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Trying to Be Good: In Search of God

seeking

Actions have consequences

Godlessness seems to be the order of the day. Sadly, we don’t need to look too far to see just how low we can go as a culture. I’ve just about given up watching television, but there are a few shows that have caught my attention, and I’m willing to give a chance. One of those shows is The Good Place.

I’ve been rather obsessed with The Good Place this past week and binge-watched the first two seasons available on Netflix so I could watch the season 3 premiere. I found the show not just clever, but compelling. I mean, don’t we all want to end up in the good place? Aren’t we terrified of the bad place?

I watched and watched hoping they’d actually talk about what this good place represents and was finally satisfied to hear the terms heaven and hell finally used. I’m really invested in seeing where this series will go. I’m not expecting any real theology here; they took a swipe at the world religions in the very first episode, but it’s not filled with moral relativism, either. At least, not yet.

This series demonstrates that our lives and how we live them have consequences here on earth, and have consequences in the afterlife! I don’t want to giveaway any spoilers, but I find the show to be a good sign. If art imitates life, then maybe this show’s theme is a life sign for the culture, that as a society we can recalibrate our values. It begins, perhaps, with seeking the good.

Befriending God

Inspired with this hope, I tuned-in to another show, God Friended Me. This one isn’t a goofy comedy though it does have plenty of humor. It reminds me of Highway to Heaven and Touched by an Angel, obviously updated for our social media obsessed times. The protagonist, Miles, is friended by an account named God, and then a series of God-incidences occur.

Miles is a professed atheist. I think he’s just angry at God and has turned his back on his faith and his father. And his Father. To my delight, this episode delved into relationships, fractured and redeemed, and opens the door to more relationships. I hope this one is a winner because I’m already hooked.

Watch

The Good Place on Thursdays 8:30-9:00 on NBC

God Friended Me on Sundays 8:00-9:00 on CBS

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Called to Love Conference in Mobile

I’m so excited to be speaking at the Called to Love Conference in Mobile, Alabama. From the website:

NEW at the Called to Love Women’s Conference this year – Breakout Sessions! The team of Conference Planners realize that we have amazing talent right here in the Archdiocese, and we’re pulling together a team of presenters from which you can choose during our two breakout times.

Maria Johnson is one of our breakout presenters. Maria’s talk is: Our Lady of Charity: How Marian Devotions Help Us on Our Spiritual Journey

Award-winning author and international speaker Maria Morera Johnson shares how a pilgrimage to connect to her cultural roots in Cuba reveals the richness and spiritual graces of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. She shares the history of this devotion, and why devotion to The Blessed Mother under this title of Love is consoling in today’s confusing and sometimes hostile public arena.

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Ticket sales for the Called to Love Women’s Conference are going remarkably well – make plans to purchase yours soon! Our last two conferences sold out and we expect that this one will too!

www.mobarchconferences.org

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St. Maria del Popolo

A friend brought me this pretty prayer card with a lovely medal from the Basilica di S. Maria del Popolo in Rome. St. Mary of the People!

I visited Rome when I was in college, and while I saw quite a bit of the city, I missed out on having a truly Catholic experience there. I hope to one day return and visit all the churches and sites that would be meaningful to me. I think visiting this basilica would be a meaningful experience. Of course, the artwork would be a huge draw with pieces by Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio. But I discovered that the church has another aspect that really speaks to my desire for pilgrimage.

It’s history, or rather, legend, is pretty interesting. Apparently, at one of the primary entrances to the city was a walnut tree possessed by demons that made life impossible for travelers trying to enter Rome. It was so awful that Pope Paschal II performed an exorcism at the tree in 1009. Then he struck the root which toppled the tree and revealed the remains of Emperor Nero. They threw the remains in the Tiber and built a church on the spot where the tree was destroyed. Over time the basilica was built.

I’d like to make my pilgrimage to Rome and enter the city there, like so many pilgrims before me. Have you been to S. Maria del Popolo?

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