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During my sophomore year of track, I was running the 4x100 relay at a mid-season meet. The first-leg girl of our relay had been off flirting with some boys and my team had to scramble to find her once 2nd call came.
Consequently, none of us were warmed up and we were all a bit frazzled. Worst of all, the first leg runner thought we were running the 4x400 instead of the 4x100. Those races are run very differently.
Anyway, by the time I got the baton, we were in last place and I took out like a rocket. But, as I was running, I felt something snap in my left leg. After I passed off the baton, I collapsed on the side of the track.
Good news was I had pulled us into first and we won. Bad news was I had ripped my groin tendon.
That was the end of my sprinting days.
I could have come back as a long distance runner or I could have moved over to softball, a sport I loved to play. Instead, though, I just got bitter and didn’t do anything.
I still regret to this day that I didn’t persevere through adversity.
Our Faith life can go much the same way as my sport’s story. Everything can be going fine and all is good, but once a trial comes along, we throw up our hands and shout to God, “What the heck? I didn’t deserve this! Is this how you treat those that believe in you?!”
Our expectation is that being a Christian means a smooth pass along our pilgrimage through life.
St. James tells us today, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
There is no smooth ride through life, Catholic Pilgrims. We should never have that expectation. Our faith will be tested. Our response to that testing will either show the superficiality of our faith or it will strengthen it.
Let the trials strengthen it. Don’t be like me back in high school and just give up.
Life the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
I made a short reel the other day that was supposed to be kind of funny. In Ireland, I saw tons of electric mowers just chugging along doing the work of making lawns look beautiful. (Everyone's yard in Ireland is pristine, btw. Very impressive.) Anyway, I likened the mowers to the Saints. They just get the good work done that needs to be done in order to make things better. Everyone else stands around gripping and despairing, but the Saints "just keep going, just keep going." To prove my point, Mr. Grumpypants had to show up and grump about how people who think they are Saints are all "naval gazers that think they are better than everyone else." Maybe he thought I was calling myself a Saint and he felt the need to set me straight. I wasn't calling myself that, but I do desire to be one. He said something, though, that I want to focus on. The Saints aren't people that call themselves Saints. They didn't think they were better than everyone else. In fact, they thought they could only do more and more for love of God. Mostly, they were focused on how they could be better and how they could live a mission here on earth to bring Christ to people. The Saints never settled and never do settle. And some people see this as burdensome and too pious. They look at themselves and think, "Hey, I'm a decent person. There's not much more for me to do. I don't want to go overboard with anything. Now, to be sure, loads of other people need to change, but me, I good right where I am." This is difference. True Saints never think of themselves as Saints and if they ever did, they would be full of pride and still have a lot of work to do. True Saints desire to be more Christ-like every day. They ask for grace, depend on that grace to help them restore, heal, and propagate God's kingdom here on earth. Holiness is the goal, Catholic Pilgrims, for love of God. Everyday we will have to ask for the grace to help us reach that goal. Live the Faith boldly and travel well. *St. Mary's located on the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.
Continue ReadingWhere's my Swiss Catholic Pilgrims at? This small-town church showcase is for you. Today, we have St. Ann's in Badus Township in South Dakota. It was built by Swiss immigrants coming into the area in the late 1800s and Badus is the name of a Mountain in Switzerland, hence the name. Within Badus Township, there is only one tiny town called Ramona. This area might win for smallest location in this series. There are only about 60-95 residents in this township today. The township sits on the eastern side of the South Dakota. Today, this church is permanently closed but it did find its way on the National Register of Historical Places in 1979. It was built in 1884. I think this church is a reminder of the pioneering spirit of our country at one time and the importance of religion to the pioneering communities. They built their churches with their own hands. I would imagine that you can't go in anymore, but if you are ever roaming around the eastern agricultural areas of South Dakota, you might find yourself passing this historical church. Have a great Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims, and live the Faith boldly and travel well.
Continue ReadingIrish Sheepies. That's what I love calling sheep--sheepies. Boy, did we see tons of them in Ireland. Don't worry, the one isn't bleeding. The sheep all have painted markings on them as a sort of brand. Today our Gospel reading is from Matthew and Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep--an oldie but goodie. I was listening to Jeff Cavins daily reflection on Hallow the other day and he was talking about repetition. He mentioned that when we are kids, we can listen to the same story over and over and over again. I probably read "Red Fish, Blue Fish" to my son a thousand times when he was little. I read it so much that I had to make up funny voices to read it in to make it interesting. He absolutely loved it and giggled the whole time. As adults, though, we don't really like hearing the same story over and over again. Some we do, but for the most part, we say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't need to hear it again." Jeff Cavins said in his reflection that "Jesus repeats Himself pretty often, because the truth is that we need to hear certain messages over and over again." The story of God leaving the 99 to go search for the one lost sheep is one that we hear often and there can be a tendency to think that we know it, we get it, nothing new to hear here. But, we need to be reminded over and over again that God will always come for us. How many people think that they are too far gone, that they are too lost for God to ever want them? LOADS of people. No matter how many times we hear the lost sheep parable, people still think that God wouldn't bother with them. So, it clearly is a message we need to hear repeatedly. As Jesus tells us, "It is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." He will always come looking for us if we've lost our way, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
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