May Crowning, Mass, and Merton; and other Reasons I love being Catholic. 2006. This collection of essays on various aspects of Catholicism and why the author loves being Catholic was ultimately disappointing. I expected more depth. I cannot see that it would convert anyone and I am not sure that a thoughtful Catholic would not know most of what she has written. ( )

A fellow Catholic and Harvard University employee lists 50 reasons she loves being Catholic. I find her list interesting although she is obviously a more conservative, pre-Vatican II type Catholic (even though she’s only a few years older than I). I’ve decided I should make my own list of reasons I love being Catholic and try to write them out.

* Objects with meaning
o The Crucifix
o Holy Water, Incense and Candles
St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, “it smells like Jesus in here.” (p. 9)
o Holy Gear
o The Rosary
o Kneelers
o The Pieta
o Michelangelo’s Creation Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel
o The Scala Santa and Devotion
o Wedding Bands on the Hands of Nuns
* Those who journey with us
o Mary
o The Archangels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael
o Pope John Paul II
o Flannery O’Connor
o The Young Thomas Merton
o Mary Lou Williams and the Blessing of Conversion
o The Communion of Saints
o The Swiss Guard
o St. Joseph of Cupertino
o Bd. Pier Giorgio Frassati
o The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
* Devotion in practice
o May Crowning
o The Anima Christi, Soul of Christ
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/anima2.htm
o Adoration
o Fasting
o Silence
o The “Ave Maria”
o Forgiveness and the Sacrament of Confession
o The Rosary of the Holy Wounds and Sr. Mary Martha Chambon
o Pilgrimages
o House Blessings
o The Eucharist
o The Sign of Peace
* Truths That Bring Grace
o To Arrive at Love
o Heavenly Humor
o Celibacy
o The Pro-Life Life
o The Promise of the Holy Spirit
o The Names of God
o God Comes to Meet Us
o Visit the Imprisoned: A Corporal Work of Mercy
o Belonging to the Universal School
* Rhythms of the Faith
o Daily Mass
o The Feast of Epiphany
o Ash Wednesday
o The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
o The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
“When I’m wondering whether a situation is for my humility of my humiliation, I go to the tenth station.” (St. Clement’s) (p. 245)
“Just remember that God humbles; he never humiliates. God instructs us in right and wrong so that we might live more freely. We can trust that what God wishes to strip from us is not our dignity, but rather anything keeping us from being close to him.” (p. 248-49).
o The Hour of Divine Mercy
o Tenebrae
o Easter
* Epilogue: The Cross
“The aspect of the cross that stops me short is that, throughout his passion and death, Christ was himself. He never tried to be anything else, never tried to please anyone, never tried to run away, never wavered from the truth; he only occupied himself completely and authentically with his own calling. He just loved, no matter the outcome; just loved, because this is what he was created to do. The miracle of the cross is that God loves anyway, no matter the result, no matter our choice…” (p. 269)

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