So I've decided I need to blog but have a million ideas and can't seem to decide on one main thing. So Its time for another random rant.
1. I'm completely and totally in love. Mary Beth is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am beyond excited to see what God does in our lives. I'm learning so much about myself and coming to experience a peace in my life I have never felt.
2. I'm loving school more than I thought I would this semester. Its been tough but somehow I'm finding a grace to get things done and I am not nearly as stressed as I have been other semesters. My Thesis is coming together and It is looking like I should be completely done with it in a few weeks.
3. I'm slightly nervous about the future. I'm really hoping that I'm back in Wichita this fall. I'm praying and trying to stay open to other possibilities but my heart keeps being drawn back there. It is going to be completely different than the first time but I'm really feeling called. I just pray for patience while the whole job thing gets figured out. Also pray I can help find Mary Beth a job if I get a job there.
4. I'm getting really excited about another summer of Totus Tuus. I've interviewed some amazing people thus far and can't wait to see who ends up teaching for us. I'm also super pumped that Drew Maly, Clay, and Brett are all applying along with the fact that Josh is coming back.
5. My family is coming to town to go skiing this weekend. I'm really excited for that and the fact that they get to meet Mary Beth.
6. Mary Beth's parents want to meet me so they are flying us both down to Austin, Texas for a weekend in March to meet them.
7. Mary Beth and I are taking a road trip to Wichita for Easter. I am incredibly excited to have her meet everyone there.
8. I've been working on my practicum helping developp curriculum for a small group discipleship youth ministry model with Jim Beckman, Steve Nepil, and Dave Merrick. This has been amazing. All three of them are amazing men who are so knowledgeable and it is a huge blessing to get to work with them. Especially with Jim. This guy is a stud when it comes to Youth Ministry. He has seen and done it all and it is incredible to be able to learn from this guy.
9. This is going to be a really tough Lent but I'm excited for it at the same time. Get your game faces on!
10. I've been feeling incredibly greatful lately for all the amazing people in my life God had blessed me with. I have a loving family, incredible mentors, and the most amazing friends a guy could ask for. I'm becoming increasingly aware of how amazing this is. God has truly blessed me and I am not always as thankful as I should be for all these people.
Ok so that was a lot of randomness. I have some political rants and some deeper stuff to reflect on but I'll save that for another day. I figure I would just keep this one positive and thank God for all the great blessings going on in my life right now.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Battle Within
Over the past week I was assigned to read sections from The Confessions by St. Augustine. This is the second time I've read it, but this time I didn't have to read the whole thing in a week so I was able to read it slowly and in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The last time I read it the thing that stuck out to me the most was St. Monica and her perseverance in prayer for the conversion of her son. This time, as I continue to reflect on conversion in my own life what has really stuck out is St. Augustine's genuine disgust and horror for the sins of his past.
Sin is an interesting thing. Whenever I commit it I definetally find myself feeling horrible about it and running to confession. But on the same token I always find myself drawn back to it. The devil, the world, and the flesh have a very interesting way of making it look so stinking attractive. Yet the result is always the same, instead of giving me some sort of joy or pleasure it ends with feeling horrible about myself and standing in the confession line. It amazes me how much Augustine hated sin once he had his conversion. And this guy had seen and done it all. He had this amazing internal struggle and fought with God and himself in a way that I think most of us can relate to. The difference is once God got a hold of him there was no more sitting on the fence and when God won, Augustine gave him his entire life and never looked back. Granted it took him a while to get there but his conversion is one of the most fascinating conversion stories I've ever heard. I guess it is because I feel like I can relate to it so well.
How many of us have "conversions" and yet there is still a part of us that wants to cling to that old way of life? I know I struggle with it. I wish I could say I have eradicated all the sins that I struggled with from before my conversion. But that is not the case. I still fight the battle every day. Sin still looks attractive. Yeah I know its wrong and I dislike sin, but I don't HATE it the way Augustine did. The interesting thing is though I HATE it in others. When someone I truly care about is making poor decisions and struggling it tears my heart a part. It kills me and I pray my butt off for them, much like St. Monica did for Augustine. I sometimes think to myself man if it sucks this much when one of my teens from Wichita or here in Denver struggles how much is it going to suck when I have my own kids and they struggle with sin. Which makes me think, how much more does it upset God when I sin then. If I can be in that much pain over someone who isn't even my son or daughter because of the sins they struggle with, how much more is God hurt over what I do. It is easy to feel pain over the sins of others, but I need to look at myself the same way.
The thing with sin is its not easy to overcome. Thank God for His infinite mercy which I cling to everyday. I know I've had a conversion and truly strive to live for Christ but I have to remember that conversion is a daily process. I hope and pray that I can get to a point like Augustine that sin isn't something I merely dislike and try not to commit but something I LOATHE because it offends the one I call my best friend, Jesus.
Sin is an interesting thing. Whenever I commit it I definetally find myself feeling horrible about it and running to confession. But on the same token I always find myself drawn back to it. The devil, the world, and the flesh have a very interesting way of making it look so stinking attractive. Yet the result is always the same, instead of giving me some sort of joy or pleasure it ends with feeling horrible about myself and standing in the confession line. It amazes me how much Augustine hated sin once he had his conversion. And this guy had seen and done it all. He had this amazing internal struggle and fought with God and himself in a way that I think most of us can relate to. The difference is once God got a hold of him there was no more sitting on the fence and when God won, Augustine gave him his entire life and never looked back. Granted it took him a while to get there but his conversion is one of the most fascinating conversion stories I've ever heard. I guess it is because I feel like I can relate to it so well.
How many of us have "conversions" and yet there is still a part of us that wants to cling to that old way of life? I know I struggle with it. I wish I could say I have eradicated all the sins that I struggled with from before my conversion. But that is not the case. I still fight the battle every day. Sin still looks attractive. Yeah I know its wrong and I dislike sin, but I don't HATE it the way Augustine did. The interesting thing is though I HATE it in others. When someone I truly care about is making poor decisions and struggling it tears my heart a part. It kills me and I pray my butt off for them, much like St. Monica did for Augustine. I sometimes think to myself man if it sucks this much when one of my teens from Wichita or here in Denver struggles how much is it going to suck when I have my own kids and they struggle with sin. Which makes me think, how much more does it upset God when I sin then. If I can be in that much pain over someone who isn't even my son or daughter because of the sins they struggle with, how much more is God hurt over what I do. It is easy to feel pain over the sins of others, but I need to look at myself the same way.
The thing with sin is its not easy to overcome. Thank God for His infinite mercy which I cling to everyday. I know I've had a conversion and truly strive to live for Christ but I have to remember that conversion is a daily process. I hope and pray that I can get to a point like Augustine that sin isn't something I merely dislike and try not to commit but something I LOATHE because it offends the one I call my best friend, Jesus.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
An Ode To Those Who Have Shown Me Christ
This weekend back in my home town of Rockford, IL there will be another Kyrios Retreat taking place. Kyrios 35 to be exact. For those who are not familiar with Kyrios, it is a parish retreat for teens. Kyrios is in many ways responsible for the man I am today.
This morning on my drive to work I was praying and reflecting on my life and reflecting on the conversion moments in my life. In this year of St. Paul I've been thinking about conversion a lot and how greatful I am that God showed me his face in a way that forever changed me so many years ago. But with that comes a general sense of incredible gratefulness for the people God used and placed in my life to show me who He was.
It was January of 1996 and I was a mess. I had had a huge falling out with my friends at school. I was lonely and miserable. At the time I was in confirmation class that was meeting at the Hoffman's, Russ and his wife Helen were our leaders. In that class was a friend from middle school, J.P. Meyers. Ironically enough I had ditched him in middle school because I thought I was too "cool" for him and he was too much of a nerd. Russ had a huge impact on me and had opened my heart to things of the faith in ways I hadn't been before. Because of him I was ripe for the taking. J.P. invited me to come to High School Youth Group, what was then Peer Ministry at the Parish. Even though I had been a jerk to him in the past he extended the invitation and I accepted it. We became friends again for the rest of High School and the first couple years of college. We lost touch after wards but it was merely a loosing track of each other, not a falling out. Thank you Lord for Russ and J.P. whereever they are.
Like I said I accepted J.P.'s invitataion and showed up. I was instantly welcomed into the group. At first I thought all the praying was wierd but the fact that they welcomed me with open arms and invited me to start hanging out with them outside the group instantly showed me there was something different about them and I wanted it! Those first few weeks I became friends with MaryJo, Giz, and Amy. They welcomed me in and showed me Christ in such a subtle way, simply through their welcoming spirit. Thank you Lord for MaryJo, Giz and Amy!
As the months went on I got more involved and met more people. I found a community and then that summer I eventually made a Kyrios. It was Kyrios #7. I met Mary Garbe, now Doestch who to this day is one of my best friends. I met Melissa who became part of my family and I part of hers and had the honor of reading at her wedding last summer. I met Mike. We hated each other at first but now has become one of my best friends. I met Brianna and Nicole. I don't know where they are these days or even if they believe in God anymore but they are a big part of why I'm Catholic today. I met Bill and Dave and a whole mess of other people that became examples to me of Faith and challeneged me to always live my faith and persevere. Most importantly I met Christ. I encountered the person of Christ in every one of these people and powerfully experienced His love in the Sacraments. Thank you Lord for the Kyrios community, especially Melissa, Mike, Mary, and Bill who continue to be a huge source of support for me.
I spent the last two years of High School actively being a part of the Peer Ministry team and continuing to grow in my Faith. Len and Colleen became huge mentors for me. They challeneged me to grow and taught me how to give talks, challeneged me to pray and even made me ask the hard questions. To this day I will never forget the day I was talking to them and told them I really wanted to study Theater and was dead set on it. They turned to me and asked me if that was what God wanted? It forced me to take that question to prayer and really ask Him. Turns out it wasn't what He wanted. I largely thank God for His work through them because it was them answering God's call to be in ministry and develop Kyrios that is the reason I am where I am today. Lord Thank you For Len and Colleen!
There are so many more people I could thank God for putting in my life. I'm sorry if I didn't mention you but know that everyone from the Kyrios community has a special place in my heart and always will.
Today I am hundreds of miles from Rockford. I haven't served on a Kyrios in almost 5years but every time one approaches I pray for it. I may not always write a prayer letter for them but I do pray because I would not be who I am without Kyrios and Holy Family Youth Ministry.
As Kyrios 35 approaches I will be praying and ask all of you to pray this weekend as well because who knows how many lives will be touched and changed in the way mine was 13 years ago.
This morning on my drive to work I was praying and reflecting on my life and reflecting on the conversion moments in my life. In this year of St. Paul I've been thinking about conversion a lot and how greatful I am that God showed me his face in a way that forever changed me so many years ago. But with that comes a general sense of incredible gratefulness for the people God used and placed in my life to show me who He was.
It was January of 1996 and I was a mess. I had had a huge falling out with my friends at school. I was lonely and miserable. At the time I was in confirmation class that was meeting at the Hoffman's, Russ and his wife Helen were our leaders. In that class was a friend from middle school, J.P. Meyers. Ironically enough I had ditched him in middle school because I thought I was too "cool" for him and he was too much of a nerd. Russ had a huge impact on me and had opened my heart to things of the faith in ways I hadn't been before. Because of him I was ripe for the taking. J.P. invited me to come to High School Youth Group, what was then Peer Ministry at the Parish. Even though I had been a jerk to him in the past he extended the invitation and I accepted it. We became friends again for the rest of High School and the first couple years of college. We lost touch after wards but it was merely a loosing track of each other, not a falling out. Thank you Lord for Russ and J.P. whereever they are.
Like I said I accepted J.P.'s invitataion and showed up. I was instantly welcomed into the group. At first I thought all the praying was wierd but the fact that they welcomed me with open arms and invited me to start hanging out with them outside the group instantly showed me there was something different about them and I wanted it! Those first few weeks I became friends with MaryJo, Giz, and Amy. They welcomed me in and showed me Christ in such a subtle way, simply through their welcoming spirit. Thank you Lord for MaryJo, Giz and Amy!
As the months went on I got more involved and met more people. I found a community and then that summer I eventually made a Kyrios. It was Kyrios #7. I met Mary Garbe, now Doestch who to this day is one of my best friends. I met Melissa who became part of my family and I part of hers and had the honor of reading at her wedding last summer. I met Mike. We hated each other at first but now has become one of my best friends. I met Brianna and Nicole. I don't know where they are these days or even if they believe in God anymore but they are a big part of why I'm Catholic today. I met Bill and Dave and a whole mess of other people that became examples to me of Faith and challeneged me to always live my faith and persevere. Most importantly I met Christ. I encountered the person of Christ in every one of these people and powerfully experienced His love in the Sacraments. Thank you Lord for the Kyrios community, especially Melissa, Mike, Mary, and Bill who continue to be a huge source of support for me.
I spent the last two years of High School actively being a part of the Peer Ministry team and continuing to grow in my Faith. Len and Colleen became huge mentors for me. They challeneged me to grow and taught me how to give talks, challeneged me to pray and even made me ask the hard questions. To this day I will never forget the day I was talking to them and told them I really wanted to study Theater and was dead set on it. They turned to me and asked me if that was what God wanted? It forced me to take that question to prayer and really ask Him. Turns out it wasn't what He wanted. I largely thank God for His work through them because it was them answering God's call to be in ministry and develop Kyrios that is the reason I am where I am today. Lord Thank you For Len and Colleen!
There are so many more people I could thank God for putting in my life. I'm sorry if I didn't mention you but know that everyone from the Kyrios community has a special place in my heart and always will.
Today I am hundreds of miles from Rockford. I haven't served on a Kyrios in almost 5years but every time one approaches I pray for it. I may not always write a prayer letter for them but I do pray because I would not be who I am without Kyrios and Holy Family Youth Ministry.
As Kyrios 35 approaches I will be praying and ask all of you to pray this weekend as well because who knows how many lives will be touched and changed in the way mine was 13 years ago.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
"Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing"
My semester officially started last week. So far things have kicked into high gear right away. There has been absolutely no messing around. Last Thursday my day started with 9:00a.m. mass at St. Thomas More and then I spent the day with Steve, Jim Beckman, and Dave. Dave and Steve are two friends and classmmates and Jim is a Youth Minister in the area who started a place called the Impact Center which is a resource center for Youth Ministers. Jim is an amazing holy guy who I am learning a lot from. Well Jim asked us to help him with a project. He is currently developping a discipleship model of Youth Ministry. There are currently two parishes in the Denver area piloting this model. It is a program that is based on small group bible studies in which teens are placed in a group with volunteer leaders. So far it is proving to be very successful for the two parishes pioloting the program. So anyway, I digress I spent the day helping Jim write curriculum for the studies as well as a curriculum for the training of the Youth Ministers across the country that want to implement this model.
After a full day of that I headed to class. Moral and Spiritual Theology with Dr. Sri. This class is going to kick my butt this semester. I also had a slight freak out during this class. We began the class talking about Prayer and how we can get the most out of the class. With that came our reading list. I'll say this, normally in Dr. Sri's classes I'll admit I don't do the reading because I haven't had time and everything is based on the notes. This class will be very different. We have to keep a reading log of all the assignments. The log requieres we grade ourselves on the following scale: 1- I did not finish the reading, 2- I did all the reading but read it rushed and unprayerfully, 3- I did all the reading slowly and prayerfully. WOW, I thought this is going to kick my butt. At that moment as I was looking at the list I started to slightly panic about how much was there, the fact that I had a Thesis due, reading for Dr. Reye's class, a take home for my Paul Class, two papers to write aside from the Thesis, all the stuff going on at work, and just how basically this next semester is going to kill me. I left the class freaking out about how much I suck at being Holy and how there is no way I would survive this semester.
I got home and was in a terrible mood and was ready to throw in the towel. I stopped, breathed and realized the only thing I could think of to do was to go pray. So I went to adoration. I said Evening prayer followed by a Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal I'm praying with Nick Seiler and then I journaled for a bit. I then picked up our first assignment for Dr. Sri. A book called: SEARCHING FOR AND MAINTAINING PEACE by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Our assignment is to read one section of it every day for the whole semester (one of many others of course). Each section is fairly short. Dr. Sri asked us to read it slowly, prayerfully and meditate on it. So I decided that is exactly what I would do. I read the first section and man did it kick my butt. The key part of the meditation focused on the words of Jesus, "Apart from me you can do nothing!" This is exactly what I needed to hear! This is why I was freaking out, I was trying to do this all on my own. There is no way I'm going to get through this semester if I try and do it all myself! I will only get through this with God's grace. I need to learn to move to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and as the the song "Your Love is Extravagant Says," I need to find myself moving to the rythms of His grace!
So I have continued everyday since that spending 30-45 minutes in adoration reading through the reading assignments we've had for this week. I've continued in the Peace book and also read some of the most amazing writings of Mother Theresa and Fr. Dubay. The most beautiful part about it is, that I'm finding myself really reflecting on the readings and taking them to heart. I feel like I'm having very intimate conversation with my Lord. For the first time in my life I am learning to truly meditate in prayer. I mean I have done it before but I'm taking the time to do it regularly. For the longest time it seems like I looked at prayer as a check list: mass, check, Liturgy of the Hours, check, Rosary, check. And I was doing all these things and don't get me wrong they are all good things and I'm still doing those daily but I am starting to realize the necessity of meditation, in other words real conversation with my Lord. That conversation involves not only talking but LISTENING. Something so many of us forget. I'm so excited for this semester now. We will be reading Augustine, St. Therese, St. John of the Cross, Catherine of Sienna, and St. Theresa of Avila. I'm really pumped to see how God continues to speak to me through all these incredible Saints and witnesses.
Of course I'm sure it will be a struggle. I won't feel like praying every day like I do right now and I will have to push through. But I can just feel the grace flowing right now. I hope to continue to take the words, "Apart from me you can do nothing" to heart. God is about to take me on a journey I never even imagined this last semester. It is sure to be one heck of a ride!
After a full day of that I headed to class. Moral and Spiritual Theology with Dr. Sri. This class is going to kick my butt this semester. I also had a slight freak out during this class. We began the class talking about Prayer and how we can get the most out of the class. With that came our reading list. I'll say this, normally in Dr. Sri's classes I'll admit I don't do the reading because I haven't had time and everything is based on the notes. This class will be very different. We have to keep a reading log of all the assignments. The log requieres we grade ourselves on the following scale: 1- I did not finish the reading, 2- I did all the reading but read it rushed and unprayerfully, 3- I did all the reading slowly and prayerfully. WOW, I thought this is going to kick my butt. At that moment as I was looking at the list I started to slightly panic about how much was there, the fact that I had a Thesis due, reading for Dr. Reye's class, a take home for my Paul Class, two papers to write aside from the Thesis, all the stuff going on at work, and just how basically this next semester is going to kill me. I left the class freaking out about how much I suck at being Holy and how there is no way I would survive this semester.
I got home and was in a terrible mood and was ready to throw in the towel. I stopped, breathed and realized the only thing I could think of to do was to go pray. So I went to adoration. I said Evening prayer followed by a Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal I'm praying with Nick Seiler and then I journaled for a bit. I then picked up our first assignment for Dr. Sri. A book called: SEARCHING FOR AND MAINTAINING PEACE by Fr. Jacques Philippe. Our assignment is to read one section of it every day for the whole semester (one of many others of course). Each section is fairly short. Dr. Sri asked us to read it slowly, prayerfully and meditate on it. So I decided that is exactly what I would do. I read the first section and man did it kick my butt. The key part of the meditation focused on the words of Jesus, "Apart from me you can do nothing!" This is exactly what I needed to hear! This is why I was freaking out, I was trying to do this all on my own. There is no way I'm going to get through this semester if I try and do it all myself! I will only get through this with God's grace. I need to learn to move to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and as the the song "Your Love is Extravagant Says," I need to find myself moving to the rythms of His grace!
So I have continued everyday since that spending 30-45 minutes in adoration reading through the reading assignments we've had for this week. I've continued in the Peace book and also read some of the most amazing writings of Mother Theresa and Fr. Dubay. The most beautiful part about it is, that I'm finding myself really reflecting on the readings and taking them to heart. I feel like I'm having very intimate conversation with my Lord. For the first time in my life I am learning to truly meditate in prayer. I mean I have done it before but I'm taking the time to do it regularly. For the longest time it seems like I looked at prayer as a check list: mass, check, Liturgy of the Hours, check, Rosary, check. And I was doing all these things and don't get me wrong they are all good things and I'm still doing those daily but I am starting to realize the necessity of meditation, in other words real conversation with my Lord. That conversation involves not only talking but LISTENING. Something so many of us forget. I'm so excited for this semester now. We will be reading Augustine, St. Therese, St. John of the Cross, Catherine of Sienna, and St. Theresa of Avila. I'm really pumped to see how God continues to speak to me through all these incredible Saints and witnesses.
Of course I'm sure it will be a struggle. I won't feel like praying every day like I do right now and I will have to push through. But I can just feel the grace flowing right now. I hope to continue to take the words, "Apart from me you can do nothing" to heart. God is about to take me on a journey I never even imagined this last semester. It is sure to be one heck of a ride!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What Right do you Have?
I was at mass today and heard a homily that got me fired up! Father was right on the money. He spoke about how our Government has their head screwed on wrong and they just don't get it! We are constantly talking about rights in our country. A woman's right to chose, the right for gays to get married, animal rights etc. Well where do rights come from? Rights come from God. A government's job is not to confer rights or take rights away. A government's job is to protect people's GOD-GIVEN rights. When a government gives someone rights or takes rights away they are usurping God's soverignty and offending Him. Remember what Jesus tells pilate? "You would have no authority had it not been given to you by my Father in Heaven." Well anytime a Government gives or takes rights away they are abusing the authority given to them by God.
We talk about a woman's right to have an abortion. Guess what? God never gave a woman that right.
We talk about two men's rights to get married to each other. Guess what? God never gave them that right.
We talk about animal rights. Guess what? God never gave animals rights!
It's time our government remembered where their authority comes from and stop handing out rights that God never gave out!
We talk about a woman's right to have an abortion. Guess what? God never gave a woman that right.
We talk about two men's rights to get married to each other. Guess what? God never gave them that right.
We talk about animal rights. Guess what? God never gave animals rights!
It's time our government remembered where their authority comes from and stop handing out rights that God never gave out!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Got Hope?
Today is innaguration day. Barack Obama is our new President. I'm struggling between two feelings today. One is despair and one is Hope. I'm mostly on the side of Hope but fighting the temptaion to give into the other one.
On the one side stands the feeling that I have that Barack Obama becoming President is the last nail in our country's coffin. Never have we had a man with fewer morals than this guy. Never have we had the media make such a frenzy over our President. I fear for our nation and the masses of people who are blindly following this man. So many people have put there hope in this guy. Everywhere you look there are shirts, hats, and an electricity and excitement that feels misplaced. Yes this event is Historic but I don't think it is in a good way at all. The man is using the Bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln! Noone eles has ever used it. I mean honestly the audacity of this man! Part of me feels like I should be in mourning for our country. In a way I feel like Israel who was sent into Babylonian exile for their unfaithfulness. We are about to reap what we have sown. This is much more subtle than the Baylonian exile because people are welcoming it. People have become blind and allowed the Media to create for them a God to worship. Barak Obama has become this nation's Golden Calf. I mean is he the next President or the winner of American Idol? I have to wonder.
But on the other hand I have a tremendous feeling of Hope. And not Barack Obama Hope but the supernatural virtue of Hope. Last week I took a four day class on St. Paul. It was a brutal four days of 8 hours each to cover all of St. Paul's writings. All I have to say is this man was incredible and I can't believe I did not have a devotion to him before. It is no coincidence that our Pope Benedict XVI has declared this the year of St. Paul. St. Paul was a man well known for his rhetoric and God knows that is about all we have to go on with Mr. Obama is his fancy words. St. Paul did some terrible atrocious things before he converted. He sanctioned the stoning of the first martyr Stephen along with many other things. But St. Stephen as he was being stoned prayed for Paul's conversion. And you know what God knocked St. Paul on his butt and brought conversion to his life. If St. Paul could convert there is no doubt in my mind that Obama can convert. We as Christians have an obligation to pray for Obama's conversion. If St. Monica's prayers converted Augustine why can't our prayers convert Obama?
But even if Obama doesn't convert there is still Hope. Why? Because we as Christians are not of this world. Our Hope is not in our country, our hope is not in our President. Our Hope is in Christ! We are mearly pilgrims on a journey here. We are Heaven bound and no President is going to change that. As St. Paul wrote, "For the world in its present form is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). Again, we read in Isaiah, "Lo, I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17) The things of this world are passing. We are not meant to hold on to them. So despite the Economy crumbling, the War in Iraq, babies dying, the death penalty, the redefinition of marriage, and all the other horrible things happening, Jesus Christ is King. He will come in judgment, and in the end the things of this world will not matter. The hope that is placed in Obama will be revealed for the shallow and empty thing that it is. "At the name of Jesus ever knee should bend, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father." (Phillipians 2:10-11)
Now don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean our job as Christians is done. The fight is merely beginning. There is much to do and we have to remain faithful in the midst of all the junk that is going on. But there is a Hope that we have that noone can take from us, and that is the Hope that Jesus Christ is the King and the victor . Let us press on in battle with our King under the mantle of Our Mother. St. Paul turned the world upside down and converted the Roman Empire through his work. Folks the Roman Empire was in just as bad of shape if not worse than we are today. It is time for a New Evangelization. Let us go out and be lights in this world. Let us under the intercession of St. Paul bring the message of real HOPE to our broken and fallen nation. For our Hope is in Christ, not Obama!
On the one side stands the feeling that I have that Barack Obama becoming President is the last nail in our country's coffin. Never have we had a man with fewer morals than this guy. Never have we had the media make such a frenzy over our President. I fear for our nation and the masses of people who are blindly following this man. So many people have put there hope in this guy. Everywhere you look there are shirts, hats, and an electricity and excitement that feels misplaced. Yes this event is Historic but I don't think it is in a good way at all. The man is using the Bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln! Noone eles has ever used it. I mean honestly the audacity of this man! Part of me feels like I should be in mourning for our country. In a way I feel like Israel who was sent into Babylonian exile for their unfaithfulness. We are about to reap what we have sown. This is much more subtle than the Baylonian exile because people are welcoming it. People have become blind and allowed the Media to create for them a God to worship. Barak Obama has become this nation's Golden Calf. I mean is he the next President or the winner of American Idol? I have to wonder.
But on the other hand I have a tremendous feeling of Hope. And not Barack Obama Hope but the supernatural virtue of Hope. Last week I took a four day class on St. Paul. It was a brutal four days of 8 hours each to cover all of St. Paul's writings. All I have to say is this man was incredible and I can't believe I did not have a devotion to him before. It is no coincidence that our Pope Benedict XVI has declared this the year of St. Paul. St. Paul was a man well known for his rhetoric and God knows that is about all we have to go on with Mr. Obama is his fancy words. St. Paul did some terrible atrocious things before he converted. He sanctioned the stoning of the first martyr Stephen along with many other things. But St. Stephen as he was being stoned prayed for Paul's conversion. And you know what God knocked St. Paul on his butt and brought conversion to his life. If St. Paul could convert there is no doubt in my mind that Obama can convert. We as Christians have an obligation to pray for Obama's conversion. If St. Monica's prayers converted Augustine why can't our prayers convert Obama?
But even if Obama doesn't convert there is still Hope. Why? Because we as Christians are not of this world. Our Hope is not in our country, our hope is not in our President. Our Hope is in Christ! We are mearly pilgrims on a journey here. We are Heaven bound and no President is going to change that. As St. Paul wrote, "For the world in its present form is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). Again, we read in Isaiah, "Lo, I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind." (Isaiah 65:17) The things of this world are passing. We are not meant to hold on to them. So despite the Economy crumbling, the War in Iraq, babies dying, the death penalty, the redefinition of marriage, and all the other horrible things happening, Jesus Christ is King. He will come in judgment, and in the end the things of this world will not matter. The hope that is placed in Obama will be revealed for the shallow and empty thing that it is. "At the name of Jesus ever knee should bend, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father." (Phillipians 2:10-11)
Now don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean our job as Christians is done. The fight is merely beginning. There is much to do and we have to remain faithful in the midst of all the junk that is going on. But there is a Hope that we have that noone can take from us, and that is the Hope that Jesus Christ is the King and the victor . Let us press on in battle with our King under the mantle of Our Mother. St. Paul turned the world upside down and converted the Roman Empire through his work. Folks the Roman Empire was in just as bad of shape if not worse than we are today. It is time for a New Evangelization. Let us go out and be lights in this world. Let us under the intercession of St. Paul bring the message of real HOPE to our broken and fallen nation. For our Hope is in Christ, not Obama!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
To a Bright New Year!
Well we are officially 6 days into 2009. To think I just got used to writing 2008 on stuff and now I have to switch to 2009. 2008 was probably one of the toughest and hardest years for me yet but at the same time had some of the best moments I could imagine. I struggled a lot with my prayer life and really struggled to trust God in so many ways. I felt very broken and alone at a lot of points throughout the year. I had moments of intesne heartache as I watched my best friend friend deal with the death of a parent and there were days my heart physically ached cause I couldn't see or be around the people I left behind in Wichita. I was made to face my vocation straight in the face and struggle with the question in more intense a way than I had in the past. I had to struggle through readings, papers, and tests. I fell more times than I can count. I found myself in confession more times than I think I ever have in a year. God broke me. He pushed me in ways I didn't think I'd ever be pushed. Yes it was a tough year but It was also a beautiful year filled with so many blessings. I had my crosses but I also had my resurrections. Here are some of the many amazing moments of 2008:
1. Joe's Wedding in Indiana: Seeing a close friend and brother get married and getting to spend time with Guy, Kip, Seth, Sean, Shawn, Stidham, and many other household brothers and friends.
2. Many great late night talks with Dave.
3. Totus Tuus Training: Seeing all my hard work come to fruition and being so proud to have Devin, Josh, and Blake there teaching. It was such a blessing for God to allow me to see a small amount of the fruit He had used me to produce while in Wichita.
4. Franciscan LEAD
5. Mary's Wedding in Rockford
6. Melissa's Wedding in Nashville
7. Josh, Drew, Scott, Ben, Justin, Kyle, Clay, and Garett coming out to visit and spending a weekend in Estes with them.
8. The Jack Johnson concert at the Red Rocks
9. Getting to visit my brothers in New Orleans after two years of not getting to go down there.
10. Thanksgiving in Wichita
11. My cousin Fernando's wedding in Miami and getting to see family there I hadn't seen in ten years.
12. My trip home for Christmas and the 2nd annual Wine and Cheese Party at my parent's house.
13. Having Hugh move out here and having some good times hanging out with him.
14. Building my Peer Ministry Team at the Parish. What an awesome group of teens that have just grown in faith and leadership in leaps and bounds since I first met them.
15. Last but not least, starting to date an amazing girl! I'm excited to see what God does with this.
So here I stand on the threshhold of 2009. So far it has started with a bang! A great New Years Day with Mary Beth, lunch with four of the LEAD guys on Friday, a visit from Blake and Josh that included a TT teacher reunion and a day of skiing. Things are really looking good. I know there will be tough times however. God will continue to break me and challenge me in ways I can't imagine. But I am confident He will continue to pour out His blessings. I have one semester left of Graduate school. I have a thesis to write, jobs to apply for, another summer of Totus Tuus to prepare for, and an amazing girl to focus on. I don't know what this year will bring, but I do know that God is in control and in a way that is a reality I have come to accept more than ever in the past year. I learned it the hard way but I also feel more free than I have in a long time. In the past month I feel like I finally have friends here. I am honestly the happiest I've been in a long time. Probably the happiest I've been since I moved here. But I know struggles are coming and stress will abound as I try and finish my last semester. I ask everyone for prayers with school and that God would guide my new relationship in the direction He wants it to go. Happy New Year all! May 2009 be filled with many blessings for all of you!
1. Joe's Wedding in Indiana: Seeing a close friend and brother get married and getting to spend time with Guy, Kip, Seth, Sean, Shawn, Stidham, and many other household brothers and friends.
2. Many great late night talks with Dave.
3. Totus Tuus Training: Seeing all my hard work come to fruition and being so proud to have Devin, Josh, and Blake there teaching. It was such a blessing for God to allow me to see a small amount of the fruit He had used me to produce while in Wichita.
4. Franciscan LEAD
5. Mary's Wedding in Rockford
6. Melissa's Wedding in Nashville
7. Josh, Drew, Scott, Ben, Justin, Kyle, Clay, and Garett coming out to visit and spending a weekend in Estes with them.
8. The Jack Johnson concert at the Red Rocks
9. Getting to visit my brothers in New Orleans after two years of not getting to go down there.
10. Thanksgiving in Wichita
11. My cousin Fernando's wedding in Miami and getting to see family there I hadn't seen in ten years.
12. My trip home for Christmas and the 2nd annual Wine and Cheese Party at my parent's house.
13. Having Hugh move out here and having some good times hanging out with him.
14. Building my Peer Ministry Team at the Parish. What an awesome group of teens that have just grown in faith and leadership in leaps and bounds since I first met them.
15. Last but not least, starting to date an amazing girl! I'm excited to see what God does with this.
So here I stand on the threshhold of 2009. So far it has started with a bang! A great New Years Day with Mary Beth, lunch with four of the LEAD guys on Friday, a visit from Blake and Josh that included a TT teacher reunion and a day of skiing. Things are really looking good. I know there will be tough times however. God will continue to break me and challenge me in ways I can't imagine. But I am confident He will continue to pour out His blessings. I have one semester left of Graduate school. I have a thesis to write, jobs to apply for, another summer of Totus Tuus to prepare for, and an amazing girl to focus on. I don't know what this year will bring, but I do know that God is in control and in a way that is a reality I have come to accept more than ever in the past year. I learned it the hard way but I also feel more free than I have in a long time. In the past month I feel like I finally have friends here. I am honestly the happiest I've been in a long time. Probably the happiest I've been since I moved here. But I know struggles are coming and stress will abound as I try and finish my last semester. I ask everyone for prayers with school and that God would guide my new relationship in the direction He wants it to go. Happy New Year all! May 2009 be filled with many blessings for all of you!
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