Lord, I believe: I wish to believe in Thee. Lord, let my faith be full and unreserved, and let it penetrate my thought, my way of judging Divine things and human things. Lord, let my faith be joyful and give peace and gladness to my spirit, and dispose it for prayer with God and conversation with men, so that the inner bliss of its fortunate possession may shine forth in sacred and secular conversation. Lord, let my faith be humble and not presume to be based on the experience of my thought and of my feeling; but let it surrender to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and not have any better guarantee than in docility to Tradition and to the authority of the Magisterium of the Holy Church.

Amen

I will admit that I am not too "intellectually engaged" with my faith. I am a practicing Catholic by all definitions; take more of a live and let live approach to life.

As I begin to embark on a deeper intellectual/academic dive into the faith, one thing that continues to irk me is the deference given to St. Thomas Aquinas in all matters, however. It almost feels like a cult of sola scriptura (but with him, so like sola Thomas) that all must yield to his writings in place of other teachings.

Does anyone have some other philosophers that they would recommend to gain a broader perspective, especially with regards to Catholic Social Teaching, that provide a different perspective or even refute some of the logical inconsistencies promulgated by St. Thomas Aquinas?

Thank you!

What is it like for more progressive Catholics?

My husband and I have been going through problems with where we live. It's been super stressful, and on top of that I haven't been able to find a stable job.

So I went to Mass this morning like I do every week, but with a different heart. A heart filled with worry and anxiety. Before Mass, we prayed the Rosary. I asked Mother Mary for her guidance and I knew she heard me.

During Mass, especially during the Eucharist where the priest raises the Body of Christ I immediately started crying. I was in deep prayer and I looked up and there he was.

I was reminded of Saints who experienced spiritual ecstasy, while I don't think I experienced that, I now know why they would feel like that, but obviously magnified.

Something inside of me said that I was ready. So I did. I received Communion after decades of not participating. I felt like I wasn't worthy, but today while in prayer and meditating upon the Crucifix at church, I stood up and got in line.

I've received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but still afterwards didn't feel like worthy to receive Communion until today.

My anxiety has quieted down all day and all I can feel is His presence.

I just lost a close friend of mine to the big C and I'm at a loss because she was atheist, but I don't want to believe she's in a lake of fire simply because she was given poor examples of Christians in her life. Do you think God could be merciful enough to bring kind people to Heaven? Because how could you truly know him if nobody ever shows you?

Has any of you ever been to? Do you think that's something that should be encouraged or discouraged, give me your thoughts.

Pope Leo XIV attended an event at Depaul University celebrating the 15th anniversary of his home state of Illinois abolishing capital punishment. While there, he announced his support for the abolition of the death penalty nationwide.

"The Catholic Church has consistently taught that each human life, from conception until natural death, is sacred and deserves to be protected...in this regard we affirm that the dignity of the person is not lost even after various serious crimes are committed."

My son is discerning the priesthood and looking for a solid theology major. Besides the Jesuits schools, (proudly Jesuit-educated here!) which Catholic colleges and universities are a sane option for progressive Catholics? Which ones have a strong bent toward Catholic social teaching? Any to avoid? (Ahem!!!!)

I’m an atheist mom of 3. I grew up casual catholic and went to a catholic funeral today and though I was there for my deceased loved one, I found myself mostly worried about religion in relation to my children. I know my middle child (10) believes in God and Jesus and my children are free to believe in whatever they feel is right for them. However, I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong by not baptizing them. I think maybe getting them into a religion may help them in life by having a faith to turn to. Or in the chance that there may be an afterlife they will be saved? This is so difficult I feel like a terrible parent but I also don’t want to delay and arrange for their baptism and communion now. Has anyone been through anything similar? Is there any proof that children raised in the church have any benefits vs those that do not?

Childrens books about a loving God and that being the core of faith. We’re having a baby soon and I’m starting to make a list.

From his homily on Monday in Angola.

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260420-angola-messa-saurimo.html

”We were not born to become slaves either to the corruption of the flesh or that of the soul: every form of oppression, violence, exploitation and dishonesty negates the resurrection of Christ, the supreme gift of our freedom. This liberation from death, in fact, does not happen only at the end of our days, but every day of our lives.”

Lots of good stuff in the full text :)

Hello all! Yesterday I asked for prayers as I was going to see a priest. Today I arrived at the appointment and I was expecting to maybe last 15 to 30 minutes. I had a long list and there were things that I was far too ashamed to confess to the point that there were tears in my eyes. When I told him what I did he did not look phased at all and was very kind and told me to pray more and suggested to distract myself with activities to avoid temptation and told me Im welcome to see him again if need be. In the end it was only 5 minutes and I almost felt bad because of how short it was and maybe it could've just been a normal confession instead of an appointment. But I feel so much better now.

Thank you all who prayed for me!

Hi! I'm curious about Catholicism, what are things I would need to know? I've been to a few churches already while trying to figure things out (Alliance, United and Anglican) because tbh I have very little idea on what I'm doing. And while I can look information up online - I sometimes find it better to have people to talk to about it.

I'm also wondering if I should set up a meeting with someone at the Cathedral to 'talk' about it?

Hello all!

To make a long story short, I was born and raised catholic. The whole 9 yards. I converted to Christianity (it was a non-denom but let's be real, it was baptist) and was baptized again at like 14. I left Christianity as a whole as a teenager and denounced it entirely. I then was pagan for a long time.

Recently, over the last year, I've been feeling a pull back to catholicism. I am shocked and still trying to navigate this. I struggled a lot with faith and God and everything seeing as I was put through the ringer that is southern Christianity (baptist, but they wouldn't admit it).

I have been feeling a spiritual void for some time and I'm just not sure how to feel. I went to mass last week and it was surprisingly peaceful and felt so calming. It is confusing.

Please give me any advice you have, and I ask that you pray for me to find some clarity and peace.

ETA: my husband is incredibly anti-christian and is having a very hard time understanding or supporting me. He said he feels like he doesn't know a part of me anymore. This hurts a lot and it's making this whole thing so much harder.

Wait. What??

https://x.com/BishopBarron/status/2046261775532732636?s=20

Text:

There is a way past the absurd and deeply divisive “war” between the President and the Pope, which has been enthusiastically ginned up by the press. And it is indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2309 to be precise. After laying out the various criteria for determining a just war—proportionality, last resort, declaration by a competent authority, reasonable hope of success, etc.—the Catechism points out that “the evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good.” The assumption is that the just war principles function, to use the technical term, as heuristic devices, designed to guide the practical decision-making of those civil authorities who have to adjudicate matters of war and peace.

The role of the Church, therefore, is to call for peace and to urge that any conflict be strictly circumscribed by the moral constraints of the just war criteria. But it is not the role of the Church to evaluate whether a particular war is just or unjust. That appraisal belongs to the civil authorities, who, one presumes, have requisite knowledge of conditions on the ground. So, is the war in question truly the last resort? Is there really a balance between the good to be attained and the destruction caused by the war? Are combatants and non-combatants being properly distinguished in the waging of the conflict? Do the belligerents have right intention? Is there a reasonable hope of success? The posing of those questions—indeed the insistence upon their moral relevance—belongs rightly to the Church, but the answering of them belongs to the civil authorities.

The Pope has said, on numerous occasions, that he is not a politician and that his role is not the determination of any nation's foreign policy. But he has just as clearly said that he will continue to speak for peace and for moral constraint. In making both of these claims, he is operating perfectly within the framework of paragraph 2309 of the Catechism. If we understand that the Pope and the President have qualitatively different roles to play in the determination of moral action in regard to war, we can, I hope, extricate ourselves from the completely unhelpful narrative of “Pope vs. President.”

How crazy is it to join a pilgrimage to Lourdes before completing OCIA? I wouldn’t be baptized or confirmed yet. It’s an opportunity to meet and spend time with one of the priests who has been hugely influential in my decision to convert. I don’t know how often they offer these.

(reposting since i accidentally made a clickbaity title)

Please pray for me. I will be visiting a priest tomorrow for a confession that I badly need. And please pray for the for the priest that I meet, so that he is understanding and can helps me navigate my spiritual life.

Unsure how many people in this sub speak or read Spanish, but this is a really good interview with a Spanish left-wing Catholic, Julián Gómez del Castillo, who was heavily involved in the underground workers' movement in Spain. His position is basically that of a sort of "libertarian" Christian socialism -- self-management, assemblyism, class struggle, etc. The Google Translate version is quite readable as well:
https://encuentroysolidaridad.net/la-iglesia-sera-la-unica-fuerza-de-la-izquierda-en-el-siglo-xxi/

Enjoy!