An open letter to women who have left the Catholic Church

An open letter to women who have left the Catholic Church:

We want to invite you to come talk with us, and we are excited to meet you! Just like you, we are daughters, sisters, wives, and mothers; students, professionals, and stay-at-home moms. We are teenagers, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, and beyond. We are from many walks of life and from diverse backgrounds, but we share a common faith - one we want to invite you to revisit.

Some of us have been away from the Church, and by one way or another we've come back. Some of us never left - but that doesn't mean we’ve never questioned nor been confused. Some of us were raised outside of the Church, and made the decision to join as adults. In one way or another, each one of us has come to know and love Christ in the Catholic Church - and in keeping with Pope Francis’ request we want to share that love and joy with you.

Being Catholic isn’t easy, and we’ll be the first to tell you that we aren’t perfect; we have many planks in our own eyes to worry about. Our faith embraces paradoxes, challenges our culture's values, and makes us feel uncomfortable when we are called to examine our actions and our motivations. But - as you already know - just because something is challenging does not mean it is not worthwhile.

We know that you are intelligent and capable. We believe that you deserve answers to your questions, and explanations for the teachings with which you're struggling. We’ve all struggled with various aspects of our faith, but we aren’t here to judge or condemn you. We simply want to listen to what you’re feeling. We want to understand what is making you uncertain about being part of our Catholic faith. We want to help you find the answers and explanations that helped bring us home. We want to meet you, we want to hear about your experience, and most importantly, we want to invite you back.

Feel free to email any of us with questions or concerns you may have about the Church, her teachings, or what reversion means. If you’re not ready to bare your soul to complete strangers, we’d love to direct you to sites that helped us (and still help us) as we discerned our calling in life.

Wherever you are, whatever you believe, know that we are praying for you. You are our sister - another woman navigating a challenging world. We look forward to talking with you!

In The Peace and Love of Christ,

The members of #cathsorority

Busy busy

have you checked out my other blogs... Visit me at The Catholic Lovebirds and CatholicGuyShow.com

testing out an app

Well, I have an iPod touch I moghtas well use it for actual stuff. Today I am trying out Pen my Blog app. Thoughts, comments?

new project

please check out my wedding blog. The Catholic Lovebirds

Allicia is Sorry

Yes, I am admitting a fault. Quick get my boyfriend over here to document this! You have been ignored, my dear blog readers. I would like to whole-heartedly apologize for letting you down.



I have been a very busy ladybug though, keeping up with some new ventures. As I mentioned before I was elected Ambassador of the Catholic Guy Show and have since been quite busy writing for the wonderful www.catholicguyshow.com fan blog (hi guys) which is so much fun.

I have also been busy dating, finally! I am so happy and totally in love. I cannot believe that the same guy who invited me to write for catholicguyshow.com would turn out to be the love of my life. My dreamboat who goes officially by the name dustin (unofficially he goes by babe, hun, darling, and love) and he is wonderful. He treats me the way every woman wants to be treated and doesn't fake the affection. He can be found at the above fan site or at his personal blog www.dustinFaber.com for some really awesome writing that is not directed toward our fan club work.

I hope you take the time to check out the stuff we have been working very hard on over at the catholic guy show fan site. Enjoy it, spread it around. I will be working hard to bring you more content in the future.

Love always,
Alli

Captain's Log 12810 a.k.a. Driving buddies and cheap rooms.

Thursday seems to have been a whirlwind. I, of course, didn’t leave at the time I originally planned but managed to get on the road by my ‘at the latest’ time. Normally traveling 84 from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts I checked the GPS twice before getting onto 78. Just in case she changed her mind I wanted to know before I got too far.

After a while I seemed to have a Driving Buddy. A Dodge Stratus and I traveled along together at the same speed for quite a while, passing each other and taking turns leading. He blew me a kiss and I waved. Seems he was going from PA to NJ also. Alas, Road Love did not last, he took the Express and I took the Local. I hope he has a good time wherever he was going.

My trusty GPS (thanks Mom and Dad) led me seamlessly into the city, was clever enough to reroute when I missed a street, and even showed me how to turn around when I ignored her and completely passed the Big Apple Hostel (even though she told me to stop right in front of the door!)

The Big Apple Hostel is actually kind of adorable. While basic, it has what any traveler would need. I am incredibly grateful for the elevator. The elevator of course may in fact lead to my death, but I think that of every elevator I step into. Charming “for looks only” fireplaces sprinkled among white walls and bunk beds. A back patio that truly is an oasis in such a busy city sits quietly off of the kitchen and common room. If only it were not freezing temperatures in NYC this time of year I would surely be enjoying it.

The Hostel is in an amazing location. One block from Times Square and Broadway tucked on a side street makes for a steal in staying here. I cannot imagine what it would cost to stay at one of the major hotel chains in this city. Someday, maybe, I will find out how much of a deal I got staying here.

I wish Happy Traveling to you. I will surely enjoy my trip.

Down With The Resolution

A new year is upon us. The whole world tilts for a few months while everyone tries to keep their resolutions. I have an alternative to offer.

Rather than set a resolution that will make me feel guilty after not keeping up with it after a week, I set goals for the year.

With a goal, if you fail, you can get back up and try again. There are 364 days to keep trying.

With a resolution, failure is almost inevitable. I have never kept a New Year’s Resolution. I don’t know anyone who has made it through a whole year having kept one.  Resolutions seem so black and white, and I don’t do so well with that, I prefer life in a lot of grey zones. Goals are everywhere, there is more wiggle room in giving yourself a goal, it can be altered and amended so that success is more likely.

Goals are everywhere, there is more wiggle room in giving yourself a goal, it can be altered and amended so that success is more likely.

My goals for this year are to decrease my liquid calorie intake, finish what I start, and blog more often. Maybe I find comfort in the liquidity of these “goals” not being so “resolute.”

I know it is basically the same, but stigma goes a long way. If telling myself I can waver just a little bit means I will accomplish my goals then I say, “go for it!”