No Need for Jeeves

Matthew 7:8: For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Last weekend I ran into a friend after Mass. She joked and referred to me as "Ask Jeeves" , since she had recently sent me a few emails containing questions about the Catholic faith. I answered her questions via email using materials I could easily locate on the web, namely Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and some Vatican documents. I've had to write so many papers and take so many exams toward my graduate degree, that I take for granted ready access to these sources.

And I thought that perhaps you might also like to know about a few helpful sites, if you don't have them bookmarked already.

For Catholic bible search and study:
Click here for the RSV (Revised Standard Version) of the Bible. This site has a great search engine that I use constantly. I am grateful to Scott Hahn and the St. Paul Center for the link. (Scott's site has many excellent bible study helps too.) One note about the RSV, it is the one translation that both Catholic and Protestant biblical scholars can agree, and its one of the better translations for critical bible study.

There is also the NAB translation (the New American Bible) courtesy of the USCCB, but there's no search engine on it. It's just a listing by the books of the Bible. It is useful, however, since this is the translation that the Catholic Church in the USA uses for liturgy.

Additional source for bible search and study:
Now our Protestant brethren have many translations of the Bible to offer as well. Mostly, I like to read the New International Version (NIV) and the Amplified Bible when I'm doing personal bible study, especially for word and verse comparisons. To see them all, and to see numerous language translations of the Bible, click here.

For the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC):
Many thanks for St. Charles Borromeo Parish of Mississippi for this link of a great search engine for the CCC, click here.

For Vatican documents (including the CCC):
go straight to the Vatican website. You can also visit EWTN's library, complete with search engine, here. EWTN's site is one of the most popular sites (based on hits) in the world. No surprise, it's great... sometimes easier to use than the Vatican website.

Happy seeking!

Copyright 2006 Patricia W. Gohn

This article appeared previously at www.CatholicMom.com.

The Essentials--or Momma's Got a Brand New Bag!

I was looking for a theme or phrase to remind me of my resolutions for the New Year. I thought, maybe a scripture verse or something I've read recently would do. Instead, I stumbled onto one unexpectedly.

With all the carpooling I do, I "live" in my car. Therefore, I often travel with my briefcase so I can study while waiting for piano lessons or sports practices to finish. But on Fridays I'm scheduled to pray during a certain hour in our parish adoration chapel. So instead of the "school bag" I take along my "prayer bag" (a totebag that keeps my Bible, my prayer journal and my missal all in one place.)

Early Friday morning I brought my car in for a service appointment. I later drove my husband's car to church-- without my handy prayer bag--having left it in the trunk of the aforementioned car now being serviced. As I drove to church, looking forward to my special prayer time with Jesus, I realized my error, lamented and made a general mental fuss that I would miss using all my "stuff" during my prayer time--especially my prayer journal.All I had with me was my pocketbook, and I'm a minimalist at best when it comes to pocketbooks; I only carry the barest necessities-- the essentials. My rosary beads, however, make the cut and I had them. Mid-fuss, I heard the Spirit in my heart say "that's all you need."

The Essentials: What are they, really, when I go before the Lord in prayer? Me + Him = the Relationship. Everything else is optional or non-essential.So, I made my way to the chapel and I knelt before the Presence of Jesus in the monstance, and I said, here I am, just me. No bible, no notes, no books, nothing to define me or the relationship. After a while, I did pray my rosary, which is a good "settling in" prayer for me. It slows me down, and orients me to the mysteries of God's love in my life. Then I just meditated on what I 'heard' in the car on the way over: I only need what is essential.

What is essential is this relationship with Jesus. All things I need, have, want or want to change in the new year flow from, through and in Him. As I prayed I considered how "the essentials" are what the Lord is calling me to this new year...
to keep it simple...
to find delight right where I am....
to pare down...
to better manage my waistline and my bank account....
to prune back...
keep only what allows growth, cut the rest away, especially on the calendar....
to travel more lightly...
by making my lists, then cutting them in half, so they are realistic....
and most of all, to be present to the relationship--not the trappings--like my chapel experience with Jesus. This applies to my life with my husband, my family, my friends and beyond.

Only with Jesus do I comprehend that less is more; what is essential is the only bag he wants me to carry.

This article appeared previously at www.CatholicMom.com.