The Arts Role in Conversion of Heart

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Shakespeare's A Man for All Seasons played a role in this man becoming a Catholic Christian. http://chnetwork.org/2015/01/cole-matson-presbyterian-became-catholic-journey-home-program/?utm_content=buffer8a433&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Beautiful Churches

Here's a sketch I made after mass today.

It's a drawing of St. Mary's in Mexia, TX. 

Something cool about being Catholic is being able to travel the country and attend any Mass and know the reading for the day and the liturgy ahead of time. Each church has its charm and beauty, but the overall liturgy is the same. 

Here are some photos of parishes I visited for Mass.

St. Edward's in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

This sculpture of Purgatory was at St. Edward's in Little Rock. 

St. Andrew's in Roanoke, Virginia.

St. Catherine of Sienna in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

I still love my little Parish of Saint Mary's though. 

Oh, look at some of the saint statues at St. Catherine of Sienna's. 

St. Peter of Verona. 

Not a statue but a beautiful mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  

St. Louis de Montfort. 

St. Dominic who received the rosary. 

Birthday Party Talks

Today we attended a 7-year-olds birthday party my daughter Zoë was invited to. The food, decorations and cake were fantastic. Before the evening could come to a close my wife brought up that she had been attending mass with me quite a bit. Blam! That was it. I had been trying to avoid the topic of my entering the Catholic communion because I know the family we were visiting has divided views about Catholicism, but my wife opened up the box. I think we talked for the next three hours about Christianity, the Bible, Catholicism/Protestantism. At one point one person in the discussion, not the host family, began to share an unorthodox interpretation of the identity of Christ, that he was not God while on earth. I told the group that if each man must interpret the Bible as he sees fit then his view is valid. I for one no longer have the option to choose my own interpretation, and I am thankful for the Catholic Bishops who preserve the original interpretation of Scripture and the traditions handed down to us from the twelve apostles so that we are not at the mercy of voting for interpretations or falling sway to simply believe the best debater in the room. 

Progress

I prayed with my wife seeking for clarity in the decisions we face. We feel we are in a transition and need guidance. I prayed for wisdom without uncertainty. 

Referee

Not everyone agrees with the referee's decision. In fact sometimes you may completely hate his call, but if you truly love the game, you have to love that a referee exists. Without a referee, the game would soon divulge into a shouting match of disagreement, and the game would stop as confusion took the field. Yes, you may hate the referees call, but if you love the game, you should be thankful one exists. I believe the Pope is one such referee. Without his calls, Christianity just becomes an argument of opinions.

( I read this analogy in a book. I don't recall the title at this moment.)