1917 - October 13 - 2026

Let us pray for Pope Leo XIV,

Lord may you preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth. Deliver him not up to the will of the devil, cancer.
Our Father, hail Mary, O God, look favorably on your servant Leo XIV, whom you have set at the head of your Church as the shepherd; grant, we pray, that by word and example, he may be of service to those who need it more, and to himself at this difficult time, to whom may he come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Amen and peace among the world.

Help would be very much appreciated, I am in so much despair. Will love your suggestions.

After more than a year of applying for jobs, l finally got a well paying job. I used to post my prayer intention on the prayer request thread and ld like to thank everyone in this community who prayed for me and a big thank you to God Almighty.

To God be the Glory forever and always. Amen

I got one by missionaries at my door, and was too weak to say no or some excuse. Sooo… now I got a book I don’t wanna read, and idk what to do with it

Let's continue for his quick recovery and healing.

I don’t even know what to think about God anymore. I am processing having the desire to transition. I am currently male and I desperately feel the need to be female. I fully believe that this makes me an abomination to God. And I don’t know what to do about it. I have been raised by one Catholic parent and one parent who was nondenominational and is becoming Catholic. They instilled all the right values in me. They taught me to pray nightly. They did everything right in raising me. I feel like I am a complete and utter failure to them. I went to a Catholic high school and took a theology class every semester, and they were always some of my better grades. I feel like an uncaring, apathetic monster who ignored everything they tried to teach me. It doesn’t have a lot to do with wanting to be feminine (although I guess it must, to some extent) – I played multiple sports from middle school until a few years into high school. Heck, not to get tangential, but KISS is one of my favorite bands, and macho is their whole thing, lol. All this to say, it’s not like I wasn’t properly exposed to masculinity or had negative or absent male role models. And yet there persists this inexorable desire to be female. I don’t want to have facial and body hair. I want to have breasts. I want to have a female voice. I want to have periods. I wish I could have a uterus and become pregnant and give birth. I am aware that that last one is unachievable with current medicine, but it doesn’t detract from the point I am trying to make, which is that being male has led me to depression and ideation of hurting myself (which I have prayed to God about and not felt any relief for). I wasn’t pushed to that point by any other hardship or trauma or anything of the sort. It had and has everything to do with this. I have done research both about transitioning and about people who detransition. The experiences of detransitioners are certainly valid, but I don’t feel deterred by them. I have sought the most comprehensive understanding of what HRT does and does not do, and I have a solid grasp on how it functions in the body and what changes it causes, and it still feels/seems worthwhile to me. In looking for alternative explanations/answers, I have tried therapy and medication and prayer and scripture reading, and yet nothing has reduced the intensity of these feelings. When I discovered that transition was something possible that real people could and did do, it felt like a glimmer of hope to enjoy anything about my life. Then when a close female friend helped me present femininely in private one singular time, I figured that if God wanted to set me off this path, I would feel repulsed or uncomfortable and could lay it to rest. Instead, I felt more meaningfully happy than I had in a while. Why did God make me in such a way that I would experience this feeling my entire life? Would God genuinely rather have me live severely depressed to the point of feeling like hurting myself, and if so, why?

What is the strongest evidence that the bodily Assumption of Mary was an apostolic tradition rather than a later development in the Church?
I’m currently discerning between Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, and I’m trying to understand the Catholiccase for the Assumption as fairly as possible. My main difficulty is establishing that the doctrine originated with the apostles rather than developing in later centuries.

The earliest surviving account that appears to describe Mary’s bodily assumption is the third-century Book of Mary’s Repose (Liber Requiei) in the 3rd/4th century, a work generally associated with non-orthodox Christian circles. The surviving Dormition andAssumption narratives become more prominent in later centuries, raising questions about how early and widespread thebelief actually was.

Several prominent early Christian writers, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, Augustine, Ambrose, and Epiphanies, do not clearly attest to Mary’s bodily Assumption. Epiphanius is particularly noteworthy because, in Panarion78.11, he considers various possibilities concerning the end of Mary’s earthly life but ultimately acknowledges thatScripture does not reveal what happened to her. I recognize that an argument from silence is not conclusive, but the absence of clear testimony from these writers makes it difficult for me to establish that the doctrine was part of the apostolic deposit of faith.

Another difficulty is John of Thessalonica’s Homily on the Dormition. As Stephen J. Shoemaker discusses in The Ancient Traditions of the Virgin Mary's Dormition and Assumption, John addresses why earlier Christians had not observed the Dormition feast and explains that earlier accounts had been rejected because heretics had corrupted them. This raises a question about the historical development of the tradition and how confidently its origins can be traced back to the apostles.

I’m also unconvinced that Revelation 12 provides clear evidence for the Assumption. The woman’s imagery has string connections to Old Testament descriptions of Israel and God’s people, particularly Genesis 37:9, Isaiah 26:17, Isaiah 66:7,Jeremiah 4:31, and Micah 4:10. Even if the woman is understood to have a Marian dimension, I don’t see how the passage establishes that Mary was bodily assumed into heaven.

I understand that Catholicism does not rely on Scripture alone and considers Sacred Tradition an authoritative source of divine revelation. My question is therefore not simply why the earliest sources are silent, but what positive evidence supports the claim that the Assumption was handed down from the apostles.

What is the strongest historical or theological evidence for the apostolic origin of the Assumption, and how do catholics distinguish an authentic apostolic tradition from a later tradition that the Church eventually defined as dogma?

I’m genuinely open to hearing the Catholic case and would appreciate its strongest arguments. I’m not looking to dismiss the doctrine, but to understand whether the evidence justifies believing that it originated with the apostles.

I’ve come to sense that for most of my life I’ve known God logically but not in my heart. I don’t think I truly love him and don’t know how. I struggle to pray and attend mass. It’s hard to explain is it supposed to feel so forced to do this stuff? It means I don’t love him enough if I have to force myself to pray attend mass etc. I would think logically knowing God would lead me to love but it doesn’t seem like I can. When I say I know him logically is that I see how wicked and evil the world is due to their full rejection of the church and God. That convinces me God is real but I just struggle to build a personal relationship.

Did you know about St. Callistus I, an early pope and martyr whose name is associated with the care of Christian burial places?

St. Callistus I is traditionally connected with the Catacombs of St. Callixtus in Rome, an early pope and martyr who served as Bishop of Rome in the 3rd century.One of the most famous early Christian burial sites.

St. Callistus I is remembered for his pastoral care, particularly his approach to reconciling sinners with the Church. His life reminds us of the importance of mercy, repentance, and the forgiveness of sins.

His story also offers a glimpse into the challenges faced by the early Church during times of persecution.

Today, October 14, is his traditional feast day in the Roman Catholic calendar.

Have you heard of him before? And did you know about his connection to early Christian burial sites?

Today I was supposed to go to OCIA. I drove all the way to the church is regularly attend just for the doors to be locked and no one let me in. They never lock the doors. I also feel like the priest kinda singles me out at times too because he'll speak about my awkwardness and stuff. When I first attended this parish I had a meeting with him one on one. During that meeting he kept looking at me judgementally and like I was bothering him. Ive mentioned this to other people in my life and they agree that its all kinda odd. My whole life ive been judged by people on how I act and behave and stuff. I cant help im awkward or anything. All the judgement I receive just makes me feel down on my faith. I just wish I could feel welcome somewhere for once in my life.

I apologize if it seems like im complaining or something btw

I know the code of canon law states that babies should be baptized within 4 weeks of birth. My wife gave birth a couple of weeks ago and we are aiming to baptize our son around October 31. My wife’s mother and sisters are very left leaning Protestants that don’t really practice their faith.

My MIL has been visiting us for going on 2 weeks now. She has been overbearing to say the least. First she was first in an uproar because we chose not to circumcise and now she is upset we are aiming to get our son baptized so soon. For one, she doesn’t care for Catholicism and too she thinks it’s unsafe and unnecessary.

Did anyone else get their kids baptized a few weeks to month after birth? Any way you dealt with the pushback from overstepping family members?

The Church reverently preserves and venerates relics often portions of saints’ bodies across the world. At the same time, the Church teaches that cremated remains of the faithful must be kept together in one sacred place. How do we understand and reconcile this apparent difference in how the Church treats relics versus cremated remains?

Somewhat of a ramble, but I left Catholicism at the age of 16, and started going to Mass again and reevaluating Catholic faith.

This past year I had a personal experience in which saying the Our Father released me from intense sleep paralysis. I'm a naturalist and empiricist yet I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something beyond my prior religious bias or upbringing which had an impact on that encounter. I've started attending Mass and going to Adoration and Confession but I still cannot consider myself Catholic again. I believe that if Christianity is true then the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are the spiritual authority which are most likely to be the legitimate representation and authority derived from Jesus but I do not think I personally will ever be able to actually believe in the most basic principles of Catholic or Christian belief again if I ever believed in them in the first place, Trinitarianism and transubstantiation.

1. I am VERY familiar with Classical philosophy and the terminology surrounding the Trinity. I know the differences between Sabellian Modalism, Partialism, Tritheism etc. I consistently hear one of two arguments from Christians on the Trinity. The first is that the Trinity is a mystery that must be taken on faith. There's an issue I'll highlight at the end of this write up regarding my take on this. The second is that God is one "what" with three "who"s. This is normally an argument about a difference between Person and Being? How are Catholics defining personhood because all of the Thomistic explanations of what a "Person" is essentially function the way that most philosophers post-1600 would define a "being"

2. I don't think I ever actually believed in the transubstantiation. That isn't to say that when I made my first communion that I didn't know or profess that the bread and wine were the body and blood of Christ, but I think most Catholics are unwitting heretics in this regard. If you asked them they would say that Jesus' spirit is there truly present in the bread and the wine, that his divinity and humanity are there but that the physical bread and wine are unchanged. This is if I recall, not the basis of the transubstantiation and would be considered heresy.

I think my best explanation for my experience though I am curious to hear the perspectives of others is that I was raised religious but being religious and being a person of faith are separate concepts. I dislike the concept of capital m "Mystery" because in my view there is nothing that is above reason ( sometimes called "supra-rational") there is only rational and irrational. As far as I'm concerned if God is Trinitarian and humans cannot understand the Trinity, then no one actually believes in that God at all. I think there are some who could argue growing closer to and understanding the will of God in my life but to me the concept of Mystery essentially falls apart and makes Christian belief something that I cannot get behind even if I would like to believe it or believe in the possibility that Christianity is true.

EDIT: Yeah I'm gonna be honest this didn't really go anywhere. I might actually believe less than when I posted this tbh. Idk I think some people are hardwired for belief and others just fundamentally never will and I'm one of them.

So many times I think we are fascinated by the possibility of alleviating the suffering of others with good advice. It is also among the works of spiritual mercy and perhaps, upon closer inspection, even more than one.

But how can we deal with the problem of not knowing who is addressing us? Maybe his own spiritual director or therapist thinks carefully before expressing himself.

And then, how can we act when the person asking for advice reports the behavior of a third person, who obviously cannot offer his own version?

Your experience and ideas, if you want.

As a Protestant who is Catholic candidate in OCIA, I personally despise listening to Klove. I feel like it's a pop music station singing to your boyfriend Jesus. I feel like the radio station is performative, superficial and lacks meaning or connection. Do Catholics have a radio station?

I am a non-Catholic. I have two simple questions about Catholicism.

Background:

A friend of mine is currently closely following a policial campaign.

Candidate X is trying to appeal to as many voters as possible. (Ideally "all of them".) Candidate X identifies as Evangelical Protestant. I know that some of his other family members formerly identified as Roman Catholic, but then converted to being Evangelical Protestant. I don't know whether Candidate X himself ever identified as Catholic. (I.e. whether he was baptized as Catholic.)

Candidate X recently attended a Roman Catholic mass. (Presumably making an effort to appeal to Catholic voters along with Evangelical Protestant ones.)

As far as I know, Candidate X did not take communion while at this Roman Catholic mass.

Two questions:

- Suppose some random Person P who was never baptized as Roman Catholic - or in other words "who is not Catholic", and who is known to be not Catholic - but who now wishes to take communion during a Roman Catholic mass. My understanding is that Person P would not be allowed to take communion. Is that correct?

- Suppose that Candidate X was correctly baptized as Roman Catholic ("was at one time Roman Catholic"), but has since been re-baptized as Evangelical Protestant and identifies as Evangelical Protestant - but now attends a Roman Catholic mass and wishes to take communion during this mass. I sometimes hear that the attitude of the Roman Catholic church is that "once Catholic, always Catholic" - one might be a "lapsed Catholic" but a lapsed Catholic is still a Catholic. This would seem to mean that if Candidate X made a full confession and did any appropriate penance then Candidate X would be welcome to take Roman Catholic mass. What are the facts here?

Thank you for your attention.