.png)
Not too long ago at our base chapel, my husband and I took down the red altar cloths for Confirmation and put back on the green ones for the following Sunday. I've never been the one in charge of putting them back on, though I've watched it done several times. Now, I've laid out tablecloths on many a table throughout my life and there's nothing to it: Lay it out, adjust for equal length, carry on. Dressing an altar is different and I had never experienced the difference until I was in a quiet church, working with my husband to get the altar ready for the next Mass. We have two chapels on base. One is used almost exclusively by the Protestant community and the other is used primarily by the Catholic community. The chapel used by the Protestants has no altar; the sanctuary is just a stage. In contrast, our sanctuary has an altar and a tabernacle. In fact, we have two of each--one in the main church and one in a little Blessed Sacrament chapel. In the Old Testament, the altar was a consecrated object meant for sacrifice. It is was "a place of consecration and sacrifice, where God met man." --Catholic Answers We still have that today in our Catholic Churches--the Sacrifice of the Mass is still very much a reality. It is where God--Jesus Christ's Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity--meets man for Holy Communion. The OT altar was never meant to be discarded, it was meant to be elevated to hold Someone even greater. On our Catholic altars, the priest re-presents the Sacrifice of Christ in an unbloody manner. And so, as I was putting on the altar linens, the significance of touching the altar and treating it with loving care and respect was a very keen reality to me. Our altar in our base church is not as strikingly beautiful as the one in this picture taken in Portugal. But, because it has held Our Lord upon it, beautiful or not, it is infinitely significant. What struck me the most was how much of an honor it was to get the altar ready for the next time Jesus would be there and so I wanted to get it just right. Our Catholic Faith is so rich with meaning, Catholic Pilgrims, and we are truly blessed. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Continue ReadingBefore I begin the meat of what I have to say here, my intention is not to embarrass or shame anyone. I've gone back and forth on whether I should write about it, but, in the end, I was so moved by the experience that I felt I needed to share. This past weekend, my family attended Mass at St. Joseph's in Big Bear Lake, CA. At the start of Mass during the procession, the priest was taking awhile to come into my view. When he did, I could see that this relatively young priest had a disability in his legs that made walking difficult. As he climbed up to the altar, it was clear that he was in pain. During his homily, he was telling us about how he used to ski when he was young and he joked by saying, "Back when I was more agile," which caused a gentle laugh by the congregation. But, it was how this priest was during the Consecration that compels me to write. As you know, during the Consecration, the priest genuflects three times out of reverence for Our Lord. Given this priest's limitations, I didn't think he would genuflect, which was understandable. I thought he would bow. He didn't bow, though, and at each time for genuflection, though it clearly was difficult, this priest slowly, and so very reverently, genuflected to Jesus. Normally it is pretty quiet during this time, but there was an even deeper silence as we all watched this man struggle to genuflect. It was so powerfully moving and such a sight of beauty that I have tears falling even as I type this. Then we proceeded with Holy Communion and it was one of the most reverent Holy Communions I've ever experienced. I think the priest set the precedent. Afterwards, when he was "cleaning up the dishes," as my son once said when he was little, the priest lovingly and carefully performed this act. It was almost mesmerizing watching him be so attentive. When my husband and I walked out of the church, we both commented on how moved we were. Again, I don't write this to embarrass and I don't write to shame anyone who can't genuflect because of physical limitations. I write because this priest's effort and even his willingness to not try and hide his disability was sincerely touching. For love of God, Catholic Pilgrims. May everything we do and say, be done for love of God. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
Continue ReadingI've recommended "Dracula" to you all before, but after reading it again this year, I have more thoughts. First, this book is extremely spiritual and the theme is definitely the enduring one of good vs. evil. It is not an over-sexualized book about lusty female vampires contrary to what popular culture would make you believe. Sure, there are parts of it that were probably scandalous to late 1800 century eyes, but it's really nothing to get worked up about. Anyway, in my latest reading of the book, I found a line from Dr. Van Helsing that especially stood out. When speaking to another doctor and trying to get him to believe that Lucy is really a vampire and that they must save her soul, he says: "You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain." There is nothing wrong with science. Science is good for the study of the material world. It is one tool among many to understand our lives and the world we live in. However, it has its limitations, which is fine. It was never meant to be the only tool we ever use. The downfall with science is that it made a lot of people believe that it was the only tool and because it gives humans the ability to explain the material world, it made many feel more powerful than we actually are. We became the gods and science became the religion. But, science cannot explain everything and if it can't that doesn't mean then we have no answers or no other tool to use to understand life, God, and the universe. Many who follow the Religion of Science want to use it to find God and when they can't, "Well, guess he's all make-believe." But, God is not material, so He is never going to be directly found using science. We can indirectly come to know things about Him through science, but we will never find Him directly. What is ironic is that those that believe science is the end-all-be-all, show just how little they truly know and understand, though they think they rise above believers in rational and intelligent thought. Science is one tool that God gave us, Catholic Pilgrims, to help us understand Him better, but it is not the only one we use. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
Continue Reading.png)
.png)
.png)