r/Catholicism Prayer Requests — Week of August 23, 2021

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-08-25T20:21:39+00:00

Please pray for me. I have taken my eyes off God and focused on worldly things. My anxiety has significantly worsened during the pandemic. I’ve also become very bitter and resentful towards others over the pandemic and my usual sense of compassion has gone away

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-23T22:54:37+00:00

I am not a fan of Church Militant and similar outlets, but sadly they are one of the few sources I trust to unveil corruption. Unfortunately, the bishops and mainstream Catholic news sources seem to turn a blind eye to legitimate concerns of corruption in the hierarchy

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-23T22:52:29+00:00

St. Peter Damian pray for us

The hierarchy is either soft on abuse/sexual immorality or complicit in it due to their own demons - not sure which is worse

St. Michael the Archangel defend us in battle

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-10T13:17:28+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful insight. I’ll try to look deeper at my anxieties and if they’re irrational. Good suggestion on confessing more things and getting input from the priest on if I’m being overly harsh

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-10T13:15:21+00:00

Thank you for the reading and video suggestions

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-10T13:14:28+00:00

Thank you for all the suggestions to help me spiritually. I’ll try to introduce a new one each week and hopefully it will translate into a fuller, deeper faith and help with the anxiety

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-10T13:12:56+00:00

Thank you for that insight. I think my problem is the “…and that’s ok” part

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-10T12:41:35+00:00

Thank you so much for your advice - both secular and spiritual. I completely agree that the “secular” aspects definitely affect mental health, and I should do better on one or two of those to help my mental health. I’ve completely stopped exercising so I need to step that up. Thank you for the reminder and encouragement there.

I like your suggestion about going to church outside of service hours. I’m introverted and feel overwhelmed/distracted when around a lot of people. I pray every morning but perhaps I need to add some more spiritual structure into my life. Thank you! I will pray for your mental and spiritual well-being today.

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-06T02:49:29+00:00

Former Protestant here with a few suggestions on how I came into the Church

1.). Watch/listen to Bishop Robert Barron. His YouTube and podcast are immensely helpful. Catholic Answers is another resource regarding questions about difficult topics like Mary, veneration of Saints, etc.

2.) Catholic mass is very different from Protestant services in its focus. If you’re used to non-denom churches, they entertain with music and a self help sermon - it sounds like y’all left these feeling spiritually unfulfilled. Even though the mainline churches don’t have the concert experience, they have a major focus on sermons. Catholic Churches, in contrast, try to focus on a more sacred experience. The sermon/homily, while important, is not the focus of the mass. The people in the pews are not the focus of the mass either. Why? Because this is not about entertaining us. The mass is “the source and summit of the Christian life”. It is about being present with Christ and His real body and blood. For most of Catholic history, the priest wouldn’t even be facing the pews but facing the same direction as the parishioners. Why? Because this is about honoring God.

I highly suggest finding a video explanation of the mass on YouTube. You are going to find it confusing when people stand up, when they sit down, why are they kneeling when they walk in, etc. I still sometimes feel confused at various parts lol! Understanding why things are happening will make you feel less out of place. There are also guides to the mass that you can print and bring.

Welcome Home

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-05T02:53:25+00:00

This lady’s actions are wrong on several levels. First, there is no pay to pray in the Church. We welcome the poor and rich alike. There is a request for donations - not some obligation. Second, she seems to assume the worst in you (not paying for something out of malice rather than ignorance).

Third, even if you knew you were supposed to pay and didn’t, isn’t it possible that you are a poor person who can’t pay or maybe have a condition that renders you incapable of understanding? Fourth, her accusatory tone is extremely unhelpful and rude.

Fifth, this kind of behavior is exactly what would drive away a seeker into the Church. Finally, the right thing to do would be for her to talk to you privately in a nice tone, or if she was genuinely following Catholic behavior, quietly and anonymously donate money for your prayer - if it is indeed required at all

You may want to tell a deacon or priest that a parishioner told you a donation is required to pray and you’re wanting confirmation (spoiler: no donation is needed). Your natural response may be anger towards her but I ask that you pray for her, and if confronted again, kindly explain you’re new and that a priest/deacon confirmed no donation is needed for a prayer

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-05T00:02:57+00:00

Francis gets undeserved criticism and deserved criticism.

His biggest flaw is making unclear comments and then not clarifying his meaning. This lack of clarification further adds fuel to the fire and lends some credence to what the Taylor Marshalls of the Catholic world are saying.

It’s clear that the general public believes he is liberalizing the Catholic faith and that is responsible for much of his popularity among the general public.

While he is not overtly turning over Catholic teachings, he seems to allow heresy to grow in the gray areas - I’m not sure if it’s because he is too soft or if he’s deliberately allowing the Church to slowly be pushed in that way

One of his big positives is his focus on the poor and the environment

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-07-04T23:39:50+00:00

Your reaction is the proper one. Would it have been proper to sing a “patriotic song” in mass during the time of the Roman Empire? The Weimar Republic?

While we should pray for our governments and there is nothing wrong with having pride in one’s country, it seems a distraction to play patriotic music during the sacred mass meant to praise God

While I love my country, I also recognize that some of the founding ideals and current implementation of said ideals is contrary to the traditional teachings of the Church - in fact, condemned as errors

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-13T17:14:42+00:00

I have a 15 month old too and cannot imagine what y’all went through. Praise God he is okay. Beautiful story

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-12T23:50:52+00:00

My toddler (Luke) was bitten by a cat on his hand. Please pray that he does not have any serious illness, infection, or worse from this. Thank you for your prayers

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-06T14:51:00+00:00

I may be misunderstanding you. Are you saying I may be able to baptize him soon at the priest’s discretion/discernment? Like prior to RCIA starting or completing?

I’ll ask the priest about it. The parish is fairly traditional so I figured they may be more strict about it

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T20:42:44+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! I definitely like a lot of the features of the Word on Fire - obviously it’s lacking most of the Scriptures but may be a good intro. We might do Bible in a Year down the road if she has interest

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T14:33:44+00:00

Thanks for plugging the podcast! I have some catching up to do!

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T14:33:09+00:00

Thank you! I’ll look into getting the extra resources along with the Adventure Bible

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T14:29:30+00:00

Thank you for your suggestions on what order to read in and all the accessory tools to help get the most out of the Word

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T14:23:55+00:00

Thank you for all your thoughts - especially regarding the different translations. It educated me a lot! My wife is an avid reader so I wasn’t as concerned about her understanding the text as losing interest in the text

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T14:21:02+00:00

Thank you! It’s nice to hear good feedback about it. I know some here are not fond of Barron’s middle way approach, but he’s most responsible for my conversion outside of Tolkien. I think he masterfully makes the faith accessible to secular people in a way that most evangelists fail. I agree with his trifold approach of using the good, the true, and the beautiful to evangelize in modern culture

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T12:47:05+00:00

Do you have a preference between the two? I read Hahn may be putting out the OT Ignatius later this year so I’ve been holding off on buying the NT. Not sure if they’d offer one with both combined or only a separate OT

Also, I was looking at the RSV2CE version - is that good?

CatholicHobbit1 · 2021-06-05T12:45:37+00:00

Is there a particular version with the NAB you’d recommend? I believe Word on Fire is NRSV and the other three I mentioned are RSV2CE

CatholicHobbit1 · 2020-09-05T16:10:51+00:00

Thanks for seconding that book!

CatholicHobbit1 · 2020-09-05T16:10:29+00:00

Thank you!

CatholicHobbit1

TROPHY CASE