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This past weekend at Mass, I got to see a perspective that I’ve never seen before. Because I help teach OCIA and because I’m going to be a godparent for one of the elect, I was standing up front during the scrutinies. The priest had the congregation rise so that we could all say the Nicene Creed. “I believe in one God…” Hearing and seeing the full church rise together and profess our faith from the vantage point of being up front was a very cool experience. The First Council of Nicaea took place in 325 AD and that’s where we got the Nicene Creed. We’ve been saying it since that time. When we lived in Turkey, we used to drive past Nicaea, called Iznik today, pretty frequently when we would go up to Istanbul. Why we never stopped is beyond me. Stupid. This picture is from the shores of the big lake that Nicaea sits by. It’s called Iznik Gölü. I got choked up at Mass thinking of the significance of how what was written so long ago in a different culture, with a different language has stood the test of time. Here we are saying it millennia later on an American Air Force Base in English. It’s our creed, our profession of what we believe as Catholics. “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light…” That’s good stuff, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Wednesday.
Continue ReadingAs the Catholic Pilgrim, I have been in so many Catholic Churches now that I have lost count. I've been in countless across the United States; I've been to numerous ones in Canada, Portugal, Turkey, and the Holy Land. I've spent years visiting all these churches and I'm always anxious to share them with you. Every time I enter a church, I take pictures with you all in mind. I want to bring you beauty and wonder. I want you to see the universality of the Church and it's such a joy and blessing to be able to visit our houses of God. I never tire of it. My favorite is when a church’s beauty literally takes my breath away, especially when I wasn't planning on it happening. There are two churches here in the States that floored me, mostly because I wasn't expecting them to. There have been plenty where I was totally expecting the church to wow me, but these two fooled me. The reason I wasn't expecting that much from them was because their outsides were just...nice. One of them was just...okay. On my 40th birthday, my husband took me to Cincinnati for a one day, overnight trip. The next morning, he wanted to take me to see the oldest church in Cincy, Old St. Mary’s. He knows I'm a sucker for old churches. We pulled up and I was underwhelmed. It's the white church on your left in the picture. I didn't expect much going in, but, boy, was I shocked. The beauty took my breath away and I'm not exaggerating. The second one was The Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. We got up to the outside and it was nice, nothing too amazing, though. Once I was inside, I felt like I was in Heaven. Unreal beauty and that monstrance--my, oh my. As I was thinking about these churches, it reminded me of the Eucharist. The Eucharist just looks like a plain piece of flat bread. It looks like nothing special. But, once you look past the ordinary and see with eyes of faith, it is splendid beyond our imagination. It is truly Christ, the most beautiful sacrificial lamb offered for us. The best part? When we receive the Eucharist in a state of grace, it makes our souls beautiful, too. Have a blessed Monday, Catholic Pilgrims. Tomorrow, I'll show the insides.
Continue ReadingI got my favorite rendering of Christ on the Cross in the mail yesterday. I wanted it for Lent and to be able to meditate on it especially during Holy Week. If an artist does a good job, you will never tire of looking at their work. Yesterday, I talked about old wounds and how they can still throb every now and then. As I was thinking about Christ’s wounds, I realized that our wounds, too, are caused by the sins of others. That seems a bit duh, but it was a really profound moment for me. Even worse, our sins against others are their wounds that they must bear. Each time we sin against others, there are two nails pounded in: One into the person we are hurting and one into Christ. Our wounds inflicted by others can be united to Christ’s suffering and that is the only way to heal from them. We must forgive as Christ did on the Cross. This is how we imitate Him. Our ultimate goal, however, should be to stop driving nails into our fellow man and into Christ. We do this by living out the two greatest commandments: Love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Have a blessed Fourth Friday in Lent, Catholic Pilgrims. *Painting is Christ Crucified by Diego Velázquez, 1632
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