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Over Thanksgiving, my mom brought me several old books that were once my great aunt's. None of them look particularly exciting, but I was thrilled to get them. I loved my aunt dearly and I still think of her all the time. Anything that was hers, helps me feel closer to her. She was such a proper lady. She always wore dresses and heels. She was an English teacher and always corrected me on my grammar. She was firm and no-nonsense, but fiercely loyal to family. She never let me slurp my leftover cereal milk out of the bowl; I always had to pour it into a glass and drink it properly. I have so many fond memories of her that there are too many to list off, but one of my favorites is playing kings on the corner with her while drinking lemonade and eating pound cake on her back porch. Among the books I received, was a book entitled "The Living and the Lifeless" by Dirk Coster. It is nearly impossible to find any information about either. Mr. Coster was a Dutch physicist, he discovered an element, and there's an asteroid named after him. That's about it. The book is even more mysterious. It's like a book of wisdom. It's composed of just short little thoughts and ponderings about life. For example: "A good conscience is the natural smile of a soul at peace." But, my favorite so far is this: "To know the truth is to know that which inspires happiness and a flowering of the soul. All else is but lies." Truth most certainly does cause the soul to flower, even hard truths. Because only when you accept hard truths or only when you accept The Truth can you really grow. One simply cannot flower, Catholic Pilgrims, if they live denying truth or believing lies. What a great commission we have to bring the truth of Christ to the world through the Catholic Church. Have a blessed Tuesday.

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This past week has been one where pro-abortion advocates have come in hot in my world. Off of one little comment I made on a pro-life page, I’ve been inundated with comments and messages. I’m used to it by now and I know I bring it on by saying anything. Thankfully, the “yelling” at me in all caps online and all the horrible words directed at me don’t bother me anymore. I mean, they bother me in that it’s sad to see people so sunk, but I’m not wounded. Everything revolves around death for them. Some want to kill all the “embryos.” One guy wants to kill as many unborn and born people to eradicate bad genes. (Not surprising that all his pictures were of Satan.) Some want to kill anyone who might potentially suffer. (Which is every human, btw.) Some want to kill born people who are suffering. Some want me to “kill myself.” Death, death, death. Everything revolves around death. As I sat at Mass, I very clearly saw that it is because Christ has not been born in their lives and they lack belief in the Resurrection. And that may seem, duh, but a real lightbulb went off for me. There is no life for them. There is no joy in birth and new life, there is no hope in life with God. Death is all they can imagine for anyone because life—The Life—has not actually been welcomed into their hearts. John cried out in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Prepare the way for The Life of the world to come. That is Advent—preparing the way for life to be born within us or to prepare for Him—Life—to grow our souls even more with love. Without that, a soul is in exile, shrouded in death and death is all they can advocate for and want for others. It’s incredibly sad. This second Sunday of Advent, let us be thankful for the Way, the Truth, and the Life. What hope He gives us. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.

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Yesterday, I dropped my son off at his soccer game and had to run home real quick before it started to get a few things I forgot. It was a good thing I came home, because my neighbor called. She couldn’t find her keys and she asked if I could run her son and another teammate down to the game so they wouldn’t be late. The boys hopped in my car and as we went I listened to their conversation. One said, “Today, I finally counted how many cousins I have. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to count them. But, I was wondering and so I counted. I have eight.” The other one replied, “You didn’t know you have eight cousins?” “Well, when we travel around to visit family, I just play with the cousins that are there. I just play with them because they are in front of my face. Then we pack up and visit more family and there’s more cousins and I just focus on them. I’m always like, ‘Whoa, this is a lot of people. I don’t have time to count.’” The other boy said, “Yeah, that makes sense. It’s good you counted because now you know.” “Yeah, I wasn’t as busy today so I thought about it. Eight. That’s pretty cool.” I had to smile listening to this sweet conversation. May we be ever present to those that are in front of our faces, Catholic Pilgrims, and may we stop and find time to count our blessings. Have a good weekend. P.S. I realized that I have never actually counted my first cousins either, so I did. Thirteen. That’s pretty cool.