Dear Love Being Catholic Friends,

Thank you all for following this “Love Being Catholic” blog! Every few months I re-post the below message to introduce myself for anyone who is new to this blog, say hello, and thank you for joining “Love Being Catholic.”

My name is Liz and I am the admin for Love Being Catholic. I am passionate about my faith, and this page is my little way of spreading the joy and beauty of our Catholic faith. This page is dedicated to Our Blessed Mother, and I pray is under her guidance and protection.

I started my”Love Being Catholic” Facebook page five years ago and post on it every day, beginning with the Morning Offering prayer, and try to post on this blog once a week. This page is for Catholics, fallen away Catholics who might be interested in re-discovering their faith, or for anyone interested in learning more about what Catholics believe and why we believe it. This page was not set up to bash other religions or Protestant denominations, or to try to convert anyone to Catholicism. (That’s the Holy Spirit’s job.)My mission is to spread the truth, joy and beauty of our faith and hopefully clear up some misconceptions that we all have come across from time to time about our Catholic faith.

I wasn’t always this “into” my faith, but by the grace of God, while watching Saint John Paul II’s funeral several years ago, it struck me that I really did not know, understand, or appreciate my Catholic faith. I remember watching the funeral on TV, and thinking about how many people loved this pope, his holiness, and his love for Christ and our Blessed Mother. Saint John Paul II’s death actually started me on my journey back to re-discovering my faith. I realized at the time that I could not answer basic questions that my children asked me about what Catholics believed, and why we believed it. I went through the motions and considered myself Catholic, but really didn’t know or understand, let alone agree with many of the actual teachings of the Catholic Church.

I remember asking a woman, who is now a dear friend of mine, why she was converting to Catholicism. I saw the love and joy that she had for Christ and the Catholic Church, and I wanted that same joy. This same woman prior to becoming Catholic was a member of a mega church down the street where she was very active and led several Bible studies, and yet she converted to Catholicism. I was used to hearing stories of people who had left the Church, so it was refreshing to learn why someone would want to become Catholic.

I asked her why she was converting, and she told me that the Catholic Church contained the “fullness of truth.” I didn’t know what she meant by this “fullness of truth”, but these words stuck with me. She told me that the issue of authority and studying church history played a big part in her conversion. She started studying the early church fathers, and discovered what the church was like right after Jesus was crucified.(It was totally Catholic.) She recommended a book to me called “Four Witnesses” by Rod Bennett. I bought the book and loved it. I had never even thought about where the Bible came from, or what the early church was like. She also told me that the movie “The Passion of the Christ” had a profound impact on her conversion to the Catholic faith. (Be sure to watch this movie if you can – it’s very hard to watch, yet very moving!)

I started reading a lot of conversion stories and two books in particular that I really enjoyed were “Surprised by Truth” by Patrick Madrid, and “Rome Sweet Home” by Scott Hahn. These books contained stories of different people from other faiths and religions who converted to Catholicism, and why they converted. They all told their stories honestly, truthfully, and with charity, without bashing their previous religion or christian denomination. Another show I started watching was Marcus Grodi’s show on EWTN called “The Journey Home” which was a show on conversion stories, also done honestly and charitably. I started attending Bible studies, reading the Bible more, and attended talks by Scott Hahn, Jeff Cavins, Peter Kreeft, Allen Hunt, Patrick Madrid, and Matthew Kelly. I loved listening to others who were passionate about their Catholic faith, and hearing about why they loved being Catholic. I loved how so many people who converted to Catholicism used both faith and reason in their journeys. Each story I heard just logically made sense to me, as I searched for this “truth.”

Though I am a cradle Catholic, and have always attended Mass, I would often sit in the back and leave right after communion. I didn’t get it. I did not appreciate the beauty of the Mass, and definitely took it for granted. By the grace of God, my husband decided to convert and became a Catholic in 2007. I attended his RCIA classes with him to re-learn my faith, and loved every minute of it. His conversion to Catholicism actually helped to make me a better Catholic. My husband, a former Lutheran, is now very devoted to our Blessed Mother, and is the one who got us praying the rosary together every night. (Mary has a way of drawing her children back to the Catholic faith. Just a piece of advice -the rosary is a very powerful weapon!)

I attended a Catholic High School in Atlanta, and graduated from the University of Georgia. I currently work planning events for a private Catholic School. I have three children, ages 19, 16, and 12, ten brothers and sisters, tons of brother & sister-in-laws, a thousand or so nieces and nephews, and am blessed with the best parents and in-laws a girl could ask for. (Next weekend my whole family is getting together to celebrate my parents 60 year anniversary!) I am also an 18 year breast cancer survivor. (Yay!) I want to personally thank all of you for praying for my husband and my family this past spring when he was diagnosed with heart failure. It’s been a challenging year needless to say, but we remind each other daily that God is so good and He has a plan.

I am truly grateful to be given the gift of my Catholic faith, have a deep love for Christ and His Blessed Mother, and am so happy and humbled to be a member of His “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” – though I fail miserably all the time. (Thank goodness for God’s mercy!) I am still learning and re-discovering my faith, enjoy sharing it with others, and hope you enjoy it too.

That’s all – just wanted to say hello and thank you for following this blog!

And one more thing, if you couldn’t tell, I Love Being Catholic!

In Christ,

Liz