Tag Archives: Jesus

Catholics Come Home Recommends…

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Interested in adding a great book to your Lenten reading?

In I’m Not Being Fed: Discovering the Food that Satisfies the Soul, Jeff Cavins explores the reasons why many Catholics have left the Church for various Christian denominations. You probably have personal stories of either you, your family, your friends, or your neighbors experiencing some of the issues Cavins discusses in this book. He responds to that commonly-heard complaint of formerI'm Not Being Fed Catholics — that they simply were not being “fed” by their Church and that they longed for a more personal, “spiritually nourishing” relationship with Jesus. This book is sure to help you understand how to respond to this common sentiment, and to help you grow in the knowledge and love of the Catholic Church–where all can find the true food they are looking for!

This book is definitely a CCH favorite!

Get a copy of this inspiring book…Visit CatholicsComeHome.org today!

A prayer for your day

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If you haven’t been introduced to this prayer, you will surely fall in love with it…This is a great prayer to get you in the right mindset to shine for Jesus each morning!

Jesus Prayer by Cardinal John Henry Newman
(This prayer was recited daily after Communion by Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Sisters of Charity)

Mother Teresa Praying

Dear Jesus,
Help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go.
Flood my soul with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly
that my life may only be a radiance of yours.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with
may feel your presence in my soul.

Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as you shine,
so to shine as to be a light to others.

The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine.
It will be you, shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best,
by shining on those around me.
Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example,
by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you. Amen.

Catholics Come Home Recommends…

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Are you devoting enough time to prayer in your life? After all, it’s a necessity. But if you are like many people, you may find praying difficult at times. Perhaps you get easily distracted or aren’t quite sure how to approach God in your prayer…or maybe you just keep “forgetting!”

Dr. Peter Kreeft has this to say in his excellent book, Prayer for Beginners: “What is the main problem with this prayer?

“Simply remembering to do it. This is embarrassing, because this forgetting is so foolish. Why do we forget? Clearly this forgetting is not merely a mental problem. There are mental blocks to remembering. Something in us fears remembering. And I think we all knoPrayer for Beginnersw what that is.

“When we do remember and call him, and he comes and acts, he does all the work, for free! Our part is only to call; the Great Physician makes house calls and charges nothing. And yet we continually fail to call him. Is this reasonable?” (Chapter 9).

Learn more about prayer at CatholicsComeHome.org today. Also, visit our Shop section for more great book recommendations from our CCH team!

Feeling Bored at Mass?

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Sadly, many Catholics haven’t had the opportunity to really learn what’s happening at Mass… By journeying through the parts of the Mass, we hope you will find new excitement in this joyful and meaningful celebration of our Faith every Sunday (or every day)!

Today’s Bored at Mass feature: Entering the church

When you enter your church, you are probably used to blessing yourself with holy water while making the sign of the cross. Do you ever think back to your baptism when you do this? If not, you should! Every time you repeat this gesture, you should be reminded of the waters of your baptism and being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

And what’s that thing Catholics do (sometimes quite quickly) right before they sit down? Oh yes, genuflect. We often forget that this small gesture is one of adoration. It helps to “get us focused” on who is present in our midst—in the tabernacle. When we enter the sanctuary, we are in the presence of God!

Catholics Come Home Lost & Found Tip: When you cross yourself with holy water, remember this: You belong to Christ, just as much now as on the day of your baptism! Also, realize the act of adoration you participate in when you genuflect to the tabernacle. You aren’t just touching your knee to the ground for no reason…You are acknowledging the Presence of the Son of God in your midst!

To learn more about the Mass and your Catholic Faith, visit CatholicsComeHome.org.

Bored at Mass?

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Sadly, many Catholics haven’t had or taken the opportunity to really learn what’s happening at Mass… By journeying through the parts of the Mass, we hope you will find new excitement in this joyful and meaningful celebration of our Faith every Sunday (or every day)!

Today’s Bored at Mass? feature: The PRE-GAME

In order for us to “make the most” of each Mass, it is important for us to ready our hearts, minds, and bodies prior to walking into church on Sunday.

How to ready our hearts: Take time to reflect before you go to Mass. Think about the desires and intentions of your heart you want to place before Lord that day. Also, prepare your heart to praise Him in all His glory during Mass.

How to ready our minds: Michael Dubruiel, in The How-to Book of the Mass, points out that “Some of us play an intellectual game at Mass of finding fault with the way the Mass is celebrated…But the Mass is not a place for us to sit back like a movie and to find fault; rather, it is a place to encounter Jesus Christ” (page 30).

How to ready our bodies: We should all take the time to examine our thoughts, words, and actions before Mass. Perhaps we’ll find we need go to Confession to get rid of our sins and receive forgiveness before receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Lost & Found Tip: The warm-up sets the pace for the game. How we prepare for Mass will help guide our prayer and focus during the Mass. This Sunday, prepare yourself for who you are about to encounter at Mass—Jesus. He’s truly present, so we should want to give Him our best!

It’s Christmas Time!

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Don’t forget that the Christmas season has just begun!

As many stores and public places begin to take down their Christmas decorations today and throughout this weekend, remember that Christmas day marks the beginning of the Christmas season. We continue to celebrate the joyous occasion of Christ’s birth through the Epiphany, when the wise men visit Jesus with their gifts.

Let us continue to open our hearts to Christ throughout this whole Christmas season, so we can offer Him our finest gifts this Epiphany. God gave us His only Son. Why don’t we offer ourselves back to Him?

Don’t forget to check out CatholicsComeHome.org to continue your growth in faith this Christmas season.

A Merry Eucharistic Christmas

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As Catholics, we have prepared for weeks during Advent for the coming of Jesus this Christmas. But how can we bring to life the true meaning of Christmas this year?

Here is a clip from a great article that reminds us of the relationship between the Holy Eucharist and Christmas:

“To help the Child Jesus come to life in us, Pope John Paul II called us all to live an intensely Eucharistic Christmas, for the same Jesus who was placed in a manger and adored by the shepherds and wise men is placed in our hands and in our mouths in holy Communion.

“The best way for the Child Jesus to come to life again and be stamped upon our fervent memory at Christmas, he taught, is to remember that God-with-us is still with us. Bethlehem is as close as the altar and tabernacle of the nearest Catholic Church.

“This is indeed “good news of great joy for all people!” Merry Christmas!”

(Fr. Roger J. Landry. “Bringing Christmas to Life Again.” [December 23, 2005].)

Lost & Found Tip: Don’t forget to prepare a present for Jesus this Christmas…He’s the most important one in your family and the reason for the Christmas season!

Let us focus on loving our fallen-away Catholic relatives this Advent

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At Catholics Come Home, we receive many e-mails from Catholics who pray fervently, especially during the season of Advent, for their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, neighbors and friends to return to the Catholic Church during this holy time of year. We must not forget that love and prayer are the greatest gifts we can give our family and friends to draw them more deeply into their faith. Our job as Catholics is to plant seeds, and then allow Jesus to convert hearts to Him.

The following article by Rev. John Horgan reminds us that “we can be sure that God wants us to know that He loves our loved ones even more than we do.” He also reflects on the part we must play during this Advent season: “We should pray not just for “them” but for each other, that we be ready for Christmas. We must ask for so much grace that we are radiant with it; that our words be filled with truth and kindness, our hearts with love and divine life. We must pray that everyone who comes into our church may see Jesus reflected in every face, every gesture, everyone that they see. Then they will know that He is alive and true and loving. . . and that there is no one who can compare with Him.”

Read more of this article: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0689.html

Remember to visit CatholicsComeHome.org to grow in your faith each day!

From the Prayer Corner

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Do you pray the Jesus Prayer?

The Jesus Prayer is short, but immensely powerful. It simply consists of the word “Jesus.” (Other variations include “Lord Jesus” or “Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.) 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and “brings forth fruit with patience.” This prayer is possible “at all times” because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus” (CCC 2668).

Catholics Come Home Lost & Found Tip: Pray the Jesus Prayer throughout your day today. Experience the power and peace that comes from simply pronouncing the most powerful name in the world, the Word that was made flesh, the Word whose birth we celebrate in a few short weeks!

Visit www.CatholicsComeHome.org to grow deeper in your faith each day!