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One of the surest truths of life is that you will at some point be hurt by another human. No one escapes this. There are different responses to this hurt. One is to become bitter. Another is to guard your heart and not really let anyone in. And yet another is to close in on yourself. The bitter person turns right around and seeks to hurt others which is ironic. They desire revenge. The stone-hearted one attempts to love with just a portion of their heart. Their lack of trust leaves them and everyone around them starved for love. The closed-in one never flowers into who God created them to be. They cradle their victimhood like a security blanket. I read this in "The Diary of a Country Priest" yesterday: "I believe, in fact I am certain, that many men never give out the whole of themselves, their deepest truth. They live on the surface, and yet, so rich is the soil of humanity that even this thin outer layer is able to yield a kind of meagre (sic) harvest which gives the illusion of real living." If we live that way, we can never be Saints. To be a Saint, we must allow God to make us become fully alive. We have to love even when it hurts. We have to use our gifts and talents to the full extent. We have to give of ourselves knowing full well we won't always get a positive response in return. We might be able to fake the "illusion of real living" through busyness and mindless entertainment, but we will feel the weight of a meager life lived only on the surface. What I love about the Saints is that they gave their whole self, dug deep into the soil, and were fully alive. At the end of their pilgrimage through life, they could say my favorite verse: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 So, live the faith boldly and travel well this Wednesday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingMy oldest daughter, who is a Focus missionary, recently came back from SEEK 2025. She remarked, "In my opinion, the most beautiful part of SEEK is always the Mass, especially seeing the hundreds of priests there ministering to the thousands and thousands of students, missionaries, and families." Each time she's been to SEEK, she brims with joy when she talks about seeing the long, long line of priests process in for Mass. The other day, I was reading St. Frances Cabrini's words for my podcast. She was writing after many days on a ship heading from France to NY. At one point she says, "When we arrive on land, we shall look for a priest at once." The reason? She wanted Holy Communion. That got me thinking about one particular Mass in Ohio that moved me to the point of tears. There surrounding the altar were several priests, a deacon, and eight altar boys. It was such a stunningly powerful image. I cannot spiritual live without priests. The power invested in them by Almighty God to change mere bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord is supernatural. I need priests and you do, too. Why does my daughter get overwhelmed at the sight of hundreds of priests at Mass? Because she recognizes the immense sacrifices they endure for us so that we can have Christ in the Eucharist. Why did Mother Cabrini need to find a priest immediately upon landing? Because no one else could give her Christ in the Eucharist. Why did I get choked up seeing men and boys on their knees around the altar while the priest elevated the consecrated Host? Because the gravity of what God is doing through the priest is just incredible. Thank a priest when you get the chance, Catholic Pilgrims, and pray for them. If you are a priest reading this, thank you for feeding your sheep with the Bread of Life.
Continue ReadingMy husband talks pretty frequently about how authentic love must necessarily involve sacrifice. “If it doesn’t, it’s nothing more than self-serving emotions, which is why you see so many people abandon those they claim to love. Once it stops feeling good, people jump ship because they don’t want to sacrifice.” It’s no different with Christ. If we cannot sacrifice one single thing for Christ, our claims of love are empty and meaningless. If we can’t sacrifice one hour on Sunday… If we can’t sacrifice giving up bad entertainment that we like… If we can’t sacrifice rooting out our favorite sin… If we can’t sacrifice our time to do God’s Will… then we like the idea of being a Christian and that’s about all. True love for Christ should make us radically change our lives. It should make us desire holiness, Catholic Pilgrims, and that takes sacrifice. So, live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday. *Church is Our Lady of Sorrows in Santa Barbara, CA
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