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In 2023, my family went to Portugal and we got there on a Sunday. Upon getting to our home, we had to change clothes and find a church for Mass. We were tired, hungry, but it was getting late and we were running out of time to find a church. We winded through the streets trying to find the church my husband had located, but the GPS was working right. We never found that church. But then, we ended up at the St. Anthony’s Church built on the site where his home once was and Mass was just starting. We sat in the very back in the dark, warm, and richly colored church and I saw my family struggling to stay awake, especially during the lengthy homily in Portuguese. My son fell asleep on my lap. There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t have even thought twice about passing up Mass for food and rest. I have realized, though, that these are the times when I can greatly show my love for God—when it’s not necessarily convenient to get to Mass. As I sat on that back bench in the dark, rubbing my son’s head, I was happy that we made the effort to come. All for love of God. Have a blessed weekend, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!
Continue ReadingEach morning, I get up to pray and write. It just so happens that sometimes my adult daughters will call or FaceTime me at this time. They know it’s probably safe to call after 5:30am, because they know Mom will be up. Like this morning, I was listening to my Sacred Heart Retreat and my oldest called. I answered and she was bubbling over with good news. We chatted and then she had to go. After we hung up, I thought to myself, “I’m so happy my kids call me. Even if it’s just for a moment to pop in and share a quick bit of news.” What I’m even more happy about is that they know I will always answer. Unless I simply can’t, they can interrupt me at anytime. This got me thinking about God and how we can always, always come to Him to talk. Because I am human, there are times when I can’t take my kids’ calls. I can be interrupted from something, but God can never be interrupted. We often think that we have to have a long prayer session in order for our prayers to be worthwhile, but that’s not true. Sometimes, I get long phone calls with my kids which I love. But, sometimes, I get just a minute or two and I love that, too. We can check in with God at anytime. No matter what. He is always waiting and He is delighted when we check in with Him. To the best of my ability, I try to let my children know that I am available or I will do my best to be available. With God, we never have to wonder—He is always available to us. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingSo, last week, I made a post about a dinner conversation I had with my husband about the desires of men and women. To date, it's probably the most popular post I have ever written and the comments were overwhelmingly positive and supportive. All was going good. But, I have learned over the years that it just takes awhile for the naysayers to show up. If I write about the joys of children, I just have to give it a few hot seconds before the anti-kid crowd descends. If I write about marriage and give the subtle whiff of an argument for the differences between men and women, well, it won't be long before I'm lectured about "social constructs" and how I'm "sending us back to the dark ages." To be sure, people are allowed to be naysayers and I'm not saying that people can't disagree with me. Just fair warning, it may end up as social media fodder. 🙂 I never made any mention in that post about whether women should work or not, or about economics, or about chores. I simply talked about how most women desire men to be providers and protectors and my husband shared that men desire women to be the heart of the home. It's not super controversial stuff...until it is. To some ears, this always comes out translated as: WOMEN MUST ONLY BE STAY-AT-HOME-MOMS AND COOK DINNER EVERY NIGHT ON TIME AND DARN SOCKS AND WHISK AROUND EACH ROOM IN A CINDERELLA FASHION WHILE BRINGING A COLD BREWSIE TO THE HUBS AND CRACKING IT OPEN FOR HIM! I've never even come close to remotely saying anything like this. One lady's comment, though, just baffled me. She said, "Hmmm thought it was about following Christ. Jesus wasn’t a 'provider'." Her point, if I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt, was that what women and men should both desire in a partner someone who follows Christ. Absolutely true. 100% agree. However, if she would have correctly read my conversation with my husband, I said, "What UNIQUE thing do men desire of women that men really don't bring to the table?" Unique was the key word. BOTH men and women desire love, respect, companionship. And, yes, I think it would be great if both desire a faithful Jesus follower. The triggering word for her was "provider." And in the process of taking offense to that word being applied to men, she declared that Jesus "wasn't a provider." Which is just an insane thing to say. Now, to give her the benefit of the doubt again, she was probably trying to say that Jesus wasn't a husband and a father. Correct. But, Jesus didn't come here to get married and be desirable to women as a potential catch. I was talking about what most women want in a marriage partner...and kids want in a father, too. But still, of course--OF COURSE--Jesus was a provider and still is. Before His earthly ministry does this lady think that from, say, ages 15 to 30, Jesus just sat around at home doing nothing? He didn't provide for the family at all? At all???? On the Cross, He provided for His Mother's care by placing her into the hands of St. John. He provides us with grace, love, salvation, and literally Himself in Holy Communion. He is the greatest provider of all time. Why? Because He is God. We must always be careful, Catholic Pilgrims, to not let modern-day political ideologies be the leading thoughts in our minds. Better to be grateful and rejoice in things that are good, true, and beautiful. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
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