The Splendor of the Church

Detailed Description

There is no shortage of bad news in the Catholic Church today. Scandal, Catholic-in-name-only politicians and policy makers, reduced mass attendance, especially among the young, and on and on and on. Are you finally ready for some “Good News?” We thought so. That’s why Saint Joseph Communications has produced a Special Edition of Scott Hahn’s popular DVD The Splendor of the Church.

External Attraction

When renowned convert Scott Hahn began to study Catholicism, he quickly discovered an authentic splendor about the Catholic Church. At first he was attracted by the Church’s artwork, architecture, intellectual and cultural achievements, humanitarian services, miraculous elements and the heroic virtues of the Saints. But looking closer he found an even more exciting interior splendor, especially in liturgy and worship. Here Hahn discovered the amazing fulfillment of the Old Covenant Passover in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Special Edition

As you watch this new Special Edition of The Splendor of the Church, you will accompany Scott Hahn as he began to uncover the true interior splendor within the Catholic Church. You will share his contagious joy of discovery as he describes his journey through Scripture to find that Jesus is the cause of the prerogatives of Mary, that it is Jesus who established the Church, that it is Jesus who guarantees the papacy, and so much more. Plus in this newly mastered Special Edition you will see on-screen images of the many treasures of art and architecture Scott describes from his meeting with Pope John Paul II in Rome and more.

A Message to the Church

This inspiring presentation also includes a special message for Catholics in America to always love the Church and thereby avoid the path of the Biblical Church of Ephesus that “turned aside from their first love.” The message and spirit of this remarkable presentation is as fresh and encouraging as it was when it was taped in the 1990s. And this new Special Edition makes it more of a joy to watch and share than ever before! Rediscover why the true splendor of the Church, the mystery of Christ Himself, must be reclaimed, and proclaimed, today and always.

 

REDISCOVER!

• What the Church teaches about her external splendors
• What it is about the Church that sets her apart from all denominations
• How the Catholic Church is the “family of God”
• Why Catholic missionaries were so successful among the barbarians of Europe
• What is the theme of the Mystery of Christ
• Why externals matter in liturgy and worship
• Why Our Lord’s words to the Church in Ephesus are crucial for Catholics today
• How faith means obedience to the truth taught by the Church
• What it takes to become a saint
• And much, much more!

To purchase a copy of this DVD go to Saint Joseph Communications

To view a trailer of the DVD go to Saint Joseph Communications

Advent: An Exercise in Patient, Humble, Simple Obedience

By Patricia Arthur R.N., M.S.G.L.

Advent, it seems as though we were here not so very long ago.  Oh how the days fly by; this gift of life not deserved but given freely by our most loving and generous heavenly Father, is much too short.  As I begin this post, I do so my dear brother and sister grandparents; who like I, have children fallen away from the Faith.  These children and grandchildren are like sheep who have no Shepherd.  They have no concept of their heritage in faith or their religious roots.  They simply don't know; what they don't know! 

This is where my circumstances enter the picture. I was raised as a Methodist and did not convert to Catholicism until my oldest son was 10 years old.  The relationship I had with my Mother...if anything was strengthened with my conversion.  I did things with Mom at her Church and she did things with me at my Church, we had long discussions about the differences in our respective beliefs.  I came to really “know” my Mother through the openness she and I shared in these discussions and I believe she came to know me in a more intimate way as well.  Not only this, but I came to a much deeper awareness of the love and respect, God commanded me to show her out of love for Him.  I came to understand if I could not love and honor the parents I could see, it was impossible to love the God I could not see. I began to understand how my relationship with my mother and even my deceased father had a direct parallel relationship to my spiritual life. 

Being a convert to Catholicism the wonderful ancient Christian customs for the season of Advent were not something I was aware of as I was raising my children and it saddens me I did not have the opportunity to pass them on to my sons. But in keeping my heart, mind and soul open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit I am implementing these and other spiritually deep and rich traditions as the Lord guides me in spiritual maturation in my pilgrim journey on earth.  

So what does any of this have to do with the holy season of Advent and the title to this blog post?  The answer in a word - everything.  Now let me explain how I see this fitting into my vocation as a Catholic mother and grandmother, in my particular circumstances.  

Advent is a period of prayer in preparation for the coming of Christmas...the birth of Christ and in a deeper sense the preparation of the second coming of Our Lord, at our passing from this world into eternal life. We wait in joyful hope for both the celebration of Our Lord's birth and for our heavenly reward. This type of hope is confident that what is desired will certainly be attained. It is a hope that implies a desire, which seeks and pursues some future good that is not yet possessed. This hope recognizes that the object wanted is not easily obtained and that it requires effort to overcome whatever obstacles stand in the way.  This hope recognizes we are sinners and are unworthy without the Mercy and Goodness of our Lord who moves us to prayer, repentance and conversion.  This hope requires perseverance and patience. 

Advent is a time to humbly reflect upon who we are and who God is; to recommit ourselves to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him with our whole heart, with our whole soul, and with all our mind and strength. If we are truly in love with Him we will naturally be inclined toward simple obedience to Our Lord as evidenced by conformity to the teachings of His Holy Catholic Church. 

Patient, humble, simple obedience...these are the key elements to helping our children.  They are the key elements in allowing our Lord to work through us; and Mary is our perfect example of patient, humble, simple obedience.

What is Truth?

What Is Truth?
by Marcus C. Grodi

I am a former Protestant minister. Like so many others who have trodden the path that leads to Rome by way of that country known as Protestantism, I never imagined I would one day convert to Catholicism.

By temperament and training I’m more of a pastor than a scholar, so the story of my conversion to the Catholic Church may lack the technical details in which theologians traffic and in which some readers delight. But I hope I will accurately explain why I did what I did, and why I believe with all my heart that all Protestants should do likewise.

I won’t dwell on the details of my early years, except to say that I was raised by two loving parents in a nominally Protestant home, and I went through most of the experiences that make up the childhood and adolescence of the typical American baby-boomer. I was taught to love Jesus and go to church on Sunday. I also managed to blunder into most of the dumb mistakes that other kids in my generation made. But after a season of teenage rebellion, when I was twenty years old, I experienced a radical re-conversion to Jesus Christ.

I turned away from the lures of the world and became serious about prayer and Bible study.

As a young adult, I made a recommitment to Christ, accepting him as my Lord and Savior, praying that he would help me fulfill the mission in life he had chosen for me.

The more I sought through prayer and study to follow Jesus and confirm my life to his will, the more I felt an aching sense of longing to devote my life entirely to serving him. Gradually, the way dawn’s first faint rays peek over a dark horizon, the conviction that the Lord was calling me to be a minister began to grow.

That conviction grew steadily stronger while I was in college and then afterwards during my job as an engineer. Eventually I couldn’t ignore the call. I was convinced the Lord wanted me to become a minister, so I quit my job and enrolled in Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in suburban Boston. I acquired a master of divinity degree and was shortly thereafter ordained to the Protestant ministry....more

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Versus I Never Saw...

Verses I Never Saw by Marcus Grodi 

One of the more commonly shared experiences of Protestant converts to the Catholic Church is the discovery of verses “we never saw.” Even after years of studying, preaching, and teaching the Bible, sometimes from cover to cover, all of a sudden a verse “we never saw” appears as if by magic and becomes an “Aha!” mind-opening, life-altering messenger of spiritual “doom”! Sometimes it’s just recognizing an alternate, clearer meaning of a familiar verse, but often, as with some of the verses mentioned below, it literally seems as if some Catholic had snuck in during the night and somehow put that verse there in the text!

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