DAG! It's hard to believe that this is the final day of February. Where has the time gone to? There's been a lot going on, and some of it I've wanted to post about over the last few days. Fortunately, ministry has kept me going from last Wednesday on . . .
Wednesday was a crazy, yet important day in the life of our parish. Bishop George Murry of the Diocese of Youngstown visited us and confirmed 85 students in their faith. But before we got to the actual celebration of the sacrament, the day was a blessed marathon: parish Mass, Mass at one of the local high school, staff meeting, and anointing at the local hospice. Following the conferral of the Sacrament, there was, of course, a reception. It was a wonderful time. It was a good day.
The day actually made me think of the day I received my Confirmation. It's hard to believe that I was where they were almost 20 years ago. Sometimes it seems like it really wasn't that long ago, but time flies when you're having fun. [Hmmm . . . I guess I am having a little bit of fun in my life. :)] The Spirit seems to continue to surprise me - and keep me young at heart!
Thursday wasn't too bad of a day: parish Mass, lunch with my spiritual director, Mass at one of the local nursing homes, and vigil at the funeral home for one of our parishioners who had passed away. Also on that day, I made to a visit to a new coffee shop that opened in the area a few months ago - and within walking distance of the church! I placed a request with the managers to hold a Bible study Saturday mornings there for young adults of the parish. They said that they had to talk to the owners, and that they would get back to me.
Friday saw me spending the almost the entire day away from the parish. I spent a good bit of the day at the high school where I'm chaplain for the Junior Retreat - which was awesome. Since it was our day to be on hospital duty, and since the hospital we visit is on the way back to the parish from the high school, I stopped and visited those people that the chaplain asked me to visit. As I was leaving, I received news from one of the youth ministers that a situation in which we were involved that had calmed down for a bit was now flaring up again. My brief time back at the parish was spent in dealing with some of the fallout. I was so happy when I got to IGNITE, a night of praise and worship with Eucharistic adoration - though I did not get a big chance to join in, since I was hearing confessions for a majority of the event (which, for me, was part of the healing I think I needed). A few of us went to Applebee's following, and took the time to relax in Christian fellowship, which was much needed and welcomed.
Saturday found me celebrating the morning Mass for the parish, followed by our normally-scheduled Confessions at noon. I had promised one of the seminarians who is (God willing!) moving on to theology in the Fall that I would help him pick out some clerical attire. So we headed out early that afternoon, and he picked out a few items. (Reminded me of the first time I had to do such things. Oh, the memories!) We then proceeded to grab some lunch. Since the pastor had the evening (vigil) Mass, I laid down for a bit until I was needed after Mass. During that time, however, I received a call from the daughter of a gentleman I anointed about 1.5 months ago - his health was deteriorating rapidly, and they asked if I could come and pray with them for him. That was an honor. I ended up spending about 1.5 - 2 hours with the family, praying with them and allowing them to tell me their stories. It was a wonderful time. When I got back, the pastor and I headed out for a brief dinner.
Thank goodness I was able to sleep in a little on Sunday! I had the 10:00 AM Mass, as well as the 12:15 PM, which I hadn't celebrated in over a month due to varying schedules. It was good not to have the 8:00 AM! Following my two Masses, I drove the pastor to the airport so he could begin his vacation . . . I returned, and we began our youth ministry meeting, which ended up in the church. We had a wonderful discussion! It was a very good session! Following that, I met up with my diopitt classmate for a quick cup of coffee and discussion.
Today has found me planning some youth ministry events, being proxy for an exam, meeting with some parishioners, and - the high point - finding out that the coffee shop has given permission for me to go ahead with the Bible study on Saturday mornings! We'll be beginning that on Saturday, March 19th, following our parish mission earlier in the week.
And now, I go to shut down the month of February and prepare for the month of March - after I do some prayers . . .
Enjoy the journey . . .
28 February 2011
22 February 2011
Snow
Last night, the Pittsburgh area received 8.4 inches of snow. As one radio broadcaster put it this morning, "I thought the forecast was for 2-4 inches, not 2 x 4 inches. Must have missed the "x" symbol in there somewhere."
Since we were only expecting - initially - 2-4 inches, I thought that I would be fine traveling to have dinner with a friend at a restaurant about 45 minutes away. Generally, I have no problem driving in snow. But the falling of the flakes began a little sooner than most people expected, and collected on the ground faster than anyone thought it would have.
"Eh . . . I'll still go to dinner," I thought. And I did. And it was a delightful dinner. A catching-up with one of my friends that was long over-due. By the time I left the area, it was 8:50 PM. I returned home to the rectory at 10:30 PM. I, luckily, decided to take the Turnpike. While there was some traffic, everyone kept moving, so there wasn't any problem about getting stuck on the road. The only major problem I had was as I was driving on Route 19 South. I sat in traffic there for about twenty minutes.
In retrospect, I probably should have spent the night at a hotel. (The pastor assumed I wasn't coming back, and was waiting for me to call informing him of that.) But, once here, I was happy to be in my own bed for the evening.
When I went to bed last night, our parish school and the surrounding school districts had a two-hour delay. When I woke up this morning to unlock the church for the 7:00 AM Mass, they had closed. I was surprised when I had about 10 people this morning for Mass - I was preparing for about 3-4. And we're still at the point where the snow is still the major story everyone is talking about, because a lot of people are still be effected by it. Nevertheless, it's wonderful to see the sun out, though it's still chilly out.
I just cannot wait until Spring finally decides to come around.
Enjoy the journey . . .
Since we were only expecting - initially - 2-4 inches, I thought that I would be fine traveling to have dinner with a friend at a restaurant about 45 minutes away. Generally, I have no problem driving in snow. But the falling of the flakes began a little sooner than most people expected, and collected on the ground faster than anyone thought it would have.
"Eh . . . I'll still go to dinner," I thought. And I did. And it was a delightful dinner. A catching-up with one of my friends that was long over-due. By the time I left the area, it was 8:50 PM. I returned home to the rectory at 10:30 PM. I, luckily, decided to take the Turnpike. While there was some traffic, everyone kept moving, so there wasn't any problem about getting stuck on the road. The only major problem I had was as I was driving on Route 19 South. I sat in traffic there for about twenty minutes.
In retrospect, I probably should have spent the night at a hotel. (The pastor assumed I wasn't coming back, and was waiting for me to call informing him of that.) But, once here, I was happy to be in my own bed for the evening.
When I went to bed last night, our parish school and the surrounding school districts had a two-hour delay. When I woke up this morning to unlock the church for the 7:00 AM Mass, they had closed. I was surprised when I had about 10 people this morning for Mass - I was preparing for about 3-4. And we're still at the point where the snow is still the major story everyone is talking about, because a lot of people are still be effected by it. Nevertheless, it's wonderful to see the sun out, though it's still chilly out.
I just cannot wait until Spring finally decides to come around.
Enjoy the journey . . .
20 February 2011
A Personal Prayer
While I was on vacation, I took the opportunity on the final day to sit at one of the overlooks and drink in not only the beauty of the scenery (overlooking the Missouri River and the state of Missouri, too!), but the opportunity to listen to what the Lord was saying to me. During that time, I wrote a little prayer. And while I do hold that this prayer is a bit personal, I hope that even one person may find it helpful in their life.
***************
***************
Lord Jesus Christ,
Breath of my life,
Song of my soul,
Flame of my heart,
Confirm within me Your grace
To be Your Presence,
To know of Your Love,
To live in Your Light,
To trust in Your Providence.
Allow me to abandon myself completely to Your Will.
Empower me to live my life in complete conviction to the Gospel.
Open me to the movement of Your Spirit dwelling within me.
Enfold me in Your Loving and Sacred Heart.
Unite my sufferings to Yours for the redemption of the world.
Let Your Holy Cross
Be my banner of victory,
Be my altar of sacrifice,
Be my sign of love for the world.
Make me like You
In all that I say,
In all that I think,
In all that I do.
May my presence be Your Presence to all I encounter.
Allow me to grow in faith, hope and charity,
For I place my life in Your Hands.
Amen.
Enjoy the journey . . .
And We're Back!
The vacation and the time spent away from the parish was absolutely wonderful! It was a good time to get away. The biggest blessing of the whole vacation was spending it with two of my seminary classmates, and enjoying times present and past together.
This week, however, is not one that eases me back into the midst of life. Wednesday will see our parish's celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, which means a slight adjustment in the schedule - which is basically switching my day off. Nothing too big, but it will help because the end of the week is a bit crazy for me: meetings, Masses, a high school retreat, and, hopefully, some time of P&W at the end of the week. (By that point, I'll need it!)
But, for now, I'm enjoying the end of the day. Even coming back into the parish Friday night brought some excitement - including some Laser Tag with the youth ministry Saturday evening. Good times, but it's most definitely time for just a few moments of R&R.
Enjoy the journey . . .
This week, however, is not one that eases me back into the midst of life. Wednesday will see our parish's celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, which means a slight adjustment in the schedule - which is basically switching my day off. Nothing too big, but it will help because the end of the week is a bit crazy for me: meetings, Masses, a high school retreat, and, hopefully, some time of P&W at the end of the week. (By that point, I'll need it!)
But, for now, I'm enjoying the end of the day. Even coming back into the parish Friday night brought some excitement - including some Laser Tag with the youth ministry Saturday evening. Good times, but it's most definitely time for just a few moments of R&R.
Enjoy the journey . . .
12 February 2011
God's "Kick-Me-In-The-Pants" Playlist
I meant to post this earlier in the week . . .
***********************
The other evening, as I was in prayer, I began feeling a bit stupid for my sinfulness, for my lack of charity, and even for my lack of trust in God. This is nothing new to me - I don't often dwell on these to the point of frustration, but, every so often, my eyes are open a little more to my faults and failings. (Although, I am quite aware of them on a day-to-day basis.) And so, I felt moved to search my soul, see where I was, and to place that before the Cross.
"Well," I thought to myself, "if I'm going to contemplate, maybe some music will help open me up." And this is where God kicked me in the pants.
As I started the music program, the first song that popped up was Hillsong United's "From the Inside Out". This song has always had a special place in my heart, more so following the most recent Fall Retreat where this was the theme song. The song hit me rather hard at that point, beginning with the first words: "A thousand times I failed, still Your mercy remains . . ." And that's how I was feeling at that moment, and prayerfully entering that song was very easy, and I was chuckling to myself throughout the song . . . it was what I needed to pray at that moment. "From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out . . ." I was crying out to God that He would hear me at that moment of frustration.
The next song that began to play was Matt Maher's "Alive Again". "Ugh! God, what are You doing?" I love this song, and it's hit me on a number of levels a number of times. "I was looking outside / As if love would ever want to hide / I'm finding I was wrong." Love doesn't hide; Love always makes itself known. Love always makes HIMSELF known. "You called and You shouted / Broke through my deafness . . . You shattered my darkness / Washed away my blindness . . ." To be alive, and yet alive AGAIN is to allow one's self to be completely opened to Christ and the love which He bestows upon us through His Spirit. We're not simply alive once, but alive again and again each time that we are able to let Love be present in our lives: to us and through us to others. It doesn't matter how many we've messed up in our relationship with God or with others, His Love, primarily through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, allow us to become alive once again through the graces He chooses to bestow upon us.
The third song was, once again, the exact prayer I needed at that moment. It was MercyMe's "Word of God Speak". "Word of God speak / Would You pour down like rain / Washing my eyes to see / Your majesty / To be still and know / That You're in this place / Please let me stay and rest / In Your holiness / Word of God speak." I needed to be reminded to be still and to quiet. I needed to be more aware of the quiet whisper of Love spoken in the solitude of silence. I needed to be reminded that sometimes the best prayer is to simply rest in the Divine Presence.
And that's what I chose to do.
I shut off the music. I simply allowed myself to be quiet, to be still. I simply rested in His Presence.
God kicked me in the pants during that prayer session. I needed it. I needed to move beyond myself once again to realize that the vocation, that the assignments, that all the busy-ness, that all of it was and is, though important, not the most important thing that I should have been doing at that point or should be doing at any point. God's kicking me in the pants that night reminded me that in all things my life is a continuous prayer. Sometimes I forget that - and those are the moments in which I find frustration and aggravation in my life. The more open I am to the Spirit, the more that I allow the Spirit to work in and through me, the more apt I am to recognize the quiet whispers of Love speaking to me, knowing that Love never hides, and knowing that our soul continuously cries out to God from the inside of our very being to the outside of the lives we live.
We all have frustrations in our lives from time-to-time. In the end, it's about recognizing the movement of God in those moments. It's about finding the peace in the quiet solitude of life - those whispers of Love - which allows us to "live and move and have our being" (Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time VI). We are all seeking happiness in our lives. A life lived in Christ, a life lived for others is ultimately what will help us to become happy. Sometimes we need to reach out in our prayer to obtain this goal. "Ask Christ to help you to become happy," are some wise words from Saint Paul Miki, the Sixteenth Century Japanese saint. And Jesus did promise that whatever was asked for in His Name would be granted. Sometimes we need to ask to be happy. Sometimes we need to ask to be at peace.
Sometimes it's taking that leap of faith to reach out to the Love that created us, to move ourselves from the inside out, to allow our deafness to be shattered and our blindness washed away, to be still to allow the Word to speak to us and to dwell within us.
Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants to recognize how deep His Love dwells. Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants to move us beyond ourselves. Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants so that we can be quiet, so that we can be still.
It is truly "From the Inside Out" that we are "Alive Again", allowing the "Word of God [to] Speak" to us in our lives so that the journey of faith may be one lived completely by the promptings of the Spirit.
Enjoy the journey . . .
***********************
The other evening, as I was in prayer, I began feeling a bit stupid for my sinfulness, for my lack of charity, and even for my lack of trust in God. This is nothing new to me - I don't often dwell on these to the point of frustration, but, every so often, my eyes are open a little more to my faults and failings. (Although, I am quite aware of them on a day-to-day basis.) And so, I felt moved to search my soul, see where I was, and to place that before the Cross.
"Well," I thought to myself, "if I'm going to contemplate, maybe some music will help open me up." And this is where God kicked me in the pants.
As I started the music program, the first song that popped up was Hillsong United's "From the Inside Out". This song has always had a special place in my heart, more so following the most recent Fall Retreat where this was the theme song. The song hit me rather hard at that point, beginning with the first words: "A thousand times I failed, still Your mercy remains . . ." And that's how I was feeling at that moment, and prayerfully entering that song was very easy, and I was chuckling to myself throughout the song . . . it was what I needed to pray at that moment. "From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out . . ." I was crying out to God that He would hear me at that moment of frustration.
The next song that began to play was Matt Maher's "Alive Again". "Ugh! God, what are You doing?" I love this song, and it's hit me on a number of levels a number of times. "I was looking outside / As if love would ever want to hide / I'm finding I was wrong." Love doesn't hide; Love always makes itself known. Love always makes HIMSELF known. "You called and You shouted / Broke through my deafness . . . You shattered my darkness / Washed away my blindness . . ." To be alive, and yet alive AGAIN is to allow one's self to be completely opened to Christ and the love which He bestows upon us through His Spirit. We're not simply alive once, but alive again and again each time that we are able to let Love be present in our lives: to us and through us to others. It doesn't matter how many we've messed up in our relationship with God or with others, His Love, primarily through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, allow us to become alive once again through the graces He chooses to bestow upon us.
The third song was, once again, the exact prayer I needed at that moment. It was MercyMe's "Word of God Speak". "Word of God speak / Would You pour down like rain / Washing my eyes to see / Your majesty / To be still and know / That You're in this place / Please let me stay and rest / In Your holiness / Word of God speak." I needed to be reminded to be still and to quiet. I needed to be more aware of the quiet whisper of Love spoken in the solitude of silence. I needed to be reminded that sometimes the best prayer is to simply rest in the Divine Presence.
And that's what I chose to do.
I shut off the music. I simply allowed myself to be quiet, to be still. I simply rested in His Presence.
God kicked me in the pants during that prayer session. I needed it. I needed to move beyond myself once again to realize that the vocation, that the assignments, that all the busy-ness, that all of it was and is, though important, not the most important thing that I should have been doing at that point or should be doing at any point. God's kicking me in the pants that night reminded me that in all things my life is a continuous prayer. Sometimes I forget that - and those are the moments in which I find frustration and aggravation in my life. The more open I am to the Spirit, the more that I allow the Spirit to work in and through me, the more apt I am to recognize the quiet whispers of Love speaking to me, knowing that Love never hides, and knowing that our soul continuously cries out to God from the inside of our very being to the outside of the lives we live.
We all have frustrations in our lives from time-to-time. In the end, it's about recognizing the movement of God in those moments. It's about finding the peace in the quiet solitude of life - those whispers of Love - which allows us to "live and move and have our being" (Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time VI). We are all seeking happiness in our lives. A life lived in Christ, a life lived for others is ultimately what will help us to become happy. Sometimes we need to reach out in our prayer to obtain this goal. "Ask Christ to help you to become happy," are some wise words from Saint Paul Miki, the Sixteenth Century Japanese saint. And Jesus did promise that whatever was asked for in His Name would be granted. Sometimes we need to ask to be happy. Sometimes we need to ask to be at peace.
Sometimes it's taking that leap of faith to reach out to the Love that created us, to move ourselves from the inside out, to allow our deafness to be shattered and our blindness washed away, to be still to allow the Word to speak to us and to dwell within us.
Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants to recognize how deep His Love dwells. Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants to move us beyond ourselves. Sometimes God needs to kick us in the pants so that we can be quiet, so that we can be still.
It is truly "From the Inside Out" that we are "Alive Again", allowing the "Word of God [to] Speak" to us in our lives so that the journey of faith may be one lived completely by the promptings of the Spirit.
Enjoy the journey . . .
VACATION . . .
. . . all I ever wanted.
I'll be leaving for a vacation on Monday with a classmate from the Diocese of Erie to visit one of our classmates in Kansas. I think that it will be a wonderful time. And while I've seen both classmates since our graduation from SVS in May, this will be the first time which the three of us will be together. Like I said, it should be a wonderful time.
Today marks my seven-month anniversary in the parish. It's hard to believe it's (only) been that long. Yes, some days it doesn't feel like seven months; some days it feels like seven years. (But that is normal in anything that we do.) It's wonderful - in some ways - to see the passage of time in one's life, and also notice how we're shaped by time's passage.
And so I look forward to Monday, to vacation, and to spending some good time with good friends. I just hope the weather cooperates, and, from what I've been seeing, it should. Heck, even now the sun is shining!
Enjoy the journey . . .
I'll be leaving for a vacation on Monday with a classmate from the Diocese of Erie to visit one of our classmates in Kansas. I think that it will be a wonderful time. And while I've seen both classmates since our graduation from SVS in May, this will be the first time which the three of us will be together. Like I said, it should be a wonderful time.
Today marks my seven-month anniversary in the parish. It's hard to believe it's (only) been that long. Yes, some days it doesn't feel like seven months; some days it feels like seven years. (But that is normal in anything that we do.) It's wonderful - in some ways - to see the passage of time in one's life, and also notice how we're shaped by time's passage.
And so I look forward to Monday, to vacation, and to spending some good time with good friends. I just hope the weather cooperates, and, from what I've been seeing, it should. Heck, even now the sun is shining!
Enjoy the journey . . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)