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Yesterday, my husband and I finished our 33-day reading of this book and prayed the consecration prayer at the end together. If you would have told me when Dustin and I were dating that one day we would consecrate ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist in a small Blessed Sacrament Room on base, I would have looked at you with utter confusion. For one, I wasn't Catholic. For two, I had no idea what the Eucharist was so why would I be consecrating myself to it? For three, I didn't see the importance of faith in the married life at that time. I thought our romantic love for each other would be enough. I would have thought you were saying I'd turn into some hokey-pokey weirdo. However, God's ways are not our ways. Now, I have been Catholic for 13 years. Now, I know that the Eucharist is everything and that I will never exhaust my ability to be in awe and wonder at the miracle of Christ in the Eucharist. Now, I have seen Dustin and I realize that a marriage needs God at the center. The Eucharist is the food for our married life together. At the beginning of this book, Matthew Kelly says, "What is the difference between the people who have left the Catholic Church over the past thirty years and those who have stayed?" The answer: "Those who believe don't leave." Those who believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist don't leave. And I'd add, those outside the Church who come to believe, can't become Catholic quick enough. That was me. The second the Eucharist clicked in my brain, I needed to be Catholic that instant. It was a desire like I've never known. To loosely quote Flannery, O'Conner: To Hell with all this symbolic nonsense. No army of demons could keep me away from becoming Catholic, because it is in the fullness of the Catholic Church that I can receive the Eucharist and there is nothing more important that Jesus truly present on our altars and offered to us in Holy Communion. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingYesterday, I was listening to an episode from Trent Horn’s podcast. He was critiquing an impromptu debate between Michael Knowles (Catholic) and Charlie Kirk (evangelical Protestant). I respect both men a lot. At one point, Kirk says, “Your goal should be to bring people to Jesus not Catholicism.” This shows Kirk’s severe lack of understanding of the Eucharist. Why do I want people to be Catholic? Because of Christ fully present in the Eucharist. Even if Kirk doesn’t believe in the Eucharist, he knows devout Catholics do. If we do, he should be able to reason that we want people to be Catholic so that they can experience Divine Communion with Christ and fully receive His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. We aren’t looking for people to have a symbolic communion but a real one. This is not an either/or situation. I want people to be Catholic so that they can receive Christ in the Eucharist. There is nothing on earth greater than this and I can’t get the Eucharist in a Protestant church. Christ in the Eucharist changed my life, He continues to change my life. We are abundantly blessed to have this most precious holy gift, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
Continue ReadingWhen my husband deployed, I went home to Kansas so that I could be near family. Oh, that was a long six months. Four days before his scheduled return, my girls and I loaded up our car and drove east. As my dad said goodbye, right before he shut my car door, he smiled and said, "Go get your man." Oh, I was on my way. Nothing can try your patience like a deployment, but those days leading up to them coming home is pure torture. The day of his arrival, he was scheduled to get in at 9:00pm. I dressed up as cute as possible. But, then, I got a message that it would be 10:00pm. Then 12:00am. I about died. The pain of that wait was excruciating. The final time was 2:00am. I don't know what the plane was doing. Making laps around the North Pole, I guess, but that wait about did me in. Finally, I got to the Baltimore Airport, found my way to the military area, and hurried myself and my daughters inside. There was a crowd of people waiting for their loved ones. After what seemed like eons, each airman made their way through the automatic sliding doors. They came through ONE. AT. A. TIME. With each opening of the door, you could feel the anticipation build as each family waited to see if it was their loved one. The second--the nano second--I caught a glimpse of Dustin at the door, I ran. I jumped into his arms right in the door opening and he had to drag me to the side so others could come through. Oh my heart, it was complete joy to hug him again. That deployment purged me of a lot--selfishness and ingratitude are top of the list. When I think of the Catholic teaching of purgatory, I always think back to Dustin's deployment. Purgatory is a time of cleansing of stains of sin. It purges us of those sins that we struggled to let go of in this life. It makes us ready for Heaven. It's painful, yes, but the souls in purgatory know that Heaven awaits. I imagine that they wait like I did at that airport door with anticipated joy for a chance to run to Christ. Deployment made me a better wife. Purgatory makes us ready to be Saints in Heaven. The beautiful thing is that the pain is worth the joy that awaits. Have a blessed Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
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