Dear Daughter Julie,

Hi there sweet-feet! I can ‘t wait to see you and your belly! It’s hard for me to imagine my little girl having a baby. But it is going by so quickly…I’m so proud of you and happy for you and Sean. Know that you are in my prayers every morning at Mass.

I was absolutely thrilled to get your note asking me for some reading recommendations for refreshing your knowledge of our Catholic faith and coming back home to the Church. You know of course that there is nothing other than the love for my family that is closer to my heart than my faith in God and my belief in the one true Church. That Church is the Roman Catholic, which you and I were both born, baptized and confirmed in. That Church is the one for which I am preparing to become part of the clergy.

Mom and I have prayed hard for many years that you would reach a point in your life when you too would find a need, a call, an emptiness to fill and a wanting to embrace the joys of re-attaching to our wonderful Church.

We are so fortunate to have been born Catholic. Our Church is ancient, large, faith filled, filled with beautiful tradition and ritual, blessed, yet human and flawed, but everlasting. It is the only church with roots all the way back in an unbroken chain of apostolic succession to the first Father of our Church (Pope) St. Peter; when Jesus told him "You are Cephas (Petra) (meaning "rock"), and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it".

We are a Church of Sacraments (which are visible signs of Grace from God which change our lives) like baptism, confirmation, matrimony, first communion, reconciliation, and soon I will be receiving Holy Orders (ordination). None of our fellow Christian non Catholic Churches have the beauty of all those sacraments and the wonderful rituals which enrich them. We are also a faith of the WORD (the bible) as well as Eucharist (God’s real presence to us in the from of the consecrated bread and wine). Our fellow Christian non Catholic Churches totally emphasizes the WORD almost totally to the exclusion of the Eucharist and the Sacraments. Our Catholic Faith has beautiful crucifixes, statues, icons and stained glass and art, and Saints…to help us lift our hearts in prayer…not to the images, but to God Himself through these examples and these "lenses" which show us example to follow and help us focus our prayer on Him.

I don’t know about you, but after seeing the "Passion of the Christ" I left the theater totally proud of being Catholic, and with a new appreciation for the beauty and wonder of the gift Jesus gives us at every Mass (only Catholics have Mass and believe in the real and permanent presence of Christ in the Eucharist) when the bread and wine is consecrated by the priest and transformed into Jesus Body and Blood making Him totally present to us…it’s a gift of Himself to us handed down from His apostles through our Church so beautifully shown in the movie. Our Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Himself, not centuries later by men like Martin Luther (Lutherans) or a preacher or a teacher or prophet. Be proud of what you are…and make it who you are.

You have the opportunity and gift of being able to raise a child in the Catholic tradition. A wonderful gift you will give your child, and yourself and Sean. I’m here to, with pleasure, answer any question you ever have about our wonderful, powerful, beautiful, ancient, faith...that no matter what happens, survives and grows stronger in grace.

We are sending this "Survival Kit For a Returning Catholic" (bible, couple of really good books, a rosary (very important to Mom and I and was to Grandpa too)which we put together with smiles of love. Read, ask questions of your priest, get involved in your faith, and you and your family will be grace filled and blessed.

We love you, Sean and our Grandchild. See You Soon……

Love and kisses to "Sweet-Feet" from Dad and Mom.