I decided to start my year of journeying with the Saints with Saint Francis of Assisi. When I started studying Catholicism in 2018, references to St. Francis came up often. As a dog mom and an animal lover, I was intrigued by his connection to animals. I had heard stories of him communicating with animals and being connected to God through nature. Many Catholic parishes hold an annual pet blessing in October in honor of St. Francis’s feast day. I was so thankful to bring my sweet dog, Wylie, to receive a pet blessing in October 2019, just before he died. Utilizing resources like Formed (basically Catholic Netflix!) and a book that came highly recommended, The Journey and the Dream, I spent January getting to know Saint Francis better, and I’m excited to share him with all of you.
Tag: Convert
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
January always feels like an extra long month to me. Maybe it’s because the holidays seem to rush by in a blur. Then once things slow down, they seem to really slow down. January in Western New York has been cold and snowy, with winter finally arriving. But sub-zero temperatures have never stopped anyone in Buffalo from enjoying life.
I’ve been enjoying my 2022 adventures with the Saints and the Blessed Mother and visited my first church of the year dedicated to the Blessed Mother. For January, I’ll be sharing about the Blessed Mother under the title Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also called Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Before I get into specific titles, I’d like to address the two most common references to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. When Catholics refer to Mary, we typically call her either the Blessed Mother or Our Lady. But why do we do that? Why not just call her Mary?
Catching Up
To say that this post is overdue is quite an understatement. So many times I meant to sit down and type out an update on my 2021 reading goals and progress, to mention new books I’d read, to share my spiritual journey. But life got busy and I began opting for self-care like naps, workouts, and attending daily Mass instead of blogging. I did share many of my adventures from 2021 on my social media pages, so if we’re connected there you’re in the loop on what I’ve been up to. My biggest accomplishments of 2021 were meeting my goals of reading the entire Bible and still accomplishing my Goodreads goal for the year! That’s a whole lotta reading, and I’m so thankful I was able to complete both goals.
Book Review: The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism by Keith Nester
I’ve been on quite the spiritual journey for the last two years as I’ve studied the Christian faith. My studies led me to Catholicism, and I’ve been doing a deep dive into the faith and its teachings. This includes reading tons of books like the writings of the early Church Fathers, apologetics, and conversion stories. In addition to reading, I’ve discovered the awesomeness that is Catholic YouTube. Priests like Father Mike Schmitz and groups like Catholic Answers have answered so many questions I’ve had about the Catholic faith. 
Not long ago, I discovered a YouTube video of a talk given by a man named Keith Nester. Keith was a Protestant pastor who had recently converted to the Catholic faith in 2017. In doing so, he left behind his church, his job, his livelihood, and even friends. If someone was willing to give up that much to convert to the Catholic faith, I figured his story must be worth listening to. It was!
I could relate to much of what Keith was saying. I started to search for more of his videos and, to my delight, discovered that he has his own YouTube channel! Not only does Keith offer incredible videos, but he recently published his first book, The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism: Your First Year in the Church.
Continue reading “Book Review: The Convert’s Guide to Roman Catholicism by Keith Nester”
Kait's Bookshelf