Mary Making Me Pretty

I could be wrong, but I think every girl wants to be told that she is pretty. People remark on what the see on the outside, because it is readily seen. I hope every girl wants to work to be pretty on the inside too. That beauty takes longer to mature but it lasts right up to eternity.

I have been thinking a lot about eternity. God's kingdom. In God's kingdom all of the saints and angels are described not as pretty or beautiful, but glorious. The reason they are glorious to behold is because they overflowing with God's glory, His beauty and His light. God's kingdom where Love and Joy dwell, because He is Love and Joy.

Why am I thinking about eternity? Well, I think we all should. It is the final stop on our pilgrimage in this world. I have a lot of people that have passed away in my life recently to also remind me of eternity. And then I have the ever increasing reminders from my own body...more gray hair, the appearance of age spots, and my internal temperature being out of whack just to name a few. I was never noted as being beautiful or even pretty when I was growing up. If I was ever addressed as such it was “Wow. You have beautiful blue eyes.” or "You have a great smile."  I was surrounded by beautiful people while I was growing up and thankfully they were beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside. I was the kid that came into the house dirty, crumb stained mouth and usually in mismatched wardrobe. I see my inner spiritual child as resembling the same. “How can I appear before God if I look like this?” I wondered. “You won't.” came my answer and then I was reminded that I am consecrated to Jesus through Mary. Mary, my mother, will clean me up before I come before God. Mothers always make sure that you are presentable. Mary would do the same. Also, Mothers usually accompany their children when they are meeting someone special. Mary would do the same.

I am reminded of St. Louis de Montfort's analogy that is highlighted in Fr. Michael Gaitley's book 33 Days to Morning Glory, which is the accessible way for many people to attempt the devotion of the consecration to Jesus through Mary. Here is the excerpt...

“It is as if a peasant, wishing to gain the friendship and benevolence of the king, went to the queen and presented her with a fruit which was his whole revenue, in order that she might present it to the king. The queen, having accepted the poor little offering from the peasant, would place the fruit on a large and beautiful dish of gold, and so, on the peasant's behalf, would present it to the king. Then the fruit, however unworthy in itself to be a king's present, would become worthy of his majesty because the dish of gold on which it rested and the person who presented it.”

Mary can make us presentable to God. Mary can even make us pretty to His eyes.

On the Battlefield

Whether we like it or not we are on the battlefield of a spiritual war. A war between good and evil. Those of us in the United States are wondering whether we are in a battle between two evils. My title does not refer to the upcoming Presidential election. The war that I am referring to is the one between the forces of light and darkness...God and Satan.

This war has been on my heart a lot since I just renewed my consecration to Jesus through Mary on the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. That feast day is also known as Our Lady of Victories and refers to the Battle of Lepanto. The Battle of Lepanto was the battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League. Due to the victory of the Holy League that day, Europe would remain Christian. The Holy League credited the victory to the Virgin Mary's intercession through the prayer of the rosary. Pope Pius V instituted a feast day on October 7 to commemorate this victory and the feast was named Our Lady of Victories.

I have lost count of all the times I have had to face a spiritual battle or a conflict in this very earthly world and I have turned to the rosary for peace and consolation; and Our Lady has blessed me with grace and resolution. The rosary prayer is so simple and yet so effective.

I find it interesting that as I was researching Our Lady of Fatima that her main request was that people should pray the rosary. Yes, she also wanted the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yes, she also asked for First Saturdays to be dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. But Our Lady's main request was for people to pray the rosary.

We are on a battlefield and the best way to arm ourselves in this battle is to wield a powerful, simple prayer of the rosary. This should not come as a surprise that this prayer will defeat evil, for it is the prayer that Our Blessed Mother will hear and intercede for us. She is the one that Satan fears, because it has been foretold that she will end Satan's story. She already has ended Satan's story...she said “Yes!” to God and gave birth to Jesus Christ.

My Pilgrimage to Pittsburgh

When I travel I love to visit Catholic Churches and Shrines. I have been so blessed to encounter so many hidden jewels of the faith in places like Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. I attended the annual G. K. Chesterton conference that was held at Slippery Rock University, which is near Pittsburgh, PA. I decided to drive to the conference and make a pilgrimage out of the journey.

One of the promotional sources for the conference gave me a final destination for my pilgrimage beyond attending the conference. St. Anthony'sChapel in Pittsburgh, PA is the home to over 5, 000 relics. I had recently seen another collection of relics in St. Marys, KS and had told my guide there “This is a glimpse of what the communion of saints must look like.” The idea of encountering such a gathering of saints pulled at me and I decided to make St. Anthony of Padua the patron of my pilgrimage.

I actually did not know much about St. Anthony of Padua except that you could ask for him to intercede for you in regards to finding things. I picked up a little statue of St. Anthony and had my priest bless him and then we headed out on our journey east. “I wonder what you are going to help me find, St. Anthony.” I mused. I made up some rules for my pilgrimage.

1. If I stopped, I would have to look up a Catholic church and visit it.
2. At the Catholic church, I would place a rose at the statue of Mary
3. and I would pray a decade of the rosary in front of the statue.
4. I would take a picture of where I visited.

With these stipulations in mind, I headed off on my adventure.

My first stop was for a late lunch/early dinner in Effingham, IL. Effingham has a huge cross that can be seen from Highway 70. I did not visit the Cross at the Crossroads, but I did ask my GPS where the Catholic Churches were in Effingham, IL. Effingham is blessed with several Catholic Churches, but one caught my eye...St. Anthony's. “This is your trip too, St. Anthony, it only makes sense that my first stop is at your church.” I parked in the parking lot and walked up to the entrance door. Most Catholic churches in the middle of the day on Wednesday are locked, but this one was open.

A gentleman, who had been working somewhere else in the church walked in and caught

me walking around admiring the artwork and the architecture. I explained my pilgrimage and he said “You think this place is pretty you should go down this highway to St. Fransis of Assisi in Teaotopolis.” I thanked him and headed toward Teaotopolis, IL. I believe he was correct, but I will let you make that judgement call yourself.

I headed eastward and did not stop again until I was in Indiana. Indianapolis, IN has several Catholic Churches, but one caught my eye...St. Anthony of Padua. The sun was starting to set as I parked across the church and noticed that people were going into the church! What were the odds that the church would be open on a Wednesday evening? I walked into the church and saw that Confession was being made available at this time.

I made it to Columbus, OH without taking another stop. The next morning I had to head lickety split to Split Rock to meet up with my Chestertonian friends.

Sunday, I headed into Pittsburgh to visit my journey's point.

Pictures are not allowed in the chapel, since they use money from donations and the purchases of items bought at the gift shop to maintain the chapel. I respect that wish. The book I bought shows the relics in display. The almost life size and definitely life like Stations of the Cross (if you go take a look at Our Blessed Mother's face for you will see the tracks of her tears). The gorgeous stained glass, which features each of the apostles with the attribute of how they died. I have a book to remind me of these beautiful encounters, but there is one item that I wish that I could have taken just one picture or had it pictured in the book. Somewhere near a collection of relics from each of the saints in the Old Testament, there was a statue of the Blessed Mother. What brought tears to my eyes was the fact that she looked just like the statue that I had been searching for almost 5 years! (link) No crown on her head. She truly looked like the image from my dream. St. Anthony, what did you find for me? Then I looked down at the statue's feet at the base read “Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima”. I had found out her name!!! Her name was that of pilgrim. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I stepped out into the sunlight and just thanked God for all that I had seen, but He had more in store for me.

I had been encouraged by a tour guide of the Chapel to go to the Cathedral and pay a visit. It was breath taking!

I then turned west and headed home. I decided to try a church in Ohio, since I had missed visiting one on the way up. In London, OH I stopped and found St. Patrick's.

 

 The door was locked and that was a signal to me to head home.

St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us!!!

Peace From Praying the Rosary

On July 23^rd, at the Vigil Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Farley, Iowa; I witnessed the peace that comes from praying the rosary. My boss and I had driven through a storm on our way to a show in Bankston, Iowa. The plan was to attend the vigil mass before the show. We actually arrived in time for Confession, so I took the opportunity to encounter this sacrament before I would receive the Blessed Sacrament.

The Gospel was about Jesus teaching the Our Father. The priest then began his homily on prayer and how it is a way to strengthen your relationship with God. Everyone's cell phone started going off with an alert. My boss looked at his cell phone and it looked like there was a Tornado warning issued for our area. The priest ended his homily and began preparing the gifts. My boss checked the radar on his phone. “Maria, go downstairs to the basement. I will let you know if you can come up.” I went downstairs and knelt at the bottom step listening as the priest continued to go through with consecrating the host. My boss was at the entrance of the church with some of the other men watching the storm roll in. My boss told me the sky was filled with rolling thunder. The neighborhood sirens blared out their warning blare. I was joined in the basement by my boss and the retired priest, who had been walking outside. My boss told us “A tornado warning had been issued and people were to seek shelter immediately.” The retired priest went upstairs to tell people that after they had received they should make their way to the basement and not attempt to drive in the storm. People started drifting downstairs to the basement and the retired priest stood next to a crucifix and began to say the rosary. The prayer was only interrupted once by a gentleman that said “No confirmation of this report, but it is said that a tornado is near Dyersville and heading this way. I will let you know more as I find out.” The rosary was started again. I knew that we had a lot of elderly in our numbers and a few women near me were working themselves into a panic. “Pray the rosary with me.” “I can't hear it.” one woman muttered to me. “Then we must be loud so that all can hear.” Outside the window near where my boss had posted himself grew black as night. I looked across the basement to the window opposite of him. The sky was green gray. It was raining so hard that it looked like we were in a car wash. Peace and resolve reigned as the rosary was recited. I would glance around at the people near me from time to time just to be aware of who was around me, but I kept my focus on the crucifix. The rosary ended and people looked at their cell phones. “It appears to have passed.” said the gentleman, who made the first announcement. People started to exit. I went upstairs and knelt in a pew to pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God. My boss checked in with our client to let her know that we were okay and after the storm had cleared our path to the show we hit the road. Tell tale signs of debris made up mostly of tree branches were on the streets of the town. No buildings had been hit that we could see as we made our way onward to the show

Praying the Rosary in a Group

I love praying the rosary. The rosary was the lasso that made me stop short of leaving the path that was heading towards the Catholic Church. The prayers of the rosary have given me peace, strength, patience, courage and gratitude in times when I lacked these qualities. Since I love this devotion, I probably will write a lot on the subject. Today, I will focus on praying the rosary with a group of people, which can be a joy or a cross for me.

I travel around the country a lot and so I encounter how parishes prepare for mass. I do get a thrill when I am praying and someone says “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” and begins to recite the rosary. I fall into dismay if the person leading the rosary begins to recite the Hail Marys as if they were an auctioneer hawking a ware and looking for bids. I understand that the leader might be concerned about time, but if that is the concern start the rosary at least 30 minutes before mass starts. The other thing that bothers me is that this chain of prayers begins to sound like a robot reciting the square root of pi. “Hail Mary...mumble, mumble, mumble. Hail Mary...mumble, mumble, mumble.” A prayer (even a group prayer) is a time with God. A conversation with God! It should not be wrapped in theatricality but at the same time it should be directed to God, who loves us so much. I pray that you talk lovingly to those of your family and use a bit of inflection so that they can hear even in your words your love for them. So should not your prayers, even the recitation of the rosary carry with it your reciprocation of God's love. In case we should forget that God love us most Catholic Churches have a crucifix near the altar as a reminder of His love.

So, dear readers, I hope you do pray the prayer of the rosary and when you do pray it, pray it as little Valentines to God for He sent us the greatest Valentine of all Jesus Christ, His Son, who died for us. That is Love!!!

Peter and Paul

June 29^th is the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. Peter always fascinated me. Growing up Presbyterian, we would read how Peter left his work as a fisherman to follow Jesus. Peter was very human and as I child I had pity on Peter, who seemed to have the best of intentions but who would make a mess of things. I remember a few coloring books depicting Jesus rescuing a sinking Peter, who had attempted to follow Christ in walking on the water. Coloring Peter's hair brown, I would scold him saying “Why didn't you stay in the boat, Peter, where it is safe? You're not Jesus. You can't walk on water.” When I was older and started to attend Passion plays, Peter's denial of Jesus always affected me. “Peter, how could you? After all the time you spent with Jesus and how you professed how much you loved Him, how could you deny Him so easily?” I would think this thought to myself every time I witnessed that scene. I did not realize at the time how dead I was inside. I professed a risen Lord but I was completely detached by what that meant.

Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection were events that had happened in the past. I professed that they were true and that they did happen.  But to then admit that He is still very alive and very present here on this Earth NOW. Well, I have to admit I was worse than Peter. I wasn't denying Jesus. I was in denial.

Paul was also featured in my coloring books. A light shining on Paul and Paul looking stunned. A horse in the background on hind legs depicting that he had just knocked off his rider. Whenever, Paul's conversion story was read at church service, we always rejoiced that Paul had found Jesus and no longer persecuted Christians. Hallelujah a sinner has been saved that is the end of the story and what a happy ending!  Sadly, Paul's story is so much more than when he was knocked off his horse that event is the beginning for Paul. Paul's writings depict a man who is passionate about Our Lord and who is on fire to share the gospel with everyone. Saul (Paul) was intelligent and educated in the Jewish law (the Pharisees and chief priests held in him in great respect for his knowledge), he was a great orator and knew how to move a crowd and he was driven by the idea of complete destruction of those who claimed to be Christian. Upon his conversion, Paul used these same gifts towards proclaiming Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.

One way to appreciate St. Paul is to spend some time just reading a letter of his. They are filled with passion, reason and love. I had the privilege in being in a show where St. Paul's words were brought to life. I traveled with a show called The Journey of St. Paul and I played a variety of characters that Paul encounters throughout his ministry, but my main character was Queen Bernice. As an actor you need to actively listen to your fellow actors. So as Queen Bernice I actively listened to Paul's words, which were taken from his letters. How can you not listen to Paul's words and not be changed especially when the actor portraying Paul understood what Paul was trying to say? I know that I was not the only one affected by our show, for many people in the audience would come up to us in tears afterwards.  Our audience members saw Jesus alive and working through us in
The Journey of St. Paul, but Jesus was alive and working in the people we encountered on tour too.

On tour, I had the privilege of encountering people living their faith in their daily lives being silent witnesses in their work and words. Jesus was not just for Sunday for these people but daily. I was stunned to discover this kind of devotion to Jesus existed. I probably looked like the Paul from my childhood coloring book. This devotional life made me desire it for myself.  Once I had witnessed the Consecration of the Host my desire to know more only grew. I did not understand what had taken place, but I knew that all those around me believed it to be Jesus and that my heart was agreeing that Christ was indeed alive and right before me. The True Presence was present right in front of me!  That idea alone woke me up and knocked me down off my “high horse”.

I like to joke that Paul, who was a convert and who converted many in his own time is still helping converts to this day.

 The first cast of The Journey of St. Paul at our first show.  7am in Cincinnati, OH

St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us!

Ordinary Time

When I was Presbyterian, we had a minister that announced where we were in the liturgical calendar. When it was Ordinary Time my Dad would get annoyed that this too was announced every Sunday without fail. “We know that it is ordinary time. We don't need to be reminded of it.” For those that live a very scheduled lifestyle, ordinary time must be a reminder of just another day of...(fill in the blank).

As a Catholic, I am very aware that we follow the liturgical calendar and that we are currently in Ordinary Time. It is a time of listening to Jesus's time of ministry in the Gospel, which was far from ordinary. It can also be a time to meditate on the hidden years in Nazareth when the Holy family lived as an ordinary family doing ordinary work to survive. It is a time of rest after all the festivities of Easter and Christmas. It is a time of taking new habits learned during Lent and Advent and incorporating them into our daily lives.

Since I have dedicated this blog to Mary, I have been reflecting on what Mary did during those ordinary moments in her daily life. Cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking care of the needs of her family come to mind. I can just imagine Our Blessed Mother doing these chores with love as she pondered things in her heart. As an imperfect human being, like myself, these chores can wear on you or depress you before you even get started. Meals are needed at least 3 times a day, laundry is a never-ending chore and cleaning. Cleaning is a battle with dust bunnies, who keep finding ways to multiply in places that only become visible when company pays a visit. Yet, if I used this time of ordinary properly I have a chance to ponder all of God's gifts to me as I perform these menial tasks. Thank God I have a variety of choices to prepare 3 meals a day! Praise God I have the abundance of food for 3 meals a day! Thank God I have clothing that seems to be without end. Praise God I have a way of cleaning my clothing! Thank God I have a home that is big enough that it needs my attention to its upkeep! Praise God I have a home!

Maybe if we look to find God in our ordinary everyday work we can see all the blessings that He has given us in what we might otherwise dismiss. This Ordinary time will actually become an Extra-Ordinary time because He is there among us.