I’m on a flight to Edinburgh as you’re reading this…it’s Pilgrimage Week: one of my favorite weeks of the year! We’ll be spending the week wandering through various castles, going to the Highland Games, exploring the Isle of Skye, tasting Scotch and learning basic falconry (hopefully not at the same time), walking through St. Andrews, learning about the hidden priests during the Counter-Reformation period in the Rosslyn Chapel and Traquair House, and of course, witnessing all the stunning beauty throughout the Highlands. We’ll also unpack lessons we can learn from Scottish saints spanning from the Celtic period to today, celebrate Mass as often as we can, and reflect on whatever God has for us (I usually don’t know until we’re there). I’ll share photos here when I can once we’re back!
My favorite part of all this, however, is always the people. We have quite a few returning pilgrims on this one, and I can’t wait to see them again (several have been on three or more with us), and of course, I’m eager to meet new friends, too. Every year we wonder how it happens, but it never fails: everyone who travels with us are genuinely fantastic people—folks we’d hang out with no matter where we were.
This week I let Scotland pilgrims know about next summer’s location and itinerary, this weekend the rest of my previous pilgrims of mine will find out, and I’ll share the news with the rest of you fine readers soon.
1. I didn’t know before publication about this PloughStack piece that mentions me, but it was a pleasure to read and I nodded my way through it. Jeff Bilbro explores the challenge of being a noticer vs. enjoyer of some good, and how making a public defense of goods can unintentionally challenge the pure nature of living it. Aka—don’t neglect your life at the expense of being an influencer of said life: “The digital maw is insatiable and respects no limits, so public figures need to learn to set healthy boundaries themselves.”
2. As a fellow Catholic convert (and someone who just wrote a book about the reasons for my own journey), and as someone who finds Kristin Haakenson’s art simply lovely, I really enjoyed reading part one of her conversion story: “In Catholicism, I found a language so resonant with my most interior experience - a living faith that held the full complexity of suffering and joy. I took a leap without all the answers - probably with even more questions than before. And I’m so grateful I did.”
3. Heads up about a good new-ish Substack newsletter: 100 Movies Every Family Should See. Put out by the guys of this newsletter, this is a collection of movie reviews I’d have appreciated when my own growing brood were younger. …It’s hard to find decent family-friendly films that don’t make the adults want to stab out their eyeballs with forks.
4. Academically I’m still very much in summer mode (except for my own class booklists), but if you’re hankering for a bit of mid-summer homeschool planning, Autumn Kern’s your gal. She’s got a lovely collection of videos chock-full of practical wisdom and encouragement.
5. And finally, the talented Winston Marshall delivers a delightful banjo tribute in honor of our 250th anniversary. Beautiful.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, on audiobook (finally, I know!)
“Gardens are not made by singing ‘oh how beautiful’ and sitting in the shade.”
-Rudyard Kipling
Find the new question here!
What have you been dreaming about getting done this summer? How can you either finish or get started on it this weekend?
Heads up: There’s no new 5QT next week in lieu of all my traveling…. And there’s a slight chance this might become a two-week pause if I’m also not able to get one out between the pilgrimage and some domestic family travel. But I’ll be back with you soon enough!
Have a good couple weeks,
- Tsh
p.s. - Great respect in their culture.
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