There aren’t many things I dislike more than crowds. (Spiders, definitely.) When I was asked to attend the World Meeting of Families to record live shows for Must Love Catholics, I wasn’t too overjoyed at the prospect. Crowds? Traffic? Philadelphia?? (Sorry, Philadelphians—but I’m a New Yorker. And it was still baseball season.) A week before the WMOF I heard that there were 17,000 people registered for the conference. And I was going to be recording live?!
As soon as I arrived in Philly, I knew this was going to be a different sort of trip. My suitcase and I struggled down the street past nuns, priests, and families pulling wagons overflowing with toddlers. Every signpost featured Pope Francis beaming down on us. Storefronts featured Pope Francis memorabilia. The relics of St. Maria Goretti were in town. Churches in the area had five daily Masses. All of the cars parked in the city had some sort of “Pray the Rosary” or “Pro-Life” bumper stickers. Suddenly, I was in a Catholic city.
Conferences are overwhelming for me—so many people, so many things to see, so many free pens, so little time. I spent most of the conference at the CatholicMatch Institute booth, being pulled aside every so often to interview yet another amazing Catholic. I was able to talk about dating, relationships, marriage, baseball, socks, The Office … with other Catholics. Every conversation I had was better than the last. Every person I met and spoke with was my new best friend.
My interview with Pat Gohn was so fulfilling as a single person in a sea of married couples and religious. She spoke about St. Augustine and how we all have an ache in our hearts that is only filled by God. She gave some tips on how all women—whatever state they're in—can aspire to a spiritual motherhood. Even if we're single and looking, we can live our lives with intention, because our call in life is to holiness. Take a look at a clip from our conversation ...
It’s so rare that we’re able to feel like ourselves in the world. We’re different. We think differently. We act differently. (Some of us don’t eat meat on Fridays—so weird!) We’re often pegged as intolerant, bigoted, old-fashioned. And yet, everyone I met at the WMOF was loving, open, and kind. It didn’t matter that I’m a single woman and the people I talked to were married, divorced, older, younger, in a habit, or wearing a pectoral cross. We are all Catholic. We’re all here to get ourselves—and anyone else we can—to Heaven.
I often think of myself as part of one specific group or another—single, female, American, curly-haired. Seeing so many Catholics together in one place was a very real reminder that we are all part of the Mystical Body of Christ. That despite where we’re from and what our state in life is, what we do as individuals affects everyone else in the Church.
Maybe I’m frustrated about where I am in my life and what my vocation is supposed to be, but that is never a reason to despair. Every member of the Church helps one another in ways we may never know. And the Saints are helping too!
The third day I was in Philadelphia, I took some time to wander the city for an hour. I got a scone and a coffee, and sat down to do some people-watching. At one point, I was the only layperson on the block. And it made me so proud to be Catholic.
So head on over to the CatholicMatch YouTube page to see more clips of the interviews I did with CatholicMatch Institute contributor, Erik Washam. We talked with Danielle Bean, Susie Lloyd, Anastasia Northop, Theresa Notare, Mary Beth Bonacci and more!
