Sideroads on the Journey

I have a side business I just got involved in. It is Lighthouse Catholic Media (see side bar for the url)

I am a convert. Instrumental to my conversion was the awesome teaching I read and heard on books and CDs. When I heard St. Joseph's Communciations started this division, Lighthouse, to help spread CDs teaching the faith, I checked into it.

Well, after a Saturday of training and a bunch of calls I am doing it! Meeting with pastors as well as Catholic school principals and sharing about this minsitry. (BTW, it is a self funding ministry that is easy to implement in a parish or school)

I am in new territory. I am really doing sales. My dh has done sales for 20 years, and he is very good at it. He always told me it is really about relationships, not just getting people to buy. Finding needs, solving problems. Did I ever think I would be presenting to priests? NO! But I am.

So, with that backdrop comes today. I got my first order. But it was not just a order. It was a lovely afternoon with a Monsigner at a beautiful old church.

I won't go into the preliminaires of how I got there, but at 1:30 I was seated in the parlor of the rectory of this antique parish, one that has as its church an historical landmark. As I waited for Msgr. to finish lunch I was looking through his shelves of books. Ah, many old friends there. I saw many books I have on my own shelf including Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn, Navarre Bibles, Death on a Friday Afternoon by John Neuhaus and Surprised by the Truth by Patrick Madrid- as well as others.

My eye was caught by familiar author, Peter Kreeft. I had seen him speak in Steubenville years ago. I picked up the book and found several chapters on comparitive religion. The one on Christainity and Islam was only 3 pages long- I love that about Mr. Kreeft, he is bold, but succinct.

As I perched on a chair and read, Msgr arrived. I had been prepared for a formal presentation, to show him my LCM stuff, but instead we began talking about the book in my hands. Soon we were off on other topics, the Pope's speech inviting Muslims to dialog, the media, Protestant view (or non view) of suffering, Mel Gibson and his beliefs, the parish and its challenges, the old and new bishop, the effect of the baseball stadium across the street... and on.

Every so often he would tell me of a book or article he read on the subject at hand and would stand up, and begin to walk up the beautiful creaky old staircase to retrieve the said document to share.

After an hour of chatting I relunctanly changed the subject and showed him more details about our CD program. He had seen it elsewhere, asked a couple of questions, asked his office manager to write me a check and we kept chatting.. about Norman Vincent Peale, the Latin Mass he says each Sunday, the homeless, the history of social reform in the Catholic church and immmigration... and on.

Finally I knew I had to leave or traffic would be horrible, as I live in a far away suburb. The suburbs seem foreign to him, he said, such large parishes, people leave communion early, so busy. Yes, I said. This place had a feeling of home. Most pastors cannot give me 30 minutes to talk, can often not even stop after daily Mass to chat with me but are off in a flurry to multiple meetings and duties to keep their gigantic parishes running. But Mgsr. gave me a large part of his afternoon.

And my side journey extended into my home.

Tonight at dinner I read parts of the Islam chapter of the Kreeft book Msgr. had allowed me to copy while visiting. My dh (Mr. History) began to fill in more gaps. We talked about Islam. We are trying to gain an understanding of this religion in our home. I told them what Mgsr. had said- about the Arab perception of debachary in the west, often fueled by materialism and other atrocities (such as high abortion rates) seen in Israel, not to mention the horrible output of Hollywood and the media.

Mgsr. touched my family's life, too.

So, as I have wondered how much time to give LCM... this gave me another reason to continue. It may help pay for my youngest son's braces... and I know it is a wonderful thing to try and get into parishes. Though I don't like the time away from my family, my boys are older and more independent. And my dh is now working from home, so I am much more free to be out. But, I saw today that being 'out' does not mean I connect less, because I can bring home and share what I find.


I wish I could have stayed to listen longer. I think we will all go to his Latin Mass one Sunday soon.