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Just the other day, I had an angry atheist show up ready to argue with memes. I’ve had plenty of atheists over the years come here to argue. It’s often the same MO. Show a meme with a supposed contradiction or a verse taken out of context and try to force the Catholic to defend. I used to fall for this, but not anymore. Years and years ago, not long after I became Catholic, an old friend became an atheist. One day, she threw out a “suspect” verse and told me to explain. I did and she immediately threw out another verse. I explained. Then another verse. I explained. After a bit, I said, “Are you just going to have me running around explaining things but we don’t ever discuss? What do you think about what I’ve said? Thoughts?” She said, “I don’t care what you say. It’s all myth!” That’s when I understood. She was never asking to truly understand; she was asking to try to get me to doubt and send me on a red herring chase. That’s why I don’t engage with atheists, especially online, about verses in a book they think is myth. The conversation must necessarily start at does God exist or not. I offered that conversation to the recent atheist and he did not take me up on the offer. My new parish priest said the other night at our Mardi Gras dinner, “To even begin to understand the spiritual life and all it entails, you must first want to understand.” “Knock and the door will be opened to you.” There are many things in the spiritual life that we will never fully understand, but we can’t even hope to begin if we don’t put some faith in God and ask for help. If you stand outside the door simply shouting and raising your fist in defiance, no door will open and you will forever remain in the shadow of the door. But, if one desires even a little to understand and knocks, it will open. A wonderful, amazing, mysterious world will open behind it and you can seek and finally find answers that satisfy the soul. Have a blessed Thursday, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingOne thing that we often hear from people is that they don't want to go to church because they'd just rather worship God on their own. Now, it is true that you can worship God anywhere. Nature is a great place to connect with the Creator. Even going to Adoration by yourself to sit in silence with Jesus is excellent for our souls. However... Thomas Merton once wrote reflecting on attending church as a little kid, "It is a law of man's nature, written into his very essence, and just as much a part of him as the desire to build houses and cultivate the land and marry and have children and read books and sing song, that he should want to stand together with other men in order to acknowledge their common dependence of God, their Father and Creator." In Heaven, we will not be alone as we worship God. We will be with all the Saints and angels at the great Heavenly banquet. Imagine the multitudes. Mass is that participation here on earth. Don't neglect going to Mass, Catholic Pilgrims. We need to be united with our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Supper of the Lamb. Have a blessed Wednesday.
Continue ReadingIt’s hard to tell from this picture, but I’m standing on top of a high hill. I went for my evening run and because I’m still not quite ready to run up it, I walked up it…very fast. 😅 I got to the top and then I sat and prayed for all of you, my fellow pilgrims. The other day, I read something from St. Francis Cabrini that said: “You lost your cross? Then you are the most unhappy person in the world because the one who has no cross is not a follower of Jesus Christ; so I wish you a very long and very large cross full of thorns, which you will carry as a precious jewel with a smile on your lips.” The Saints are incredible people. For most of my life, I understood that Christ redeemed us on the Cross. It has taken me, though, a long time to understand Jesus’ command to “pick up your cross and follow Him.” We did not feel the pain Christ went through on the Cross and so the only way to truly appreciate His suffering for us is to carry our own crosses well. We do that with grace. It is our crosses that sanctify us—not comfort, not pleasures, not the easy way. If we have seemingly lost our cross because we seek to avoid them or refuse to carry them, we will be unhappy people. Why? Because we were made to be holy and if we aren’t striving for that, we will never be fully alive. It is hard, though, to carry crosses alone and so I prayed for you all up here on my desert-y hill. I prayed for your strength and your courage to brave them. Continue to live the Faith boldly and travel well, Catholic Pilgrims.
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