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I'm sorry to show snow, but I figured I better get this picture in before Spring is full-blown everywhere. We are back to our small town church showcase and today's church is Our Lady of Good Counsel from Fonda, Iowa. When I was, I wanna say, 14-years old, my family took a vacation up to Wisconsin to the Dells and The House on the Rock. As we drove through Iowa, we stopped at the movie set for "Field of Dreams." That is one of my top five favorite movies. Oh! Just thinking about it right now gives me chills. The acting, the score, the message, the fact that it's centered on baseball makes it one of those magical 80s movies. You know, back when movies were good. Anyway, we went to the field, I thought it was awesome and I wanna go back. That is my one and only real experience of being in Iowa. I went to see if this church was close to the "Field of Dreams" movie set, but, alas, it is not. This church is more on the western side of the state and the cornfield is on the very eastern edge. One thing that I do know is that "if you build" pretty Catholic Churches "people will come." And when you go, you can ease Jesus' pain that He experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. Most importantly, you can partake of the Eucharist, so that you can be filled with Divine Grace in order to "go the distance" for Christ. Seeing all the farmland, you may think to yourself, "Is this Heaven?" "No, it's Iowa," but God's creation can definitely give us a hint of what is to come. So, if ever in western Iowa, stop by Fonda, population 636, and see this lovely Catholic Church. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingOne of my jobs in high school was a shift manager for Mr. Goodcents, a sandwich shop. As I was getting ready to start my freshman year at K-State, the owner of the Mr. Goodcents in Manhattan, reached out to my boss in my hometown, to see if he knew anyone that could be a manager for his store. His had just quit. My boss explained that he had this gal that was getting ready to go to K-State and that I was experienced as a shift manager. My boss asked me if I wanted the job and, in my naivety, I agreed to take it. That was a terrible decision. With a full course load and marching band obligations, I did not have the time or energy to run a store with a MUCH higher volume than my hometown store. One day, I was standing at the register and had been there for hours, just ringing people up that came through in the steady, continuous line. I was exhausted and stressed over when I was going to do my homework and memorize my band songs, so I had completely checked out. I rang up this one girl and her boyfriend and looked to move to the next person when the girl said, "Amy. Amy!" I looked at her and there in front of me was my friend who lived across the hall from me in the dorms. Through my stress and exhaustion, I had not see her standing right in front of me. It took her calling my name to wake me up. So, I get why Mary Magdalene didn't see Jesus standing in front of her. She was worn and weary from what had happened on Good Friday, her sorrow drowned her, now her Lord's body was missing. She's so wrapped up in her emotions and thoughts that she can't even see Jesus. It takes Him calling her name to pull her out of it. We all do this: We get so overwhelmed by anxiety, confusion, sadness, anger, and busyness that we collapse in on ourselves and think we are all alone. We must listen for Jesus speaking our name to pull us out of these downward spirals and remind us that we are loved, He is with us, and we don't have to do go it all alone. Have a very blessed Monday in the Octave of Easter, Catholic Pilgrims. P.S. I didn't stay at the sandwich shop much longer after that incident with my friend. I realized that I couldn't do it all.
Continue ReadingLast year, I read the book "The Archangel of Westminster" by Michael Shaughnessy. It's a story about an American visiting Westminster Cathedral and, while in there, he encounters Michael the Archangel. The American "interviews Michael and receives a first hand account of the great spiritual battle between Jesus and Satan: the fall from heaven, the temptation in the wilderness, the death and resurrection of the Messiah." One of the most powerful parts of the book is where Michael is describing the crucifixion of Jesus. Michael shares that on Calvary, there were legions of angels with him, ready to battle all the demons who were gleefully encircling Our Lord, basically licking their chops at His imminent death. The army of good angels were taut with a desire to go and do battle, but they were told to stay. Hold. Michael describes how difficult it was to do that, because even the good angels didn't fully understand what was happening. I just found this to be one of the most tragically beautiful images to meditate on. Legions upon legions of angels surrounding Jesus, ready to do battle on His behalf, watching Him being tortured, and being told by God to hold. Because this needed to happen for us, for our salvation. Satan and the demons thought that they were winning, but they lacked the game plan. They didn't know that Christ would be victorious over death and open the gates for us. They didn't know that they were going to lose. There is no greater Love, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a very blessed and holy Good Friday.
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