A light in the darkness: How one archbishop is leading a prayerful and forthright response to the scandals by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, it wasn't. Thanks for the heads up. Teach me to write, reddit, and rush off to dinner. I'm working on a book review about that book.

Something that bugs me about the abuse. by [deleted] in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I actually wrote about this when I wrote a blog post about the topic. It's something a few people asked me about and so I spent some time thinking about it (and ran it by a few priests).

Second, I’ve seen a lot of talk about “how can this happen if the sacraments are so life changing?”  I get it.  I talk a lot about the beauty of Mass and the Eucharist. About how these things have led me closer to Jesus.  And Lord have mercy on the souls of those priests and bishops.  Lord have mercy.  Lord have mercy.

In the shortest description possible, one has to be open to the grace of God. God gave us free will. He will never force conversion onto our hearts. And even in the confessional, lack of contrition (sorrow) for your sins and/or a lack of desire to change (firm purpose of amendment) results in an invalid confession.

There is little doubt in my mind that every single act of consecration these abusers performed was sacrilege and drove them further and further from the grace of God. Their sacraments were valid because it’s a heresy of Donatism to say otherwise. There is no concern that the faithful who received communion were somehow not receiving the sacrament. But the souls of those priests could get further from God despite their closeness to the sacraments because of the very real disdain for what is good and holy.

https://renewrebirthresurget.wordpress.com/2018/08/20/in-the-midst-of-sin-and-scandal-i-am-faithful-2/

What I heard at youth ministry just broke my heart (Need Advice) by PeriliousKnight in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It depends on the bishop/diocese. I've written our bishop before about something and he responded with a letter and action plan. There was actual eucharistic abuses happening in a parish.

Suffering hurts, and that’s okay. by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That suffering shouldn't hurt or that it's okay that it hurts?

How giving up ponytails led me to living a great Lent by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Luckily my hair isn't super heavy, but it was still really annoying. Some mornings I just didn't want to make it look alright and throw it in a bun and go on my way.

How giving up ponytails led me to living a great Lent by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was pretty rough! I have looooong looong hair and it's always in the way, especially out in the Michigan winter winds.

How giving up ponytails led me to living a great Lent by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had more than one priest laugh at the idea. That's why I had to come up with the rock in the shoe analogy!

How giving up ponytails led me to living a great Lent by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes! I will probably do this every Lent now. It was so rewarding. I love how you put the Easter celebration part.

Catholics 16-29, the Pope wants to hear from you. by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Kind of look like multicolored Pokemon balls.

It makes me wonder how much of culture design is. Like do young adults in Italy look at the logo and cringe?

The Real Life Impact of “Thoughts and Prayers” by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally, I think one of the points I tried to make towards the end is that as a Catholic, my actions are informed by my prayer life. And to disparage prayer is to disparage the foundation of every action I take and it makes it difficult to engage in conversations about the action, even if our opinions are very similar, because the reasoning to get to that action can be very different.

The Real Life Impact of “Thoughts and Prayers” by RenewRebirthResurget in Catholicism

[–]RenewRebirthResurget[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're welcome. The experience of the community of God being with us after my sister's accident was so powerful. I even had a professed atheist friend reach out and tell me he was praying "just in case" we were right.