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As I was preparing today’s podcast, I really had to pause and think about St. Teresa’s writings.
She was laying out how there are two types of dryness in the spiritual life—one is our fault, the other is a trial given by God. With regards to the latter, think of of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
The spiritual dryness that is our fault happens when we are too confident in just how “Christian” we are. We go to church, we pray, we read our Bible, we stay away from all the bad things.
We think, “Hey, I’m doing all the right things, I’m good to go.”
The dryness, however, happens because we never seek to go deeper. St. Teresa shares that we see this in the young man who approaches Jesus and asks what he needs to do to get to Heaven. He assures Jesus that he does all the things right.
And then, Jesus presses him to go deeper. He tells him to get rid of his riches and follow Him. We all know how it ends, the young man walks away sad and unwilling to go deeper with Christ.
At that point, I bet, his spiritual life dried up. He probably didn’t abandon his faith, but he was just asked to grow and he declined. That will cause dryness. Maintaining the status quo is not the goal of our faith life. Holiness is the goal and holiness is a process that is never complete in this life.
For love of God, Catholic Pilgrims, we should always want to learn more about God, grow more, and be willing to say “yes” when He asks us to take the next step.
Have a blessed Monday.
*Picture is of the church at Fatima.
ITALY PILGRIMAGE
‘Journey with the Saints’
OCTOBER 23-31, 2023
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Continue ReadingYesterday, my oldest daughter and I were FaceTiming with my sister. At one point in the conversation, we got around to talking about an old boyfriend of my sister's that she dated like 20 years ago. Needless to say, he wasn't the best guy to her. My sister said, "Did I tell you guys that he wrote me a letter awhile back?" My daughter and I were shocked. "What?! No, you didn't tell us. What did he say?" My sister had a screen shot of it and she started searching for it to read it to us. While we were waiting, I was joking about him. In my mind, I assumed the letter was going to be some sappy I-want-you-back letter. I thought, "Oh, boy, can't wait to hear this pathetic letter. Of course, he's been obsessed with her all this time." My sister found it and she read it to us. After each sentence, I kept waiting for him to beg and plead for her back. But..he didn't. In fact, the letter was an apology letter. He apologized to my sister, took complete ownership for his bad behavior, and wished her well. That was it. No begging. No desperation. No strings attached. It was simply him trying to make amends. I was stunned. And then I felt two things: 1. Shame over how quick I was to assume that the letter was just going to be some pathetic attempt at getting my sister back after all these years and 2. A deep sadness that I have never received such a letter from my two boyfriends that treated me so terribly. Very quickly, though, I changed my heart and mind. I needed to be glad that my sister's ex had changed as a man and tried to make peace. We should be grateful when people have a true conversion and owe up to their sins. I needed to be thankful that he apologized to my sister. As for not receiving apology letters myself, well, I need to be okay with that. Maybe it will happen, but maybe it won't. I need to continue to pray, though, for my two ex-boyfriends regardless. May we always hope and pray that people find a way to confession, redemption, and, if possible, reconciliation, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingThis is Mission Miguel in Sante Fe, New Mexico. It is the oldest church in the United States, which the original walls and altar built in 1610. It's so wonderful that we still have it. There was a time, when the church was the focal point of a town or village. Life moved and centered itself around the church, because the Sacraments were just that important. Whenever people moved to a new area, a church needed to be built. It was a necessity. You don't hear too often, though, of people moving to an area because of a vibrant church community. Jobs and schools are the two main considerations, which isn't bad in the slightest. Both of those things are important things to consider. However, I rarely, if ever, hear someone mention the importance of moving somewhere where the church community is strong and thriving. It's a lower-tiered consideration, if it's even one at all. Of course, work may call you to a place where life isn't centered around church and worship. In those circumstances, it is up to us to continue to find ways to feed our hearts and minds with good spiritual things. Our souls cannot be neglected. I love St. Frances Cabrini's practice. No matter where she was or what island or country she was sailing past, she always looked for the steeples to let her know where Jesus was residing in the Tabernacle. Have a blessed Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
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