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I’m reading the book “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway and I gotta tell you, it’s a tough one to hang with.
The book follows some expatriates living in Paris not long after WWI. The reason it is hard to hang with is because the lives of these expatriates are so boring.
They are constantly eating, getting drunk, sullenly sitting around, or just trying to amuse themselves with whatever. There is no direction to life, no sustained verve, no growth.
The characters literally get up and go get a drink, then go eat, then go get a drink, then work a tad, then eat, then meet up for a drink, then irritate each other, go bathe, then drink, then eat, go dance, then get drunk, and then go to sleep.
I think the point is to show the dissolutionment of the “Lost Generation,” but my goodness, what mind-numbing boredom.
As I’m reading it, I keep thinking, “Where are you people going??!! What is the point of your lives??!!”
I’m not finished, yet, so maybe I’ll see some growth in the characters (don’t tell me how it turns out). Or maybe the point is to show the vapidness of life without purpose and direction. I shall see.
Today, in our Gospel reading, Jesus says, “Not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’”
I think it’s a good question to ask ourselves: “Where am I going?”
Are we living our lives for Heaven? Do we have our sights set on that goal?
If it is, are we growing? Are we living as though it is a reality? Are we pursuing it with all our minds, hearts, and souls?
If we are, we will grow as a person and our lives will feel full and purposeful.
If instead, we don’t know where we are going, like the characters in the book, we will become listless, selfish, and simply move from one external worldly pleasure to another, never satisfied or interested in much.
It’s a good question to ask, Catholic Pilgrims: “Where am I going?” The way you feel about life will be reflected in how you answer that question.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
I have this jar of mustard seeds on a shelf in my music room. It was given to me by my sister and sister-in-law at the baby shower they threw for me when I was pregnant with my son. After the loss of eight babies after my two daughters, I felt completely sunk in sadness. Yet, my husband and I held on to a mustard-seed-sized bit of faith that one day we would be blessed with one more child. My son is twelve now and I still keep this jar to remind me that no matter how bleak things seem, no matter how inadequate I think I am, no matter how far away God may feel, and no matter how impossible the ask, if I just hold on to a bit of faith and trust that God will see me through, He will. Jesus tells us today in our Gospel reading, “The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds, when full grown it is the largest of all plants." Matthew 13 Even the smallest bit of faith can blossom into amazing things, Catholic Pilgrims. Don't ever let despair be an option. Have a blessed Monday.
Continue ReadingSeveral months ago, I got exceedingly angry about something. I won't go into details, but I was super angry right before Daily Mass and I was in the wrong. As I sat at home stewing, I knew that I couldn't go to Mass and receive Jesus with so much anger in my soul. So, I hurried my son along to get ready early because I wanted to go down to Confession before Mass. I went straight to Father's office, knocked on the down, and asked if I could come to Confession. He quickly smiled and said, "Of course!" After Confession, I went into the Blessed Sacrament to pray and was so grateful that I could come early and free my soul of my anger and my improper response to it. It just wouldn't have been right to come to Mass and try to receive Our Lord in such a state. There was a time when I would have refused to go to church after such a reaction. I would have just wanted to stay mad and fume for days. However, I've come to depend so much on going to Mass nearly every day that without it, I feel a bit lost. So, I wanted to go, but I also was aware that I needed to be cleansed in my soul before going. And, yes, I could have still gone to Mass without Confession, Jesus wants us there with Him. Even if we can't receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we still need to go to Mass, because He deserves our worship. Solomon asked for an "understanding heart" in our first reading today from Kings. The more I go to Mass, the more I pray, the more I try to foster a relationship with Jesus, the more aware I become that I am made, as St. Paul tells us, "in the image of His Son." I am more aware of how I need to conform myself to the image of Christ and part of that is receiving Him worthily. Thank God for the Sacraments that offer such healing and grace. Thank God that He is always ready to forgive us when we ask for forgiveness. Thank God He gives us such a fine pearl of great price. May we give all that we have to receive that pearl, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a beautiful Sunday.
Continue ReadingNobody grows up wanting to have a lot of baggage to carry around. But, (sigh) we make poor choices and before we know it, we are carrying around a figurative trunk of things that don't make us feel good about ourselves. Or, other people's bad choices have left us scarred and damaged and we don't really know how to feel whole again. For me, both of these situations are true, as I'm sure is the case for most people. And the lie that we are told by ourselves, the devil, and even the world is that we can't be redeemed. We are a lost cause, damaged beyond all repair. "Suck it up, Buttercup, because life just sucks and then you die." Mary Magdalene, whose feast day is today, shows us that we are never lost if Jesus comes to the rescue and He will always come. Either we have to ask or someone has to ask on our behalf if we are so far gone that we can't even think to ask for ourselves. Ah, I used to feel so awful about myself, so ashamed, so unworthy of even asking for forgiveness. Somehow, someway, I found my way to my first confession and through choking sobs, I asked Jesus for mercy, healing, and forgiveness. And my big trunk of poor choices and bad decisions was taken from my soul and I felt utterly restored to life. Mary Magdalene shows us, heck, even my life can show you, that you are never too far gone in this life for Jesus to redeem you. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!
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