Catholic Thought discussion

Zachary wrote: "Ciao a tutti,

My name is Zachary; I'm a seminarian for the Diocese of Des Moines studying in Rome. I enjoy reading the novels of the French writer Francois Mariac (he has a very profound and uniqu..."

Ciao! E' un piacere di conoscerti.
I too am studying in Rome (Urbanian University - Missiology). Where do you study in Rome? Is it Angelicum? Anyway, you can add to your list Pascal, Bernanos, and Undset.

Benissimo; è certo un piacere!

Pascal is indeed high on my list. In fact, Graham Green said of Francois Mauriac that if Pascal were a novelist, he would be Mauriac.

If you're at the Urbanianum, then we're next-door neighbors, since I'm at the NAC. I study at the Gregorian.

Welcome to our new members. Ah to be studying in Rome. I am so jealous. :)

Carlos wrote: "Hi Y'all!

I'm a recent convert to the Faith. I was received into the Church on Easter Eve of 2013 and find myself growing ever deeper in love with Catholicism with each passing day.

I am an autho..."

Welcome Carlos; may that love keep growing.

Welcome to our wonderful faith Carlos. And the family and I just returned from a vacation from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Is that part of the low lands?

Carlos wrote: "Thanks Manny. Myrtle Beach is certainly in the Lowlands. I am in the process of restoring a small farm house in Andrews SC. I've got family & friends in Charleston and Pawleys Island. Excepting the..."

Carlos,
I've been looking at places in Charleston, SC to maybe retire with hubby. Do you know anything about that area?

Nice to meet you Brenda. Yay, for Domincans! Ever since I discovered St. Catherine of Siena, who was a lay Domincan, I've looked into Dominicans and realized that out of all the religious orders, that is the one that suits me the best. Perhaps in our next book club read I would like to suggest reading St. Catherine's biography, the one by the nobel prize winner Sigrid Undset. It was a great read. Having read that bio, I now consider her my personal patron saint.

Brenda {Write From Your Heart ♥} wrote: "I believe I haven't yet introduced myself (although I have been in this group for a while). My name is Brenda. I'm a Catholic asexual girl who's striving to do God's will in her life. I also became..."

Welcome to the group Brenda; I do hope you will actively contribute, I would love to read your views on some of the books we discuss.

Manny wrote: "Nice to meet you Brenda. Yay, for Domincans! Ever since I discovered St. Catherine of Siena, who was a lay Domincan, I've looked into Dominicans and realized that out of all the religious orders,..."

Manny after we finally finish our current group read I want to create a poll with book selections that people can vote on to decide what we read next. I will definitely include as one of the choices the book you mentioned on St. Catherine of Siena.

The Biography of St. Catherine of Siena written by Sigrid Undset is really wonderful. Sigrid Undset presents Catherine of Siena very much in flesh and blood.

Doreen wrote: "Manny after we finally finish our current group read I want to create a poll with book selections that people can vote on to decide what we read next. I will definitely include as one of the choices the book you mentioned on St. Catherine of Siena. "

Thanks. And thanks Dhanaraj.

We're all in this group together guys. For me, at least, if something in this group makes someone smile or relieves some pain they may be going through then it's all worth it. Am I perfect? Definitely no but I will never stop trying to be worthy of our faith.

Zachary,
Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! Every morning before the rosary at the parish, we pray this
Prayer for Priestly Vocations:

"Father, in every generation you provide ministers of Christ and the Church.

We come before you now, asking that you call forth more priests to serve our Church.

Give us priests who will lead and guide your holy people gathered by Word and Sacrament.

Bless us with priestly vocations so that we can continue to be a truly Eucharistic Church, strengthened in our discipleship of Jesus Christ, your only Son.

Raise up, we pray, men who are generous in their service, willing to offer their lives and all their gifts for your greater glory and the good of your people.

We make our prayer in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Amen."

Sounds like you have a diverse interest in some cool authors... hey do you get to use the Vatican Library?! :D

Peace to you!

hi Genie, if you "admire St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Faustina :) " (so do I!) you'd probably like this book because they are main characters of inspiration in it (because they consoled the Heart of Jesus so well) Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat- Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

Michele wrote: "hi Genie, if you "admire St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Faustina :) " (so do I!) you'd probably like this book because they are main characters of inspiration in it (because they consoled the Heart..."

I have my mom's copy of Sister Faustina's biography. Not only is it a great read but I treasure it since it was my mom's and she passed in 2009.

My name is Anthony. I enjoy pious works on the rosary, the Eucharist, Marian apparitions, works by Doctors of the Church. Some of my favorite saints are Kolbe, Padre Pio, Jose Maria Escriva, Ambrose and many more. I want to learn more about the saints, Church and pre-Church history, the mystics, and moral theology.

Welcome Anthony! Wow I must say that you have outlined a wonderful journey for learning more about our Church. Please take us with as you go, we would all learn a great deal.

You mentioned enjoying the rosary - have you ever made one for yourself? My oldest son make them for a number of years. He started with twine and knots for the beads and moved on to purchasing some beads and produced some very pretty rosaries. After the first 5 or 6 he found the activity to be both rewarding and relaxing. Those first few serve as a wonderful penance.

Welcome Anthony. We're building a nice group here.

Zachary wrote: "Ciao a tutti,

My name is Zachary; I'm a seminarian for the Diocese of Des Moines studying in Rome. I enjoy reading the novels of the French writer Francois Mariac (he has a very profound and uniqu..."

Have been out of action for a week but am back now and wish to welcome all new members. Ironically, Zachary, my husband is originally from Des Moines. A warm welcome to all and hope to have some wonderful discussions of our faith.

I live in Germany. My English is not so good. I'm Catholic writer.

With best regards,
Andrea

Thank you. Cordially greetings from Bavaria!
Further information about me you'll find at my profile.

Welcome to our group Andrea! Hope you have time to check it out and participate.

Thank you!

Welcome Andrea, I hope you post here, I would be interested in your perspective.

Thank you. My perspectives are clear and straightforward. And sometimes from a particular perspective.

A little intro. My name is Tim Morris and I live in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. I thought I would look into this group and maybe force myself to read a few books I would not otherwise read.

Welcome to the group Tim, I hope that you will find much to peak your interest.

Welcome Andrea and Tim. Nice to have you with us.

Thank you Manny!

Hello Everyone!

I have been in goodreads for a couple of years with a little activity in the Classics of the Western Cannon group. During the past year and a half I’ve been trying to delve a little more into spiritual reading on almost a daily basis. My “religion” shelf shows what I read more recently. It is with this purpose in mind that I am looking at your group. Though I am a practicing Catholic I well realize that the way is long and without limit how far we can grow spiritually.

Oh Galicius it is so very good to see you here. Really looking forward to any input you can provide. You are among a group of very good and kind people here.

Welcome Galicius!

Manny wrote: "Welcome Galicius!"

Thank you Doreen and Manny! You have great website Manny. There's much to peruse. I checked your poetry section so far and am very impressed.

Thank you so much Galicius. That blog takes a good bit of my time. And thanks for that link to the lecture on The Four Quartets.

Kent wrote: "Good morning. My name is Kent. I came across this book during a search and decided to join. I'm a Catholic convert of 14 years and have fallen deeply in love with our Church. I don't believe a pers..."

Welcome to the group Kent, I hope some of the readings are of interest to you. Please comment frequently.

Mike

Welcome Kent! Glad to have you with us. :)

To keep it short and sweet I am a UK-born lady, interested in Catholic theology and philosophy; as well as philosophy, history and art of medieval civilization.

Good to have you here Nera!

Nėra wrote: "To keep it short and sweet I am a UK-born lady, interested in Catholic theology and philosophy; as well as philosophy, history and art of medieval civilization."

Welcome to this group!

Welcome Nera. Nice to have you here with us.

Hi! My name is Katie. I'm a Cradle Catholic and native to the Diocese of Charlotte. I am so excited that the very first group read I get to participate in is Orthodoxy, which has been sitting on my bookshelf begging to be read for some time now! I am thrilled to be part of this group and look forward to community with fellow Catholics and our reads together. :-) God bless you all!

Welcome Katie. It's great to have you with us. :)

Katie wrote: "Hi! My name is Katie. I'm a Cradle Catholic and native to the Diocese of Charlotte. I am so excited that the very first group read I get to participate in is Orthodoxy, which has been sitting on my..."

Katie it is good to have you with us! I'm looking forward to Orthodoxy as well. Please feel free to participate or offer suggestions. Together we can make this group strong and thriving. God Bless.

Hi! I'm Nicolás and about four years ago I came back home to my Catholicism, which I left for different reasons. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading all the discussions on the books I've read so far. Cheers from Argentina.

Welcome back to the faith and welcome to our little group. I hope you enjoy yourself; please join the discussions.

Welcome Nicolás!

Nicolás wrote: "Hi! I'm Nicolás and about four years ago I came back home to my Catholicism, which I left for different reasons. Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading all the discussions on the books I've read so..."

Nicolas it is so very good to have you here. I think you will find that we are warm welcoming group. My curiosity is getting the better of me, I need to become more humble, something I am working hard at during Lent, but what do you think of Pope Francis? Personally I really like him and some not so much but I would be interested in what you think. Hope all is well with you and God Bless.

Doreen wrote: "Nicolas it is so very good to have you here. I think you will find that we are warm welcoming group. My curiosity is getting the better of me, I need to become more humble, something I am working hard at during Lent, but what do you think of Pope Francis? Personally I really like him and some not so much but I would be interested in what you think. Hope all is well with you and God Bless."

By the time he was a bishop here in Argentina at Buenos Aires, I wasn't a catholic. I don't know much about him, but I certainly looked up for something that would tell me the tiniest thing about him. I only found an interview on YouTube that's in Spanish. I don't remember it much. Anyway, so far, I think he is doing a great job, and, contrary to what is being said by most of the mainstream media, he is not much of a revolutionist, at least not in te sense meant by these media.
In my opinion, his revolution is the hands-to-work principles he has, which he put to use here in Argentina. This "seek out the lost sheep" is just what the Church needs, and what has always needed thoughout the ages, to greater or lesser degree. I think he is on the right path. We are a Church of apostles, and, if I remember correctly, that means "misionaries", or "messengers". Getting our hands in the mud and going after the sheep gone astray is what we will always have to do. And he is doing much of what Benedict XVI put into words during his papacy, or so I've heard (that's why I'm reading Ratzinger).
All in all, I like him, but I don't know what the result of what he's doing will be, though I trust in his vision: mercy, even to the heresies, is what is needed. Forgiveness is the first step to peace.

Nicolás wrote: "Doreen wrote: "Nicolas it is so very good to have you here. I think you will find that we are warm welcoming group. My curiosity is getting the better of me, I need to become more humble, something..."

Sorry, I was already a Catholic, at least a year before Benedict XVI renounced.

Nicolás wrote: "Doreen wrote: "Nicolas it is so very good to have you here. I think you will find that we are warm welcoming group. My curiosity is getting the better of me, I need to become more humble, something..."

See I agree with you. Sometimes people get too comfortable and don't do anything and I think Pope Francis is the sort of man who will, pardon my language, give people that kick in the butt to get moving and do what Jesus taught us to do. Jesus never said it would be easy but the spiritual rewards are endless when we follow his teaching.