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We are T-minus three days out from Season Five dropping on my podcast "Journeying with the Saints." On Saturday, the introduction episode will come out and you can hear why I picked St. Frances Cabrini for this season and I'll give some background information on her. I'll also give you a run down on how the season is going to operate. It's a little different this time. I've been doing this podcast for five seasons now which is incredible to me. My brother prompted me to start a podcast back in 2019 and I wasn't really sure if I wanted to. After all, there are like 900 million podcasts out there and who was I to add another? I half-heartedly tried a Catholic Pilgrim podcast, but I just couldn't get the gears rolling. Then, lying on my bed one day in Turkey, the idea came into my head to read St. Faustina's Diary for a 365-day podcast. As crazy and ambitious as that idea sounded, I knew I had to do it. I wanted to bring the Saints' writings to people and that was the motivation and inspiration I needed. So, with my cheap microphone propped up on an ironing board, I started my first season. It was received better than I could have ever hoped. Five seasons in and I'm continually amazed at how the Saints guide me. Once I land on a particular saint, I definitely notice how they are working in my life. Season Five hasn't even started and I've already been blessed by so many people and opportunities. I've spoken with people at different shrines dedicated to St. Frances and the collaboration has been amazing. I've been excited for every season, but this one has been laced with connections that I couldn't have imagined. Later in the year, I've got some trips--pilgrimages--that I can't wait to share with you. So, I hope you are ready. You can find my podcast pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts and please subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Share with a friend if you can. It's going to be a great season, Catholic Pilgrims! St. Frances Cabrini, pray for us!
Continue ReadingA few years after I entered the Catholic Church, I decided to pick up St. Thomas’ Summa. I thought, “How hard could this be to read?” lol. I made it about two pages in and gently set it to the side. At that time, I was not primed for reading something like that. Since that time, I’ve worked really hard to educate myself and learn how to think deeply, not just emotionally. More than anything, St. Thomas has taught me how to have integrity in my thinking and how to seek truth. I’ll share what I’ve learned from him. 1. You must always read the primary source. In this day and age, quotes are taken out of context and used to press an agenda. Go to the source. 2. Reactionary thinking is often flawed. If people are trying to get you ginned up and emotional, chances are, you will miss the truth. 3. Sit with things for a while…in silence. 4. Just because you want something to be true, doesn’t mean it is. 5. Ask questions. 6. Always look at both sides of an argument. If something does not make logical sense, you can toss it and do not have to entertain it anymore. 7. If seeking the truth is not coupled with prayer and humility, you will struggle to find it. There have been many times in my life since learning from St. Thomas Aquinas where I’ve asked, “How would St. Thomas handle this situation?” He’s been a good guide, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday. St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
Continue Reading"Man can counterfeit everything in himself except a clean conscience." When we were stationed at Tyndall AFB, one of my husband's favorite things to do was to rent a boat for visitors. Whenever we would cruise around the bay, I'd be fine. However, if you got me out onto the open ocean, it was within minutes that I would feel nauseous. One day, my husband and I went out with my sister and her then boyfriend. My sister and I immediately started feeling sick and my husband said, "Stand up, look at the horizon, and smile." If you can imagine it, there we were standing stick straight, holding onto the boat, staring off into the distance with stupid fake smiles on our face. But, the fake smiles worked, we started to feel better. I get motion sickness pretty easily and whenever I'm feeling bad, my husband tells me to smile or force a laugh. It's ridiculous, but it works. I can fake it until I make it when it comes to motion sickness. Yesterday, in my OCIA class, I was telling the catechumens about my first confession. Being raised Protestant, I didn't have Confession at my disposal and I thought it was stupid anyway. I could just "talk to Jesus in my head and ask Him to forgive my sins." I never did this, but that was my argument. Plus, Jesus covered all my sins already, so what was the point really in confessing anything. AND to add to that, I wasn't *that* bad, so I didn't really have that much to confess, or so I thought. I faked a lot of happiness and goodness in my life and a lot of people were convinced. I could not convince myself, though. You cannot fake a clean conscience on the inside. Eventually, it will eat you up. You cannot fake it until you make it with regards to a clean conscience. I could trick my brain with fake smiles so that I wouldn't feel motion sickness. But, I could not trick my soul with fake smiles so that I wouldn't "feel" my unclean conscience. There was something I needed to do to clean my conscience and that was to go to Confession. "Conscience brings to man rewards of happiness or of pain: rewards of vivid life or--of death." --Dirk Coster A clean conscience rewards of happiness, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Monday.
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