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Before I begin the meat of what I have to say here, my intention is not to embarrass or shame anyone. I've gone back and forth on whether I should write about it, but, in the end, I was so moved by the experience that I felt I needed to share. This past weekend, my family attended Mass at St. Joseph's in Big Bear Lake, CA. At the start of Mass during the procession, the priest was taking awhile to come into my view. When he did, I could see that this relatively young priest had a disability in his legs that made walking difficult. As he climbed up to the altar, it was clear that he was in pain. During his homily, he was telling us about how he used to ski when he was young and he joked by saying, "Back when I was more agile," which caused a gentle laugh by the congregation. But, it was how this priest was during the Consecration that compels me to write. As you know, during the Consecration, the priest genuflects three times out of reverence for Our Lord. Given this priest's limitations, I didn't think he would genuflect, which was understandable. I thought he would bow. He didn't bow, though, and at each time for genuflection, though it clearly was difficult, this priest slowly, and so very reverently, genuflected to Jesus. Normally it is pretty quiet during this time, but there was an even deeper silence as we all watched this man struggle to genuflect. It was so powerfully moving and such a sight of beauty that I have tears falling even as I type this. Then we proceeded with Holy Communion and it was one of the most reverent Holy Communions I've ever experienced. I think the priest set the precedent. Afterwards, when he was "cleaning up the dishes," as my son once said when he was little, the priest lovingly and carefully performed this act. It was almost mesmerizing watching him be so attentive. When my husband and I walked out of the church, we both commented on how moved we were. Again, I don't write this to embarrass and I don't write to shame anyone who can't genuflect because of physical limitations. I write because this priest's effort and even his willingness to not try and hide his disability was sincerely touching. For love of God, Catholic Pilgrims. May everything we do and say, be done for love of God. Live the faith boldly and travel well.
Continue ReadingI've recommended "Dracula" to you all before, but after reading it again this year, I have more thoughts. First, this book is extremely spiritual and the theme is definitely the enduring one of good vs. evil. It is not an over-sexualized book about lusty female vampires contrary to what popular culture would make you believe. Sure, there are parts of it that were probably scandalous to late 1800 century eyes, but it's really nothing to get worked up about. Anyway, in my latest reading of the book, I found a line from Dr. Van Helsing that especially stood out. When speaking to another doctor and trying to get him to believe that Lucy is really a vampire and that they must save her soul, he says: "You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold, but you are too prejudiced. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain." There is nothing wrong with science. Science is good for the study of the material world. It is one tool among many to understand our lives and the world we live in. However, it has its limitations, which is fine. It was never meant to be the only tool we ever use. The downfall with science is that it made a lot of people believe that it was the only tool and because it gives humans the ability to explain the material world, it made many feel more powerful than we actually are. We became the gods and science became the religion. But, science cannot explain everything and if it can't that doesn't mean then we have no answers or no other tool to use to understand life, God, and the universe. Many who follow the Religion of Science want to use it to find God and when they can't, "Well, guess he's all make-believe." But, God is not material, so He is never going to be directly found using science. We can indirectly come to know things about Him through science, but we will never find Him directly. What is ironic is that those that believe science is the end-all-be-all, show just how little they truly know and understand, though they think they rise above believers in rational and intelligent thought. Science is one tool that God gave us, Catholic Pilgrims, to help us understand Him better, but it is not the only one we use. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
Continue ReadingI've been making episodes for Season Six of my podcast, where I'll be reading St. Augustine's "Confessions." (Pst...season starts January 1st, 2026.) In one of the readings, St. Augustine is basically praising a litany of God's attributes: Omniscient--all knowing Omnipresent--ever present Omnipotent--all powerful Eternal--always has been, always will be Immutable--unchanging God is love God is mercy God is Being itself Today, in our reading from Romans, St. Paul says, "Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have ben able to be understood and perceived in what He has made." We can come to know and understand God's attributes by looking at the created world. To quote Bishop Barron, God is not one great "creature among many," He is the Creator of all things. St. Paul goes on to talk about how people become "fools" and how our senseless minds can be darkened. In this day and age, I would argue that God gets reduced down to three attributes--two from the list and an added one. God is love--Translated to mean that God tolerates any way you want to live, because love is acceptance. God is mercy--Translated to mean that God will show mercy to anyone that chooses to live a life contrary to Biblical teachings, but still calls themselves a Christian. And, the added one, God is nice--translated to mean that God is just a pal that doesn't want to add one bit of friction to your life in any way. With these, we lose one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit--Fear of the Lord. This gift is the understanding that God is all might and majesty, that we are little and completely dependent on Him, and that our understanding of Him can never be exhausted. Nobody really wants to worship just a nice, tolerant god. Consequently, when people try to depict God in this way, He fades from people's lives and new idols--usually themselves--take over. Let us have a healthy fear of the Lord, Catholic Pilgrims, and recognize that we worship the Almighty, the great "I Am." Have a blessed Tuesday. *Church is St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.
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