Our Faith and Home

   Catchy image huh? Now that I have other posts published I've decided to ease up a tad and present my humorous side. But, this picture has a purpose and meaning to me. Couple that with a quote by Pope St. John Paul II:  "Stupidity is also a gift from God, but one mustn't misuse it." ( NOTE:   I've received many very good suggestions how to approach Kempis in these posts. But, like the book I wrote, I make this about me ONLY because I don't want anyone to make the same mistakes I've made in the past and pray for conversion of all. Thus, I am very transparent., almost to a fault.) Beloved:  If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,  this is a grace before God.  For to this you have been called,  because Christ also suffered for you,  leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. -1 Peter 2 My friends, I have destroyed many relationships over the years. And when one mars a relationship, communication is virtually  nonexist

Catholic Answers : The Elevation of Mary :       This is an article I wrote awhile ago and recently revised it.  It is answering many of the objections Christians have to Mary.  Why do Catholics elevate Mary?   Like all of us, Mary was in need of salvation, but Christ elevated her as His Mother.      She was saved... Continue reading this article by clicking here ... Thank you!  Books by me Joanne Utke What do Catholics Believe?

This past week we celebrated the life of my aunt Grace who passed on to The Lord on April 12th, which is also the anniversary of her father's passing many years ago.  My aunt suffered a lot with her health over the years but her mind and her faith never never failed her. Every week she went to mass and prayed her rosary prayers. After my uncle's mind failed him she could no longer go to mass unless someone else took her. She never drove a car and relied on her husband and others in the family to help her. After her body started to fail her, she could no longer go to mass but watched faithfully at home thanks to EWTN Catholic television.  She also continued to pray her rosary prayers with Mother Angelica every day again thanks to the gift of EWTN. I know it is in part because of her prayers and faithfulness that so many in my family are returning home to The Catholic Church. Yet she never judged but corrected us with kindness!  But this article is not about my aunt, if you would

  Imagine a man, falsely accused of a crime, being dragged through the streets while he is being ridiculed, betrayed and humiliated, stripped of his clothing, tortured and hung on a cross until his death... all the while his mother watches in horror and sadness. I would call it the epitome of humility. When I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, it really has an effect on me. His passion is remarkable in the sense that we, as a society, fail to appreciate His Love and sacrifice. The esteemed author C.S. Lewis wrote, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." In the case of our Lord, Jesus Christ, He sacrificed everything for us. He thought less of Himself for us. First, a quick review of what  vanity   is.  In the last post  I listed what Kempis explained what vanity is. Things like  seeking and trusting in riches that perish, pride (thinking of oneself better than others),  following the lusts of the body and to desire things for whi

  (Yuck. Look at that picture. If I wore that I'd have to kick my own butt!)  Okay, let's get serious. "HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord (John 8:12). Imitation of Christ  is a book, composed of 4 books. Book 1 is titled,  THOUGHTS HELPFUL IN THE LIFE OF THE SOUL. This book contains 25 short chapters.  Wisely, in my opinion, Thomas selects vainglory as the first attribute to address. His thought was, one must understand that the road to humility is blocked by vanity. So, what is vanity? When we began attending a brand new parish in Charlotte, I volunteered for everything: parish council, extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, lector, catechist and many  committees. But, I didn't do it out of charity, I wanted to be noticed. "Hey, look at me. See what I'm doing in the name of the Lord?" I was vain. I eventually did not like myself and began praying for humanity. But, it took many years. Was I praying the right prayers? Was I e

I grew up Catholic. When it came time to read the bible I knew two things: how to spell it and knew there were two sections… being the Old and New Testaments. I think I knew there were four Gospels, but that’s about it. This should not be a surprise to many non-Catholics.      However, as I grew in my faith I realized how important scripture was. St. Jerome said it best, “ Ignorance of scripture, is ignorance of Christ.”  Oh, so true. My favorite books are Jeremiah, Daniel, Proverbs, 1Kings, the 4 gospels (especially John), Acts, James, and the letters of John. I’ve read the New Testament 3 times and a good bit of the Old Testament. (Those historic books are something else, as in, difficult, for me, to comprehend.)  What prompted me to read scripture was an, miraculous for me, incident in 2012 that caused me concern regarding my faith in Jesus. (That is a post for another time as it takes quite a few words to tell.) I came to the quick summation that Faith is either on or off. I learne