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My maternal grandfather was the first of my grandparents to pass. He made it into his 90s. One day near the end of his life, my grandma brought him up to my mom’s so that she could go recharge for a few hours. She and my mom went to do something fun and my mom asked if I would watch my grandpa. I said, “Sure.” So, after they left, I asked my grandpa if he wanted to take a drive. He was happy to and we cruised the back country roads for a bit. Because of his Alzheimer’s, he started telling me stories about different things he saw that I knew couldn’t be true. He told me that he used “to work in that field,” as he’d point to one. He’d tell me that he built “that house over there.” I just listened and agreed, because there was no point in correcting him. He was such a wonderful grandfather all my life. He taught me hard work is important, to enjoy the simple things, and gardens are grand. And…always have a joke up your sleeve. He’d always laugh so hard at his own jokes with his eyes crinkled up. I miss that so much. He lived a very simple life in southeast Kansas, but what impresses me the most, is that even though he was virtually unknown in the world, he left such an impression on all his grandkids. The lessons he was teaching us have stuck with us and are even more meaningful today. So many people chase money, clout, titles, and awards, but if you just lead a good, purposeful life, you will make a positive difference. His lessons were taught to me and they’ve trickled down to my kids. That’s a legacy that matters. This month, as we remember and pray for our departed loved ones, let us honor them by recognizing what they added to our lives and trying to take what was best about them and incorporating those attributes into our lives. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingAs we are nearing the end of St. Augustine's "Confessions" on my podcast, we got a short writing about what we are allowed to judge and what we aren't. We can judge actions, because, duh, we absolutely must and our judgment of actions needs to be in keeping with what the Church teaches. We don't get to judge Scripture. What he means by that is that if something is hard to understand or we don't necessarily like what it says, we don't get to judge that God is wrong. We must submit to hard teachings and we must realize that sometimes we may not fully understand right away, but we don't get to make up our own interpretation. St. Augustine says that we were given dominion of the earth and the creatures, but we were not given dominion over heaven. We don't get to decide who is there and who isn't. This makes sense because we are not the judges of people's souls at the end of their lives--God is. Yet, for all the talk about not judging, people are quick as a flash to judge where someone's soul is. If they like the person, no matter how they lived their life, they are "an angel now in Heaven." If they don't like the person, no matter how they lived their life, they declare them in Hell. But, we don't get to judge where a person spends eternity, because we have no clue on earth what God is going to say to them. So, the best we can do is hope that they found their way to purgatory (not a permanent place) where they can be purged of any venial sins that they clung to in this life. Once that purging has happened, they can enter Heaven, because remember, nothing imperfect can enter Heaven. So, most of us are going to need to be purged. This is God's mercy, not a denial of Christ's Sacrifice. It's because of Christ's Sacrifice that we can even be made pure before our entrance to Heaven. For our loved ones that have passed on, the best thing we can do is pray for them as they suffer through that purging. It will be like a refiner's fire. They need our prayers. The month of November is specifically set aside to pray for our dearly departed. I have set up the pictures of my loved ones on my piano so that I can be constantly reminded to offer my prayers for them. May you have a blessed All Souls’ Day, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingWhat small town has over 100 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and boasts a still-intact 1840s Merchant Row district? Main Street Perryville Well, that would be Perryville, Kentucky, which became an official town in 1817. The famous street in town is Buell Street and that is the same street where we find our very unique looking Catholic Church for today's small-town church showcase. This is St. Mary's. You may look at it and think, "Well, that does not look like a church building at all." Your eyes do not deceive you. This building used to be a bank, but it closed its doors in the 1970s and it was purchased to become St. Mary's Catholic Church. Looking online, it says that this is one of the smallest Catholic communities in central Kentucky and this church serves about 17 households. The building is super tiny, so it wouldn't hold much more than that. I think it is particularly quaint and I like the white with the light blue touch added for Our Lady's colors. It looks like there is a lot to do in this small town. The Merchant Row is still active and full of shops to visit, there is a Civil War battlefield to see, and you can also stop to see this tiny Catholic Church. Perryville seems like it would offer a nice day trip. Have a great Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims!
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