is there a critical need for college evangelists? Citing a 2009 Pew survey on its web site, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) answers that question: Almost 80% of those who leave the Catholic faith do so by age 23. Only 30% of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing. A 2018 study on young adults leaving the Catholic Church found people stopped identifying as Catholics at a median age of 13, long before they ceased attending... Read more

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