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I was watching a video yesterday where a Christian conservative was debating a college student who was an atheist. They were supposed to be debating whether college was scam these days or not. The atheist couldn’t stay on topic and kept throwing out non sequiturs. His reasoning was that college wasn’t a scam because Jesus was a scam. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. He kept asking the Christian questions about Christianity and whenever the Christian would try to answer, he’d get out maybe three words before being interrupted. The college guy sat there smirking, shaking, and interrupting. The whole conversation was utterly fruitless. Today, in our first reading from Acts 8, we hear about the eunuch who was reading Isaiah. Philip comes up to him and asks him if he understands it and the eunuch responds with, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” What a truly humble response. I’ve always been so impressed with the humility of the Ethiopian eunuch in realizing he doesn’t know everything. It’s refreshing because we see so little of it these days. Everyone thinks they are an expert in everything. Few people listen to understand. And when it comes to Scripture, far too many think they are Biblical scholars and have all the answers. The atheist in the video kept throwing out questions about Christianity but he wasn’t willing to listen to the answers from a Christian. His snobbish pride left him looking like a fool. Back when I was arguing with my husband about Catholicism, I’d frequently throw out challenges to him. As he’d begin to answer, I’d cut him off and tell him what Catholics believed. He finally got fed up and calmly said, “Amy, don’t ask me a question and then cut me off. You aren’t Catholic, so don’t tell me what we believe. Either listen to me or don’t ask your questions.” I felt like such a fool and I shut my mouth. The eunuch’s approach is one of humility and it is a good lesson for us all, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Thursday.
Continue ReadingIn the early years of our marriage, whenever Dustin and I would get into an argument over Catholicism, I was always the angrier one. Even though I was wildly ignorant about Catholicism, I thought I knew it all. I’d yell at Dustin and always try to raise my voice to drown out his words. I’d cut him off as he was trying to explain why my arguments against Catholicism were wrong. I was trying to not let his words fall on my ears. The crowd stoning Stephen in our reading today from Acts 7, behaved just like me. As Stephen was trying to teach them about Jesus, they “cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him.” It’s the covering of the ears part that is so telling. It’s an attempt to protect your pride by not allowing the truth to penetrate you. It was hard for me to hear my husband prove me wrong. Everybody wants to believe that they are always right and it kills us to hear someone correct or admonish us. Most often, those that scream, yell, cover their ears, and seek to silence others realize they don’t really have the truth or moral upper hand on their side. However, they can’t stand the thought of examining themselves and considering a change of thought. When you won’t do this, bad things always happen, like Stephen getting stoned. Thankfully, my husband got through to me and once I actually listened, he gave me the keys to unlock the beauty of Catholicism and eventually come home. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting is of St. Stephen. It’s in a Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Istanbul.
Continue ReadingI was telling someone the other day that I come from a generation where I can distinctly remember life before the internet and social media. They asked me, "Do you like now or then better?" "Then, for sure. Life was much simpler and not as distracting. Everywhere you turn now, someone's trying to make you mad or trying to cause fear." The Conclave to elect our new pope starts tomorrow. Since Pope Francis died, all forms of media have been in full-up distraction mode. Each day, there is something put out there to get us anxious, mad, or fearful. I'm not here to talk about all the tackiness and the sensationalism of it all. Quite frankly, I find it boring and just exhausting. It's all just so mind-numbingly ridiculous and it won't matter one bit six months from now. I'm not interested in wasting energy on any of it. Let's just have peace, Catholic Pilgrims. Peace of spirit. Peace of mind. Peace in our prayers. The devil wants us, as Catholics, to lose our peace over all this and it's just not worth it. Let's trust in the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinals and tune out the side-show circus all around us. What is needed right now is a laser-focus on lifting the cardinals up in prayer as we trust in God's Divine Providence. Have a blessed and peaceful Monday, Catholic Pilgrims.
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