Journeying With The Saints

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims. It's been awhile since we've had a super short reading, so today, we get a bit of a break from a longer reading. As a reminder, this trip started on November 6th, 1899, but the date for today's reading is August 25th. The reason for this jump back in time is that Mother Cabrini is filling her daughters in on what she was doing before heading out from Liverpool. So, yesterday, we heard about how she took a retreat. Today, she's going to continue on with what she was doing after that.  Mother Cabrini gets to help do some preparation work for an upcoming pilgrimage to Lourdes that Monsignor Radini Tedeschi is taking. She doesn't get to go on the pilgrimage, but she is still helping out for just a bit.  Let's hear about this as we turn to page 215. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. As we've been traveling around with Mother Cabrini, you may have wondered, “Does this woman ever rest?”  Well, yes, she does. Today, we are going to hear about how she took a retreat when she was in Rome at the Mother House. She recognized that her body was wearing down and she just needed to be calm and rest for awhile. She understands how refreshing this is to the mind, body, and soul.  It's true. If you've ever been on a spiritual retreat, it does help to calibrate you back into a place of harmony. Even if it's only for a few days.  So, let's hear about the benefits of retreats by opening to page 210.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims, we are starting on a new voyage with Mother Cabrini. Two years have passed since her last voyage. This time she is leaving from Liverpool, that city made famous the Beatles. As you may know, all four Beatles' members were born and raised in Liverpool.  Mother Cabrini is going to tell us that this is her seventh time leaving Europe and before she goes, she has an audience with Pope Leo XIII. At the time of this recording, we just got our new pope, Pope Leo XIV. The St. Francis Cabrini Shrine in New York, recently posted these thoughts from a fellow Catholic:  “The last Pope Leo the world knew, sent a woman named Francesca X. Cabrini to the United States to care for the poor, hungry and marginalized. He sent her to bring them the hope of Jesus. That very woman died in the city of Chicago after being a missionary spreading the love of God, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus to those in need…May the new Pope Leo XIV from Chicago, who has been sent to Rome, also be a missionary spreading the love of God to all, because we are all in some need. Amen.”  Those are some great connections for us to ponder as we turn to page 207 and begin our journey across the Atlantic. 

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims, and welcome back. Today, we will read the second half of the letter for this voyage. Remember this is just one long letter for the Buenos Aires trip to Barcelona.  Since we will finish this letter today, I'll be giving my reflection once we are done.  Let's open to page 199 and start where it says, “We had no sooner left.” 

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims, to our next voyage. We are headed with Mother Cabrini from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Barcelona, Spain. We are about 8 months removed from the end of the last voyage, so the year is 1896.  This reading will be a bit different than other ones. This letter is just one long big letter and to read it all would take a good long while. So, we are going to split it up. We will read from page 189 to the middle of 199.  It's a longer reading, but we will get some info on what went on in Argentina, which will be insightful. So, this letter will take us just two days to work through and then that's it.  Without any further delay, let's open to page 189 and head to Barcelona. 

Welcome back to the end of this voyage, Catholic Pilgrims. There is so much exciting stuff going on in today's reading. We've got mule rides over foggy mountains, jumps across deep chasms, drunken men, and scant food and sleep for Mother Cabrini and Mother Chiara. We are reading an adventure tale today that could totally be a movie.  We have a lot to read, but you are really going to be amazed at what a Religious Sister is willing to do to save souls.  Let's join her on the caravan by opening to page 176.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Today is a longer reading, but I invite you to sit back and just imagine Mother Cabrini traveling around off the coast of Chile. Her descriptions are really quite interesting. She's going to spend some time in Antofagasta and if you go look at the city online, you will find that, other than modern day buildings, her descriptions are very accurate.  She has some choice words to say about a Protestant pastor that is on board and, as a former Protestant, I don't blame her for her feelings on Protestantism. It has led millions away from the Eucharist and there's just no benefit in that at all.  Since this is a longer reading, let's go ahead and get started by turning to page 168.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back. Today, we are going to get a major geography lesson.  I used to be horrible at geography—horrible. Once I became a military spouse, I started to get better, mostly because I was traveling a lot and I started really looking things up on a map and caring about what I was looking at.  I imagine that most of us listening to this book have not traveled down the west coast of South America. As Mother describes it, it sounds very, very different than what most of us are used to environmentally and geographically.  So, let's settle in and hear about that part of the world through a missionary's eyes by turning to page 165.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We have a long reading today filled with all kinds of good information and descriptions. Even though it's a longer reading, I think you are really going to enjoy hearing about Mother being in Peru.  Since, it will take more time to get through, let's go ahead and get started by turning to page 158.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to another day at port near Peru with Mother Cabrini. You can kind of imagine the first 3/4 of today's reading a bit of a blog almost. Mother is describing what life at port in Peru in the late 1800s is like and it's a real snapshot in time for us. She even talks about seagull guano today, which I never would have thought a Saint would discuss.  In the last part of the reading, she talks about obedience. As I've said before, obedience is one of the dirtiest words in our culture. Too many only want to be obedient to themselves and that's a huge problem. As we can see when we look around. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims.  Today, we are with Mother Cabrini at the port of Piata in Peru. She is going to describe it as looking very desolate and it seems not much has changed. If you go look on google maps, it is a brown, dry desert. There is not much color.  The word Piata is not a Spanish word, at least not that I could find. So, I don't know exactly what it means, but there is a port of Piata, so maybe it's just a name.  Let's hear about Mother Cabrini's time now in Peru by turning to page 153.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Thank you for joining me today.  Before we begin our reading, I think we need a bit of background. Mother Cabrini is at port in Guayaquil which is in Ecuador. She is going to mention that she doesn't want to go ashore because of the revolutions. What she is speaking about is the Liberal Revolution of 1895. The pro-Catholic, conservative president was assassinated and a liberal, anti-clerical man named Eloy Alfaro came into power.  So, I wanted you to be a bit more informed before we started. Let's go ahead now and open to page 152. 

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back.  Yesterday, we got kind of the pep talk before the big trip. Today, same date, we get more of the play-by-play of the trip.  In the song “A Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin, there's a line that says, “With new horizons to pursue (every moment red letter). I always thought they were singing, “With new horizons to pursue, every moment gets better.” When my girls were singing about the moment being red letter, I was confused. What the heck does that mean?  Well, a red-letter day is a very pleasantly memorable day and that is what Mother Cabrini is going to describe for us. 

Welcome to another voyage, Catholic Pilgrims. So, Mother Cabrini got to Panama at the start of June of 1895 and she is already leaving in October of 1895.  Where is she headed? Over the Andes mountains and on to Buenos Aires, Argentina. That sounds like some serious traveling and, consequently, this voyage has a lot of information in the writings. She's not just out on the open ocean waiting to get to a port.  So, I think we are going to get a real deep dive into some very interesting experiences. Today's reading is like a pep talk to missionaries. Are there difficult parts? Yes. Are their scary times? Yes. But, all that a missionary does is worth it. Bringing souls to Christ is worth the difficulty and scary times. Let's start this voyage by turning to page 145.

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims, the final day of our voyage to Panama. As this is the last day, I will offer my reflection after our readings.  One thing to note: Mother Cabrini arrives at the port of Colon, which is in Panama. However, even though she's there, she keeps talking about how she needs to get to Panama to see the house where the Sisters stay. Just to be clear, she is talking about Panama City in Panama, not in Florida where I used to live. So, Colon is on east side of the isthmus and Panama City is on the western side. Actually, though, if you look at a map, because of the shape of Panama, Colon sits in the north and Panama City in the south.  Without further ado, let's turn to page 140.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome. We have a long reading today, but a very interesting one.  Mother Cabrini is finally on the steamer and she has time to write. A couple of voyages back we went to Nicaragua with her and learned about how she was setting up a school. Today, she is going to tell us about how the Sisters in Nicaragua were banished because of a rebellion. It's called the Nicaragua Crisis of 1894-1895. So, I just wanted you to give you some context for today's reading. A lot of her writings today will be explaining that whole fallout.  Since it's a longer reading, let's get started by opening to page 134.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Mother Cabrini is still in Costa Rica and the locals are trying very hard to make up for the distasteful way she was treated because of the Freemason.  While Mother appreciates their kind offers, she is anxious to be on to Panama and must decline their offer to stay longer in their country.  You know, something I learned living in Turkey was to meet each opportunity that is not quite going my way by being helpless and kind. Helpless in that I asked others to help me and, generally, people want to be helpful, especially to kind people. Every time I approached a difficult situation with the attitude of helpless and kind, I was always given special favors. Much like what we see here with Mother Cabrini.  Let's see what is going on in Costa Rica by turning to page 132.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back.  Today is not a day that Mother Cabrini is interested in talking about her travels. Today is June 1, 1895 and she is interested in talking about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  What could be better to hear about? So, let's open our books to page 128.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. In our reading today, Mother Cabrini is still in Costa Rica waiting to go to Panama. She spends time explaining the weather, the views, Mass, and the people to her daughters.  She is trying to be patient, as she very much wants to get to Panama.  Let's hear about her day as we turn to page 126.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. I think you are really going to like today's reading. Mother and the Sisters reach port in Costa Rica. At first, everything seems to be going well, but then… A sneaky and cunning Freemason tries to sabotage Mother's short visit. She handles it like a champ, as I'm sure you can imagine.  I'll link to some information on Port Limon in the show notes, so you can read about it if interested.  So, let's hear all about this as we open to page 123. Port Limon: https://www.govisitcostarica.com/region/city.asp?cID=168

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Today, we hear a lot about what it was like to travel around the Caribbean Sea. It's very pretty, but it can be tough to navigate the sometimes shallow waters. Can you imagine how many things are at the bottom of the Caribbean?  I have this daydream that I often draw to mind of draining certain seas and parts of different oceans. After they are drained, I imagine myself walking on the bottom looking at all the interesting treasures and pieces of history. I think that would be wildly cool to do.  Mother Cabrini is getting close to Port Limon and she is anxious to get to shore to find someone to help her understand her swelling problem.  Let's turn to page 120 to hear. 

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back to another beautiful day at sea with Mother Cabrini.  One of the biggest hurdles for me to get over with Catholicism was the papacy. Truly, I believed all the misconceptions about the pope. I thought Catholics believed the pope was God, that he was perfect. I didn't get the point of him. I didn't have any clue about the biblical significance of giving the keys of the kingdom to Peter. I was truly ignorant and willfully so.  Mother Cabrini is going to talk a lot about the pope in our readings today. During 1895, Pope Leo XIII was pope and he is generally considered a good pope.  Let's hear her thoughts by turning to page 116. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims! Mother Cabrini is feeling well. She's got those sharp pencils and ruled paper and is putting them to good use.  It's a longer reading today, so I want to jump right in.  Please open to page 111.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back.  Mother Cabrini is not feeling well, so we have a short reading for today, as she was unable to write much.  I'm continually impressed with how she accepts whatever comes her way without complaining. She explains her predicaments, but doesn't wallow in misery. A good example for us all.  Let's go ahead and open our books to page 110. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to the start of another voyage. We left our last voyage in September of 1894 and now we are in May of 1895.  Mother Cabrini is headed to Panama and she's leaving from New Orleans. At the time of this recording, I've never been to New Orleans, though I would like to go. I really, really want a beignet and I've heard that they have  gluten-free beignets there and so I feel I need to test them out. You know, make sure they are fit for human consumption and all.  But, back to Mother Cabrini. The start of this voyage is a little rocky, or should I say, rainy. The rain is causing some traveling issues and delayed departures, but good and helpful people are there to help Mother and make sure she gets to the steamer.  Let's start out for Panama by opening to page 109. 

Welcome to the final day of this voyage, Catholic Pilgrims. I feel like this trip was quick. We've been all over the place with Mother Cabrini. We started in Genoa, sailed through the Mediterranean, steamed by the Balearic Islands, Gibraltar, Morocco, the Azores, and now we will read about Mother and her Sisters docking at Hoboken.  I went to look Hoboken up. It's in New Jersey, which I didn't know. It's a terminal that has been used since colonial times. Today, more than 50,000 people come through that terminal daily, which is incredible. There's lots of things there now, it's not just a dock. Since this is the end of a voyage, I will give my short reflection. Let's go ahead and open our books to page 105. Hoboken Docks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken_Terminal

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We are nearing the end of this journey. I told my daughter the other night that Mother Cabrini has really made me want to travel with this voyage. There's just so many places to see and so little time.  It's funny, as I was reading through today's letter, I realized just how far I've come in understanding our Catholic faith. Had you given me today's letter to read when I was a Protestant, it would have sailed over my head. Words and phrases like, Holy Charity, Our Lady's Mantle, Immaculate Mother, God's attributes, were utterly foreign to me. I had never heard those topics spoken about once in the first 30 years of my life.  Now, after years of study and having been a Catholic for a little over 15 years, I have been gifted with so much richness and depth to the spiritual life. It's something I'm eternally grateful for AND there's still so much to learn! So, let's learn from Mother Cabrini by turning to page 102.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims, welcome back. As Mother Cabrini declares, it's another gorgeous day at sea. Also, of note, we've read 100 pages of the book.  Mother Cabrini is going to talk about the Holy Souls in purgatory today and how it's so important to offer prayers for them. Purgatory is actually a place of mercy. We know that Heaven is perfect and therefore nothing imperfect can enter Heaven. Most of us, when we die, do not have perfect souls and so we need to go and be purified of our venial sins and the stains of forgiven sins.  All those who are in purgatory will eventually come into the glory of Heaven. We need to offer prayers for those that have died to aid them in their time of purification.  Let's hear what Mother Cabrini has to say by turning to page 100. 

How are you today, Catholic Pilgrims? I hope well. I hope you are feeling better than the poor seasick Sisters on board the Fulda. Yes, as they've reached open ocean, the waves have picked up and so has the nausea.  One of the hardest things to be good at in the spiritual life is praying. You simply cannot get better if you don't keep at it and discipline yourself. You also won't grow in it if you just see prayer as a wish list. It is good to bring God our intentions, but we, also, need to do more than that in prayer.  Mother Cabrini is going to give us some spiritual guidance on prayer, so let's turn to page 97 and see what she has to say. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Well, again, today, you are going to want to travel. The ship is steaming by the Azores and the description of them sound amazing.  They're so amazing, in fact, that people on board are begging the Captain to stop off and let them explore for just one hour. Even Mother Cabrini admits that the sight of them does make one desire to “visit the charming islands.” So, let's enjoy this letter where we hear about all things beautiful by turning to page 95.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome back. I'm not going to say a whole lot here because we have a long reading today.  This reading is one part saint-pep talk and one part friendly letter. Both are valuable and offer us great insight into the spiritual life.  So, let's get right into it by turning to page 89.

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims. Today, Mother Cabrini and a few of the Sisters get an opportunity to go into the city of Gibraltar for a few hours. Their hope is to get to Mass, but, unfortunately, the priests have all left for dinner.  What I didn't realize is that Gibraltar is still a British Territory. If you were to look at a map of Gibraltar you would see that the port is on the west side of the city and that is likely where Mother Cabrini and the Sisters got off the ship. Right near the port there are quite a few churches, which makes sense. There are at least two that I found that were a possibility for Mother Cabrini to visit, as they were around at that time.  I'll link in the shownotes the oldest one, which is Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned.  Let's hear about Mother's time in Gibraltar by opening to page 87. Cathedral: http://catholic.gi/diocese/parishes/the-cathedral-of-mary-the-crowned/

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Oh boy, Mother Cabrini gave me the travel bug today. As she's cruising through the Mediterranean Sea, she describes going by the Balearic Islands, the main one being Majorca. She talks about Liguria, Italy which is an area known for its beauty.  I went and looked all these places up and now I need to travel there. I'll link to a few places in the show notes and you'll see. Maybe you've been there. If you have, write and let me know about it.  Enough about me and my travel obsession. Today is the anniversary of Mother Cabrini's profession of her vows. I tried to look up online to confirm the date, but I couldn't find anything. No matter, it's a beautiful day for her at sea.  Let's hear all about it by turning to page 85.  Majorca: https://www.seemallorca.com Liguria, Italy: https://www.italia.it/en/liguria

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims. So, the year is 1894 and Mother Cabrini has been in Italy for two years. I'm assuming—I hope correctly—that she left Nicaragua and traveled back to Italy, where she has been the past two years.  The motherhouse for St. Francis Cabrini's order is in Rome, so I imagine that is where she has been. Again, I'm going to assume, as we don't have any letters between arriving in Nicaragua in November of 1891 and now being in Italy for two years.  Either way, Mother Cabrini is leaving from the port of Genoa, Italy and she is headed back to New York. You can tell that she is sad to leave, but she's a missionary and missionaries must carry on.  Let's hear about the start of this voyage by turning to page 83.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. There is so much going on today in our readings and they are longer, so I don't want to take too much time upfront.  Though we have a longer reading today, you are going to get a detailed snapshot into life in Nicaragua for Italian missionaries in 1891. It really is like going back in time and I find it fascinating. Here we are, over a hundred years later, reading about her time on November 3rd, 1891. Could she have imagined such a thing?  Since this is the end of a voyage, I'll give my reflections after the reading. Let's go ahead and turn to page 76.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to another great day with St. Francis Cabrini. Today, the steamer is sitting in the Gulf of Costa Rica which is on the western side of the country. They are there exchanging mail.  Mother Cabrini and her Daughters get a visit from the Bishop and they are very happy to receive his blessing.  Let's hear about this visit by turning to page 75.

Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims. After a few days of waiting to go, Mother Cabrini and her Daughters will head north on the Pacific Ocean towards Nicaragua's western coast.  Mother Cabrini lets us in on one of her weaknesses today—the sea. While they are still waiting around, some of the Sisters want to go visit the nearby islands and explore. Mother Cabrini wants nothing to do with it because she's afraid of the sea and if the adventure has nothing to do with a holy motive, she's not interested.  She'll traverse the sea to live out God's Will, but not for entertainment. She's a woman who knows her limits.  Let's hear about their day by turning to page 74.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Well, today, Mother and her Daughters have entered the port city of Colon, Panama. Now, this is not their final destination, but this is where they are getting off the boat, moving into a train to go across the land to Panama City, and then get on another boat.  It's a longer reading today, but I really think you will enjoy hearing all Mother Cabrini has to say. She gives great descriptions of the land and the environment. Just try to imagine her in the late 1800s making her way through a foreign country such as Panama. You can tell that she is thrilled with the adventure of it all.  Let's get started by opening to page 70.  Colon, Panama: https://www.tourismpanama.com/places-to-visit/portobelo/places-to-stay/colon/

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We've got a bit of a longer reading today, so I don't want to take too much of your time here on the front end.  Today in the readings, it's the feast day of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who is widely known for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This would be why Mother Cabrini most definitely mentions her, because Mother's order is the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.  So, today, we are going to hear about St. Margaret Mary, we are going to get some spiritual guidance, and we are also going to hear just about what is going on, on board the ship.  Without further ado, let's turn to page 66.

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Today's letter is a continuation of what happened on October 15th.  Because I'm a history nut, you get another history lesson today. Mother Cabrini is going to describe steaming past “Fortune Island.” This is Long Cay Island located in the Bahamas. It's a tiny thing and today it only has roughly around 50 people living on it. It was named “Fortune Island” by Christopher Columbus because he found a conch shell there.  I'll link a website to Long Cay in the show notes.  Mother then describes passing another island called Castel or Castle Island. This island is directly south of Long Cay. It doesn't look inhabited today from what I can see, but it does have a lighthouse that reportedly was the hideout location of pirates looking to attack ships that passed by.  Why am I telling you all this? Well, I think it's super cool and I think it puts us back in time with her. She is describing real places that she saw and I think that helps connect us to her through all the years between us.  But, enough with the history lesson, let's hear Mother Cabrini by turning to page 64 Long Cay Island: https://www.bahamas.com/en/plan-your-trip/things-to-do/long-cay Castle Island: https://bahamasgeotourism.com/entries/castle-island-lighthouse/978e9218-643a-4cb1-9f05-ed6bd788b38f

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. It's October 15th, 1891 and it's the Feast Day of Season Three's saint—St. Teresa of Avila.  As I've been doing these five seasons now, it's been so wonderful to see Saints talk about Saints. Mother Cabrini valued what insights and witness St. Teresa brought to the world and I think that shows her great humility.  The steamer that Mother Cabrini and her Sisters are on is getting closer and closer to the equator which means it's hot and if you are a religious sister, its not like you can just go put on some shorts and a tank top. This is just another example of the way these holy women suffered for the sake of souls.  Let's open to page 63 and begin.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Today, Mother and her Sisters will be off for Nicaragua. Everything is going well, until at night, a serious storm hits.  Mother Cabrini describes how the waves are like mountains and the steamer is in deep valleys. For me, that is one of the most terrifying experiences I can think of, but what does Mother Cabrini and the Sisters choose to do? Pray. They pray fervently.  I think the last line of today's letter is the most important to focus in on. She likens the terrible storm to a soul agitated with remorse and pride, but that never finds God.  Let's here all about the start of this voyage by turning to page 61. *Ave Maris Stella preformed by the Benedictines of Mary

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims, welcome back to another great day with Mother Cabrini.  If you happened to look at the dates for this voyage things may seem a bit messed up. The voyage starts out on the date October 15th, but then the next letter is dated September 21st. Then it moves to October 10th and then back to October 15th. So, probably what happened is that she wanted to catch her Sisters up on what happened before they set sail and that is reflected in the back and forth with the dates.  What you'll find is that Mother wants to share with the Sisters about new postulants entering the order. Also, side note: The feast day she is speaking of is the Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle. So, let's hear about that as we turn to page 60.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to the start of our 4th voyage with Mother Cabrini. This time she is traveling from New York to Nicaragua.  Very briefly, I want to give a short history lesson. Today, Mother is going to talk about visiting Manresa and I want you be clear on what she means by that.  If you saw the movie, you saw Mother Cabrini buy a big home that had been abandoned by Jesuits. She got it for a good price because it lacked fresh water. In the movie, the Sisters dig tons of holes looking for a well, but that is not an accurate description as to what happened. Mother pointed out pretty quickly where the well should be dug and it was a correct spot.  Anyway, Manresa is the name of the property and home that Mother bought. Why the name Manresa? Well, the property was owned by the Jesuits and the Jesuits were founded by the Spaniard St. Ignatius of Loyola. Manresa is a city in Spain and a sight of pilgrimage because of St. Ignatius' time there. Manresa doesn't translate into anything in Spanish, it's just the name of a city.  So, I will provide a link in the show notes from the Cabrini Shrine in New York that gives some more information on Manresa and the finding of water there. With all that, let's begin our next voyage with Mother to Nicaragua by turning to page 59. https://cabrinishrinenyc.org/a-new-home-for-the-orphans/

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. This is the last day of this voyage. Mother and her Sisters will be in port very soon. Today, we will get another roll call from Mother. She will give an account on how the different Sisters on board are doing. It's easy for us to think of these women almost like fictional characters in a novel, but they were very real and did very real work.  Since this is the end of the voyage, I will read and then give a short reflection. So, let's head into New York with Mother by turning to page 56.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We are only 55 pages into this book and already Mother Cabrini speaks directly to my heart.  She is going to talk today about how we, as Catholics, need to be bold in speaking the truths of our faith. We can't worry about offending people. We do worry about that, though, and we need to ask why? We don't need to be off-putting offensive people, but we can't be afraid to let people be offended by the truths of our faith.  I think most often we are afraid because we care so deeply as humans about being accepted and liked. But, when we refuse to tell people the truth—not all forms of Christianity are right—we leave them ignorant and in danger of losing the inheritance of Heaven.  Let's learn from Mother Cabrini as we turn to page 55. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We are on the 5th day out at sea and things are going pretty well. We will get a bit of a roll call and hear how some of the others Sisters are doing. Mother will stress the importance of humility, so be sure to take note on that.  There is a lot in our readings today. Mother clearly is feeling good because she has a lot to say and write about. This is a longer one, so let's jump right in by turning to page 51. 

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. We have a bit of a longer reading today, but its packed with great spiritual direction. Mother Cabrini was writing to her daughters, but it's pertinent to all of us.  She focuses on prayer and obedience. Prayer is one of those things where we want immediate returns on our investment. What if that doesn't happen? Mother Cabrini will touch on that.  And obedience. Quite possibly the dirtiest word in the modern age. We pride ourselves on being independent, self-willed people, but that does not make for a faithful Christian. We must, even if it goes against modern culture, be obedient to Christ and His Will.  Great thoughts are packed into our readings today so let's hear all about them by opening to page 49.

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. I'm glad to have you join me today.  Our reading today is from the Feast of the Nativity of Mary in September 1891. There are five priests on board the ship, but Mother Cabrini writes that none of them can say Mass. The only thing I can think is that they are all too seasick to get up and say Mass. So, spiritual communion is what Mother has to be content with.  Today, we will hear beautiful words written about Our Lady. She is a wonderful mother and role model for us all.  Grab your book and open to page 47. *Salve Regina music provided by Harpa Dei

Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. We have a very short reading today. I think since Mother and everyone else is feeling better she just wants to enjoy the fresh air and the sights.  This is a good reminder to us that all difficulties eventually pass, though when you are in the moment, it seems they will never end.  Let's open to page 47. 

Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. The boat is out at sea and pretty much everyone is sick.  The poor Sisters. I'm telling you, I would be sick right there with them. I am not good with movement on the sea. If I had been one of Mother Cabrini's Sisters, I would have been down for the count, too.  So, what started out as a trip full of beautiful seas and blue skies has turned into one of misery as they fight to not feel like they are dying. I think we should all take a moment to appreciate what they were willing to endure for the sake of souls. How much are we willing to endure? That's a good question to ask ourselves.  Let's open to page 46 and see how they are faring.