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Any truly important gift comes at a price. If it means anything to us, it will cause us pain in someway. The pain of love sounds like a contradiction that we should want to avoid.
If a special heirloom is lost or broken, we will desperately search for it or try to repair it. The heirloom is connected to a loved one and is a tangible way of feeling close to someone we lost.
A good spouse is a gift from God. At some point, we know that we will have to “give” them back to God at their death and the pain will be great.
Children are a gift, not our right. Those of us that have with broken hearts “given” our children back to God, sometimes without even knowing them, carry the pain of the loss.
Who can say why God returns a gift He has given us sooner than we are ready? The reality is, is that we would never truly be ready to give back our gift, we would always choose to have the loved one with us.
Today, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to consecrate Him to God and acknowledge that every good gift comes from Him.
And every good gift, every good blessing, will somehow pierce our hearts. Simeon says this great truth out loud. The gift of being the mother of Our Lord will pierce Mary’s heart like a sword.
Why? Because of love. One of the seemingly greatest paradoxes on earth is that love is painful.
We see it at funerals.
We see it in Mary at the foot of the Cross.
We see it in Christ on the Cross.
But, life would not be worth living, Catholic Pilgrims, without love, even when it hurts. It is evidence that we are grateful for the gifts God has given us and that we are impacted by their importance to us. That we are capable of love at all is a true gift and we should, in return, give love back to God.
Have a beautiful Thursday.
*Painting is “Hymn of St. Simeon” by Antonio Pereda Y Salgado
Day Nine of US landmarks and Catholic connections in our lead up to America's 250th Birthday. Today's Location: US NAVAL ACADEMY I've realized that I'm a mid-sized town gal and Annapolis definitely appealed to me. Annapolis is home to the Naval Academy, which I got to visit in 2022. We have two Catholic connections. 1. This gate that you see here is named after Commodore John Barry who was a devout Irish Catholic. He died long before the Academy came around, but he was personally chosen by George Washington to be the very first commissioned officer and first flag officer of the permanent U.S. Navy. 2. If you visit the Naval Academy Chapel there is a basement where you will find a Blessed Sacrament room. It is in honor of Servant of God Father Capodonna, the "Grunt" padre that was killed in Vietnam on September 4, 1967. Every September there is a Mass said in his honor in the chapel. Even though my hubby is an Airman, I am the granddaughter of a WWII Navy vet. While my grandfather did not attend here, it was still special for me to visit. I highly recommend Annapolis, Catholic Pilgrims, and if you are able to be cleared onto the Academy, I would encourage you visit. The grounds are beautiful. Live the Faith boldly and travel well!
Continue ReadingDay Seven of US landmarks and Catholic connections in our lead up to America's 250th Birthday. Our feature for today: NIAGRA FALLS Anybody wanna hop back and forth between borders? The Falls are nearly almost divided in half between Canada and the US. Now, I've never been, so this isn't my photo, but I'm guessing this was taken from the Canadian side. Maybe? But what, Amy, is the Catholic connection, you ask? Well, these Falls were first documented in the 17th century by a Belgium monk named Father Louis Hennepin. He was a Franciscan missionary and his documentation really was his claim to fame. He explored lots of other territory in what would become the United States, but he often embellished his stories and this got him into some trouble. However, he did make an "engraving of the Falls of Niagara. It is out of proportion, but its general features give an accurate idea of the appearance of the Falls at his time." I do hope to go to the Falls someday and apparently in the surrounding area, both in Canada and Buffalo, NY, there are some excellent Catholic Churches to visit. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims!
Continue ReadingDay Five of US landmarks and Catholic connections in our lead up to America's 250th Birthday. Today's landmark: CENTRAL PARK Why does my picture from 2005 look ancient? In 2005 my family visited NY after attending a graduation for my husband's cousin in Connecticut. This is me with my oldest (now 24 years old) at the famous Bethesda Terrace with the Angel of the Waters Fountain. The Pool of Bethesda, if you'll recall from the Bible, was a famous healing site in Jerusalem. The Jews believed that an angel stirred up the water and when it was stirred up, whoever got in first would be healed. So, we have a Biblical connection here. Another one is that Pope John Paul II said Mass on the Great Lawn on October 7th, 1995 for a crowd of over 125,000. Also, one of our most visited Catholic Churches sits just south of Central Park and that is, you guessed it, St. Patrick's Cathedral. Archbishop John Hughes (1797–1864), was one of the most famous Catholics in NY history. He was around when Central Park was being created. He was the first archbishop of NY, when it became elevated to an archdiocese. So, there's your Monday morning Catholic history lesson! Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
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