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As we were rumbling down the road to Sedona, my husband and I were talking about one of my recent posts on why it’s important to attend Mass. I was explaining to him the revelation I’d had after reading Thomas Merton talk about the necessity for joining others to worship God. My husband then said, “That’s a really great insight. Coming together to worship at Mass is participation in what we will be doing together in Heaven.” He continued, “I don’t think we think about who we will be in Heaven very much either. We need to think about that. Because everything we do on earth should be helping us to become our saintly self.” Josemariá Escrivá once wrote: “Conversion is the matter of a moment, sanctification is the work of a lifetime.” Sanctification is what makes us into who we will be in Heaven and who we were born to be. The reason so many are displeased, unhappy, and restless is because we haven’t reached our full potential of becoming a saint. We need to think about our Heavenly self, Catholic Pilgrims. That’s who we should be striving to become because a saint is one with a heart of Christ. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
So, on Friday, when I asked you to guess where I was headed for Spring Break, I hinted by saying that the place holds one of the most architecturally interesting churches…or chapels. One of you guessed correctly, though I enjoyed reading all the guesses. As you’ve all found out, I went to Sedona, AZ and this was the chapel I was referring to—Chapel of the Holy Cross. In 1956, this little chapel was completed and, believe it or not, only cost $300,000. It’s built right into the rock and it creates a stunning view when you see it standing out of the rocks with the natural beauty of Sedona in the background. It also is a stark contrast to the pagan shops and energy parlors everywhere in town. There are dozens of them and, for the most part, they were empty. However, floods of people were flocking to this chapel to pray. I walked in and it was heartwarming to see people on their knees in front of the tabernacle worshipping the one true God. Even with all the people, it was relatively quiet. Believe it or not, three million people visit this chapel each year. My family came here as we were heading back home. It was a great place to come and cap-off our trip with prayers of gratitude for family and the wonder of nature. If ever in Sedona, Catholic Pilgrims, be sure to see this chapel and spend some time in prayer. Have a blessed Wednesday.
Just the other day, I had an angry atheist show up ready to argue with memes. I’ve had plenty of atheists over the years come here to argue. It’s often the same MO. Show a meme with a supposed contradiction or a verse taken out of context and try to force the Catholic to defend. I used to fall for this, but not anymore. Years and years ago, not long after I became Catholic, an old friend became an atheist. One day, she threw out a “suspect” verse and told me to explain. I did and she immediately threw out another verse. I explained. Then another verse. I explained. After a bit, I said, “Are you just going to have me running around explaining things but we don’t ever discuss? What do you think about what I’ve said? Thoughts?” She said, “I don’t care what you say. It’s all myth!” That’s when I understood. She was never asking to truly understand; she was asking to try to get me to doubt and send me on a red herring chase. That’s why I don’t engage with atheists, especially online, about verses in a book they think is myth. The conversation must necessarily start at does God exist or not. I offered that conversation to the recent atheist and he did not take me up on the offer. My new parish priest said the other night at our Mardi Gras dinner, “To even begin to understand the spiritual life and all it entails, you must first want to understand.” “Knock and the door will be opened to you.” There are many things in the spiritual life that we will never fully understand, but we can’t even hope to begin if we don’t put some faith in God and ask for help. If you stand outside the door simply shouting and raising your fist in defiance, no door will open and you will forever remain in the shadow of the door. But, if one desires even a little to understand and knocks, it will open. A wonderful, amazing, mysterious world will open behind it and you can seek and finally find answers that satisfy the soul. Have a blessed Thursday, Catholic Pilgrims.
One thing that we often hear from people is that they don't want to go to church because they'd just rather worship God on their own. Now, it is true that you can worship God anywhere. Nature is a great place to connect with the Creator. Even going to Adoration by yourself to sit in silence with Jesus is excellent for our souls. However... Thomas Merton once wrote reflecting on attending church as a little kid, "It is a law of man's nature, written into his very essence, and just as much a part of him as the desire to build houses and cultivate the land and marry and have children and read books and sing song, that he should want to stand together with other men in order to acknowledge their common dependence of God, their Father and Creator." In Heaven, we will not be alone as we worship God. We will be with all the Saints and angels at the great Heavenly banquet. Imagine the multitudes. Mass is that participation here on earth. Don't neglect going to Mass, Catholic Pilgrims. We need to be united with our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Supper of the Lamb. Have a blessed Wednesday.
It’s hard to tell from this picture, but I’m standing on top of a high hill. I went for my evening run and because I’m still not quite ready to run up it, I walked up it…very fast. 😅 I got to the top and then I sat and prayed for all of you, my fellow pilgrims. The other day, I read something from St. Francis Cabrini that said: “You lost your cross? Then you are the most unhappy person in the world because the one who has no cross is not a follower of Jesus Christ; so I wish you a very long and very large cross full of thorns, which you will carry as a precious jewel with a smile on your lips.” The Saints are incredible people. For most of my life, I understood that Christ redeemed us on the Cross. It has taken me, though, a long time to understand Jesus’ command to “pick up your cross and follow Him.” We did not feel the pain Christ went through on the Cross and so the only way to truly appreciate His suffering for us is to carry our own crosses well. We do that with grace. It is our crosses that sanctify us—not comfort, not pleasures, not the easy way. If we have seemingly lost our cross because we seek to avoid them or refuse to carry them, we will be unhappy people. Why? Because we were made to be holy and if we aren’t striving for that, we will never be fully alive. It is hard, though, to carry crosses alone and so I prayed for you all up here on my desert-y hill. I prayed for your strength and your courage to brave them. Continue to live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
Death Valley desert. I can't escape the desert. Lol. In Dante's "Inferno," Hell is a place of noise, which makes complete sense. I imagine it to be like loud static on a radio or just clanging cymbals. The first time I stood in Time's Square, I was overcome by all the noise: The traffic, the people, the visual stimulus, the shopping, the ads. It was sensory overload, for sure. At that moment, all I wanted to do was run to the tiny Kansas town my grandparents lived in. I wanted to escape to that quiet country town where all you heard were the birds, the wind, and the occasional storm rumbling in the distance. I was seeking silence and one of the only places I knew where to find that was in my grandparent's town. Our souls cannot survive on constant sound. They will become overwhelmed and burdened. Our soul wants to hear God, but it can't when noise drowns out His voice. This week of Lent, I challenge you fast from the noise of the news and all its political bantering. The news cycle moves so fast. You won't miss anything. By the time the week ends, the story at the beginning of the week meant to spool us into a frenzy will be long forgotten. So, I encourage you to step away. Step away from reading that news headlines. Step away from the political podcasts. Step away from having the news on 24/7 in your home and let silence fill that space. It will be uncomfortable and you may even experience FOMO, but it will be okay. I promise, it will be okay. Give your soul a break, Catholic Pilgrims. Just like my soul was dying to be in a tiny town in Kansas while standing in NYC, your soul is dying to reconnect with God...in the silence. Have a blessed Monday.
A mantra that Christians like to say is: In the world, but not of it. I was thinking about this slogan during prayer yesterday and I asked myself, “But, how are we doing with that?” Back in the days of my late teens and 20s, I called myself a Christian. I probably would have given lip-service to this slogan. And yet, I looked exactly like the secular culture wanted me to. I didn’t go to church. I didn’t read my Bible. I didn’t pray. I lived with my boyfriend. I wasn’t chaste. I had the mouth of a sailor. I watched and listened to whatever I wanted. In fact, there is not one single thing about my life that looked any different than a nice atheist’s life. Technically, there are still more Christians in the world than non-Christians and, yet, our world has fallen into moral decay. So, I’m not so sure we can claim that we are doing well with the whole “in the world, not of it” life-creed. If we want to call ourselves Christians and be taken seriously, we will have to lose our lives for the sake of Christ. That means we will have to live differently. You cannot have it both ways. You cannot plunge into the culture living no differently, believing no differently, than those who have entrenched themselves in all the ways of the world and still claim the identity of Christian. The identity of “Christian” must and necessarily includes dying to self and taking up our crosses to follow Christ, Catholic Pilgrims. Lent is a perfect time to honestly assess your life and cut away those areas that have led you to “gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit” yourself. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Man wants to build Heaven on his own…” -Canon Jacques Leclercq Last night, we had a Mardi Gras dinner at our church on base. Our new priest sat beside my husband and me and shared lots of wisdom. The man knows his Bible. At one point he said, “Heaven cannot be attained without sacrifice and suffering. We must die to self which will always cause suffering within us. And when we die to self, and die with Him as He did on the Cross, we become more like Him. We do not have a Lord who does not understand suffering. What makes us think we could live this Christian life free of it and still resemble Christ?” We want to build our own Heaven here on earth. We want finite pleasures over infinite joy. We want comfort over struggle. We want our will over God’s. It is ludicrous for the created being to think it can ever surpass the Creator in making Heaven. Yet, we try all the time. Lent is that time of preparation where we follow Christ to the Cross and join with Him in His suffering. It is, after all, we that caused the suffering. Ash Wednesday is where we specifically remember our littleness and dependency on God and are reminded that apart from God, we are nothing. May you have a blessed Ash Wednesday and Lenten Season.
Tomorrow, Catholic Pilgrims, we begin Lent. This is not a secular self-help time. It’s not a time to outdo others or ourselves in past years. Things don’t need to be complicated. We just need to remember that everything we do or don’t do during this time is to be done with the soul purpose and intention of walking with Christ in the desert. Prayer, penance, fasting, and almsgiving. If there is no sacrifice involved, it lacks what is needed for this time. It is good to go into the desert with Christ, Catholic Pilgrims. Our souls need it. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
I finally finished "The Diary of Country Priest." It took me so long because it’s a book that needs devoted attention. This is a book that needs time for contemplation with a fine wine or a good whiskey. There is no high climax. The movement is slow. You cannot sit and devour it. So, if you need swift movement, high energy, and an easy read, I would not recommend this book. The priest--whose name we never know--is a very Christ-like figure. He is simple and good. He wants nothing more than to take good care of his parish, but his light is too much for his parishioners. His light draws out there darkness like a magnet draws out iron shards. Most people cannot handle it and therefore fight against him as if they are fighting against God. Really only one allows that fight to bring about healing. So, if you are wanting a book that forces lots of deep thoughts, I would recommend giving it a try. It takes some time to get the flow of the writer, mostly because the book is translated from French. However, if you are willing to give it time, give it prayer even, I think you would be rewarded by this humble novel with its humble priest. Happy reading and have a good Monday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Who is allowed to remove the wooden beam from your eye? Christ tells us in today’s Gospel from Luke that we need to make sure that we remove our wooden beam out of our eye before helping someone remove their splinter. Note: He does not say you can’t ever help someone remove the splinter. So, who do we allow to admonish us? Do we do it ourselves? Do we call ourselves to holiness? Our culture will tell you that you are perfect just the way you are…unless you are a devout Christian. That is not acceptable. Do we allow friends and family to admonish us? Our culture tells us that love means to accept and celebrate every aspect of you including any sinful behavior you desire to engage in. Do we allow Scripture? Our culture—through the heresy of Sola Scriptura—has allowed for people to interpret the Bible any way they want. “Shoot, if the Holy Spirit tells you that your sin is fine, go ahead.” I recently was talking to someone who helps with marriage prep and they were telling me that the couples report that the classes “feel judgy.” Mind you, these are engaged couples that are cohabitating, fornicating, and using contraception. But, the marriage prep people aren’t allowed to educate on what the Church teaches about marriage and how to live it out according to Scripture. Nope, they just shut down the whole argument by declaring that things felt judgy. No one is allowed to remove the beam. So, who do you allow? It’s a question worth asking, because if we won’t do it, we won’t allow others to do it, and God through Scripture can’t, then who? We all have beams, Catholic Pilgrims. Our pride keeps us from wanting to be admonished over them. However, if we really want to be holy, and not just give lip service to holiness, then we must allow for hearing that we aren’t perfect in every way. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Sunday.
At dinner last night, my son, my husband, and I were talking about how truly good and happy people make others mad. My 10-year old son said, “Why would they be mad? Like do they say, ‘It makes me so mad that you’re good. I wish you were bad.’ That’s just stupid.” I asked him, “Can you think of why that might be?” “Probably because they don’t have the courage to be good. But, it’s still stupid to be mad at someone for being good. What? You’d rather have a bunch of bad people around you just so you don’t feel bad that you’re a jerk?” 10-year olds have a way of putting things. 😅 “Because they don’t have the courage to be good.” He’s exactly right. To be good—or let’s say holy—requires a rejection of sin. Many people don’t want to let go of their favorite sin because they don’t trust a holy life could be better. To be holy requires sacrifice and that’s hard. Our fallen nature wants easy and comfortable. To be holy means to face yourself in humility and see that oftentimes it is because of your choices that you are unhappy. However, it is easy to blame others for everything. Sometimes, others are to blame, but clinging to victimhood never freed anyone. To be holy means examining who you have allowed yourself to become and taking responsibility for that and then asking for the grace to be transformed. A lot of people don’t have the courage to do these things because our pride hates hearing that we aren’t perfect just the way we are. Also, we trust sin more than we trust God to give us happiness. The conflict comes in when we encounter holy people and we know—we know—that we were made for holiness, but we lack the courage. And so, we try to snuff out their light so that we don’t feel so bad about ourselves. That’s why, Catholic Pilgrims, we must always live the Faith boldly and travel well on this pilgrimage through life. We were made for holiness. Have a blessed Thursday.
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