I know I have been very distressed at certain points during this political season, but with much prayer, I have made peace with it, deciding to act for myself and let God’s will be done.

PrayMoreNovenas has a most wonderful prayer that reminds us that no government can replace our God and that in fact prayer and belief in Jesus Christ is what will save us, not the next president of the United States. So join this wonderful apostolate with whom tens of thousands pray novenas together and let us pray for God’s will to be done. That’s something we can all agree on :).

You can sign up to receive the daily email with the novena prayer here.

Here is the lovely prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Nothing can overcome your greatness. But we are weak and need a deeper gift of hope as we face worldly governments.

Help us remember that political power can never replace the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel to all nations.

Lord, we give you permission to form our consciences according to the Gospel so that we may both vote and act for the Kingdom of God.

As we wrestle with the complexity of political life, never let us forget the poor, the weak, the unborn, the refugee, the migrant, all those affected by war, those struggling financially and all those suffering from the failings of the political systems of this world.

Give us the courage to always be detached from our political loyalties and be first a faithful follower of Jesus, the true King.  And when it comes time for us to contribute to the political realm help us to cast our vote in a way that is pleasing to You.

For these elections in our nations, O God, please bless us with the best rulers possible, in this fallen world, at all levels of government.

Finally, just as You brought our salvation from the horrible death of Your Son, we pray that from the political campaigns of this world, You will bring about great good for Your people.

Amen.

Note: In further researching this piece, I discovered you CANNOT write in a candidate unless they have registered with your state and some states don’t allow write-ins at all. So the better procedure here is to research who is a write-in candidate in your state and if you find one who fits your values, write them in. This piece was also written before the latest Trump controversy regarding recordings of statements he made about women, but I think it holds even more relevance now.

In my opinion as a Catholic, we do not have a good choice for president this year. I wholeheartedly agree that as Catholics we cannot vote for Hillary Clinton and advance the abortion agenda. Life is the first and foremost issue. But I also believe it is a moral evil to vote for Donald Trump, who goes against almost every value I hold as a Christian and as a human person with dignity.

He does not respect the dignity of the person (which Pope Francis talks about so much), regularly tearing people down by their appearance, making fun of the disabled, proclaiming in news conferences how he would love to “hit” people (that’s condoning violence for no reason in my book), making bigoted statements (Miss Piggy??), not accepting refugees and exploiting people wherever he can to advance himself and his profits (not paying vendors after he went bankrupt). I know people who work for him say he is great, but that does not make up for his other morally-corrupt actions toward others.

I don’t expect anyone to be perfect, as we are all sinners, but I do expect the person I vote for to be an upstanding person and at least up front and apologetic of their faults. He is not only unapologetic; he is proud of these immoral character traits.

I know as Catholics we don’t want to see abortion advanced, and that is the reason cited by many to vote for Trump. (Though I am glad to see CatholicVote.com finally calling for Trump to step down; I hope more Catholic organizations will follow.) But the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that the “ends do not justify the means” (#1759) and I don’t think we can justify voting for Trump, a moral evil in my opinion, as our means to the end of not advancing abortion. What if we had two pro-abortion candidates? Would we have to vote one over the other then? I don’t think so. I choose to not vote for either Clinton or Trump, abiding by my Christian-formed conscience.

I propose we instead all write in a candidate, someone who is a much better representative of Christian values, and which still allows us to cast a vote and fulfill our duty as American citizens. We DON’T HAVE TO VOTE for these two immoral candidates – that is not a given; it is NOT our only choice. We can think outside the box and write someone in! Here are the write-in candidates who have registered to run for president. Note: They MUST HAVE REGISTERED or your write-in vote will NOT COUNT. Here is a list of registered write-in candidates.

God has placed these two unacceptable candidates in front of us at this time for a reason. Perhaps, it is what we deserve as Americans for letting our country stray so far from what it was founded upon. But I know I personally have to vote my conscience, as Pope Francis guided us to do so earlier this week. He said: “study the proposals well, pray and choose with your conscience.” God’s will be done – whatever it is. I know he will make good from evil, just as he did with Jesus’ death on the cross. But I cannot play a part in letting an immoral individual lead our country; I will not cast that vote as a means to an end.

I know I will catch much backlash for this, and not that I am in way in their company, but so have many saints spoken against the populace for what is right and taken a verbal whiplashing.

Let’s do things differently, American Catholics, and let’s make a stand for Christian values. Even if our voices do not ultimately win out, we will have followed our consciences and what Jesus teaches — that’s all He asks of us. As St. Teresa of Calcutta says, God does not call us to be successful, only faithful. Amen brothers and sisters!

There is no doubt that pornography is an epidemic in our culture. It’s become so commonplace that most of society sees it as no big deal. I was one of those a few years ago. What did it hurt if someone looked at a few images in the privacy of their own home? But it’s an addiction and where you do you find pornography addiction help?

Note: This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission to support the Catholic Newbie blog if you make a purchase after clicking through. Thanks for your support!

After reading so much more about this issue since converting to Catholicism, I understand why it’s bad for individuals … and bad for society. First, here are some things I think every Catholic needs to know about pornography followed by pornography addiction help and resources.

4 Things Catholics Need to Know About Pornography

1.  Pornography removes the purpose of God’s plan for sexual intimacy.

What was that plan? Procreation. Sure, he wants us to enjoy the uniting of one man and one woman, which is why sex is inherently good and pleasurable, but it must be used as God intended.

Pornography displays sex as simply for the act itself, as a way to derive as much pleasure from the act as we can while divorcing it from its real purpose, which is to bring life into the world between ONE man and ONE woman who are committed to one another.

By watching continued pornography, your view of sex is skewed, and you reduce the chances of having a normal sexual relationship with your current or future spouse. When you divorce sex from the creation of life, it has lost its meaning and its purpose and becomes disordered.

2.  Pornography harms those involved.

The people you are watching who are involved in these acts are not being treated as God’s children with dignity, value and fairness. They are being used as a vessel for or a means to another’s pleasure. They are likely not being paid fairly or treated nicely.

Pornography is a big business and some greedy person on the other end of the camera is the one who is abusing others and deriving all the monetary benefits. You are only furthering that evil and greed by participating as a viewer.

As a Christian, we should pray for those involved in this industry and do our part not to support it in any way.

3.  Pornography greatly harms children. 

Pornography is everywhere and our children are coming across it in droves. It harms them SO much. They immediately misunderstand what sex is about. They see it as simply a means to pleasure, and they will not understand all the disordered sexual activities they witness that others use to bring about worldly pleasure for themselves.

I recently learned that one of my kiddos had seen pornography — on YouTUBE, which is not supposed to have graphic material — and it had a tremendous impact on him. I am so sad that I will never be able to undo what he has seen, those visuals forever in his brain and the impact it will have on him as a man.

We must get rid of pornography parading about in nearly every medium, free, uncensored and easy to access.

4.  It’s a temptation.

Viewing pornography is a temptation to sin, just like any other temptation: gossiping, stealing, lying. To avoid falling prey to this temptation, either men or women, we must remove it from our lives.

I always teach my children that if you are tempted by something, don’t put it in front of you. If it’s not there, you can’t act on it. Shopaholic? Don’t go shopping.

Tell your spouse you have decided not to view pornography any more for accountability and hold to it. Place a filter like Net Nanny (they offer a 14-day free trial) on all devices both for  your kids and YOU. It will hold you accountable and keep you from viewing things you should not.

Place computers in public areas of your home, knowing you won’t view objectionable material in front of your family. If you fall, resolve not to do it again, go to confession to seek forgiveness and try, try again.

5. There IS help.

You are far from alone in battling this temptation, and plenty of great Catholic programs, many of them free, exist to help you overcome the desire to view pornography whether you’re in Pittsburgh, PA or Seattle, Washington. There are so many people who suffer from this in silence all around the world that we may never know.

Here are some outstanding resources to get started.

Catholic Pornography Addiction Help & Resources

• Integrity Starts Here! A Catholic Approach to Restoring Sexual Integrity by Dr. Peter Kleponis
• IntegrityRestored.com
• Institute for Marital Health
• Delivered: True Stories of Men & Women Who Turned from Porn to Purity by Matt Fradd
• MattFradd.com
• Catholic.com – Overcoming Porn Addition
• Net Nanny – Internet Filter with 14-day FREE trial
• Covenant Eyes – Internet Filter recommended by Dr. Peter Kleponis – Use this link and get a one month FREE trial; the trial option appears at the end of the sign-up process
• Reclaim Sexual Health
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved list of pornography help resources

If you view pornography, today is the day to stop this addictive habit. First, acknowledge and understand why it is a problem and then begin the process of getting help.

Let us pray for everyone who is tempted by pornography and especially our children who have been exposed!

Is pornography an issue in your life or in your family? Have you been able to kick the pornography addiction habit?

Read More:

• 10 Things I Wish all Non-Catholic Christians Knew about Catholicism
• 11 Ways to Work the Rosary into Your Busy Day
• How to Start a Conversation about Catholicism Anywhere

Are you struggling to feel a part of your parish? Do you walk into Mass only feeling like your fellow Catholics are passing acquaintances? Tried different activities with no luck?

Here’s the bad news: It took me 3 years at my parish before I really felt like I belonged.

The good news: I think I’ve figured out the keys to success!

After three years of actively trying to get involved and really get to know others at my parish, here are my 5 surefire tips to help you feel at home (hopefully quicker than I did ;-):

1. Get active and involved – The first step is on you; you have to make the effort and be willing to keep trying until you find the right thing. Don’t give up after your first activity or two or three or four are not a success. Keep on, keepin’ on! If I can do it for three years, so can you :). Showing up at Mass is NOT enough to get to know others.
2. Choose small group activities – You are not likely to get to know people well by attending big events like parish missions, Mass or even being one of 100 Eucharistic ministers. While these are all wonderful — and Mass, critical — things to participate in, they are not necessarily the activities that lend themselves to making friends. Select intimate book groups, small committees, small group outings, discussion groups and Bible studies.
3. Look for activities that require interactivity – Can you help with food prep for the Seder Meal where you’ll interact with others in the kitchen, go on a volunteer outing to the local food pantry, participate in a study group that requires discussion? This is how you’ll start to become more than just a face to these people.
4. Go on a retreat – If your parish has a retreat, such as Christ Renews His Parish, DO IT! Over a retreat, where you spend many hours with the same folks, you’ll develop a rapport and special camaraderie with  some (not all) of the attendees. I highly recommend Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) specifically, which has an ongoing component after the retreat. CRHP is designed to give you a group of people that you get to know REALLY well and whom you can count on to be a support group for you within your parish. CRHP is not available at all parishes but inquire if it is available at yours.
5. Learn people’s names – Once you meet someone, make an effort to commit their name to memory. Whenever you see them or give them peace at Mass, USE THEIR NAME. Make a point to ask them how they are doing, or how the weather is treating them, or how their kids are getting along in school. Continue to break the ice until it’s broken! Plus, everyone likes to hear their own name 🙂 (that’s an old Dale Carnegie trick).

Now, with those tips in mind, I’m going to tell you how it all finally turned around for me. Once I became interested in Catholicism several years ago, I began going to daily Mass quite often. I saw the same people over and over but never got to know them, because Mass is just not the place for chit-chat or in-depth discussions.

Last Lent, thanks be to God, it all changed. The wonderful Catholic evangelist Hector Molina led our parish mission. I was SO excited, having heard him on Catholic Answers on EWTN radio, that I wanted to attend everything he participated in. While he was visiting, he agreed to attend coffee after daily Mass to socialize with any interested parishioners, so you’d better bet I was there everyday. This ended up being only a small group of about 8-10 people (what a shame that so many missed out on his wisdom), and through these intimate, one-on-one discussions with Hector, where we all asked deeply personal and nagging questions about Catholicism, the ice broke. Suddenly, I had 8-10 new people I knew by name and knew something about them personally!

Around this same time, a woman who worked for our parish, whom I knew in passing because we had children the same age, invited me to coffee to ask for some public relations advice, since that is my profession. In meeting with her, I offered my time to help with several projects she had going on at church and as a result of those, met a few women, who I also could call by name.

I also finally signed up to participate in CRHP that Lenten season, and that was the final turning point. Not only did I get to know the personal stories of the women leading the retreat, but I met 8 other wonderful women who attended with me. We continued to meet weekly for a long while and now meet every so often but I continue to interact with many of them on a more frequent basis. Now I feel comfortable enough to call on them for anything I need, to ask them to meet for coffee or just to ask advice or lend an ear.

Another great activity I joined last fall was an educational study where we weekly watched the video series Epic on early Church history, and then broke into small groups to discuss afterward. This is the most like-minded group I’ve found within my church to date and is the activity I most look forward to. More friends made :). I’ve also gotten involved with RCIA and gotten to know that team of parishioners and many new Catholics, as well as agreed to teach 5th/6th grade religious education class where I’ve met yet another amazing woman who co-teaches with me.

Now, I have the problem of being asked to help out more often than I can, but I’ll take that any day. And I know SO many people at Church. This, literally, all in the course of a year. You can do it, too!

I must point out that over those three years, I signed up for many things at church that just were not a fit for me. Please know it’s OK to realize something just doesn’t work and move on to something else. You will hit upon the right thing eventually and the dividends will be marvelous!

What tips do you guys have for getting involved at your parish? How did you do it? What didn’t work?

Would you be so kind as to “like” Catholic Newbie on Facebook?

Read More:

• 10 Things I Wish Non-Catholic Christians Knew About Catholicism

• My favorite Catholic Resources & Catholic Books

• What Catholics Need to Know About Pornography

• The 1 Thing I Wish All RCIA Candidates Knew About Confession

• Why did I convert to Catholicism? Read my Conversion Story

• Everything You Wanted to Know about RCIA & How to Join the Catholic Church

• How to Start a Conversation about Catholicism Anywhere
• 11 Ways to Work the Rosary into Your Busy Day