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I was watching a Trent Horn video the other day where he was watching another video of two abortion survivors speak with two ex-abortion “doctors.” The “doctors” were describing the horrific ways that children are killed in the womb and after watching, I commented, “It’s just unconscionable. We are a sick, sick nation.” Enter a woman whose handle you’ll find ironic, as she calls herself “kindintelligence.” First, she tried to prove that abortion is fine because the UN agrees with it and 80% of developed countries are cool with it. I responded by saying that the UN is not the moral authority on anything and once upon a time, slavery was an accepted practice the world over. Did that make slavery okay? Just because a majority agrees with something doesn’t make it right. She then pivoted to tell me that the embryo/blastocyst/fetus only becomes a human child once birthed. What is the child before that? She couldn’t say. What magic happens in the birth canal to supposedly change a different organism into a human child? She didn’t explain. From there she said that only a birthed child has a “fully-formed body” allowing them the right to live. I replied that babies don’t have a fully formed body, only a body sufficiently developed enough to live outside the womb. Humans don’t get a fully formed body until late teens, early twenties. Brains aren’t fully formed until around 25. Are people below the age of 25 subhuman? Ignoring what I said, she then moved to telling me that newborns aren’t wholly reliant on their “host” anymore and so that makes them okay to live. To which I informed her that newborns are wholly reliant on their parents to feed, clothe, and care for them. In fact, my 10-year old is still wholly reliant on his dad and me to feed, clothe, and shelter him. Reliance on others does not determine your worth. With nothing left to say, she let me know that she was fine that she “killed her pregnancy” and she had no “regrets or remorse.” I pointed out her constant use of euphemisms and said, “You didn’t kill a pregnancy. Your baby was killed thereby ending your pregnancy. I hope someday you can acknowledge your child and when the pain comes calling, I would be happy to walk with you and help you heal.” She declined. October is Respect Life Month. All through our conversation, this woman forced the unborn to prove their humanity and nothing was ever enough for her. Being pro-life is so simple, Catholic Pilgrims. A human is a human from conception to death. That’s it and that’s all. No need to prove your humanity. It’s consistent, logical, just, and loving. Have a blessed Tuesday.
These are my two favorite rosaries. My prettiest one was handmade for me by a jeweler in Turkey who became a friend. In Turkey, there is a stone called Zultanite and it changes color in different lights. The beads here are lab-produced Zultanite. The Mary medallion and the crucifix were found at a very old shop deep in the labyrinth of the enormous market in Izmir, Turkey called Kemeraltı. The wooden one was the rosary I picked up in the Holy Land and it traveled to the site of nearly every mystery we meditate on when praying the Rosary. In my home there is a rosary by my bed, in my purse, and in every bedroom. We have a bag o’ rosaries, as I like to call it, in our music room for when we come together as a family to pray the Rosary. I love the many different ways people pray the Rosary. Some people pray it on a morning walk, some to end their day. Some pray a decade here and there as they go about their busy days especially when little ones are underfoot. Some moms pray it while feeding their babes. Many pray it on their way into work. I like to offer a specific group for my intention depending on what mystery I’m meditating on. If it’s the Wedding Feast at Cana, I pray for married couples I know. If it’s the Scourging at the Pillar, I pray for those I know that reject Jesus. Meditating on the life of Christ and His mother is such a beautiful way to travel through the Gospels and stay close to the most important events in history. May we always look forward to the many graces and blessings that praying the Rosary provides us, Catholic Pilgrims. On this special day of Our Lady of the Rosary, I encourage us all to find time to pray one. Have a blessed Monday. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Back in 2005, our middle daughter decided to come early. My water broke while I was cooking lunch and I thought to myself, "Oh, no. It's too soon." Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctor calmly came in to check me and within seconds she was yelling for surgery. I was flown down the hall on my bed, nurses came out of nowhere, I was crying and shaking, my husband was fighting off nurses to get to me. Thanks to amazing doctors and nurses, she was out within 10 minutes. I had been put under and didn't wake up until later only to look desperately into my husband's eyes to read whether she was okay or not. He smiled. I knew she was okay. Because she was born early, she had to stay at the hospital in this little plastic box, hooked up to wires. Once I was released from the hospital, I cried the whole way home. It was so hard to leave without my child. But, my husband was an absolute superhuman man those days in the hospital. He took care of me, took care of our oldest. At night, he would go to the hospital to hold our daughter so she wouldn't be alone. I would pump milk for him to take and he would rock her and feed her. He didn't sleep for nine days. During those days in the hospital, our daughter was doing okay, but she was losing weight and not really getting any better. My husband decided it was time for her to come home. We had a meeting with the doctors and they were adamant that she stay. We understood their caution, but my husband ultimately said, "I'm her father. I know that she needs to be home with us and I'm taking her home." The second we walked in the house, my daughter fell asleep on my chest and my husband, exhausted, collapsed into sleep. Immediately, my daughter began to gain weight and improve. People have asked me, "Why Christianity?" In the way my husband cared for our daughter and our family lies the answer. Relationship. God loves us so incredibly that we can't even fathom. He goes to the extreme--death on a Cross--to save us. He is always trying to find ways to draw us to Him and to love us. He will go the distance to be in a relationship with us. My husband mirrored the love of God in the way he strove to love our daughter. She didn't even have any idea the lengths he was going through, but that didn't matter to him. He gave completely of himself, barely eating and sleeping all to show that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her. Christianity is about relationship, communion, and love, Catholic Pilgrims. God wants a relationship with His children and that is amazing. When someone asks, "Why Christianity?" this is one of the main reasons why. Have a blessed Thursday.
One of the great tragedies of Protestantism is the removal of nearly all the helps God gives us. Growing up, I could never lean on the saints and angels because…well…they weren’t even talked about. I didn’t even know it was a possibility. Sure, I heard people say that a loved one who had died was now an “angel in Heaven” and they might “watch over you.” But, that’s the extent to what was said. Upon becoming Catholic, I came to see the importance of angels. I learned, that humans, upon death, do not become angels. Angels are entirely different creatures and a human soul does not change into an angelic soul in Heaven. If you are a human in Heaven, you are a human saint. I also recognized that God sends angels to help, guide, protect, and to deliver messages numerous times in Scripture. Upon the closing of the Canon, God didn’t say, “Okay, Angels, no more from you all. You can’t help these humans anymore.” Why would He do that? Our guardian angels are meant to be a help to us and we should rely on them. God gives us many helps to strengthen us on our pilgrimage through life and angels are one of those helps. The power of the angels and saints doesn’t come from themselves but from God. Including them in our lives does not diminish God’s power, it shows just how powerful He is. That He would allow for us humans here on earth to have such access to the supernatural is amazing. Today, we celebrate the Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels, Catholic Pilgrims. May we ask them daily “to light, to guard, to rule, and guide” us. Have a blessed Wednesday.
When I was working, my boss asked me to go out and collect donations for an upcoming fundraiser. I would rather clean toilets than ask for donations. I would literally rather cut the lawn with scissors than ask for donations. But...I went. I would walk into a store, slink around to try and get a feel for the person I would have to confront, hide behind some column or product display and talk myself up to emerge from hiding to go ask. Once in front of the person, I'd awkwardly explain my cause, who I was, and ask for a donation. I'd always try to give them an out. Midwesterners do not like to obligate anyone to anything. Basically, it went something like this, "We'd appreciate it if you'd be willing to donate to our fundraiser, but if you don't want to, I understand. If you do, that would be great, but I feel like I'm annoying you, so I'll just leave, bye." I went back to work completely defeated. Some people gave me like a pack of gum and some just flat out rejected me and that's what I had feared all along. I hate rejection. Back at work, I went into my breakroom with a deflated self-worth and one of my co-workers asked how it went. Sliding out of my chair like a pile of goop, I explained that I had basically gotten nothing. She laughed and was like, "Did you act like this? Come with me, I'm going to show you how to do this." So, we went back and I followed her into the stores, hiding behind her shoulder like a small child. I watched her walk in confident, smiling, sure of her cause that she was asking for donations for, and engaging. In nearly every store, we got something. Some rejected us and when they did, she just smiled and said, "That's alright. You have a blessed day." I was in awe. I asked her how she handled the rejection. She said, "Girl, it's not personal. You take it too personal." Jesus experiences rejection in our Gospel reading today and while He doesn't take it personal, his Apostles do. Rejection is hard and it can crush our self-worth IF we allow it to. We all will experience rejection in this life, but we have to learn to "shake the dust off our feet," Catholic Pilgrims. While we will experience rejection from others, we will never experience it from God. That's the important thing to hold on to. Have a blessed Tuesday.
Yesterday at the Bible study my husband goes to while I teach OCIA, the group was talking about suffering. One of the older guys said, “We understand that in order to be good at sports, you have to suffer and sacrifice. We also understand that if you want to be good in school, you have to suffer and sacrifice. It’s not the same bodily suffering that you get with sports, but you still will to some degree. But, with the spiritual life, so many think it must be suffer-free. We are willing to suffer for sports because we know the end goal. We want to be good in order to win a certain game or event. We are willing to suffer for learning because we know the end goal. We want to earn a degree or learn a trade. But, it’s like we don’t know what the end goal is for the spiritual life and because we don’t really get the end goal, we don’t think we should suffer or sacrifice for it.” Reading through my Magnificat this morning, I was reading about Job. Job had it all and God permitted Satan to cause him to suffer greatly. Job lost nearly everything. Satan says something that I think gets to the heart of what the guy was saying at the Bible study: “Is it nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection?” In essence, Satan is saying, “Job’s faith is easy to have because he hasn’t suffered or sacrificed. His love for God is just a product of feeling good. Could it possible be real?” Your love for something will be measured by your willingness to suffer and sacrifice for it, Catholic Pilgrims. May we take all our trials, sufferings, and crosses and unite them to Christ on the Cross in order to give us strength to bear them. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Many moons ago, I used to belong to this message board that was for K-State fans. It was a place for news to be shared, to discuss new recruits, and to talk about games. Initially, my husband and I really enjoyed belonging to it because it helped us to feel connected to fellow Cat fans. Slowly, though, we began to see a shift in the conversations on the message board. Where once it was relatively positive, it began to be very divisive. I remember one day, the football team had lost and there was a guy on there reminding everyone that everything was going to be okay. "The team had a bad game, but let's remember they are young guys and they need our support." To which this hoard of criticizers swooped in and just devoured the guy. "You aren't a true fan! Only true fans can criticize and don't live with their heads in the sand!" It turned into this huge fight and I was embarrassed. Nobody, absolutely nobody, seeing this thread would have thought that K-State was a good place to belong. I left the group. Today, in our first reading and our Gospel reading, we see people--good people--get upset that others aren't doing things exactly perfect. I see this all the time online. Catholics fighting to the death about who is the best, who is the most pure, most pious, most, most, most. There are somethings that are meant to be debated. However, practices or devotions that the Church allows for Catholics to have a difference of opinion on, should not be something we are battling to the death over. People see us and they are watching. When they see Catholics tear each other apart and criticize each other so horribly, they are not inclined to join us and we embarrass ourselves. All of us are guilty of this, Catholic Pilgrims, all of us. Christ is not pleased when we bicker and rack each other over the coals. I will not practice the Faith just like you and you will not practice the Faith just like me. Truth matters. Obedience to what Christ and the Church teaches matters. Foundational beliefs in Christianity matters. Debate those things, but with charity and a desire to draw the person onto your team. Have a blessed Sunday. *Church ruins are from St. Mary's Church at Ephesus, Turkey where the Council of Ephesus was held in 431.
Someone once asked me if I was fulfilled in my life seeing as I couldn’t have a successful career being that I’m a military spouse and a homeschooling mom. How could I not be fulfilled? I have these four to love and love well. I’ve had jobs that meant a lot to me and I enjoyed the work I did, but nothing compares to loving these four and my babes in Heaven. The fulfillment that my love for God and my devotion to my Faith gives me cannot be ignored either. One of the greatest lies we have told women is that they simply can’t be fulfilled staying home—that the only path to fulfillment is earning a paycheck and working outside the home. The truth is, is that fulfillment comes in serving God by loving well those He has placed in our lives. This is true whether we work for a paycheck or work in the home. If you feel unfulfilled, Catholic Pilgrims, look for ways to love and serve people. Nothing else on earth fills your cup better than that. Have a blessed Thursday.
“Take nothing for the journey.” I was thinking about the Apostles this morning as I read where Jesus sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Before Jesus came into their lives, they probably all had a plan for how their lives would go. Keep fishing. Collect taxes. Find a girl and settle down. Jesus disrupts their regularly scheduled program in the biggest of ways. To be an Apostle of the God-man was probably not what they envisioned for their lives, to say the least. We can get pigeon-holed in the plan we have for our lives. Graduate. Go to college. Get a job. Have a stellar career. Add in spouse once established. Have 1.5 children if it makes sense. Do things I like to do. Stave off old age. Make sure I do something that people see as a big deal. For many, there is little tolerance for any deviation off the path WE want to go down. We don’t want obstacles or anything to disrupt our journey. I think about my plan for my life and not a single bit of it turned out like I thought. I didn’t stay in Kansas. I married a military man. I had my first child when I was “too young” by the world’s standards. I got married “too young.” I haven’t had a noteworthy career. I became Catholic. I could go on and on. All along the way, though, I’ve learned to follow Christ’s Will and that has meant the journey has been more fulfilling than anything I could have planned. Just like the Apostles, we have to realize that our planned journey may not work out, but God definitely has something in mind for you. It won’t necessarily be easy, but it will be worthwhile. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims. *Picture is of the path leading into the amphitheater at Ephesus and an Ephesus kitty.
Several months ago, a guy commented on one of my videos. I think it was the one on why we have statues in our churches. Anyway, he told me that he had left Catholicism behind and found a real relationship with Jesus. Trying to insult me, he told me that I should read my Bible. This is often a tactic used by people: The ole “read your Bible” slam. And then he made some snide remark about Mary and the Hail Mary prayer. So, I said, “Speaking of reading the Bible, do you know where we get the words of the Hail Mary?” He said, “I don’t know, I guess an angel said it to her.” To which I said, “That’s right. The first part, ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee” comes from the words that the Angel Gabriel said to Mary. Now, where do we get the next line?” He said, “I don’t know.” I responded, “The next line comes from the words St. Elizabeth spoke to Mary when Mary came to visit her. ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.’ Elizabeth was her cousin.” “I know who Elizabeth is.” “Great. So, you see, the words of the prayer come straight out of the Bible. The second half of the prayer asks Mary to pray for us, same as asking a friend here on earth to pray for you.” That was the end of the conversation. As Catholics, we are often accused of not being Biblical, but that’s so far from the truth that it just takes a few explanations to show how untrue it is. Poor catechesis causes many to stray from the Catholic Church. It is imperative, Catholic Pilgrims, that we educate ourselves about our faith. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday. *Picture is from the church I attended while living in Turkey. St. Mary’s Church. My friend sent this picture to me.
Someone asked an important question of me yesterday and I thought I’d answer it to the broader audience here, as I’m sure others feel the same. I was asked, “With the way the world is, how are you and others not angry or depressed all the time?” Let me answer in a roundabout way. Last Thursday, my son and I were out on the beach. He found a piece of washed-up kelp with mussels attached to it. He was so excited and wanted to “help them live.” So, we dug a hole, filled it with water, and put them in. Sure enough, they were alive and for an hour, we sat watching these basically motionless mollusks slowly dig themselves into the sand. He, also, found this big clam and we put it into the hole, too, and just like that we had a mollusk aquarium. My son was so excited to just watch them, see them open, touch them, and, eventually, observe them dig themselves out of sight. For one hour we did this and time went by so quickly, peacefully, and joyfully. It is a memory I will cherish forever with my son: The day we sat and watched mussels. 😅 Back to the question above. It’s not as if I don’t get angry. I struggle mightily with anger. It’s not as if I don’t feel depressed from time-to-time. All humans do. These are emotions and states that all humans experience. Since the Fall, there has never been a period of time where the world has been a peaceful, well-adjusted place, it’s just now we know about ALL the bad things everywhere because of technology and the news feeding us one disaster after another. We hear about all the bad and we want to fix it, but there’s just no way any single individual can fix it all and this makes us anxious, depressed, and angry. We start to see the world as all bad and we are just suckers living in a hellhole. It’s too much for us to consume so much. But, that day with my son, I was reminded that there is so much to enjoy and cherish. Kids are in awe of everything and they want to share that with us. It’s just we miss it while we are worked up over a million things. We forget to stop and just look around and notice the good. It is imperative, Catholic Pilgrims, that we take breaks from social media and the news. It’s important that we take care of our family and the community around us, because that is effectively where we can do the most good. And, get out in God’s creation and foster a sense of wonder again. Have a blessed Monday.
The rock you see is Point Loma in San Diego. In September 1542, Portuguese navigator, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo made landfall here and explored for six days. Because he was in the service of Spain, he raised the Spanish flag here and moved on. Then in 1602, a Spanish trader named, Sebastian Vizcaino, visited this spot and named it San Diego in honor of St. Diego de Alcala. His records establish this site as the location of the first Mass said in what would become the state of California. There’s your bit of Catholic history for today, Catholic Pilgrims. 😀 Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
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