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Before I begin the meat of what I have to say here, my intention is not to embarrass or shame anyone. I've gone back and forth on whether I should write about it, but, in the end, I was so moved by the experience that I felt I needed to share. This past weekend, my family attended Mass at St. Joseph's in Big Bear Lake, CA. At the start of Mass during the procession, the priest was taking awhile to come into my view. When he did, I could see that this relatively young priest had a disability in his legs that made walking difficult. As he climbed up to the altar, it was clear that he was in pain. During his homily, he was telling us about how he used to ski when he was young and he joked by saying, "Back when I was more agile," which caused a gentle laugh by the congregation. But, it was how this priest was during the Consecration that compels me to write. As you know, during the Consecration, the priest genuflects three times out of reverence for Our Lord. Given this priest's limitations, I didn't think he would genuflect, which was understandable. I thought he would bow. He didn't bow, though, and at each time for genuflection, though it clearly was difficult, this priest slowly, and so very reverently, genuflected to Jesus. Normally it is pretty quiet during this time, but there was an even deeper silence as we all watched this man struggle to genuflect. It was so powerfully moving and such a sight of beauty that I have tears falling even as I type this. Then we proceeded with Holy Communion and it was one of the most reverent Holy Communions I've ever experienced. I think the priest set the precedent. Afterwards, when he was "cleaning up the dishes," as my son once said when he was little, the priest lovingly and carefully performed this act. It was almost mesmerizing watching him be so attentive. When my husband and I walked out of the church, we both commented on how moved we were. Again, I don't write this to embarrass and I don't write to shame anyone who can't genuflect because of physical limitations. I write because this priest's effort and even his willingness to not try and hide his disability was sincerely touching. For love of God, Catholic Pilgrims. May everything we do and say, be done for love of God. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
I've recommended "Dracula" to you all before, but after reading it again this year, I have more thoughts. First, this book is extremely spiritual and the theme is definitely the enduring one of good vs. evil. It is not an over-sexualized book about lusty female vampires contrary to what popular culture would make you believe. Sure, there are parts of it that were probably scandalous to late 1800 century eyes, but it's really nothing to get worked up about. Anyway, in my latest reading of the book, I found a line from Dr. Van Helsing that especially stood out. When speaking to another doctor and trying to get him to believe that Lucy is really a vampire and that they must save her soul, he says: "You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain." There is nothing wrong with science. Science is good for the study of the material world. It is one tool among many to understand our lives and the world we live in. However, it has its limitations, which is fine. It was never meant to be the only tool we ever use. The downfall with science is that it made a lot of people believe that it was the only tool and because it gives humans the ability to explain the material world, it made many feel more powerful than we actually are. We became the gods and science became the religion. But, science cannot explain everything and if it can't that doesn't mean then we have no answers or no other tool to use to understand life, God, and the universe. Many who follow the Religion of Science want to use it to find God and when they can't, "Well, guess he's all make-believe." But, God is not material, so He is never going to be directly found using science. We can indirectly come to know things about Him through science, but we will never find Him directly. What is ironic is that those that believe science is the end-all-be-all, show just how little they truly know and understand, though they think they rise above believers in rational and intelligent thought. Science is one tool that God gave us, Catholic Pilgrims, to help us understand Him better, but it is not the only one we use. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
I've been making episodes for Season Six of my podcast, where I'll be reading St. Augustine's "Confessions." (Pst...season starts January 1st, 2026.) In one of the readings, St. Augustine is basically praising a litany of God's attributes: Omniscient--all knowing Omnipresent--ever present Omnipotent--all powerful Eternal--always has been, always will be Immutable--unchanging God is love God is mercy God is Being itself Today, in our reading from Romans, St. Paul says, "Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have ben able to be understood and perceived in what He has made." We can come to know and understand God's attributes by looking at the created world. To quote Bishop Barron, God is not one great "creature among many," He is the Creator of all things. St. Paul goes on to talk about how people become "fools" and how our senseless minds can be darkened. In this day and age, I would argue that God gets reduced down to three attributes--two from the list and an added one. God is love--Translated to mean that God tolerates any way you want to live, because love is acceptance. God is mercy--Translated to mean that God will show mercy to anyone that chooses to live a life contrary to Biblical teachings, but still calls themselves a Christian. And, the added one, God is nice--translated to mean that God is just a pal that doesn't want to add one bit of friction to your life in any way. With these, we lose one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit--Fear of the Lord. This gift is the understanding that God is all might and majesty, that we are little and completely dependent on Him, and that our understanding of Him can never be exhausted. Nobody really wants to worship just a nice, tolerant god. Consequently, when people try to depict God in this way, He fades from people's lives and new idols--usually themselves--take over. Let us have a healthy fear of the Lord, Catholic Pilgrims, and recognize that we worship the Almighty, the great "I Am." Have a blessed Tuesday. *Church is St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.
Someone privately wrote me asking how to stop confessing the same sin over and over again. They didn't tell me what sin it is and I didn't ask, but I told them that they need to figure out why they are unwilling to eradicate that particular sin. They responded back with an honest answer, "I guess I like doing it too much." Most sins come down to fear and pleasure: We fear that if we don't commit a particular sin that we will trap ourselves somehow or we enjoy the pleasure of it too much. Sometimes both reasons apply. Ultimately, though, it comes down to the fact that we don't trust God with our happiness. This leads us to only think of the here and now. We want our temporary pleasure now; we want our way of living now. This is why the Church asks us to think on the last four things--Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. There is no one temporary thing here on earth that could ever make up for the joy we will receive in Heaven or the torture we would endure if Hell was our destination. And the truth is, if we forgo the pleasure here on earth, it may just be that we struggle and suffer. It's not as if choosing God's Will is always easy or pleasant. Oftentimes, it comes with a great amount of suffering and so often, to avoid that, we take the reins and choose to trust in sinful pleasures and sinful ways so that we can seemingly enjoy this life. What we all have to come to understand is that what God wills for our lives, will always end up, in the end, better for us, if we choose to trust in Him. Jesus tells us, "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" God's answer to us is not always the easy way or the most pleasurable way or the way of comfort, but the answer is always what is best for us. He knows better than anyone what we need to become Saints. So, we must knock at the door, Catholic Pilgrims, and ask for the grace to resist temporary "gain" over eternal joy and glory. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Sometimes when people share my posts, I can see comments made by people on their page. Yesterday, someone shared by post about praying the Rosary and how it's not vain repetition. I could see that someone commented to them, "Who taught you to bow to idols?" Now, I generally don't go commenting on other people's personal pages, but I will on here. The comment has nothing to do with the my post on the Rosary. It drives me absolutely bonkers when people just throw out an unrelated comment because they lack the ability to address the issue at hand. But, since they brought it up and because I like addressing bad comments and arguments, we'll talk about it today. The first thing we must understand is that to bow to something is not inherently wrong. Back in the day, men used to bow to women upon greeting them and, to be old fashioned in my language, in taking their leave. It was a sign of respect. In some Asian cultures, bowing is a cultural practice and we recognize that the bowing isn't idolization but, instead, a sign of respect. In 1 Kings 2:19, King Solomon bows to his mother. He does this, not because he is worshipping her, but because she is the queen mother and he is respecting her with a bow. Sometimes, Catholics bow to statues of Mary for the same reason--she is our Queen Mother and we are trying to show her respect through her image. There are other instances of people bowing in the Bible and it is not a form of worship. So, we see that we can bow and indict with our bodies a gesture of respect and honor. For Catholics, when we come into a Catholic Church, we genuflect, that is kneel and cross ourselves, as we take our seats. Anytime, we pass by the Tabernacle, we either bow or genuflect. Some people can't genuflect because of physical ailments, so they bow. The reason we do this is because Jesus is present. In this case, we are bowing and genuflecting out of worship. Jesus is present in the Eucharist. Today, in our Gospel reading, Jesus gives us the Our Father. Several years ago, I learned something very interesting from Bishop Barron. Where it says "daily bread," in the Greek, the word is epiousion, which means "substantial in the highest degree" or "super-substantial." St. Jerome translated this into the Latin Vulgate as "panem supersubstantialem," or super-substantial bread. What is bread in the highest degree? The Eucharist--Jesus fully present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We get on our knees, we bow, we genuflect when we enter a Catholic Church because we are worshipping Jesus in the Panem Supersubstantialem. It is not idolization, but right praise. Thank God, Catholic Pilgrims, we can receive this Daily Bread everyday. Have a blessed Wednesday.
"The Bible says, 'In praying, don't use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.' Catholics are praying vain repetitions when you pray the Rosary." Heard this one before? I'm sure you have. About 15 years ago, I was completely devastated by some news within my larger family. One morning, I couldn't stop crying and I tried to formulate a prayer, but I couldn't. So, I just said over and over again, "Jesus." I feel asleep saying repeating Jesus' name. Anytime I give a talk, I get a little nervous, so as I'm on my way to the talk, I pray many times over, "Holy Spirit, keep me calm, keep me clear." This always stills my heart and helps me relax. After I receive the Eucharist, I pray three times, "Stay with me, Lord." This is a repetitious prayer. Even though I am repeating myself, none of these prayers are in vain. Vain, in the context of what Jesus is speaking about, means "useless" and "producing no results." The reason Jesus was saying this is because the Gentiles said repetitious prayers to pagan gods and, as we know, pagan gods don't exist. So, praying to Zeus or Athena was vain--useless--because they weren't real. When Catholics pray the Rosary we are saying repetitious prayers, this is true, but they aren't vain. The "Our Father" is a prayer we repeat at least six times and that is a prayer that Jesus gave us. Hardly vain. We pray the "Glory Be" at least six times and that prayer gives glory to the Blessed Trinity. Hardly vain. We pray the "Fatima prayer," which says, "Oh my, Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy." Straight up prayer to Jesus. Hardly vain. Then, the "Hail Mary." The first part of the prayer are the words of St. Gabriel to Mary and the words of St. Elizabeth to Mary--scriptural texts formulate the prayer. The second half of the prayer is asking for her to pray for us. While we are praying these prayers, we are meditating on Christ's and Mary's life through different mysteries. Repetition is not, in and of itself, bad. It is never vain or useless to pray to Jesus or the Blessed Trinity. It is not vain to ask the Mother of God to pray for us while we meditate on the life of her Son, Who she desires us to love more than anything. Today, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Catholic Pilgrims. May we pray a beautiful, fruitful, efficacious, repetitious Rosary today. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
There are many in the Christian community who don’t like Catholics’ devotion to Angels and Saints. Some tell us our practices are pagan. Some find it unnecessary and a distraction. Some repeat over and over that there is only one mediator between God and man—Jesus. Some tell us that we are practicing necromancy. All of these thoughts misunderstand, of course, Catholicism and are an ignorance about Catholics relationship with Angels and Saints. We don’t believe the Angels and Saints are gods to be worshipped like the One True God. We don’t believe that you have to have a relationship with them in order to be saved, but we do believe they are a great help given to us by God. We agree that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Having a relationship with Angels and Saints doesn’t usurp that role just as having relationships with other Christians doesn’t usurp that role. Necromancy is the attempt to conjure up the dead to obtain information from them. This is strictly forbidden in Catholicism. We are allowed, however, to ask those who are alive in Heaven to pray for us and to ask our guardian angels to guide and protect us. The whole of Christian life is not meant to be reduced down to a private, “personal relationship with Jesus.” Baptized Christians are a part of the Body of Christ and we are meant to be in communion with each other. This includes those in Heaven—the Triumphant. It also includes the angels for, as Scripture shows over and over, they are given to us to help us. As a parent, I don’t just demand that my kids only have a relationship with me. I want them to have healthy relationships with other family members, friends, other church members, teachers, and coaches. Why? Because all these people can help them in some way and strengthen them. We have hope that God will give us everything we need to get to Heaven. Angels are one of those helps. St. Bernard of Clairvaux said angels were “proof” ‘that heaven denies us nothing to assist us.” God gives us many wonderful and holy helps, Catholic Pilgrims, to assist us on our pilgrimage through life. Thank God for the help of the Angels. Have a blessed Feast of the Holy Angels!
This past Friday, our bishop was on base for the Sacrament of Confirmation. His words in his homily really made me reflect on my path to my own confirmation. As many of you know, at age 17, I left God behind. This happened because of a series of devastating events and I thought the logical solution was to abandon God since I thought He had abandoned me. So, I stopped going to church, my Bible was shelved completely, not that I got it out much before my great self-inflicted exile. I didn't pray. I did participate in a Bible study with my friends in college, but I was a big hypocrite. I lived how I wanted, yet thought of myself as a good person. I still called myself a Christian and defended Christianity in my college classes, but I was not following Jesus at all. Then, I started dating a lukewarm cradle Catholic, we fell in love, gave no thought to our religious differences, got married and began the great tug-of-war to decide if we were going to be Protestant or Catholic. After the birth of our firstborn, all of a sudden, religion mattered. During this time, I fought with my husband as he explained Catholicism, but it was more of a wrestling with God--much like Jacob wrestles. After eight years of wrestling, I desired more than anything to become Catholic. The bishop this past Friday said, "When you receive the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, if you have received Him in the right disposition, the transformation in you will be so great that you will not be able to contain the love you have for God. You will most necessarily have to spread the message of Jesus to the world." Of course, because I'm a big weeper, this made me cry. I think back to who I was before my confirmation and who I am now and it is a night and day difference. I'm not a perfect follower of Christ, but I want to be and I want others to know Him and love Him. It's why I write here nearly everyday. I'm truly sustained by the Holy Spirit. I have known life apart from God where I was just wandering around aimlessly. I know it is a shallow, sad life. The best way to live is to take Jesus up on His words to "follow Me." Follow Him fully, follow Him faithfully, and your life will bear much fruit. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Theresa, pray for us!
HEY!!! (said in loud infomercial voice) Are you looking to improve your evangelism skills? Well, folks, you've come to the right place!! Listen, I've got a book called, "Tips and Secrets of Online Evangelism: Ways To Be Wildly Ineffective" that is gonna help you take your skills to a lower level. Just a few topics covered are: 1. Learning how to use all CAPS!!!! You may not have a bullhorn, but using all CAPS says, "THIS IS IMPORTANT!" and "IF I SAY THIS IN ALL CAPS, IT MEANS THAT I AM RIGHT!" 2. Repetition. This is where you learn to just repeat the same thing, no matter what your interlocutor says. For instance, no matter what they say back to you, just type "IDOL WORSHIPPER!" Do this over and over again and you'll have people on your side in no time, or not, but it requires little effort on your part. Don't forget the CAPS! Pro-tip: Sending a slew of links to videos that no one is going to watch is super ingenious, as well. 3. Refuse to stay on topic. The goal here is to not really engage in meaningful debate, but, instead, have the person you are trying to evangelize run around collecting red fish, if you catch my drift. With these and other great tips, you will be on your way to evangelizing no one, but instead just being massively annoying and getting yourself blocked. So, order now, by calling 1-800-BEA-GONG and get started on going no where TODAY! A little Friday sarcasm, Catholic Pilgrims, but with the intended purpose to remind us all that we are meant to be salt and light. When we seek to evangelize, let us be intelligent, mindful, clear-headed, sincere, and, above all, not annoying. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Friday!
There have been two people in my life who I have hated. I wanted them to burn in hell and be tortured by the demons for all eternity. Oh, how the thought of them suffering immensely consumed my thoughts. I would daydream of one day being in Heaven and looking down gleefully at them burning and be filled with satisfaction. And this, Catholic Pilgrims, is what hatred of others does to us. We even imagine ourselves relishing destruction of others in Heaven. Heaven--a place of perfection, all-consuming love, and joy. It is wild to me that at one time I thought hating people would 1. still allow me entrance into Heaven and 2. be an activity I would carry with me into Heaven. Overtime this hatred distorted me and made me ugly. I lashed out and raged against people--even people I claimed to love. I became more selfish. Even though I assumed I was going to Heaven, I dropped my relationship with God. Because really, how can you have a relationship with God when you are fantasizing about the eternal destruction of people? I'll be the first to tell you, you can't. Once the burden of this hatred became more than I could bear, I knew I needed help. It started with converting to Catholicism and going through my First Confession. That moved into learning from my patron saint, St. Maria Goretti. I was strengthened with the Eucharist and when you receive Love Himself, you can't help but surrender to His Will. His Will for me was to drop the hatred and pray for the two guys that had caused me so much pain. I had to will their good which was repentance and to find a relationship with Jesus. And...I had to desire that they find their way to Heaven. That was the toughest thing to surrender to, but with God's grace, I have been able to do that. If left to me, I would still be seething with rage and hatred for them. If we want to find true satisfaction in this life, if we want to be joyfully exhilarated by life, and if we want to be warmed with God's love, we cannot hate people, Catholic Pilgrims. As we read in the Book of the Prophet Haggai, "Consider your ways." Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday. *The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM
Yesterday, my husband had a special stand-up ceremony for his work. I wish I had pictures because it was out by the flight-line in an old hangar. I promise you all that my hubby is working so hard to make sure this country is safe. Anyway, after the ceremony, I was talking with our priest. He'd come out to give the invocation. We got on the topic of marriage and he was talking about how important it was for spouses to work as a team. At some point, I said, "You know, Father, I truly believe that women set the standard for a culture. If women set a high bar, men will rise to it. What's happened in our culture is that, in general, women either 1. set a low bar and don't elevate men or 2. they make men feel like they can't ever reach a high bar." A little bit later on, I was talking with a civilian that my husband works with and he was complimenting my husband and said, "That guy is really going places. I'm excited to see where he goes in his career." Smiling, I said, "Oh, I know. I've been his biggest fan for a long time now and I know just how amazing he is." Since early on in our marriage, I've told my husband that he's gonna be president one day. He always rolls his eyes and tells me I'm crazy. Maybe he will or he won't, but the point of me telling my husband that is because I want him to know that I have that much confidence in his abilities. I want him to know how much I believe in him. I've always known his incredible potential to sometimes do seemingly impossible things. Sadly in our world, social media is a breeding ground for spouse bashing--mostly by women. These women tell the world that their husband will never be good enough. Spouses are to be a team, supporting and building each other up, always calling each other to growth and holiness. A spouse that is well-loved and supported will be such a force for good in this world. So, build your spouse up, Catholic Pilgrims. See your spouse as God sees your spouse--a treasure for you to love with all your heart and soul. Have a blessed Wednesday.
I was thinking about the Saints the other day and how amazing they are. Each Saint that I've learned about has their own temperament, quirks, likes, dislikes, etc. They aren't carbon copies of each other in personality. They aren't all exactly just like St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Or they aren't all just like St. Padre Pio. The reason that they speak so much to us is because they are uniquely them. What they do all share is how they lived out God's Will for the their life, but that's done in a thousand different ways: Some are hermits, some are TV evangelists, some are cloistered nuns, some are great missionary explorers. And, naturally, some speak to us more than others. What I've noticed in all my time of doing this here online is that there are wide swaths of people that want all Catholics to look, act, and evangelize in exactly the same way, no matter if you are a man or a woman. Just all be the saaaaaaaame. You don't get made into a Saint that way. God made us unique. I am Amy and if, by God's grace, I become a Saint, I will be different than any other. I have a bit of a fiery temperament that leans heavily towards justice. I've gotten better over the years at learning to hone my personality for the good, but I'm always still going to be Amy. There are people that run pages where they are gentle, uplifting, peaceful, and calm. I'm glad there are these kinds of pages, because this speaks to a lot of people and it's needed. There are people that need that kind of messaging in their lives. We all do at some point, so I'm glad there are people that have this kind of temperament. But, this page will never be that and, if you expect me to be, I will disappoint you. It's not that I think gentleness and peacefulness are bad by any stretch of the imagination. They are wonderful and good things. However, I don't feel called to be a messenger in exactly those ways. Like I said, I have to hone the temperament that God gave me, yet still be me, Amy. Do not demand that Catholics all be exactly alike. We are called to be Saints, not clones, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Tuesday.
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