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I was watching a video the other day where a guy very flippantly said, “Yeah, sure, Mary was a great person, but I don’t pray to dead people.”
I commented, “As Catholics, we don’t pray to dead people either. Those in Heaven are alive in Christ.”
Now, for this post, let’s ignore the man’s ignorance on praying to the Saints and what that actually means and what it doesn’t.
I want to focus on Mary, today, as May is the month of Mary.
“Yeah, sure, Mary was a great person.”
The way he said this was in an off-handed, dismissal sort of way. Which is the same attitude I used to have.
When you once held a bad view, wrong view, or ignorant view and you realize how bad it was, you become very passionate about speaking out about it.
I always come back to the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Mary at the Annunciation. I love studying angels and I find them fascinating.
Gabriel says, “Hail, full of grace.”
Now, some view this greeting in the same spirit as hailing a taxi.
And that would be wrong.
Angels are higher creatures than humans. To hail Mary, a human, with such royal reverence, is notable. It would be like us bowing in reverence to a cat, though in this day and age, that’s probably a thing.
Gabriel knows that she has been asked by God the Father to be the mother—THE MOTHER—of God the Son through the power of God the Holy Spirit. The angels spend their lives worshipping the Blessed Trinity and they know the extreme significance of the honor bestowed on Mary. A significance too many neglect or dismiss.
Why anyone would think that Christ would encourage us to ignore His mother in singular pursuit of Him is baffling. Christ has a mother and part of knowing Him is knowing her.
Christianity has always been relationship focused, not just a private thing between you and Jesus.
A good mother always wants to show your her children, Catholic Pilgrims. Mary bore Our Savior and that makes her more than great.
Have a blessed month of Mary. May she lead you ever closer to her Son.
ITALY PILGRIMAGE
‘Journey with the Saints’
OCTOBER 23-31, 2023
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In our second reading today, St. Paul is writing to the Christians in Corinth. He says, "To you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ." It was the "called to be holy" part that caught my eye. St. Paul doesn't say we can live however we want while calling ourselves a Christian. He, also, doesn't say that we are straight up holy once we become a Christian. He says we are called to be and, that means, there is some participation on our part where we must cooperate with the graces given to us by God and be obedient to Christ's teachings and the teachings of His Church. God calls us to holiness, but we do have to desire it. If we think that we are just "good to go" because we call ourselves a Christian, it will be difficult to desire holiness. I know that I once didn't even desire it because 1. nobody ever talked to me about it. and 2. I thought calling myself a Christian meant I had an assured ticket to Heaven. Consequently, I didn't try to live any differently. In fact, unless you asked me, you wouldn't have known I was a Christian based on how I lived. To be holy means that we want to live out the virtues--courage, prudence, justice, fortitude, piety, etc,-- for love of God and for love of others. We want to orient our lives to look more like Christ's and make choices that don't follow the easy way. We are called to holiness, Catholic Pilgrims. God will work with our desire to answer that call if we ask Him. Have a blessed Sunday. *Church is Mission San Juan Baptista in CA
Continue ReadingIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Today, in our reading from Matthew, the Trinity is revealed. At the Baptism of Our Lord, the Father speaks of His love for His Son, The Son gives us the Sacrament of Baptism, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove letting us know that this action is sanctified. It is holy and pleasing to God. This is why we baptize in the Trinitarian formula and every single time we do the Sign of the Cross it is a beautiful reminder of our baptism and the saving grace we received from it. We must continue to cooperate with those graces throughout our life, but it/was our entrance into the family of God. So many things happen at baptism: You become a child of God and an heir to the Kingdom. Original sin is washed away and any actual sins if above the age of reason. Your soul is permanently marked as belonging to God. Your soul is filled with grace--the Divine life. You receive the three theological gifts of Faith, Hope, and Charity. You receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn't need to be baptized, but He was showing us what He wanted us to do--this was the new covenantal ritual, circumcision would not be needed anymore. Baptism is the start of our Christian life with God, Catholic Pilgrims. Through it, we are brought into the life of the Blessed Trinity. Have a beautiful Sunday.
Continue ReadingMy husband and I were talking to our daughter on the phone the other day and as we were talking, my husband told her about all the different Masses we had been to in one week. We went to our first Latin Mass the Sunday after Christmas. Then, we went to a funeral Mass in San Jose. The day after that, we went to a bilingual Mass at Mission San Juan Baptista--my 12th California Mission. And this past Sunday, we were back at our base chapel with all the familiar faces of our friends that we live with on base. It never ceases to amaze me how good it feels to just walk into a Catholic Church and know that I belong. I don't even have to know anybody. It's always nice when I do know people, but, even when I don't, I feel a great sense of belonging. As the Catholic Pilgrim, I've visited literally hundreds of Catholic Churches in the 16 years since I converted. I've been to Masses where the people spoke French, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, and Spanish. Latin can now be added to the list. I've been to Mass in enormous cathedrals and in small caves. I've attended Mass outside with over a million Catholics and I attend daily Mass on base where sometimes it's just my son and me. In all of these different circumstances, I sense the universality of the Catholic Church. Even when I'm surrounded by people that don't look like me, I feel such a connection because of our Faith and our one shared Feast at the altar--the Eucharist, which is Jesus Christ. What a blessing to be part of this one, big, universal family, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
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