Welcome to The Remedial Catholic

So I grew up one of those "Cradle Catholics."  I was always pretty active, being an altar server as a kid, then in youth ministry in Jr. High and High School, then after some "growing pains" that resulted in about a year hiatus from church during my freshman year of college, I came back and entered the Catholic Seminary for 2 1/2 years before realizing that I was actually called to a vocation as a husband and father, rather than a Catholic Priest. 

I left the Seminary in 2005, then took a job as a youth minister at a Catholic Church just north of where I grew up, because their youth minister, Sarah, was stepping down to concentrate on her last couple years of college.  Well, she stayed on to help out, and we met, dated, got engaged the following Easter, and married a little over a year later.  Nine months--and some change--after that, we had our first child, Owen, then 19 months later, had another boy, Eli.

I've taught Religious Ed classes since leaving the Seminary, and feel strongly that my real ministerial calling is to teaching the Catholic Faith.  I've always felt drawn to teaching the basic fundamentals of the Catholic Faith, as I find many people, Catholics and Non-Catholics alike, either misunderstand our faith, or never took the time to learn it in the first place.  It was only this morning that I figured a great way to reach a larger audience (almost) every day would be to put my passion for teaching in the form of a blog...a blog that's sole intent is to teach what we all SHOULD have learned in Religious Ed.  (Hence, the blog title...)

Let me be clear...this blog is NOT intended to be a substitute for private study, or, heaven forbid, going to Church altogether. (Yeah, that was a horrible pun, but as you'll find, I tend to have the sense of humor of a 10-year-old.)  This blog is intended to be a starting point for further study, reflection, and personal prayer. 

I've done my fair share of research on the topics I'll be covering, but I encourage you to research things on your own to further dive into the greater truths of the Faith.  To paraphrase a quote (by someone I can't remember right now), the knowledge I have of God is just a drop of water in the vast ocean of knowledge there is of God.  If you have any questions about what I post, throw them up on the comment board.  Have an idea for a future topic?  Throw that up there, too...or email me...or contact me on Facebook...you've got options.  And, since I'm not God, and I DO make mistakes, if you find an error in something I've said, let me know, and we can discuss what I got wrong.  I've learned a lot of great information about our Faith over my 28 years, but I'm always looking to learn more.

I hope you find this blog to be a good tool to help you on your Faith journey.  I know I'll use it, myself, to further dive into the great mysteries that continue to wow generations of Catholics.