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With each season of my podcast, Journeying with the Saints, I grow in love for the Saint whose work I'm reading. To be honest, I was scared to read St. Augustine's "Confessions." Mostly I was afraid because I thought I'd be too dumb to keep up with his mind, but I've found this book really approachable. There are some parts that stretch the mind--thinking here of his talk on time--but it's good to stretch the mind a bit. How else can we grow and learn new things? I very much relate to St. Augustine. I, too, dropped my Faith in my late teens, went off to live a very worldly life, found nothing was satisfying me, became desperate for the truth, took a long time to wrestle it out, and finally converted to Catholicism. All the while, I had a mother ferverently praying for me. Season Six isn't done yet, but already I've grown in my love and appreciation of this Doctor the Faith. He will forever be in my bevy of Saints that I call on frequently. Reading their works helps us to see that they were real people and they struggled and sinned and eventually opened themselves up to grace and then went on to do amazing things. They give us hope that we can all be Saints. Today is St. Augustine's feast day, Catholic Pilgrims. I'm so grateful that I've come to know him better. St. Augustine, pray for us!
Continue ReadingThis year as I've been reading through St. Augustine's "Confessions" on my podcast, Journeying with the Saints, I've finally gotten the story on St. Monica. It is through her son that we understand her. We all know that she prayed for his conversion, but through his writings, we get the intimate details. She absolutely prayed, yes, but there is so much more to the story. She wasn't afraid to tell her son that his lustful lifestyle wasn't okay. In our culture, too many people think that to love means to tolerate anything and everything. Monica straight up told Augustine that he was living in sin. She, also, went to a bishop and begged him to speak with St. Augustine and talk some sense into him. The bishop told her that he wasn't ready to receive the truth, but that, eventually, he would reason his way to it. That had to be so frustrating for her. At one point in time, because he refused to stop fornicating and keeping a mistress, she didn't allow him to eat at her table or stay in her home. But, she does meet up with him in Milan and lives with him, most likely helping to take care of her grandson. Through it all, she called Augustine to the Christian life while staying close to him. All her prays, all her maternal correction, all her perseverance paid off, but it took a long time. After she died, here is what St. Augustine wrote, "Then little by little, my old feelings about Your handmaid came back to me. I thought of her devoted love for You and the tenderness and patience she had shown to me, like the holy woman that she was. Of all this I found myself suddenly deprived, and it was a comfort to me to weep for her and for myself and to offer my tears to You for her sake and for mine. The tears which I had been holding back streamed down, and I let them flow as freely as they would, making of them a pillow for my heart...For this was the mother, now dead and hidden awhile from my sight, who had wept over me for many years so that I might live in Your sight." St. Monica knows the grief a parent carries when their children have fallen away from the Faith. Ask for her intercession for yourself and for your child. She is happy to pray for you, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Monica, pray for us!
Continue ReadingAs my husband and I drove through many small Irish towns recently, one of the things we were struck by was how nearly every home was clean and well-kept. These were not palaces of wealthy people, but simple, ordinary homes that clearly had owners that took a lot of pride in their property. There was hardly any trash to be seen, lawns were well manicured, and flowers were abundant. There were signs up that said, "Keep your town tidy," which I love. Tidy. I love that they use that word. The other thing that was striking to us was that there wasn't major industry in the towns; most of them were just simple agricultural areas. There was always a pub, though. Gotta have a pub. 😀 My point is, is that these were not areas with a booming economy. My maternal grandparents were from a tiny, tiny Kansas town. When I was a kid, even though the town was little, the people had pride in keeping the town nice. Most homes were kept up, the little downtown had flower pots overflowing with flowers that the women of the town planted. Storefronts were quaint and old-timey. It was charming. It's been a few years since I've been there but the last time I was, everything was in a state of decay. It was an agricultural area back in the day and it still is today, but the effort is not there anymore. Whenever I bring this up, someone always says, "Well, the area is poor, so that's why." To which I ask, "Poor people can't keep things clean?" Beauty is of God and we are supposed to imitate God. As humans, we have the ability to create beauty out of chaos and make things pleasant and appealing. The real problems are screens and drugs. Too many waste hours and hours staring at screens and too many use drugs. This leads to neglect of surroundings and neglect makes us depressed. Part of our mission everyday as Catholics is to bring beauty, truth, and goodness to any situation we find ourselves in. It won't always be well received, but the alternative is that ugliness, lies, and debauchery will run amok. Bring the beauty this week, Catholic Pilgrims. Everyone is starved for it. *Ruins are of Cong Abbey in Cong, Ireland.
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