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Hello, fellow pilgrims! My name is Amy Thomas. In 2009, I converted to Catholicism and I started writing to share the Faith. I’m a military spouse and my lifestyle has afforded me the opportunity to travel all over, exploring Catholic places. I have since expanded my writing to include a podcast and videos. My goal is to travel with fellow pilgrims and help them to discover the richness of the Catholic Church and grow closer to Christ. If interested in having me speak at your event or ask me a question, please click below.
Yesterday in my OCIA class, we were talking about the four marks of the Church--One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. It's the holy mark that always gets criticized. "Look at all the bad people that have been in the Church. How could you possibly say it's holy." The Catholic Church is not holy because of anything man has done. The Catholic Church's holiness does not come from its members, it comes from the fact that it is the Church that Christ founded. It is holy because through the Church and the Sacraments established by Christ, through the preservation of the Church by the Holy Spirit, and through the infallible teachings of the Church we can be made holy. It is holy because it was not established by man. People always like to point out "bad Catholics." And I would agree that there are bad Catholics out there, just as there are bad people in any group, organization, or institution. For Catholics, the only reason that people can say that they are bad is because people hold them to the standard of holiness that they intuitively know is called for in the Church. If these bad-faith Catholics are bad, it's because they did not follow the teachings of the Church, because the Church teaches to eradicate sin. It teaches to strive for sainthood. It does not teach that any sin should be tolerated, celebrated, normalized, or embraced so that we "can get with the times." To be sure, there are churches out there that do this. Instead, though, we should look to the Saints, who did take Christ's Church seriously and her call to holiness. Because they received the Sacraments and the grace that comes with, because they were obedient to the teachings of Christ and His Church, and because they took advantage of the treasure trove of helps given to us to help us live more Christ-like, well, they were made holy. To say that the Catholic Church isn't holy because of sinners, is a bit like saying that Jesus wasn't holy because his Apostles were sinners. Yet, it was through Him that they were made holy, just like He continues to do for us through His Church. Have a blessed Monday.
Continue ReadingWe get to read my favorite Bible verse today. "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." 2 Tim. 4:7 Why is this one my favorite? Part of it has to do with being a former athlete and understanding all that goes into competing well. The other part is that I didn't even try once upon a time to "compete well" and I know the difference. This verse is my reminder to never slip back into old ways. What were my old ways? Well, I definitely was like a Pharisee in many respects. Unlike them, I didn't practice my faith, but I did look for ways to pat myself on the back. "Oh God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity--murderous, uh...murderous...greedy, I'm not too greedy...uh...oh, WEIRD, I'm not weird." I couldn't see all the ways that I was just like the rest of humanity--hypocrite, dishonest, fornicator, sloth-like when it came to spiritual things, prideful, prone to rage, etc. I did nothing to keep the faith, or "compete well." I didn't even go to church. My Bible was somewhere, who knows where. And while I couldn't vocally say these things about myself, I knew it. I knew I was a barely limping along Christian, and it made me miserable. It wasn't until I couldn't bear it anymore that I became more like the tax collector in the parable Jesus tells us today in Luke 18:9-14. I came to my first confession begging God to "be merciful to me a sinner" and for the first time felt the relief of saying out loud what I knew to be true about myself. I'm still prideful, prone to a quick temper. I still struggle with envy and jealousy, and vanity for sure, especially as I age. I'm still like the rest of humanity--a human prone to sin. The difference is now, I want to "compete well" and "finish the race" having lived a life where people know that I was trying my hardest to love the Lord well and with a sincere heart. Just because I want to, doesn't mean it's always easy, but I have the remedy--Confession. That beautiful, wonderful Sacrament where I must go and humbly face Jesus, confess my sins, ask for mercy and forgiveness, and receive it. Then, I leave and try to become just a little bit better than before. So, live the faith boldly, my fellow Pilgrims, and travel well this Sunday.
Continue ReadingDon't you just love it when pieces fall into place? Last night at my women's bible study, we were watching the final episode of the series "The Mass" with Bishop Barron. In the last episode, he covers the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He talked about how, many times, God's words aren't just spoken to convey a message, they actually affect change. "Let there be light," and there was light. "Lazarus, come out!" and a dead man comes back to life and walks out of his tomb. "Talitha koum! Little girl, I say to you, arise!" and a dead girl gets up and is restored to her parents. "Quiet! Be still!" and a storm on the sea calms down. "Rise, take up your mat and walk," and a crippled man is restored to health. So many instances throughout the Bible we read how God speaks and His words affect change. And then there is, "This is My Body, this is My Blood" at the Last Supper. Jesus wasn't telling a parable or making reference to symbols. In that very moment, when He spoke those words, the bread and wine were affected by His words and became what He said they were--His Body and Blood. God speaks the world into existence. He heals the sick with words. He forgives sins with the power of His words. He calms storms, raises the dead, multiplies fish and loaves all with His words. And people think that one of the most significant nights of His earthly life--the night of the Last Supper--was just Jesus playing in word symbols? No. The Son of God is the Word made flesh and His words have power beyond our ability to understand. He still affects this change in bread and wine at every Mass. Working through the priest, who is in persona Christ and says Jesus' own words in first person, Jesus affects the change of the bread and wine into His Body and Blood. And then there He is fully present on our altars for us. I've known these things, but last night more pieces fell into place. We are truly blessed, Catholic Pilgrims.
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