Jesus of Nazareth

Who are you?

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, a husband and a father. I am inspired to write about my life through the lens of my Catholic faith and in particular from my vocation as a married man.

I am a devout and practicing Catholic who is faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.

My name is Jeffery Charles Cann.  My given name means God’s peace.  I am a third-generation American whose ancestors game from Ireland and Germany.  I am married with two young children.

How has your blog evolved?

I started a weblog about 10 years ago – before they became known as blogs.  I wrote sporadically about whatever interested me – technology, soccer, politics, life, leadership.  It actually led to my gig with American Soccer News and I transferred my posts through no less than 5 blog software programs and 2 or 3 different domain names.

Many of my reflections were based on scripture are my rudder in my journey with God.  I know from my own life experiences – particularly before I converted to Catholicism, and even after my conversion, that with God I am whole. Without God, I am nothing.

Only through the work of the Holy Spirit am I able to accomplish my desire to be close to God as I reflect on his word each day and its meaning to for my life.

I converted to Catholicism in the year 2000.  You can read the abridged version of my conversion story. My practice of the sacraments has ebbed and flowed since my conversion.  In retrospect, I think that I only converted my head and it took more time to convert my heart.

Unfortunately, there were two periods of utter despair that challenged not my faith in God, but my faith in myself to be a faithful disciple. In both of these periods – one lasted about 18 months and the other lasted about 9 months, I fell to temptations like I had never known before in my life.

After the second period, it was praying the Rosary every day that brought me back into the fullness of my faith. After many months of that practice, I started reading the scripture from the daily mass and hand-writing in my journal. 30 days later, I decided to publish my reflections on scripture for my life each day.

Pope St. Damasus was able to do great things for the Church because of his faith and love. He nourished this faith and love by reading, studying, and meditating on Sacred Scripture. I imitate this holy pope when I made the resolution to reserve time each day to read from the Bible, reflect on its meaning in my life for that day, and pray as often as possible.

When I converted, I chose Pope Saint Fabian as my conversion name.  I chose him because he is the patron saint of peace and the only layman to be ordained pope.  He filled the chair of Saint Peter from 236 to 250.  His feast day is January 20^th.

What else have you written?

I had survived 2 years of Mrs. Miller’s English class in high school but was woefully lacking an understanding of my native language. I wrote by ear not by rules of grammar.  So, when my university mandated that I take 3 semesters of English, I took the opportunity to become a better writer.

Catholic Writer’s Guild

My first publication was my graduate thesis on the effects of ultraviolet radiation on plants.  Since then I was published twice in an Information Technology (IT) trade journal.  I write occasionally for CTS Guides Construction Software Blog.

I wrote for American Soccer News where I covered the MLS Colorado Rapids soccer club.  I wrote as the voice of the fan and had access to the press box and locker room.  It was great fun!

I recently joined the Catholic Writers Guild to learn from more accomplished writers.

Whom would you like to thank?

Luckily I had two great teachers for freshman English – Gerry and Richard. Thanks to both of them – I still have my Strunk & White Elements of Style book.  I am verbose and it  is my antidote.

One of my all-time (post-college) books on literature is the Adler and Van Doren tome, How To Read a Book. I read it 15 years after I graduated from college I now use Adler’s ‘x-ray’ technique to study it before diving in. For those fans of Adler and Van Doren, check out this three hour DVD on The Great Ideas web site.

I express sincere gratitude for my Spanish instructors – also in college – who taught me English grammar so I could learn Spanish grammar and then to speak Spanish.

What do you believe?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed on this blog are mine, those of the guest authors, or those of made in the comment section.  They do not represent any other opinions of any other entities, such as the Catholic Church, any of my employers, or other groups with whom I am affiliated.

All posts © Jeffery Charles Cann, 2002-2012*
*Guest authors retain their copyrights for their posts.