If you are new to the Catholic church or considering joining, Mary is definitely going to be a topic that will come up again and again. Catholics’ reverence of Mary differs greatly from Protestants, and so for many, it’s a long process of understanding why this is so. While this was never an issue for me (where purgatory and contraception were), I truly didn’t have the faintest idea WHY Catholics held Mary in such high regard, and only over time have I begun to grasp the surface of the vast depths of wisdom and grace that is Mary.

My affection for Mary began once I actually joined the Catholic Church. I began to desire to pray the Rosary and the Angelus, consecrated myself to Jesus through Mary and learned more about Our Lady and she has blessed me abundantly. The more I’ve read and researched, the more astounded I am at how amazing this woman truly is and how our reverence, while solidly grounded in the fact that she is the Mother of Jesus, goes much, much deeper.

Mark Miravalle in his book, Meet Your Mother (see how you can win 1 of 4 copies below), does the best job I’ve seen of presenting a thorough, yet easy-to-read look at Mary and all the issues surrounding her, such as her Immaculate Conception, maintaining her virginity, her Assumption into heaven and more. Most of the books I’ve read on this topic barely skimmed the surface and focused more on the virtues of Mary that we should imitate (of course, good information, too :)).

“Virgo det Josef Moroder” by Wolfgang Moroder – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Dr. Miravelle really takes an intellectual’s look at the role of Mary in salvation and overcomes any possible argument you could have to the contrary. If you love to read and learn and dive deeply into a topic, this is the book for you if you desire to know Our Blessed Mother more deeply.

But don’t be concerned that it’s too theological or challenging to read. It IS theological but it’s presented in a way anyone can understand.

I absolutely loved this book and I think it should be required reading for ANYONE joining the Catholic church. Not only should you understand Mary as a Catholic, but you are missing SO MUCH not to delve deeply into the mystery of Mary. I’ll telling you … Mary is a topic I could sit and ponder the rest of my life and still not get it all :).

Thanks to the folks at Catholic Word (for more information and their selection of books, visit www.catholicword.com) and Marian Press, I have four copies of this awesome book to give away and help share the love and joy that comes from Mary whose greatest desire is to save souls for her Son. Enter to win below!

I’d also love to hear from you what questions you have about Mary. A big one for me is how it was determined she is the dispenser of all graces for Jesus. What questions do you have? And do you have a special moment to share about Mary? Please tell us!

In an upcoming post, I’m going to attempt to summarize some key teachings about Mary. I hope to do so in a way that does not diminish their greatness by my simplicity, but that gives a quick look at Our Blessed Mother so more souls may understand and be blessed by her.

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When I decided to become Catholic, I was ravenous for information about the Church! Sad to say, I had a fairly hard time finding something that was simple enough, without jargon, wasn’t written in 1960 and clearly explained the basics of the Catholic faith.

I finally stumbled upon The Catholicism Answer Book: The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions, which laid down enough of the basics that I was able to move on to more advanced reading. I wish I’d had this book: Waking up Catholic by Chad Torgerson.

Chad is a convert from the Protestant faith and does a lovely job hitting all the basics of Catholicism. While it’s useful for any Catholic RCIA candidate or Catholic newbie, I think it’s especially helpful for those converting from a Protestant denomination. There are many common objections that Protestants tend to have of Catholicism, such as the veneration of Mary, the veneration of the saints, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, tradition versus Bible-only, and the need for confession, or reconciliation.

Torgerson explains how he once held all of these very objections to the Catholic faith, in fact arguing them quiet often 🙂 (it’s amazing how God coverts us!), and explains how he overcame them in a way that I think will make sense to many Protestants. I find that many of the objections they hold are simply a lack of understanding. If we can just get them to listen to WHY Catholics believe what they do and practice what they do, I think many would come to see that Catholicism is the fullest revelation of the Christian faith. I know I have figured that out in spades over the last few years!

While I think he missed some key reasons for confession and why we venerate Mary, he does hit the basics, which is a great starting point for further study. I would encourage you to learn more about reconciliation by reading the book 7 Secrets of Confession by Vinny Flynn and to especially learn all you can about Mary (you will be amazed!) by reading a book like Meet Your Mother by Mark Miravalle. I am still learning so much about Mary and am continually amazed at the unique role she played in assisting our Lord with our salvation. Both of these books are very easy to read and give a well-rounded, in-depth look at these facets of the faith.

If your RCIA program has not provided you with a good resource for learning the basics of the faith outside of class (I know ours gave us print-outs that were very dated and not terribly helpful), this is an excellent option to help you get started on the road to Catholicism. If there’s a teaching you disagree with (and surely there will be one or two), please take the time to read further about it. I found that when I bothered to delve deeply into any topic I didn’t understand, I eventually saw the truth. Becoming Catholic is no easy feat… it takes time and dedication!

What resources did you find most helpful in the RCIA process? Any great books you recommend for Catholic newbies? Please share!

Editor’s Note: This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for a fair review.

Calling all Catholic newbies! Here are two fantastic free Catholic resources for you to help get to know your new Church :).

CatholicCity.com

I recently discovered this website after picking up a free CD at my parish. It offers free booklets and audio CDs that are super helpful. I grabbed the audio CD of the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet and have been using it almost every day. These are great, especially if you have not memorized the prayers yet. Stick it in your CD player and turn it on when driving. Pray along with them and boom! you’ve got your prayers done for the day.

Even if you do have the prayers memorized (I’ve got the Rosary down, but not the Divine Mercy Chaplet yet), I liked this better than praying on my own in the car. It makes you feel like you’re praying WITH others. Plus, it has additional prayers on here that I don’t have memorized like the Morning Offering and St. Michael prayer. LOVE IT!

DynamicCatholic.com

If you’re an avid reader, you’ll want to check out Matthew Kelly’s DynamicCatholic.com site where you can get his and other Catholic books for FREE. If you read my blog, you know how important Kelly’s “Rediscovering Catholicism” book was to my conversion and I encourage everyone to get their hands on it. He also has other great books you can delve into. Please note, you do have to pay shipping.

Got any other great free resources for Catholicism? Please share!

Credit: SoulCore

Our bodies are a gift from God and they are an essential part of our being. Someday, we will reunite with our bodies in heaven. So we should honor our bodies here on earth as the divine gifts they are in everything from the clothing we wear to the food we eat to keeping it in healthy physical shape.

SoulCore, a program started by a parishioner in Carmel, Ind., offers a new way to honor your body with physical exercises while praying the Rosary, something Our Lady has asked us to do every day! What a wonderful way to accomplish two important tasks at the same time — and in the company of others with the same intentions.

SoulCore combines core exercises, similar to Pilates and yoga postures, with praying the Rosary. Here is a video that helps explain the program:

Started by parishioners within my diocese of Lafayette, Ind., I first heard about this in my local Catholic newspaper and local Catholic radio station. As a former practitioner of yoga before joining the Catholic Church, I was excited about the idea, but classes were not offered close enough to me to try it.

Our parish purchased a DVD version and invited parishioners to do the program together while watching the DVD and so I have now done the program many times. I really enjoy it and highly recommend it to others. It’s a peaceful respite in the midst of a hectic world and accomplishes two very important tasks that should be at the top of all of our to-do lists.

One note, for those of you who practice yoga. Did you know that yoga and Catholicism don’t jive? Here’s a great post on the subject from Spiritual Direction.

Essentially, there’s nothing wrong with the poses, but you must be sure the “intention” of your exercise is not directed to Gods or religions or other things that don’t fit within Christianity. And you certainly should not be saying words of which you don’t know the meaning.

SoulCore involves similar exercises (afterall, yoga doesn’t have a trademark on stretches and body exercises!), but with the proper intention of lifting our thoughts to Jesus and Mary.

According to the founders of SoulCore, while the program hasn’t been “officially” approved by the bishop of our Lafayette, Ind., diocese, Timothy Doherty, he did come talk with the founders, blessed the project and is “fully supportive” of it. He also encouraged our diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Moment, to write an article. SoulCore has also been featured on Seize the Day with Gus Lloyd on the Catholic Channel on Sirius XM radio and on EWTN’s The Son Rise Morning Show.

Says Colleen Scariano, co-founder, “We also have the full support of our pastor Fr. Doerr at Our Lady of Mt Carmel parish, as well as area priests, including Fr. Joshua Janko at Guerin Catholic [High School] and Fr. Haan at St. Elizabeth Seton [parish].” I can also say that Fr. O’Keefe of my parish, St. Alphonsus Liguori in Zionsville, also approves since he is permitting an organized gathering to do the program.

Want to try SoulCore? You can order a DVD or, if you happen to be local, they offer classes in Noblesville, Ind., and at Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind. You can also join us at St. Alphonsus on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and Thursdays at 9:45 a.m. (right after daily mass at 9 a.m.) at the Parish Hall to do the program as a group. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

If you try it, let me know what you think!