.png)
The Easter season ends today, Catholic Pilgrims, with our celebration of Pentecost.
A non-believer, who I was once close with, said to me once, “The point of life is to maximize pleasure, avoid suffering, be nice, and do what makes you happy until you turn into stardust. Then, it’s light out.”
I kid you not, that’s what she said and I admit it sounds a bit like a caricature of what a non-believer might say, but I’m not making it up. Several like-minded people in the crowd agreed with her.
I cannot think of a bleaker existence.
Other than the just blanket remark of “be nice,” it all, whether intended or not, turns into a self-serving existence. A self-serving existence can only ever provide temporal happiness and it will quickly devolve into believing any means justify the ends.
The quick, concise answer to what is the point of life is: The purpose of life is to know, love, and serve God in this life so that we may be happy with Him in the next.
Round of applause for all of you who still have the memorized.
The purpose of life is to use your God-given gifts to bring light and love into the world. That will require some sacrifice. It will require some suffering. It will require discipline. It will require that you place others before yourself. We hate to hear that in our self-obsessed society, but it’s true.
The more you focus on yourself, the less happy you will be. That is not to say you should utterly ignore yourself or don’t enjoy life or anything like that. But, I hope we can look around our “ME!” centered society and see that we are more unhappy, more anxious, more depressed, more listless than ever before.
The Holy Spirit animates our lives and helps us to use our gifts in service for the Lord, which will
always be fulfilling, challenging, engaging, and enriching for, not only ourselves, but others.
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow in the Spirit,” Catholic Pilgrims.
Have a very blessed Feast of Pentecost.
*Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Let's continue looking at the Sierra Nevadas today, shall we? This past weekend, my oldest daughter and husband got into a theological discussion that I thought was very interesting. My daughter was wondering that since we will get our bodies back after the Second Coming, and since time and matter are connected, will that mean there will be time in Heaven? We know from Einstein that time, space, and matter go hand-in-hand. So, my husband said: "Well, matter is something that changes and because it changes, time is part of the equation. God gave us free will. A lot of people don't see this as loving, but it is loving because it means that we aren't programmed robots built to "love." But, because we have free will, that means that we will make imperfect choices and do imperfect things, yet, God gives us time to change. Time is actually such a blessing because without the opportunity to change for the better and become more perfected and more Christ-like, we'd be doomed. Angels didn't get time, their decision to be with God or not was a one "time" decision. So, the greatest gift God gave us was existence itself and with that comes His love. Then, He gave us free will. And, He gave humans the gift of time, to learn to change and come to love Him, our Creator. What can be tempting then, and many of the great philosophers of the world have believed this, is to think that we can perfect ourselves. But nothing imperfect can perfect itself. This means, we need a Savior, and we need grace which is the Divine Life given to us. We can only get so far on our own. In Heaven, we will be perfected. Once we get our bodies back, they will be perfected and there will be no change. They won't decay, get old, need food, need sleep to recharge. They don't need time to change. So, while we don't know for sure what will happen in Heaven and how it will be, change will not be part of the equation and if there is not change, there is no time. Thought you might like to read this these thoughts from my husband, Catholic Pilgrims. And, I thought you might want to thank God that He gives us time. Have a good Tuesday.
Continue ReadingThis past weekend, I finally got to see the tallest point here in the Lower 48--Mt. Whitney. I didn't want to climb it, just see it. It stands at 14,495 ft. What's cool is that an hour east is the lowest place in the Lower 48--Death Valley. The peak you see here is Lone Pine Peak, which I thought was Mt. Whitney, but one of you kindly corrected me in a DM. So, Mt. Whitney is behind the Mobius Arch and you can't see it, but it's there! Lol. Read your map carefully, kids. Do you think I can find some connection with Mt. Whitney to our Catholic Faith? Why sure I can. Have I ever let you down? 😉 On September 12, 1934, Father John Crowley, the Padre of the Desert, was the first priest to celebrate Mass on the summit of Mt. Whitney. Up on the summit is a hut, or at least there used to be, called the Smithsonian hut, which was a place for scientific study. Fr. Crowley set up an altar out beside the hut and said Mass with the help of a deacon, Harry Clinch. Father Crowley worked in the Death Valley area and the eastern side of the Sierras and he was home-based out of Lone Pine, CA. Lone Pine is where you go to hike up to Whitney or around it. We spent the day hiking in the Alabama Hills which is in the Owen Valley and is where TONS of scenes from movies have been shot to include--Ironman, Man of Steel, Gladiator, Tremors, and oodles and oodles of Westerns. It's a beautiful place to visit. So, if you ever pass by Mt. Whitney, Catholic Pilgrims, you can smile, knowing that a Catholic priest hiked up there on a donkey to say Mass. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Continue ReadingRecently, I saw a post from a Baptist/Evangelical (their description, not mine), who said that he was interested in learning about Catholicism. Not to become Catholic, but he just wanted to learn. Good. I love it. In a comment on the post, he said that he felt that what weakened the cause of Catholicism was that people were just culturally Catholic and just have it as a label and not a belief. I agree. To just be culturally anything when it comes to faith is not inspiring. Kind of like salt that has lost its taste. What is bland salt good for? "It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out." However, in fairness, all faiths struggle with this, not just Catholicism. To say it weakens the cause of Catholicism is to ignore that it happens everywhere and in every religion. But, I do agree that Catholics that are Catholic in name only do a lot of damage and cause a lot of scandal. Mostly because they just believe whatever it is they want to believe, but yet, cross themselves with the Sign of the Cross periodically. Since this is a problem in every faith, I would challenge this guy to look to those Catholics that were/are "the light of the world"--the Saints. In all places, and since Christ ascended, numerous Catholics have heard the call to holiness and aspired to live it out and they are who you should look to for examples of what it means to be Catholic. The Saints' lives are not uninspiring and are full of examples of sacrifice, dedication, obedience, service, and unwavering love for Christ and His Church. The thing is, all those that are culturally Catholic could be Saints, and maybe they will be once they figure out that their "light must shine before others." We are all called to Sainthood. So, don't be bland salt, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Sunday. *Salt Flats of Death Valley where the salt is very salty.
Continue Reading.png)
.png)
.png)