All Daily Reflections

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I was listening to a song the other day that reminds me of my maternal grandma. As I was thinking of her, I wondered, “What trait did I take from her? Does a part of her shine through me?” That got me thinking of my grandparents and the best parts of them that I have tried to incorporate into my life. From my maternal grandmother, I got my feistiness and love of laughing and being silly. From my paternal grandmother, I got my romantic side and love of the arts. From her, I have learned to feel deeply and seek beauty. From my maternal grandfather, I got my hard work ethic and love of simplicity. He also gave me the realization that we always need to make time for those we love. From my paternal grandfather, I got my understanding that blood and is blood and you fight for your family. I, also, got from him a bit of a rebel heart. God makes each one of us unique. It’s what I love about the saints. They weren’t lemmings, they didn’t try to be just like the crowd. They are all different individuals with different paths, but all the same goal—to be the unique person God created them to be. I’m not going to look just like my grandparents, but I have taken the parts of them that are the absolute best and tried to incorporate those character traits into my life. It’s my way of keeping them alive in my life. Living out the virtues is one of the ways we keep Christ alive in us, Catholic Pilgrims. He is every virtue. When we attempt to incorporate Him into our lives, we will still be us, only better. Have a great Friday and a blessed weekend.

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I’ve been learning a lot about false humility the past couple of years through reading the works of different saints. Most of us, especially those of us that have committed grave sins, try to live out the virtue of humility by living out this false sense of it. “I’m just the worst. I don’t deserve Jesus’ love or forgiveness.” “There’s no hope for someone as bad as me. I’m just a lost cause.” (Sigh) “I’ve done so many bad things, I can’t even begin to ask Jesus into my life.” “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” That last one is Peter after doubting Jesus when He told Peter to keep fishing after a fruitless night.” I love Jesus’ response. He doesn’t play along with the pity party. He doesn’t try to overly console Peter. He just says, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” God already knows all we’ve done. It’s no surprise to Him. He didn’t come to save people with just some minor sins. He’s not so weak in power that He’d ever say, “Oh, boy, sorry, pal. Your sins are just too big for me to forgive. Guess you’re out of luck.” We aren’t honoring God with false humility. We think we are, though. The I’m-so-bad-I’ll remove-myself-from-God schtick doesn’t give God any glory or show your littleness. In fact, it says, “I’m beyond your help, God.” Don’t be afraid to come to Christ, Catholic Pilgrims, with all your hurt and all your sins that need forgiven. He’s not going to turn you away. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday. *Picture is from the Sea of Galilee.

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Yesterday, my family went to the movies to watch “You Gotta Believe.” It’s a baseball movie based off a true story.One of the coaches of the team comes down with brain cancer and it’s serious. He has to step back from coaching while he does chemo. At one point in the story, this coach’s son, devastated that his father isn’t getting better, runs out on the ballfield at night and yells out to the sky, “I hate you! I hate you!” That was enough to make the tears flow hot on my face because I once did just about the same thing, except it was a football field and I was 17. After my night on the football field, I went on to “wrestle with God,” much like Jacob in the Bible for years. Yesterday, after I got home from the movie, I read a comment on my post from the other day that was wildly misunderstood. So many people missed the point of my post on burdensome rules. Anyway, a woman, still missing the point, commented that respecting Christ in the Eucharist means that we dress up for church and women cover their heads. Boom. End of discussion.Part of me wanted to defend my deep love of Christ, but the Holy Spirit kept saying, “Stay. Just stay. Don’t do it.”While I was standing there at the stove with tears in my eyes, I asked, “Why not? Why not let me defend my love for You?”What I heard was, “Because for some, it will never be enough what you do. Let me handle it. I know your heart.”I realized how true that is. Because we humans are always trying to one up each other and prove we are better, sometimes, it will never be enough for many. I have been to the depths with God and fought my way back to a relationship that I never thought possible after that night on the football field. Nobody but God truly understands my love and respect and nobody ever will. There are a million and one ways, Catholic Pilgrims, that we can practice our Faith. And even if we did all those ways, there would still be someone who comes along and says, “Not enough.” Of course with God, we can never give Him enough, but the only one we need to prove anything to is Him. He knows our hearts and His understanding of our hearts is all that really matters. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Tuesday.*Picture is from the synagogue in Capernaum from our Gospel reading today.

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Note: The message of this post is about more than veiling and modest dress. I used to follow this online Catholic group that was all about dressing modestly. Oftentimes, ladies would show what they were wearing to church and, to be honest, it became a bit comical. In an effort to not show their womanly shape or their ankles or anything, some of them would layer so much, they ended up looking like the little brother in “A Christmas Story” when the mom shoves him into the bulky snowsuit. They were strict adherents to veiling, which is fine. I’m not anti-veiling. But, what sealed the deal for me leaving the group was when one lady took a picture of herself going into church with a opened fast-food napkin on her head because she forgot her veil at home. Because she thought this was a rule that had to be enforced, she did something completely undignified and ridiculous. Then in the comments, other ladies were encouraging her “creative use” of keeping the rule.I was done. As Catholics, we take a lot of heat for having too many rules. The truth is, though, the Church doesn’t. There are only six Church Commandments that we are required to follow outside of the 10 Commandments, and obviously, the TwoGreatest Commandments given to us by Christ. 1. Attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation.2. To fast and abstain on the days appointed.3. To confess our sins once a year.4. To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time.5. To contribute to the support of the church. (There is no set amount)6. Observe the Church’s marriage laws. That’s it, however this is not a pitch for doing the bare minimum. There are many other practices that the Church allows for or encourages, but they are just that—practices. There are also somethings that the Church allows for that you may not like and the good news is, is that you are free to do it in the way you would prefer. If you demand or force people to follow “rules” that the Church does not recognize as binding, you are being like the Pharisees and laying heavy burdens on people. You have set yourself up as the authority and disregarded the teaching authority of the Magisterium of the Church. We don’t want to be so whetted to enforcing what we want to be rules that we come off us joyless, burdensome, or ridiculous, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Sunday.*St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Napa, California‍

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It’s a gruesome painting, isn’t it?I first saw this hanging in Thomas Jefferson’s house and I thought it such a strange painting to have in your home.The painting symbolizes two things to me.1. Destruction is what happens when people live for themselves and cannot stand to hear any kind of reprimand. The thing that pricks the conscience must be exterminated for people who want to remain in their sin. Herodias could not stand to have John the Baptist tell her that her marriage to Herod was sinful. Because she wanted to live how she wanted to live, she obsessed over ruining his life. The first chance she got, she took it and it was to silence him forever. Innocence will always be attacked by those that are self-serving and steeped in sin. Why? Because innocence shines a light on their darkness and they don’t want to let it go. 2. This is the reality of a life lived for Christ. Faithful Christians may not suffer the extreme of John the Baptist, but the light of Christ within us will be a problem for those who worship themselves and love their sin. It’s one thing to sin and hate it, it’s another to sin and love it. When you love it, you seek to destroy anything that tries to remind you of your enslavement to it. While this isn’t the most uplifting reality about Christianity, it does create a line in the sand. We either live for Christ or we live for the world. If the world is patting you on the back and leaves you alone, you can be sure that you look more like the world than you do Christ. So, we must have courage to live like John the Baptist, Catholic Pilgrims. Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.St. John the Baptist, pray for us!‍