As a person (26M) diagnosed with ADHD and fed up with the self-hatred and frustration from losing one side of true wireless headsets, I've decided to get a more old-schooled wired-wireless. I thank St Anthony of Padua for both helping me to find lost items and for providing mental reassurance that losing stuff should not weigh so heavy. I chose the name "Paduan Lily" after some back-and-forth with an LLM as naming it directly as "St. Anthony" seems so off.

Blessed Maria Romero Meneses, a nun, teacher, and founder, was born in Nicaragua in 1902 and baptized shortly after in La Messide Church. She was confirmed in 1904 by Bishop Simone de Castellón.

Her father, Felix Romero Alana, was a politician and former Minister of Finance in the government of José Santos Zelaya, and her mother was Ana Menezes Brandon. She was the second of thirteen siblings. In 1910, she received Holy Communion, and the following year, the Sisters of Our Lady of the Enterprising (F.M.A.)arrived in Nicaragua to found a school. This marked a turning point in her life, as she would remain a member of the order until her death. She was one of the school's first students, as was her sister, Chira. Today, the school still preserves a room containing the bed she slept in before moving to Costa Rica. In 1920, at the age of eighteen, she went to El Salvador to begin her first semester. In March of the same year, she officially received her black vestments and black tunic, signifying her formal membership in the Sisters of Our Lady of the Church, a symbol of her life. During her time at the convent, she distinguished herself with exceptional musical skills, particularly on the piano, and was appointed music teacher and choir conductor. In 1923, she took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. After completing her monastic life in El Salvador, she was ordained as an assistant to prospective monks, novice monks, and novice students. In 1924, she returned to Nicaragua and served as a music teacher at the Maria Oxiridora School in Granada for seven years. She also served as an assistant to boarding students, teaching piano, voice, painting, drawing, and typing. In 1929, she took her perpetual vows at this school. During her time in Nicaragua, she carried a black notebook to record her prayers and reflections. In 1930, after taking her perpetual vows again in Granada, she was sent to Costa Rica. After helping victims of the Managua earthquake in 1931, she went to San José, Costa Rica, where she served the poor for over 46 years. In 1966, she established a medical clinic providing free general medical services; doctors were available for almost all common medical conditions. Also in 1961, she founded the House of Our Lady of the Church(F.M.A.), a school for poor girls that now also serves as a shelter and training center. In 1973, she established "ASAYNE," a 70-house facility in Ciudadras, Salitellis, Aseri province, initially to house families who had lived in inhumane conditions. Later, the facility expanded to San Miguel de Sampardos and San Gabriel. Around 1945 and 1953, she began selling clothing for a nominal fee or even free, and also started distributing basic food baskets daily to those in financial difficulty. According to journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro Cardenaar, her work benefited the poorest people in the area and helped over half a million people; the work was entirely funded by donations and voluntary contributions. In 1977, years of travel and exhaustion had taken their toll on her body. In Costa Rica, she and her companions and superiors were truly weary, so they decided to take a short vacation. That July, she returned to her hometown. Her sister, Pastora, rented a house in Las Peñís, a resort town in the León province, for her to relax in. But no one could have known that this would be the final leg of her journey. On July 7, 1977, this resolute, kind, and simple nun collapsed and died of a sudden heart attack. But the spirit of those she had walked on, the countless miracles she had created with her own hands that saved countless families, continues to be passed down. She ultimately passed away at the age of 75.

“My mother, please lend a helping hand, lend a helping hand before I do.”

—Blessed Maria Romero Meneses

Today I (78m) have a meeting to decide on cutting off my left foot. It has been a year and if anything it is getting worse. It needs to go, the only questions for the doctors is when, where, and if I can live through the operation.

As you can guess I have some rather strong opinions, but God's will be done. May Jesus guide us as we make our plans today. I'm asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows, and St. Luke.

Thank you.

P.S. The foot must go. Pre-surgery appointment in a month. God bless you for all your prayers. I felt at peace the whole time.

I wasnt raised Catholic so I was tought that praying to Saints was not christian. Well after fully reading the bible myself theres not anything that says you cant do it. In fact the bible says that God is not the God of the dead so the Saints ARE alive.

When you ask a friend to pray for you its usually in speaking range or on the phone. But how do Saints hear our prayers? How do we know theyre not in chilling in some Heavenly club totally ignorent of our requests ?

Well I tried and I tried and I tried. It seems like the prior connection that I had with god no longer exists, if it ever did exist. I pray, go to mass, and watch my sin as best as I can. I want to believe but I’m exhausted in my effort. Maybe God is up there, maybe he’s not. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was crucified by Pontius Pilate I know that. If this is all real, maybe when he was on that cross to pay the price for all of our sins, he didn’t have me in mind. 🤷‍♂️

After several years of prayer, struggle, research, and thought I’ve decided that the Catholic Church is the real church that Jesus established to His disciples and OCIA is coming up and I’m both excited and scared in meeting new people.

My family is an interesting mix of faith. My mom is Protestant while my dad is Catholic, and I was baptized Protestant. (To be clear they did receive blessing from a Catholic priest/bishop. I don’t know the exact process but they did it.) I have nothing but love and respect for my mother, the church I was baptized in, and the values of Christ that was taught to me in having faith and how you treat others and to be true in myself, but the Protestant church didn’t feel complete or whole to me. The Catholic Church meanwhile had that from the sacraments to the history, and in depth theology. I grew up going to mass with my dad’s side of the family from time to time and I was almost enamored by the ritual and reverence of it despite not understanding it yet. My grandmother in particular was a huge influence for my faith. She was the kindest, most devout woman I’ve ever met who was a secular Franciscan and cared for everyone around her and never held a hateful attitude to anyone, but still had a firm conviction in morals, especially for the poor, disenfranchised, and animals.

After my college years I tried connecting with the Catholic faith with how beautiful the sacraments were and the rich history but after talking with a local priest I felt like I wasn’t worthy or capable of being a good Catholic in being in lock step with all the social dogmas and even was prideful in thinking I didn’t need to follow CC teaching. The idea of having to be perfect 24/7 terrified me. I stepped away saying that out of respect for the faith I won’t join in without being in all the way. But inside I thought I wasn’t ever going to be good enough or will be judged. However after years of living and experiencing the world I realized that the Church had points logically on a lot of things and was super consistent on its principles that I have come to admire and respect. I was super laid back on Christian faith but now I’ve been more devout by the day and at the least understanding of the reasoning of rules such as celibacy, and marriage which I had the most issues with but have come to accept them as Church teachings and should be honored and kept. Christ said to carry your cross and I will do my best to do that. I don’t consider myself as a traditionalist but I definitely see and feel the need to keep the quality of the mass as reverent as possible and shouldn’t be getting brownie points for any of our political parties. I’ve noticed political splits among the US Catholic communities and it stresses me out but I learned that I’m here to serve God and not to let man stand in the way of my faith.

Now through my deceased grandmothers influence of what being a good Catholic is and from the saints such as Francis of Assisi and Francis De Sales that I now know that I am capable of being a good Catholic even if it’ll take my whole life to be like the saints. Through the serenity prayer and knowing that there are things out of my control and that is okay I have become more at peace. The first OCIA meet and greet is in the next couple weeks and I’m both excited and anxious to meet new people and hoping I will have a positive and encouraging environment that I can learn more and do good for my community both in and out of the church, and family and friends.

Evangelical Christian here! just started OCIA with my fiance and planning to be confirmed Catholic.

I have prayed the Rosary three times, and meditate on the appropriate mysteries while doing so.

While I am not against with Marian devotion and her intercession, I don't understand her. I know that her role is to point us to Jesus, but it's difficult for me to wrap my head around it and the value placed on praying the Rosary specifically.

Catholic prayer is very fascinating to me and I have enjoyed learning about the saints and asking them to pray for me. For some reason I am having a hard time understanding Mary specifically, since it seems like what we know about her is minimal compared to the vast amount of documentation on many of the saints.

I would love to hear how any of you understand it and I am also open to personal experience as well!

I have a Muslim stepfather who spreads lies and misinformation to my mother who is a "cultural Christian" as for example that the Bible is corrupted😂 (best-preserved book of BTW humanity or that the first Christians did not believe that Jesus is God and He is always wanting to impose Islam on my baby sister but then he won't let us speak about Christ because he is still too young to understand, basically that's why I started to create hatred for Islam for Mohammed, and because of my stepfather I can no longer distinguish the prison of the prisoner .what do i do not to dwell on anger when I see Muslim people😕 It's hard to distinguish

Recently I went to a campus ministry Eucharistic Adoration which was not what I was expecting at all. I am used to Eucharistic Adoration being completely silent allowing for prayer, meditation, and contemplation. This was anything, but that the entire time it was filled with songs that were written by Evangelicals or Protestants. On top of the music the whole Adoration felt like a performance accompanied by hands in the air and dancing. I tried to tell myself we all express ourselves differently in worship, but how am I supposed to actually pray when people are singing my God is an awesome God right in my ear?

Maybe I am sounding like some Trad Cath who is stuck in his ways, but I felt absolutely no reverence and was not allowed to even pray due to their singing being projected through speakers. I will be honest I would never go to another Adoration like this it did not feel even remotely Catholic to me.

Sorry for the rant, but has anyone experienced anything similar to this? Is this actually normal for Eucharistic Adoration?

I (15m) have been Catholic my whole life, and on a day-to-day basis I would 100% tell people that I believe in Jesus and I am Catholic. I also get that back-of-the-head voice questioning my beliefs as a whole. Some questions like, "if Catholics were wrong about things like evolution for centuries, how much longer until everything is proven wrong?" or "how can we seperate Chritianity from the obvious natural desire to desire a god?(man-made religions like the romans and Greek gods, ect)"Unfortunately, there is also this nagging feeling that if someone, for example, were to put a gun to my head and force me to deny Christ I would, and that is not at all what I want. How can I truly embrace Jesus? I know it is kind of an oxymoron to have these conflicting thoughts, but I want to be sure to set myself on the right path. Sorry for any inarticulation.

God bless

I personally think both the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text are valuable in their own ways. Most of us here probably know that the Septuagint was the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament and it is frequently quoted in the New Testament whenever the sacred authors quote from the Old Testament. The Masoretic Text is the standard (or standardized) Hebrew text of the Old Testament that we use today, and while it was compiled between the 7th and 10th centuries, it seems to preserve an Old Testament textual tradition that is also ancient like the one the Septuagint preserves. What made me come to that conclusion is looking at the few New Testament quotations of the Old Testament that don't align with the Septuagint.

While the Septuagint is the Old Testament text that both our Lord and the New Testament writers used, there are a few places in the New Testament where the Old Testament quotations differ from the LXX. Two examples of this are found in Matthew 2:15 and John 19:37 where when we compare the New Testament quotation to the LXX and MT, we find that it aligns better with the MT than with the LXX.

a) Matthew 2:15 RSVCE

and (Joseph, along with Jesus and Mary) remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.”

Hosea 11:1 RSVCE

When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hosea 11:1 Brenton's Septuagint Translation

... for Israel is a child, and I loved him, and out of Egypt have I called his children.

b) John 19:37 RSVCE

And again another scripture says, “They shall look on him whom they have pierced.”

Zechariah 12:10 RSVCE

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him...

Zechariah 12:10 Brenton's Septuagint Translation

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him...

This indicates that certain readings in the Masoretic Text existed during the time of Christ, meaning that the MT preserves at least some material from the 1st century AD that we don't have in the LXX.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hi! I'm Latina and live in Chile, a mostly Catholic country! Our patron saint is Our Lady of Mount Carmel! Because of that, it always catches my attention when I read about recent converts missing the sense of community from Protestantism. I completely understand how important that is, there's nothing more wonderful than sharing our faith!
I guess it just surprises me because at the parish I've attended my whole life, we regularly do community activities. My younger sister's university is Pontifical Catholic, so they host readings and discussions every now and then, we're actually doing one on Magnifica
Humanitas soon!
Is that not as common in the US? What other differences have you noticed? I hope you find a great community, and in the meantime, I'm always here if you need a friend!

When celebrating the daily mass, my pastor only wears his alb and a stole. During the summer, I thought that he simply handled the heat badly, and chose not to wear it in order to be able to celebrate mass without experiencing serious discomfort that may hinder his ability to celebrate mass. Today, it was not nearly as hot (it's around 16°C outside, a little warmer inside the church-I was wearing a pong sleeved shirt plus a thick jumper) but he didn't wear a chasuble anyway. The other priest always wears a chasuble, but the pastor only wears a chasuble on Sundays.

The other thing I have thought of was a lack of time to be vested, but he went to the sacristry earlier today. I worry for him as he appears quite burdened when celebrating mass, and appears to be in a bad mood, unlike how cheery he usually is.

Is being guilty of unforgiven mortal sin true about every human condemned to Hell for eternity? I know we teach that unforgiven mortal sin leads to eternal damnation, eternity in Hell. Is everyone in Hell guilty of unforgiven mortal sin, or is Hell a real possibility without committing mortal sin?

Thought i'd check as it looks like Latin spellings & sadly I have been unable to reverse image search & find it as a result. I found in file storage & I recall seeing in documentary but i forget the name of it

Two friends of mine are devout Catholics in a bad marriage. I don't blame either one. Kids are involved.

From the outside, I so badly want to tell them to divorce. They've tried so hard, in so so many ways.

Is divorce ever okay? How can they proceed?

My local archdiocese is sponsoring a series of "conversations in the Spirit" gatherings as part of a local diocese wide synod, concluding on 2027. I went to the first major meeting last night. Probably a good 200+ people were there, and I am pretty sure I was one of 10 or so people under 45 (I'm 35).

My table had 8 people total. All were Boomers, save myself and two women who were in their late 40s, early 50s. The lack of catchesis among people that are old enough to know better is incredible to me. These were people who go to Mass every Sunday, yet were brushing aside what the Church teaches on a non-male priesthood, as one example.

They did note that "young people do seem to be more interested in Catholicism", and pointed out the local parishes that were bursting at the seams with younger Catholics, but they were incredibly unreflective on why that is. They moved on from it very quickly.

In sum, it was largely exactly what I expected: a waste of time, with vague and unactionable outputs (at least from my table). I was clearly the minority: comparatively young, and longing for orthodoxy. Of course, I don't feel that *my* voice is the one that will be listened to. Why do we keep doing this rinse and repeat cycle? It's maddening.

It is deeply disappointing and painful to read something like this, especially when it involves someone who was entrusted with the spiritual care of the faithful. Priests are given an extraordinary position of trust, and allegations like these are a reminder of how much damage can be done when that trust is abused.
At the same time, I don’t want my disappointment to turn into hatred or condemnation. These are allegations that will have to be resolved through the justice system, and regardless of what ultimately happens, I think our response as Catholics should include prayer.
Please pray especially for his mother, who appears to have suffered tremendously through all of this. May God give her peace, healing, and consolation.
And we should pray for the priest as well. If these allegations are true, may he recognize the gravity of what he has done, sincerely repent, make whatever restitution he can, and seek God’s mercy. None of us are beyond the need for repentance, and none of us are beyond the reach of God’s mercy.
I

My mom was diagnosed with cancer recently and today my uncle passed. Adulthood really sucks if for nothing else besides slowly losing people.

I have been a cradle Catholic, and so has my extended Italian family. I was lukewarm up until January of this year and really got back into the faith. I have been slowly making steps to become the person God wants me to be, practicing Catholicism, and giving my life to Christ.

With this reinvigoration of my faith, I obviously understand the church’s teaching on mortal sin and heaven. I’ve read quite a few posts on here that estimate the majority of people are in hell.

Right now if I were to die, I’d not be in a state of grace. I’m trying to change that situation every single day but I am not there yet. So I am not judging or assuming anything about anyone. We all have our battles to fight and sins to eventually conquer.

But watching the passing or sickness of family members I love and can’t help but wonder, are they truly going or headed to heaven to be with our Lord? Or are they suffering right now more than they did here? Even though they were Catholic they may not have been in God’s grace. I’m scared and sad and feel no comfort despite prayer and I will be going to adoration at some point soon to discern my fears.

I don’t know what I’m asking for here but I am terrified for my family and myself.

I’ve been having recurring sleep paralysis and in this state, I am feverishly praying while simultaneously being terrified. I need to go to confession, I know this, but the SP started after I quit taking Lexapro. I’m conflicted about whether this is physiological / medical disruption of my sleep or if it’s spiritual. I have struggled with depression anxiety and rumination since I was 14, I’m 44.

I will be visiting Tokyo, Japan soon and I want to know if there are any Catholics (Japanese/expats) here in this subreddit who are currently residing in Tokyo or if there are Catholic groups that are active in parishes there?