st. catherine qoute

BE WHO YOU ARE AND SET THE WORLD ON FIRE!
(St. Catherine of Siena)
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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

"Hi, My name is Patty and I am an Evangelical Catholic."

Evangelical and Catholic?????? Yes, I know what you are thinking, those words usually don't go together. I know when I hear the word "Evangelical" I think of Christians who literally know Scripture like the back of their hand (which is awesome!). Unfortunately, sometimes you hear the word "Catholic" people may think, "Oh yeah, those people who always leave right after communion" or maybe "Yeah I have heard of them, they go to Mass every Sunday as fire insurance so they simply do not go to Hell."

The word "Evangelical" means the following: belonging to or designating the Christian churches that emphasize the teachings and authority of the Scriptures, esp. of the New Testament, marked by ardent or zealous enthusiasm for a cause, pertaining to certain movements in the Protestant churches in the 18th and 19th centuries that stressed the importance of personal experience of guilt for sin, and of reconciliation to God through Christ and/or relating to or being a Christian church believing in personal conversion. The word "Catholic" means universal, one, and whole.
(Check out these awesome articles explaining this at further length:)

http://www.catholic.com/library/What_Catholic_Means.asp

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0501fea4.asp

http://www.catholic-convert.com/wp-content/uploads/CatholicWordMean.pdf

I am a little bit different than your average Catholic; not to say that I am a saint (because I am NOT and the only way I will make get my sorry butt to Heaven is through the mercy of Jesus) or "holier than thou" type of attitude. But, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a Catholic....it is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. It is the fullness of Christianity; supported by 2,000 years of unbroken Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the witness of the blood of many martyrs. When I get on this soapbox in working with young people, I always tell them, "I wouldn't be Catholic if I didn't believe in it to the very depths of my soul." Did I grow up Catholic? Yes.
Did I ever take my faith for granted and go to Sunday Mass "because I had too"? Yes. But thankfully, the Holy Spirit whacked me over the head with a heavenly two-by-four piece wood and woke me up!!!!

I am "Evangelical" because I believe in the authenticity of Sacred Scripture and the role is has in supporting my faith (however, that does not mean that everything is based on solely Scripture alone). The Holy Spirit light a bright fire under my butt, which has caused me to radiate zeal, passion, and strength in my identity as a Catholic Christian. I recognize myself as a sinner, see the need for a Savior in the mercy of Jesus, and believe in my own personal conversion and having a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I am "Catholic" because I believe in "the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church." For me, it is the fullness of Truth.


For me, these two words are a beautiful and full combination of my religious beliefs.
that's all for now folks :-)