The Sacrifices Made So That We Might Receive This Gift of Faith

Roxane Salonen shares the biggest takeaway from her pilgrimage to Italy at the end of 2025, one she hopes others will ponder and embrace here and now. 

I couldn’t have guessed in advance my biggest takeaway from our pilgrimage to Italy this past fall. These things can only be known after-the-fact and are often surprising.  

Which was the case for the most pronounced illumination from my husband’s and my trip overseas. It wasn't the delicious food we sampled (Troy would argue that the fried artichokes don’t deserve mention). And though I found the layered hills and cities atop them fascinating, it wasn’t that either, nor the gorgeous art.  

What held my deepest ruminations related more to death and destruction than any of the dainty delights such as olive oil, leather, and wine. As we passed by the beautiful holy doors and traveled sacred streets, the most marked truths were the sacrifices of those who gave their very lives so we could practice this beautiful Catholic faith.  

Paul Kim Said It Best  

I didn’t become aware of Catholic speaker Paul Kim until he took to social media recently with an urgent prayer request for his son, 5, who’d been placed on life support [editor's note: little Micah passed into eternal life on December 31; please pray for consolation for his family]. But in my quest to catch up, I found a clip from Kim produced earlier that illuminated my own thoughts.  

The reel begins with Kim saying he would die before he would give up his Catholic faith. Next, he explained some of its treasures in quick clips: the Eucharist, Mary, the sacraments, the saints.   

We have it all, friends, or as Kim said, echoing others, “We have both the menu and the meal!” But it could just as easily have not been so. As Kim put it: “You have ancestors who died 100 years ago. They were murdered on the streets so you wouldn’t give up your faith.”    

And that, my friends, is what I brought back most of all to the New World — how hard-won this faith has been, and how very long the list of sacrifices that have made it possible for us to receive Jesus in the Eucharist weekly and even daily.  

Do we grow bored with dipping our hands in the font of Baptismal remembrance and kneeling before the Eucharistic host? Maybe we need to be reminded of the blood that’s been spilled to revive us. 

The Converts Are Connecting  

I recently discovered another gem in the form of a podcast of a young Christian convert couple. I’ve been watching Sean Hiller’s “Lectio” videos for a while now, desiring to hear from someone still new at this Catholic thing.  

I appreciate Sean’s fresh perspective as a boy who grew up in the Southern Bible Belt. But recently, he gave his wife, Ellie, the mic. Hearing about a conversion from the heart of a former Protestant who relinquished many of her friends to convert, after an arduous discernment, gave me a new appreciation for my lifelong faith.   

She’s written an account of her conversion in her newly released first book, To Whom Shall I Go? Why I Laid Down My Protest, but her interview helped me, a cradle Catholic, remember how blessed I am. Listening to her describe the missing pieces that were never fulfilled until she discovered Catholic thought and practice, particularly that of Saint John Paul II, gladdened my heart.   

Because of these conversions, there are more Catholics rejoicing together; more Catholics ready to take up the charge of bringing this Faith to others; more who have been blessed by this supreme gift — a gift for which many of our ancestors shed blood for us to have — that we might spread it even further; yes, “to the ends of the earth.” 

It All Started with Christ  

Of course, we know that without Jesus the Christ offering the supreme sacrifice of his life, none of this would have been possible. And how blessed are we to be living in this time in history to fully appreciate this gift?  

God chose US — you and me — to be the recipients of a fuller faith than was possible in previous ages. We get the cream of the crop!  

At the conclusion of Ascension’s podcast, Rosary in a Year, on Day 364, Fr. Mark-Mary, leading listeners into the Scouring at the Pillar mystery, notes that in this meditation, there’s both provocation to see the reality of sin but also an invitation to receive this most precious and costly of gifts.  

Jesus in his Passion and his scourging is the sure sign of his love for us,” Father said. “He underwent such evil because of love of his Father and because he sees something good in us; something that he desires to save; something that he desires to be with for eternity. [Emphasis mine.]  

“Jesus, help us to receive this gift,” Father concluded, “the sure sign of your love for us … of our value in your eyes.”  

And as Kim declared while ending the above-mentioned reel: “Viva Cristo Rey!” 

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Copyright 2026 Roxane Salonen
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