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Good morning, Catholic Pilgrims. Light is a very strange thing. You can see it, but you cannot hold it or grab it. You can pass your hand through it and nothing really happens. It's called a wave and a particle. It delivers energy. It allows us to see color. I'm sure you've noticed how in a dark room, nothing has color until light hits it. I find light fascinating and to me it is one of the things that proves that God is real. There is nothing like light here in our created world. We are completely dependent upon it and people even suffer sadness when there isn't enough of it. When God decided to create everything, it was light that kicked the whole thing off. Light was brought into existence by God's word. It's hard to fathom what that even means. Jesus is called the Light. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we are dependent on Him. He adds "color" to our world and without Him, sadness will consume. He is, also, what brings us out of darkness. Have a wonderful day, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Over these many years of being on here writing about God, I’ve had a lot of commenters that have shown up to say things like: “I don’t need church. I feel God out in nature.” “I don’t need to sit in a pew. I can get the same experience praying in my car on the way to work.” “Jesus never said go to church. You don’t need the walls.” Sure, you can “feel” God out in nature and it’s good to pray in your car on the way to work. However, in the Old Testament, God did lay out a very specific way that He wanted to be worshipped. He wanted the Lord’s Day kept holy and the Jews knew that it was a day to go to the Temple or the synagogue. There was a liturgy and principal players. The people were there to offer worship and sacrifices and the Rabbis taught and the priests offered the sacrifices. Now, a lot of people think that Jesus trashed all that and decided that from now on, people can just practice their faith however they desire on their own. But, this is wrong and prideful. Everything in the New Testament elevates what was in the Old. We are still meant to be a community coming together to worship. We are meant to assist at the Mass. We are meant to be there as the priest offers the perpetual sacrifice of the Son to the Father and receive that sacrifice back as the Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord. You can’t do that on your own on a hiking trail or in a car. Dom Hubert von Zeller once wrote, “But God wants something more out of us than sympathy. And if we attend Mass properly, He gets something more out of us than sympathy. He gets our wills, which mean more to Him than our feelings. He gets our obedience, which means more to Him than the warmth of our devotion.” Give God your will, Catholic Pilgrims. That is the best sacrifice you can offer. Have a blessed Sunday.
Last week, when I went into Notre Dame de Paris, it was packed. Packed. However, I was pleasantly surprised by all the ways the staff try to keep some semblance of reverence. There's a voice that comes on that says in a pleasant whisper, "Shhhhhhhhh...silence." And then it says it in different languages. The Adoration area is free of people milling around and no photos are allowed. It's just a place for prayer and adoration. And, even though I was moving with this large throng of people, mostly all you could hear was just the rustling of bodies moving. It was surprisingly quiet. It was the same in Sacre-Coeur. Outside, loud, noisy crowd. Inside, the nuns were singing and it was relativity quiet. I posted a video of the nuns singing in the early morning and someone said, "Yeah, beautiful, except for all the a**hole tourists." I get that people come into our sacred places and don't have the level of reverence that we would want. Many have zero clue that Jesus is truly present. Lots of people are there for social media pictures and care little for our Catholic Faith. I've been annoyed by it all at times. So have you. We all have. So, I get that. But, the comment made me cringe. For one, it's wildly uncharitable and if any non-believer saw it, I would hate the impression it leaves. (I did delete it for that fact. Plus, I don't allow foul language on my page.) I had to shake my head at the irony. Here was this lady mad about tourists who are disrespectful and irreverent, yet, she comes on a video showing nuns singing to Our Lord and uses foul language. While I don't like disrespect in our churches, I know that God can work with people. I saw it in Istanbul. My husband's squadron went on a mini-pilgrimage sponsored by the chaplain and one church we went into dropped people to silence--even atheists. The beauty got to them. So, we have to hope and pray that as people--lukewarm, non-believers, etc--walk around these beautiful churches, the beauty will speak to their souls. We have to pray that they might wonder at the person a statue represents. They might wonder about the story being told on the stained-glass windows. And, as we move through these spaces, Catholic Pilgrims, may we show with our actions how one is to behave and show on our faces that our Faith brings us joy. Make them wonder. Have a blessed day.
Look at the light in this church, Catholic Pilgrims. It's even better in person. To date, there have been three churches that have literally made me gasp out loud when I first saw their beauty. 1. Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Canada 2. St. Stephen's Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Istanbul 3. This one. Basilique de Notre Dame de Pontmain in France Several weeks ago, a lady commented on a video I made where it showed a beautiful church in Ireland. "I don't think Jesus had this ornate of a place to worship! This is entirely to fancy." To which I said, "Go read in the Old Testament how God instructed the Israelites to build the tabernacle as they journeyed in the wilderness. And then go read about the Temple." The tabernacle was to be made with acacia wood, which was not expensive. However, it was to be overlaid with gold. Silver was used. Copper was used. Textiles of fine linen were used. Hard to come by dyes. The entire Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with gold. Not to mention two pure-gold statues of Cherubim (gasp! Statues!) were on top. Solomon's Temple was made of massive stones, expensive woods, and gold. There were also two 15-foot carved Cherubim statues inside the Holy of Holies. (Gasp! Statues!) So, what we find are that houses of God were not ramshackle pixie-stick structures crudely put together with mud. God didn't instruct the wandering Hebrew people to build a simple, plain Tabernacle or Ark of the Covenant. God created the world and the natural world is incredible in its beauty. The heavens above our heads are magnificent--all to glorify God and His Majesty. We, as humans, are made in His image and should try to imitate Him in His goodness, and His ability to create beauty. We can't fashion anything out of nothing like He can, but we can take the materials that He as blessed us with and design and build in such a way as to honor Him. Our beautiful Catholic Churches are where we worship our Lord and it is most fitting that they convey through their beauty that the Almighty is present in a very literal sense. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims.
For most of my life, I've been a "glass half empty" kind of gal. I preferred to "keep it real," not live in a day dream, or be too "pie-in-the-sky." There is nothing wrong with being aware, knowing your history, and understanding the reality of different situations. I'm not an advocate for being insufferably optimistic while your hair is on fire. However, social media has actually changed my "empty glass" mentality. This may shock you because of the dumpster fire that social media can be. Sometimes, I like to post just a nice, encouraging video. I don't want my social media pages to be all apologetics or giving you the latest bad news. I don't want to always dwell on the bad, because that makes people lose hope. Yet, I can make the most positive, hopeful video or post and inevitably someone is going to show up to throw mud at it. When I was in France, I was so encouraged to see all the Catholic Churches and I was happy to see how the country works to maintain their restoration. So, I made a very short video about this and someone said: "Too bad the French Revolution destroyed so much." "Yeah, okay, but can you just enjoy this nice post?" Yes, the French Revolution happened and it was awful and damaging. We are still feeling the effects, but you know what? The Church survived. In fact, the Church has survived every catastrophe: The early persecutions, the Protestant Revolution, French Revolution, and the disastrous Vatican II roll-out. Yes, bad things have happened. We should acknowledge them, learn from, and help repair and restore. But, can we also just be people of hope for half a second? Can we just enjoy a victory? A good moment? A turning of the tide? Or must we always live as if the French Revolution was yesterday? Can we ever move past it and realize that things aren't perfect, but we aren't suffering through that anymore? If your inclination is to see something positive and immediately post a negative comment, then social media has gotten to you for the worst. We must be people of hope, because otherwise we despair and everything becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be sure to enjoy the beautiful moments, Catholic Pilgrims. Not everything is the worst. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
We are safe and sound in Virginia and made it to our new home on post. Our stuff hasn't arrived yet, so we are doing the inside camping bit where we just spend a lot of time on the floor--sleeping, eating, sitting, podcasting. Mass was at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Petersburg, I must say, it was the most traditional Novus Ordo Mass I have ever been to and that made me very happy. In his homily, the priest gave the best explanation on why priests take vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. He said, "People often ask me, 'Why don't you (Catholic Church) let your priests marry?' Well, we try to live as we will all live in Heaven. There is no money in Heaven and no possessions, we all will be celibate, and our wills will all be aligned to God's Will." Now, some priests do marry in other rites and some priests that come over from the Anglican Church are married. This is a discipline, not a dogma. Priests are trying to live as Christ lived--poor, unmarried, and obedient to the Father. They don't do it perfectly but that is the goal. I thought it was a beautiful explanation and then he said, "For any man who thinks that taking these vows will make them miserable and strip them of freedom, that is simply not true. Whenever you allow God to fill your life, you gain more freedom and find your purpose." That goes for all of us, Catholic Pilgrims, no matter our vocation in life. You gain the most freedom and fulfillment when you surrender your life to God. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Throughout all my life, I have struggled with pride. In my late teens and all through my twenties, I thought that I could make the Christian faith what I wanted it to be. Essentially, this meant that it became so easy that it barely factored into my life. Yes, I called myself a Christian, but I thought: That church was optional. Prayer only mattered when I wanted something. Scripture was around for the virtue signal. I wasn't Catholic during those years, so Sacraments mattered nothing to me. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Sacrament. I lived how I wanted to live, because...well, Jesus loved me and most decent people went to Heaven. Since I was at least decent, I was assured my angel wings. Crazy how I once believed humans became angels upon death. I didn't even understand that we are fundamentally different beings. Anyway... I had no humility. Zero. By the grace of God, I woke up. I'm not perfect at all, but I did realize that our Catholic Faith cannot conform around me. When my pride pulls me to the ways of the world or towards my will, I must resist. Throughout all these years on social media, I have seen the pride that I once had in the comments. There are still so many people who think they can pick and choose what to believe; that they can conform Christianity to their desires and wills. St. Paul talks today about how Jesus emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, not counting equality with God, even though He is God. God humbled Himself to save us and I think we often forget that. When we bow at the mentioning of the Incarnation in the Nicene Creed, we are acknowledging the humility of God, that He would come as one of us. We bow out of respect for counting us worthy of saving in this way. If our God can be so humble, it is imperative that we humble ourselves and submit our will to God and His Church, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Sunday.
My philosophy class at K-State was not so much a philosophy class as it was a Liberal Ideology 101 class. Most of the time was spent having various liberal groups on campus come in and try to persuade us to their side. It was very irritating, because that was not what I signed up for. It caused the professor and me to not be on friendly terms. He punished me, of course, by giving me bad grades and calling me out in class, but I really didn't care. I was the only one in class that ever spoke up and tried to debate against the messages that we were being force fed. It was a very isolating feeling because it felt like me against the world. Yet, it never failed that after each class, other students would come up to me and thank me for speaking up and they would tell me that they agreed with me. They were just too nervous to speak up. However, if I had to be the only one, though, so be it. I learned through that class that speaking the truth can be scary sometimes. You will be punished. You will be hated. Sometimes it will seem like you are all by yourself on an island. But, there are hordes behind you that just aren't as vocal. Here we are 25 years after 9/11 and, for a short period after, we were so united as a country. Suffering often does that, as crazy as that is. Which is why, I think the forces against this country saw that they needed to get to work right away causing division, because that fateful day made us come together in a way I've never seen in my lifetime. Those opposed to us panicked and set to work immediately to try to break the bond that had been created in Americans that actually love this country. They have succeeded in some ways, because we are fractured. All the noise makes us despair and feel hopeless, like all is lost. Yet, praying about this yesterday, I realized that the loudmouths will always seem like they are winning the day and maybe in some areas they are. But there are, also, sane, solo voices out there and behind them are hordes of sane, loyal, patriotic people who just aren't as vocal. Just like in my philosophy class. The loudmouths will always get more attention and make things seem skewed, just like my class. In honor of those that lost their lives on 9/11, may we live our lives with courage, virtue, honor, intelligence, loyalty and faithfulness. Not all is lost. We will never forget. God bless America.
This was probably the coolest picture that was sent to me for the small-town showcase back in February. It's also probably the most remote church. It doesn't even really sit in a town, from what I can tell. Mt. Carmel Catholic Church is in North Dakota and it sits nearly on the border of the US and Canada. Information is hard to find on this church, but it looks like it was dedicated and completed in 1953. It also looks to be not in use anymore because of structural concerns, though there is a historical society fighting for its preservation. I've never been to North Dakota, but last year I read a book called, "Giants of the Earth" and I gained a new appreciation for the pioneers that settled in the Dakotas. It took a special kind of person to brave that part of the country and try to tame it. I'm not sure I'm that special kind of person. I can handle Kansas winters, but I'm pretty sure I'd wimp out if I was enduring a North Dakota winter. I'd say if you are ever up at the tippity-top of the country stop in, but I don't think that's possible anymore. It's kind of out there and not operational. I do hope that the historical society is able to find a way to preserve this building. It's an important part of our country's history. Have a great day, Catholic Pilgrims, and live the faith boldly and travel well.
If you are off today on this Labor Day, Catholic Pilgrims, may I offer a movie suggestion? Yesterday, my family watched, "Going My Way," starring Bing Crosby as Father Chuck O'Malley and Barry Fitzgerald as Father Fitzgibbon. This movie was made in 1938 by Universal. Can you imagine that? Father Fitzgibbon is an older priest struggling to keep up with all the demands of a parish and, also, to find the funds to clear the church's mortgage. The bishop sends Fr. O'Malley to take over, but Fr. O'Malley doesn't want to just barge in and push the older priest out. At first, Fr. Fitzgibbon wants the bishop to transfer Fr. O'Malley, because they approach issues differently, but over time they develop a heart-warming bond. While this movie is slow-paced and has very little action, it is a story about connections and saving people's dignity. The ending, which I won't give away, is absolutely endearing. Fr. O'Malley is an example of how to go into a place and make changes without bulldozing everyone around you. He does it with cleverness, gentleness, and patience. You will also get some wonderful Bing Crosby singing, as well. My grandmother and mother used to sing "Swinging on a Star" to me when I was young and I sang it to my babies, but I never knew it came from this movie. There is a sequel to this movie, "The Bells of St. Mary's," which we plan to watch. I would definitely recommend this one. Even my 12-year old son liked it and he usually turns his nose up to black and whites. Oh, the ending! 🥹 Have a beautiful Labor Day, Catholic Pilgrims.
I got a question yesterday in the comments from someone responding to the post I made on Sunday. The question: "How does one really be transformed?" They commented that they know that they need a change, but not sure what that looks like. So, I thought I would respond in a more general area in case anyone else wants to see what I would say. My answer is by no means the ultimate answer, it simply is what I know from my own life. In my late teens and early twenties, most of you know that I lived a very worldly life. I called myself a Christian, but there was no evidence in how I lived to witness to that...at all. By my own choosing, I had walked away from God because I was mad at Him and I decided that I was going to fix myself and that I didn't need His help. As time went on, I became more and more unhappy. I tried to find happiness in worldly things, but mostly I just ended up more unhappy and disappointed in myself. After many, many years, I found myself giving my general confession right before my conversion to Catholicism. I had finally realized that I couldn't fix myself. I needed God. The first thing you have to do to be transformed by God is identify what it is that you are struggling with? What sins and vices are you clinging to? You must identify what needs to change or you can't change it. For that, I would recommend sitting down in silence and giving at least 15 minutes for reflection. Doing this at church in front of the Tabernacle is best, but regardless, just do it. If you've established what the problem is, you must ask God for help. Grace is Divine help. You will need it. I had to learn that I couldn't fix myself on my own. I needed God's Divine Life within me to help me, but we must ask for it. Lastly, start with small, positive changes. Oftentimes when people think of being transformed, they think they need to drop everything and run off to become a monk who spends 15 hours in prayer in order to be transformed. Very few people on earth can do this. If you haven't worked out your discipline muscle in a long time, you will need to build it up first. So, start small. Read one chapter of one of the Gospels each day. Just one. Set a timer and pray starting at 3 minutes. Go to confession and then commit to going to Mass each Sunday. Start here and then build from there. We are all a work in progress. Somedays we do well, somedays we don't. Each day is a day to get up, ask for the grace we need, and start again. Over time, you will see the effects God makes in your soul. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims.
This past week, our priest was TDY to Georgia, so we didn't have daily Mass on base. TDY means temporary duty for military members in a different location than where they are stationed. Nearly every day for Mass, it's me, my son, and another lady that works on base. We'll call her Maria. Other people come and go, but we are kind of the constants. I love when we have a full little chapel. Anyway, Maria and I decided that we would still come up to the chapel to pray the Rosary together during Mass time. Well, I quickly found myself making excuse after excuse not to go up. "Oh, we need to finish up some school." "Oh, the door will be locked. Who wants to bother trying to find someone with a key." "Oh, I can pray it here at home." "Oh, this. Oh, that." Maria, though, has such a beautiful level of piety that it's infectious. She has a bag of religious books that she carries with her everywhere. She says her daily prayers with such love and devotion. She is always excited to do anything that brings her closer to God. I love her and her beautiful spirit. Because I knew she would be up there to pray, I went even when the inertia of my soul wanted to keep me at home being lazy. One day, I got there early and the door to the Blessed Sacrament room was locked and I was so sloth-like that I didn't even put forth the effort to go find someone with a key. I just kind of was like, "Oh well, guess not today." But, when Maria showed up and heard that the door was locked, she immediately turned around and went to find someone. In that moment, I felt so pitiful. Here I was standing around, not on my lunch break, but with time and I couldn't even move to go get someone to open the door. Maria on the other hand didn't even think twice. And I thought to myself right then and there, "God, I still have much work to do. Please forgive my lazy ways and help me be more like Maria." This is why we need each other, Catholic Pilgrims. This is why our Catholic Faith can't just be about a personal relationship with us and Jesus. We will easily slip into the deadly sin of sloth. Maria is a shining example for me and she holds me accountable. I need her witness. Have a blessed Monday.
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