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Well, it's Friday, Catholic Pilgrims, and you know I like to be a bit more relaxed on Fridays. So, here are some Christmas-themed things about me! 1. My favorite Christmas movie is "White Christmas." I wanna dance in the pink dress worn by Vera-Ellen, because the "best things, happen when you're dancing." 2. My favorite non-religious Christmas song is the "The Christmas Song" sung by Nat King Cole. 3. My favorite religious Christmas song is "O Holy Night." 4. My favorite Christmas dessert is one I can't have anymore. Growing up, my grandma used to get these iced sugar cookies from a bakery in her hometown. They are the best sugar cookies, hands down. The icing was perfect smoothness and the cookies were buttery deliciousness. I'm gluten-intolerant so I can't have them anymore and I think the bakery is gone now, but sometimes, I dream about those sugar cookies. 5. One of the best presents I got back when I was young was a silver trumpet. I wanted one so badly because I was planning on being in the K-State marching band and you have to have a silver trumpet. I was so excited to see one on Christmas morning. I played three years for the K-State marching band and those were some good times. I played at the Fiesta Bowl, Alamo Bowl, and Holiday Bowl, marched through Disneyland, had a battle of the bands on the Midway aircraft carrier, played in Chief's stadium, sweated it out in August and froze in November. I loved being a band nerd. 6. Our Christmas tree is filled, and I mean filled, with ornaments from all the places we've visited as a family. Usually, the only souvenirs we buy when we travel are ornaments. That was quite the challenge in Turkey because generally they don't celebrate Christmas. A lot of magnets got turned into ornaments. Lol. What I love about this tradition of ours is that so many fantastic memories are on our tree and when I look at it, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. 7. I can pretty much recite the entire poem of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from memory. There's a little bit about me. I hope to hear some fun things about you, Catholic Pilgrims. I'm headed home and this Kansas girl says, "There's no place like home."
During our Bible reading the other night with our son, my husband asked him, “Why do some people, like Zechariah, get punished for asking how something could happen but others don’t? Mary asks how it is that she’s going to be with child and she doesn’t get punished. What’s the difference?” My son sat there for a moment thinking and then he said, “I think maybe it’s about doubt.” “Can you explain?” “Well, some people are like, ‘Oh, yeah, how’s that gonna happen?’ Like they don’t really think it can happen ‘cause they doubt. Mary didn’t doubt, she just wanted to understand how God was going to do what He was going to do.” “That’s a really good answer, Buddy. Can you think of anyone else who gets punished for doubting God’s power?” “Yes, Moses. He saw all these things from God and then he doubted God about the water from the rock.” It’s one thing, Catholic Pilgrims, to ask God how His plan is going to unfold and to ask for the graces to understand. To doubt His power and ability to make something happen is quite another. Trust and have faith that God can do the impossible. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
I spoke a few weeks back about how I had recently made a comment on a pro-life page and ended up being attacked pretty ruthlessly by a number of people. Several men showed up to share their affinity for killing babies in the womb. One guy was interested in killing born and unborn to rid the world of people with "genes like yours." Margaret Sanger would be so proud. Anyway, I told one of the guys who was less insane that it was unbecoming of him as a man to want to "kill as many embryos as he could so that I can't make a difference." Those were his words. "You should use your strength to protect the most vulnerable," I told him. I remember so vividly each time my husband held each one of our children for the first time. Such a proud dad. With a small child in their arms, a man's masculinity is pronounced to the fullest extent because his strength is set in contrast to the most vulnerable. It is his honor and duty to be the protector for mother and child. A man fully comes into his manhood when he is entrusted with protecting those placed in his care and he takes that responsibility seriously. St. Joseph loved Mary. The situation of her being with child through the Holy Spirit before living together was a bit difficult for him to navigate, I'm sure. He decided to not bring shame upon her and divorce her quietly. But, then, he gets his great commission: "Take Mary your wife into your home." "You are to name him Jesus." He was being entrusted with the care of two people--The Son of God and His mother. They were under his protection now. How beautifully he arose--awakened--to the occasion. "When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home." May the men out there, especially the young men, look to St. Joseph as a model of what masculinity should look like. Thank you to those men who use their power and strength for good and who lovingly care for those that rely on them. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo
During my few attempts to read the Bible when I was younger, I loathed the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. Old names upon old names. Who cares?????? As I got older, though, I began to truly value my ancestry. I felt a huge desire to know who my people were and where they came from. I'm mostly Scottish and Scandinavian, or as I say, Viking. 😅 When I learned this, it explained a lot about me. I can be a bit like the female version of William Wallace mixed with Eric the Red. Spicy. Lol. As I explored my history, I was fascinated to learn what I could about my ancestors. I think seeing your line helps you to see how you got to you. What all did it take from my ancestors to get to my point in time? Once I started to appreciate my line, I began to appreciate the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. What it truly shows is God's plan for salvation. For whatever reason, God wanted a story through all these people's lives before Jesus came through the Incarnation. It's a line full of messy lives, but, in the end, it all worked out for our great benefit. I think it also takes reading the Bible to become familiar with the names in the ancestry list in Matthew's Gospel. When you become more familiar, you can then say, "Oh, yes, that person did this. Or that's what happened with them." It makes the picture more clear. I don't mind reading the beginning of Matthew's Gospel anymore because it's the line that led to my Savior. Just as I can know myself better by learning about my family that has gone before me, I can learn more about Christ in the same way. Have a blessed Tuesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Yesterday at church, my son was altar serving. As the three altar servers made their way down to kneel, one of the boys grabbed the bells and my son and another boy grabbed their kneeling pads. I thought to myself, "I wish Jeremiah had grabbed the other boy's. I'll be sure to remind him." But, as the boys knelt down, the other one with the kneeling pad put it down in front of the boy without one. I was so touched by his charity, especially since the floor is concert with just a thin carpet over it. But, then, I saw the bell boy, remove it and just lay it aside, as if to say, "If you're not going to use it, then neither am I." I've seen him use it before when he brought it himself, so I know it wasn't that he's against it. My heart felt a little pained for the boy who had tried to give a gift. I don't think the other boy was trying to be malicious, in fact, his intention was probably a good one. Still, though, to have your gift denied always stings a bit. We do this with Christ all the time. How many of us deny Christ's gifts of the Sacraments because we feign humility? “Oh, no, I'm not worthy to partake." That's the thing with a gift, though. Maybe you aren't worthy, but the gift-giver still wants you to have the gift. To add to that, how many of us deny Christ's gifts of love and mercy because we don't think we deserve it, or others deserve it more, or we think that we'll let God give it to someone more worthy? The truth is that everything Jesus gives us is a gift: His sacrifice, His love, His mercy, Himself in the Eucharist, His forgiveness in Confession. These are all gifts. We didn't earn them, we aren't worthy, but He still wants us to have them. So, don't set them aside. Accept the gifts Christ gives you with a humble heart and be grateful. It makes Him so happy to have you receive them, Catholic Pilgrims.
One of the most difficult things about me, and one that most people dislike very much, is that I will exhort people if I see that you are doing something wrong. Nobody likes this in our “don’t judge me” culture. Heck, I struggle when people try to exhort me. We all struggle with being called out. I’ve been called out at different times and in different ways by my sister, brother, mom, dad, husband, children, and followers. Initially, I buck against it because nobody wants to hear that they aren’t perfect. Eventually, though, I see that they are correct in their assessment and I work to change. We have to be willing to hear some uncomfortable things about ourselves or we will never grow, we will never get better. Yes, yes, it’s always true that we need to work to remove the plank from our own eye before noticing the speck in others. People are quick to point this out as a way to shut down hearing that they could be doing something better. It’s the ole self-preservation technique. However, we all need a John the Baptist in our lives. We need someone who cares enough about the state of our soul that they are willing to take heat to hopefully wake us up or break through our self-preservation barrier. Since I don’t like hearing that I’m wrong, I sometimes take the initiative and ask my husband if there’s anything I can work on, much like the people in our Gospel reading from Luke. They ask John the Baptist what they need to do and St. John tells them straight up—get your souls right. “Exhorting them in many other ways…” Luke 3:18 Again, during Advent, we can offer things to God as we prepare for Jesus’ birth. One thing we can offer is a soul ready to hear a few exhortations; a soul that is interested and open to growth and transformation. We all need a John the Baptist in our lives, Catholic Pilgrims. People who love you should actually care about the state of your soul and we should be grateful that they do. Have a blessed third Sunday of Advent.
There is rarely a day that goes by without me telling someone about my kids. Especially now that two of my children are out of the house, I feel even more compelled to bring them up. Mostly because I miss them and they are always on my mind. Both motherhood and fatherhood are indispensable and each parent brings a unique perspective on how they describe their children and what they have to say about them. A mother, though, because she bore her children in her womb and her body sustained their life while they grew and developed has the most unique perspective of all. And because she labored to give them birth, she is so very proud of the fruit of her labor. At the moment of motherhood, a good mother seeks to let the world know about her children. She wants them to shine instead of her. She would take any pain they have if she could. She would do anything to let you know how much she loves them. If you asked me about my children, I would go on and on. I'd tell you about their goodness, their talents and gifts, their funny moments, what I miss about their younger years, and how proud I am of them. I'd rather talk about them than me, because my love for them simply spills out of me and it's hard to contain. If you want to know about a person, ask their mother. Mary always points to her Son. Because of her perfect pureness and her complete alignment with God's will, she shows up in different places and at different times, not for her own fanfare, but to draw people to her Son. She loves Him and she wants you to know and love Him, too. Today, we celebrate The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where Mary's appearance converted over a million people to the Catholic Faith and brought them to the heart of her Son. If you want to know a person, ask their mother. Have a blessed day! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Several years back, I was home in Kansas during the summer. I drove my cousin and daughter out to tend to horses on the back country roads of my town. After dropping them off, I decided to go another way, because I wanted to go through town. The road I chose was the road where one of my high school boyfriends lived--the really bad guy. As I approached his old home, I slowed to a stop and just sat there looking at it. You know that scene in “Forrest Gump” when Jenny finds herself standing in front of her childhood home where she had been abused? And she starts throwing rocks? That's a bit of how I felt that day. The house was abandoned, given over to nature. It looked like nobody had lived there in years. Not that it ever looked good, but time had done its job of decay. I sat there in my car for a long time. I thought about the girl I was back then. I thought about how even the house showed the state of my old boyfriend's soul. I thought about the burden I carried for so long trying to deal with all the pain and anger I felt. I thought about how chaotic my soul felt and how little peace I knew. Initially, it was my pride that made me think that I could deal with the sins that were inflicted on me--mostly because I thought God had abandoned me. Who else was going to deal with things but me? Eventually, I drove away. The memories were dealt with and, a part of me, buried them for good that day. Maybe I needed to see that home just to see how far I've come. The only reason I've come far is because I finally went to Christ. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." With a humble heart, I finally took on Christ's yoke instead of the world's yoke and that has made forgiveness and healing easy. Christ's yoke has made my soul light again. This Advent, I pray, Catholic Pilgrims, that you bring your hurt and pain to Christ and give Him your yoke in exchange for His. It's sounds crazy to say that any yoke could lighten your soul, but Christ's can and does. Have a blessed Wednesday.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Mary's Immaculate Conception is the idea that she was sinless by her own power. This couldn't be further from the truth. People get so upset when you mention the fact that from the moment of Mary's conception, she was free from the stain of Original Sin and she was kept from sin her entire life. Her soul was and has always been immaculate. In some way, people think this takes away from God. How could it? It was by His grace and the pre-applied merits of her Son that this was her reality. Yes, Mary still needed a savior. This shows God's power and His plan--The Son of God should enter the world through a spotless, perfectly pure womb. This doesn't diminish God, but instead is another piece of evidence of His awesome power and might. We should be so grateful that Our Lord grew in the womb of a perfect woman. It is so fitting that He should have resided there before His birth. Honoring Mary's Immaculate Conception is to honor her as the holy woman chosen to carry Jesus. It is, also, to honor God's perfect plan of preparing a woman of purity to be the mother of Our Savior. Have a blessed Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, Catholic Pilgrims. Though it is technically on December 8th, the Church moved it to today as it fell on a Sunday. Get thee to Mass! *Side altar is found in the Cathedral of St. Augustine in St. Augustine, Florida.
On Monday, I got a phone call pretty early in the morning from a number I didn’t know. It was a California number, but it wasn’t close. Hesitantly, I answered. A nice women, through broken English, was saying that she had a delivery for me. But, she couldn’t get through the base gate, so could I meet her? My spidey senses went off and I immediately thought, “This is a scam.” I hung up. She quickly texted and said she had some flowers for me and wanted to meet me at the visitor center right outside the gate. I began my interrogation, “What shop are you from?” She told me and I looked to see if it was a real place nearby. It was. Still suspicious, I wrote back, “Who bought me the flowers?” She wrote, “I don’t know, but they said this on the card:” ‘Congratulations on finishing Season Four of your podcast. 143.’ As soon as I saw the 143, I knew immediately who it was—it was my hubby. That’s his code for “I love you.” I agreed to meet the lady at the gate. I called my husband and told him what had happened and how I had interrogated the poor lady. He laughed and sighed, “That’s my Amy.” He apologized for not realizing that they couldn’t get on base and that I had to drive a good distance to go pick up my gift. He said, “Well, that didn’t turn out as I planned.” I assured him that it was not a big deal and we laughed about how living in the middle of nowhere complicates things, even attempted romantic moments. I got my flowers and they are beautiful. I apologized to the lady for asking so many questions. She understood. There is not much in this life that “turns out as we plan,” Catholic Pilgrims. There’s something beautiful in the way things play out. Oftentimes, it’s in the play out of things that laughs come, stories are made, and the give and take of life unfolds. All this to say, trust God with the details, don’t fret about control, and be willing to travel to get your own gift. 😅 And…not every unknown call is a scam. 😉 Have a blessed Thursday.
A few mornings ago, my son was looking through my yearbook from my senior year while I was getting ready. Laid out on my bedroom floor, flipping through the pages, he said, “I can’t find you.” “Bring it here.” He brought it to me, I opened to the page I was on, and pointed to my picture. He didn’t say anything for a bit and then commented, “That doesn’t look like you.” I sighed, “Yeah, I know.” If anybody saw the picture, they’d know it’s me. Yet, I can see the sorry state of my soul in that picture. My son must have recognized it, too, without really knowing what he was recognizing. Yesterday, I told you all about the elderly women in the video I commented on where she is yelling for abortion “rights.” The instant I saw that video, I was moved with pity for her. Decades of advocating for the death of the unborn has manifested itself outwardly. You can see the bitterness and hatred in her countenance. I was telling my husband about all this on the phone last night and he said, “It’s the Darth Vader effect.” “That’s so true.” “When you give into evil the state of the inside of you manifests on the outside.” That’s what I see when I look at my old high school senior picture. It’s not that I was evil or advocating for evil things, it’s that I was full of bitterness and hatred for two guys who had been in my life. Hatred for them consumed me. I can see it in my eyes. There’s no joy there. Just like the old woman had no joy. Jesus today is by the Sea of Galilee in our reading from Matthew and He is moved with pity for the deformed and the broken in the crowd. He heals many of them. When I see my old self, I am moved with pity. When I saw the elderly woman, I was moved with pity, because hatred of a great good—unborn babies—cages your heart and cripples you. Even hatred for anybody, even those that hurt you, stunts your soul. It suffocates all joy. Only Christ can free you of that grip and heal your wounded heart, Catholic Pilgrims. Life the Faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday. *picture from the Sea of Galilee
I commented the other day on a reel that showed an elderly woman vehemently yelling about how “we aren’t going back” in reference to Roe being overturned. She was so angry, so bitter. Her advocacy for killing unborn babies had manifested itself externally and there was not an ounce of joy within her. I was so sad for her. To be so near the end of her life and to still be so determined to advocate for killing unborn babies is tragic. Where she should be cuddling and spoiling sweet babies, it is a tragedy to see grandma-aged women so hateful over babies in the womb. I was compelled to pray for her all day yesterday as I can’t imagine the grip around her heart. Anyway, under my comment, I was lashed out at by many people. One guy told me that he was going to “destroy as many embryos as he could so that I can’t make a difference.” Another lady expressed that “a fetus isn’t a human” and that’d she kill any fetus if she got pregnant. One lady told me to “pray to get a backbone so that you stop unholding a patriarchy that hates you.” When my husband and I were dating, we lived together and I—surprise, surprise—became pregnant. Neither one of us were living out our faith. I was scared to death. It was my senior year of college, we weren’t married, I was embarrassed, we had no money and I wasn’t ready to be a mom. Sobbing through tears, I showed Dustin the pregnancy test and he smiled. “Why are you smiling?!” I exasperatedly asked. “I’m sorry, I know you’re scared, but I just can’t be sad about a baby.” And then he hugged me and told me we’d figure it all out. The patriarchy that the woman speaks of is real and abortion is a dream for the bad men that comprise it. Abortion allows bad men to use women for sex, get them pregnant, and then force/demand/encourage getting an abortion so that they have no responsibilities. Then they go on to scar another woman. It’s also a rapist’s and incestual predator’s dream: Get rid of the “evidence.” Sadly, this woman thinks she’s fighting against the patriarchy, but she’s actually helping them through her support of abortion. A good man doesn’t even see abortion as an option, but instead loves the baby he has helped create and vows to take care of the woman. I regret my response to finding out about my oldest’s life, but I’m grateful her father smiled at hearing about her. Twenty-three years later and she continues to be a joy to our lives. May we welcome new life, Catholic Pilgrims, even when we are scared and unsure of what the future may bring. Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
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