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Yesterday, my family went to the movies to watch “You Gotta Believe.” It’s a baseball movie based off a true story.
One of the coaches of the team comes down with brain cancer and it’s serious. He has to step back from coaching while he does chemo.
At one point in the story, this coach’s son, devastated that his father isn’t getting better, runs out on the ballfield at night and yells out to the sky, “I hate you! I hate you!”
That was enough to make the tears flow hot on my face because I once did just about the same thing, except it was a football field and I was 17.
After my night on the football field, I went on to “wrestle with God,” much like Jacob in the Bible for years.
Yesterday, after I got home from the movie, I read a comment on my post from the other day that was wildly misunderstood. So many people missed the point of my post on burdensome rules.
Anyway, a woman, still missing the point, commented that respecting Christ in the Eucharist means that we dress up for church and women cover their heads. Boom. End of discussion.
Part of me wanted to defend my deep love of Christ, but the Holy Spirit kept saying, “Stay. Just stay. Don’t do it.”
While I was standing there at the stove with tears in my eyes, I asked, “Why not? Why not let me defend my love for You?”
What I heard was, “Because for some, it will never be enough what you do. Let me handle it. I know your heart.”
I realized how true that is. Because we humans are always trying to one up each other and prove we are better, sometimes, it will never be enough for many.
I have been to the depths with God and fought my way back to a relationship that I never thought possible after that night on the football field. Nobody but God truly understands my love and respect and nobody ever will.
There are a million and one ways, Catholic Pilgrims, that we can practice our Faith. And even if we did all those ways, there would still be someone who comes along and says, “Not enough.”
Of course with God, we can never give Him enough, but the only one we need to prove anything to is Him. He knows our hearts and His understanding of our hearts is all that really matters.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
*Picture is from the synagogue in Capernaum from our Gospel reading today.
Two 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.
Continue ReadingDay Thirteen of US landmarks and Catholic connections in our lead up to America's 250th Birthday. Today's landmark: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK Growing up in Kansas and reading from geography books at school gave me the impression that Yellowstone was small and basically centered around Old Faithful. I had no clue it was as big as it is. So, in 2017, when my husband's cousin asked us to go on a family vacation there with her family for a week, I thought, "How much is there to see? We're gonna spend a week looking at a geyser?" lol. Well, I got properly schooled and learned why you need a week. I absolutely loved our time in the park and, I will say, Old Faithful isn't even the coolest thing to see. The Catholic Connection is slim, but I'm doing my best. Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Belgian Jesuit missionary, traveled all through the Northwest area working with the native tribes. He traveled in the area where the park is. He was called, "Black Robe" by the natives and had a pretty good relationship with them. There is a small Catholic Church at the north entrance called St. William's Catholic Church and Our Lady of the Pines to the west of the park. If you have any other Catholic connections to Yellowstone National Park, do share! Have a great Friday, Catholic Pilgrims and live the faith boldly and travel well.
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