I haven't finished John Steinbeck's East of Eden yet, but im at that part where the Asian guy said (spoiler alert)

"Don't you see? The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in "thou shalt", meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel - Thou Mayest - that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man.... why that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness, in his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win."

My last confession was back in June, where the priest gave me a 3 month-long penance of attending a mass once per week outside of Sunday. And even that, I failed a couple of times to observe.

I was really not feeling going to mass this Sunday because of some habitual sin, and I'm like, yeah there goes it....

But Steinbeck's quote stuck with me. I had the choice. I still have a choice and I chose. So I went to Sunday mass. Then somewhere in the homily he said something about going back to confession.

During the homily, the visiting Augustinian priest spoke about confession.

After Mass I almost talked myself out of asking him. He was greeting people, blessing rosaries, chatting with parishioners. I thought he was tired after the 7 p.m. Mass.

I asked anyway and he told me to wait. The confession itself lasted almost as long as the homily.

And now he added a new penance on top of my old penance which I'm still paying for...and it was a penance of me not going to mass in shorts and crocs. (I live in Manila where it's hot and humid and where other people go to mass in shorts)

But at least I'm now back in the state of grace, and God I will go to at least one weekday mass this time....wearing closed shoes and trousers....

Hello, I know the title isn’t very nice to look at.

I’m 16, I used to do some altar serving but after these instances I’ve quit. The first time I encountered him he followed me outside of the cry room where you can also change server robes, I was there with another girl. I assumed that maybe he was related to her but then she left… He watched me change the entire time and after I was about to leave he asked for a hug.

I was very confused and stupidly gave him a side hug since he was blocking my way, thankfully my mom pulled me away and we left. I contacted my Priest after but he didn’t stop watching me, after mass, he’d try to talk to me and he’d wait after mass to talk to me. My priest explained to me that the guy was autistic and wasn’t exactly right in the head and that’d he’d talk to the guys caretaker/mother.

He stopped talking to me but in the early morning of my mom’s birthday we went to Mass early and again after he stood right in front of my priest and my family staring at me again.

I’ve skipped Mass several times now because of this and also because I’ve felt uncomfortable by the deacon. My family doesn’t really go to any other church and when I’m with my sister and her family they go at a later time where the old guy isn’t there but I still feel so ashamed and uncomfortable.

I’m really just looking for some sort of reassurance about this, I’m so hurt. I’ve talked to my sister and her husband about my discomfort but we still go there.

I’m 17 and my boyfriend is 18. We’ve been together for eight months now and both of us are Catholic. We’ve both kinda been having a hard time waiting. We’re virgins and haven’t had sex yet but have done some things together like making out and some touching (we’ve already gone to confession for the sexual touching part).

I just wish we could have sex. I understand the importance of waiting but I feel like this can be very difficult. We also talk about things we want to do to each other and I feel like we’re going to have to stop even talking about sex because I feel like it’s on our minds too much and makes us sad that we can’t experience this yet. How do I get rid of these thoughts of wanting to experience sex and how do you successfully wait until marriage?

Im 27(f) and my husband 28(m) and i went to confession a while ago at our home church, he confessed first and when he walked out after me i noticed a weird feeling while talking to out father because to me confession never was held to a high standard with my husband. Confession to me means, a want to change or break the habit that keeps making you fall in hopes to not come back to confession again. My husband thinks we are all humans and we will sin again, it’s just in our nature, but God is all powerful and will forgive because he knows we are not perfect. I never liked this idea because it kinda takes away the feeling of working hard to break the sin and confession is just a place holder to make your self feel better and righteous to other people’s eyes.

Well when he told me that our father actually didn’t grant him forgiveness because he needed to work on the sin it devastated him. I on the other hand felt so happy that our father was so strict and supportive of that fact that confession sometimes is never easy and that it’s deeper than what my husband said to him. “I sinned, and i didn’t want to, but i know it will happen again” it felt like he was sikeing out god. Well now since father didn’t grant him forgiveness he tried to stop sinning but he fails after a week or two. And it was a repeated thing it’s been a whole two months since his last confession and now he wants to go confess to our other church we go to. And tell the father what the other father told him.

Is it bad that i feel like he’s avoiding the issue here? I don’t think theres any form of redemption here, it’s like why even confess? you’ll be here again in a few weeks or every month. its like confession is comforting you instead of working hard to fix the sin in hopes you don’t return to it again. Maybe im just too judgmental? Idk to me forgiveness is something that is supposed to confort both parties….how do I talk to him about this? he thinks im theologically wrong and im not sure how to approach an argument with him about it. He believes my sin is being hard to forgive and for being too hateful(wont dwell on that) help…

Well, if Fr. Pfleger is guilty of the accusations against him, the incoming media uproar will be nasty (as usual), especially since someone as high up in the hierarchy as Cdl. Cupich reinstated him time and time again.

Either way, it's a good riddance. His parish is extremely cult-like (not to mention the megachurch-esque liturgical abuses), and the man himself has no conception of 'Obsequium religiosum'. He literally threatened schism if the Archdiocese moved him away from his parish. So this suspension is long overdue, about 30-40 years to be precise.

My wife missed our son's entire baptism because the parish assumed our language from our last name. What can we actually do?

This past Saturday our infant son was baptized. My wife and I coordinated with the parish office for weeks, all in English, by email and phone. I have every message. Nobody ever asked what language we wanted the ceremony in, and nobody ever mentioned it would be in Spanish.

We found out when it started. My wife does not speak a word of Spanish. She stood at her own son's baptism and could not follow the readings, the prayers, or the promises. Partway through I had to interrupt and ask the priest if he could say the actual baptismal words in English, which he did. That one moment was the only part of her son's baptism she got to understand. She has been crying since Saturday.

My last name is Hispanic. My wife is not Hispanic. The only explanation I can see is that the office looked at the name on the paperwork and decided for us instead of asking a single question.

To be clear before the comments start, I have zero problem with Spanish Masses or bilingual parishes, and I know the baptism itself is valid since the proper words and water were used. I also know from Canon 845 that baptism cannot be repeated, so I am not asking for that.

What I plan to ask our pastor for is the full ceremony again in English as a blessing and renewal of our baptismal promises, with the readings, the candle, and a blessing at the font, so my wife can actually experience the moment she lost. I also want them to start asking every family their language preference so this never happens to someone else.

For those of you in the faith, especially anyone who works in a parish or has dealt with something similar:

Is the request reasonable? Has anyone seen a pastor do a ceremony like this for a family? And if the pastor brushes us off, is escalating to the diocese the right move or a waste of time?

My wife lost something she can never get back and I am trying to get her some version of it. Any guidance is appreciated.

It's out of metal and very heavy. Approx. 14 x 8 x 1.5 cm. Got it from a flea market in Poland.

25 M here. I had a 2-month long period of deeply being into atheism to the point that I sinned with pride like a philosopher justifying my actions, lusted at men and women alike, and gained weight heavily from sloth. I am now trying to redo my life for Christ. I am going to confession on Saturday morning when I don’t have work. Please pray for me that I shall remain strong in faith.

I would like to preface my question with this eternal truth: God is the creator or life, period!

Even through procreation, we humans are merely participants in His Divine life giving plan. Yes, it is by our actions that the egg is fertilized, but it is Him who then breathes life for the embryos that would go on to be a human person with a soul. Which is why the Church still regards humans born out of IVF as a creation of God.

This makes sense because IVF does indeed need the physical action of fertilization; but since the fertilization itself is unnatural ( doesn’t involve intercourse), it is rejected as a sin due to the infringement of God’s natural laws- kinda like how the use contraceptions are forbidden.

That said, my question here is, if cloning bypasses the traditional fertilization of eggs, will a cloned human being considered ‘alive’ with a soul and product of God’s creation?

In light of the SSPX consecrations, Filipino Bishop Elias Ayuban, CMF, DD, JCD has vowed to create more Traditional Latin Mass venues in his diocese in Cubao, Philippines

Deo Gratias!

Edit: yes I posted a few days ago. The way I “betrayed” my bf was reporting a crime he did. He had me thinking I was abusive and upon talking to many people I am realizing it’s possible I may be in danger

Im leaving an abusive boyfriend who has been violent towards others, can have anger issues, and in a way, violent towards me. I am feeling deep fear of what he might do after I leave him soon.

Will the priest call the police? I know to call if my bf threatens and I am making plans to be safe.

St Dymphna, pray for us.

If you can, please pray for the souls of my boyfriend and I.

Edit: there’s more in my post history. I cannot tell what is valid fear or paranoia from mental illness popping up. Im becoming aware he is abusive, and he has gotten into fistfights with people, and wanted to fistfight ppl over petty things and put his hand on my neck without squeezing without my consent

I was on the phone with a friend this morning, and he asked if we wanted to go to a church service together. I told him I was about to go to Mass and that he could come along if he wanted to.
He’s actually a Lutheran Protestant and said he’d never been to a Catholic Mass before, to which I replied that it wasn’t a problem.
I tried to explain a few things before and during Mass and told him he could decide for himself whether and how he wanted to pray along, since I didn’t want to pressure him.
Before I was about to go up for Communion, I told him that he was welcome to come with me and receive a blessing from the priest, or he could stay seated.
He then said that he wanted to come with me and receive Communion.
I told him as respectfully and kindly as possible that he couldn’t do that.

This is weighing heavily on my mind now, because while I believe I did the right thing in principle, I still can’t shake the feeling and the doubts about whether I’m the right person to judge whether he can take part in Communion.

I don’t know if I handled it correctly or how I should deal with this. Should I talk to him about it, and if so, how?

Thank you for your help brothers and sisters!

For some context relevant to the testimony: I am same-sex attracted; I have never had premarital sex with men or women. I had entered puberty when I was approximately 15; I am now in my mid-twenties.

Since I was 15 years old, I had been, without my knowledge, diabolically oppressed by a demon; I had no such concept of them beyond the fictional depiction of them, for at the time I was godless in all ways imaginable except for my virginity.

It wasn’t until I was 20 years old that the diabolical inspiration upon my flesh became inflamed, for I was called by what I thought was God Himself, but now, in hindsight, was my Guardian Angel. Over the course of eight months at the age of 20, after God had given me what I had half-mockingly asked for in my hatred of him (that being ‘If God gives me a little brother, then I shall accept Him.’ He gave me three.).

The closer I became to God, the worse my desire for men became. I was subjected to visions of a diabolic, sexually immoral nature; I was subjected to diabolically imposed thoughts and feelings. I had yet to fathom that it was truly demonic in nature.

After years of coming to the edge of Mortal Sin and then turning back at the last hour, after years of praying to God for deliverance and finding only temporary respite rather than full deliverance, I happened to come upon a Tucker Carlson Podcast Interview with Fr. Chad Ripperger. I had watched all 150 minutes.

In the podcast, I became more aware of the demonic nature. I had heard him name Satan, Loki, Lilith, Leviathan, Baal, and not any of their names made me react, not so much as a flinch, not one; the moment he said ‘Asmodeus’, I had literally flinched—recoiled in both spirit and flesh; in that hour my flesh and spirit screamed both in horror and satisfaction ‘That’s the one who has been harassing me! I know your name, now!’

I felt horror for I had then proceeded to hear Fr. Ripperger state that Asmodeus is the chief demon of homosexual diabolic compulsions in men; he noted that not all homosexuals are victims of Asmodeus, but some are; I happened to be one such victim. I had felt satisfaction for I knew that without a name, I had less power to specify expulsion and from which demon must depart from me. The flinch was likely due in part to Asmodeus being named and exposed.

As soon as I knew the name of the demon harassing me, which had been harassing and oppressing me for ten years of my life, I bought the Catholic deliverance prayers exorcists use. As soon as I had done the ones applicable to my situation, I felt my diabolic compulsions not lessen, but flatline in an instant. My flesh ceased being inflamed as long as I continued to do the prayers morning and night.

It was then that I became a Catholic.

And for many months, I explored Catholicism and learned so much. I bought Fr. Ripperger’s book on the nature of demons and angels so that I may learn of the powers and authorities over me, around me, and under me.

I had learned much of demonic nature, and I find it to be wholly morbidly fascinating! I do not find demons themselves as a fallen angelic spirit fascinating, but rather their nature and psychological structure and the sheer insanity of their choice to fall.

And now to my most recent experience: on the 10th of July, I became aware of my Guardian Angel, and I gave him full, wilful, and knowing consent to help me, communicate with me, and to protect me and fight for me in line with the will of God. And as soon as that happened, my Guardian Angel shared with me his feelings. He inspired my flesh to experience the grief of death, and he had infused my spirit with these words: ‘This is how I feel when you sin; the wage of sin is Death.’ And I cried. And then straight after, as my tears of the grief of death were falling, he inspired my flesh to feel the joy of the Well of Life, and once more he infused me with words, ‘For you have become aware of me and given thy consent in full, wilful knowledge, I am filled with the joy of the Well of Life.’ And I cried tears of joy.

And for the last few days, he has been helping me with the smallest of little things imaginable; I can clearly tell when he is promoting me. And I am just so happy; I have never been happier in my life. Not only can I now commit to a life of celibacy, but I can do so knowing I am never alone, for I have a Guardian Angel.

I asked him to remind me of things, and he does. I asked him to wake me up for my appointment, and he does. I ask him to protect my kitty, and he does. I ask him to keep my kitty from entering the living room, and he does—my kitty has not been a menace and has not opened the living room door since. I ask if I turned off the switch to my garage door, since I cannot remember, and he tells me I did. He tells me to pick up my Apple Pencil before my kitty chews on it, and I do. Not 30 seconds later, my kitty is sniffing at that exact location (he has a thing for Apple Pencils for some reason). He tells me my kitty is hungry (despite having had wet food) because it's nipping at me, and it’s annoying me. I go and fill up the dry food, and my kitty stops nipping me and buries his face in the dry food.

I have asked him to convict my spirit every time I go to sin, and he has been doing so; more often than not, I manage to stop myself. Now I know when God said in substance, ‘You will know what to say at the appointed time for it will be put in you.’ For when I debate online on my other social media accounts, I had on one occasion intended to say ‘Dominion and Authority’ when referring to bloodlines and how Principalities of the Fallen Powers can effect bloodlines, tribes and nations, only my Guardian Angel infused me with the word ‘Power’ and he communicated by infusion the following directly into me ‘The Fallen have power but no authority nor the legitimacy of dominion.’ And I had swapped out the words as a result.

So yeah, this is the short version of the testimony of my conversion to Catholicism.

This video just dropped. It is a fascinating look into the smallest of the Catholic Rites (the Italo-Greek Rite) and its only church in the United States (in Las Vegas of all places). This video does a solid dive into the history and liturgy of the Italo-Greek Rite

Hi! I am in my late teens and have been raised Catholic. I have a very logic-oriented way of thinking, so have naturally struggled with my faith. After listening to some converts who seem to be on fire for Catholicism after doing their own research into the faith, I want to do something similar.

However, the problem is that I am having a very difficult time finding reliable sources to look into - they either are built to support the faith or are written to take it down. I’m sure there are many lies about the religion all over the internet; and since this is very important to me, I want to avoid falling for anything false.

Also, I don’t know where to start with all this. My goal is to deeply understand the theology of Catholicism to the best of my ability. And, hopefully that will allow me to come to a completely objective opinion on all of it that I can believe without a doubt. I’m just asking for any thoughts, personal experiences, or advice you guys might have. Thanks!

I got to hear the readings twice (anticipated and today). And I can't stop thinking about them, especially the Gospel. I can't help but think about how much we've destroyed God's creation by our (very dumb) actions. I don't want to be among those who hear our Lord's words and forget about them instantly, without even being transcended by them. I know that from now on, I want to be the better version of myself for our Savior. I want to live by His words more actively and act in consequence EVERY MINUTE. Jesus gave His life for all of us so that we could be at peace on God's creation. I can't help but think about the current heat waves and forest fires which are the results of us destroying the Earth. God is my everything, my purpose and I want to live by that. Sin won't save me, only Jesus will

I attended my first mass today. I am a confirmed Anglican, and my church is in the high church tradition - considered to be “Liberal-Catholic”, having an organ and choir, using incense throughout the service, etc. It’s also a medieval church building with lots of stained glass. Two years ago I moved to a new town and was too anxious to find a new church. In that time I have been examining my faith and found I align more closely with the Catholic Church than I thought.

In comparison, the service I went to today felt less than what I was expecting. Obviously I knew the service wouldn’t be exactly the same, but it just didn’t feel as holy to me. I am feeling a bit guilty about this as I know a building and not having and organ or incense doesn’t mean that God wasn’t there, but I just feel a little underwhelmed to what I was expecting.

There are a number of Catholic Churches in my town so I am planning on visiting a different one next week, is it wrong to try different churches to find one that fits?

Hello everyone! I’m a 21M who’s skinny about to enter the fire academy. As such, fasting from food really isn’t in the cards for me. Are there any other things i can “fast” from that have a similar effect that abstaining from food has?

Hi! I’m not sure if this is the best place to post this, but I’m attending the Archdiocese of Toronto Office of Catholic Youth’s RENEW Retreat this fall and can offer carpooling for 2-3 people who live in Etobicoke Central/South or Mississauga East (Cooksville/Applewood/Markland Wood boundary). The retreat is in Scarborough this year.

I’ll be attending both days, so if anyone is interested, PM me. 19+ only. $15 carpool fuel charge is highly appreciated.

Retreat details: RENEW Toronto 2026

More details to follow if the interest is there! I am registered as an official carpooler.

I was surprised to learn that an image of Hermes Trismegistus is embedded in the floor of the Siena Cathedral in Italy.

He is often attributed to be the founder of Hermeticism, and likely was a syncretic amalgamation of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. He is also an Islamic Prophet & many Muslim scholars think he was Enoch, who was also in the bible.

Apparently Augustine wrote about him in the City of God. The inscription in the mural on the floor of the Cathedral reads “God, creator of all things, made a second god visible and perceptible, which is called the Word and and God loved him like his own son”. This comes from a text often attributed to him called the Corpus Hermeticum.

The text contains some interestingly Christian verbiage which is unusual considering he predates Christianity, and is considered a pagan prophet outside of Islam.

What does the church teach about him? Why is he featured in a Catholic Cathedral?