Introduction to this Blog

First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm John, currently living in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. I have been a practicing Roman Catholic my entire life. I am currently a Sophomore in high school, and I am homeschooled by my wonderful parents.



I created this blog, because I think that Catholics have to have certain skills and virtues to retain their faith in the 21st century. These skills are not given, and they don't just happen, they are acquired. Times have changed a lot since the days of nuns in habits teaching in Catholic schools, priests always wearing cassocks and birettas, and Masses only in Latin. To stay true to Sacred Tradition and the Holy Mother Church, there are things we must do in our day to day lives. It's not always easy, and sometimes we falter, but with God's help, we can press on. The media loves to persecute the Catholic church, by exposing all the sex scandals among the Catholic clergy, and the teachers in Catholic schools who have abused a student. With this one-sided view of Catholicism, it is easy to understand why Catholics are often looked down upon in this new Millennium. What the mass media fails to reveal, however, are the many good instances in the world of the Catholic Church. They fail to show priests and nuns volunteering at soup kitchens, food pantries, and other volunteer organizations. They fail to show the good deeds Catholic associations perform every day in the United States and other countries. To maintain our Catholic faith, and stay true to the Church, we must not look at things through the very narrow-minded view the media offers us. Yes, television, radio, newspapers and the internet are all a great blessing to us as a way of providing information, but we must look deeper at what is truly going on in the Catholic Church. Many Catholics have fallen into the "Holiday Catholic" category, only going to Mass on Easter and Christmas, and even then only if they "feel like it." If you are Catholic, you know that you probably have been ridiculed, laughed at, or made fun of at some point in your life for being Catholic. It may have even been as far back as high school, but it's happened to us all at some point. Even worse, Catholic priests have been right in the spotlight with the clergy sex scandal. Some people have even been confronted for saying a blessing before a meal in public. Such occurrences are appalling, but all too frequent in today's materialistic society. It is disappointing and very disheartening to see all the anti-Catholic material that seems to overwhelm us, but we must not look at this one-sided take on Catholicism, and look deeper into what the Faith is all about.



I believe this is probably a long enough post for today, so this is where my introduction ends. It is my hope and prayer that the posts on this blog allow your faith to strengthen and grow.


God Bless,


John