I am really beginning to love the Pope!
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I just moved to this WordPress blog, that is why the dates do not coincide with the posts. 
Enjoy my blog.
I found this video on youtube and I simply cannot stop laughing. If this is offensive, please forgive me.
Mass… is AMAZING
I’ve known for 3 weeks that I would entering the Catholic Church. However, I thought that I would wait until after Easter weekend so that I didn’t get caught up in a bunch of traditional Easter ceremonies performed by the church. I was very nervous that I would get in there and people would start bowing and I’d stay standing, or they recite something and I’d just simply feel stupid for not catching on. Well, last night, I told Tiffany that I couldn’t wait, seeing as how I work every other weekend, 2 more weeks before I entered the church doors. When I went, I ended up standing when they bowed and I feel pretty ridiculous when I didn’t know what to recite, but I also felt something else, the presence of my Lord and Savior!!
Tiffany got upset with me last night because I wouldn’t stop moving in the bed. I was excited. I couldn’t sleep. I was so nervous and excited at the same time and to be honest, the excitement definitely outweighed the nervousness. I woke up, earlier than planned, smiling from ear to ear, and I jumped out of bed. Tiffany will tell you, I am not one to do something like that. I normally lay there and do my best to not move unless I absolutely have to. This morning was different. I felt God’s presence from the first sign of daylight and it was an amazing feeling. Tiffany decided not to go this morning because her nervousness outweighed her excitement but that was not going to hold me back. She was happy that I went and has assured me that when I am home in 2 weeks, she’ll definitely go with me. She is excited and I’m so happy that God has allowed us to share the journey at the same time.
I live probably about 20 minutes from Our Lady of the Rosary, which is in Lexington. I left probably 50 minutes early just to make sure that I found the church okay and could have a good sit (in the back!). The few people that I spoke with were friendly. I didn’t really go out of my way to involve myself with anyone since I was nervous. My first thoughts were that the church was beautiful. It wasn’t a huge church or anything, but they definitely had a big Spirit feel to it. Unlike most churches, there wasn’t a loud buzzing noise from everyone joking, laughing, screaming. To me, that’s not a bad thing. People were being respectful in and to the house of God. Most used the Holy Water beside the door and used it to make the Sign of the Cross as a reminder that they are entering the house of our Lord and also as a reminder that through baptism you are cleansed of your sins. Some bowed and made the Sign of the Cross before entering the pew.
Everything that happened was so awesome in the fact that it was so reverent and everyone respected the church because it was God’s church. As service continued, the Priest, Father Al, performed the Rite of Asperges which is basically where his sprinkled water onto the congregation in an effort to prepare for the Celebration of Mass “by moving them to sentiments of penance and reverence.” Again, it was something done that was completely dedicated to God and it just had an amazing all around joyous feeling. We sang a few hymns and then Father Al gave his message and the message had meaning behind it and I enjoyed it. We sang another hymn and most of the congregation went up for Holy Communion and although I did not partake in it with the members, I still felt the overwhelming presence of Christ. We sang another hymn and then we went home.
I know I am forgetting a few things, but basically, this is what happened and I am simply writing to let everyone know that I had one of the most joyous times that I have ever had with the walls of a church, this morning, at Our Lady of the Rosary! I plan to attend the Immaculate Heart of Mary the next time that I am off. I am already excited for that time.
Please continue to pray for me along this journey.
God Bless!
Rodney
Tomorrow is Good Friday.
Right about now, the Lord was sitting down with his Disciples for the Lord’s Supper. In a few hours, He’ll have been taken into custody and falsely accused. Tomorrow, He will be put to death. He accomplished what He was born to do. He saved my soul by the act that took place on that cross! I am so thankful that God sent His Son so that I could enter Heaven one day.
I hope everyone realizes the sacrifice made by Christ and realizes that we need to live for Him and represent Him in everything that we do.
Prayer for Good Friday
This prayer is designed to be said within the family before a Crucifix on Good Friday.
Mother or a child: Jesus lives his entire life for his journey or a child: under the Cross of salvation. St. John’s Gospel gives us some of his last words (12:27-33):
Now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say! Father, save me from this hour. No, this is why I came to this hour! Father, glorify thy Name. There came therefore a voice from heaven: I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again. Now is the judgment of the world, now will the prince of the world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all things to myself.
Father: He humbled himself becoming obedient unto death, even to death on a Cross. Therefore God also has exalted him and has bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
We adore your Cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection
Family: because by this sacred wood joy has come into the whole world.
Father: Let us pray. We beseech you, O God, look upon this your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ allowed himself to be betrayed into the hands of wicked men and to undergo the torment of the Cross. In his Name grant our petition.
Family: Amen.
Prayer Source: Holy Lent by Eileen O’Callaghan, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1975
Well, it’s Tuesday, March 18th, and it’s 7:45 PM. I have been saved for nearly 4 years. In these past 4 years, I have learned a lot. Some good things and some bad things. I’ve had some people in my life that I felt could have been my spiritual advisors that weren’t exactly what they should have been. I suppose that I could take most of the blame for that due to the fact that instead of putting my faith in Jesus Christ, fully and whole-heartedly, I instead placed a bit of faith in these men of the church. This could have been my main down-fall, but at any rate, I take most of the blame and I have learned from my mistakes and I am moving on.
I figured that a switch in denominations might do the trick. We switched churches and stayed strong for a while. I felt renewed in my spirit. It didn’t take long, however, because just 8 months or so after switching denominations, we were left feeling a void in our souls. The hunger for Christ was gone. The need to fill the void with Christ was gone. That’s an awful feeling. For the last year or so, we’ve been in and out of the Wesleyan and Baptist denominations hoping to find a spark that would ignite our souls again. I’m writing now to simply say that my fire has been lit again and it’s not because of John Wesley, who for the most part I respect and admire, and it’s not because of the Baptist church, but because of what I feel is the true church of Christ. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC).
Without actually seeing it happen, I am sure that some of you are picking your jaws up off the floor. Someone mentioned to me a few weeks ago that the Catholic Church was an alright church to go to because it didn’t matter what they did, all they had to do was confess their sins to a Priest and everything was good to go. This person wasn’t a Catholic but either way that was an instant trigger. “Wow, I would like to go to a church like that,” I joked to myself. It actually got the wheels in my mind turning. Can a church be that simple? Being the person that I am and always wanting to learn a little more about any one’s religion, I decided that when I got home that I would start my own little research of this Catholic Church. I got home pretty late but it didn’t stop me from staying up until 4 in the morning. I was tired but I was intrigued. The more I read, the more I noticed a similarity in the things I was reading and the things that I believed.
Some of these things were small. Things like Artificial Birth Control (ABC). Tiffany and I have always believed that God was in control. Whether you were using any type of ABC, if God wanted you to have a child, you were going to have one. Nothing you can do is going to prevent God from doing what He wants done. You always have a choice in everything you do, but if God wants it done, it’s GOING to be done! This is just a simple thing to me. This is not a huge doctrinal issue with me… it’s common sense.
I have sat under Independent Fundamentalist Baptist preaching for the better part of my salvation. All that has ever been said – excuse me – forced on me, is that the RCC is the ‘Great Whore of Babylon.’ Also that anyone Catholic is going to burn in hell. Opinions, I suppose, are fine. The question you have to ask yourself now is whether or not you want to sit there and swallow everything that your preacher throws at you or if at some point you would like to think for yourself and do your own study to see what is right and what is wrong. Things like the RCC having the Pope at the Bishop of Rome and being the head of the RCC, to the adoration of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Infant Baptism, to Confession, to a Faith Alone approach to Heaven. These things are in the Bible. Great example is that most if not all Baptist churches teach that Faith is the only thing that will get you to Heaven. Most of the congregation swallows that line, hook, and sinker. James 2:20 plainly says “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” Need more? James 2:24 even more plainly says “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” There is scripture all through the Bible that backs these ‘wrongful teachings’ up, yet most people are to ignorant to sit down and take an open minded approach to finding the truth for themselves. It’s actually painful to watch.
Today, I continue my journey into finding out the truth for myself. I know that I am on the right track. I am praying for God’s guidance on this journey and thus far, He has never lead me astray. I know that I might lose a friend or two along the way, but I instead hope that everyone will join with me in praying for God guidance in not only my life and my family’s life, but your own, as well.
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