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Catholic Girl Journey

Thanksgiving List

Thanksgiving is a time when many look around and appreciate what they have: family, friends, food and fun. For those who are involved with the preparations for Thanksgiving, it is also a time with long lists of things to do. Can you be both appreciative and busy at the same time?

One of my to-do’s is to make the dessert for our family feast. I love baking, so for me it’s not a chore, but a way that I can participate. Since it’s not feasible for me to host the holiday, I can still be thankful that I have a fabulous kitchen and that I am capable of making pie crust from scratch and physically able to peel and cut the needed amount of apples.

Also on my list is to go food shopping for my parents. My parents live in a small rural town.  They are in their 80’s and they can’t get around as easily as they once did  While they do have help from my brother who lives in the area, when I come to visit there is always a grocery trip or two. I am grateful that my parents are still here and that I can assist them after all they have done for me. It can be challenging, as my Mom likes things done a certain way, but I need to mirror the patience she showed me when I was growing up. Sometimes I think she forgets that I am an adult who grocery shops for herself, but I can be thankful I am available to help. She is relying on me and it is a privilege to serve her needs.

While taking my car in for its yearly inspection might not seems like a Thanksgiving tradition to some people, I take advantage of having Friday as a work holiday to perform this chore. I am thankful that I have a car, that I can drive it, and that my company gives its employees Friday off as a paid holiday.

Regardless of the chore, even if it is something we enjoy, everything we do can be turned into a reason to be thankful. God blesses us every moment of every day. This year, let’s try to have grateful hearts open to appreciating all the big and little gifts He gives us.  Let’s make it a true time of giving thanks!   

Catholic Girl Journey

What is a king?

When we hear about Christ being King, I sometimes find it hard to wrap my head around the concept. Here in the United States, we have a President, senators, congressmen, governors and mayors; none would be an example of a king. While there may be men in the world that hold the title of king, often they are not the “chief authority” as the dictionary definition for “king” specifies.

The role of king in ancient times was so important that the Israelites asked for one. Around 1050 BC, the people were envious of the  countries  with kings and wanted one themselves, a person they could rally behind — a ruler they could see. At that time, Israel was ruled by judges, but these judges were not the same as a king. “We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight out battles.” (1 Sam 8:20) But at the time the people did have a king, God himself. When Samuel prayed to the Lord about the people’s request, God replied, “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.” (1 Sam 8:7)

Without a current example of a king, my notion of king may be more of the romantic or iconic version of when kings ruled on earth. I think of a king who leads his men into battle and is right in the thick of the fighting. He is an example to his men. A king should also look out for the interests of  his people, making sure they have what they need and are protected from harm. But isn’t that exactly what God does? God, through His Son, Jesus, came down and led us in battle, to the death and beyond. He fought sin and death and triumphed. He leads by His example. God does not leave us to own devices, He fights for us and with us every day. God looks out for His people by providing for us the sacraments: His Spirit (in baptism and confirmation), His mercy (in reconciliation and anointing of the sick), and His very self (in marriage, holy orders and the Eucharist).

And with all these amazing gifts given to us by our King,  what does He ask in return? “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all  your soul, and with all your might.” (Deut. 6:4). Praise Christ the King who reigns forever!

Catholic Girl Journey

From ordinary to extraordinary

Name three saints that first come to mind.

Which ones did you choose?

Perhaps some were apostles of Jesus, like Peter or John. Perhaps one was your patron saint. Another may have been a more recently canonized saint, like Pope John Paul II or Mother Theresa. Do your three saints all come from among the religious elite?  It can seem sometimes that all the saints were called to religious life of some sort. Does this mean only people who have a religious vocation are eligible for sainthood? For those in the laity, like myself, it can be a daunting thought. I was paging through a book of saints recently, and when I tried to find one that did not belong to a religious order, it was a bit difficult! Joan of Arc was one that surfaced. To my surprise, there were also a few royals listed, like Edward the Confessor of England and Elizabeth of Hungary. So it is possible for extraordinary leaders to reach heaven. But what about the ordinary folk?

Pope Francis did just canonize two such individuals: Louis and Zelie Martin. I found it rather interesting that both considered the religious life, but realized that was not what God called them to do. Louis & Zelie were called to more than just religious life, namely to bring into the world a little girl who would one day become a doctor of the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux. In living their lives focusing on God and their children, they demonstrated the love of the Trinity within their family.

God creates such variety in life, it seems logical that the diversity in His people is a part of His plan. If our daily activities can be done with care and love as an offering up to God, we can use the ordinary things of life to come closer to God. And by coming closer to God here on earth, we will be more prepared for heaven. Once on heaven, we will realize our day to day actions helped us become saints. That is extraordinary, indeed.

Catholic Girl Journey

Here today, saint tomorrow

November starts with the feast of All Saints Day, which in the Church calendar is a great time to reflect on the lives of the saints. We are counting down on the liturgical year, since a new year starts on the first Sunday in Advent. During this year end, we pause to contemplate the lives of those who have gone before us.

One year when I was  a student in a Catholic grade school, we were asked to dress up as our patron saint for Halloween to commemorate an ancient custom of “All Hallow’s Eve” as it was originally called. This was a great exercise for kids, since we had to learn more of about the saint for whom we are named. My name, Karen, is actually a derivative of the name Catherine. In the little book of saints that I had as a child, there was one listing for that name: Catherine of Alexandria. I remember being aghast reading that she had been scheduled for torture by a spiked wheel, only it fell apart instead of hurting her, so she was beheaded instead. As a youngster, that sounded terrible to me, especially since I had to dress up like her.

Now I realize there are many saints named Catherine, and it’s up to me to find the one that I can truly call my patron, someone that I can look up to and learn from. As a subscriber to Magnificat, a monthly devotional that includes snippets of writings from various saints and holy people, I have come to admire St. Catherine of Siena and consider her my patron. Her letters helped to bring the papacy back to Rome from France. She was an incredible writer and leader and was named a doctor of the Church.

There are so many amazing saints, and even if we don’t share their name, we can still consider them our patrons and ask them to intercede for us. Learning about men and women who faced hardship and worldly problems yet succeeded in living holy lives helps us to connect with them. We can learn from them how to trust in God and how we can let God lead us to heaven. We are all on the journey during this life to the next. Will we be the saints of tomorrow?

Catholic Girl Journey

Simply Tree

“But only God can make a tree.” It’s the last line of Joyce Kilmer’s 1913 poem, Trees. It was the only line I could remember while I was out kayaking for the last time this year. It was wonderful to see the trees in the various shades of color and stages of losing their leaves. Being out on the water is a great time to contemplate and I couldn’t help noticing the cycle of the trees.

The first buds of the trees are exciting since they herald spring is here. The new greenery is a welcome sight of new life. We enjoy the longer days of sunshine and look forward to summer. Those buds turn into the branches and leaves that shade us during the hot summer months and provide cooling breezes. Dressed in leaves, they are a fullness of their being and what comes to mind when we think of a tree.

Trees of yellow, orange, red and green by the water's edge

Fall foliage while kayaking on Marsh Creek Lake

Autumn’s dazzling display of reds, yellows and oranges is like nature’s fireworks show, where the color explodes off the trees as the leaves fall. The trees’ bare branches in winter allow the sun to warm us on cold days. Through each season God arrays the trees in natural beauty, even in the winter God does not leave the trees bare. He sends snow to blanket the limbs from time to time. Each turn of the season the trees provide for us by just being trees.

Trees mirror the cycle of spirituality as well. The tree’s winter is an introspective time, when we look inside ourselves and ask where we are in our spiritual journey. The question is more about ‘what can I do to become closer to God.’ The springtime bud is the beginning of action when we seek out what we need on our next step on the journey.

Summer is taking action, allowing it to become part of our being. It could be as simple as saying the rosary daily, or a deeper action to volunteer at a shelter, soup kitchen or hospital. The tree shedding its leaves is our reminder to shed the thoughts and actions that prohibit us from moving forward in our spiritual journey. Sometimes it can be an outcome of the actions we take to get closer to God. Other times it requires conscientious effort.     

While the cycle of trees is based on the climate and seasons, a spiritual cycle is not tied to any particular time. The Church encourages the cycles of the spiritual journey with the seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas, but you do not need to wait until then. Where are you in spiritual journey cycle?

Catholic Girl Journey

Awe of Creation

Have you ever stopped to feel the sunlight on a crisp, autumn day? Have you ever inhaled the scent of rain in the midst of a downpour?  Have you ever looked in the mirror and noticed how many flecks of color actually make up your eye color?

Day after day we go through our routines and miss noticing the intricate details in God’s creation. Often we don’t appreciate the five senses we have to experience and interact with these marvels. How can we appreciate the smell of a home-baked apple pie if we haven’t noticed the skunk that lurks around at night? The buzzing of a bee is a much more soothing sound than the drone of a lawnmower, just as long as long as the bee stays outdoors. We’re so busy looking for the feeling of God in our emotions and spirit, we don’t notice His touch in the tree outside our window, sheltering the birds and squirrels.

We hear in the gospel of Matthew (10:30) that the hairs of our head are counted and sometimes it seems  hard to comprehend.  If there are billions of people on the planet, how can the thousands of hairs on one person be noticed? Since God is not a being like us, His attention to detail is limitless. At least we can see the hair on our head.  What about the molecules and atoms making up one strand of hair? I remember from my school days that hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water and those atoms join with others to make up everything we can see and touch. While the palette of atoms is finite, God’s imagination runs wide as seen on earth. Only God knows what other amazing creations He has in other planets of the universe, although we may get glimpses as we send telescopes and scientific equipment out to investigate.  

During Sunday Mass, we give praise to God in the Gloria, but when was the last time you thanked Him for being able to savor the taste of a pizza? Or for feeling a breeze across your face? Taking time to see God in these little details helps us to recognize the blessings we have and can lead us closer to Him, since no detail is too small for God. All creation comes alive at His Word; may we hear and see the results with endless praise and thanksgiving.

Catholic Girl Journey

Being is a Verb

While Shakespeare may have written, “To be or not to be,” the first session of Bishop Barron’s latest study program, Mystery of God, uses Saint Thomas Aquinas’ theological statement to describe God, ‘ipsum esse,’ that is the essence of being.

As humans, we like to categorize things and then label that category. God does not fit neatly into one of those classifications. We also look to put our human ways of thinking and acting onto other creatures. Almost any Disney animated movie has some animal with human-like characteristics. How many times have we determined what God must be thinking and feeling about what we have done (either good or not so good actions)? But God is beyond that. He is not a being like any other to be categorized. Rather He is being itself.

Thinking in this manner is hard; it hurts the brain. It took me several times watching Bishop Barron’s lecture to realize that when he said ”God is being” he was not referring to the word ‘being’ as a noun, but rather a verb or action. Paul speaking to the Athenians says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) If we as humans receive our existence from God, it seems to make sense that God is existence itself.

Bishop Barron also indicated that unlike beings who are in natural competition with each other, God is not in competition with His creation. He used the example of the burning bush in the Old Testament; the tree was still intact even though it was seen to be burning. I started thinking about this example and realized that the name God referred to Himself is,” I AM WHO AM.” (Exodus 3:14) Isn’t that the same as what Aquinas said, God is? In the Glory be, that is exactly what we proclaim: that the Glory of God in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is in the beginning, now and ever shall be.

It seems so easy to look at these simple words, and think we understand. But how can a finite creature understand the infinite? God is a mystery that we may catch fleeting glimpses of one of His many facets but will never truly completely comprehend. We can either acknowledge it and live in wonder and awe for those special moments of seeing God’s hand at work or we can shrug our shoulders and say it’s impossible to understand so I’ll just not think about and close ourselves off to seeing the beauty of God in action.  

Catholic Girl Journey

Tears of Joy

Have you ever laughed so hard tears ran down your face? I call that tears of joy. Many people associate tears with sadness, but my favorite tears are the result of a heart overflowing with emotion. Of course when I’m upset I cry, but also when I’m really frustrated or when I’m really happy. Sometimes I even cry when I encounter Jesus in the Eucharist as I mentally tell Him what’s on my heart and mind. There’s one circumstance in which I always cry: reconciliation. Sometimes the tears come when I’m preparing myself and reviewing what actions or failures to act have pushed God away.  The true sorrow I feel often is expressed by tears. Sometimes tears come when I’m in the confessional as I admit my wrong-doings and receive God’s mercy. And if it didn’t happen before or during confession, then the tears will come as I am performing my penance, realizing that I’m starting with a cleansed soul.

Confession does not come easy to me, but I do appreciate the sacrament. Although I tend to call it by the colloquial name, confession, that’s just the word for the action that we take within the sacrament. While there are many names, the one that I think sums up the sacrament best is reconciliation. I’ve heard Bishop Barron refer to the derivation as coming from the same word-root used for our eyelashes. Thus when we are reconciled with God, we see Him eyelash to eyelash (or eyeball to eyeball). That’s quite close and intimate; the only thing closer is when we receive the Eucharist, for then God is within us. That’s why reconciliation is a great way to prepare to receive the Eucharist.

It’s a beautiful sacrament to celebrate, if we only let go of our human egos and realize the gifts God wants to give us rather than focusing on the embarrassment of saying our sins out loud. I find it fascinating to hear the objections others have to the sacrament. Many times they think they can just confess their sins to God directly and avoid going through a priest. But the priest isn’t there to make a checklist to hand to God, he’s there in the person of Christ. For me it means that Jesus is using the priest as His ears to hear what I say and His mouth to give me absolution. Not only that, when I humble myself to express my sins out loud to the priest, I have already taken the first step toward reconciling with God.  

When we stop struggling and let God in and ask for His forgiveness and help, our relationship is healed. The postures and environment reflect what is happening in the sacrament. Usually the Church is quite silent, mirroring the stillness we have reached. While there are many different types of confessionals, I’m most familiar with the kind that looks like a small closet with  a door that the penitent enters. A screen prevents the priest from seeing the penitent and the penitent can’t see the priest—he has his own door and his own cubicle and there is only that screen to connect the two. Usually, there isn’t much light in the penitent’s part of the confessional. One would  kneel on the kneeler in front of the screen to confess and  to receive the sacrament. Walking into that darkened room feels like walking into my darkened soul, but I am not there to hide in the shadows. The gentle light that filters through the screen is like the light of God beckoning me to come closer. Like being in a shower, I usually close my eyes and let God’s mercy wash over me as the priest says, “And I absolve you from your sins…” After receiving the sacrament, when I open the door and the light floods in, it is just like what God’s grace and mercy have done to my soul in the sacrament. As I walk into the light of the Church, it’s like I’m walking back into the light of Christ. This is when my tears of repentance become tears of joy.

Catholic Girl Journey

The Pope’s Challenge

Saturday morning dawned overcast, but dry and I had every intention of going kayaking. I turned on the television to keep me company while eating breakfast and there I stayed; kayaking was forgotten.

The excitement of the arrival of Pope Francis to the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia was transmitted through the television. The faces beaming with joy and happiness at just a glimpse of His Holiness reminded me of my pilgrimage to Italy, where I was blessed to attend his Wednesday audience. Looking at the pope’s face, it almost appears that he takes in all the joy demonstrated by the people and channels it back to them in his loving smile, his bright eyes and the tender caresses for the children and disabled. While I have had the privilege of attending a Mass or to at the Cathedral, to see the pope celebrating Mass there did bring me to tears.

“And you?” The quote from Pope Leo XIII to Katherine Drexel was the key message in Pope Francis’ homily at the Cathedral. “What about you?” the pope asked. In a congregation comprised largely of ordained and religious, he pointed out it was said to a lay woman who had brought to Pope Leo’s attention the plight of Afro-Americans and American Indians in 1887. Yes, she did enter religious life after that encounter, but the pope reminded us that by baptism, we all have a mission to build up the Church in our community. We all have our own unique role to play. Some are called to a religious vocation, some are called to an active response by going out to the periphery, and some are called to support activities “behind the scenes.” Since the congregation was primarily religious, one may think dedicating their life to God’s work would be enough. But Pope Francis has issued a challenge to dig deeper and reflect on what you can do to bring Jesus to the community. He said we need to be creative in adapting to the changing times, but always being rooted in the Catholic traditions.

When I attended Mass on Sunday, the priest indicated he was in the congregation at the Cathedral and was struck by the pope’s homily. We all need to be reflections of Jesus, sharing the Spirit with everyone we encounter. The whirlwind visit of His Holiness has left us with much to ponder, but it cannot stop at just thought. It needs to be turned into action. What about you? What will you do to be Christ to another?

Catholic Girl Journey

A Close Encounter Among a Few Hundred Friends

After a full day of music, silence reigned. Hundreds were on their knees, each holding a lighted candle. Jesus was the star.

Adoration of the Eucharist at AbbeyFest 2015

Adoration of the Eucharist at AbbeyFest 2015

On the beautiful grounds of Daylesford Abbey, the second annual AbbeyFest was every bit as uplifting and transforming as the first. Mingling families with religious, all celebrating God’s goodness and glory. For me, it was the opportunity to renew old friendships along with making new ones. What a powerful experience to be among Catholics, singing God’s praises, celebrating His humanity in Mass and adoring His divinity in adoration.

The Norbertine fathers of the Abbey are gracious hosts. Abbot Richard Antonucci, O. Pream remarked at Mass that it was the highpoint of their year, one that was reflected in the joy that beamed from each man’s face, from the younger to the elder. The talents of various artists, from the Marie Miller Band to Sara Groves and Brandon Heath, entertained the crowds during the day, preparing all for an amazing celebration of Mass.

One of the special experiences at the end of Mass occurs when the fathers call to come forward all those who are both in preparation for religious life as well as those who are discerning a vocation. It is incredible to see the amount of young people who are open to God’s call. Even more incredible is the abbot asking the congregation to extend their hands over the gathered group as he leads a prayer for them. While it’s not unusual for me to keep others in my prayers, it’s quite a different experience when the recipients are present and the prayer posture has my hands stretched out. It’s electric; you can almost feel the prayer itself.

Matt Maher at AbbeyFest 2015

Matt Maher at AbbeyFest 2015

While the advertisement listed the headlining act as Matt Maher, the real star of the show was Jesus in  Eucharistic adoration. Matt’s songs seemed to take on a richer meaning in the context surrounding adoration. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were kneeling in silence with lighted candles who just moments before were singing and dancing along with Matt’s performance. The candles seemed to be the fire of love each of us has for God. We have been renewed with God’s love through the musical gifts He has bestowed on these talented people. Matt’s ending song, “Hold Us Together”, was perfect to send us on our way and prepare us for the World Meeting of Families. The celebration of the Catholic Faith in a little corner of Pennsylvania has begun.