I really enjoyed reading about everyone's faith journey in the Who's Who thread, and I would like that to continue. Can we use this thread to share our walks in faith, which can only help but enrich each other's lives?

I guess to put it another way, I am concerned that the previous thread had gotten a bit off topic.

Pax et Bonum.

Thomas

-- Thomas (tcdzomba@excite.com), July 02, 2003

Answers

You are right but this sometimes happens.

Welcome.

Karl

-- Karl (Parkerkajwen@hotmail.com), July 02, 2003.

Off topic? Here? Naw!

I would like to talk about stained glass windows and their universal appeal.

Oh.....just kidding.

I once had tremendous faith in God through the Catholic Church when I was just a kid. My thoughts became confused. Now, I wish to return to the faith I had through the Church. My faith is strong in Jesus and I am trying to make all the parts fit in. It is a gradual progression for me. My house looks Catholic, but it isn't my house that worries me.

rod. .

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 02, 2003.

One of best homilies I ever saw and heard was given by my pastor in Columbia, SC. At the beginning of Mass, everyone was given a candle. When the time came for the homily, the priest started talking some of the different evils in the world. After talking about each evil, he would mention how because of that evil, the world was becoming a darker place. And a bank of lights would go out in the church. Finally, after talking about several evils darkening the world, all the lights in the church were out, and we were sitting in total darkness (it was a Sunday night Mass, and it was pitch black!).

The priest then struck a match, and lit the Paschal Candle. The Light of Christ shining in the darkness.

He then lit a candle from the Paschal Candle, and passed the light on to two people in the first pew, who passed it on to those next to them, and so on. He then talked about the Light of Christ shining in each of us, and how as Christians we pass that light on to all those we meet. As he did this, one by one every candle was lit in the church, and the light from all these candles lit up the church brighter than ever. It was a very powerful visual.

We all have the Light of Christ in our hearts, and for each person we meet we have the opportunity to share that Light with them, in our words, and in our actions. And as we pass the Light of Christ on, our dark world becomes a much brighter place, indeed.

Pax et Bonum.

-- Thomas (tcdzomba@excite.com), July 07, 2003.

Thomas.

What a wonderful and inspiring mass. I must admit it; that is what I am missing in my "church" life--inspiration. You are certainly a shining light.

rod. . . . ..

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 07, 2003.

Uh, people don't get to thinking that I am comparing the mass with other Catholic Churches. Actually, I was comparing the mass to the Protestant service. Every Sunday is like a big Bible study without the tactile-ness and sacred-ness of the mass.

rod. .

-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), July 07, 2003.

This story was told by my Pastor during the past Lenten season:

Back in the 1930s, an elderly priest was hearing confessions at a church in France. Some teenage boys who were not of the faith were watching this and decided that they would play a trick on the priest. One of them would go into the confessional and tell the most heinous story possible in an attempt to shock the priest. They drafted a Jewish boy named Aaron to do the deed.

Aaron entered the confessional and proceeded to tell the heinous story to the priest. The priest of course knew this was a farce, but played along with the boy. When the time came to give the boy his penance, the priest told Aaron to go kneel in front of the crucifix, look up at Jesus on the cross, and say ten times "You did this for me, and I don't give a damn!"

So Aaron knelt in front of the cross, looked up at Jesus, and said emphatically, "You did this for me, and I don't give a damn!" A second time he said "You did this for me, and I don't give a damn!" but not as emphatically. By the fourth time, it was more of a question: "You did this for me, and I don't give a damn?" With each recitation, his voice grew weaker, until on the last time, all he could say was "You did this for me?" before breaking down in tears.

Within a year, this young Jewish boy would convert to Catholicism. He would later enter the seminary and become a priest. We know him today as Jean-Marie Lustiger, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris.

Pax et Bonum.

-- Thomas (tcdzomba@excite.com), July 15, 2003.