faith journey

Something more than feelings

How are you feeling today? Happy, sad, angry, frustrated, holy, scared, lonely, peaceful, or mischievous? Perhaps it’s a mixture of several of those. Our culture today puts a lot of emphasis on feelings, but is there another perspective we should consider?

How many times have you heard someone say they “just want to be happy” either about themselves or someone they are close to? One can look at the term happy and say it’s impossible for anyone to just be happy. Life will always throw challenges our way. But what if you considered happiness and being happy as a state of being, rather than just an emotional response in the moment? Lasting happiness would then be possible. 

Perhaps happiness is an attitude that you cultivate. Instead of constantly chasing things that may make you happy, or give you happy feelings, maybe it’s having an appreciation for the world around you and finding delight in the details. If we appreciate the warmth of the sun and refreshment of rain, then no matter what the weather, you can be happy. If life throws the challenge of burned brownies your way, then maybe you appreciate that dessert is not a necessity after every meal, and that will make the next dessert more special when you do have it. 

If you are in a state of happiness, can you have other feelings? Of course! Your emotions are going to change from one minute to the next. Emotions are a response to the environment around you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t pursue a state of being happy. You can cry and be happy at the same time. You can be angry and still be in a state of happiness. It’s what you do with your emotions that identify if you are pursuing happiness or some other state of being. Some may look at the world and only see the problems and they live in a troublesome state of being — anger, frustration, anxiety, etc. When you hyperfocus on the evils of the world, it makes it hard to see the light of Christ and the salvation that He brings to the world, even now. 

Being happy doesn’t mean that you don’t recognize the issues in your community, from local and national to global troubles. Happiness looks for a small way to ease the burdens of another, not to solve all the problems all at once. Just as you find joy in small ways, so too can issues be addressed a little at a time. Look at the work of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, she looked to make a difference as she helped one person at a time. Before social media was invented, the world knew who she was, even though she did not seek publicity in the care she was providing to the poorest of the poor. She saw the reflection of Jesus in each person she cared for, and in turn, cared for each person as if they were Jesus. 

You don’t need to feel happy to be happy. Actually, you are not called to be happy, you are called to be holy. When you pursue a life state of holiness, then joy, peace, and happiness flow through the grace of God into all aspects of life. God gifted you with feelings and emotions so that you can appreciate the blessings He provides and recognize when you fall short of His will and follow your own instead. While you can use your emotional responses as cautionary signals, you should not wallow in them, lest they become like quicksand and make you sink into one feeling that lasts a lifetime. Your feelings are just one part of the masterpiece that God has created you to be; reflect the Master’s work in all the abilities with which He has blessed you.   

Weapon of change

October is the month dedicated to the rosary. A whole month? Yes! The rosary has been touted as the most powerful prayer, especially when prayed daily. How can this prayer, that features the Blessed Virgin Mary, be so effective in our spiritual battles?

Living in a physical world, we often forget that there is also a spiritual realm active and all around us. Thankfully we each have a guardian angel to accompany us through life and assist us in our spiritual battles. The battles are not for the angel to take care of however, but rather they are ours to confront. This fight is ours alone, though we can seek our angel’s assistance. Sometimes, this means taking action to perform a corporal or spiritual work of mercy; other times, it means avoiding sinful actions.

A quick Google search on “who said the rosary is a weapon” provided quite a number of responses. The most prominent was from St. Padre Pio. “Love the Madonna and pray the rosary, for her Rosary is the weapon against the evils of the world today. All graces given by God pass through the Blessed Mother,” is attributed to him. However, others who have proclaimed the power of the rosary include: Blessed Pope Pius IX, St. Josemaria Escriva, Pope Pius XI, and Pope Leo XIII.

In any war, soldiers are trained and practice handling their weapons until they are practically an extension of themselves. In our war against temptations, we train by praying the rosary, pondering deeply the mysteries within it, so that we can be strengthened for the fight. While the rosary seems to focus on the Blessed Mother because the majority of the prayers are the Hail Mary, the mysteries are about the life of Jesus. They focus on both the happy moments as well as the sad ones, allowing us to accompany Jesus throughout His whole human life. With each Hail Mary, we ponder the words of scripture. From Gabriel’s salutation at the Annunciation to Elizabeth’s greeting, when John the Baptist leapt in her womb, we are reminded that God has a plan for each of us. And by praying Mary’s prayer, we ask her to help us say yes to God like she did. 

The rosary is a vehicle for God’s graces to flow into the world. It most likely will not happen very fast, but the change is real. It starts with us, who are praying the rosary. Our attitudes, our decisions, and the way we conduct ourselves reflect the light of Christ. The effects ripple outward towards others, softly encouraging them to change their ways as well, learning to start saying no to sin and temptations. While we will continue to fall, the rosary will help lift us up to seek God’s mercy and guidance, returning us to the path that leads us to heaven. And when we’re disappointed that the intention we’ve prayed for does not come to fruition, we will be reminded that the rosary is not for our will to be done, but for God’s will to succeed, as He knows what is truly best for every one of us. 

Ultimately the spiritual warfare we are battling is for souls to get to heaven. The more we pray the rosary for our world, the more lives we can save from eternal damnation, including ourselves. That’s a powerful weapon, indeed!  

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Beautiful bad day

Everyone suffers from a bad day occasionally, though the definition of such a day can vary greatly from person to person. While it may seem contradictory,  positive words can describe a bad day allowing us to find beauty in them much like we do a good day.

I often think days we would describe as being bad simply illustrate that we are not in control. Recently I had a day that I would at least describe as a challenging, if not completely a bad day. I had in mind how certain events would go and they didn’t happen that way at all. Some circumstances I was confident wouldn’t be an issue ended up surprising me by being problematic. When confronted with events unfolding other than what was expected, it really throws off your whole outlook and you begin to question everything. When you add onto that the normal difficulties any day can serve up — dropping items, cleaning up spills, and so on — you can feel the weight of uncertainty and trouble practically anchoring you in place. Yes, I did call out to God and the saints for help and I know they were there with me all day even though my prayers weren’t answered in the way I wanted them to be. I know God answers all prayers, and it’s difficult when the answer is either “No,” or “Not right now.”

I firmly believe in God’s plan for me, even if I can’t always discern it. While I strive to be open and do His will, challenging days leave me bewildered. I reflect on the lives of saints, a number of whom had a sickly constitution and were rejected by multiple religious orders until they found an order that would accept their situation. They are usually described as being gentle and demonstrating great patience. Yet anyone who’s ever been ill knows how difficult it is to be nice to people when you’re not feeling well. They go on to do so many great and wonderful things, it’s no wonder that they are named a saint! But part of me wonders if they ever had a bad day, despite their condition. Yet, when you distill the whole of a person’s life down to just a few paragraphs, you’re going to highlight the best in a person. The bad days the saints experienced did not define their life, even if those days did shape and adjust the trajectory of their lives. 

As I was going through my bad day, I started to wonder if I was allowing God to be God? What can I learn by letting things unfold, even if it seems to be more work for me? Is this an opportunity to practice humility? I have a list of chores that need to get done and I expect to do them a certain way, but when a bad day interrupts my plans, how gracious am I to allow it? If this bad day was a test, then I failed miserably. I don’t like using bad language, but a bad day seems to rewire my brain so that at every challenge some ugly word is spoken aloud. I feel totally frustrated and like I have absolutely no patience left. Yet I know, despite not feeling one sentiment of peace, God is with me through it all. 

Looking back at what happened and how I reacted, I do feel guilty for not handling it better and definitely felt unworthy to pray to God. But that is exactly what Satan wants us to believe. He possesses the remarkable ability to discern our difficult days, and he intensifies them with his own distinctive, unconventional perspective. Perhaps this is really the true test of a bad day, not so much how we handled the events themselves, but the perspective afterwards. Do we continue to turn to God? Do we allow the remorse of our actions and responses lead us to Jesus for mercy, forgiveness, and peace? Or do we cling to how bad of a day the events were and how miserable they make us feel? 

Bad days are an inevitable part of the human experience. They also provide valuable opportunities for self-reflection and strengthening one’s faith and reliance on God.

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Catholic test drive

While meandering through the rabbit hole of YouTube, the algorithm served up two suggestions for me that were intriguing. Can faith, and the expression of it through a particular religion, be tried on or tested out?

Our world is very secular and every denomination claims to have open doors to those who are interested. The Catholic Church has a whole process around the entrance for converts: Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). However, in the two videos I watched, these individuals weren’t necessarily interested in converting. They were more interested in having a better understanding of Catholicism and what it means to be a Catholic. The first person I watched took a very studious approach to his experience, while the second person’s perspective was one of a challenge. It was the second one, in particular, that made me think that the approach to religion was being equated to testing-driving a car. I know God calls people in many ways, and perhaps even if neither person converts, could these 30-day challenge videos encourage others to “try” Catholicism? 

Protestant Goes to Mass for 30 Days Straight

YouTuber Nash Georgiev posted his video a few days prior to when I watched it. I was impressed that he read several books in preparation for attending Mass. His goal was to understand Catholicism better, and, potentially, to be able to argue against the teachings based on his experience. In his thirst for knowledge of the faith, he seemed to be getting tired of the trite and repetitive brush-offs Protestants use to dismiss anything Catholic. Through his Bulgarian heritage, he was familiar with Orthodox Churches, and took time to appreciate and explain the symbolic details of the architecture in the Catholic Church he attended. Even with all the preparation Nash did — including reading parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he was still confused as to what was happening at Mass. While he noticed that the congregation participated and responded to the priest, he wasn’t quite sure how to follow it. He also mentioned, of course, the amount of movement required during a Mass; the standing, the sitting, and the kneeling. If he was taking this “adventure” on by himself, it made sense that he was confused. While every Mass is open to anyone to attend, having a basic understanding of the actual actions, or someone who can explain in real time, is needed in order to see the fruits of attending. 

There were three main impacts that Nash indicated in his video. First, he was surprised to hear that Catholics pray for unity for all Christians. He had never heard another denomination do that. I think he expressed it well when he said he felt as if “Mother Church [was] waiting for her rebellious children to come home.” He also expressed how the Bible came to life within the act of worship, since so many prayers are based on, or directly from, Scriptures. What seems to have touched his heart is the reverence he saw Catholics giving to the Eucharist. As he was summarizing his experience, he expressed hesitation in participating in the symbolic communion service at his Protestant Church because of the depth of belief Catholics have in The Real Presence.

I thought Nash did a wonderful and respectful review of his 30 days attending Mass. Not even all Catholics attend daily! Perhaps with his newly open and receptive heart, his faith journey may lead him home to becoming Catholic.  

I Lived Like A Catholic For 30 Days

YouTuber Jacob Giron started his video by giving the count of how many Christian denominations there are. He posted his video about a month ago, and while he claims to be Christian, he didn’t seem to have any particular way to practice his faith. He mentioned his Catholic friends being disciplined in their prayers and Mass attendance and was using this 30-day challenge to see if Catholicism was right for him. There were three things he felt makes someone a Catholic: Mass, prayer, and confession. He was very eager to try all three, including confession!

Jacob began by talking with a priest, which I thought was an appropriate way to start. However, I think he was a bit disappointed that he didn’t receive a checklist of what to do and in what order. The first few days were focused on prayer. He pulled out his Bible and looked up the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s Gospel, and while he explained that he knew it, he also admitted that he never used “recited prayers.” Rather than going to Mass every day, Jacob’s attendance was limited to Sundays. It was rather humorous to hear him try to explain the kneelers. While I admit I did cringe when I saw him chewing gum when he entered the Church, he was cognizant to feel he was underdressed for Mass. He did talk with one of the parishioners who helped give him a bit more understanding of the Mass. Jacob seemed impressed with the unity of the Catholic Mass, in that all the Catholic Churches use the same Scripture readings around the world for any given Sunday. 

I wasn’t surprised at Jacob’s reflection on confession. Since he isn’t a Catholic, he really wasn’t prepared for the sacrament. His expectation was to just talk with the priest and seemed to be surprised at the ritual of it. While priests often do give pastoral counsel during confession, it’s usually when a person is prepared to confess specific sins, because they have reflected on what they have, or have not done. Without this approach, as well as proper remorse for one’s sins, one can’t fully receive the graces from the sacrament. In his summary, Jacob indicated he was not ready to make a commitment to becoming Catholic and still had many more questions. 

While the approaches and the intentions seemed to be different for each man, I’m not convinced a 30-day challenge is a good idea for faith and religion. Faith is a journey and it’s also a relationship; both with God as well as each person we meet. Our chosen religion is how we express and practice what we believe. I don’t think you can try-on a denomination to see if it fits you. The Catholic faith and its practice is for you to be molded into the likeness of Jesus, imitating Him and having a relationship with Him. Faith changes us into the best version of ourselves. To look for faith and a religious expression to be anything else, is wanting to play at being God. 

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Wealth beyond measure

The juxtaposition of an enormously large lottery drawing and last Sunday’s Gospel message where Jesus spoke of handling wealth, I find most fascinating. It seems to prompt one to reflect not just on money, but all possessions and our relationship to them. 

Last week as I was creating some test content for a website at work, I found myself typing in, what I thought at the moment, silly sayings. Since the content is merely for testing purposes, it’s not important what the words are, however, I do like to use actual sentences, so that the tests sufficiently measure the functionality of the application. For the headline, I wrote something like, Want to get wealthy fast? Perhaps it was all the talk about the lottery that my subconscious had me write that. However, the short paragraph that followed has haunted me until Sunday’s Gospel. “Give it all away. Seriously. When you give everything away, then you’re left with only what you need. Then you’re as wealthy as you need to be and you are freed from any attachments to possessions.” When I finished typing that into the test system, I was surprised at what I wrote! Where did this come from? Certainly not me!

In my initial ponderings about what I wrote, I knew it to be the message that Scripture conveys. According to Bishop Robert Barron, that is exactly what the first Beatitude is all about: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Poor in this sense is meant to indicate an attachment to things, albeit money, material goods, or a combination of both. As I looked around my office, I realized all the stuff I have. For example, I have two beautifully hard-bound books that I used in my college classes — several decades ago — each encompassing the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer. Do I need these books? No. Do I ever look at these books? I can’t recall the last time I did so. Will I remove these books from the premises? Not unless I have to. They are nice books! I don’t see the purpose of getting rid of perfectly nice books, unless I need to downsize what I have. If something happened to them, would I replace them? Nope. So I don’t have an attachment to them, yet I insist on keeping them, which makes me think there is some sort of connection I have with them. Yet these are just two examples of the superfluous minutiae that I have.

“If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (Lk 16:12) This line caught my attention during Sunday’s Gospel reading and sent me pondering down a whole different train of thought. What is really ours? What do we have that we have not received through the grace and blessing of God? While we may have worked to receive a paycheck to pay for our home, our furnishings, our clothes, it is the generosity of God that has allowed us to be able to work in whatever job we have. Indeed, it’s not just the items that surround us, but our very being itself that is a gift of God. Each breath and heartbeat is willed by God. Are we trustworthy stewards of all that God has given us?

As children of God, we are called to reflect what the Father does for us. He is lavish with His blessings and we are called to mirror that same generosity towards others. For some it may be spending time with them — a precious gift that we cannot make any more of — to listen and be present in that moment. Others may require a helping hand to complete a task. And still others may require food, clothing, or money to buy the essentials of life. As God blesses us in many ways with many things, there is no singular way that we give of ourselves to others. Rather, it’s looking for ways that we can assist. Some are called to serve food at a shelter, some are called to prepare the food, and some are called to purchase the ingredients. Each gives differently according to their capability and calling.

Wealth, in a pure secular sense, is fleeting. We all know we cannot take it with us when we pass from this life. However, the more we imitate God in the here and now, the better we will be able to recognize Him in heaven, because in serving others, we see in each person the image of God. True wealth, then, is not something we can measure because it is the Infinite God of Love.  

Exalt life

This past Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Every year it is celebrated on September 14, and this year, because the 14th fell on a Sunday, the feast ranked higher than an ordinary Sunday. But why do Catholics celebrate an instrument of torture and death?

If you had asked a contemporary of Jesus what the cross meant to them, it was a form of occupation, punishment, torture, and death. It was reviled across all the Roman conquered lands since death on the cross was how the Romans punished those who revolted against them and the criminals within those regions. Roman citizens, however, were spared this gruesome method, and instead were beheaded — a faster and less painful form of capital punishment. The Romans perfected this form of execution and most lived in fear of it. 

The cross itself was rough, after all, it was a form of punishment, not something luxurious to be smoothed and sanded. It was crude and simple, but highly effective. And now we exalt it. Exalt has several definitions and two of them really speak to why we use that specific word. One definition is glorify and the other is elevate. When Jesus was raised up on the cross, His death was the final act of sacrifice for the debt of sin. He paid what we can never be able to with all the penances and sacrifices we take upon ourselves. The cross is seen as Christ’s throne. Jesus’ crowning achievement was redeeming us from certain, everlasting death. He restored the connection between humanity and the Divine. He has opened the doors, so to speak, for us to have a relationship with God, not only in this life, but for all eternity. 

The first few centuries were extremely difficult for Christians, yet more and more people converted to the faith, despite the potential of death. They could see that as hard as life was at that time, with daily living requiring laborious efforts, their hope was in eternal life with God. In the 4th century, Christianity became acceptable, thanks to the conversion of Emperor Constantine. His mother, St. Helena, is attributed to finding the True Cross on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The authenticity was determined by the result of miraculous healings for those that touched it. 

Today in many locations, there are relics, or pieces, of the True Cross available for veneration. One place is the Basilica of St. Andrew in Roanoke, Virginia, where I recently went on a pilgrimage. In a small room, dedicated just for the veneration of this most sacred object, one has the ability to kneel before it. For me, it was a moment of true humility. While it is only a tiny piece, I know that God does not need larger than life objects to make His presence felt. I can’t go back in time to provide comfort and support at the foot of the cross as Jesus died, but in that chapel, I was able to kneel before a piece of it and ask for forgiveness and the grace to forgive others. 

Whether it is a cross or a crucifix — that is a cross with the body of Jesus on it — we embrace Jesus and glorify God when we revere Christ’s sacrifice for us. We lift high in our homes crosses to remind us of what Jesus did for us. We wear a cross around our neck, wrist, or finger to remind us that we all have crosses in the many forms of challenges and trials of life to bear and we carry ours in solidarity with Jesus. In all our pain, sufferings, and sacrifices, we offer them up to God to transform them the way he did with the cross: turning from an object of death to a beacon of life. 

We elevate the cross for all to see, as Jesus on the cross was raised up to be a sacrifice for us all. We give thanks and glorify God for sending His Son to be our Savior. Truly, exalt is the most appropriate word to use since we fulfill both meanings of this one word. While it is officially celebrated on September 14th, let us not leave it to only that day to celebrate and thank God for all He has done for us through such a simple object.

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Saint for our time

What’s the first saint that comes to your mind? Did that person live in this century? There are a plethora of named saints in the Catholic Church, but only two lived in this century, one of which has just been officially canonized.

As we’re only 25 years into this century, it’s not surprising that only two named saints were alive when not just a new century was ushered in, but a new millennium. Pope Saint John Paul II died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014, which is quite a short amount of time. Given his public devotion to the church, for he was well-known and well-loved all over the world, it can be understandable that so many people sought his intercession to provide many opportunities for God’s miracles to be attributed to him. However, newly canonized, as of September 7, 2025, Saint Carlo Acutis was a mere teenager of 15 when he passed away from leukemia in 2006. Carlo was not just a regular teen who loved playing video games and dressed in jeans and sneakers. He was on fire for Jesus and used his programming skills to create a website dedicated to Eucharist miracles. 

“What does it matter if you can win a thousand battles if you cannot win against your own corrupt passions? The real battle is with ourselves.”
St. Carlo Acutis

According to Carlo’s mother, Antonia, it was Carlo who asked to be taken to Mass as often as possible and preferred daily Mass. While Antonia was Catholic, her attendance was very minimal. Carlo’s witness brought about a conversion in her to attend Mass more frequently, and most importantly, to receive the Holy Eucharist. Carlo noticed the crowds and devotion that others had for sports and entertainment figures and wanted the same for Jesus Christ. He researched many Eucharistic miracles and wanted to share the information with others. As a child of the new millennium, the best way to do that was with a website. It takes time and dedication to create the website and its content. Carlo could have spent his time playing video games or creating his own games, but instead, he created a website for the Real Presence of Jesus: Eucharistic Miracles of the World. 

In our modern era, it’s very easy for us to think of saints being from another era and not having to deal with the advances in technology and the changes in the political and economic landscape. Many teens today are more concerned about what they are going to wear, how many likes they have on the most recent social media app, and how they are going to spend their time outside of the classroom. But Carlo’s focus was on becoming holy. His rule was, “You must want it with all your heart.” How many of us today, not just teens, but adults as well, want to be a saint, but put off the investment of time required to become holy until “later?” We see the minimum of what the church requests of us as sufficient for us to enter heaven. It may be enough to keep a relationship with God, but we shouldn’t expect to walk through the pearly gates upon our life’s last breath on earth. The minimum precepts are provided as guardrails for a Christian life, and are there to encourage us to go deeper, learn more, participate more, volunteer more. If we expect to win a marathon, wouldn’t we put the time into training? While it’s never too late on this side of heaven to pursue a relationship with God, there are many graces and blessings we forgo when we pursue our own desires and put off wanting to be holy until later.

I’ve presented information about saints to young adults and older children participating in OCIA over the last few years. There was definitely interest and surprise when I brought up then-Blessed Carlo Acutis. He was someone who looked like them, understood the same world they do, dressed like them, and shared interests in soccer and video games. A few of them even considered his name for their confirmation name. It made them think that choosing a patron saint was not just about the name but about the person and how that person brought Jesus into the world around them. Saints are role models for us all. 

God calls all people to holiness and a relationship with Him. When we respond to that call, we are allowing God to transform us into the best version of ourselves. The more we want God, the more we desire holiness above all else, we are walking in the path to sainthood. Maybe we will become a named saint, but that’s not the goal of a saint. The goal is to want to spend eternal life in the presence of God in heaven, and to seek the path now that will help us get there. 

Basilica St. Andrews, Roanoke, VA

Basilicas, cathedrals, and shrines, oh my!

My parish offered a pilgrimage for the Jubilee of Hope to the Basilica of Saint Andrew in Roanoke, Virginia. It was like a mini retreat and we had a wonderful trip there. We received a tour of the basilica and the guide asked if we knew the difference between a basilica and a cathedral and if a church could be both. While I was positive that a church could be both, it got me wondering about the first question.

Growing up in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, I recall people using one of the following: the basilica, the cathedral, or the cathedral basilica. However, as I was thinking back to my time in Philly, I couldn’t recall the actual name of the church! There was a part of me that wanted to call it St. Peter’s, but I squashed that thought, as that would be the Vatican. I was partially correct. The name is the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. But what makes a church either one of these designations, or both?

The easy one to start out with is the cathedral. It gets its name from the Latin cathedra meaning throne or chair. This designation is for the church that serves as the parish for the bishop, archbishop, or cardinal of a diocese or archdiocese. There is a special chair reserved for the use by the bishop on the altar of the cathedral. One may consider it the chief or main church of that diocese. If the diocese is large enough, there may be more than one cathedral serving that diocese, although each would be in a different location. 

It was interesting to learn what makes a church a basilica. First, it is a church of historical and architectural value and the designation can only be granted by the Pope. A basilica is tied to the Holy Father and is his home base to celebrate Mass when he travels to that region. The seal of the basilica will contain the crossed keys to indicate the connection with the Pope. Other signs of a basilica are the ombrellino, an umbrella-like structure made of red and gold fabric that originally was used to shelter the Pope, and the tintinnabulum or little bell, that is used to lead the procession when the Pope is celebrating Mass. The expectation of a basilica is to celebrate liturgical feasts with enhanced solemnity. They also serve as a place of pilgrimage and can bestow an indulgence when the specific criteria is met. 

Basilica St. Andrews, Roanoke, VA

When I was chatting with folks outside of my parish about my trip to the basilica, most initially thought of the one in Washington DC. However, that church is not just a basilica, but also a shrine. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a place to foster devotion, in this case, to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception, since the United States is under her patronage via that title. A shrine is a sacred place and may contain a special relic, be on the site of a historical event, or the site of a spiritual event, like an apparition. When I hear the word shrine, especially as one who was raised in the Philadelphia area, I think of National Shrine of St. John Neumann and National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. These are places for pilgrims to travel and learn more about the faith, and participate in the Mass or other events hosted by the shrine. 

There are 70 national shrines in the United States, and over 90 basilicas. These sacred locations are a wonderful way to explore the spiritual riches in your own backyard, or to venture out somewhere new and seek God from a different perspective. 

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Built by God

Are you building a hut, a house, or a mansion for God in your soul? Scripture has often used the analogy of a building to correspond to our relationship with God; and the same holds true even today.

When we imagine what a hut would look like, we think of something made out of necessity. It’s to protect oneself from the elements and not meant for longevity. While it may last months, maybe even years, without constant upkeep and reinforcements, it’s not likely to see a full generation of living. Most huts are built directly on the ground, so there is little-to-no foundation for support. When we only seek God in times of trouble, not recognizing Him at any other time in our lives, then we are building a hut-type relationship with God. It’s meant to be assistance to us as we weather the storms in our lives, but not meant to be everlasting. 

When building a house, no matter how modest, one of the first things that is done is the foundation. This can be something deep, containing an underground basement, or can just be a slab of concrete — something flat, and supportive. As Catholics, we have a wonderful foundation in the sacraments. Baptism is the most basic of all the sacraments and welcomes us into the family of God. It is also the initial pouring out of grace and the Holy Spirit upon our souls. How we respond, not only to this initial introduction of grace but through the whole of our lives, determines what kind of house we build for God in our souls. Some try to balance belief in God with the demands of the world. While faith is still the base layer for that relationship, the house will be modest, due to secular competition. When we embrace all that Catholicism has to offer, fully receiving the sacraments with the intention of building a stronger relationship with God, we make more room in our souls for God to effect change in us. 

Making time for morning and evening prayer, whether it’s following the divine office, a variation of it, or a simple Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, we are inviting God into our lives and all our experiences. We are asking for God’s guidance to help us choose to do His will and to keep us from choosing the enticement of temptations. Yet if we seek to challenge ourselves to go beyond routine by making a retreat or adding additional pious practices into our lives, we continue to expand our relationship and make a larger home in our souls. When we seek to strengthen our relationship with God, we are asking Him to help us dig out all that keeps us from Him. It’s like seeking an experienced excavator who will look for the weaknesses in our foundation and repair them. This is not a simple bandage fix, but one that takes time, effort, and a whole lot of mess before the foundation is corrected and strengthened to add to the house. 

When we picture a mansion, we think of a huge house with more bedrooms and bathrooms than anyone could ever need in a single home. We would expect that, like a massive tree which has an even larger root system, a large mansion would have an extra deep and extra reinforced foundation.  When we think mansion, we think ultra wealthy and ultra luxury. Welcome to the homes of the saints! While they may have been poor on earth, they built a relationship with God that would outshine any grand architecture on this side of eternity. Not only did they embrace the sacraments and all the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church, but they made God their focus during their life on earth. Regardless of their vocation, they pursued bringing the light of Christ to the time and place they were at that moment. They allowed God’s will to be accomplished through them, being His hands, His feet, His eyes, and His smile. The fruits of their labors are reflected as the many rooms in the mansions of their souls. 

Perhaps it’s not so much of what type of dwelling are we building for God in our souls, but what kind of building are we allowing God to create within us. When we cooperate with God’s will, we are allowing God to help us change to become the best version of ourselves. A hut, a house, and a mansion are all dwelling places. Let us begin by welcoming God into our humble abode and asking Him to dwell within us.  

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Household harmony

Each person is a unique creation by God. And while differences can bring richness to life, it can also be a point of strife.

This past Sunday’s Gospel from Luke (Lk 12:49-53) seems out of character for Jesus. First He mentions setting the earth on fire; isn’t that what hell is supposed to be? Why would He want the world to burn? Then he talks about causing division, not just among nations but even within a family. The Messiah was to bring unity, so that all the tribes of Israel would be one nation. How can the Messiah bring a nation together when individual families are pitted against each other? 

There are several mentions in the Old Testament that describe God as a refiner or the analogy to God purifying His people like a refiner uses fire to burn away impurities. For those of us who are unfamiliar with refining precious metals, the refiner would continue to burn away the impurities until his own reflection could be seen in the metal. It is this understanding that makes the analogy so meaningful; God wants us to be reflections of Himself. God is love and mercy and wants us to mirror His love and mercy to each other. Since Jesus and the Father are One, Jesus wants what God the Father wants. Images of His Sacred Heart are illustrated with the refining flames of His love for us. As He loves us and purifies us with His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, He wants us to reflect that same ardor to our neighbor. His fire, however, is similar to that of the burning bush that Moses encountered, where it was fully engulfed in flames, yet did not cause the destruction of the tree. When we fully embrace the love Jesus has for us and reflect it towards others, we are like that tree in that we are not consumed by the fire, but rather become the best version of ourselves.

Being a reflection of Jesus in a secular world that prizes physical comforts and ease over the basic needs of others is going to cause agitation. Each person has free will, and thus we cannot force anyone, nor does Jesus, to believe and practice Jesus’ example. While we may strive to bring love, mercy, and peace to all we encounter, those on the receiving end may not appreciate our efforts. For example, if we spend time volunteering at the parish, that is time spent away from our family. This can seem like we care more for others than our family members, who may feel hurt and rejected. Instead of rejoicing that we can help others and share our talents with others, family members may respond with negative comments about our work. There are countless stories about saints whose family members tried to prevent them from following God’s calling. Divisions between the various Christian religions is also a source of grief for many. Even today, there are individuals who suffer family ruptures when they convert to Catholicism, which is ironic, since we all believe in Jesus and what He taught. 

Our earthly journey may be plagued by strife within our relationships. Sometimes others will be angry with us, while we hold grudges against another. When we allow the fire of Jesus’ love to penetrate our hardness of heart, we open ourselves and our relationships up for Him to heal. Perhaps it will be while we walk the earth, but for some it may not be repaired until purgatory. One thing that is for certain, heaven will be one household of harmony, since we will all be perfect reflections of God.