1st Sunday of Lent Year B - 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2

Gospel

Have you ever been to the desert?

I was in a desert only once for a couple of days.
It is such a strange and foreign land for someone from the north east corner of the United States.

It is barren and vast.

Sometimes it seemed like there was an orchestra playing especially just before the sun came up when creation greets the day.

Other times in the heat of the day there is absolute silence a silence so deafening that you can even hear your heart beat.

The terrain of the desert is sharp and jagged because the smoothing power of water is hardly ever present.

It is difficult to find shelter in the desert.

On a clear night ,which many of them are, there are myriads and myriads of stars.

When you stand in the desert and look up our place in the universe becomes crystal clear.

The words we heard last Wednesday ring so true. “Remember Man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return. “

The dessert reminds that we are indeed like a speck of dust, our faith teaches us that we are specks of dust very much loved by God… but specks of dust we are indeed.

Quite, noisy, jagged, hard to find shelter, Vast, desolate these are just a few adjectives which bring to the reality of the desert.

Mark’s Gospel gives us the briefest account of Jesus’ time in the desert, his Lent if you will, we know a lot more from the other Gospels.

It was a time of struggle

It was a time of temptation

It was a time of consolation

Jesus struggled because desert is not a comfortable place to live and more importantly because he was trying to figure out his next step..

He was trying to figure out the best way to love us and to bring us home to God.

It was a time of temptation because Jesus had the power to do anything he wanted and the devil tried to convince him that providing for our physical comfort, our physical well being, would be much more effective than the selfless love that Jesus came to share.

It was a moment of consolation because towards the end of his struggles in the desert (tradition says he was there for 40 days) the angels were sent by God to comfort him.

Jesus went to the desert
Jesus was driven to the desert in fact because he needed to figure things out.

He needed to discern God’s will and the quiet vast desolation of the desert was the best place for him to do that.

How much is the desert a part of our life?
Why do we run so hard from the silence?
Why do people walk all around our campus with their music blaring in ears.

Why do they walk as if their iPods somehow give them the power to be invisible?

At other moments why are we so afraid to be alone?

Why do we often live as if we are the center of the universe when in reality the desert teaches us that we are but a speck of dust.

If Jesus needed the desert to put is life in perspective so do we.

And that is exactly what we as a Church should try to do in Lent.

Remove ourselves from our daily routine and practice dying to ourselves dying to our wants and our passions and our desires.

We need to practice love over and over again.

In the silence of our Lenten practices each of us is called to listen to our heart beat and try figure how God wants us to live our lives.

Are we up for it…. Will our Lent truly be different this year?

A very important question indeed.

Ash Wednesday

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts….

Today is Ash Wednesday and it is a very important day in the life of the Church and in each of our lives…

All over the United States and the world for that matter churches are full and there are lots of places where the black smug of palm ashes is more common than not.

Why do so many people come to church ? Why do so many people want Palm Ashes on their forehead ?

Why will our chapels be filled to the brim at Catholic even though it is not a holy day of obligation ?

To understand why so many people feel it is important to come to Church on the first Wednesday of Lent each year we have to analyze the two phrases which the Church recommends we use as we place the ashes on our forehead.

The first is simple…

“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”

So often in life we simply go through the motions, So often in life we simply move to the next task… we do the next thing in our our day and in our life.

When we are finished with Grade School we go to High School, when we are finished with High School we go to college, when we are finished with college we get a job …. Along the way we expect to meet someone.. and it goes on and on and on.

All these things seem important at the time, very important but in reality quite often we fail to ask the most important questions in life… Where is all this taking me and is it really worth it.

Is our daily routine worth all the sacrifice, are my life’s plan getting me closer to my final goal my final destiny ?

We could have all the toys in the world, all the money in the world all the power in the world but Ash Wednesday reminds us .

Remember Man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.

People come to church on Ash Wednesday because like no other day it has the power to put our lives in perspective.

Ash Wednesday reminds us that we should be working for a treasure that lasts in heaven, because everything else even our bodies will turn to dust.

The second message of Ash Wednesday is found in the second phrase the that we can say when we place the ashes on our head

“Repent and Believe the Gospel”

All of us know that we are not perfect. All of us have a lot to work on and all of us want to be a better person.

We come to Church on Ash Wednesday because it has become kind of like our annual spiritual check up.

On Ash Wednesday all of us dare to hope a little that we can be better, more generous, more loving, more like God longs for us to be.

Thank you for coming… and I mean that sincerely

Thank you for coming especially to those who I haven’t seen for a while. The Church did not fall down when you walked in. You are welcome here no matter how big you think your sins are, no matter how long its been since you came to church, no matter what you are welcome here.

Thank you for taking the time to examine  your lives.

Thank you for not giving up on yourself

God never will give up on you.

May we all try to become just a little less selfish this lent

May our Lenten practices help us all to try and love a little more.

Amen

My Day...

In the morning there were lots of meetings with good people. Jon Sawyer the Dean of Students and I spoke a while about how we want to to be a part of our students' lives, to advocate for them and challenge them. We both believe that love doesn't always mean saying "yes." Jeff Ossinger and I had a conference call with the Director of Camp St. Charles and discussed the retreat fees for next year. We spent almost the entire afternoon trying to choose the Student Ministers for next year. There were lots of good candidates and that's why it simply took so long. I am very grateful to everyone who took the time to apply.

In the evening Nick Berg the Resident Minister in Opus Hall (CUA's new Residence Hall) set up the very first room blessings. A number of students posted little notes on their doors asking to have their room blessed. We were very warmly recieved in every room we entered. When I finally finished I went over to see the kids in Spellman or Spellheaven as I call it. There are always fun to be with. I finally ended up at home.. along the way while blessing the rooms in Opus Hall I happened to notice a coffee table in one of the Rooms and it caught my eye.

Present on that table were lots of things that are important to young adults in college. I was happy that God's word was right in the middle of them. I asked the resident if I could take a picture and he said sure... (I trust the residents in the room were 21).... take a look for yourself.

7th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - 2009

Could it have been this way ?

He couldn’t walk, he couldn't even stand. He was a paraplegic his legs no longer could bear his weight.

He probably had to drag himself from place to place. It must have been humiliating to do so.

Maybe he begged along the roads to support himself, whatever the case may be, he was dependent on others very dependent.

He desperately needed the assistance of friends and family to do even the most mundane of things, things that we all take for granted everyday.

His moods vacillated from quiet resign, to frustration, to guilt. “Was he or his family somehow responsible for his plight ?” he often wondered.

There were moments of hope and moments of despair. He seemed to move through them daily like so many who are burdened with a chronic illness or challenge.

However, he was not completely self absorbed or isolated by his illness or handicap or addiction.

He left room in his life for others.

He loved his family and he loved his friends they loved him. They loved him enough to desire to carry him.

When his family or friends, found out that the new Rabbi was home in town they, they went to their friend.

“We want to take you to the Teacher,” they said,
”We’ve heard he has the power to heal.”

He knew It wouldn't be easy and that day maybe he just didn’t have the strength or the desire to try again. He had hoped so many times for a cure and none ever came.

They coaxed him and pleaded with him “This time it may be different” they said, “Maybe this Rabbi can really heal you. Please let us take you to him. Please!” they begged him.

Finally maybe more out of fatigue than faith he allowed them to put him a mat and carry him to Jesus.

Their hearts must have sank when the saw the crowd. “First we had to beg to bring him here, then we had to carry him, and now we can’t even get near to the Rabbi.” They said to themselves.

But just before anyone had the courage to say, ”let’s go home.” One of them dared to hope and said… “We can’t give up, let’s lower him through the roof. We can do it. I won’t be easy but we didn’t come all this way to turn back.”

And so two of them climbed up on the roof and began to remove the palm frans or boards. People started yelling at them to stop. “What are you doing taking apart the teachers house?” They yelled. The men were not deterred. They carefully lifted up their friend and lowered him down in the middle of the crowd next to Jesus. All eyes were on Him.

When Jesus saw them he was not worried about the hole in the roof. He was impressed, and deeply touched by the love that these men had for their friend.

He was also touched that the paralytic after so many disappointments had allowed himself to hope again even just a little.

And so moved was Jesus that he simply said “Your sins are forgiven… take up your mat and walk” and the man was healed.

His friends who were probably still looking down from the hole in the roof were filled with joy.

They too had dared to hope. They too had dared to believe.

For those of us who are wounded or sick or afraid or addicted or handicapped or depressed or whatever… This Gospel should challenge us to hope and to keep hoping. It should challenge us to hold on to even the tiniest hope.

We can never allow ourselves to forget that God loves us and when we place our complete trust in Him He will always act in our best interest.

Sometimes that means carrying the cross of suffering or illness, sometimes it means that God will heal us both in body and soul. Whatever the case may be God loves us.

For the rest of us each and everyone of us is surrounded by people who are sick, or lonely or need some kind of healing.

None of us can say that we don’t know people who are addicted or depressed or afraid or burdened with illness.

They are the people we live with and work with. They are the people we love, people we’ve met, people we’ve encountered along life’s journey.

This Gospel should challenge us to ask ourselves.

Do we have enough love to do what those four men did for their friend?

Do we have enough faith?

Or when there are obstacles in our path like the crowd around Jesus do we simply give up and go home?

Today the Gospel presents us with a very beautiful example of friendship.

Friendships or relationships are very important on every college campus and throughout our lives.

The Gospel today challenges us to ask ourselves, do our friendships make us better people?

Do our friendships help us be healed from our burdens?

Are our friends better people because of our relationship with them?

Why or why not ?

I guess you could sum up the reflection and this Gospel with a couple simple questions.

Have I ever allowed myself to be carried?

Have we ever carried someone to Christ?
Who have we dared to carry to Jesis
Who have we carried ?

Amen.

Our Franciscan Campus Ministries

Today the friars and staff members from the campus ministries at Syracuse University, Western Connecticut State University, The Catholic University of America and Wake Forest University along with our provincial administrations will gather to compare notes, share best practices and discuss how our ministries are unique opportunities to share the charism of St. Francis. The meeting has been a long time in coming but we are excited to finally be praying together and gathering together. Please keep us in your prayers...

6th Sunday Ordinary Time Year B 2009

During the time of Jesus leprosy was a terrifying disease.

There was no cure. It killed very slowly.

As it progressed it horribly disfigured a person and perhaps it most terrifying consequence was that those who suffered it were forced to carry its terrible burdens alone.

Those who were afflicted with leprosy were isolated from the community, they were forced to live apart from those who loved them.

They were force to rend their garments and appearance so that they could be easily recognized and avoided
and if anyone should them approach they were to identify themselves and yell unclean unclean.

And if a loved one or any person moved by compassion touched a leper he or she would also then bear the same isolation the same consequences.

Because of the terror and fear that leprosy produced ever rash every blemish was looked upon with suspicion. Many times people who didn’t even have leprosy were treated as if they did.

They were humiliated and isolated for no reason but fear.

The only way to be re-admitted to the community was to present oneself to the priest in the temple. He was the ultimate arbiter and decided who had leprosy and who didn’t who was healed and who was not.

Put in a nutshell people afflicted with this terrible disease were no longer considered people, human beings, it robbed them of their humanity.

All of what I’ve said makes the Gospel account we read to day so amazing.

The man approached Jesus… his trust was so great his desire to be made whole so strong that he took a great risk and went right up to Jesus.

His words were not words of lament or woe is me.

He didn’t ask Jesus why me?
Why do I have to suffer this horrible disease, Rather he simply made a profession of faith.

He trusted Jesus.
he trusted God so much that he even let Jesus decide if it was in his best interest to be healed.

If you want to you can heal me. He said

Jesus’ response was immediate.
I do want to heal you he said be clean.

The leper was a man of faith a man who had worked through all of the suffering and isolation he had and still believed.

Even terrible disease of leprosy could not deprive him of his faith of his ability to hope.

Jesus was compassionate.
Without hesitation he touched the man.
He cared not that if he had been seen he also would have been declared unclean.
He was willing to get involved in a messy situation.

His compassion, his pity immediately moved him to action.

It did not remain a feeling but was incarnated, it took flesh and became a living saving response.

When he was healed the man could not contain himself as Jesus requested. He told everyone.

And because of this Jesus could no longer enter any town or village because as word spread crowds of people would simply swamp him with their needs.

Jesus did not come to be the world’s best Doctor or the world’s best social worker or world’s best problem solver.
He could have been all those things and more
But to do so would have placed to much attention on this world and not enough on the next.

He came instead to proclaim the good news of salvation, He came show the way to eternal life.

As I read the Gospel this week I asked myself who do we treat as lepers these days,

Is there anyone that frightens us so much or disgusts us or bothers us so much or inconveniences us so much that that we allow ourselves to treat them as non-people.

Sadly if you think about it the answer is still yes.

The inconveniences of an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy allow us to deny the humanity of child.

And those who suffer from addictions are often so isolated from the community that they find not hope or reason to even try to be free of their addictions.

And what about those born into poverty. Sometimes we worry so much about our own comfort and well being that we are only willing to give to them from our excess, from our leftovers, even when their lives are so much more desperate than our own.

We allow ourselves to treat them as second class citizens and somehow convince ourselves that we have more rights to the goods of this world then they.

How many people have we as a nation just locked up and thrown away the key without any real attempt to work with them and rehabilitate them.

There are still so many people we isolate today… you know they are the ones we pass on the street and avoid making eye contact with, they are the ones whose calls we never take, they are the ones we just are not willing to touch or become involved with

The leper’s example also is important for us to consider.

He didn’t let his circumstances take away his ability to hope or his ability to believe.

As much as he suffered he still was able to trust in God’s love and God’s mercy for him.

He did not allow self pity to take away his ability to hope.

Sometimes when life throws us the slightest curve ball we question and we doubt.

If that had been the response of the Leper he never would have been healed because he never would have asked.

He trusted that God knew what was best for him and in this case it was that he be healed maybe sometimes it is not in our best interest to be healed or get what we want.

I for one am most grateful that I have not received everything I’ve prayed for.

“If you want to you can heal me… the leper said”

How often do we just demand what we think we need from God rather than trust His divine providence.

At great risk Jesus put his compassion into action. He touched the man and he healed him.

The Gospel called us to examine ourselves.

How often does our compassion, our pity simply remain just a feeling, How often do we continue down the road of life and fail to touch the lives of people who need us and whatever we have to offer them.

finally…
Jesus could not enter the town or villages because people looked to him to solve their material needs.

They wanted Him to heal them to feed them, to solve their disputes etc.

They were in the very presence of God and all they were worried about was food or health or whatever, when God could offer them so much more.

Do we look to God for our simple comforts now or do we see in Jesus the way home to eternal life with him.

Something to think about.

Amen

"” If you want to you can heal me he said”

Long Day...

Protect us Lord while we stay awake
Watch over us as we sleep
That awake we may keep watch with Christ
And asleep rest in His peace.

Lord now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled
My own eyes have seen the salvation
that you have prepared in the sight of every people
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Protect us Lord as we stay awake;
watch over us as we sleep,
that awake we may keep watch with Christ
and asleep rest in his peace

From the Arlington Catholic Paper

The Arlington Catholic recently did an article on our Chastity Outreach Group here it is...

Celibacy ? What ? How ? Why?

I was out to dinner with a dear friend tonight who asked wanted to talk about priestly celibacy. We spoke a little but I promised to send her something I wrote last summer on my 25th Anniversary of Priesthood on my call to celibacy so here are my thoughts on celibacy.

We are Catholic Welcome Home...

5th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2009

The Book of Job, the story of Job’s life, is an Old Testament treatise on the question of evil and suffering.

In a nutshell in the beginning of the story Job was happy. When things were going well he was prosperous and he was faithful.

When he lost what he had, when his fortunes were reversed he became sullen and self absorbed.

Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?

I have been assigned months of misery…

I shall not see happiness again.

Job laments sadly…

Most of his thoughts begin with or contain the pronouns I or me.

This formerly generous and faithful man gets lost in his own suffering and becomes more and more a man misery.

In the Gospel we get a snapshot into the life of Jesus and from the beginning it becomes clear that people in need come to him, they seek him out.

As we read in the Gospel as soon as he entered Peter’s house they immediately told him about his sick mother-in-law. He approached her, he helped her up, and he healed her. Immediately she waited on them.

I think it is important to notice a couple of things in the Gospel.

First Jesus doesn’t simply heal her but he raises her up. He raises her up he raises her beyond her own self interests, her own preoccupations about her health and her illness. She doesn’t get stuck there telling everyone how much she suffered or how sick she was.

One of the commentaries I read pointed out that the verb which was used for “waited on” meant more than just women’s work or serving meals.

From the verb “diakoneo”, we understand that she did not just serve them meals rather she ministered to them, she took care of them.

Once Jesus heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law and news spreads he has no rest. Many people bring their loved ones to Jesus and he heals them.

Moved by his great compassion he heals them.

When the day is finished he leaves all the excitement and we find him alone and in prayer with the Father.

The disciples are excited when they find him…

because they believe that He and they by association, are a great success “everyone is looking for you”

Jesus understands that he has to refocus his mission for them.

He calls them to move on.

By doing so he tries to help them understand that He did not come to be a doctor or a healer, rather he came to proclaim the Gospel… to found the kingdom of God on earth and to save souls.

What do these two readings teach us. What can we learn from them? How can they touch our lives?

The first thing that pops into my mind is this..

The difference between Job and Simon Peter’s Mother-in-Law is noteworthy.

Job is lost in himself. He seems so overcome with his own suffering and misfortune that he can’t escape it. Why me ?Why me ? Why me is his lament.

Yes, he will eventually get it right but in today’s brief passage he is completely self absorbed, lost in himself.

On the other hand once she was healed Peter’s Mother-in-law did not dwell on her sickness, or pain, or suffering she got up and she focused on others, she ministered to them.

How often do we get stuck in the challenges of life?How often do we give our problem and worries and the misfortunes that come our way too much power over us?

How often do they draw us into ourselves.

This is particularly important now in these difficult economic times.

These days the news is filled with stories of people who tragically get lost in their problems and give into despair or people who never loose hope.

They are the Jobs and they are the Mothers-in-law of Peter in our time.

Which one will we be?

Which one do we want to be?

We have the power to face life as we so choose.

Will we put aside our struggles and serve others or will we drown in self pity?

The right answer seems so obvious but frankly many of us choose the wrong one over and over again.

The second point which comes to mind is this.

How do we judge success?

Obviously the apostles and Jesus judged it differently.

Jesus healed those who were sick because he was moved by compassion for them.

He knew they would become sick again and he knew that they would face death. The healing he gave them was but a respite, a moment of peace and well being.

It was not the most precious gift he had to offer them and he knew it.

Jesus never forgot that success of his mission meant salvation not just a moment of physical well being for those he loved for those he served.

Because of his fame and the benefits they saw they could receive being associated with Him, the apostles appear willing to settle.

Thoughts like,We’ve made it, we’ve arrived must have popped into their head.

Jesus knew that his primary mission was not to heal the body but save the soul.

He knew that things like fame and fortune played a very limited role in these noble tasks.

When do we consider ourselves a success?

When do we consider our friends a success?

When would we consider our children a success

and what do we teach them about success?

Is it when everyone is looking for us?

Is it when we or they have power or prestige or influence or money

Or is it when we/they have served others, or been of God’s instrument in the lives of another?

Are we willing to leave the glamour of worldly success behind and be about the business of working for the salvation of those we love, those we know, or those whose path we cross?

Jesus avoided the worldly temptation of success and fame by moving on He chose love over power influence and success.

Do we?

A heartfelt message to our Student Minister Candidates

I’ve never held a meeting like this before.
In 11 years I’ve been here I never thought of asking for one.

I asked you to come here because
I just couldn’t let the interview process continue without taking an opportunity to talk to you.

I want to start off by telling you a little about yourselves.

There are some Eagle Scouts here
There are a number of you, a lot of you, who were members of the National Honor Society in High School.

There are some very athletic people here.

I was amazed at how many of you were involved in youth ministry not only in leadership roles in your parishes but also in leadership roles on a diocesan level.

Some of you are really smart.
Others succeed academically by plugging along but you still succeed.
Some of you are members of the give me a C and set me free crowd.

A lot of you have been involved in all kinds of community service.
One of you even postponed college to do a year of service in another country.

So many of you were involved in the Kairos retreat programs in High School
A number of you served as rectors on these important retreats.

Many of you are willing to give up things very important to you for a chance to serve as a student minister on our campus.

A number of you expressed your willingness to serve wherever you were needed in whatever building we placed you.
You placed no conditions on your willingness to serve.

Many of you have had a special moment of faith which you can point to which changed your life.
Maybe this was an encounter with God.
Some of you spoke about these special moments in very moving terms.

Some of you can’t point to one moment like that but you still have this intense desire for more.
It is clear from your applications that you want to know, serve and love God more.

Lots of you come from large families
Some of you are home schooled

Some of you have looked addictions in the eye and are living sober lives.

A lot of you just want to help and you wrote things like…..

“I really want to make a difference in someone’s life.”
“I’m no saint but I want to share what I have.”

Some of you expressed concern about being able to balance all of the demands a year of ministry would make on your time and relationships.

But the vast majority of you said you were willing to try and make any necessary sacrifices.

Several of you seem to have musical talent and one of you even served the Cathedral in your diocese in this capacity.

A number of you were really honest about being scared or intimidated about being a student minister or even applying but what amazed me was that even with your fear I still had your application in my hands.

I could go on and on and on about your applications and what you wrote but then I wouldn’t have time to talk about your references.

So many of you are considered “exceptional rare finds” by the people who wrote references for you.

There was not one negative comment from past employers.

You worked in Pet stores and beauty salons
I think one of you bar backed

One boss called one of you up and tried her hardest to push you to the limit by posing as an obnoxious client and you never lost your cool “that’s great customer service”

A number of you cut grass in the summer or should I say provided lawn care.

There are a myriad of waitresses and waiters in this room.

A lot of you worked in your parishes answering the phones, cleaning the church etc.
Your priests love you.

Your employers rave about you

One of you after learning that your teacher had a huge project at home to work on during the weekend showed up to help him out without expecting anything in return.
Your teacher was so touched by that.

Perhaps the most moving of all the references were the peer reviews.

So many of you are good friends, caring friends, loving friends
So many of you go the extra mile over and over again
Many of your friends look up to you and hold you up as an example.

One wrote: ”She was the only person I could count on, the only person I could trust in the whole world” WOW

There are sixty of you and if we had the funding and the resources
I would hire all of you.
Truth be told we have 18 or 19 spots maybe less.

Roughly, two thirds of you will not be hired as student ministers.
You knew this and you still applied.. Thank you.

This year I couldn’t let you go through the process without telling you how proud I was of you.

I couldn’t let you go through the process without making sure you knew how grateful I (we) were for your willingness to serve your peers on campus as a student minister.

s you know ours is not a short application process and your willingness to submit yourself to a long application with three references and a 2 stage interview process speaks to your generous hearts.

Sometimes people take not being hired as a rejection.

Once I was walking across campus and there was one of the student ministers crying in McMahon parking lot because she was not given another year to serve.

Some people walk the other way when they see someone from the professional staff coming their way after they receive the word that they were not hired because they feel angry or embarrassed or disappointed.

Once in a while people just stop being involved.
I have to say I am always very sad when that happens.

For a while, we used to write little notes in the letters of the students not hired encouraging them to get involved in this or that activity based on the skills we saw in the interview.

Many told us as soon as they read they weren’t hired they didn’t read the rest of the letter they just crumpled it up and threw it away so that didn’t work.

I don’t’ have a clue who will be hired. I won’t even be at the interviews

However, I want you to write this on your heart
There is a place for ALL OF YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU in the life of the Church on this campus.

There is a place for everyone to serve
There is a desperate need for everyone to serve.
There are unlimited opportunities to serve your classmates and friends and God in profound holy and generous ways at CUA

Our little ministry needs 200 student leaders just to do what we normally do.

We need…
Community Service Site Leaders
Retreat Leaders
Renew Group Leaders
Renew Core Team Leaders
DC Reads Site Leaders
Esto Vir and Gratia Plena and Students for Life Officers
CAC Officers
Pro-life Hospitality leaders and volunteers
Mission trip leaders
Liturgical Minster Team leaders for our lectors, servers, Ems of Holy Communion, Musicians and Hospitality greeters
RCIA team leaders
Confirmation Team leaders
Social Justice Committee Team leaders
Work Study Student Staff
University Chapel Sacristans.

All of these tasks are noble and holy and sacrificial and essential ways to serve Christ and your peers on our campus.

If for whatever reason you are not hired I would beg you to serve in one of these important initiatives at CUA. Or find another way to serve.

Any member of our professional staff is very willing to sit with you and work with you to find your place in the life of the church on campus.

I don’t have the power to take away the disappointment you may feel in not being hired.

And even if I did it wouldn’t be good for me to do so because in life will always be disappointments and all of us have to deal with them and not let them discourage us or defeat us.
That’s just part of adult life.

Remember I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

I called you here because I was moved by your generosity.
I called you here because I (we) are grateful for your willingness to serve.
I called you here to make sure you knew that I (we) believe in you even if you are not hired.
I called you here because there is still so much to be done for the life of the Church on Campus.

Let’s place all of the applicants and this process the hands of Our Lady.

Let’s pray for a successful search to replace Erin Craine so that she can be the full time Mom she longs to be.

Please pray that I get rid of this cold and feel better

Let’s pray for each other.

Amen

Home sick but not alone....

I have a real bad cold with lots of aches and pains so I spent most of my time today home resting. But, I didn't spend the day alone. I spent it with one of the 4 inch thick student staff candidate binders. These binders contain the applications, ministry involvement reports, and letters of recommendation for all or most of our 60 student minister applicants. There are presently 18 positions available.

I have to say I am in awe of some of the stuff these kids have done in their lives, and I am also so grateful for their willingness to serve their peers on our campus. One student took a year off after High School to work with a community in Mexico and build a chapel. Two of our students were involved in the diocesan leadership programs for their youth and young adult ministries. Once students was very involved in her youth groups in Milan Italy. Many were in their National Honor Societies. Lots of them were very involved in their parishes and schools. Most have incredible references. I was particularly touched by the peer references that were submitted on their behalf. Many of our applicants are proud of their big families and so very grateful for their numerous siblings. Some have applied several times. They keep coming back because they believe that it is what God is calling them to do. The list of their accomplishments goes on and on and on.


Some of you who read this blog look to it for little snapshots of our life here at Catholic U. Anyone who wants to know about what makes our campus ministry program tick here at CUA should start by looking at our Student Ministers. They are truly the the hands and feet and mouths of Christ on our campus. This program expanded (doubled) under Fr. O'Connell's tenure at CUA, has been in existence for over 35 years. It works because, thanks be to God, there seems to be a never ending source of generous CUA students who are willing to step up and in addition to all of their other responsibilities as college students, share their lives and their faith with their peers.

We are so blessed indeed.... that's my two cents for the day. Now I'm taking two aspirins and drinking lots of water and going to bed.

Amen

An Important Message from Catholicvote.org

Dear CatholicVote.org Member,

We broke this news yesterday, but wanted to make sure you have the full story - NBC has slammed the door on running our ad during the Super Bowl!

After several days of negotiations, a representative in Chicago told us that NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving ‘political candidates or issues.’

We were in the midst of raising the money needed, and had confirmed interest from several very generous pro-life benefactors. Airing the ad would have been very expensive, and a 'Super' opportunity.

But NBC’s rejection is calling even more attention to the ad. We have been appearing on radio programs across the country for the past two days, and NBC’s New York affiliate (imagine the irony), is covering the controversy. Bill O’Reilly of the FOX News Channel featured the ad on his program Wednesday night calling it “brilliant” and “genius.” His show alone reached nearly 4 million people.

All of this is driving more traffic to the commercial online. We reached almost 1 million online views in less than two weeks!

So why did NBC reject the ad?

The network claims that they do not allow political or issue advocacy advertisements during the Super Bowl, but that’s simply not true.

The network was willing to air an ad by PETA, which is definitely an advocacy group, if PETA would tone down their ad’s sexual suggestiveness.

Also, the first ad scheduled to run during the Super Bowl is a creative spot about Pedigree’s pet adoption drive. The ad ends with the line: “Help us help dogs.”

In recent years, some Super Bowl advertisements have caused controversy. But there’s nothing objectionable about our positive, life-affirming advertisement. We show a beautiful ultrasound, something NBC’s parent company GE has done for years. We don’t attack Barack Obama, but focus on him becoming the first African-American President. We simply ask people to imagine the potential of each human life.

What now?

We’re not intimidated by NBC. We plan on getting this ad out so that many millions of Americans can imagine the potential of each human life. Here are some things you can do:

1. We are preparing a virtual protest of NBC’s decision. We want other networks to know that hundreds of thousands of people want to see this ad aired, and we will not give up easily. Stay tuned for our plan on this in the next few days.
2. The Catholic television station EWTN will be airing the commercial before, during and after the Super Bowl. Feel free to turn your channel to EWTN during halftime and watch our ad there.
3. You can still share the commercial with friends and family. Tell them to go to CatholicVote.org and watch the ad NBC doesn’t want them to see! Heck, show it at your Super Bowl party!

We’ve been humbled by the donations we’ve received to help get this ad out. We are especially grateful to the group of very generous benefactors that agreed to help if we got air time for the Super Bowl.

We aren’t certain they will still help, but we will use any funds we receive from you and others to air the ad in the most prominent and cost-effective venues available.

Perhaps the ad should run during the Academy Awards or maybe American Idol, which is popular with the youth. Maybe we should run it following President Obama’s first State of the Union address?

If you have ideas, tell us what you think.

Brian Burch
CatholicVote.org

P.S. You may recall that this is the first ad in our new “Life: Imagine the Potential” campaign. We are having a huge impact with our campaign already! Our message is positive, life affirming, and hope-filled. And it is reaching audiences that normally don’t listen to us.

We are grateful for all your support and prayers.

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B - 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts

Sometimes we just have to face it.
We are not home… This is not our home… and when compared to eternity, the time we will spend here on this earth is just a blink of an eye, a moment.

This incredibly powerful fact, seems so obvious but we all know that it is so easy to forget.

How often do we live as if…
As if this is all there is,
as if this is all that matters,
as if the quality of our life now is more important than our life with God later.

It is just so easy to forget that God made us and our home,
our destiny, is to be with him forever.
Period.

How many times a day do we forget that incredibly important fact.

So for most of us or many of us, our lives are spent wandering around
often blinded by our own sins and addictions
and worries
and prejudices
and pride
and whatever.

We spend so much time so much energy trying to find our way home and sometimes a powerful but subtle fear fills our heart.

Is there really anything else… will I ever find my way home ?

God Wants us home.
God want all of us home.

God Created us to be home with Him.
God waits for our return
and God does everything he can to call us to Himself,

And the role of prophets is central to God’s providential loving plan to bring us home,

hrough prophets He regularly calls us out of our darkness.

The first reading and the gospel today speak about prophets.

What is a prophecy and the role of a prophet.?

When I think of a prophet.. the first person I think of is John the Baptist. A voice in the wilderness…
God gives us prophets for a number of reasons.

The voice of a prophet puts everything in perspective.

Prophets challenge us to understand that everything that leads us home is good,
and everything that distracts us or takes us off course on our journey home is bad.

The voice of a prophet orients in the darkness and confusion of life.
It directs us guides us back to the path home.

The voice of a prophet gives us hope.
When all seems lost,
when We we are weary from the journey,
When we just can’t seem to find our way,
When we just want to sit down or give up,
Yes the voice of a prophet give us hope.

There will always be the voice of some prophet saying
Come on… don’t give up, don’t be afraid,

Follow me… you can do this.

How many of us have been roused or inspired by a good sermon, or a good confession or the counsel of a friend or the simple innocent faith of a child ?

All of them at one time were prophets to us on our journey.

Now that we have kind of looked at the role of prophets in our life we come to the crux of the first reading.

There are so many voices in our world how do you know which ones is prophetic and which ones are not

The book of Deuteronomy gives us three concrete criteria to judge if someone is really a prophet
or if what someone is saying is really prophecy

“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin,” the Deuteronomy says.

God raises up prohpets
God decides who the prophet should be..

It is not ours task nor our right to declare ourselves prophets.
And that is a really good indication if a prophet or prophecy is real.

If a person believes him/herself better than others.
If a person declares himself a prophet and seem to desire the title and prestige…
of a prophet a caution flag should go up.

We have to be so careful about the authenticity of their words.

Remember only those who are called by God speak for Him not necessarily those who would like to be called.

The second profound truth in that phrase is just as important.

In the first reading we hear “A prophet like you from among you kin.?

So often we look to learned men and women, scholars,,, holy people, as the only source of our prophecy and yes they can be.

However, we must never forget that our friend and our roommate, and our wife and our husband and even our child can often be prophets for us.

Sometimes this is a hard thing to accept.
Remember Jesus’ words “no prophet is accepted in his own town”

How often because of our pride have we missed the prophecies of our loved ones or didn’t take them to heart.

The book of Deuteronomy also says…
I will put my words into his mouth;
he shall tell them all that I command him.

Another way to discern if God is really speaking through someone and If their prophecy is authentic is to compare what they say to the other Words that God has already spoken.

The prophet is only charged with speaking God’s words, he may adapt them to his culture and his experience but the meaning of the words spoken have to be in agreement with other things that God has said.

If someone speaks as a prophet but their word do not conform to God’s word… they are really from the evil one.

Their words do not have the power to save but rather to destroy.

The last truth about prophecy contained in the first reading is simple

If someone is really a prophet.

I we discern that someone has been given a prophetic role in our lives we have an obligation to listen to them to obey them.

We have the obligation to put their words into effect in our lives because they speak for God Himself.

God will never leave us alone

God wants us to find our way home

In the confusion of life
In the challenges of our journey
God will send us many prophets.

They will be Men and women whose love for us and love for God calls, compels them to speak many times reluctantly

Let be attentive.

Amen

Life is Beautiful

Inspired...

Today I spoke at our (CUA's) last Open House of the year I've been doing it for years.. When I walked over I was happy to find the Great Room in the Pryz filled to capacity. There was standing room only and not much of it.

When I see that level of participation it is a wonderful consolation to me. It shows me that the word is out and that people understand that that CUA is indeed a very special place. That level of interest is a credit to our academic programs and the quality of life "campus life" as we call it here at The Catholic University of America. It is also a credit to our students who are always our best ambassadors. I consider it a priviledge to experience such a vote of confidence. If you ever attended a CUA Open House and heard me speak then you hear that I had to say this morning. I have never changed that talk and know it by heart. Why fix it when it is not broken...

The Catholic University of America a great place to consider... at least they think so.

The Conversion of St. Paul

May the peace of Christ Reign in our hearts…

This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul.

We know very little about his childhood or family.

St. Paul came from a notable family in the ancient city Tarsus.
They were probably devout Jews who also where somehow were able to become Roman Citizens.

Their faith was so important to them that In his youth they sent Paul to Jerusalem to study with the great Rabbi Gamaliel.

Paul was a scholar and Hard worker
tradition says he was a tent maker.
He was an orator.
He was a passionate orthodox Jew and this passion and his convictions led him to violently persecute Christians.

He himself was present and participated in the murder or martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first follower of Christ to give is life for his faith.

Paul of Tarsus was every bit a passionate, arrogant, zealous, murderer.

Yet, God saw something good in him.
So one day out of the blue without any warning he lost everything.

On the road from Jerusalem to Damascus there came a blinding light so bright, so sudden, that it incapacitated him completely.

And Paul, this proud man this self-assured man, was so struck that he even fell off his horse.

Everything he knew, everything he trusted
everything and defended his pride, his arrogance
his position, his power, everything he had was gone.

In the blink of an eye he was
defenseless, blind, dependent and alone.

Paul never met Jesus before his death and Resurrection.

But as he was healed and cared for in Damascus he had a vision of the Risen Lord.

After those three days of darkness
After those three days of isolation
After those three days of uncertainty
His sight was returned, his body was healed and his soul was made whole

Paul who had persecuted the Church,
Paul the zealot, the murder, had a radical change of heart and through God’s grace he became the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Through his work and his efforts
Our faith, the Good news became known all over the world.

Wherever he went, Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Ephesus, Colossae, Antioch and who knows where else Paul founded Churches, living communities of believers.

He was so charismatic and so convicted in his new found faith that he was able to bring whole communities to Christ .

And many years later in Rome the man who had so severely persecuted the Church, freely gave up his life rather than renounce his faith in Risen Christ who he had met on the road to Damascus.

What does the incredible story of Conversion of St. Paul have to say to us today?
What should we take from it ?

No human being is without hope.
God saw through all Paul’s sins, his ignorance, his arrogance his pridefulness.
God saw through it all.

It would have been easy for us to give up on Paul but God didn’t.

The story of St. Paul should cause us to ask ourselves,
Who have we given up on?
Who have we placed in the “no hope box” or relegated to trash heap of life?

As a culture we spend so much more time trying to punish people rather than rehabilitate them.

God’s action in St. Paul’s life reminds us that there is always hope… even in the most desperate of cases.

Paul’s story also reminds us that…
We can change
We can change
Yes we can change
Sometimes it is so tempting to give up on ourselves.
Sometimes our problems, our addictions, our pride, our passions seem overwhelming.

Sometimes when disaster strikes and we fall off our horse, so to speak, we need to learn from Paul’s example that what seems horrible at the moment can really be a moment of grace,
a moment an opportunity
a chance to change to begin anew.

How many times in our lives have the trials and tribulations of life really been good waiting to happen.

When everything was taken from him all that Paul had left was to hope in Jesus the Nazorean the one he had persecuted.

I think this thought is really something we need to hold onto during these difficult economic times.

Sometimes falling off your horse,
loosing what you have, is always not a bad thing sometimes it is a blessing.

Challenges like that can bring us to something new, something better.

If our faith is real if it is sincere it can and should be life giving not only for us but also for others.

If we have never brought anyone to faith,
If our lives or our example, have never moved anyone,
it begs the question “ How really committed are we to following Christ”?

Everywhere Paul went he changed peoples hearts
He inspired people.
Paul lived the great commission that we heard in the Gospel today.

He went and made disciples of all men and women.

His example should challenge us all to become apostles to those without the consolation of Christ.

A faith half lived, a faith which only goes through the motions has no power to change hearts or to save.

On this day as we commemorate the Conversion of St. Paul.

Let us never give up on anyone. Let us rather be willing to expect the unexpected.

Let us never give up on ourselves.

Let us also see the challenges of life as opportunities of grace.

Let us live lives of holiness that have the power to change hearts and bring our brothers and sisters to faith.

What horse do we have to fall off.... that's a very important question indeed.

Like it never happened....

These past few days CUA has been a beehive of activity Almost 1500 guest stayed over night in the Dufour Center and Shrine, 200 Student Volunteers worked to keep them safe and make them feel welcome. 1800 meals were served to our guests, that's a lot of pasta and eggs and then a very large group of students with Fr. O'Connell, CUA's President, attended the March.

With the state of national politics it was obvious a significant presence was important... the Pro-Life Movement did not disappoint. Certainly any effort would appear small when compared to the President Obama's inauguration but the crowd was big and lively and not discouraged at all. It is always a young crowd a crowd filled with conviction and passion.

What saddens and mystifies, and to put it bluntly angers me is this. THE MARCH FOR LIFE IS THE LARGEST ANNUAL DEMONSTATION IN WASHINGTON, I know I live here, and the media which is so biased againt this noble cause choses to ignore it every year. This year I taped the news on NBC and ABC to see how the march was covered... Nothing... not a word. Instead both showed President Obama checking out the closets of the White House Press Corp. Our local ABC affiliate showed the 20 pro choice protestors.

There I have issued my annual rant against a media elite which I find harder and harder to trust what a shame.

Don't worry we'll be back next year.

Hey Hey Ho Ho Rov v Wade has got to go.
Every step we take is for a child's sake.
CUA is prolife.
The Catholic University of America is Pro-Life Da.....
Women' Deserve Better
It is indeed.

Found it...

I wish these guys made more videos...

The Pope's Message to President Obama

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday sent a message to US president-elect Barack Obama calling on him to seek "understanding, co-operation and peace" among countries.

"I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, co-operation and peace among the nations.

"I offer cordial good wishes, together with the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you unfailing wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high responsibilities," the message said.

Revolutionary Road

I've been reflecting a lot lately and I've come to believe that happiness is a choice you just can’t wait for it to come along you have to chose it. Revolutionary Road was very moving there are moments of joy... moments of great sadness… I left the movie thinking ... celibates face lonliness at times (no surprise there)_ but the lonliness in a struggling marriage, or the lonliness between two people, seems so much harder to carry. Obviously don’t take the kids to this one.

The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

My niece Sarah has developed a love for puzzles.
She loves them so much that this year they bought her this puzzle mat so she can roll them up and save her work if it is time for supper and the family needs the table. We didn’t have those when I was a kid.

I haven’t looked at puzzles for year. But as I watched her work her puzzles a number of things came to mind

A completed puzzle is beautiful.
It is not easy to put a puzzle together hence the name.
It is not always easy to find your place in life.

By themselves puzzle pieces are intriguing  little splashes of color but it is not always easy to tell what they really are or part of the bigger picture they play.

You can only really figure out what a puzzle piece is when you see it in the context of the whole puzzle.

Who knows that beautiful patch of green may be a green apple, or a part of a meadow, or part of a young leaf on a warm spring day.

When a piece of the puzzle is missing you can usually still make out the picture but your eye is drawn to what is missing. 

The picture suffers because it is not complete.

What does all of this have to do with the readings today ?

Sometimes it is easy to see that God’s loving providential plan, God’s big picture for human kind is like a puzzle.

God’s plan is like a picture which in its entirety is beautiful to behold.

All of us are the pieces of that puzzle.

There is a place for each and everyone one of us in God’s loving plan all of us have a place  our own place to fill.

Just like a puzzle piece we can often only understand ourselves, who we are, and what we are to do, our purpose and our lives, in the context of God’s big picture.

When we absent ourselves from God’s plan no one can fill our place.

Even if the puzzle piece was the same shape if the image does not match it cannot take the place of another.

All of today's’ readings talk about vocation.
They speak accepting our place in God’s plan.

As we heard in the Psalm
“Here am I Lord Here am I I come to do your will….”

Samuel was young
He was eager to serve
He just didn’t know what to do..

We learn a lot about hearing God’s call from the experience of Samuel…

First of all God keeps calling.
Samuel heard God’s call several times but didn’t know who it was.

Second God used Eli to help understand God’s call.
God was not happy with Eli, because of the abuses of his sons… in fact it had been prophesied that all of Eli’s male descendents would die.

The fact that Eli and his family were not the most outstanding holy people did not keep God from using them to help Samuel understand his place in the puzzle of life.

After he understood that God was calling him. Samuel established a relationship with him. In the story It was still not clear what Samuel would be called to do.

Essentially in this little story we understand that Samuel accepts that his life and his dreams and his accomplishments will only find their meaning in following God’s plan for him.

Because he understood this, God makes Samuel’s words have meaning.

The Gospel also speaks to God’s greater plan and our call or vocation to participate in it.

In the Gospel we have the call of the first disciples.

John points out Jesus to his disciples. He calls him the “Lamb of God” and they follow Jesus…

It must have been difficult for John to do… and yet he understood that he was not the Messiah.

He understood that only Jesus could help his friends, his disciples find their place in God’s plan.

Did  you notice that Jesus is the first to speak?

Jesus took the initiative..
Jesus asks the question of a life time…
when he says  What are you looking for ?

After they had spent time with Jesus after they had established a relationship with him were they able to proclaim “We have found the Messiah.”

And from their experience of Jesus they were moved to pass on the message.

Andrew went and brought his own brother to Simon… Simon who would be called peter..

These readings have a special place on a college campus.

While everyone in the Church has a continual responsibility to make sure they are fulfilling God’s plan.

Young adults are at a place in their lives where they are discerning their role in God’s big picture.

Here are some things you should ponder on this long weekend.

1. Your role in God’s plan is so important that  God will call over and over and over again.

2. God will use a wide variety of people and experiences to help you understand your place in his plan. Some of them will be surprises or unexpected.

3. The revelation of your place in the puzzle may take a while to realize what is important is that we remain willing to listen.

4. What you are looking for in life?

What you are drawn to or  talented in has a role in discerning your place or  your vocation.

5. It is important to never hold a person back, John missed his disciples but he knew that they destiny was not with him. (This is a really important thing to remember for people who are in a relationship.)

6. All us have a role to play in discerning our friend’s vocation. All of have a responsibility to challenge each other to fulfill God’s plan.  Once Andrew… understood who Jesus was he brought his brother Peter to him.

Who is waiting for us to bring them to Christ?

Who is waiting for us to help them discern God’s plan

As we find our place in the puzzle of life.

As we try to continue to live it..

May the Lord who has begun wonderful things in you bring them to fulfillment.

Amen…

It's cold here in Washington

The fountain outside my office has frozen.... it is beautiful every season and lots of people have stopped to check it out.

Tonight

Who are all of these kids and what are they doing in the great room of the Pryz.?
Believe it or not they are the returning DC Reads Tutors. Last semester there were over 200 of them. Some of them tutor for their federal work study grant and others simply volunteer.
During the school year Catholic U and some of the other Universities in DC send their students into DC public schools, private schools, and after school programs to do one on one tutoring. With this program our students have a real chance to make a difference in the lives children who find school so challenging. We are all proud this program and our students. There are so many good things that happen at CUA.

Tonight after the DC Reads meeting I ate in the cafeteria or our "Student Dining Room." The chicken was good and moist so moist that I got it all over my new jacket. The roast potatoes were also really good. I spent about two hours there chatting with those present. Everyone seemed so happy to be back and get in the swing of things. There's not much pressure yet.

Lots of people have were talking about walking down to the Inauguration. I'm not sure what I am going to do yet. After my MOP (Ministry of Presence ) time in the dining room. I went to the Office for a wedding prep meeting with Catlin Weiss and Stephen Mariconti.

Many years ago I baptized Caitlin in a salad bowl in St. Francis High School Chapel in Athol Spring. I remember putting hot water in the bowl because we didn't have a baptismal font. I was afraid the chapel would be cold. Who would have thought that I would be witnessing her wedding so many years later.

My night finished with a stop in Caldwell Chapel where our seminarians were having adoration for the CUA community.

Just thought I would give you a snap shot of my evening..

Washington gets ready for Obama

I took a stroll downtown today and took a lot of pictures from metro and the sculpture garden to the Capital building... as you will see even the sparrows are getting ready for President Obama...

Opus Hall and the start of the Second Semester

Some Pictures from the beginning of my 22 Semester at CUA

The Baptism of the Lord Year B

May the Peace of Christ Reign in our Hearts.

So much has happened in the life of Christ from last week to this week.
Tradition tells us that Jesus was baptized when he was around 30 years old.

This week we move from the scene of the Magi bringing gifts to the new born King which we commemorated last week to the banks of the Jordon River where Jesus "comes to the water" and steps up to begin his ministry.

We know precious little about the 30 years the baptism...

We know as a boy he left his family and wanted to begin preaching to the priests in the temple.

We know that when he was found by his anxious parents that he remained obedient to Mary and Joseph and returned home with them.

We know that Joseph died during those years after having passed on to Jesus his profession as a carpenter.

We know that Jesus lived in Nazareth, a kind of rough and tumble town, and that he lived a "normal" life working to support Mary his mother.

The scriptures tell us that during this time he grew in wisdom and knowledge.

It follows then that during these thirty year Jesus was a man of prayer trying with his whole heart to discern God’s will and live it.

When John came Jesus was moved by his preaching.
And through the Ministry of John Jesus understood that it was time.
It was time to follow God’s will and begin his public ministry.

That day was a day he always knew would come.
It was a day He had probably reflected on over and over again.
It was a day that he probably faced with a whole range of emotions.
There must have been some fear, and sadness, anticipation and excitement.
It was a day of decision... "it's God's will, it's time, I'm ready."

By being baptized Jesus identified himself with the poor, with broken.
Even though he had no sin he identified himself with us.
He walked down the road to the Jordan River with the broken, with the poor,
He walk down the road with sinners and with saints.

He stood in line with them.
He waited with them like he will wait with us with us...

Just like he walked down the road to the Jordan River like he walks down the road of life with us.

And his work began.

There are many things for us to ponder on this feast of the Baptism of the Lord especially for preparing to take their place in the world like Jesus did.

Before he began his mission Jesus needed and developed an interior life.
This was no small task. It took a long time.
He lived a private life, which lasted thirty years.
Depending on which Gospel you read Jesus' mission lasted between 1 and 3 years…
that is a ratio of training to ministry was either 30 – 1 or 30 to 3.
If we followed that ratio today you would have to be in College 200 years to work 20 Yikes...

Our time in college is a time of preparation it is a time which we dedicate ourselves.….to learning and getting the skills to assume our place in the world.

It is such a noble task to study, to prepare, to learn... so that we can leave our mark
and make our contribution...

Yes it is so important to learn the skills we need in our professions.
but it is also so important to develop an interior life like Jesus did in Nazareth.

This time in college should be a time of going deeper...
It is so important that we develop a thoughtful life
a reflective life, a life of meaning and purpose.

Since we came to Catholic how much time have we dedicated to developing an interior life?

Yes we have to learn the professional skills we need to be nurses and Architects and businessmen and even politicians.

But if we are to follow our destiny we have to learn how to be men and women of God.

We have to be open to God’s word, God’s will and God’s plan.

What a tragedy to be the world’s best engineer...
but miss the husband or wife that God had planned for us because we were not in the habit of listening to God’s will.

What a tragedy to be to be a great politician...
and miss the mission or task which God need us to accomplish because we had no interior life and never learned what was really important.

Jesus understood that whatever he did had to be rooted in God’s will and the power of the Spirit..

In an addition to an interior life we need to develop the discipline to follow God's will without counting the cost.

We have to be willing to follow pay the price of love.
This is really counter cultural.
How often does our obedience depend on what is comfortable to us.

For Jesus following God’s will involved leaving the things and people which gave him comfort probably great comfort.

For all that we know Jesus had a good life in Nazareth.
He had his way of living, His routine.
He had the comfort of his mother and friends and relatives.
He made a good living.

Yet because of God’s call He leaves all that is familiar to him.

How many times… have we said
I’ll follow God’s inspiration as long as it doesn’t cost me too much?
As long as I don’t have to leave my comfort zone

If there is one thing that is clear on every page of the scriptures and in the lives of the Saints..

Love has a great price
Are we ready to pay it.

And finally
There is one more lesson which John the Baptist teaches us..

Somehow some way from all of the thousands of people who were coming forward to be baptized John recognized Jesus.

How did he recognize him ?
Maybe he knew for a while who Jesus was...
maybe the Holy Spirit inspired him at that moment.

How often has Christ presented himself to us ,
In the instruction of our parents... or the good advice of a friend and
we either missed it or refused to accept his presence?

What a profound tragedy to miss or refuse the very presence of God in our lives

And so dear ones
As you prepare to find your place…
.
To make your contribution
To live the wonderful life that God has gives you…

Let us strive to develop, our interior lives.
Let us be reflective and look for meaning and purpose in our lives.

Let us be discern God’s will and obedient to it even if it doesn’t seem to make sense.
Let us be willing to pay the price of love.

Let us be very sensitive to the presence of God.

These are some to the lessons, which the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordon offers us
Let us be attentive.

Amen

They're back...

The Student Ministers came back yesterday for our Semester Break Training. We began with a simple meal, then followed up with some time to share our Christmas Break blessings and possible a "New Year's Resolution" Almost to a person the student and professional staff viewed the time they spent with their families as the greatest blessings. Certainly there were challenging moments at home there always are in families, but all in all the time spent with our families was a blessing indeed.

As far as our resolutions went... Many spoke about the need to go deeper... in other words to deepen our faith. More prayer... more reflection more community.... deeper. This desire was shared equally by the both the professional and students staff.

After a reflection on how all of us have to continually need to renew our Yes to ministry we have been called to we all went up to Caldwell Chapel to reflect more on the word, break the Christmas Wafer and finish the evening with Night Prayer.

It is so good to have the back. What a fine group of young people.

Some More... Pictures from Christmas Break

Health Updates and Prayer Requests...

David Garcia (a freshman transfer student from Miami) is still in the Hospital He has been there over a month now. He is going to have a shunt but in to help release the pressure in his brain. Once that is done he will continue with rehab.

John Blattner has had his bone marrow transplant and his white blood cell count is going up thanks be to God !!! He may be released next week but will continue a long course of treatment for the next several months.

Shiela Lafleur has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. The prognosis is good I'll keep you posted as I hear things… please keep her in your prayers