Category Archives: Religion

Continue Changes in Life!

Posted on by

Yep, more changes in my life!

I am in the first stages of moving fully into the life of a Diocesan Hermit.  By that I mean, I am living the Rule of life, but must live it for six month to two years under Private Vows at which time, if I am living the Rule correctly I will give my Public Vows through the Church.

This is part of why I have been silent for the past few months, but also because I was moving into the country near a Catholic Church (in the same Dioceses and with the same Priest), and several other events in my transition process.

What does this change mean for me?  Well, my days are now spent in prayer, contemplation/meditation, reading from the Doctors of the Church, reading the Bible, and work about the Church and Hermitage.  MOST of my day is spent in prayer, contemplation and studying the Word and works of the Church.  What a GREAT way to spend the day.

It also means I will not be out and about anymore, except on Saturdays to shop, etc.  No more movies (HARD one for me!  Love my movies!  (My mom will like this probably!!  She thinks I watch too many I think!), no more going to friends, etc.  I get out for Mass at Saint Joseph’s and Our Lady of Fatima (on Saturdays), but the rest of the time is at the Hermitage or Saint Mary’s Catholic Church next door (of which I have keys for).

Contact info for me remains the same, except the cell phone, which remains the same but doesn’t work where I now live, however, I will not be answering emails, the phone or the door on Fridays.  This is a day of silence for me.  A better email for me is Br.Don@brothersreconciliation.org.

In Christ,

Brother Don

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Posts

  • Prayer Life
    45
    Well, for the past month and a half, I have been a bit slack on my spiritual life.  I haven't really been reading much in the way of theology or within my faith (although I have done some "recreational" reading), and I have missed more of my prayer hours that…
    Tags: will, life, prayer, mass, reading, church, christ, don, rest, well
  • Looking for Postulates!
    45
    Hello Brothers in Christ (and Sisters who know of Brothers looking  a life dedicated to Christ!), The Order of Brothers of Reconciliation is "open for business" and actively accepting Postulates who are looking to find an Order that will allow them to follow the footsteps of Christ through striving for…
    Tags: christ, reconciliation, brothers, catholic, prayer, well, don, contemplation, life, will
  • Catholic Apologetics
    42
    Over the next several posts I will be posting on Catholic Apologetics topics. What is Apologetics?  It is the giving of a reasoned explanation of ones faith, the the Churches interpretation of the Bible and tradition.  So, to that affect, I will be talking on specific topics and why the…
    Tags: catholic, will, time, christ, faith, bible, church
  • Daily Readings
    40
    After a LONG, too LONG, sabbatical, I am returning to posting the Daily Readings on this page.  These "readings" are the daily reading of the Bible as practiced by the Catholic Church.  If you go to Church every day of the week, all year, you are taught the majority of…
    Tags: bible, will, priest, church, catholic
  • Religious Life Ends
    39
    During the year 2008, our supervising Bishop retired due to health, and shortly after that, our Superior General left the Order for some reason.  In the process, the newly selected Superior General moved the Order to Ft. Lauderdale Florida.  A few months later, he petitioned the Archbishop of Miami, our…
    Tags: church, life, months, will, catholic, prayer, saint, rule, reconciliation, faith

Logos.com

Posted on by

A few months ago I acquired a “basic” Catholic Package on the Logos 4.x platform that I thought was outstanding.  The Logos software allows you do do some pretty extensive searching on your digital library, which is highly index, allows you to compare Bible versus between translations, read whole books at a fraction of the cost of buying them in hard copy, bookmark locations, write notes, and all kinds of great things.  (Including reviewing projects people are working on and that share them with the world, including sermons, etc.)  I was VERY impressed with what I had acquired and been using on my studies and research into the Catholic Faith, the Bible, and faith in general.

Recently Logos came out with Version 5, and more importantly, to me, Verbum which is a “tweaked” version of Logos 5 that allows for a better correlation of text to the Catholic Faith system.  This tool has been outstanding!

If you are a person of Christian faith, interested in learning more about your faith and it’s foundations, this tool, Logos 5 or Verbum, is a MUST have.  If you are a minister this tool is a must have!  Your sermons or homilies will grow even stronger as you use this tool to grow in your faith!

If you are interested in starting I recommend that you call David Day at 360-685-2301 and tell him that Friar Don Bell sent you.  Mind you he deals mainly with the Catholic products, but he will point you in the right direction and hook you up with the right person for your needs if you are not Catholic.

Happy studies and learning!

In Christ!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Posts

  • During my RCIA Studies...
    32
    During my RCIA studies, I was also involved in a Catholic Scripture Studies program at St. Elizabeth's that was very enlightening and educative on one Book in the Bible at a time.  This program, we did the Book of Matthew, was outstanding and helped me to better study the Bible.…
    Tags: bible, studies, better, catholic, faith, christ, recommend, study, outstanding, day
  • Catholic Apologetics
    27
    Over the next several posts I will be posting on Catholic Apologetics topics. What is Apologetics?  It is the giving of a reasoned explanation of ones faith, the the Churches interpretation of the Bible and tradition.  So, to that affect, I will be talking on specific topics and why the…
    Tags: catholic, will, starting, christ, faith, bible
  • Continue Changes in Life!
    25
    Yep, more changes in my life! I am in the first stages of moving fully into the life of a Diocesan Hermit.  By that I mean, I am living the Rule of life, but must live it for six month to two years under Private Vows at which time, if…
    Tags: will, day, catholic, better, christ, don, months, great, studying, bible
  • My Spiritual Beginnings - Part One
    24
    I was born into a Methodist family, and raised in the Methodist Church.   For many years I went to Sunday School most weekends, and many summers were partially spent in week long Bible Study Day Camps.  (We went home each day, but came back the next day.)  It was, and…
    Tags: day, faith, christian, friar, bible, study, library
  • The Titles Priest and Father
    23
    Over the last few years I have heard complaints of people calling Catholic Ministers Priest and Father.  To be honest, before I came to understand the reasoning for calling a Catholic Minister Father, I had a problem with that title myself.  After extensive research into this, I am more than…
    Tags: catholic, christ, christian, translation, minister, bible

Communion – Holy Eucharist – Part Two

Posted on by

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for Worship (or to bow down) was hishtakhavah.  In each occasion of the use of this word (Gen 22:5 is the first use) worship consisted of a sacrifice (or in some rarer cases bowing down).  In the New Testament Greek was used, but the same meaning was attributed to that word.  In each case, the sacrifice dealt with a food (meat in most cases, unleavened bread in others) and blood.  This was as decreed by God as a reminder of the Covenant with God and His people.

In the New Testament, Jesus ends that Covenant, and creates a new Covenant with the People of God through His Death and Resurrection.  The new Sacrifice He requires is the Sacrifice of the Eucharist, which also becomes the Sacrament of the Eucharist in our consuming of His Body and Blood.

Justin Martyr wrote between 150-155 the “First Apology” to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius a large book in which he outlines the liturgy of the times from the times of the Apostles until that time:  “Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president (priest) in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings … and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.”

Martin Luther, the leading “Founder” of the Protestant religions, was VERY adamant on the fact that the Eucharist WAS the body and blood of Christ.  He fought for this being the 15th of was finally 14 agreed upon “foundations” for Protestantism.  Zwingli being the leading force in NOT allowing it as a foundation, by stating that Jesus could not be everywhere.  The Lutheran Church continued to believe in the Eucharist as being the living Body and Blood of Christ for many years.  (Some “sects” of the Lutheran Church no longer accept it, some still do.)

In today’s Mass of the Catholic Church, we recreate that Sacrifice of Jesus to God on our behalf, and the accept his Body and Blood as He requires of us though the Bible.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related Posts

  • Communion - Holy Eucharist - Part One
    34
    Many non Catholic Christians do not believe that the Communion elements, and in actuality many Catholics don't either, are the Body and Blood of Christ in truth, but are just a symbol.  Let's start talking about that. First, in Genesis 14:18 we have the bread and wine offered by the…
    Tags: jesus, eucharist, bread, blood, living, food, christ, testament, wine, catholic
  • The Catholic Church and Saints
    27
    One of the issues I had early on in life and most Protestants still have is the perceived way the Catholics deal with Saints.  Early on, this was a factor for me that kept me away from the Catholic Church and from looking at it seriously.  I felt that instead…
    Tags: church, catholic, christ, god, people, prayer, pray, protestant, jesus, martyr
  • A Rant...
    24
    Two Sundays ago my Parish had our Confirmation Mass, where young adults came before the Church and announced their desire to take the final step, of three, of becoming a Catholic by choice instead of by their parent's decision.  They came before the Church and accepted Jesus as their Savior…
    Tags: church, mass, communion, catholic, jesus, christ, eucharist
  • The Bible.
    23
    There are many, many translations of Bibles out on the streets to pick from.  Even within the Catholic Church there are many approved and acceptable Bible translations to pick from. Should you be able to read and understand Latin, the recommend Bible is the Catholic Latin version, as it is…
    Tags: bible, time, greek, hebrew, jesus, catholic, church, mass, luther, martin
  • Prayer Life
    22
    Well, for the past month and a half, I have been a bit slack on my spiritual life.  I haven't really been reading much in the way of theology or within my faith (although I have done some "recreational" reading), and I have missed more of my prayer hours that…
    Tags: prayer, mass, church, times, christ, today, pray, religion, prayers, liturgy