.png)
Okay, a bit of a business meeting for the start of this week, Catholic Pilgrims. Lol!
1. Season Three of my podcast dropped today! We are reading St. Teresa of Avila's book, "The Interior Castle." See post below if you want to listen on my website. Otherwise, you can find it pretty much anywhere you listen to podcasts. Search "Journeying with the Saints."
2. If you are interested and don't have the book, TAN Books has it for only $5 for the month of February. If you want to purchase other books from them and get 15% off your order, use coupon code "pilgrim15" here: https://tanbooks.com/?rfsn=7120730.4e1603
3. My sponsor this year for the podcast is Chrism Press. If you need books that don't scandalize your soul but are still interesting and engaging, please check them out and follow them.
4. Lent starts this Wednesday and this year, I will be looking at the Genesis story of the Garden and why we ultimately needed a Savior. My daily reflections will center on this.
5. If you are looking for a creative way for you, your teens, or your younger kids to spend Lent, my daughter has put together something called ROLL (Random Offerings for a Life-giving Lent). This is something our family has done for years. If interested, please check out my shop where my daughter has created very cheap downloadable forms for each age group. https://catholicpilgrim.net/shop/
6. You got two days to get all your sweets eaten. Lol
Okay, I think that's about it. Good talk, Catholic Pilgrims. Now, ready, break!
Have a blessed Monday.
The other day, I got an email from a guy who started off overly cheery. He stated that he was so glad heâd found my site, he loved learning the truth, and was encouraged by how much I loved Jesus. His tone then took a quick turn and he dove into a litany of reasons that the Catholic Church was diabolical. He told me that I was deceived and was going to go to Hell. I appreciated this guyâs concern, but I had to laugh a bit, because all his arguments were things I once believed about the Church. I once said the same things, just not quite so manically. I believed the Church was a small cult. I believed that Catholics thought the pope couldnât sin. I believed the Catholic Church was a relatively new institution. I believed that Catholics thought Mary was a goddess. I had all these preconceived notions, but I never asked a Catholic about any of it, until I married my cradle Catholic husband. I had been deceived. Everything I had been told was wrong. That was really hard for me because I hate being wrong. Jesus says in todayâs Gospel reading, âSee that you not be deceived.â I am eternally grateful that God gave me the graces to not remain stubborn and cling to my preconceived notions. I am the type that can really dig in my heels. God knew that the person who would open my eyes would be a man I deeply respect and fully loveâŚand who is as sharp as a tack. He gave me my husband to stand against my attacks and blows and calmly swat each one of them down. I didnât respond to the guy who sent me the email. He was disingenuous in his approach to me and I could tell, having once been there myself, that he was not going to receive anything I had to counter with. How do we not be deceived, Catholic Pilgrims? We pray, we weigh, we ask questions, we seek out people who know more than us, we donât make hasty decisions, and we donât let emotions guide our judgment. Itâs hard to do all these things, but itâs worth it. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.
Continue ReadingWhen 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 Reading.png)
.png)
.png)