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When my husband deployed, I went home to Kansas so that I could be near family. Oh, that was a long six months. Four days before his scheduled return, my girls and I loaded up our car and drove east. As my dad said goodbye, right before he shut my car door, he smiled and said, "Go get your man." Oh, I was on my way. Nothing can try your patience like a deployment, but those days leading up to them coming home is pure torture. The day of his arrival, he was scheduled to get in at 9:00pm. I dressed up as cute as possible. But, then, I got a message that it would be 10:00pm. Then 12:00am. I about died. The pain of that wait was excruciating. The final time was 2:00am. I don't know what the plane was doing. Making laps around the North Pole, I guess, but that wait about did me in. Finally, I got to the Baltimore Airport, found my way to the military area, and hurried myself and my daughters inside. There was a crowd of people waiting for their loved ones. After what seemed like eons, each airman made their way through the automatic sliding doors. They came through ONE. AT. A. TIME. With each opening of the door, you could feel the anticipation build as each family waited to see if it was their loved one. The second--the nano second--I caught a glimpse of Dustin at the door, I ran. I jumped into his arms right in the door opening and he had to drag me to the side so others could come through. Oh my heart, it was complete joy to hug him again. That deployment purged me of a lot--selfishness and ingratitude are top of the list. When I think of the Catholic teaching of purgatory, I always think back to Dustin's deployment. Purgatory is a time of cleansing of stains of sin. It purges us of those sins that we struggled to let go of in this life. It makes us ready for Heaven. It's painful, yes, but the souls in purgatory know that Heaven awaits. I imagine that they wait like I did at that airport door with anticipated joy for a chance to run to Christ. Deployment made me a better wife. Purgatory makes us ready to be Saints in Heaven. The beautiful thing is that the pain is worth the joy that awaits. Have a blessed Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Last year, while living in Alabama, I got to attend daily Mass. Initially, this was all my son’s idea. We lived super close to the church, we homeschool, and it just made sense to go. I mean, why not? So, each morning, my son and I would go to Mass and I cannot accurately describe how much this came to mean to me. Receiving Christ nearly everyday was incredible. I loved watching my son serve, also, and I enjoyed talking with the daily Mass goers. The priests became great friends. I was thriving in this community. Then, we got stationed in the middle of nowhere in the desert and that all went away. There’s no more daily Mass on base. It’s been a true spiritual desert. In Alabama, I was riding on a spiritual high. Then, ever so quickly, that was stripped from me. I’ve asked God a thousand times why back to the desert? Why? What I receive back in my heart is: Can you stay devoted in the lows? When the good feelings are all stripped away, how will you still come after Me? That’s the thing, the longing is ever present and I must offer this suffering up without becoming bitter or angry. I, also, must trust, Catholic Pilgrims, that even though I’m in a “deserted place,” Jesus will multiple the graces and blessings if I bring Him all I have, even if it’s just my longing. He’ll do it just like He did the fishes and the loaves. Have a blessed Tuesday. *Mission San Fernando
This is a story about the curious cases of Mr. Nitpick and Mrs. Nitpick. Not long after Christmas, I posted a picture of the church I went to the Sunday after Christmas. Southwest Missouri doesn't have Catholic Churches that rival the beautiful ones up north in KC and St. Louis, so it wasn’t the grandest church of all time. Anyway, I put together a heart-felt post and someone completely breezed past the message and said to me, "Shouldn't there be flowers around the tabernacle?" What you couldn't tell from the picture was that the tabernacle was in an enclosure. I'd never seen anything like it before and it was kinda cool. The doors of the enclosure stuck out making it hard to have flowers. I responded back, "It's in an enclosure, it wouldn't make sense to put flowers in there." And it wouldn't. They'd look stuffed. But...my explanation mattered not at all. It didn't matter that there were loads of poinsettias all around the altar, near the tabernacle and up front. Nope. According to the commenter, if there weren't flowers stuffed inside the enclosure, people weren't acknowledging the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle. I struggled to have patience with Mr. Nitpick. The reason I struggled is because I've been that person, too. I have a deep disdain for 60s styling and architecture--it's bland, it's typically ugly, and apparently nobody understood symmetry. I know every church can't look like Notre Dame, but come on. Then one day, I went to a First Communion Mass. It was at one of those 60s styled churches and everything was hideous to me. My attitude about the whole thing spilled over into my attitude at the Mass. I caught myself scowling the ENTIRE time. Instead of listening to the liturgy of the Mass, I was nitpicking everything--the altar, the music, the carpet, the cross. Everything. When I walked out of Mass, I realized with sorrow that I had not paid attention one iota to the Consecration or receiving the Eucharist. I had lacked zero gratitude because I had chosen to nitpick to death everything in the church. One of the most memorable Masses for me was in a dirty prison classroom while doing prison ministry. The "altar" was a brown table and the room lacked any depth of beauty whatsoever, yet I was moved to tears at the Consecration. I didn't nitpick because my focus was on Christ. It's easy to nitpick things to death, Catholic Pilgrims. "This isn't the right music. The flowers aren't right. The altar isn't perfect. The art is ugly." I wish all our churches could be stunningly beautiful, but what is more important is that our soul is open with gratitude to the Lord. Our soul needs to be beautiful and it simply can't be when we have become Mr. or Mrs. Nitpick. Something to keep in mind, and most especially for myself. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
In my younger years, when I was limping along in my faith life, I thought that however I wanted to live out my belief in God was perfectly fine. In fact, my attitude was such that I felt God needed to come to me. He needed to do all the “heavy lifting.” Basically, I was like Herod. Herod obviously was jealous of Jesus and wanted to get rid of Him, but he feigned a desire to adore the Christ Child which was no different than myself. I simply couldn’t be bothered with going to church to be with God or do anything else, for that matter. The Magi were different. They did whatever was needed to be close to Christ. They traveled, they asked about Him, they looked for Him, they brought Him gifts, they brought their praise and they worshiped Him. Then they went home by a different way. Venerable Fulton Sheen once said, “No one who ever meets Christ with a good will returns the same way as he came.” When I was like Herod, apathetic and fake in my desire to know Christ, I continued on the same self-serving path that offered no growth or true joy. Once I became more like the Magi, my pilgrimage through life became different and that has made all the difference, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Sunday where we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. *Picture is from San Fernando Mission in LA
To prepare for Season Five of my "Journeying with the Saints" podcast, I figured I better watch the movie, "Cabrini." It's because of this movie that the book containing her letters "fell" into my hands last spring. Not long after the movie came out, a man named Michael reached out to me. He told me, "I found Mother Cabrini's letters in an online copy of an out-of-print book about four years ago, and after I couldn't find a physical copy at any of the online used bookstores I vowed to republish it." He continued, "The seventeen letters in the book are remarkable for their quality, and she intricately weaves her faith and spiritual wisdom into her recounting of the adventures of her travels." His hard work is the book we will be reading this season for the podcast. It's titled, "Letters from the Voyages of St. Francis Cabrini." For Seasons One and Three, I read from mystics. For Seasons Two and Four, I read from two priests. I haven't yet read from a missionary. So, my family watched the movie a few nights ago because when people ask, I want to speak intelligently about it and not rely on hearsay. I, also, want to see if how she is portrayed in the movie is accurate to her tone and personality in her actual letters. To get my review and thoughts on the movie, you will have to listen in to the first episode of my podcast on February 1st, 2025. Looking forward to it, Catholic Pilgrims!
This picture is from the monastery founded by St. Basil the Great, who along with St. Gregory Nazianzen, is celebrated today. It is located in Cappadocia, Turkey. This part of the structure comes centuries after St. Basil's time which was in the late 300s. My daughter and I took a walk the other day out in the desert and I asked her if she had any resolutions for the new year. She said, "No, not really. If I want to do something or change something, I just do it. There's no reason to wait until the start of a new year." I get the desire to start something with the freshness of a new year. It's like a reset button. But, if something is good for you and should be done, it should be done once you realize you need to make the change. If you know you should read the Bible more, start when your conscience is pricked. If you need to get healthy, start as soon as you can. If you need to give up an addiction, don't wait for a new year. One of the reasons that New Year's resolutions don't stick for so many is that the motive very often is too inwardly focused. If the change desired is attached to a vice, such as vanity, it will be difficult to sustain. St. Basil founded the monastery in this area to reform lives and to combat heresy. Once he knew it was what he needed to do, he set out to do it. And the motive was God-focused, not self-focused. If our desire to change or grow is attached to a desire to be able to live out God's will better, it is more likely it will stick. Our purpose in this life is to live out God's will and when we align growth and change with His Will, it means we are doing it for someone outside ourself. Ultimately, this will make us more happy. There is nothing wrong with starting a resolution at the beginning of the year, Catholic Pilgrims. We just have to make sure we are doing it for the right reasons and the main reason, above all else, is to be better equipped to live out God's purpose for us. Have a blessed Thursday.
Welcome to 2025, Catholic Pilgrims! If you are a newbie to the page, here's an introduction to start the new year. I'm Amy, the Catholic Pilgrim, and I've been writing nearly everyday for 11 years on here. The only way that's maintained is by the Holy Spirit giving me inspiration every morning in my prayer time. I'm an Air Force wife and I've been married to my handsome airman for 23 years. I've been following him around for a *couple* rotations around the sun and I love this military life. We've lived in Ohio (twice), Florida, California (twice), Virginia (twice), Las Vegas, Turkey (yes, the country), Alabama, and a stint in there when I went back home to Kansas while he was deployed. I'm, also, a convert to the faith. My husband (cradle Catholic) and I used to battle it out in our early years of marriage over whether to be Protestant or Catholic. He dismantled every one of my arguments and in 2009, I converted. My husband opened my mind to the Faith, the Eucharist opened my heart. I have three beautiful children--two girls, one boy. Two of them are adults and have flown the nest, but it has been a joy to see them out in the world doing their thing. My son is still at home and it's been fun living the boy-life with him. I, also, have 10 saints in Heaven who are constant intercessors for their Momma. I love my sweet babes in Heaven and at every Mass, I ask them to be with me. I've homeschooled for 14 years, though I'm not a teacher by trade. Criminology is where my education lies and I specialized in dealing with sexual violence crimes. I love football and have been known to scare away children with my...ahem...enthusiasm. Go K-State and go Chiefs! My favorite Bible verse is 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." I'm opinionated, stubborn, sarcastic, a lover of rock-n-roll, hater of turkey (the meat), sentimental, and fiercely loyal. I love Christ with all my heart and I love writing about our Catholic Faith--to me, it's on the same level as needing air and water. So, welcome to my page, fellow Pilgrims. I'm glad you found me. Live the faith boldly and travel well in 2025!
Where do I start to list the blessings from this year? I've been doing this social media thing for over a decade. To think of where I started and where I'm at now is truly astounding. In my early days, I wanted to quit every other day. Mostly because I had like five followers and I wasn't gaining any ground. But, I kept plugging away. I continued to stay to true to myself and my goal of wanting to create an online community where we helped each other along the pilgrimage of life. It's been such a joy for me to write for you all and have us share our ups and downs in the spiritual life. So, let's go through a few highlights of this year! 1. At the beginning of the year, I visited St. Augustine and got to see where some of the earliest Catholic seeds were planted in the US. Visiting The Shrine of Our Lady of Leche and the cathedral were great mini-pilgrimages. 2. In early spring, I visited Charleston, SC and laid eyes on the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Beautiful! I, also, quickly got to see the oldest church in town before it closed for the day. 3. Around Easter time, I got to visit one of the most gorgeous Catholic Churches in the US. The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL made my jaw drop. The monstrance is truly fit for Our King. 4. My family PCS'd from Alabama to California in June. I made a trip to see another mission, so now my number is up to 10 out of the 21 missions in California. 5. I finished Season Four of my "Journeying with the Saints" podcast. Together, we listened to and reflected on St. Francis de Sales' book "Introduction to the Devout Life." It is one of my favorite spiritual books now. I'm, also, happy to know St. Francis better and call him friend. Those are some of my highlights and I thank you all for joining along with me. I have a lot of exciting things planned for this next year and I can't wait to share it all with you. I hope you are able to look back on this past year and find many blessings, Catholic Pilgrims. If it's be a trying year with not so many highs, I pray that God has sustained you through your sufferings. You know what to do in 2025--Live the Faith boldly and travel well!
Well, it's Friday, Catholic Pilgrims, and you know I like to be a bit more relaxed on Fridays. So, here are some Christmas-themed things about me! 1. My favorite Christmas movie is "White Christmas." I wanna dance in the pink dress worn by Vera-Ellen, because the "best things, happen when you're dancing." 2. My favorite non-religious Christmas song is the "The Christmas Song" sung by Nat King Cole. 3. My favorite religious Christmas song is "O Holy Night." 4. My favorite Christmas dessert is one I can't have anymore. Growing up, my grandma used to get these iced sugar cookies from a bakery in her hometown. They are the best sugar cookies, hands down. The icing was perfect smoothness and the cookies were buttery deliciousness. I'm gluten-intolerant so I can't have them anymore and I think the bakery is gone now, but sometimes, I dream about those sugar cookies. 5. One of the best presents I got back when I was young was a silver trumpet. I wanted one so badly because I was planning on being in the K-State marching band and you have to have a silver trumpet. I was so excited to see one on Christmas morning. I played three years for the K-State marching band and those were some good times. I played at the Fiesta Bowl, Alamo Bowl, and Holiday Bowl, marched through Disneyland, had a battle of the bands on the Midway aircraft carrier, played in Chief's stadium, sweated it out in August and froze in November. I loved being a band nerd. 6. Our Christmas tree is filled, and I mean filled, with ornaments from all the places we've visited as a family. Usually, the only souvenirs we buy when we travel are ornaments. That was quite the challenge in Turkey because generally they don't celebrate Christmas. A lot of magnets got turned into ornaments. Lol. What I love about this tradition of ours is that so many fantastic memories are on our tree and when I look at it, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. 7. I can pretty much recite the entire poem of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from memory. There's a little bit about me. I hope to hear some fun things about you, Catholic Pilgrims. I'm headed home and this Kansas girl says, "There's no place like home."
During our Bible reading the other night with our son, my husband asked him, “Why do some people, like Zechariah, get punished for asking how something could happen but others don’t? Mary asks how it is that she’s going to be with child and she doesn’t get punished. What’s the difference?” My son sat there for a moment thinking and then he said, “I think maybe it’s about doubt.” “Can you explain?” “Well, some people are like, ‘Oh, yeah, how’s that gonna happen?’ Like they don’t really think it can happen ‘cause they doubt. Mary didn’t doubt, she just wanted to understand how God was going to do what He was going to do.” “That’s a really good answer, Buddy. Can you think of anyone else who gets punished for doubting God’s power?” “Yes, Moses. He saw all these things from God and then he doubted God about the water from the rock.” It’s one thing, Catholic Pilgrims, to ask God how His plan is going to unfold and to ask for the graces to understand. To doubt His power and ability to make something happen is quite another. Trust and have faith that God can do the impossible. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
I spoke a few weeks back about how I had recently made a comment on a pro-life page and ended up being attacked pretty ruthlessly by a number of people. Several men showed up to share their affinity for killing babies in the womb. One guy was interested in killing born and unborn to rid the world of people with "genes like yours." Margaret Sanger would be so proud. Anyway, I told one of the guys who was less insane that it was unbecoming of him as a man to want to "kill as many embryos as he could so that I can't make a difference." Those were his words. "You should use your strength to protect the most vulnerable," I told him. I remember so vividly each time my husband held each one of our children for the first time. Such a proud dad. With a small child in their arms, a man's masculinity is pronounced to the fullest extent because his strength is set in contrast to the most vulnerable. It is his honor and duty to be the protector for mother and child. A man fully comes into his manhood when he is entrusted with protecting those placed in his care and he takes that responsibility seriously. St. Joseph loved Mary. The situation of her being with child through the Holy Spirit before living together was a bit difficult for him to navigate, I'm sure. He decided to not bring shame upon her and divorce her quietly. But, then, he gets his great commission: "Take Mary your wife into your home." "You are to name him Jesus." He was being entrusted with the care of two people--The Son of God and His mother. They were under his protection now. How beautifully he arose--awakened--to the occasion. "When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home." May the men out there, especially the young men, look to St. Joseph as a model of what masculinity should look like. Thank you to those men who use their power and strength for good and who lovingly care for those that rely on them. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo
During my few attempts to read the Bible when I was younger, I loathed the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. Old names upon old names. Who cares?????? As I got older, though, I began to truly value my ancestry. I felt a huge desire to know who my people were and where they came from. I'm mostly Scottish and Scandinavian, or as I say, Viking. 😅 When I learned this, it explained a lot about me. I can be a bit like the female version of William Wallace mixed with Eric the Red. Spicy. Lol. As I explored my history, I was fascinated to learn what I could about my ancestors. I think seeing your line helps you to see how you got to you. What all did it take from my ancestors to get to my point in time? Once I started to appreciate my line, I began to appreciate the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. What it truly shows is God's plan for salvation. For whatever reason, God wanted a story through all these people's lives before Jesus came through the Incarnation. It's a line full of messy lives, but, in the end, it all worked out for our great benefit. I think it also takes reading the Bible to become familiar with the names in the ancestry list in Matthew's Gospel. When you become more familiar, you can then say, "Oh, yes, that person did this. Or that's what happened with them." It makes the picture more clear. I don't mind reading the beginning of Matthew's Gospel anymore because it's the line that led to my Savior. Just as I can know myself better by learning about my family that has gone before me, I can learn more about Christ in the same way. Have a blessed Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
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