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One of the most frustrating things about having an online presence is when you share something beautiful and meaningful and the kill-joy shows up.
I’ll post a picture of a beautiful church and off in the corner behind a wall, the head of a guitar will be poking out and someone is going to ignore the beautiful church and laser-focus their eyes on the guitar head and exclaim, “Is that a guitar?!?! Now I know what kind of church that is. Humph.”
As if the organ is the only sacred musical instrument.
Or, I’ll post some lyrics of a Rush song that I find super meaningful and someone will ignore the lyrics and exclaim, “Rush?! Don’t they worship the devil???!!!”
(Sigh) No, Rush doesn’t worship the devil. Can we focus on the lyrics? Aren’t they impactful?
Or I’ll share a picture of a Catholic destination and someone will let me know that they blew up my picture to life-size, measured the hem of my skirt and found it to be 1/16 of an inch too short.
You think I’m kidding but I’m not.
My point in saying all this is that it’s important to remember to have joy. If your faith life has turned you into the scowling grump behind the screen that scrutinizes every picture and message with a glass-half empty lens, you will do more harm than good.
If you miss the magnificent forest for the one piece of litter on the ground, you will suck the joy out of everything.
Trust me, I know there is a time and place to correct and admonish, but don’t let that be all you do.
If you find, Catholic Pilgrims, that your inclination is to see all the wrong and never the right, that needs some self-reflection and a good talk with God. And maybe you also need to rock out to a Rush song.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
I made a short reel the other day that was supposed to be kind of funny. In Ireland, I saw tons of electric mowers just chugging along doing the work of making lawns look beautiful. (Everyone's yard in Ireland is pristine, btw. Very impressive.) Anyway, I likened the mowers to the Saints. They just get the good work done that needs to be done in order to make things better. Everyone else stands around gripping and despairing, but the Saints "just keep going, just keep going." To prove my point, Mr. Grumpypants had to show up and grump about how people who think they are Saints are all "naval gazers that think they are better than everyone else." Maybe he thought I was calling myself a Saint and he felt the need to set me straight. I wasn't calling myself that, but I do desire to be one. He said something, though, that I want to focus on. The Saints aren't people that call themselves Saints. They didn't think they were better than everyone else. In fact, they thought they could only do more and more for love of God. Mostly, they were focused on how they could be better and how they could live a mission here on earth to bring Christ to people. The Saints never settled and never do settle. And some people see this as burdensome and too pious. They look at themselves and think, "Hey, I'm a decent person. There's not much more for me to do. I don't want to go overboard with anything. Now, to be sure, loads of other people need to change, but me, I good right where I am." This is difference. True Saints never think of themselves as Saints and if they ever did, they would be full of pride and still have a lot of work to do. True Saints desire to be more Christ-like every day. They ask for grace, depend on that grace to help them restore, heal, and propagate God's kingdom here on earth. Holiness is the goal, Catholic Pilgrims, for love of God. Everyday we will have to ask for the grace to help us reach that goal. Live the Faith boldly and travel well. *St. Mary's located on the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.
Continue ReadingWhere's my Swiss Catholic Pilgrims at? This small-town church showcase is for you. Today, we have St. Ann's in Badus Township in South Dakota. It was built by Swiss immigrants coming into the area in the late 1800s and Badus is the name of a Mountain in Switzerland, hence the name. Within Badus Township, there is only one tiny town called Ramona. This area might win for smallest location in this series. There are only about 60-95 residents in this township today. The township sits on the eastern side of the South Dakota. Today, this church is permanently closed but it did find its way on the National Register of Historical Places in 1979. It was built in 1884. I think this church is a reminder of the pioneering spirit of our country at one time and the importance of religion to the pioneering communities. They built their churches with their own hands. I would imagine that you can't go in anymore, but if you are ever roaming around the eastern agricultural areas of South Dakota, you might find yourself passing this historical church. Have a great Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims, and live the Faith boldly and travel well.
Continue ReadingIrish Sheepies. That's what I love calling sheep--sheepies. Boy, did we see tons of them in Ireland. Don't worry, the one isn't bleeding. The sheep all have painted markings on them as a sort of brand. Today our Gospel reading is from Matthew and Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep--an oldie but goodie. I was listening to Jeff Cavins daily reflection on Hallow the other day and he was talking about repetition. He mentioned that when we are kids, we can listen to the same story over and over and over again. I probably read "Red Fish, Blue Fish" to my son a thousand times when he was little. I read it so much that I had to make up funny voices to read it in to make it interesting. He absolutely loved it and giggled the whole time. As adults, though, we don't really like hearing the same story over and over again. Some we do, but for the most part, we say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it. Don't need to hear it again." Jeff Cavins said in his reflection that "Jesus repeats Himself pretty often, because the truth is that we need to hear certain messages over and over again." The story of God leaving the 99 to go search for the one lost sheep is one that we hear often and there can be a tendency to think that we know it, we get it, nothing new to hear here. But, we need to be reminded over and over again that God will always come for us. How many people think that they are too far gone, that they are too lost for God to ever want them? LOADS of people. No matter how many times we hear the lost sheep parable, people still think that God wouldn't bother with them. So, it clearly is a message we need to hear repeatedly. As Jesus tells us, "It is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." He will always come looking for us if we've lost our way, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
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