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“Amy, you cannot live so close to such beauty and not go see it!”
On her way home back to Ohio from my house, that’s what my best friend texted to me after her family stopped off to see The Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.
My goodness, Catholic Pilgrims, the beauty in this church is stunning.
Photos are forbidden, so I wasn’t able to take any, but if you watch EWTN, you may have seen the inside.
I’ve never seen a monstrance display more beautiful. Christ held up high, surrounded by angel statues amid all the tasteful gold coloring is just striking.
And while we were there, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration were saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and they sounded like angels. Is it a prerequisite to sound like an angel before becoming a nun or is it the product of holiness? I don’t know, but it was simply beautiful.
You know, so many people gripe to us Catholics about our beautiful churches.
“Think of the money that could be used for the poor!”
“So extravagant. God would want that money used for the poor.”
This complaint reminds me so much of Judas Iscariot’s comment about Mary anointing Christ’s feet with costly oil in our Gospel reading today from John 12:1-11.
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”
Our beautiful churches house Our Lord in the Eucharist and that was never more on display to me than here in this church. With Our Savior raised high, surrounded by material beauty, with angelic voices perpetually adoring Him, it is evident that Our King is present.
Heaven and earth meet inside our Catholic Churches where the True Presence of Christ is acknowledged through splendor and majesty.
We could tear down all our Catholic Churches, sell everything to care for the poor and within no time, we’d discover that we “always have the poor with” us, just as Our Lord said. And we’d be starved of so much good beauty.
It is a both/and, Catholic Pilgrims: Take care of the poor to care for corporal needs and build beautiful churches to care for all our spiritual needs.
If ever in Alabama, my gosh, make time to see this Shrine. Thank you, Mother Angelica, for this holy place.
Have a blessed Monday of Holy Week.
Many years ago now, when I was teaching government to my oldest, our curriculum had us read St. Thomas Aquinas’ thoughts on different types of government. To my surprise, he said kingship was the best. “From this it is clearly shown that the idea of king implies that he be one man who is chief and that he be a shepherd, seeking the common good of the multitude and not his own.” Now, before I get started, St. Thomas has a lot to say on this and if you’ve never read his thoughts on government, pause and go read it before you attack me. It’s important you understand what he says. Carrying on…. As an American, when I first read this, I scoffed a bit. In fact, I got a bit defensive, because *our* form of government is, in my mind, the absolute best. We fought against a king, for goodness sake. But, as I thought about it (and I’m not advocating for a kingship here in America), I realized that St. Thomas had to be right. He doesn’t say that other forms of government are all the worst, just that kingship is the best, and, of course, because Christ is King. He’s not King of a government, but He is King of the universe, of everything. He is the King par excellence, because He rules with perfect justice and perfect mercy. He is attentive to the welfare of our souls and desires our ultimate goodness. Because Christ is King, no type of rule could be better. No matter how we look at it and no matter what government system we fall under, Christ remains our King. He reigns supreme in the life of a Christian, or a least He should. This is one of my favorite celebrations, Catholic Pilgrims, because I love celebrating the King of my life, always and forever. Have a blessed Sunday. *St. Dominic’s in San Francisco
Continue ReadingToday, the Church celebrates The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I was thinking this morning about Mary and how she is the perfect feminine role model. As Alice Von Hildebrand put it, “She alone deserves to be the role model of women. She is the Queen of Angels. She is virgin, spouse, mother, and widow.” Who does our culture put up as role models for women? Well, they have to be famous, hot, and wealthy. Of all the ones I could think of, nearly all of them are focused solely on career. They are pro-ab0rtion. Marriage is typically put in the back burner, but they have plenty of partners. Mary, though, is different. She was and is humble. She gave of herself to others. She was and is beautiful because of the light of God that shone within her. She was poor. She accepted an unplanned pregnancy trusting that God would guide her through this unusual, yet miraculous situation. Two thousand years later, this humble, poor, obedient, virtuous woman is still the most beloved of all women. That is because you can’t trump a life lived for God with a life lived for self. The Divine Life that glows within Mary will never be snuffed out, but the temporary sparkle of a life lived for self will fade into nothingness as the years continue to roll on by. May we always look to Mary, most beautiful Mother of Our Lord, for the best example of “dazzling, radiant femininity.” Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us!
Continue ReadingThis is Laodicea, the last church community written to in the Book of Revelation. It is perhaps my favorite. Look at how the clouds made the perfect backdrop for a reflective mood. Part of the Silk Road runs through this ancient town. In its day it would have been teeming with people, horses, and carts. Alongside the main road through town there are stone tables where backgammon was played. You can just imagine two old men playing as they grumbled about politics or aches in their bodies. Now, it’s just an ancient ghost town. "To the angel of the Church in Laodicea, write this: ‘I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything, and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.’” To interesting things to point out: 1. Laodicea was known for optometry. They actually had eye doctors there and that’s why the references to blindness and eye ointment. 2. In the mountains in the picture, there is a place called Pamukkale. It has hot springs and the minerals in the water make it look like there are permanent fluffy clouds up there. Pamukkale means “cotton castle.” As that hot water flows down the mountain, it becomes lukewarm. Hence the reference to being lukewarm. It’s something the people would understand. It is easy to slip into a lukewarm faith, Catholic Pilgrims. Especially with all the comfort and ease many of us experience on a day-to-day basis. A lukewarm faith is no faith at all, So… Live the Faith boldly and travel well.
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