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When I was in college, I cleaned houses my sophomore year to get by. It was not my favorite job, but I needed the money and I needed something with a flexible schedule.
Mostly, I cleaned houses for elderly people and one lady with 18 Persian cats. The cat house is a story for another day.
Two of the houses I cleaned were never that dirty. I mostly just dusted, vacuumed, and tidied things up, but I felt a bit guilty because there was never that much work.
One ladyâs house was completely immaculate and I tried to find stuff to clean, but my search was pretty fruitless. The lady though, who was home by herself pretty much all day, always wanted me to come sit with her and have a snack.
The snack was always prune juice and an English muffin with low-fat butter, so not the best, but I sat and ate with her. She wanted to hear about college life and my friends. Again, I felt guilty for not cleaning, but she said to me once, âI look forward to you coming every two weeks.â
Sadly, another couple I cleaned for would sit in their chairs and watch M.A.S.H. reruns the whole time I was there. Till one day, I was cleaning the office and the husband came in and started talking about the pictures on the walls. Before I knew it, he was pulling out memorabilia and telling me stories.
Thereâs a line in a song I love that says, âYoung folks don't pay me no mind.â I wanted these people I cleaned for to feel loved. I realized that they were craving human connection and so I would sit and listen to them and give them my time.
Recently, my daughter, who is a Focus missionary, told a girl that she was engaging with that the purpose of our lives is to love and be loved. We are to love God and our neighbors and let God and others love us.
Relationships matter, Catholic Pilgrims. Christ is all about relationships. We canât live in our own bubble, because souls need us.
Have a blessed Tuesday.
When I was about four-years old, my parents and I left Manhattan, Kansas to head to my grandparentâs house in southeast Kansas for Christmas, I think. It was either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Anyway, it had snowed and the roads were super slick and traffic was bad. Not far out of town, we were creeping along in a slow line when our car was rear-ended. It wasnât a bad accident, but my dad stopped the car and got out to go exchange insurance information. When my dad got back in the car, he said, âThe weather is too bad. We are going to go home and wait to see if it clears up.â I about died. Go home?!?! I had cousins waiting on me! Go home?! I figured this was the worst form of torture imaginable. I felt like I was going to miss out on everything. I hated waiting. We went home. My dad had us all take a napâa nap! But, when we woke up a few hours later, the skies had cleared, the snow had melted, and the temperature had risen. My dad declared it was safe now. We got in the car and the holiday was saved. Advent is soon coming and the Church asks us to lean into this time of expectant waiting. The Church kinda feels like my dad on the snowy day many years ago. âAmy, itâs not time yet. We need to wait.â Itâs impossible not to get swept up in the tide of all that goes on during this time of year. Youâd literally have to go up into the mountains and shut off your phone during Advent to truly have a peaceful time of expectant waiting. But, the Church, in her wisdom, asks us to wait because the time isnât quite right yet. This isnât a post to fight about decorations or when itâs right or wrong to put them up. Itâs not a post to say that, as Catholics, we should grumble around declaring that the Christmas Season doesnât actually start until Christâs birth. This is a post to say, carve out some time this Advent to prepare your heart and mind for the coming of our Infant Savior. Itâs hard to do, I know, but there is much to be gained in the waiting, Catholic Pilgrims. Have a blessed Monday.
Continue ReadingMany years ago now, when I was teaching government to my oldest, our curriculum had us read St. Thomas Aquinasâ thoughts on different types of government. To my surprise, he said kingship was the best. âFrom 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.â Now, before I get started, St. Thomas has a lot to say on this and if youâve never read his thoughts on government, pause and go read it before you attack me. Itâs important you understand what he says. Carrying onâŚ. 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 Iâm not advocating for a kingship here in America), I realized that St. Thomas had to be right. He doesnât say that other forms of government are all the worst, just that kingship is the best, and, of course, because Christ is King. Heâs 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. Dominicâs 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, âShe alone deserves to be the role model of women. She is the Queen of Angels. She is virgin, spouse, mother, and widow.â 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 canât 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 âdazzling, radiant femininity.â Have a blessed day, Catholic Pilgrims. Mary, Our Mother, pray for us!
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