June's female voice for the "Why I Love Being Catholic" series is totally awesome because, like me, she is named Amy. All people named Amy are automatically awesome people, right? Amy is the founder of the website prayerwinechocolate.com. She is just an awesome woman who writes a lot about her journey of adopting three beautiful children. Besides sharing the same name, we have a few things in common. She is from Philadelphia and back in 2015 she was present for different events for the World Meeting of Families. I was there, too, though we weren't acquainted. You'll love hearing about the places she has visited. We, also, both want to go to Italy. Really, though, who doesn't?

Amy recently published a journal for young teens. I bought it for my 13-year old daughter and it really is a wonderful book. The middle school age range often gets forgotten and her journal book focuses on helping them discover their personal uniqueness and gifts. I highly recommend it. I, also, highly recommend following Amy on any one of her platforms. She is a sincere, genuinely beautiful soul and I'm so happy to feature her. I'll link all her social media platforms at the end of her interview.

‍1. Are you a cradle Catholic or a convert? If a convert, from where did you convert?

‍I am a cradle Catholic. Both of my parents were cradle Catholics, as well.

‍2. Who is your favorite saint and why?

‍This is a tough one, but I would say, Saint Therese of Lisieux. I love how her novena states, "Please pick me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me as a message of love . . ."  I truly believe she has sent me many roses and prays for me when I ask her to. I almost called my blog "Raining Roses" because she truly sends them to me! I ended up picking a different name because that domain was already taken! I do have to say, though, I am growing extra fond of St. Therese's mother, Saint Zelie, lately, too. I noticed how much she loved her husband in a letter she wrote and I prayed to her once about my marriage. The immediate answer to my prayer told me she is a great advocate and intercessor for married people in heaven!

‍3. What is the best Catholic place you've visited and where do you hope to visit?

This is another difficult question because I can think of many!  A few years ago I was able to see the Pope when he visited my hometown, Philadelphia, PA.  For his visit, the cathedral built a "Knotted Grotto" (https://www.instagram.com/p/8TK3-1TFTU/?taken-by=prayerwinechocolate) because Pope Francis is devoted to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots. That grotto was made up of prayers from so many people - and when you went in, you were encouraged to untie the knot of someone else's prayer, pray for that person and their intention, then tie it somewhere else so that it remained in the grotto. There were blank strips of cloth for each visitor to write a prayer intention (or intentions) on and tie somewhere in the grotto. The idea was that a perfect stranger would come across your intention, pray for you and do what you did for someone else during your visit. Pope Francis went in the grotto on his visit and blessed it. I thought that was really cool. I think another reason this visit was so special to me was that I went there with my sisters - my youngest sister is my god-daughter and I snuck a pic of her looking for someone to pray for. https://www.instagram.com/p/8TLMuCzFUA/?taken-by=prayerwinechocolate

I am going to cheat a little on this one and name a few more. I am very lucky to have lived in Philadelphia until I was 19, and now I live right outside of it. When I was about 15, my dad took us to the Miraculous Medal Shrine in the Germantown section of Philly. This shrine is beautiful and offers many altars and smaller shrines to kneel and pray. What I loved, at that point in my life, was the pads of paper there with intentions you could check off and leave on the altar. One intention was "Catholic boyfriend" and at the time, I really wanted a boyfriend. I checked it off and left it there. I loved that that was even written. I loved leaving that physical note to God. I found myself going there on my own as I grew older and finding comfort that when I physically left, my prayer intention was still there. I loved that they prayed the novena every hour on Monday and before beginning the novena, the priest would read "favors granted" to the congregation. People would write what prayers were answered and leave those on the altar, too. That gave me hope and I often need that!The last place I'll mention is the National Shrine to St. Katharine Drexel. Sadly, this shrine closed this past year. St. Katharine Drexel served the Black and Native American communities in the United States when most of the country neglected those groups. Katharine Drexel was a member of one of the wealthiest American families in the mid-20th century. She gave that up to become a nun and founded her own order--The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The shrine was on the grounds of the Motherhouse. Seeing where she lived, worked, prayed and was buried was really a beautiful experience. Before it closed, the Sisters hosted an event where the people who benefited from her miracles spoke. These were the miracles that allowed her canonization. I attended the event as part of a shrine tour I did for my blog one summer and wrote about here if you are interested! http://prayerwinechocolate.com/hear-listen-understand-st-katharine-drexels-prayer-for-america/

‍Where do I hope to visit?  Italy!  I want to visit Assisi, Siena and perhaps Rome - although Assisi is my first choice.

‍4. Besides the Eucharist, what if your favorite part of the Mass?

‍Honestly, I really love the readings and the Gospel.  And, if it is a good homily, I love that part.

‍5. What's a myth or misconception you often hear about the Catholic Faith? What's the truth of it?

‍That the Catholic Church just "made something up." It hurts my heart when I hear that. I have often wondered why we believe something. Years ago, I found myself searching why we believe in many things because I have a very close friend that is a born-again Christian.  Her mother was a Catholic but left the church to be "born again."  Both of these women are incredibly in love with Jesus Christ. They are good Christians. My friend and I would get into deep conversations and I wanted to make sure that I was Catholic - not because I was baptized as a baby and my parents were, but because what the Church teaches makes sense. So, I read some books and found some great explanations of our beliefs and how they could be found right in Scripture. I love the beauty of our faith and that, when researched, shows incredible intellect.

‍6. Why do you love being Catholic?

‍My faith has been such a comfort to me so many times in my life. I loved when I was going through some tough times in my early 20's that I could go to Mass before work and hear the priest say, "My parents loved me sooooo much, but that love does not compare to the love our Father in Heaven has for us. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love Him." He said it with such conviction. No matter where I go, there is a Catholic Church nearby that I can go to and feel like I am a little closer to God. I love the sacraments and the reverence that is given to them.  Although I don't "love" going to confession; I see the opportunity to perform an act of humility and I see the gift of grace that can be received if I go with a pure heart. I love Pope Francis and how he demonstrates Christ's love and always asks others to pray for him. I love that there is so much more to learn about our faith which has such deep roots in the faith of Judaism. I love that I am encouraged to foster and nourish a relationship with not only Jesus but others who loved Him so greatly and now pray for us in Heaven.