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Happy Friday, Catholic Pilgrims. Tis the season for executive orders and so, what would be the executive orders I would sign IMMEDIATELY if I were President? 1. All vats of hard-boiled eggs soaking in their egg juice at hotel breakfasts would be banned. No more sulfur bombs allowed. 2. Any Christmas song by a former Beatles member would be stripped from the catalog of available Christmas songs and sent to the vault where all bad music goes to die. 3. Turkey as a national Thanksgiving meat would cease. 4. Any man who wants to grow a mustache must submit documentation explaining why they want a mustache and provide their wife/girlfriend with an example photo of what he would look like with one. She will review it and decide if it is allowed. She has full veto power. 5. All college football conferences will have numbers in their names that reflect the actual number of teams in the conference. However, as the numbers seem to change each year, I strongly recommend picking a conference name with no number or geographical location. 6. Dressing rooms across the land must remove all bad lighting and all fun-house mirrors. Nobody wants to look like death-warmed over when trying to buy new clothes. We need to look alive and the mirrors should reflect actual size. Any businesses found not in compliance will be run out of town by a pitch-fork mob. 7. Any object that requires placement in a bag (tent, sleeping bad, outdoor chairs, cots, etc) must have a bag that doesn't require people to wrestle with it on the ground to get said object back in the bag. It is time to add more fabric to the bag and I will see to it that Americans everywhere are free from this plight. 8. Kansas City barbecue will be recognized as the Nation's best barbecue and I will hear no more from those on the east coast. 9. Federal agents will be sent to all homes to confiscate the box-o-cords that every man has stashed somewhere. The 1994 Compaq desktop monitor cord is not longer needed. 10. Any person found to be a Bills' fan just for this upcoming weekend will be sent to federal prison for fraud. My goal, Catholic Pilgrims, will be to make life better for all Americans!
Continue ReadingI became Catholic eight years into my marriage, seven years into the military life. I became Catholic just as we were leaving Tyndall AFB in Panama City, Florida. Since that time, it has been fascinating to see what each place teaches me and how I grow in my faith. After Tyndall, our next duty station happened to be where I am now, Edwards AFB. Back then, I was fresh into the Catholic Faith and I had so much to learn. I jumped into teaching CCD and really started to explore all things Catholic. Then, we moved to Virginia. We went to church on the campus of UVA and that church is led by Dominicans. Their homilies were the stuff of intellectual giants. I had never experienced understanding God and theological things at such a high level of intelligence. This is where I began to dive deep into studying the faith. From there, it was on to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. That was a hard move. I'm not a Vegas fan, but my family had to learn to bloom where we are planted and, in time, we did. This was where I put all that knowledge from Virginia to good use by teaching Confirmation classes. In Ohio, I learned to really integrate my faith into all aspects of my life. This is, also, when I went to the Holy Land. Turkey was like an immersion in the Acts of the Apostles and my time there growing in my faith was so rich and rewarding. Washington DC brought the joy of exploring many of the Catholic roots of our country, at least on the eastern side. Montgomery, AL was where I learned to give as much of myself to volunteering at the church and Daily Mass became a love. Now, I'm back at Edwards and since I've been here before, I've been doubtful that I can learn anything new. How can I grow in a place I've already been? But, I've kinda become the unofficial altar decorator and, yesterday, my kids and I went to clean the small Blessed Sacrament Room on base. As I vacuumed, dusted, organized, decluttered all in the presence of Jesus, I felt so good making things as beautiful as I can for Him. What I learned yesterday is that even in a desert, I can bring beauty. That is a good reminder for us all. Have a blessed Thursday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingWe are a week and a half out from my podcast "Journeying with the Saints" starting back up for Season Five on February 1st, 2025 I've put a lot of work into this season already. We've got new music courtesy of my dad, I've added some new touches, and I've got a new approach to this season. I really think you are going to like it. For Season Five, we will be reading "Letters From the Voyages of St. Francis Cabrini." You can find the book at Catholic Treehouse and Amazon. I highly recommend getting it so that you can follow along. This is the first missionary that I've featured here on the podcast and, I'm telling you, there is much to learn from a missionary saint. St. Frances has so much to teach us and some of the biggest lessons are in how to live out the virtues of perseverance and courage. I wanted to give you all this heads up, so you can prepare to join me. This picture is my new logo for the season. Other than that, please share with friends. If they've seen the movie "Cabrini" and like it, they are going to want to hear her actual words and if they saw the movie and didn't like it, well...they are still going to want to hear her actual words. HA! So, let's get ready to learn from the first canonized American saint, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us!
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