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Hello, fellow pilgrims! My name is Amy Thomas. In 2009, I converted to Catholicism and I started writing to share the Faith. I’m a military spouse and my lifestyle has afforded me the opportunity to travel all over, exploring Catholic places. I have since expanded my writing to include a podcast and videos. My goal is to travel with fellow pilgrims and help them to discover the richness of the Catholic Church and grow closer to Christ. If interested in having me speak at your event or ask me a question, please click below.
One time in high school, my teacher had to put me out into the hallway to cool off after I'd gotten in a heated debate with a classmate over whether or not we should be allowed to burn the American flag. Her flippant attitude about the topic and her lack of gratitude seared me with righteous anger. Standing out in the hallway that day, I realized that passion for what is good will always be met with selfish, indifferent attitudes. Then in college, many times, I would be the only person standing in defense of Christian conservative beliefs. It never failed, though, that after class people would come up to me and tell me that they agreed with me. They just lacked the courage to speak up. I learned in college that courage is a virtue for a reason--it's hard to live out. Virtues require effort and sacrifice. Today, we mourn and honor those that lost their lives on 9-11 and we, also, mourn the loss of a courageous man, Charlie Kirk. For far too long, we've been told to tamp down our passion as patriots for our country. For far too long, we've been told to just be door-mat Christians. For far too long, we've allowed cowards to tell us that standing for what is right makes us _________________(enter a derogatory label). I'm just sick to death of it all and I'm angry. The tide must turn and we need courageous, passionate people to step up. I'm a proud American. I'm an unapologetic Christian. I'm a conservative who knows that there is right and there is wrong and it's not that hard to figure out which is which. In honor of those Americans that lost their lives for being American and for Charlie Kirk, who lost his life for being a Christian conservative, we need to step up our game. The angry and sadness you feel, channel that into being a great American citizen. Channel it into going to church and knowing and living out your Faith. Channel it into conserving your traditional family, your heritage, and the truth. We seriously owe it to those that we remember today, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingAfter visiting St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in NYC, my husband, son, and I took a walk in the nearby park--Fort Tyron Park. We found a quaint cafe to have lunch in and afterwards went to explore the rest of the park. We came to an enchanting area with stone nooks to read in, yellow leaves were falling, and we could look out over the Hudson River. This four-seasons gal drank it in. Have I ever told you about how I'm not a desert dweller? Anyway... All my life, I've heard people talk about the Palisades, but I was too lazy to figure out what they were. However, I have finally learned. The Palisades are the shear bluffs that line the Hudson River on the New Jersey side. Rockefeller purchased this land long ago to keep it from being developed and eventually donated the land to the state of New Jersey. Today, it is a park with lots of hiking trails. So, as we were looking over at the Palisades (yes, there are some in California, too), we noticed a big building up on the top. You can see it in the picture--the orange-ish building. My husband and I were curious as to what it is, so we looked it up. Well, it's the Holy Name Medical Center and it has the Sister Claire Tynan School of Nursing there. It's a very prestigious nursing school. The plot thickens, though. As you all may remember, I was born in a Catholic hospital--St. Joseph's in Wichita. It was founded by The Sisters of Saint Joseph. Recently, I found out my paternal grandfather was born in a hospital in his small southeastern Kansas town and, it too, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Well, I'll give you one guess as to what order Sister Clair Tynan belonged to. That's right! She belonged to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Just another example of how St. Joseph has been ever present in my life lately. Even the building I'm staring at across the Hudson River has a connection. Hope you enjoyed that history lesson, Catholic Pilgrims. Our Catholic Faith is everywhere. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday.
Continue ReadingBefore I started reading St. Frances Cabrini's letters on Season Five of my "Journeying with the Saints" podcast, I reached out to the three St. Frances Cabrini shrines here in the States. There is one in NYC, one in Golden, Colorado, and one in Chicago. Wonderful places, all three of them, though I have yet to lay eyes on the Chicago one. Julia from the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine offered to talk to me on the phone about Mother Cabrini and so we connected up. Julia provided me with wonderful information and gave me helpful insight into Mother Cabrini's spiritual life. This past Friday, I got to meet Julia in person when my family visited the shrine in NYC. We talked like old friends, I shared what I learned through reading her letters on my podcast, and she gave my family more interesting facts about Mother Cabrini. All-in-all, it was such a wonderful visit. Julia said to us, "Mother Cabrini had fears. We all do. She shows us that if you focus on doing God's Will, you can overcome your fears. God is not going to call us to a life of comfort. We are meant to get out of our comfort zone. Jesus will never ask you to be comfortable. We are supposed to live boldly and that's what Mother Cabrini did, she lived boldly." That was so impactful to me, because my motto here is "live the faith boldly and travel well." Boldness, courage, and fortitude are all part of the Christian life. Yes, we all have our fears, but we must ask God for the grace to carry on anyway. When we do, Catholic Pilgrims, we will be equipped to do amazing things, just like Mother Cabrini. It won't be exactly in the same way as her, but it will be in our way with our God-given talents and gifts. It was such a pleasure to meet Julia and I had to smile at how St. Frances Cabrini brought us together. That's what the Saints do--they connect those with a love for Jesus in wonderful ways. So, be sure to visit the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in NYC if ever you are there. Julia and her staff do a great job of honoring the life of the first American citizen to be canonized. St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us!
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