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Yesterday at church, a new young family sat down next to us. They had many little ones and, as most parents with small children do, the parents became the bookends in the pew with the kids in the middle.
It’s the most effective way of preventing the escaping kid.
The pew corral has many benefits.
Two of our children are adults now and are out of the house and our son altar serves, so now it is just me and my husband in the pew.
Looking at the other family, I was thinking about how quickly we went from all five of us to just the two of us and it made me feel a mixture of sadness and joy.
When you are in the thick of wrangling little ones at Mass, it can seem like an eternity before you’ll be able to pay attention fully or spend an entire Mass in the seats without escorting a child to the back. You can anxiously wish that time away.
I felt sad because it ends all too soon and then you eagerly wait for the day when your adult kids come home to visit and the family is all together. I miss my two girls finding something funny at some point and then they start giggling, feeding off each other. In an effort to be quiet, they silently laugh which causes their shoulders to shake, which I imagine looks weird to the people behind them.
But, it also brings me joy because my husband and I survived those years and now we sit right next to each other hand-in-hand. We are the foundation that our children can always count on and come home to and that makes me happy.
When kids are little it can be hard to focus on your marriage, Catholic Pilgrims. Find the time, though. It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate, but find time to connect as husband and wife. Trust me when I say, your kids need you to stay close.
Have a blessed Monday.
I was watching a video yesterday where a Christian conservative was debating a college student who was an atheist. They were supposed to be debating whether college was scam these days or not. The atheist couldn’t stay on topic and kept throwing out non sequiturs. His reasoning was that college wasn’t a scam because Jesus was a scam. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. He kept asking the Christian questions about Christianity and whenever the Christian would try to answer, he’d get out maybe three words before being interrupted. The college guy sat there smirking, shaking, and interrupting. The whole conversation was utterly fruitless. Today, in our first reading from Acts 8, we hear about the eunuch who was reading Isaiah. Philip comes up to him and asks him if he understands it and the eunuch responds with, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” What a truly humble response. I’ve always been so impressed with the humility of the Ethiopian eunuch in realizing he doesn’t know everything. It’s refreshing because we see so little of it these days. Everyone thinks they are an expert in everything. Few people listen to understand. And when it comes to Scripture, far too many think they are Biblical scholars and have all the answers. The atheist in the video kept throwing out questions about Christianity but he wasn’t willing to listen to the answers from a Christian. His snobbish pride left him looking like a fool. Back when I was arguing with my husband about Catholicism, I’d frequently throw out challenges to him. As he’d begin to answer, I’d cut him off and tell him what Catholics believed. He finally got fed up and calmly said, “Amy, don’t ask me a question and then cut me off. You aren’t Catholic, so don’t tell me what we believe. Either listen to me or don’t ask your questions.” I felt like such a fool and I shut my mouth. The eunuch’s approach is one of humility and it is a good lesson for us all, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Thursday.
Continue ReadingWe aren’t the ones who elect the pope, Catholic Pilgrims. But, whether you are the laity, part of the clergy, or a Religious, we do have a job in this Conclave. It is our job to pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our Cardinals as they discern our next earthly spiritual leader. Don’t pray stressed. Pray, instead, with trust that God will never abandon us and that, no matter what, His Church will stand until Christ comes again. Let’s pray boldly and with great Faith. St. Peter, pray for us!
Continue ReadingIn the early years of our marriage, whenever Dustin and I would get into an argument over Catholicism, I was always the angrier one. Even though I was wildly ignorant about Catholicism, I thought I knew it all. I’d yell at Dustin and always try to raise my voice to drown out his words. I’d cut him off as he was trying to explain why my arguments against Catholicism were wrong. I was trying to not let his words fall on my ears. The crowd stoning Stephen in our reading today from Acts 7, behaved just like me. As Stephen was trying to teach them about Jesus, they “cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him.” It’s the covering of the ears part that is so telling. It’s an attempt to protect your pride by not allowing the truth to penetrate you. It was hard for me to hear my husband prove me wrong. Everybody wants to believe that they are always right and it kills us to hear someone correct or admonish us. Most often, those that scream, yell, cover their ears, and seek to silence others realize they don’t really have the truth or moral upper hand on their side. However, they can’t stand the thought of examining themselves and considering a change of thought. When you won’t do this, bad things always happen, like Stephen getting stoned. Thankfully, my husband got through to me and once I actually listened, he gave me the keys to unlock the beauty of Catholicism and eventually come home. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting is of St. Stephen. It’s in a Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Istanbul.
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