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My 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
Continue ReadingWe 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!
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