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"The Bible says, 'In praying, don't use vain repetitions as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking.' Catholics are praying vain repetitions when you pray the Rosary." Heard this one before? I'm sure you have. About 15 years ago, I was completely devastated by some news within my larger family. One morning, I couldn't stop crying and I tried to formulate a prayer, but I couldn't. So, I just said over and over again, "Jesus." I feel asleep saying repeating Jesus' name. Anytime I give a talk, I get a little nervous, so as I'm on my way to the talk, I pray many times over, "Holy Spirit, keep me calm, keep me clear." This always stills my heart and helps me relax. After I receive the Eucharist, I pray three times, "Stay with me, Lord." This is a repetitious prayer. Even though I am repeating myself, none of these prayers are in vain. Vain, in the context of what Jesus is speaking about, means "useless" and "producing no results." The reason Jesus was saying this is because the Gentiles said repetitious prayers to pagan gods and, as we know, pagan gods don't exist. So, praying to Zeus or Athena was vain--useless--because they weren't real. When Catholics pray the Rosary we are saying repetitious prayers, this is true, but they aren't vain. The "Our Father" is a prayer we repeat at least six times and that is a prayer that Jesus gave us. Hardly vain. We pray the "Glory Be" at least six times and that prayer gives glory to the Blessed Trinity. Hardly vain. We pray the "Fatima prayer," which says, "Oh my, Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy." Straight up prayer to Jesus. Hardly vain. Then, the "Hail Mary." The first part of the prayer are the words of St. Gabriel to Mary and the words of St. Elizabeth to Mary--scriptural texts formulate the prayer. The second half of the prayer is asking for her to pray for us. While we are praying these prayers, we are meditating on Christ's and Mary's life through different mysteries. Repetition is not, in and of itself, bad. It is never vain or useless to pray to Jesus or the Blessed Trinity. It is not vain to ask the Mother of God to pray for us while we meditate on the life of her Son, Who she desires us to love more than anything. Today, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Catholic Pilgrims. May we pray a beautiful, fruitful, efficacious, repetitious Rosary today. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
There are many in the Christian community who don’t like Catholics’ devotion to Angels and Saints. Some tell us our practices are pagan. Some find it unnecessary and a distraction. Some repeat over and over that there is only one mediator between God and man—Jesus. Some tell us that we are practicing necromancy. All of these thoughts misunderstand, of course, Catholicism and are an ignorance about Catholics relationship with Angels and Saints. We don’t believe the Angels and Saints are gods to be worshipped like the One True God. We don’t believe that you have to have a relationship with them in order to be saved, but we do believe they are a great help given to us by God. We agree that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Having a relationship with Angels and Saints doesn’t usurp that role just as having relationships with other Christians doesn’t usurp that role. Necromancy is the attempt to conjure up the dead to obtain information from them. This is strictly forbidden in Catholicism. We are allowed, however, to ask those who are alive in Heaven to pray for us and to ask our guardian angels to guide and protect us. The whole of Christian life is not meant to be reduced down to a private, “personal relationship with Jesus.” Baptized Christians are a part of the Body of Christ and we are meant to be in communion with each other. This includes those in Heaven—the Triumphant. It also includes the angels for, as Scripture shows over and over, they are given to us to help us. As a parent, I don’t just demand that my kids only have a relationship with me. I want them to have healthy relationships with other family members, friends, other church members, teachers, and coaches. Why? Because all these people can help them in some way and strengthen them. We have hope that God will give us everything we need to get to Heaven. Angels are one of those helps. St. Bernard of Clairvaux said angels were “proof” ‘that heaven denies us nothing to assist us.” God gives us many wonderful and holy helps, Catholic Pilgrims, to assist us on our pilgrimage through life. Thank God for the help of the Angels. Have a blessed Feast of the Holy Angels!
This past Friday, our bishop was on base for the Sacrament of Confirmation. His words in his homily really made me reflect on my path to my own confirmation. As many of you know, at age 17, I left God behind. This happened because of a series of devastating events and I thought the logical solution was to abandon God since I thought He had abandoned me. So, I stopped going to church, my Bible was shelved completely, not that I got it out much before my great self-inflicted exile. I didn't pray. I did participate in a Bible study with my friends in college, but I was a big hypocrite. I lived how I wanted, yet thought of myself as a good person. I still called myself a Christian and defended Christianity in my college classes, but I was not following Jesus at all. Then, I started dating a lukewarm cradle Catholic, we fell in love, gave no thought to our religious differences, got married and began the great tug-of-war to decide if we were going to be Protestant or Catholic. After the birth of our firstborn, all of a sudden, religion mattered. During this time, I fought with my husband as he explained Catholicism, but it was more of a wrestling with God--much like Jacob wrestles. After eight years of wrestling, I desired more than anything to become Catholic. The bishop this past Friday said, "When you receive the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, if you have received Him in the right disposition, the transformation in you will be so great that you will not be able to contain the love you have for God. You will most necessarily have to spread the message of Jesus to the world." Of course, because I'm a big weeper, this made me cry. I think back to who I was before my confirmation and who I am now and it is a night and day difference. I'm not a perfect follower of Christ, but I want to be and I want others to know Him and love Him. It's why I write here nearly everyday. I'm truly sustained by the Holy Spirit. I have known life apart from God where I was just wandering around aimlessly. I know it is a shallow, sad life. The best way to live is to take Jesus up on His words to "follow Me." Follow Him fully, follow Him faithfully, and your life will bear much fruit. Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Theresa, pray for us!
HEY!!! (said in loud infomercial voice) Are you looking to improve your evangelism skills? Well, folks, you've come to the right place!! Listen, I've got a book called, "Tips and Secrets of Online Evangelism: Ways To Be Wildly Ineffective" that is gonna help you take your skills to a lower level. Just a few topics covered are: 1. Learning how to use all CAPS!!!! You may not have a bullhorn, but using all CAPS says, "THIS IS IMPORTANT!" and "IF I SAY THIS IN ALL CAPS, IT MEANS THAT I AM RIGHT!" 2. Repetition. This is where you learn to just repeat the same thing, no matter what your interlocutor says. For instance, no matter what they say back to you, just type "IDOL WORSHIPPER!" Do this over and over again and you'll have people on your side in no time, or not, but it requires little effort on your part. Don't forget the CAPS! Pro-tip: Sending a slew of links to videos that no one is going to watch is super ingenious, as well. 3. Refuse to stay on topic. The goal here is to not really engage in meaningful debate, but, instead, have the person you are trying to evangelize run around collecting red fish, if you catch my drift. With these and other great tips, you will be on your way to evangelizing no one, but instead just being massively annoying and getting yourself blocked. So, order now, by calling 1-800-BEA-GONG and get started on going no where TODAY! A little Friday sarcasm, Catholic Pilgrims, but with the intended purpose to remind us all that we are meant to be salt and light. When we seek to evangelize, let us be intelligent, mindful, clear-headed, sincere, and, above all, not annoying. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Friday!
There have been two people in my life who I have hated. I wanted them to burn in hell and be tortured by the demons for all eternity. Oh, how the thought of them suffering immensely consumed my thoughts. I would daydream of one day being in Heaven and looking down gleefully at them burning and be filled with satisfaction. And this, Catholic Pilgrims, is what hatred of others does to us. We even imagine ourselves relishing destruction of others in Heaven. Heaven--a place of perfection, all-consuming love, and joy. It is wild to me that at one time I thought hating people would 1. still allow me entrance into Heaven and 2. be an activity I would carry with me into Heaven. Overtime this hatred distorted me and made me ugly. I lashed out and raged against people--even people I claimed to love. I became more selfish. Even though I assumed I was going to Heaven, I dropped my relationship with God. Because really, how can you have a relationship with God when you are fantasizing about the eternal destruction of people? I'll be the first to tell you, you can't. Once the burden of this hatred became more than I could bear, I knew I needed help. It started with converting to Catholicism and going through my First Confession. That moved into learning from my patron saint, St. Maria Goretti. I was strengthened with the Eucharist and when you receive Love Himself, you can't help but surrender to His Will. His Will for me was to drop the hatred and pray for the two guys that had caused me so much pain. I had to will their good which was repentance and to find a relationship with Jesus. And...I had to desire that they find their way to Heaven. That was the toughest thing to surrender to, but with God's grace, I have been able to do that. If left to me, I would still be seething with rage and hatred for them. If we want to find true satisfaction in this life, if we want to be joyfully exhilarated by life, and if we want to be warmed with God's love, we cannot hate people, Catholic Pilgrims. As we read in the Book of the Prophet Haggai, "Consider your ways." Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday. *The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM
Yesterday, my husband had a special stand-up ceremony for his work. I wish I had pictures because it was out by the flight-line in an old hangar. I promise you all that my hubby is working so hard to make sure this country is safe. Anyway, after the ceremony, I was talking with our priest. He'd come out to give the invocation. We got on the topic of marriage and he was talking about how important it was for spouses to work as a team. At some point, I said, "You know, Father, I truly believe that women set the standard for a culture. If women set a high bar, men will rise to it. What's happened in our culture is that, in general, women either 1. set a low bar and don't elevate men or 2. they make men feel like they can't ever reach a high bar." A little bit later on, I was talking with a civilian that my husband works with and he was complimenting my husband and said, "That guy is really going places. I'm excited to see where he goes in his career." Smiling, I said, "Oh, I know. I've been his biggest fan for a long time now and I know just how amazing he is." Since early on in our marriage, I've told my husband that he's gonna be president one day. He always rolls his eyes and tells me I'm crazy. Maybe he will or he won't, but the point of me telling my husband that is because I want him to know that I have that much confidence in his abilities. I want him to know how much I believe in him. I've always known his incredible potential to sometimes do seemingly impossible things. Sadly in our world, social media is a breeding ground for spouse bashing--mostly by women. These women tell the world that their husband will never be good enough. Spouses are to be a team, supporting and building each other up, always calling each other to growth and holiness. A spouse that is well-loved and supported will be such a force for good in this world. So, build your spouse up, Catholic Pilgrims. See your spouse as God sees your spouse--a treasure for you to love with all your heart and soul. Have a blessed Wednesday.
I was thinking about the Saints the other day and how amazing they are. Each Saint that I've learned about has their own temperament, quirks, likes, dislikes, etc. They aren't carbon copies of each other in personality. They aren't all exactly just like St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Or they aren't all just like St. Padre Pio. The reason that they speak so much to us is because they are uniquely them. What they do all share is how they lived out God's Will for the their life, but that's done in a thousand different ways: Some are hermits, some are TV evangelists, some are cloistered nuns, some are great missionary explorers. And, naturally, some speak to us more than others. What I've noticed in all my time of doing this here online is that there are wide swaths of people that want all Catholics to look, act, and evangelize in exactly the same way, no matter if you are a man or a woman. Just all be the saaaaaaaame. You don't get made into a Saint that way. God made us unique. I am Amy and if, by God's grace, I become a Saint, I will be different than any other. I have a bit of a fiery temperament that leans heavily towards justice. I've gotten better over the years at learning to hone my personality for the good, but I'm always still going to be Amy. There are people that run pages where they are gentle, uplifting, peaceful, and calm. I'm glad there are these kinds of pages, because this speaks to a lot of people and it's needed. There are people that need that kind of messaging in their lives. We all do at some point, so I'm glad there are people that have this kind of temperament. But, this page will never be that and, if you expect me to be, I will disappoint you. It's not that I think gentleness and peacefulness are bad by any stretch of the imagination. They are wonderful and good things. However, I don't feel called to be a messenger in exactly those ways. Like I said, I have to hone the temperament that God gave me, yet still be me, Amy. Do not demand that Catholics all be exactly alike. We are called to be Saints, not clones, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Tuesday.
One of the worst parts about terrible sins is that even after they are confessed and forgiven, the residue of them in your mind can still be hard to handle sometimes. The devil loves to use even forgiven sins against you. Because, it's not like we forget our terrible sins once they are forgiven. We have no mind eraser. Another really bad thing is that those who know your worst sins, many times, won't ever see you as anything but those sins. I have such sins. They lie dormant in my mind and then, without any prompting, there they are in my mind and the thought of them can bring me so low. "Look who you used to be. That kind of ugliness is in you." These are the things that run through my mind. It's hard to shake. Today, in the Gospel, we read about the "sinful woman" who is anointing Jesus' feet. She's brought her confession to His feet and she's weeping over them and kissing them in repentance. The Lord sees her contrite heart and says to her, "Your faith has saved you, go in peace." The Pharisee who is hosting Jesus for dinner can't see this woman's repentant heart. To him, she will always be just the sinful woman and he will never let her forget it. That's how the devil operates, as well. When I have those moments, where the dark parts of my past creep up, there is a moment when the thoughts win, but by God's grace, I find a way to always turn back to Christ, Who loves me forever and ever. The door I always go back and open is the one that leads me back to the feet of Jesus and there I find reassurance and peace. "Never let your past sins be an obstacle between you and Jesus. It is a ruse of the devil to keep putting our sins before our eyes in order to make them like a screen between the Savior and us." --Father d'Elbée Instead, Catholic Pilgrims, know that "He has wiped them out; He has forgotten them. His blood has been shed; the flames of His mercy have done their work." Have a blessed Thursday.
I don't know when it occurred, and maybe it was a culmination of things, but somewhere along the way, enough people decided to turn Christianity into a low-bar social club. "You're alright, I'm alright," became the mantra. Like with anything that has a low bar, it might seem fun at first, but after a while you start to think, "What's the point?" Mass or going to Sunday service became optional. Being with Jesus in the trees is equivalent. Nobody is allowed to point out sin because that's mean. Just keep it calm, keep it nice, don't ask too much, just believe, it's fine, all's fine. With this, cheesy Christianity set in because everything was just about "go make a difference" with your tambourine. What we've seen with the low bar and the cheese factor and the calls to just be nice is that people drifted away, because what is the point? What is the point? Nothing is inspiring about anything that is casual--nothing. Casual has no fire, no bite, no fight, no answers. It's just--"Hey, meh." And I hate it. I despise the casual-fication of Christianity. Nobody is going to stick around for something that asks nothing of them. Why would they? This past Sunday in my OCIA class that I help teach, the main teacher said, "If you are looking at Christianity as just some feel-good thing, you might as well just turn around and leave. It's not that. When lived right, it will ask something of you." He's right. Christianity is about sacrifice, discipline, obedience, and spiritual warfare. "Pick up your cross and follow Me." Christianity sets a high-bar for us--Sainthood. There is no Saint that just casually staggered towards salvation. I need to be prepared for the spiritual battles and I simply cannot do that just hugging trees and singing "Table of Plenty" and only ever quoting "be nice" from the Bible, though that isn't in there. I just simply can't be equipped to battle a fallen world with a casual basket of wet, cheesy noodles to arm myself with. Accept the challenge of a life lived to the fullest in Christ, which asks us to surrender our lives not to our wills, but God's Will, Catholic Pilgrims. The true path to salvation will never be casual, nor should we want it to be.
I will unite around: Christ and Christian doctrines. Objective Truth. Truth that comes to us from natural reason and, also, from supernatural revelation. Beauty that elevates the soul. Goodness that brings lasting joy. Families. Repentance. Marriage between one woman and one man. Denouncing evil and its destructive forces. Love of America. Virtues--Courage, Justice, Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, etc. True Freedom, which is the freedom to choose what is right and not just do whatever you want. Our unalienable rights--Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are the things I can unite around. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
The other day, I was watching a video where a man was asking other men on the streets to prioritize their female relationships. He said, "Which relationship has the highest priority? Wife, mom, or daughter." Not a single guy said "wife" first. One even said something like, "Daughter, mom, and wife last because she's replaceable." The truth of the matter is that none of these people are replaceable. No one that you claim to love is replaceable and if you view your spouse as replaceable, well, then you never loved them in the first place. A man is to leave his father and mother and cling to his wife. It is his wife that he makes a covenant vow with and no other. Children are the product of that love. People leave their parents to go start their own family. Children grow up and move on and start their own families or enter religious orders. The spousal relationship is meant to endure until death do you part. There is a reason that you take a vow with your spouse--it's because you are not bound to them by blood, as you are a parent or a child. When you view a spouse as replaceable, as someone that could just be cast aside and discarded, you are not prioritizing your children. You are breaking their foundation apart. One of the reasons we are all mourning so much over Charlie Kirk is because we realize his irreplaceability for his wife, Erika, and, also, for his children. Someone can marry again after death, but the goal isn't or shouldn't be replacement, because spouses aren't replaceable. God, spouse, children, parents. If you love with your priorities right, it all works. You must love God first and that love allows you to be fruitful, faithful, and true to your spouse. Loving your spouse well means you are loving your children well, because if you don't put your marriage as a top priority, your children will have a broken, unhealthy home. Then, as a united family, you can enjoy, cherish, and love your parents/grandparents and honor the gift of life they gave you. So, love your spouse, build your family to serve and love God, and recognize that those you love are never replaceable. Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
The other day while teaching my son religion, we were reading where St. Paul said that Christ crucified was a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness for Greeks. I asked my son why he thought the Greeks thought the Cross was foolishness. "Well, probably because people died on it." "That's right. The cross was an instrument of death and torture, but for Christians its a symbol of our Salvation. We wear a symbol of death, we have crosses and crucifixes all over because the Cross is where Christ displayed the immensity of His love to us." Honestly, nothing has changed, Catholic Pilgrims. Many people still see the Cross as foolishness. They can't understand it because they don't truly understand what Love is. Love is never inward focused. It isn't just about feelings. Christ showed us that love requires sacrifice; there will be suffering accompanied with it. To a secular world that distorts love into nothing more than sensual good feelings, the Cross seems foolish. Christ on the Cross teaches us that we must lay down our lives not for ourselves, but for the good of others--to save others from death and destruction. From a purely natural perspective, this makes no sense. But, the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is not natural, it's supernatural. If you only see with natural eyes, supernatural things will make no sense to you. Today, we celebrate The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. When we look to the Cross, may we always see Love, Victory, and Salvation. Have a blessed Sunday. *Statues found at Mission San Gabriel in LA
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