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For most of my life, my grandparents had a big garden. Whenever we would go and visit in the summer time, we always had to take a garden tour and see what my grandpa was growing. My grandparents lived in a tiny Kansas town and these were the kind of things you did when you visited: Tour the garden, go for a drive, have tea on the patio, check out my grandma’s flowers, and feast on delicious food. Simple things that mean even more now that I’m older. My grandparents are gone now, but they left their mark. The past several years, my siblings, my mom and I share pictures of our gardens. We all live in different environments, but the need to garden is basically ingrained in us because of my grandparents. My sister, who would probably admit, never had an ounce of interest in gardening for most of her life, now has a thriving garden. My brother has found a way to make it work in Colorado with raised beds. My mom recently moved and now has space for a huge garden that rivals my grandparent’s. And me, well, I’m limping along out here in the desert, though I do have an indoor hydroponic garden that gives me herbs. 😂 Today is St. Isidore’s feast day, patron saint of farmers. Reading about him today made me think of my grandparents and the way they passed on their love of tending the earth to so many of their grandkids and my mom. There’s something about being good stewards of the land and growing your own food that grounds you. Pun intended. The most beautiful thing to me, though, is that my grandparents live on through us as we garden and try to imitate them. Have a blessed Thursday, Catholic Pilgrims. St. Isidore, pray for us!
For the past two years, my oldest has been serving as a Focus missionary at Berkeley. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous to have her go there, but we can’t shy away from going into places where Jesus is needed most. Rhianna has always been up for a challenge and has never been one to shy away from the hard things. It has been incredible to watch her and her team work so hard to help students grow in relationship with Christ and each other. Dustin and I have had the privilege of hosting some of those students at our home and it has been a blessing for us. To know my Rhianna is know that she thrives on human connection. Focus gives her ample opportunities to connect through coffees, Bible studies, mission trips, late-night talks, grocery store runs, spontaneous picnics, and retreats. I know she has planted many seeds, and I know, that God has blessed her immensely through the people she has met. Her time at Berkeley ends today. As a military brat, she knows moving and leaving very well. It’s always sad to leave behind friends and places, but duty calls elsewhere. Rhianna will now be the team director for the Focus missionary team at the Air Force Academy. I can’t think of a better fit for her. She grew up living the Air Force life, she’s knows the lingo, the lifestyle, and she’s high energy. So, she and my mom are rumbling down the road to the next mission field. Please pray for their safe travels. As we sing in the Air Force…”Off we go, into the wild blue yonder..” 🎶🎶 Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims.
It took me years into my conversion to Catholicism to invite Mary into my faith life. After converting, it wasn’t that I was against her, it’s just that having a relationship with the Saints felt foreign. Growing up Protestant, I was never taught to have relationships with the Saints. Mary is really only mentioned at Christmas. You are taught that you don’t “talk” to people in Heaven because that’s “talking to the dead.” Well, except your grandparent who is now “an angel” and who you ask to watch over you. That’s fine. So, I just didn’t know how to invite Mary into my life. My early attempted conversations with her went something like this: “Hey, Mary. How are you? Good? Cool. So…thanks for being Jesus mom. K-bye.” Through the years, I’ve learned to naturally bring Mary and other Saints into my faith life. As baptized believers, we make up the Body of Christ. A body’s parts are connected. To cut off body parts from other body parts means to sever a once working relationship. Then, the body doesn’t work properly anymore. The Saints are still a part of the Body of Christ and they are the healthiest parts of the Body. It makes no sense that God would cut us off from each other. My conversations with Mary go more like this, these days: “Mary, I’m struggling right now. I feel impatient and grumpy. Would you please pray for me?” Today, we honor Our Lady of Fatima, Catholic Pilgrims. Here is the beautiful church at Fatima. Like a good mother, Mary often comes to warn us and encourage us to draw closer to her Son. That’s what she wants more than anything—a world united in love for Jesus. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
The priest at Mission San Diego said something interesting yesterday in his homily. “The early church had to work out fully who Jesus was. How crazy was it that God would become one of us? Or vice verse, it’s crazy that a human was also God. Many couldn’t get this and so Jesus was merely an amazing man. But, if you only ever know Jesus as a great guy, nothing much will change in your life. However, if you fully embrace Jesus as the God-man, everything changes in your life.” He concluded that people still try to do this with Jesus today: “He was a wise sage.” “He was a social justice champion.” “Jesus didn’t resurrect actually.” “Much of what Jesus did was symbolic.” “Yes, He resurrected, but He definitely didn’t come up with the Eucharist. That’s a bit much.” In all these ways, people are trying to make Jesus simply human, because Jesus being human is easier to get our minds around. We try to limit God. The more people try to do that, the less and less Jesus transforms their lives, until, He fades and nothing changes. Jesus is fully God, fully man. When you trust in that and fully embrace ALL His Divine teachings and ALL His miracles, well, everything changes for the better. Life the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims. *Mission San Diego
I was watching a video yesterday where a Christian conservative was debating a college student who was an atheist. They were supposed to be debating whether college was scam these days or not. The atheist couldn’t stay on topic and kept throwing out non sequiturs. His reasoning was that college wasn’t a scam because Jesus was a scam. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. He kept asking the Christian questions about Christianity and whenever the Christian would try to answer, he’d get out maybe three words before being interrupted. The college guy sat there smirking, shaking, and interrupting. The whole conversation was utterly fruitless. Today, in our first reading from Acts 8, we hear about the eunuch who was reading Isaiah. Philip comes up to him and asks him if he understands it and the eunuch responds with, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” What a truly humble response. I’ve always been so impressed with the humility of the Ethiopian eunuch in realizing he doesn’t know everything. It’s refreshing because we see so little of it these days. Everyone thinks they are an expert in everything. Few people listen to understand. And when it comes to Scripture, far too many think they are Biblical scholars and have all the answers. The atheist in the video kept throwing out questions about Christianity but he wasn’t willing to listen to the answers from a Christian. His snobbish pride left him looking like a fool. Back when I was arguing with my husband about Catholicism, I’d frequently throw out challenges to him. As he’d begin to answer, I’d cut him off and tell him what Catholics believed. He finally got fed up and calmly said, “Amy, don’t ask me a question and then cut me off. You aren’t Catholic, so don’t tell me what we believe. Either listen to me or don’t ask your questions.” I felt like such a fool and I shut my mouth. The eunuch’s approach is one of humility and it is a good lesson for us all, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Thursday.
We aren’t the ones who elect the pope, Catholic Pilgrims. But, whether you are the laity, part of the clergy, or a Religious, we do have a job in this Conclave. It is our job to pray. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide our Cardinals as they discern our next earthly spiritual leader. Don’t pray stressed. Pray, instead, with trust that God will never abandon us and that, no matter what, His Church will stand until Christ comes again. Let’s pray boldly and with great Faith. St. Peter, pray for us!
In the early years of our marriage, whenever Dustin and I would get into an argument over Catholicism, I was always the angrier one. Even though I was wildly ignorant about Catholicism, I thought I knew it all. I’d yell at Dustin and always try to raise my voice to drown out his words. I’d cut him off as he was trying to explain why my arguments against Catholicism were wrong. I was trying to not let his words fall on my ears. The crowd stoning Stephen in our reading today from Acts 7, behaved just like me. As Stephen was trying to teach them about Jesus, they “cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him.” It’s the covering of the ears part that is so telling. It’s an attempt to protect your pride by not allowing the truth to penetrate you. It was hard for me to hear my husband prove me wrong. Everybody wants to believe that they are always right and it kills us to hear someone correct or admonish us. Most often, those that scream, yell, cover their ears, and seek to silence others realize they don’t really have the truth or moral upper hand on their side. However, they can’t stand the thought of examining themselves and considering a change of thought. When you won’t do this, bad things always happen, like Stephen getting stoned. Thankfully, my husband got through to me and once I actually listened, he gave me the keys to unlock the beauty of Catholicism and eventually come home. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting is of St. Stephen. It’s in a Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Istanbul.
I was telling someone the other day that I come from a generation where I can distinctly remember life before the internet and social media. They asked me, "Do you like now or then better?" "Then, for sure. Life was much simpler and not as distracting. Everywhere you turn now, someone's trying to make you mad or trying to cause fear." The Conclave to elect our new pope starts tomorrow. Since Pope Francis died, all forms of media have been in full-up distraction mode. Each day, there is something put out there to get us anxious, mad, or fearful. I'm not here to talk about all the tackiness and the sensationalism of it all. Quite frankly, I find it boring and just exhausting. It's all just so mind-numbingly ridiculous and it won't matter one bit six months from now. I'm not interested in wasting energy on any of it. Let's just have peace, Catholic Pilgrims. Peace of spirit. Peace of mind. Peace in our prayers. The devil wants us, as Catholics, to lose our peace over all this and it's just not worth it. Let's trust in the Holy Spirit to guide the cardinals and tune out the side-show circus all around us. What is needed right now is a laser-focus on lifting the cardinals up in prayer as we trust in God's Divine Providence. Have a blessed and peaceful Monday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Over the years, while hugging one of my children, I'll ask them, "Do you know that I love you?" Thankfully, they always answer, "Yes." I asked my son this not that long ago and after he answered, I had a follow up question, "How do you know that I do?" He said, "Well, you teach me. You make me yummy food. You read to me. You give me hugs. You come watch me play sports." I smiled and said, "I'm glad those things make you feel loved. I would do anything good for you to make you feel loved." "Like play Monopoly everyday?!" "No, not that." "But you said anything good! And that's my favorite game ever and you only play it on my birthday." "Momma ain't got time for that never-ending game." Lol. I noticed that my son didn't say, "I know you love me because you tell me." He knows in the ways that I show him through my actions. Jesus asks Peter in our Gospel reading today if he loves Him. Peter says that he does. But, after each response from Peter, Jesus tells him to do something. "Feed my lambs." "Tend my sheep." "Feed my sheep." It is not enough to just say that we love someone--words are easy to say. The way we prove our love is by showing up through our deeds--in our service to each other. I've always told my kids, "Words and actions must align. If someone says they love you but their actions consistently are neglectful, hurtful, or disinterested, their love is not sincere. You know that your dad loves me because he not only says so, but he shows me. Always look for that consistency and be consistent yourselves." It is the same with our love for God, Catholic Pilgrims. If we love Him, our actions should show it. Have a blessed Sunday. *St. Vincent's in LA
When I was at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs for my talks this past weekend, I got to meet some wonderful ladies. In some way or another, the ladies were connected to the military--either they were active duty, active duty dependents, those who've retired from military life, and even a few moms whose daughters were connected. I'm telling you, if you wanted a cool story there, you needed to talk to the older ladies. Over lunch and dinner, I got to hear tales of adventure and courage that were amazing. One women's husband was active duty, but she was also a contractor for the government. She traveled all over the globe, usually into dangerous places. She did whatever it took to find Mass no matter what country she was in. She told us this one story, of how she discretely asked around in the markets for the location of Mass and one person told her, "Once the sun goes down, go out into this field, walk past the old gate, beyond that you will see a tree, head that direction and you will find the Mass." She did it, all by herself, and participated in a secret Mass in some obscure field. Story after story, several ladies wowed me with their bravery and spunk. I found that through giving them space and time to tell their stories, they blossomed. There's a song called, "Where Rainbows Never Die" and part of the lyrics say: "I'm an old man now, I can't do nothing Young folks don't pay me no mind But in my day, I sure was something Before I felt the heavy hand of time" My dad says this is so true. As you age, people stop seeing you and wanting to hear your stories and wisdom and, boy, does my dad have some amazing stories. In a culture that idolizes youth, we neglect the people that can give us the most insight. We don't even consider that older people have some pretty amazing stories to share that can teach us a lot or even inspire us. One of the ladies said to me, "God gives you a certain amount of time here on Earth and there is so much to soak up and see, to experience. My guardian angel has worked over time, but I can't just sit around and not see what the world has to offer!" Live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims. *Picture is of the mule deer at the retreat center.
Whenever my husband is mentoring younger military guys, he usually gets around to asking them what they want to do with their life. What are the goals they are reaching for professionally and personally? Most have no answer. They hem and haw around and usually offer something that sounds like a beauty pageant answer: "I just want to make the world better." My husband always presses in and says, "That's not an answer. How are you going to know what to do with an answer as vague as that?" Then it usually comes out that they have no idea what they want to do. They are just floating along and don't really have any kind of vision for their lives. If my husband has learned that they have a wife, he always tells them, "Go home tonight and ask your wife what she sees you doing. Ask her what potential she sees." They always give my husband a curious look, but Dustin will tell you that nine times out of ten, they call back the next day to tell him that was the best conversation they've had in a long time. Dustin will also tell you, that after that conversation, their careers usually take off. I asked him in the car recently what made him start telling these guys to talk to their wives. He said, "Well, women hold the key. A good woman has an incredible ability to unlock a man's potential. If he can see his potential through her eyes, he will be unstoppable." "Too many men lack confidence in themselves. They think they aren't worthy of going for a certain dream, so they don't try. But, when they ask their wives or girlfriends what they see in them, most likely, she will explain to them the potential she sees. It's like a magical gift women have--if you raise the bar for us and show us what we can be, we want to strive for that." "When these guys go home and hear what their wives see in them, all of a sudden they have a purpose and mission, because she gives them confidence. If a woman thinks you are worthy of something or if you are good enough to do something worthwhile, noble, or challenging, listen to her. She often sees what you can't." Ladies, what a beautiful gift we can give to our husbands and, men, go ask your wives. Have a blessed Wednesday.
When leaving California for Colorado last Friday, my plane was on the runway next in line for takeoff when the captain came on and said, "Well, folks, Denver just went on a ground stop for at least an hour, so we are on hold until we hear back from them." Immediately, everyone gave audible groans. The lady next to me got very upset. She snagged a flight attendant walking by and asked if she could get off the plane and go get another flight. The agent told her not at this time as we were sitting on the runway. The lady was ticked and quickly dialed a family member and started cussing up a storm about the situation. We taxied back to the gate and they allowed us to get off for 30 minutes if we wanted. I chose to get off and stretch my legs. When it was time to board again, I got to my seat, saw my grumpy row partner sitting there, and, smiling, I said, "How are you doing?" "Oh, I'm okay, I guess." We preceded to have a conversation and soon she was showing me pictures of her grandkids. When the other row partner sat down, he joined our conversation and soon all three of us were joking and laughing. As we took off, the lady who had once been grumpy grabbed her pillow and said, "Yep, I just try to take things as they come." Then she fell asleep. On my way back from Colorado, I was talking to a gate agent about something and she was clearly irritated. She wasn't super helpful and wasn't listening that well. As I was waiting to get on the flight, I stood right near her counter and could hear her conversations with each person coming up for help. Her responses were snippy and a bit strained with irritation. Once the line was gone, I turned and looked at her. She looked about to burst. I smiled and said, "Deep breaths. You got them all through the line." She actually took that deep breath, relaxed a bit, and said, "It's just been a bit overwhelming." Then she smiled for the first time. I smiled back, "I'm sure, but you've got this." It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own world and our own problems, Catholic Pilgrims. Sometimes all it takes to help someone is just to notice them. As Christians, our eyes should be looking for opportunities to connect with people and offer them charity even in the smallest of ways. Have a blessed Tuesday.
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