Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 97
November 24, 2014
Returning Catholics FAQs: About Tradition
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
Why is the Church so ancient, traditional, and rigid?
The Church is ancient. It’s been around for two thousand years, after all. And it is traditional; we are built on Apostolic Tr...
November 21, 2014
Sweet in the Mouth, Sour in the Stomach
Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod , owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Today, I finish up a Marian consecration exercise, courtesy of Father Michael E. Gaitley, MIC’s 33 Days to Morning Glory. The readings have been short, couple of pages most days, with wisdom from Sts. Louis de Montfort, Maximilian Kolbe, and John Paul II and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. While you can start the “retreat” any time you like, Father Gaitley recommends b...
November 19, 2014
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska
The Basics:Born November 20, 1869, in Ukraine; died April 7, 1919, in Ukraine; beatified June 27, 2001, by John Paul II; feast day, November 20. Woman religious.
The Story:The late 19th century was a time of rapid growth for the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. But in rural areas, there was much poverty and crime. The only order of women religious in the area was cloistered. Two priests believed there was a desperate need for a congregation of women who would go out among the people and help r...
November 17, 2014
Returning Catholics FAQs: Cremation
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
I want to be cremated when I die. Can I do that if I come back to the Church?
That’s fine, provided your intent is not to, as the Catechism puts it, “demonstrate a denial of faith...
November 14, 2014
The Things We Leave Behind
Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod , owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
Ah, the memories.
Who doesn’t like to talk about Snowmageddon, the 2010 series of winter storms during which Washington ground to a halt, or the June 2012 derecho that left millions without power and was responsible for twenty-two deaths?
Or maybe you’ve got a story about where you were when the towers fell or when John or Bobby Kennedy or Martin Luther King was assa...
November 12, 2014
Wednesday’s Woman: St. Frances Cabrini
The Basics:Born July 15, 1850, in Italy; died December 22, 1917, in Chicago; canonized July 7, 1946, by Pius XII; feast day, November 13. Woman religious, social worker.
The Story:Frances was quite sure she was meant to be a missionary, taking the Word of God beyond her homeland. At age thirty, she was among the founders of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and served as its founder until her death. While 
the sisters did much good work in Italy, Frances wanted to expand to C...
November 10, 2014
Returning Catholics FAQs: About the End of Life
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of
When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics
, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
Are people who commit suicide going to hell? Can they have a Catholic funeral and be buried on consecrated ground? What about euthanasia? What about do-not-resuscitate orders?
God...
November 7, 2014
The Quality of Mercy… and Gradualism
Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod , owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
For some of us, it’s the parable of the prodigal son. We’re the older brother, and we can’t stand that the father killed the fatted calf for that profligate, who wasted his share of the estate and how he’s back and welcomed with open arms.
For some of us, it’s the parable of the vineyard workers. We don’t see why the people who worked a half day or less should get t...
November 5, 2014
Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
The Basics:Born July 18, 1880, in France; died November 9, 1906, in France; beatified November 25, 1984, by John Paul II; feast day, November 8. Woman religious, mystic, writer.
The Story: As a child, Elizabeth was somewhat of a pill. She was willful and given to fits of anger. Indeed, it’s said that a priest from 
her childhood pronounced, “This one will grow up to be a saint or a devil.” As time went on, especially after her First Communion, Elizabeth grew in love and self-control, and became...
November 3, 2014
Returning Catholics FAQs: More About the Bible
On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
Why do Catholics have more books in the Bible than Protestants do? And why aren’t the Gnostic gospels of Mary Magdalene and the rest in the Catholic Bible? What is the Church afra...
