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Happy Valentine’s Day, Catholic Pilgrims!
I know many “boo hiss” on this day because “it’s commercialized” or because you’re “not going to be forced to celebrate love” or whatever.
But, this day was the start of me and my man, so it will always mean something to me. Twenty-three years ago, we officially started dating. So, yes, I’m gonna talk about luv and all that mushy stuff.
This past weekend, we went to a couple’s dinner at our church to celebrate Valentine’s Day. After dinner, a Catholic marriage therapist gave a brief talk that I thought was very good.
Towards the end of his talk, he said that love is about service and a bond. The most intimate bond we have here on earth with another human being is with our spouse and, yet, it is often the most neglected.
Once kids come, spouses tend to get really good at the service part. “You handle this; I’ll handle that.” “If you pick up the kids, I’ll go to the store.” Amidst all the logistics of raising a family, the bond is neglected.
But the bond has to be tended to. The speaker commented that too often what he sees is spouses that have nailed the service part for years and then the kids grow up and because the bond has been neglected, they don’t know each other and they feel like the love is gone.
He said, “The most important thing, aside from faith you can give your kids, is the gift of them seeing your bond. When they see mom and dad get dressed up to go on a date, when they see you enjoy spending time together, there will be such peace in their hearts. They will trust in their foundation and that is a great gift.”
Serve your spouse in love, Catholic Pilgrims, and focus on your bond with your spouse. You will never regret it and your kids will flourish because of it. Lately, when our 8-year old son sees his dad and I hug and kiss, he loudly sings, “Another romantic moment!”
He notices and it makes him smile. It makes us smile, too.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all you love birds out there.
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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