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My 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 ReadingI was reading about the early Church martyrs the other day and each time I do, I am utterly inspired by their faith. While they didn't go purposefully seeking martyrdom, they, also, didn't hide their "lamp" under a bushel basket. As I sat thinking of those that lived out the faith so courageously, I thought about the current state of Christianity in the West. For decades now, Christians have been told to hide their faith and keep it in private. "We don't want to see it, so keep it to yourself." What saddens me is that we complied. We shuffled off to our hidey-holes and tried to sanitize our public lives to make sure nobody was offended or could catch a whiff of Christianity on us. Then, I realized that the goal became to look just like the secular crowd--blend in. Champion what the secular culture wants, twist the words in the Bible to make the Bible conform to what non-believers would have it say. Stop calling out sin because that's mean and judgy. In fact, the goal became to do everything the secular culture encouraged. Until, there came a day, when you couldn't tell a Christian from a non-Christian. That was me once. Sure, I called myself a Christian, but I couldn't be bothered with church and the Bible. I didn't want to clean up my language, my habits, my entertainment, or anything. Heaven forbid, I appear too Christian. Had the early Christians been like me, Christianity would have faded out like the Beatles on "Hey Jude." It would have been just a nice thought once upon an ancient time. All that they bled and died for, I was too embarrassed and cowardly to show and live. They fought to give me the faith and I sadly took it from their hands and slid it into the back closet where things go to collect dust and be forgotten. We either live the Faith boldly, Catholic Pilgrims, or not at all. We either shine our light or we become just a dim, dull shell of a Christian, unimpressive and uninspiring. So, live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
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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