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Yesterday, after months and months of waiting for them to clear me, I finally got to go with one of my parish priests to do prison ministry.
When I was working, I used to go into many different kinds of places where those convicted of crimes were held, including prisons, and I’ve missed serving that population.
So, I showed up yesterday under a beautiful blue sky to a women’s facility and I followed Father back to our makeshift chapel. It was basically a neglected classroom.
Father quickly took a table and began to make a simple altar.
The announcement was made to the women that they were welcome to come and join for prayer and worship and, as time ticked on, nobody was coming.
As we waited, my priest said, “Sometimes they do not come. But, we will still pray the Rosary and have Mass because it is so important to bring the presence of Christ here.”
And so, my priest, another volunteer, and I prayed the Rosary, praying for open hearts and for all those incarcerated.
Then, we started Mass, and I have to tell you, it will go down as one of the most memorable Masses I’ve ever been to.
There we were in this dingy classroom, under harsh fluorescent lights with a very simple altar. As I was kneeling on the dirty, hard tiled floor, I was moved by the whole situation. God is everywhere spiritually, yes. Yet, through the priest’s hands and the words of Christ, at the Consecration, Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity become physically present.
Christ was then physically in our midst, just like He was in our reading today from Luke where Jesus comes to disciples.
Though no women came to join us, it was not a waste of time. It was good, Catholic Pilgrims, that we brought the physical and spiritual Presence of Christ into a place where so much hope is lost and darkness often lingers.
Have a blessed Third Sunday of Easter.
When I was a young girl, I often thought, "Gosh, the Apostles were so lucky. They got to see Jesus face-to-face. They got to be in His actual presence. The rest of us just have to wait to get to Heaven." Now, of course, you can speak with Christ in prayer. You can read the Word of God and come to understand Him better. These things are incredibly important and fruitful. But, as a Protestant growing up, I didn't have an earthly clue about the Eucharist. I just had my grape juice and TicTac-sized piece of bread and we symbolically remembered Jesus at the Last Supper. It took a very long minute (read years) for me to come to understand the Catholic Church's teaching on the Eucharist. Once I had my *click* moment, I knew that I had to become Catholic. Something else I realized is that after the Ascension, Jesus didn't just ascend up into the clouds and leave us lonely. I didn't have to think that the Apostles were the only lucky ones. I could now make more sense of Jesus' words at the Great Commission right before He ascends in Heaven. "Behold, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 Yes, He is with us spiritually in prayer. Yes, we can read the Bible. And yes, He is still with us always on our altars in the Eucharist, fully present in Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He may not look human in form, but He is offered to us to receive Him, thereby, taking Him into our bodies to become more like Him. God's ways are not our ways. I'm so grateful that, yes, Jesus is still physically present to us 21st century Christians in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Have a blessed Seventh Sunday of Easter, Catholic Pilgrims. *Ascension by Francisco Camilo (1651)
Continue ReadingOne early morning in Izmir, Turkey, I walked through a street that looks very much like this. I was on my way to turn in my residency paperwork, so that I could stay legally in the country while my husband was stationed there for a year. I remember thinking, "This is so crazy. I am walking on this street, in a foreign city, on old roads, far from my country and nobody really knows where I am. I would never in a million years ever thought I would be here." I thought something similar when I laid my head down on the stone in Jesus' tomb. I thought, "How did I come to be here?" Then, I closed my eyes and just let my face rest for one blessed minute on the spot where my Lord had lain . When I was younger, the path for my life did not include these experiences. I thought I'd marry a good Kansas guy and settle there for the rest of my life. But, instead, I married a military man and eventually wound up living in Turkey for a bit. When I was younger, I thought I'd always be Protestant, but I became Catholic and started this page, which led to me being asked to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which led me to going inside the tomb where Jesus rose from the dead. People worry all the time about finding that one perfect path that God has planned for them. Many fear that there is only one door to walk through and if they miss that door...too bad. This is not true. We don't need to fear that God has lined up a large line of doors and we just have to make the right choice or we've missed the boat. We just need to start walking. We need to have a plan and goals in mind, but as we walk, if doors close or don't open, we pivot and move towards what is working. Then, we pivot again or we keep trying or we change our focus. Through all this, God can work with us. He is not constrained to only being able to bless our lives if we walk through this imagined perfect door. It's not as if He says, "Man! She missed that door! Well, it's all over now, I can't help her anymore." That's why it's so important to live the faith boldly and travel well on our pilgrimage through life, trusting that God didn't pigeon-hole us into only what our limited human minds can dream up. Have a blessed Thursday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingHello to Wednesday and welcome to this week's small-town church-- St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church. This quaint little church is located on the peninsula that houses Fort Monroe in Virginia. My family has been stationed twice in Virginia--once in Charlottesville, once in the DC area. I've loved both times, though, Charlottesville is about as good as it gets for mid-sized towns for me. It was crazy hard to move from there. During our time in Charlottesville, my husband had to take a 2-month long class at the Naval Station in Norfolk. The Naval Station is directly south across the James River from this church. Some weekends, my kids and I would go over to visit my husband. I can't believe we never hit up this church. An interesting fact about this church is that it is "the only diocesan church in the nation located on a military installation." This must be why it's pretty and doesn't look like a military building like all the ones I'm used to. Lol. From the church's website: "Rev. John McGill, Third Bishop of Richmond, and Col. Rene E. De Russy, representing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, signed an agreement, dated June 6, 1860, that, with permission granted by President Abraham Lincoln, authorized the construction of a Catholic church on Fort Monroe. The government would retain ownership of the land, but the Diocese would own the church and rectory buildings. After spending a lot of time in the Norfolk, Williamsburg, Newport News, and Virginia Beach when my daughters were in gymnastics, I can tell you that there is a heap-ton of things to see and do in this area. I'm not kidding or exaggerating even in the slightest when I say that the Norfolk Botanical Gardens are THE best I've ever been to anywhere in the world. And...they aren't far from this church. So, Catholic Pilgrims, if ever you find yourself touring the battlefield of Yorktown, climbing to the top of the many lighthouses in the area (I climbed Fort Henry lighthouse while very pregnant with my son) or dining on the waterfront district in Hampton, think about going to Mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
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