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Yesterday, I watched a video of Charlie Kirk debating a cocky Oxford student on the topic of religion. Charlie always impresses me with his ability to keep calm, especially when the other guy is agitated and loud. Anyway, I won't go into all the details, as the video was rather long, but the basic idea was that non-religious Oxford man was trying to say that orthodox Christians are wrong in how we interpret Scripture when it comes to the sinfulness of homo$exual acts. The guy was trying to say that it was "all a linguistic error," you see. Charlie did a very good job of explaining what the verses actual say, but the guy wasn't really listening. At one point, though, seeing that trying to explain Scripture wasn't working, Charlie appealed to Tradition. This shocked me, as Charlie Kirk is a pretty staunch Protestant. He even acknowledged, as much, in his argument when he said, 'Now, I'm a Protestant, but we have 2000 years of Tradition..." I was like, "Whoa," and kept eating my popcorn with wide-eyed amusement. However, Mr. Oxford Man brushed that off. And then, the debate turned into both men trying to prove whose interpretation was correct. Round and round it went until the moderator cut it off. Charlie is close. So close. What he's missing is that third pillar--the teaching authority of the Church--the Magisterium. Mr. Oxford Guy has no authority to tell anybody what Scripture means. Protestantism lacks the Magisterium, which is why you have hundreds of denominations all saying THEY know what Scripture says. Once you chuck the authority given to Christ's Church by Christ, well, this is the inevitable outcome. As a Catholic, I do not nor should I, appeal to my own authority on interpretation. I should appeal to the authority of the Church given to us by Christ. The Church that canonized the Scriptures, passed on the Traditions when the Scriptures weren't yet compiled, and has authority from Christ. Like I said, he's close. He's got two of the pillars. Let's pray that he, and others in the same boat, find that third pillar, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Thursday. *Pillars are from Laodicea in modern day Turkey
Love, for it to be true, must be like a refiner’s fire. It must help burn off weakness and purge you of sin. If God is nothing more than a distant deity that asks nothing of us, we will never become who He created us to be. If your spouse never tries to raise the bar for you, never calls you out of sin, they do not really love you. Real love cannot stand to see you sink and be stagnant. If a parent refuses to discipline, guide, and lead their children, there is no real love. Parents are called to help “burn” off the selfish inclinations of children and teach them to be productive, caring, giving people. If a friend is fine with seeing you fall into sin, if they encourage sin, or join you in sinning, they do not love you. We have confused in our culture the idea of what love actually is and what it should do. For many, love is blind tolerance to any behavior or belief. However, Love is never indifferent to sin. Love always should call you higher. Love should make you want to be a better person. Love should burn off weaknesses within us. Will we always like to hear that we aren’t perfect people? No. More often than not, it will anger us and cause division. Jesus said as much. However, we cannot expect people who love us to stand by and watch us lose our souls to mortal sin. That would be the most unloving thing a person could do, but we see people do it all the time. True love will and should cause some friction within you, Catholic Pilgrims, as it calls you out of complacency and selfishness into a life of holiness. Have a blessed Sunday.
Today is my favorite Marian Feast Day and this painting is my all-time favorite of Mary. It is found in The Cathedral of San Pedro de Los Milagros in Colombia by Juan de Jesus Munera Ochoa. About a week ago, I was watching a Catholic respond to Allie B. Stucky's attempt to debunk the Assumption. In true Sola Scriptura fashion, she dismissed the Assumption because it's not in Scripture and there is no historical evidence for it. As for historical evidence, well, that's right. There is no tomb, no bones, no body, no nothing. Because...of the Assumption. For all the ridicule Catholics get over their devotion to Mary, one would know that there is no way on earth that Catholics would have let the knowledge of the location of her tomb just fade away like the Beatles on "Hey, Jude." We Catholics are pretty darn good at knowing the location of Biblical people's graves and placing a church over it. So, back to the video. I watched it and I commented, "Well, is there any precedent for people being taken up into Heaven in the Bible? I think so." To this, a guy responded with a very lengthy response about her Assumption not being in the Bible. I responded back, "But, could it be possible? Do we have precedent?" He wrote out another long lecture, but didn't answer my question. So, I asked him to answer my question and he said that he did. He didn't. Then he proceeded with another lecture. Here, I was done, because at the very end of the last lecture he declared that "Catholics were wrong and he knew better because he studied Scripture." Basically, it was the I'm-my-own-pope-and-magisterium argument and when people claim that, well, I'm out, because he has no claim to authority other than his one man show. There is no definitive verse that declares that Mary was assumed into Heaven, this is true. But, there is precedent for it in the OT and it is not outside of God's power. Mary did not ascend by her own power, as Christ did. She was assumed into Heaven--Body and Soul, by the power of God. It makes me so happy to know that Mary did not see bodily decay here on earth. The Mother of Our Lord--the woman whose Body carried Jesus Christ--deserved to join her Son, Body and Soul at the end of her earthy life. What a beautiful grace. Have a blessed Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary, Catholic Pilgrims. Get thee to Mass!
My maternal grandfather served in WW2 in the Army. When I was a little kid, neither one of my grandfathers spoke of their time in the war. It made sense, they weren't going to burden a small child with the horrific things they witnessed. But, as I got older, both of my grandfathers began to open up. At the old country dining room table in my grandparent's home, my grandfather started to tell stories of his time serving under General Patton. At the end of the war, we were surprised to hear him talk about how he liberated a concentration camp. He closed his eyes, as if recalling the scene in his mind. He quietly said through tears, "You just can't imagine the evil that people can inflict on others." Even with all the pain he carried through the years of what he saw and dealt with, he was a wonderful man and a top-tier grandpa. I miss him dearly. We often wonder why God allows evil to exist. It's one of the strongest arguments atheists have against the existence of God. There is no slam-dunk argument to counter it, but I think the answer can be found in Christ and His Saints, like Maximillian Kolbe. Where we find terrible evil, that is where you will find the greatest stories of supernatural love. I only know what light is because I experience the absence of it--darkness. I only know what warmth is because I experience the absence of it--cold. I only know what truth is because I experience the absence of it--lies. I only know what love is because I have experienced the absence of it--hate. If you ever read the book "The Giver," you will understand this better. Now, God didn't want evil to be in this world, but He had to give us free will, otherwise, we'd be robots programmed to "love" Him. As we know, that is not real love. Through our fallen humanity, evil entered the world. It is devastating and tragic. But, when terrible evil shows up, great love always shows up, too: Christ on the Cross, St. Maximillian Kolbe giving up his life in Auschwitz for another man. It is that immense love that moves us to tears, the only way our bodies know how to express such intense feelings of awe and gratitude over people that have the courage to face evil and remind us of what our humanity should look like. The paradox of this life is that we know love because we know the absence of it, Catholic Pilgrims. We know Christ loves us because we understand the evil that put Him to death. Thank you, God, for giving us people that know how to love like Christ. St. Maximillian Kolbe, pray for us!
"Get over yourself and give Christ the Glory He deserves by honoring His Word instead of wasting time on pilgrimages that clearly satisfy the lusts of your flesh." --A Concerned Protestant But...what if...just what if, I meant the pilgrimage of life? Yesterday, I received this piece of advice from a person who has never once taken the time to come to my page and find out about who I am. She saw my page name, the Catholic Pilgrim, and assumed--to assume makes a donkey out of you and me--that I'm just going on pilgrimages right and left while probably getting mega rich. And she'd be right, though not in the way she thinks. When I first started out on this social media journey, I called myself "Passionate Purpose." It was vague, ironically purposeless, and I was often mistaken as a, eh hem, lady of the night. But, then I saw the movie "The Way,” a fantastic story centered around the pilgrimage of walking The Way--the Camino de Santiago. I was a pretty new Catholic and it was the first time I was introduced to the idea of pilgrimage. After watching that movie, I realized that our journey to Heaven is the ultimate pilgrimage. In that moment of realization, I knew that I had to call myself “The Catholic Pilgrim.” I love pilgrimages in the more "earthly" sense of the term, but my goal is never to satisfy the lusts of my flesh, but a desire to satisfy my thirst for God and His Kingdom. As one of my long-time fellow pilgrims said on here, "What is a pilgrimage but a field trip you do for the love of God?" That couldn't be more true and, because of this, I have been richly blessed. My quest for God as I travel through this life seeking beautiful churches, Adoration chapels, shrines of Saints, and places where my Lord actually walked has filled my soul with joy and love. And I love sharing it all with you because I count you all as dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Nearly every day for the last thirteen-almost fourteen years--of being Catholic, I have written about God to encourage others to persevere on this pilgrimage through life because of love for Him. Today, I ask two things of you, my fellow Pilgrims. 1. Please, always represent our faith well and 2. as you know, always live the Faith boldly and travel well.
At 17, I became the one out of a hundred that went astray. There's a lot of reasons for it. I was worldly. I didn't trust God with my happiness. I felt betrayed by God because several terrible things happened to me at the hands of bad guys. I didn't know what to do with suffering. I had been baptized, but my Protestant upbringing gave me no other Sacraments. My level of understanding of God had stalled out at a "Father Abraham, had many sons" VBS level. There's more reasons, but you get the point. So, off I went astray, trying to figure things out on my own. Looking back now, I see very clearly all the ways the Hound of Heaven came after me. He knew my prideful heart needed to be humbled. He knew my intellectual thirst needed to be satiated. He knew I needed the Sacrament of Confession desperately. God found a way to reach me. It took years and years, mind you, but it is fascinating to me how tailor-made my rescue mission was. The thing is, is that God is always coming after us when we go astray. The key ingredient that has to be there is that we must come to a place where we desire to be found and brought back among the fold. God respects our free will, but, thankfully, I do believe that most people get to a place where they do want to be found and loved by God--even if they can't articulate it. And so, Catholic Pilgrims, we must be aware that our voice may be the instrument God uses to help them see that they really do want to be found and rescued. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
I once listened to audio of Bishop Fulton Sheen telling a story about a time he was called to the hospital to see a dying man. The dying man had been raised Catholic, but left his faith behind and bitterness, rage, and hate were all that was left within the man after a lifetime of rejecting God. Bishop Sheen talks about how he went into his hospital room to attempt to get him to confess his sins, but he was yelled out of the room. Time-after-time, Bishop Sheen tried and was met with absolute contempt. See, many people, and I was one of them, think they can set God off to the side and maybe get back to Him once they’ve lived life how they want to live life. However, as I also know, trying to live this way drowns you in shallow waters. You become addicted to finding the next thrill or pleasure to feel happy, but soon that fades. Slowly your heart slips into despair and people that feel despair are miserable, unhappy people. If you’ve set God aside, thinking you’ll come back to Him at the end of your days, you are fooling yourself. Your sunken soul will be so weak and lost that it’s not like it can just flip a switch and be full of light and grace. Instead, that despair will cause you to fight against God even more, just like the guy Bishop Sheen dealt with at the hospital. We must always stand ready to meet our Maker, whether we are a teen, young adult, middle-aged, or a senior. We simply cannot wait to get right with God until after we’ve indulged ourselves in sin. As Jesus tells us, the master will come at an “unexpected day and at an unknown hour.” We must always be ready to meet our Maker with a clean heart and joyful heart, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Sunday. *St. John’s Chapel at Mercy Hospital
A movie I quote pretty much everyday is “Christmas Vacation.” Don’t worry, I watch the edited version now. There’s a scene where Clark has brought his whole family outside to see the house lights. He’s finally got them to turn on and the house is ablaze with white lights. Clark is happily tearful and moves his way down the line of family members, hugging them all. This is something he hopes enhances their Christmas. When he gets to his father-in-law, he says, “Dad, thanks for being here.” His FIL grumpily says back, “Those little lights aren’t twinkling.” Clark through a bit of a disappointed smile says, “I know that, Art, and thanks for noticing.” Why do I bring this up? If someone is trying to share a good thing with you, a happy moment, good news, refrain from making a negative comment. As Christians, we are called to be joyful and grateful. We are, also, called to be aware of the bad in the world so we can combat it. But, if someone is trying to share something positive with you, strive to leave your negative comment in your head. We all complain that there is too much darkness and ugliness in the world, but the second someone tries to share something positive, the Grumplestilskins in the crowd always feel the need to throw cold water on the situation, just like Art. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy the moment. Take a breather from politics for one minute. Be grateful that someone has invited you into a good experience to share with them. Yes, Catholics Pilgrims, not everything will be perfect this side of Heaven. Sometimes the lights won’t twinkle when they are supposed to, but we can still be grateful that they are on and shining for us. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Every morning, I listen to Jeff Cavins give his reflection on the day's Gospel reading. Usually, I take what he says and chew it over in my mind for the rest of the day. A few days ago, he asked a question that I can't stop thinking about. He asked, "Would your old self listen to your new self?" This question was in reference to trying to share the Gospel or the truth of Catholicism with people that are personally close to you. Oftentimes, those closest to us don't want to hear what we have to say, especially when it regards matters of faith. So, I asked myself, "Would my old self listen to my new self?" Old meaning like, life before converting to Catholicism. No. The answer is no. I was a very stubborn woman and, in my younger years, I was a big hot head who thought she knew everything. I'm still stubborn, but I'm less prone to fiery outbursts. However, the biggest reason that I wouldn't have listened is because old me and new me are too much alike--stubborn, quick to fight, not the most patient person, and prone to getting flustered when people just don't get it. I'm better than I was, but these are still my struggles. So, who did the old me--the me before converting to Catholicism listen to when it came to matters of Faith? Well, it was someone very close to me, but he's not like me in the areas that I struggle. It was my husband. He is determined, but not stubborn, slow to anger, patient, and he gives people space to work stuff out in their heads. When we would argue about Catholicism (he's a cradle Catholic), I would dig my heels in, get super mad, and not want to be patient enough to hear his arguments. He, however, just stayed the course and, eventually, I listened. He wasn't a push-over and he challenged me, which is what I needed. It let me know that he was serious. The truth is, though, my way of being would rarely win anyone over to at least hearing me out. It will always be the way of my husband--determined, firm, calm, and patient. I try my darnedest to be more like him. And sometimes, people close to you just aren't going to want to listen to you. That's okay. Pray that someone else can be the voice that they will hear. Have a blessed Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
I saw a woman on a video last week chastising Catholics for being "gatekeepers" with Communion. At one point in her long rant, she said something to the effect of, "We can take Communion however we want. If we want to take it with some Coke and beef jerky, you have no right to tell us we can't." I said out loud to no one, "That's exactly why we gatekeep." After Mass two Sundays ago, my husband and I were having coffee and he said, "You know, I had a profound thought today at church. Jesus tells us to love God with our whole heart, mind, body and soul. What I realized today is that He loves us with His whole heart, mind, body and soul. Not only did He do this on the Cross, but He does it through the Eucharist. This is totally "duh," but it really hit me at Communion today." Even if Communion were purely symbolic--which many believe--it would still be wildly unloving to receive Communion in a nonchalant, I'll-do-whatever-I-want-attitude. Symbolic things attached with great meaning should still be shown respect and honor. What the woman in the video fails to understand is that Holy Communion isn't symbolic for Catholics. By the power of Christ, through the hands of the priest, the bread and wine are changed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. It is no mere symbol, but the Living God given to us in love. We "gatekeep" because the Eucharist is God. Jesus is literally loving us with His complete being; the best we can do is love Him back with our complete being, not treat Him like a snack to have with our favorite soft drink. There is a sever lack of reverence in our world when it comes to the things of God. We cannot properly love God if we view Him and the things connected with Him as ordinary or familiar. Any attitude of "I'll do things how I want" is stunningly unloving. May we always come to Holy Communion to receive Jesus as worthily as we possibly can by being humble, grateful, and reverent, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Monday. *St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Springfield, MO.
You know what is striking in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13? The people--the ones that knew Jesus--clearly were impressed with His "wisdom and mighty deeds" and, yet, they were offended by HIm. They knew He was good, they knew what He was saying was good, and they knew what He was doing was good, but they "took offense at Him." What would they rather? For Jesus to be stupid and do bad things? Ahhhh...maybe. But, why? Well, because then they could gossip about HIm. "Do you hear how Mary's son is messing everything up? Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Sure am glad I don't have to deal with all the trouble He's causing her." But, also, because they wanted to think they were better than Him. We all like that deception especially when it comes to people we know well. It's pride and it's envy. You would think that they would be so happy to see Jesus doing mighty deeds and speaking with wisdom. These are good, honorable things. Instead, they take offense. This is a tale as old as time. So, we must be aware of two things: 1. Don't take offense when someone is growing in wisdom and goodness. Don't get envious when people do good deeds. There is not a limit on wisdom or good works. You can do them, too. Let the person be an inspiration to you, not an offense. 2. Know that if you try to walk that Narrow Way, people will be offended because...forgive me for quoting a Taylor Swift song, but "people throw rocks at things that shine." Keep walking that Way anyway, because their offense is their problem, not yours. You don't need honor from them. Wisdom, goodness, and good deeds are all things we should delight in, Catholic Pilgrims, whether they come from us or others. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
Now with the power of AI, when a famous celebrity dies, we are inundated with AI-generated pictures of that person entering Heaven with a bevy of other famous people there to greet them. Recently, there have been a slew of these depicting Ozzie Osborne entering Heaven and other heavy metal rockers are there to greet him. I have no idea if Ozzie is in Heaven or not. I, also, have no idea about those other rockers. Our eternal judgment is the domain that is left to God alone. However, there are two things that I find curious. 1. We as humans like to declare that all people we like are in Heaven and all people we don't like aren't. While I have no idea the eternal resting place of many of the deceased rockers I've seen in these pictures, there are quite a few that I know did not live with God in mind--at all. It is dangerous to lead people to believe that literally everyone ends up in Heaven especially if you like or love them. Or just want them to be. It's dangerous because it sets a tone that there really isn't anything required of you to get to Heaven. This isn't true. Jesus says in our Gospel reading today, "The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace." Some do go to Hell by their own choosing. Who exactly? I'm not privy to that and neither are you. However, it's dangerous to set the tone that, no matter what, everybody just ends up in Heaven. 2. In all these AI-generated picture, one thing, rather one Person, is missing. I wrote in the comments to one of these pictures of Heaven, "Where's Jesus?" In all these pictures, it is extremely rare to see Jesus standing there to greet the person into Heaven. He is utterly absent 99.9% of the time. Heaven is depicted as just the place where you get to hang with your people again. I get that to an extent. Yes, there are people I look forward to seeing again in Heaven--hopefully. There is nothing wrong with looking forward to seeing your loved ones. Being with Jesus in Heaven often seems like an afterthought to many, but it should be the highest of desires, Catholic Pilgrims. This picture I have shared is the ultimate goal. Have a blessed day.
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