Christ, Coffee, and Cornfields

  It's crazy that Ash Wednesday is tomorrow already! Lent is one of my favorite parts of the Liturgical Year, and I think it's because it leads to the greatest season of all...Easter!! Besides that, though, it gives us a reason to restart. It's a time dedicated to drawing near to Christ and His Passion and Death. It's a time to do our best to give ourselves back to Him, for all He has done for us. The Church sets Lent aside to work specifically on prayer , fasting , and giving alms .   I've never been good at New Year's resolutions, because in my mind a new year technically starts every day. Lent, on the other hand, is a short season with a tangible finish. We know the ending to the story. Jesus died for us, and he went on to beat death! But for now, we must wait and prepare ourselves. I've always kind of looked at Lent as a time to better myself and my relationship with Christ, rather than just moping about because I gave up warm showers or something. It...

  If challenging situations do anything for me, they give me writing material. Per my last post, my Grandpa passed away recently, and today we buried him. The past 10 hours or so have been exhausting, tear-soaked, and painful. The funeral and burial were beautiful and fitting. If you have ever experienced a military funeral, you'll know what I mean when I say it was very powerful and moving. I am honored to be descended from a man who served our country for decades. Anyway, this post isn't really about today so much as what today's celebration (yes, I will call it that) points to.   Life doesn't stop. We always say how quickly life moves, whether it's in reference to an anniversary, a graduation, or a birthday. Our time on Earth is full of milestones and moments, things to celebrate and times to reflect on. The Catholic Faith is all about celebrating; if we can party, we will party. As difficult and painful as funerals are, I always find peace in them because a ...

Every day, every few hours it seems like, another story about the evil stirring amongst the people of the Church marches its way into my newsfeed. I’m still trying to catch up and slow my spinning head. There are so many stories, so many sides, so much confusion and hurt. How can this possibly be the Church that God became man to create? This is not what we are made for. We are made for greatness. I don’t want to write about who did what and who is to blame. I don’t have that information. What I do know is that the Church Christ started is perfect. The people who make up His Church are not. Unfortunately, we are in a very tumultuous time. But! The Catholic Church has faced seemingly insurmountable crises before, and we are still here. During the scariest times in our history, we have seen the greatest saints rise up from the ashes. The most precious gems come from being under the most suffocating pressure. We’ve had abuse before. We’ve had blackmail, anti-popes, heresy, fi...