Give Thanks

Thank God for coffee! - a routine thought on an early morning after a late meeting the previous evening. Thank God! - a sigh from the depth of our soul when we hear good news after a night of uncertainty. Thank you - a note we write after receiving a gift. Thanks - a quick word tossed over our shoulder to the stranger who held the door for you.

We offer thanks and gratitude for little and large things. We use the words, “Thank you,” perhaps just out of routine.

In this week where our whole nation spends a bit more time focusing on giving thanks, take some time to find the meaning behind those simple words.

• Take a minute to list five things you are grateful for today.
• Take a minute to thank God for the people you are blessed to know.
• Take a minute to thank God for the physical blessings in your life, such as your home, work, and belongings.
• Take a moment to thank God for the encounters you had with God in the past week.
• Take a moment to thank God for the immeasurable love God has for you.

One Word at a Time - Enliven

The Consistory

Pope Francis opens the Consistory.

 I am going to jump ahead to what we just returned from - the consistory.

Today was the day that was so very unexpected when we began planning this pilgrimage. We never thought the timing would be such that we could attend the consistory that would elevate our Archbishop Cupich to Cardinal Cupich.

Yet there we were amid thousands of others trying to find our way through security in time to get seats. While we did no get seats, for most of us our positions allowed for better viewing.

As I can't resist the opportunity for a bit of formation, let me explain what the consistory consists of -

The liturgy begins with prayers - opening prayers that we are quite familiar with in style and form. The Pope then prays a prayer. A Liturgy of the Word follows; we heard from Luke 6:27-36. The Pope then gave a homily. The Creation of New Cardinals comes next consisting of prayers, the new Cardinals reciting the Creed, and each individual Cardinal promising fidelity and obedience. Once each Cardinal does this, he receives the biretta, his ring, and the titular church. There is the sign of peace, the Lord's Prayer, a prayer, and a closing hymn.

Despite the crowds and the size of St. Peter's basilica, I think you'll find the photos helpful to see a bit of what happened.

Cardinal Cupich receiving his biretta, ring and titular parish in Rome.

A view of the Cardinals under St. Monica's watchful eyes.

Following the consistory, we headed over to the Pontifical North American College for a reception. The reception also afforded us the opportunity for fantastic pictures.

If this pilgrimage sounds of interest to you, 

I invite you to consider joining us on the 2017 pilgrimage 

to Lourdes, Spain, and Portugal. 

See details here.

To Rome!

Assisi offered us a day of rest and quiet. With so much time to enjoy prayer and reflection, fellowship and laughter, we were ready to journey on to Rome.

On the way to Rome, we stopped in Orvieto. The town of Orvieto seems to be precariously set on the top of a butte. In fact, to reach the city, we had to take a funicular up the side of the hill. Our first destination was the Duomo of Orvieto.

The facade of the Duomo is astounding. Our guide rightly called it a summa theologica of our faith - Old Testament stories, the Gospel, Revelation, stories of Mary, the Apostles...these were all visible in the reliefs, sculptures, and mosaics covering the duomo.

We have seen so many churches that illustrate our faith - literally. Some themes and images repeat. Other aspects are unique. Yet each artist brings a different representation of the faith to his or her work. Each piece of art - be it sculpture, relief, painting, fresco, or mosaic - invites us to see God a bit differently, a bit more clearly.

As Orvieto is so small, there was only a small amount to see beyond the Duomo. After a great lunch (a recurring theme in Italy), we boarded the funicular again to head back down the butte to our bus.

The drive to Rome was unexceptional so many took advantage of the time to nap.

We reached Rome and before even heading to our hotel we went to the Catacombs of St. Callisto. Here we had a memorable moment on our pilgrimage.

The excellent guide took us far below ground into the catacombs. He told us the stories of how they were created and used (and not used - people never lived in the catacombs). He shared the haunting story of when people were martyred in the catacombs as they prayed Mass together.

When our journey through the caverns was complete we found ourselves in a room barely large enough to hold our group. With the backdrop of empty tombs and the reality of the stories we heard settling into our hearts, we celebrated Mass.

The Mass used the readings many of us have heard at funerals. During the intentions we were invited to offer the names of our deceased friends and family members up in prayer. With the weight of what we had witnessed in the catacombs and the personal weight of lost loved ones, all were affected. Tissues were shared as we shared the sign of peace.

As we climbed out of the catacombs, the daylight seemed so shocking and so comforting. It was an appropriate metaphor for pilgrimage and our experience of Mass below the ground on which we stood.

The rest of the evening was uneventful as we settled into our hotel, ate dinner, and relaxed before our first full day in Rome.

Again, if this pilgrimage sounds of interest to you, 

I invite you to consider joining us on the 2017 pilgrimage 

to Lourdes, Spain, and Portugal. 

See details here.

The Deepest Gratitude

Before reading today’s reflection, spend a moment reading the Mass readings for this Sunday’s Mass.

Brothers and sisters:

Let us give thanks to the Father,

who has made you fit to share

in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. 

He delivered us from the power of darkness

and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:12-14

This week the United States celebrates Thanksgiving. We spend a day focusing on family, friends, turkey dinners, football, and the start of the holiday season.

Yet, as Catholic, as all Christians, we are called to look to a greater source for our gratitude. We have a God, a Father, who sacrificed himself so that we may have eternal life. We are offered redemption, forgiveness, and life everlasting. 

Take some time to offer God your thanks for salvation. Offer your thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness. Give thanks for the unimaginable love that sacrificed for you.

In the face of such generosity, what else can we offer besides the deepest gratitude?

On Pilgrimage

Before moving on to the next regular post describing a day in our pilgrimage, I waned to step back and look at the idea of what a pilgrimage is, what it means, why we do such a thing in this modern age.

Pilgrimage is an ancient tradition. It has been a part of our Christian faith for a very long time, though it is not exclusive to Christianity.

I was first introduced to the idea of pilgrimage in a novel I read as a middle schooler. This book was a fictional account of a town during the Crusades that was torn apart by the many years of separation between families and soldiers. Time and distance divided the community. The two main characters were asked to take intentions for the town on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. They walked from England to Spain bearing the expectations of the community they were to govern, the upheaval of familial relationships, and much more. This idea of a journey that can be of great spiritual, relational, and mental significance was new to me. Over the years of experiencing pilgrimages, I have only come to see that this first impression was quite accurate.

Pilgrimage is that wholistic. It involves all aspects of our being - body, mind, and soul.

In our modern lives we compartmentalize so much. We play many distinct roles as we move through each of those compartments. As we play those roles, we can easily lose sight of our identity, our values, the meaning and significance of our lives.

Pilgrimage brings us to an encounter where we are removed from all those compartments and placed in an utterly new situation. There we have no more roles to play or masks to hide behind, we reminded that we are in the presence of God. We invited to encounter God in new ways, places, and people.

Pilgrimage is an encounter with God. We follow in the footsteps of men and women of faith who offer wisdom and prayers to guide us. We visit relics, churches, holy sites as ways to find the moments when someone said, "Look! Here is God! He is present!" We visit the holy places in the world to find the holy places within. We look to find the places where we can say, "Look! Here is God! He is present!"

When we have that encounter with our ever-present God, we can return home transformed. We can face those many compartments and roles from a new place. We remember our pilgrimage journey as a way to live our one true call, no matter the circumstances - the call to be a disciple of our God.

Pilgrimage is a call in a particular time and place to journey with God, so that we may remember that at all times and in all places, we are called to walk with our God.

If this pilgrimage sounds of interest to you, 

I invite you to consider joining us on the 2017 pilgrimage 

to Lourdes, Spain, and Portugal. 

See details here.

Embrace the Call

In Luke 6:36, we hear "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful" as Jesus is sharing lessons on the need to express love for enemies. We often struggle with this mandate as extending mercy to those who have shown us hate or harm is so much more difficult than providing it to those in need (e.g. the hungry, the homeless).

A new Catholic-produced one-hour documentary, "The Face of Mercy," explores real-life stories of people who have stood in the face of evil and shown mercy. Produced by the Knights of Columbus, it is now running on various ABC-affiliates through mid-December.

The overview of the film as described with the YouTube trailer:

"Pope Francis has inspired millions by urging the world to embrace Mercy. The essence of this call is revealed in The Face of Mercy, an extraordinary new documentary film narrated by Jim Caviezel. 

Meet the woman who found freedom in forgiveness after seeing her family wiped out by genocide; the former-NFL linebacker who walked away from football to share Christ’s mercy with the homeless; the baseball player who traded MLB ambitions for the monastery; and the young widow who chose mercy towards her husband’s killer. 

These moving testimonies offer compelling proof that Divine Mercy is not some abstract theology – it is alive, it is present, and it will transform the world."

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FILM