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Something I’ve realized through this Harrison Butker ordeal is a fundamental misunderstanding of Catholic lingo, even by Catholics.
In our world today, vocation and career are often used interchangeably and because they are it causes confusion.
Not that I think me explaining the difference will help those who 1. Have been conditioned to be offended and 2. Those who just want to be offended, but, for fun and learning purposes, let’s dive into the difference.
For the Catholic Church, vocations are a state of life. There are only three: the married life, the consecrated religious life, and the single life.
Within your vocation, you live out your career or trade. For example, my husband obviously is a military man (his career), but his vocation is the married life.
My oldest daughter is currently in the state of the single life and her job is a Focus Missionary. She doesn’t feel called to always remain in the single life, but that’s her current state and the Church calls her to live it out well.
Some priests throughout history have been scientists (a job) while living out the state of life as a religious.
There are no other vocations as understood by the Catholic Church. And usually, once you get into the vocation you are called to, you feel like your life starts. This is not to say that your life was meaningless or had no value before, it’s just that you feel most alive.
My daughter told me a story that a priest gave in a homily recently. He was telling a group of teens that when he was a teen he had a girlfriend that he cared a lot about and she was his best friend. His friends convinced him to break up with her so he could date a girl in an upper class and he did, but his life was all off and he could see the sadness in his ex-girlfriend’s eyes.
Once he became a priest, she came up to him, looked him in the eyes and sweetly said, “There you are.” Meaning, she now saw him fully alive in his vocation as priest.
We can live out a career within our vocation, Catholic Pilgrims, but what Harrison Butker was trying to emphasize is that no matter your career in the married life, family comes first and taking care of them will be the most rewarding.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
Hey, Catholic Pilgrims, remember our small-town church series? Well, it's back! Well, before I started doing my ancestry research, I thought little of Kentucky. But, turns out, I had kin in Kentucky for, at least, over a century. Earliest that I can find for when they arrived in Kentucky was in 1803, though it might have been sooner. Our small-town church today hails from Falmouth, Kentucky up in the north of the state. This isn't where my family was located; they were more in the middle and the southern part of the state. There was an earlier church built in 1860, but the one you see here was dedicated on September 12th, 1880. If you look on a map, this church sits right next to Licking River and that's a problem when banks overflow. In 1937 and 1997, floodwaters caused a lot of damage to the church and its property. Those waters might have taken a "lick" out of things, but they couldn't swallow up things completely. I've only ever spent time at the very top of the state and on trips driving through. Now that I know my family resided in the state for a good bit, I'll have to give it more of my attention someday. But, if you are ever in Falmouth, Kentucky, stop by and visit St. Francis Xavier Church. Have a good day, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingTwo weeks ago, my son and I were driving from California to Missouri to see my dad. My husband had to go TDY, so he couldn't come with us. I thought it would be fun to stay at KOAs in the cabins they have in order to make it a fun trip. Last summer, our son had a blast at the KOAs playing in the pool, getting ice cream, and playing the other outdoor games they provide. Our first night in a KOA was in Utah on a Sunday. After we got settled in our cabin, I decided to go look for dinner. I thought it would be fun to get some things at the Walmart deli section and have a picnic. Well, there wasn't much I could eat (gluten-free), so I decided to go hunt for a restaurant. For anyone who has driven through Utah on a Sunday, you know that most things are closed. That was the case for the small town we were in and as I drove around not finding any place open, I started to get frustrated. I'm happy that the Lord's Day is observed, but it was just something I hadn't accounted for. My son was growing increasingly upset. He was worried that we weren't going to be able to eat. Finally, we found a BBQ restaurant that was open. When we got back to the cabin, we called my husband. Our son started getting teary-eyed when he was telling his dad that he had been worried that we weren't going to be able to eat anything. It occurred to me that he saw my frustration and he didn't know if I would be able to pull through for us. After the phone call, I said to my son, "Jeremiah, even if I had to go without, I would have gotten you food. I was just trying to find something for the both of us. It may take some time, but I will always take care of you." It occurred to me that we can have this response to God when it seems He is delayed in answering our prayers. It's not that we see Him get frustrated like I did in my human weakness, but we wonder if He will pull through for us. Though He may not always answer in the way or the time frame we expect, God's heart is always "moved with pity for us." He hears our prayers, He knows what we need most. We just have to trust Him and the process, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a good Tuesday.
Continue ReadingDay Twenty of US landmarks and Catholic connections in our lead up to America's 250th Birthday. Today's location(s): ASSATEAUGE AND CHINCOTEAGUE, Virginia and Maryland Okay, as we all know, Maryland was established as a Catholic colony, giving Catholics, for a time, a place to worship. Virginia, not so much. Assateague island is divided between Virginia and Maryland and back in the days of the colonies, Jesuit missionaries would go to the Eastern shore to minister to the Catholics that were living there. It sounds like the few Catholics on the Virginia side would come to receive Sacraments from the missionaries. Assateague is an island that can really only be explored by foot or bike. My family loved weekend there seeing the wild ponies and exploring the island. This is where the lighthouse is and is mostly uninhabited. Chincoteauge is an island town butted up right next to Assateague and it has St. Andrew the Apostle Church there which originally served as a mission starting back in 1947. When my family visited in 2015, they were renovating the church, so we had Mass in a school gym, if my memory serves me right. Both as excellent places to visit and I would highly recommend. There is even a book for kids that is set there--"Misty of Chincoteague." It's about the wild ponies and my kids really enjoyed it when they were young. Have a great day, Catholic Pilgrims! Live the faith boldly and travel well.
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