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My husband and I were talking to our daughter on the phone the other day and as we were talking, my husband told her about all the different Masses we had been to in one week. We went to our first Latin Mass the Sunday after Christmas. Then, we went to a funeral Mass in San Jose. The day after that, we went to a bilingual Mass at Mission San Juan Baptista--my 12th California Mission. And this past Sunday, we were back at our base chapel with all the familiar faces of our friends that we live with on base. It never ceases to amaze me how good it feels to just walk into a Catholic Church and know that I belong. I don't even have to know anybody. It's always nice when I do know people, but, even when I don't, I feel a great sense of belonging. As the Catholic Pilgrim, I've visited literally hundreds of Catholic Churches in the 16 years since I converted. I've been to Masses where the people spoke French, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, and Spanish. Latin can now be added to the list. I've been to Mass in enormous cathedrals and in small caves. I've attended Mass outside with over a million Catholics and I attend daily Mass on base where sometimes it's just my son and me. In all of these different circumstances, I sense the universality of the Catholic Church. Even when I'm surrounded by people that don't look like me, I feel such a connection because of our Faith and our one shared Feast at the altar--the Eucharist, which is Jesus Christ. What a blessing to be part of this one, big, universal family, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
Continue ReadingBecause I've prepared numerous episodes for my podcast ahead of time, I've already read through Book Two of St. Augustine's "Confessions." This is where we get the famous pear-stealing story. In his thoughts about it, St. Augustine shares that he didn't steal because he really wanted the pears. The pears were inconsequential. He then wonders if he liked the actual crime of stealing OR did he like going along with his accomplices and being part of the gang? I was telling my husband about this at dinner and said, "There are three things to think about with any sin. 1. Do you like the actual tangible thing? Like, are you stealing because you want, say, a gold watch? 2. Do you like the act of the sin itself? Like watching pornography. 3. Do you sin because of the social acceptance it gives you? You go along just because you lack courage to say no?" Now, it could be just one of these things that leads us to sin or it could be a combo. My husband thought for a minute and said, "And with those three things, you are seeking one of the four reasons St. Thomas Aquinas' says we go after happiness--wealth, power, pleasure, honor. If you never think about why you are doing something sinful--to gain wealth, power, pleasure, or honor--and you never look at the three aspects of the sin--the thing you want, the sin itself, or the social acceptance--you will find it very hard to stop committing that sin. What I fiind most interesting about St. Augustine's pear story is that he didn't care about the pears, he didn't really revel in stealing, but mostly just wanted to fit in with the crowd. I was watching a video yesterday from Bishop Barron and he said, "With hot button topics--abortion, euthanasia, etc--Catholics track pretty much in line with the secular culture." Meaning, we don't look any different. We just blend right in, striking no real difference in how we live or believe. I believe this is because too many desire honor. We want to be accepted and liked and, so, lack the courage to swim against the stream. That is why I'm always saying that we must live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Monday.
Continue ReadingRight around Christmas, I made a post about how moved I was seeing everyone get to their knees right before the Consecration. I wrote about how beautiful it is that we kneel to worship Our Lord. Some snark shark showed up with an attempted put down telling me that he thought my worship would actually lead to me saying that I was going out to serve in a soup kitchen. To which I responded back, "I was at Mass worshipping God. Here in this post, I was focused on our worship of God. For me, it's a both/and. I can worship God and serve people." He said, "God doesn't need worship, why do you think he came as bread?" I commented, "God may not need our worship, but we need to worship Him. Are you seriously arguing that we shouldn't worship Our Lord? Your argument doesn't make any sense anyway. He didn't come as bread, He came as a baby--fully human, fully Divine." It is true that God doesn't need our worship, but we were created to worship Him. Not because He is some overbearing, narcissistic tyrant that needs to be adored, but because without right worship of God, we will worship something else--usually ourselves. Never has this played out well for anybody. I read today, "The Magi reveal that our search for truth leads to worship." When we find God and recognize Him as the reason for everything, as the source of all truth, there is only one response--worship. May our search for God lead us to worship Him, as is just. And may that worship lead us to be changed and never go back to our old ways. Have a blessed Epiphany, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting is Adoration of the Magi by Rubens. 1609-1629
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