By Day 1: Cathedral Basilica of St.Augustine
December 27, 2019 · Saint Augustine, FL
Thoughts from Day 1 of our #RelicTour was majestic with a little impartation from the “Doctor of Grace” himself #StAugustineofHippo. Hoping to feel the encouragement as I follow in his footsteps of prolific writings of faith #CityofGod#Confessions. Teaching the kiddos about the tools of our faith to help empower them to be better saints = priceless #Sacramentals#Relics#Prayer#CommunionofSaints#HolyRosary#SpiritualBattleWeapons. Pondering the beauty of all the glory God deserves by human craftsmanship at its best – He deserves ALL the treasures of the earth for what He gave us #Gold#Incense#AnnointingOils. We ought to give Him everything good about us we have #OurBestVersionofOurselves. Only a Master Artist could totally understand true beauty #Perfection. Humanity has more to offer Him than rock bands and carpet stages #Cathedrals#Basilicas#Kingdoms#Nations#Poland. Excellence is godliness. The Nativity scenes are a beautiful reminder of the WONDER of this Season, which has only just begun for those who Believe #Epiphany and I’m just in awe of God’s love. Sitting in such a holy place you can just feel the portals of Heaven open around you. At any moment they could swallow you up – I want them to, but not yet #OpenHeaven#OpenGraves. This is the pull of the saints. A constant yearning for Heaven juxtaposed against Holy obedience for God’s perfect will #PursuitofHoliness#Sanctification. I don’t want to miss a step. I wish I could soak it all in but there’s more waiting for us. Our journey has only just begun… #FirstParish
RELIC TOUR: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith#Encounter2020
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 
2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit 
Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020 #WidenYourMouth
Day 2: Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
December 28, 2019 · Savannah, GA
DAY 2 #RelicTour: The gothic looks of Savannah’s French colonial charm are certainly more vibrant juxtaposed against the Spanish colonial flavor of Saint Augustine but #OneThing remains – #TheRealPresence. The homily on the Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist “The Beloved Disciple” a sweet confirmation this moment was brought by “the Johns.” I never realized just how many saints carry the name John, a name almost as celebrated as Jesus. #JohntheApostle#JohnTheBaptist#JohnVianney#JohnPaul#JohnFKennedy Okay the last one is a stretch but he was the first and last Catholic president and also named John so… The Spirit leads as He wills. We weren’t supposed to be in Savannah this #RelicTour but John carries a special meaning for us too in this Season. A stop over turned into a surprise invitation for Mass and encounter with the Global Faith of our Church when we ran into some Cursillistas from our hometown. What are the odds? Proof the Church can be as small or as large as you’ll let it be. No matter where we go, we have a global family always welcoming us to #ComeHome. In the Spirit of “the Johns” I felt that call. It’s here in the sacred spaces that I feel most close to our Lord. Sitting below the murals it’s not hard to imagine Heaven surrounding you. All the saints and angels and the Holy Family opening their arms wide. We Are Family. The Church is family. If you’ll let it be. Don’t be the prodigal for long. And if you’ve been the beloved big brother, don’t let your heart stay cross at your little brother too long. He was just working out his journey in the way he thought best. We each have a Father waiting confidently for the day we will all gather at Home together. We need only remember Our Father’s love and rest in His assurance that one day we’ll all be Home together for good. In the meantime, we must strive to answer that call from the Wilderness. That voice of John crying out – REPENT, COME HOME. Next stop on the #RelicTour another Jean-Baptiste- known for his special devotion for priests and his love for the Blessed Mother. We’ll be praying for a few we know and honoring her request from Medjugorje to “pray,pray,pray for the shepherds.” Can you guess who the Saint is?
RELIC TOUR: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 3: St. Mary’s Church and St. John Vianney Shrine
December 29, 2019 · Charlotte Hall, MD
DAY 3 #RelicTour:Florida 
Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Mary’s Land * someplace so obscure it doesn’t have a Facebook Page 
St. Mary’s Church and St. John Vianney Shrine, Charlotte Hall, MD. In contrast to the swamp moss trees and flat lands of the south, we found ourselves awakened to the beauty of the rolling hills and majestic white birch trees of the North. Nanny told the kids in response to their wonder at the white bark, “God made the trees in different colors just like He did people.” A notion #SaintHildegard would echo for sure! Nature indeed is a reflection of humanity, all Creation a reflection of the Living God. And His church is no different. This quaint little parish of #StMary’s is tucked away off the hidden paths and it’s sanctuary is far less ornate than the cathedrals of the south. Yet it’s beauty lies not in gold but in fervor. Over 100 recorded miracles have been linked to this unassuming #shrine thanks to the will of the Holy Spirit at work in the relic of #SaintJohnVianney. Born Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney in 1786, this priest’s perseverance in Ars, France and his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary made him a natural patron of priests. French immigrants carried his fervor to the great land of Mary and settled here on the outskirts of the State’s first colonial settlement and capital St. Mary’s City. It’s graveyard boasts of being the oldest continually run Catholic cemetery in the country and its first parish building the oldest pre-civil war building still standing. We had the place all to ourselves and I couldn’t help but think how many other miraculous holy places are hidden in our lands, their stories yet to come to light. On the outside, this shrine could easily have been dismissed for another Baptist Church in the Land of the Protestants and yet here she stood bringing the Eucharist to Catholic immigrants escaping persecutions of their own. We all have a journey and a story to tell. It was a stark reminder to never judge a church by its building or a tree by its color. God loves His people under the steeple and at the end of the day it’s His Presence which feeds us to keep our fervor wherever He has caused us to land and worship. Standing at St. Mary’s in Mary’s Land in the midst of such history was a beautiful reminder that Home is where the heart is. So many people have come before us, so many have already died to bring about the Divine Providence in this country and the world. And I’m praying my children will know what it means to honor the dead, believe in the fellowship and miracles, the bond of the saints and to pray, pray, pray for our shepherds who must still guide us on this way, into lands the church has yet to know. St. John Vianney, “Curé d’Ars,” pray for us that we might persevere in our mission as a Missionary Church. FUN FACT: Vianney had a special devotion to #SaintPhilomena who was a 13 year old consecrated Virgin persecuted and martyred in 304 AD and whose remains (and story) were discovered in St. Vianney’s day. Even the best saints called on the help of other saints!Many miracles were attributed at her grave site. Vianney believed her hidden story was a powerful reminder to the saints of today that many hidden things still remain which will lead the Church into Truth and Power. Like this unassuming, hidden parish, may the hidden stories of our days be revealed in glory to the One who knows them all. Next stop… The Nation’s Capital.
#RelicTour: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 4: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
December 30, 2019 · Washington D.C.
DAY 4 #RelicTour: “The Seed is the Word of God.”By far our most AWE inspiring moment. Sitting under the dome for Mass celebrating the Holy Family. I get chills every time I step into a church this enormous. The feeling of smallness is for real! And yet the feeling of oneness is just as prevalent. It’s a church full of strangers and yet my spirit recognizes them immediately as family. I wondered if that’s how people felt when Joseph & Mary arrived in Egypt. The Jewish fellowship there would have welcomed them immediately as one of their own. And when they returned to Judea the same warm welcome awaited them in Nazareth. Haven’t you ever run across someone and thought, Wow, it’s like I’ve known you for years! Recognizing the fact we have a global church family just humbles me to tears at times. No matter where you go in all the world, basilica or rural parish, our language is the same when we commune together in the Mass. Our hearts are all united in one faith and our Father is the same. Just as Joseph & Mary took Jesus to Egypt we can see how this little babe from Heaven is still gathering all the flock today into one singular focus – family. The crypts, the icons, the relics, the Saints, the liturgy, and all the things we see inside the four walls of the building serve as living scrapbooks and memories of a holy family that was born that starry night. It’s been said that all the world needs to be reborn is for Catholics to example a holy marriage and holy family for one generation. Think about that 
What would forty years of holy marriages like Joseph & Mary do to our world? What would forty years of Holy families look like to a world gone madd with hopelessness? Mother Teresa once said, “If you want peace, start with your family.” John Paul II once said, “As the family goes, so goes the world.” If there’s one thing I’m learning in this #RelicTour it’s that we ought to listen to our family. I mean REALLY listen to what our loved ones are saying to us about how they see the world, our faith, and our Father. We have a treasure trove of wisdom to uncover from the Saints. They are rooting for us just as you and I are rooting for each other. The Holy Family serves as an excellent example of what real love can do – raise a babe king into a Son of Man. Holy marriages based on maturity and mission can transform not just one child but an entire nation. If you want to change the world, begin at home. “Husbands have no bitterness toward your wife, Wives honor your husband by your your humble submission.” Pray for each other. Pray for your children. Cover one another in pure and holy love. Let your love flow out of your home and into MISSION. The Church is Christ’s family. COME HOME. Holy Family, you made the Seed come forth, pray for us that we might be of one accord as you were one, the earthly reflection of the Trinity. 
May this year be the year the Seed comes forth in your Home.
#RelicTour: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 4 (afternoon): Saint John Paul II National Shrine
December 30, 2019 · Washington D.C.
Arguably the BEST MUSEUM in D.C. The truths housed here at the JP2 Center are pearls of wisdom straight from the Father’s Heart above. It was a Grace and true blessing of Divine Mercy the world was given this man for such a time as he was given. His Light of Faith helped light the fire of the Spirit for a whole generation of youth, young and old and that fire is continuing to grow! Next year in April, we will celebrate the memorial of his death just 15 years ago. Thank you Jesus for the gift of this beautiful soul. Pope Saint John Paul II pray for us! May the Lord grant us the Divine Mercy in these hours as he has so graciously granted them unto you. I hope you enjoy reading some of his quotes from the museum and next time you’re in DC, be sure to visit!
Day 5: Holy Rosary Church (Baltimore, Maryland)
December 31, 2019 · Baltimore, MD
DAY 5 #RelicTour: Ringing in the New Year with Polish Catholics at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy. THIS CHURCH WAS AMAZING! 
Compared to the Gothic, Byzantine, and Colonial churches we’ve visited thus far, the Victorian style was a welcome surprise. The soft painted murals and Polish Christmas flare made this #SecretHiddenGem feel like a warm fire on a cold night. [And it’s cold here in Baltimore but this Florida gal is still wearing her flip flops 
] Once again I felt the humble move of the Spirit within as we sat in the pews celebrating mass with Polish priests and fellow worshippers. One of the oldest Polish speaking Catholic Churches in the country it’s no wonder they would also house relics of #StFaustina#BlessedFatherSopacko and even #JP2 The devotion to the Polish originated #DivineMercy is strong here. A thought reminiscent of “The Force is Strong” with these folks. But next to sharing a holy moment kneeling at the relic of Saint Faustina and making a memory with my daughter that made her eyes light up bright and Wild was a moment during Mass at the concecration of the Holy Eucharist when from my seated vision point the host the priest carried upward to behold was hidden behind the Cross of Jesus standing erect in the middle of the church. There it was as plane as #InstaPhotography could capture it all in one moment. The Holy of Holies, the Host and the Cross and these words “Behold, the Lamb of God who was slain. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world.” He is our Manna from Heaven. “Take and Eat. My flesh is true food.”I could tell you how the Holy Spirit sped up time so that all these events could occur today and that holy moment could be captured but I’m afraid my writing is not yet succinct enough to translate it all into words that could describe its profound beauty. For now I’ll take the tears of an #EncounterWithGod and rest in the knowledge that Heaven’s Angels have collected them for the day of retelling from the Book of Memory and I’ll snuggle with the image of my beautiful children in awe of Holy wonder. Even the murals were a total gift! As each image portrayed the hidden images of Mary’s life on this Solemnity of her Motherhood. Her presentation at the temple as a young virgin, her marriage to Joseph which is so scarcely painted in art, her kneeling at Joseph’s bedside at his death along with Jesus. Every detail of this church was a Love Letter from God. I can’t help but sense this #RelicTour is moving toward profound #EncountersofaThirdKind that will mark my life forever. I wish only that everyone could experience these realities on earth. Echoing the words of yesterday’s gospel, Love not the World because it is passing away, pursue not empty vanities, lusts of the flesh, and material wants, the Way of Life is found in the small embers that when kindled with holy tears become a raging flame of Divine Desire. Let your heart burn for Heaven this #NewYear. Set your eyes on the Secret Things and be willing to #Encounter2020. Be filled with the Spirit and become a flame that ignites the world on fire with God’s Love. Have a safe and WONDERful New Year! Until the Day Dawns, Jesus, I Trust in you!
#RelicTour: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 6: Baltimore Basilica-America’s First Cathedral
January 1, 2020 · Baltimore, MD
DAY 6 #RelicTour: There were no relics here (accept the usual ones found in altars and crypts) but we couldn’t help but stop at America’s First Catholic Cathedral for a little history tour and reminder how far our faith has come. Built in 1806, Catholics had long since settled in the New World and even founded the first Catholic Colony at St. Mary’s, Maryland but Catholicism was still very much an underground religion. Persecuted under the Protestant Reformation happening in Europe (thanks to feudal wars since the time of King Henry VIII to Martin Luther) many Catholics sought refuge in the promise of Religious Freedom in the New World. But participation in the New World Government was limited mostly to reformed protestants (Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists and even some Evangelicals) and being a Catholic politician meant keeping your faith a secret and celebrating the Holy Mass in homes (which is what a handful of those men who signed the Declaration of Independence indeed had to do). Though few parishes existed for the working class, as yet, a formal Cathedral with a Bishop had not been appointed to the America’s. That’s where JOHN CARROLL entered God’s Divine Plan (Floridians may recognize the name, a local Catholic high school bears this famous bishop’s name for a mighty reason.)Friends with many men in politics, including a man named THOMAS who had a friendship with the first schooled architect in the America’s BENJAMIN HENRY LATROBE, Carroll was able to return to France for seminary, become a priest, receive consecration through a French Bishop, and with the Pope’s blessing return to Baltimore to construct the New World’s First Catholic Cathedral. His good friend THOMAS (Thomas Jefferson, yes the president) helped Carroll raise the funds for the Basilica and Latrobe, who built the U.S. Capitol Building, graciously offered his services to construct the building. The men intentionally chose a style that was completely new to Catholic Churches. Unlike the Baroque, Byzantine and Gothic architectural designs of cathedrals in Europe, Carroll, Jefferson and Latrobe wanted a New Design for a New World. Today the basilica stands in the exact same footprint, exact same building, and exact same interior design as its 1806 founding. Unlike many of. its predecessors, no fire or war has ever marred its structure. Stepping into its dome, a double dome influenced by a cathedral in France with an inlay of the Holy Spirit as a Dove, is like stepping into a portal in history. Even the Bishop seat is the same chair made from American woodworking craftsman in the 1800s. The crypt downstairs has space for 8 bishops. The first to be buried there was Bishop John Carroll. Three things struck me most profoundly about this story. First, although most fellowships can claim a history of religious persecution, I so often forget how much the Catholic Church has suffered its share, especially being an American Catholic with much more privilege and access to worship freely than in other countries. How often I take for granted that it was because of the perseverance of early settlement saints like Carroll that I can freely express my Catholic Faith. For their perseverance I am forever grateful. Second, how beautiful to see the work of ecumenical brotherhood behind this historic monument. If it weren’t for the true hand of brotherly love extended by Jefferson and Latrobe it is foreseeable such a milestone would not have happened in extending the Catholic faith to the New World. Third, and finally, I’m in awe of God’s Divine Providence at the working of His Spirit to ensure the discipleship of men like Carroll and the priests and seminarians to follow in expanding the Gospel of Christ to the New World in the Spirit of the Apostles. Catholics may want to consider the time and what it would mean to practice our faith without even one Bishop in the land. John Carroll’s MISSION for the gospel was much more vast than meets the eye. He was endowed with a VISION for a New World and one where the Catholic faith had a part to play, not as an old structure of Europe, but one of divine grace in the spirit of renewed religious freedom. Much like today. John Paul II once said, “There is no freedom without truth.” This Cathedral is a sign from the Heavens that Freedom does ring in this country because the fullness of Truth has come to its lands. No one is a bigger supporter of Truth and Freedom than the See of Peter. “If there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power . . . . In a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation and man is exposed to the violence of passion and to manipulation, both open and hidden. (Centesimus Annus, 46)‘You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ He added: ‘These words contain both a fundamental requirement and a warning: the requirement of an honest relationship with regard to truth as a condition for authentic freedom, and the warning to avoid every kind of illusory freedom, every superficial unilateral freedom, every freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about man and the world.’ (Redemptor Hominis, 1979)May God Bless America 
May Her Freedom RingMay she always be the Home of the Brave
#RelicTour: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith#Encounter2020
“Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21
Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 7: Franciscan University of Steubenville
January 2, 2020 · Steubenville, OH
DAY 7 #RelicTour “Signs I Never Thought I’d See Again”All too long ago, I once stepped over the threshold into these parts, into a marriage to another man, and dreams of a life filled with things I long ago abandoned in order to follow the Lord with all my heart. I entered Ohio with hopes and dreams of mesmerized things and planted them in Columbus and Cincinnati, never knowing one day ahead they might sprout in Steubenville, a place I’d never even heard of then. Today, I’m reminded the seeds of our past are never wasted or forgotten. Though I am certain I planted many along the wayward path, God in His infinite Mercy saw to it they would appear and bloom in due season along the crooked path He would one day make straight. Now today I stand here again, having crossed the bridge and entered by a New Way, into a New Place, and I plant the seeds of hope and the FULFILLMENT OF ALL DESIRE for my children here in a place that has brought vibrancy and renewal to the Catholic faith in America through people like Scott Hahn, and many others, and the efforts of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and the Franciscan Friar Brotherhood that help to run this Catholic University in the New World. I think of all the sprouts of life that have come from these hallowed hills and I’m grateful that we even get to visit it today, even if only to enjoy the snow and take in the sites (we thought an Admissions Tour was a little “too soon” 
) in a land I never thought I’d return to. Today, I stand anew. A New Woman of Faith in a God who makes all things work for the good of those who follow His ways. To say I am Humbled is an understatement. I’m GRATEFUL. I owe the Lord my life for turning me from sinful desires into a life of faith. For blessing my new marriage with the fruit of life and joy reflected in these faces. And I can hope with all certainty that He is making a New Way for me and for them, simply by letting us walk this different path, in places I’ve never been, hoping their future will look nothing like my past. And setting up new signs for us that tell us everything we’re looking for we’ll “Find it here.”We’re TRUSTING Jesus to lead us to #EncounterHim in #2020 in ways unimaginable (Eph. 3:20). Next stop, Toledo, for the Encounter Conference with Encounter Ministries. It’s time for #Encounter2020!
Come Holy Spirit with JOY in our faces, we’re READY for YOU!
Day 8: 2020 Encounter Conference
January 3, 2020 · Toledo, OH
Walked in to pick up our daughter and someone told me she was “putting kids on the floor” Context is everything. #SlainInTheSpirit#SleeperHold No such thing as a Jr. Holy Spirit! #Encounter2020#KidsTrack
Day 9: 2020 Encounter Conference
January 4, 2020 · Toledo, OH
The Kids Track here at Encounter has been amazing! Our son got to play Jesus Christ crucified on stage the first night and partner up with his favorite Encounter Priest Patrick Gonyeau for Eucharistic Adoration, they learned how to hear the Voice of God for themselves and their small group mates, and last night he healed another boy’s mouth sore when they encountered the Holy Spirit’s power after a lesson on healing. 
The testimonies both my kids have been sharing with us each day have really blazed my heart. There’s nothing like seeing and hearing your kids on fire for Jesus. I’ve watched them evangelize their faith, meet new people, conquer fears, get up in front of a crowd of strangers, lay hands on the sick, and prophesy love this weekend in ways I never imagined. I’m so over-joyed for the Encounters they’ve experienced at an age I never had the opportunity to. We came to #Encounter2020 to teach them their Church is alive and vibrant in the Holy Spirit and they Encountered God in a way theology and parenting could never reach them. I’m so grateful to my mother for giving me experiences and World Youth Days as a child and being able to personally witness the beauty and power of a global faith and she is continuing to pass this gift of vision to her grandchildren even today and MORE! What a Legacy
What gifts are you leaving for your children and children’s-children? How will they shape who they become? THANK YOU NANNY for such a beautiful gift of love & grace this weekend AND THANK YOU Encounter Ministries for being in tune with teaching the next generation how to use the Gifts of the Spirit and grow in the beauty of our Faith 
Come Holy Spirit! We want MORE Lord.
Day 10: Maria Stein Shrine
January 5, 2020 · Maria Stein, OH
#RelicTour#MariaStein ‘MARY THE ROCK’ and The Communion of Saints Standing in the #HallofSaints was like entering the #HolyofHolies. The #cloud was thick with witnesses, the #crowns of elders could be heard rolling across the glistening floors and everywhere #angels lifted up one voice in one accord. So great a cloud of witnesses… Compared to the churches we’d visited thus far with only a few #relics of their mission #Saints, Maria Stein was the Hall of Saints. Over 1,500 relics were saved during the Protestant persecution of Catholics in Europe. Reformation ignorance had Catholic Churches, Holy artifacts like the #TrueCross the #SashofMary and the #HolyVeil among many others, and #SacredArt being burned by the thousands. There was no regard for preserving #ChurchHistory when a new one was being written. Catholic priests who were responding to the call of the #NewWorld were given sacred relics by the trunk load to smuggle out of Europe and keep safe for posterity. The Sisters of the #PreciousBlood were one of the lucky convents to relocate first to answer the call of German Catholic immigrants who had settled in Ohio outside Cincinnati in the 1800s and were in need of the sacraments. The sisters answered the call and with them the second largest communion of Saint relics held outside the Vatican walls in over a century. What a treasure! What a site! And all here in our back yard, in the land of the Free and the Home of the Brave – What a New World it would be. I felt suddenly attune to the creative flow behind the recent #StarWars movie that leaves our hero calling out among the stars at her most desperate moment “Be With Me.” Here in this room, I sat surrounded by the call of the saints as I uttered my own words of hope under my breath. BE WITH ME. Mother Mary. Father Joseph. Saint Michael and all the Saints. BE WITH ME. Help Guide me home. May we draw on the wisdom of those who have passed on before us. Let us surround ourselves with the cloud and enter in as often as we remember. We don’t need their relics before us to hear their answer, the call has always been answered from within. BE WITH ME…. I Am, until the end of Ages. “Enter Devoutly O’Pilgrim, for there is no place holier than this on the New Continent” – welcome message inscribed on the archway above the entrance to the Relic Chapel RELIC TOUR: 12 days, the holiest places in the US Northeast and Midwest, an 8 yo, a 7 yo, a pregnant lady and her saintly mother “Nanny”, 3,700 miles of Grace. #MakingMemories#LovetheOnesYourWith “Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.” 2 King 13:21 Come, Holy Spirit Kindle in us the fire of your love and we shall be created and You shall renew the face of the earth! #PilgrimagetoEncounter2020#RoamingCatholic#WakingEve
Day 11: Piedmont Hospital
January 5, 2020 · Atlanta, GA
Day 10-11 #RelicTour: Isn’t it always the same MO? Have an amazingly powerful weekend for God and the devil comes after you. Spiritual Warfare is no joke. Within 24 hours me and the baby came under a severe attack that had us in the ER. Your natural mind will want to rationalize all that’s happening to you physically and justify all the details and outcomes but I take the Scriptures seriously when it says Jesus gave us the authority over all sickness and disease and every unpure spirit. Sometimes authority looks as simple as saying “Not today Satan,” a call to your amazing Catholic OB, and following his wisdom to get to the ER and, in between each of those steps, praying for the strength to overcome the Lies the enemies wants to throw at you that comes against your healing. Christianity is not a form of Voo-doo. We don’t use the Spirit as a magic eight ball. Discipleship requires BOTH wisdom and faith. It also requires acknowledging the kingdom of God is built on family. It wasn’t until we started asking for prayers from our spiritual family that the disease and sickness started to break. Like the sign over my bed reminded me, there’s no need for any of us to fall under the pressures of the enemy when we remember to call out for help through the prayers of other believers. There is safety in numbers. We cling to the Truths of prophesies given over this baby and our family and the efficacious hope of the prayers of the faithful. These are weapons of Truth. The world will always tell you the worst case scenarios, it’s the job of the spirit of cynicism to make you believe the worst. And it has many partners to work it’s nasty web of lies. But the Spirit of Hope is more powerful and it’s strength lies in those who believe. So the next time you think you have to do it all on your own, or you don’t need anyone, don’t be foolish. “STOP. Don’t Fall. Call.” You’re surrounded by a beautiful cloud of witnesses and efficacious prayer warriors ready to aid and assist you. Jeremy and I are GRATEFUL for all those who interceded for us on this journey. Mamma and baby are well, and despite all the lies otherwise, we have been discharged and we’re on our way home. Pray for us to have safe travels home. THANKS FOR ANSWERING OUR CALL
Day 12: Sacred Heart Catholic Church LW
February 3, 2020 · Lake Worth, FL
Our #RelicTour is officially concluded, well, at least until we stumble upon some more. Since our 12 Day Tour got cut short by a visit to the ER, we did our 12th Day closer to home. This time we got to bring the Mr. and share this night of Heaven Touching Earth with a few friends who were excited to catch a taste of our trip without the 3,500 miles in a car. The experience of holding in one’s hands such things as pieces of the Veil of Mary, the Holy Lance that pierced our Savior’s side, and the Cloak of his foster father Joseph is priceless. But even more of a treasure is watching two young souls see that Heaven is full of saints who are rooting for them and offering their friendship to help them get there one day too. Friends like Saint Nicholas and Joan of Arc, Saint Claire and Saint Frances, the Little Flower and Bernadette, Maria Gorretti, Faustina, the 12 Apostles and even Saint Michael the Archangel and hundreds more! It’s so much easier to make Heaven real when surrounded by a room of friends you can touch and hold. Not only is Heaven for real but so is our sanctification. The Saints remind us there is a pathway to holiness. And they offer their friendship to all who will receive it and the grace from God which allows us to become saints ourselves with each measure of forgiveness we give to others in their footsteps. Not only is Heaven for Real but it’s much bigger than we suspected and it comes down to us in its entirety through the blood of Jesus and the blood of the martyrs and saints. We not only have a cloud of witnesses but a cloud of friends who are praying for us to be strengthened by God’s Grace. Every single one of them has prayed for you to be in Heaven with them one day. There are no non-saints in Heaven. Only Holy Saints. Put down your pride and sinfulness and pick up the cross of forgiveness and mercy. We need Grace to choose to be saints. Let nothing hinder you from being full of Grace. May the grace of our Lord and the wisdom of the saints guide you Home to meet them face to face.
These two made sure EVERY SINGLE 1st class relic (all 144) touched my belly. This baby is gonna be !!!
#LoveTheOnesYoureWith#ShowThemTheWaytoLife#ThankYouJesus#RaisingSaints
