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This week's small town church comes to us from Chewelah, Washington--St. Mary of the Rosary. I've never been to the state of Washington, so that's all I have to say. Just kidding, just kidding. It's true that I haven't ever been to Washington, but I do have more to say. While I haven't laid a toe in the state, my better half once lived there as a teenager. His step-dad was stationed in Steilacoom, Washington and they lived there for about 2 1/2 years. I know it was rainy and my husband loved running in the drizzly rain and it was very green. And that's because Steilacoom is on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. Chewelah is on the eastern side, which I'm told is NOT the lush side. Side Note: For some weird reason, people from Kansas like to add an r into the words Washington and wash. Pretty much my whole family says "Warshington" or "Warsh." Why? I have no clue. I have been broken of the habit since living away, but if I'm home too long, that R sometimes resurfaces. Last week, we looked at a church in Alabama which is part of the area known as the Bible Belt. Interestingly enough, Washington state is part of an area called the "Unchurched Belt," with church attendance across the board being low. Catholics make up 14%-17% of the population. What's interesting is that this parish started out as a missionary parish founded by the Jesuits. What a lot of people don't know, is that missionaries, like the Jesuits, used to move into an area that was kind of uncharted territory and lay the groundwork. Once the population of an area became big enough to support a diocese, the missionaries would relinquish the parish(es) they founded to the diocese. That's what happened here. The Jesuits moved in, founded this parish in 1885 and handed it over to the Diocese of Spokane in 1916 and it's been holding down the fort ever since. 🙂 So, I hope you enjoy this copper-roofed church from Chewelah, WA, Catholic Pilgrims, and happy Monday! Side Note 2: While my husband enjoyed living in Washington, he's not too happy with the Seahawks for beating his Niners in the playoffs. So, his relationship with the state right now is bittersweet. lol.
Continue ReadingThroughout my life, I have been admonished by numerous people for something I was doing wrong--by parents, siblings, my spouse, my kids, friends, priests. Initially, my reaction can be to bristle at their admonishment, to get defensive or try to justify my actions. Long, long ago, my baby sister, even when she was still a kid, admonished me over something and I dismissed her. I explained my sin away to her by saying that someday she'll understand why it's so important for me to commit this sin. Can you imagine? Lord, have mercy on us. Anyway, years later, I realized that God was trying to get through to me through my sister. He tries to get through to a lot of us by putting people in our lives that help to correct us and challenge us to be better than our current state. Last night at my Bible study, we were listening to our daily Lenten message and the priest said something that really connects to this. He said, "Jesus doesn't want us to just be wrong. He wants us to be aware of what we can change, so that we can be better." --Father Columba Jordan. So that we can be more like Him. Jesus doesn't want to point out our sins and vices to make us feel bad about ourselves. He doesn't want us to just be wrong. He wants to show us another way and we can only be shown that way if we become aware of where we are missing the mark. The word "sin" stems from Greek and Latin words that mean to miss the mark. My sister wasn't interested in just pointing out I was wrong. She thought my behavior was unbecoming of who I really am supposed to be and she was trying to help me. We have a lot of people in our lives, Catholic Pilgrims, trying to help us hit the mark. Don't dismiss them or brush them away because you can't stand to face yourself. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Continue ReadingThink of the most annoying person you've ever known. Got them in your head? Good. I've had numerous annoying people come into my life, as I'm sure you have, too. (I hope I'm not the person that pops into someone's head as their most annoying person. 🤔) In my younger years, when I was barely living my faith, I struggled to be good to anyone that annoyed me. Our first duty station was Wright-Patterson AFB. When we got there, I was anxious to work, so I tried everything--I subbed, I worked for some high-powered defense attorneys, and then I worked for base legal. My first day on the job, I met the lady I would be working with the most. We'll call her Lexi. Not only did I quickly discover that my job was utterly unnecessary and boring, but Lexi was quite possibly the most miserable person I'd ever met. She hated her job. I could see why: A lot of government jobs are so void of any real purpose that it makes the worker feel worthless. Because there was so little for her to do, she got used to just sitting at her computer doing nothing. So, even when people would come in to get help, she despised them. They made her get up and do something. The inertia of her life was such that she just wanted to stay put and stew. She was rude to me. Rude to customers. Rude to the lawyers. Everyone was stupid in her eyes. If I tried to do any kind of work or be happy towards customers, she would snap at me. Now, normally, I would have given her a piece of my mind, but for some reason, with her, I found the ability to not let all her snide remarks and laziness negatively affect me. I didn't consciously decide to love her, but I just found myself doing it. Each day I would come in and talk to her, ask her questions about herself. I found out that she loved to cook and we had a common interest in music. One day, she brought me food and it was delicious and I told her so. She started listening to the radio and we'd sing along to songs together when there was no one to help. Even though she was still pretty sassy, I saw her start to be more energetic, fun, and positive. Underneath all her prickles, she was a good woman. By the time I left to go get my Masters, Lexi and I had a pretty decent relationship and she was much more enjoyable to be around. I told my son last night, "People will come into your life that you don't like very much. Oftentimes, they are the ones that help work out our sanctification because they really challenge us to live out the virtues. If you can find a way to love annoying people well, you just may change their lives for the better." Find a way, Catholic Pilgrims, to love your annoying people well. P.S. You'll need grace and lots of it. 🙂
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