I am Catholic!

I AM A CATHOLIC ... Because the founder of the Catholic Church is the God-Man Jesus Christ, Who was foretold by the prophets, and Who proved the divine character of His mission and teaching by wonderful miracles, especially by His Own Resurrection from the dead; Because Christ established upon Peter and the Apostles the Church, one, holy, universal, apostolic, with which He declared He would remain all days to the consummation of the world, and against which the gates of Hell would not prevail; Because Christ gave this society certain well defined doctrines which all men everywhere must believe under pain of damnation, to which they may not add or from which they may not subtract; Because Christ the Author of all holiness, promised to guard this society from error and preserve it until the end of time; Because the Catholic Church possesses all marks of this Church established by Christ: The Catholic Church is ONE because she everywhere professes the same faith, has the same sacrifice and sacraments, and is governed by one and the same visible head, the Pope. All non-Catholic sects lack unity. Because of the principles of private judgment they are conditionally splitting and subdividing. They have no central authority to hold them together. Their doctrines and practices are changing from day to day. The Catholic Church is HOLY because its Founder, Jesus Christ, is all-holy; because its doctrines are holy; because its means of sanctification, the sacraments, are holy; because it produces holy, saintly men and women. The Catholic Church is UNIVERSAL because it subsists throughout the ages, teaches all nations, and maintains all the truths given to it by Christ. The sects are not spread over the whole world but rather localized, nor do they they teach everything that Our Lord taught the Apostles. The Catholic Church is APOSTOLIC because it was founded on Christ's Apostles, because it is governed by their doctrines through their lawful successors, and because it never ceases to teach their doctrine. The sects cannot trace their origin to Christ or to the Apostles. I am a Catholic, finally, because God Who is Supreme Truth and Holiness could not possibly be the Author of the countless sects with their mutually destructive and contradictory teachings and practices.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Adopt a Catholic Seminarian

Ten years ago, I would never have guessed I would be on Facebook- and not only every now and then, but daily. The internet age has provided us a way to communicate with others all over the world. When I first joined Facebook I assumed it would be a way to see family pictures of grandkids and that's about all. But I have found many fellow Catholics who share my love of our Church on that site. There are also countless pages dedicated to our faith. It was in February of this year that I saw a post from one of those pages with several comments from others. One comment caught my attention and I "liked" the comment. It was posted by a young seminarian in Uganda, and that day we became friends. We started communicating frequently and I learned a lot within a few weeks. Uganda is an extremely poor country where the average income is a dollar a day. Very few families have electricity or plumbing in their homes. The country is mostly Catholic, and families raise their children in the faith starting at a very young age. Many vocations to the priesthood are the result of frequent, usually daily, family mass attendance. However, seminary education is about 10 years of formation. It is not free, although very reasonable in cost compared to America. Families struggle to assist their sons, and some cannot pay. My new friend had been in seminary for several years and "cost sharing" had more than doubled recently. It was doubtful his family would be able to pay the higher cost. I decided to become his sponsor/benefactor. Since that time, I have gotten to know my young friend very well. We have used Skype several times and I was able to see him, other seminarians and the seminary where he studies. I have seen his family and talked to them. I have learned some of his language called Luo- just a few phrases but enough that his mother (who speaks no English) could understand me. I am so happy to assist him to reach the priesthood! He will be a fine priest in a few years. I hope to travel to Uganda for his ordination. I knew there were many more seminarians needing assistance, so I decided to start a page on Facebook called "Adopt a Catholic Seminarian." I posted pictures and a short description of others needing help. I currently have 7 young men listed, and 3 have received offers of partial assistance. There will be more listed as I know of them. The page just serves as a way to introduce the young men to those who may be able to assist. I suggest getting to know each other first. The cost sharing amount is $250 per semester which averages less than $50 a month. A sponsor can pay all or part of that- any help is greatly appreciated! Any funds are sent directly to the seminarian or to the rector at his seminary. Do you wonder what you can do to promote the Catholic faith? This is one way to do just that, and it is very rewarding. Please send a message to the "Adopt a Catholic Seminarian" page and I am glad to answer any questions. https://www.facebook.com/AdoptACatholicSeminarian
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