St. Mary Magdalene said to St. Mechtilde: "Whoever shall give thanks to God for all the tears I shed upon the feet of Jesus, our most merciful God will grant them, through my intercession, remission of all their sins before their death, and a great increase of love of God."

Holy Holy Holy Mary Magdalene, lamp of the world ablaze with love, your faith has saved you, pray for me at the feet of our Redeemer. Amen.

"With agonied black tears,

Mary prostrate on the floor adores

Wipes His feet dry with her own hair

Then forth her precious perfume pours."

I am 15 years old, and I want to convert to Catholicism. I am currently Mormon, because my parents raised me as one. they wont let me go to mass, or do anything related, until I have served a mission for Mormonism. I am not sure how to maintain my faith until then.

Question: How do I pray through this? I'm already looking for a new job.

* I'm not a parent and my time at the chapel doesn't detract from my vocation or duties at home.

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I need some advice. I've been a practicing Catholic for 11 years and have been actively involved in my previous parish and adoration chapel.

I moved and a brand new 24/7 adoration chapel opened in my city two months ago. They are desperate for adorers to cover all the shifts so I wanted to help out. So I signed up for 4 days a week (1 hour each of those days).

As soon as I signed up for weekly commitments at the chapel, all hell broke loose in my life. This all happened after I signed up to now:

-Tire spring snapped on my 2022 minivan and as soon as I got the vehicle out of the shop, had a tire issue.

-Got a big metal shard in my tire and had to replace it

-Permit I was getting help with, fell apart and people turned on me and no longer want to help me

-Job went really bad and turned abusive (got yelled at...)

-The apprenticeship I moved to a different state for ended after I found out the mentor was a sham and a scammer (taking advantage of people)

-My parent had a second stroke

- Everyday has been horrible at work due to my dysfunctional manager

- My husband's new job took a turn for the worst

- My job had layoffs

- My music teacher became verbally abusive and I had to end the relationship

- I'm having trouble sleeping and eating, mostly due to the stress of the dysfunctional job.

....

Essentially, in the last two months, I've had 5 really abusive or highly dysfunctional work-related relationships that have manifested or ended.

We only give glory to God and I'm not complaining. It's just been a lot of crazy stuff that has happened in a short time and I don't know if I need to be praying differently. I don't think anyone is praying for protection for the adorers at the new chapel. The founding priest of the chapel is on sabbatical, but I did contact the chapel staff to learn more.

What do I do? Just wait it out? Do I pray differently? I told God he's got to fix this or I'm going to have to quit the chapel. This is too much.

(I am interviewing for new jobs).

Has anyone gone through this before?

Thanks for listening!

Edited: For clarity.

I’ve reached a point where I don’t know what to do anymore, honestly I’ll take any advice.

My entire childhood, both of my parents neglected me emotionally. They provided food and a home, but I never really knew what it felt like to be loved by them. I can’t remember receiving hugs or words of affection. When I was a teenager, I told my father that I wanted to end my life, and he told me I should do it.

I’ve always tried to live a good life. I’ve stayed away from drugs and other destructive habits, and I’m an honor student at my university. I’m not perfect, but I’ve genuinely tried to do the right thing.
Even so, I feel so alone for most of my life.

My parents are now separated, and I live with my mother because it’s closer to my university. Our relationship is polite but distant. I have two very close friends who have been incredibly supportive, and I’m grateful for them, but they come from loving families, so it’s difficult for them to fully understand what this kind of emptiness feels like.

Lately I’ve fallen into a deep depression. I’ve cried out to God over and over, but I feel like my prayers disappear into silence. I don’t feel His presence anymore.

To be honest, I’ve been struggling with suicidal thoughts. The only thing that has stopped me from doing it, is that I don’t want to gamble my soul. I don’t want to find out if I will be forgiven for it or not.

But I’m so tired that I’ve started wondering whether God would forgive me for simply not being strong enough anymore and just ending it.

More than anything, I’ve prayed for a family. For somewhere I truly can belong to and where I experience love that I’ve never had.

I’m not looking for theological arguments or debates. Has anyone else gone through something similar like this? How did you keep your faith when everything inside you told you that He had forgotten you?
Please pray for me.

I want to clarify one thing first. I am not complaining about modern shapes or materials like concrete or steel.

The real tragedy of modern church architecture is the sudden disappearance of figurative art, statues, and visual storytelling. By stripping churches of images, we broke a long tradition and ignored basic human psychology.

Here is why this was a huge mistake.

1. A Break of Tradition

Sacred art was not a medieval invention. Dura Europos in Syria, one of the earliest Christian house churches from the third century, is covered in biblical frescoes. For nineteen hundred years, Christianity was a visual and narrative religion. Completely bare churches are a historical anomaly.

1. The Literacy Myth

People often claim we only used sacred art because past generations were illiterate. This is false. Monasteries, which were reserved for highly literate monks, were packed with frescoes. In the late nineteenth century, literacy in Western Europe was near one hundred percent, yet churches were built with more detailed art than ever. Humans need visual resonance regardless of their reading ability.

1. Psychology and the Intellectual Trap

Some theologians argue that a completely bare room is necessary for pure devotion because it removes visual distractions. However, this is a purely intellectual theory that completely ignores how the average person actually experiences prayer. We are highly visual creatures. Expecting everyday people to walk into a plain concrete room and instantly reach a state of mystical awe is absurd. It treats humans as abstract minds rather than embodied beings with senses.

1. The Loss of Attraction

A historic church is a visual treasure chest. Even an atheist can sit in a Baroque or Gothic church and spend an hour captivated by the details. In contrast, you can visually process a bare modern church in thirty seconds. After that, there is nothing left to explore. It feels like a sterile lecture hall.

By abandoning figurative art for total abstraction, an elite group of architects threw away our most powerful tool for emotional connection. We did not fail because we used concrete. We failed because we forgot that we need stories, faces, and forms.

For something as emphasized as Eucharist, I find it hard to get an explanation as to why it is so important. The reasons I’ve found are that it gives Spiritual life, unity with Christ, and wipes out venial sins. Of course, Jesus commanded us to, but (aside from transubstantiation) what separates Catholic communion from Protestant? Protestants take it basically once a month, while Catholics take it weekly. It is a huge part of mass. Why is that?
I am hoping to become Catholic(as a Protestant), and as I’ve researched the faith, the top thing is communion. At this point, I fully believe in transubstantiation. I don’t want to downplay the reasons I’ve already found that I stated earlier because clearly those are important things we should have. But for something as central to Catholicism, those reasons feel to be unequal to the amount of importance placed on it if that makes sense.

hey all, last post i made here was some questions regarding catholic doctrine, as of currently i've basically come to accept that christ's true church is the roman catholic church and (spiritually) consider myself one

i'm still living with my parents so i cant attend mass or go to ocia even though im dying to, i haven't told them my specific catholic beliefs all they know is that i believe in orthodox christian doctrine, they have a ton of hate for the church and constantly try to slander it with things that are completely false. like most people my age i unfortunately fall into temptation a ton, it tugs my conscience though but it's something thats taken over me a lot since a couple years ago, i can't go to confession which also sucks

because i left this really high control system i have a ton of doubts sometimes, generally being intellectual doubts about the truth of certain things, especially since most people who leave that cult become atheists, the r\exjw sub isnt any better, they just trash on the bible and christians in general, i mean someone mentioned they were converting to catholicism and they got clowned on by the entire sub till a mod stepped in because people were being assholes, i generally try to avoid places like that but if youre on reddit youre bound to find some antitheist, honestly sometimes i feel kind of agnostic for no apparent reason

my parents have been... divided to say the least. my dad has been accepting of my point of views and recognizes the unhealthy atmosphere where you can't ask questions or look at contrary points of views and have to discard everything negative as lies, he thinks thats totally contrary to scripture so at least he's somewhat on my side. my mom on the other hand is a superfanatic who treats the governing body and the organization as god himself, she talks more about the organization than the lord, she doesnt even read the bible she just reads publications as if they were more valuable, she constantly trashes on me and calls me a pagan and part of "babylon the great" (false religion), that my beliefs are "lies satan has been in charge of spreading", that i left "the truth", that only "jehovah can attract me back to his organization", saying that when i see the "destruction of babylon the great" and the "great tribulation" i will sh*t my pants, etc. it is genuinely so tiring, yet she cant refute anything i say, if i pull up any verse from john regarding the diety of christ she will refuse to respond and scream at me telling me to shut up and be quiet

i have absolutely no privacy in my house, i don't have headphones, there are cameras everywhere, my mom always looks at me, i feel extremely uncomfortable listening or doing anything spiritual around her, even when she's gone im still paranoid about the 3 cameras that are actively looking at me at all times

a lot of stuff has happened but i feel much more peaceful in my interior, i actually feel like i have a purpose and feel full for the first time in my life, lust has kind of hit me really hard and i'm still trying to fight against it but its a slow process, if you're able to please pray for me and my parents because they are genuinely blind 🙏💕, whenever i have some freedom i'll go to confession and do ocia so i can get confirmed as soon as i can

This appeared in Northwest Catholic Magazine, published by the Diocese of Seattle. I didn't realize that my pastor helped found it!

https://nwcatholic.org/news/andrew-foster/r-askapriest-the-internet-s-holiest-forum

I am currently pregnant with my third child, and my OB is telling me that I should get a tubal ligation to prevent another pregnancy since all my kids are born via Cesarean Delivery. My CS cut is too near in my bladder already and she said I can only deliver 3 kids based on my medical history and age.

I know its a grave sin to have your tubes tied. I don’t like to commit a sin but i am so confused right now. Can someone enlighten me on what to do. Thank you.

Currently on Day 138 of The Bible in a Year Podcast, and I've heard enough. Joab stood on that business.

Im unsure of what will happen to me after leaving this place. I believe in the Trinity and the Catholic canon but I've not been baptised or set foot in a catholic church, not even as a catechumen.

I believe in a few days I'll be gone and I'm unsure of my fate after that.

I've tried confessing everything to God directly but im not sure if it's valid without the involvement of a priest.

I've been a seeking convert since age 12 so about 6 years at this point, have covered some theology across the works of St.Augustine and St.Thomas Aquinas in that time period but haven't had the chance to receive the Sacraments.

Will appreciate any clarification.

I want to live a Catholic life, but I engage in things everyday that I definitely shouldn't be doing, I don't go to Mass or confession and I live a life that is contradictory to the teachings of the Church.

I don't want to be eternally damned and I want to serve God and turn my life around.

Any advice on what I should do would be most welcome

Is it normal that every time I pray the rosary in front of an image of the resurrected Jesus Christ, I'm certain he's smiling at me? If anyone here tells me I'm crazy, I'll agree. Let's say this has been going on for about two months now (?) and I feel joy because that conviction truly reaches my heart. It's happened to me at times when I feel nothing or I'm discouraged. It's strange because lately I've been somewhat distant from Christ, and so sometimes I feel like it's my imagination or something like that; it's confusing because I tend to judge myself too harshly and look for logic in everything, so I really don't know the point of saying all this here. Anyway, I just want to know if this is normal or if I'm simply hallucinating

(Sorry for my bad English, I use a translator)

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share my story with you as I am a bit lost right now.

I am in my late 20s, I was raised in an atheist family, but with Catholic culture (sounds a bit confusing, I know - think wrapping advent wreath, very occasional church visit, suggestion to pray to the Virgin Mary but no specific prayer etc.).

Religion hasn’t play a big role in my life until a few years ago when I got closer to Israel and then subsequently started exploring Judaism, which really resonated with me - and especially the radical monotheism of Judaism, the belief in One God (compared to the Trinity). I still keep this belief.

I went very far with my conversion and even underwent the circumcision a year ago. Yet I am doubting things and I feel like I might have done a mistake with this. As much as I love the Jewish people and I have a sort of similar spirit, I still don’t feel like I fully belong to the “tribe”. And I dislike that a lot of emphasis is put on the community life, rather than the faith itself. The faith is rather secondary, keeping the commandments and being active in the community is what is valued. Of course this differs among the various streams.

Deep down I miss the bits of Catholicity I experienced and I still feel that it is my culture. But my believes still align with Judaism, especially when it comes to the teachings about God.

Thanks for any insight.

First time I heard that I was shocked, what is thaat my brothers?!

Mortification of five senses, this is nuts!!!

They never said it's easy to be catholic

God have mercy on us

I am 15. I go to a private catholic high school. I do my sacraments and all that. I always considered myself Catholic. My father is Lutheran and my mother became Catholic when I was 6. She was also Lutheran. I found out today that I was baptized as a Lutheran. I am not Catholic as I thought I was. I have known I was baptized at a Lutheran church but have always thought somehow a Catholic priest did it. Don’t ask why I thought that. Have I sinned? Am I going to Heaven? What do I do to become a Catholic?

Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding trans people.

Basically, I'm just wondering how to approach the situation of the preferred pronouns and preferred names. I'm a teacher, and the environment I'm in, the classes are very small, we often address all students, and we get close to them. I work at a secular language academy, so I know that I have to keep things professional.

What to do if a trans student is in my class, as a Catholic?

I know basic advice from Catholics is to avoid the pronouns, or use their last names and stuff...I could, of course, though it'll be weird, use their last names. But the problem doesn't end there because it's a langue school. I teach French, and it's a very gendered language. I imagine I can't go like "hey, your written production is wrong because you used feminine adjectives, and you are actually a man".

From how I see things, it's a complicated situation.

If I actually go and talk to this hypothetical student in private about how I "don't feel comfortable using their preferred pronoun", they are obviously going to feel offended, hurt, and if they suffer from gender dysphoria, I'm going to make things worse. On the other side, they could file a complaint and I might lose my job. But well.

If I follow along because "I don't want the person to feel offended and hurt", I would actually be playing along and concede to a lie I know it's a lie, and probably be "making worse the whole situation because I'm affirming their false identity".

I would like to get feedback from fellow Catholics about this delicate issue. Thank you!

Hi everyone!
I’m 25 years old and recently came back to the Catholic Church around December after being away for quite a while. It has honestly been one of the biggest blessings in my life.
A few days ago I officially registered for Confirmation! I start OCIA in September, and my parish has already received my application and sent me the schedule.
I’m really excited, but I’m also a little nervous because I don’t really know what to expect. I’ll be working during the day and attending classes in the evening, which is completely fine. I think it’s just the unknown that’s making me anxious.
For anyone who went through OCIA as an adult:
What was your experience like?
Is there anything you wish you had known beforehand?
Any advice for someone who’s excited but also a little nervous?
I’d love to hear your stories.
Thank you!