First Post: a Welcome and a note

Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog!

This is my first ever post and I want to say a few things from the start. For one, I'm still not sure what my intentions are for this blog ... I am thinking of it, at least initially, as a clearing house for information that I run across that I believe is relevant to the Cathli-Mergent conversation. There IS a hyphen there and that IS important!

Sometimes I will be sharing things that I find relevant to the Emergent Conversation, sometimes I will be sharing things that I find relevant to the Catholic Conversation and sometimes Both and/or Neither. At least that is my vision today ... who knows, maybe this will be both my first and my last ever post.

My name is Enrico: this is me:

but i will be writing under my pen name Andre, in honor of my patron saint, Saint Brother Andre of Montreal who was the first Canadian born male saint, canonized less than one year ago on Oct 17th, 2010.

I took his name "Andre" as my Confirmation name last Easter vigil, much as he took the name from someone who mentored him in his faith journey. I will write much more on him and how his spirituality helped me to return to the Catholic church and to Christianity in general, but that's for a later date!

The last thing I find important to share here is that I am new on this journey. I have been on this expressly, pointedly Christian and specifically Catholic path for just over one year, having received formal Catholic Confirmation only last April 23, 2011, less than one year ago. Being such a new Christian, may lead some to question whether or not I am qualified to speak as a Catholic or a Cathli-Mergent or even as a Christian, in any official capacity. I offer this because I myself have certainly had my doubts, that thin small voice whispering, "Who do you think you are? ... to speak?" It snakes in and hedges around my fears and doubt.

But I don't claim any right, really. I am just lucky ... Graced, I guess. I don't believe that I speak in any official capacity for any thing or anyone ... nor would I want to, except for myself and even that is questionable considering the large number of changes that I have been undergoing lately. I don't speak for the Catholic church (to be sure!), just as a small voice of a newly minted member. Nor do I presume to speak for the awesome, Emergent conversation growing up in Christian circles all around us and all over the planet ... no, I only hope to add to what they are saying, in some small way. I simply claim the descriptors Catholic and Emergent because that is who I know I am today ... in terms that I feel both describe my today and even better, point the direction in which I am excited to live, toward and into my tomorrow.

So that's it for now. More to come ... I hope ... I promise ... I pray.

Not Sure, and hoping to stay that way - Andre