A Prayer for our Graduates

Let us Pray..
On this day of new beginnings Lord
We place our class of 2009 in your hands
We know Lord that you love them
We know that you will always be close to them
We know that you will continue to inspire them to do great things.

They are ready Lord
They are ready to take the next step
They will teach, and heal, and inspire by their art,
They will counsel and invest and explore your wonders of nature.
They will design and engineer great structures.
They will work for the common good in politics and government service and all kinds of community service

All of them will love
Some will marry and have children
Some will serve your people as Priests and religious.

Their parting from CUA is bittersweet
But we all know it is time and they are ready.

Bless them
Bless their families
Bless their parents
May this day of celebration remain always in our hearts
And serve to remind us all of your loving divine providence.

We ask all of these things through Christ our Lord

Amen

Blessings and inspiration.... here is a day in the life of a priest...

Today was a beautiful day.

8:30 I went to buy donuts for the kids who were coming to work.

The morning and afternoon was spent cataloging books for Tanzania and moving them to the storage container. Here's some pics. It got so hot I ordered Rita's Ice for the volunteers. In the afternoon when the books were all cataloged and placed in the container we started packing and moving the computers. The computer volunteers finished all of the updates and we switched all the power supplies to 230 volts (what they use in Kigoma).. It is amazing how this project is coming together. We have collected cataloged and boxed 5641 books and I am so pleased with the quality of the donations. Here is the online catalog of what we are sending. Library thing is a really great website check it out. You type in the ISBN number and it pull the complete record for book with all of the subject headings.

Around two I went to see the group of students who were going to the Invisible Children Rally by the National Mall. The purpose of this event was to bring attention to the plight of the thousands of children in Dafur who are forced to join militias. We sent a really good group of students both in quality and quantity.

Around 3:00 I took what was left of the Rita's Ice Buckets to the South Side Showdown. There were lots of kids their and lots of water fun. Someone dumped a whole bucket of ice water on me. I have to admit it felt good.

This evening I went to the Annual Red line Invitational which is a benefit concert by area acapella (how do you spell that) groups to benefit the missions where our students will volunteer this year. (Sorry no pictures.












While we were working on the container another group of students took all of my garden stuff to the roof. It's that time again. Here are some pictures from last year...


Our students are generous, committed, passionate and very willing to put in a good day's work for a worthy cause. It is a privilege for me to be a part of their lives... even though I can't remember their names to save my life... somethings never change.

Coming up...

The Luau will be this Friday May 1st, from 5 to 10 Rain or Shine...

The final shipment day for the container to Kigoma will be on May 4th.. we will only have two hours to transfer everything to the new container... Yicks... HELP and PRAYERS NEEDED.

I'm still tired and inspired.

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.

Amen

Third Sunday of Easter Year – B 2009

From today’s Gospel.

We learn that God doesn’t give up easy…
When Jesus appears to his apostles
He appears to a broken, disillusioned, and even frightened group of men.

Even when they see him they are incredulous,
they can’t believe what they see.

He has to repeatedly engage them, calm them, and coax them to belief.

“Look at my hands and my feet,
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.”

It took the disciples a while to come to believe and Jesus was persistent he didn’t give up.

Once they dared to believe,

“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

The Cross was part of God’s plan it was not something he was forced to do.

He helped them understand that being willing to suffer, is part of love.

Jesus, the Messiah willingly suffered and died to bring us to redemption because he loved us.

Finally with the last line of the Gospel Jesus gave the apostles their mission.

“You are witnesses of these things”.

A witness is only a witness if he speaks, if he testifes.
A witness who says nothing is no witness at all.

And so you see holy one…

Today’s world like the Apostles gathered in that room is broken, disillusioned, and frightened.

Today’s Gospel should inspire us to have patience the same patience that Jesus showed to the Apostles.

Remember after all the time he spent with them he he still had to coax them to belief.

We must be patient

Patient with our friends
Patient with our families
Patient even with those who refuse to believe who remain incredulous.

I know its hard not to get fed up or give up when someone just won’t change
but that’s what the Gospel calls us to do.

Today’s Gospel should inspire, challenge us to sacrificial love, it should challenge us not only to face the cross but to willingly embrace it..

Only when we are willing to look beyond our own needs
only when we are willing to suffer, for someone else
can we dare to say that we are capable of loving.

To chose to love is also to be willing to suffer

Finally our one of our greatest failures is to accept our mission to be witnesses.

The message of the Gospel is meant for everyone
but
because.. we fail to live it credibly
Because we fail to speak
Because we fail to testify

Quite often we are very poor witnesses indeed.

If all of us on this campus who attend Mass lived our faith credibly what a different campus and a different world it would be indeed.

Amen

Good Friday Year B 2009

Good Friday is not like any other day of the year.
It is not necessarily a day of comfort.
It is a somber day.
It is a day which should cause us to stop and reflect.

Good Friday is a day which often leaves us with a strange feeling as we walk out of church,
a feeling that something is not yet finished,
a feeling that something is not complete.

I feel always feel an emptiness on Good Friday when I see the door of the tabernacle left open and the tabernacle light out.
The empty tabernacle reminds, us all of the power of the real presence which we so often take for granted.

And all of these feelings do not happen by chance.
The church goes to great lengths to set mood and create these feelings.

The altar is stripped
Many times the statues are covered or removed
The holy water fonts are dry
Here at catholic we always take things a little farther, the sacristans even roll up the carpets in the sanctuary.
You see my dear friends the rituals and traditions of Good Friday
are meant to teach us a lot about ourselves,
and they also teach us a lot about God.

Good Friday puts before our eyes the reality of our sin.
It reminds us that all of us are sinners,
all of us are broken.

It reminds us that sin is a part of our lives,
it reminds us that our sins cause pain and cause hurt,
Not only in our own lives but in the lives of everyone we meet.

Good Friday teaches us that our sins are so serious
That, God Himself has to intervene..

Good Friday teaches that God is just not willing to give up on us.
It shows us just how far God is willing to go for us.
On Good Friday we see the ultimate proof of God’s love.

And from the tree of life, from the cross,
we learn how we can and how should respond to the sin in our own life
and the sin in lives of those around us.

When creation strayed from God,
God did not break off His relationship with us
he doesn’t give up on us.

When we sin God does not move farther away,
instead he came closer.

In fact He came very close.
He sent his Son

So often in our lives when people hurt us when we feel the effects of our sins and the sins of others,
our first inclination is to run and hide,
to get away  to distance ourselves.

When things get messy, when things go bad,
God does not run and hide,

A second thing we learn on Good Friday is that God did not pretend that our sin was not present
he didn’t look the other way rather he acknowledged our sin.
He faced it and he calls us to do the same.

So often when we come in contact with sin or when we sin ourselves we pretend that it really doesn’t  matter.

We say things like,
I’m not hurt, or I haven’t hurt anyone,
as if we somehow we have the ability to wish power of sin away.

On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin is real and it matters and it can’t be taken lightly.
On the cross Jesus teaches us that sin demands a radical response from God and a radical response from us.

On Good Friday we see how God responds to our sin
Compelled by love for each one of us
God responds to our sin by taking it upon himself.
By paying the price of our sin Himself on the cross
He allows Himself to feel it’s pain.

We too must be willing to take on the pain of the cross.
We too must be willing to carry the cross.

By lovingly taking our sins upon his shoulders God transforms the
When he forgives them He redeems them.

God shows us how we can change evil into good.
He shows us that love even has the power to redeem sin

So often we respond to sin, and pain, with sin and pain
So often we allow the evil we experience to take root in our hearts
To distort us.

It is so easy for us to allow evil to breed evil
And pain to cause pain.

It is so easy for us to allow anger and resentment to make us angry and resentful

When that happens evil and anger and sin wins…

Jesus did not allow our sins to make him become angry or bitter.
Rather he heals them with this love.

The world would be so different if we like God could respond to sin with love.

This is such an important lesson for all us to learn.

Finally, despite our transgressions,
despite our sin, from the pulpit of the cross,
Jesus he prayed for us.

He took our sin upon himself and he offered up his suffering for us
the very people who had sinned against him.
Forgive them Father they know not what they are doing.

How often do we pray for those who hurt us?
How often do we offer up our pain and hurt for the very people who cause them?

Yes Good Friday teaches us so much.
We learn so much from powerful witness of the cross.

Let us not run from sin
let us not fear evil.
Let us look sin in the eye
let us face it and acknowledge is.
Let us willingly carry our cross.
When someone sins against us let us not respond in kind
Let us not allow evil to take root in our hearts.
Instead of letting sin change us let us change it.
Let us love the sinner and redeem the sin.

In a few moments when kneel before the cross
When we venerate it.

Let us all pray God that we learn its lessons well.

We adore you or Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world
Amen

Palm Sunday Year B – 2009

They had been with Him for years.

They had seen Him transfigured on a mountain top with Moses and Elijah.

They had seen Him walk on water and calm the winds and waves of a storm.

They had watched Him compassionately heal the sick sometimes even at great personal risk to Himself.

We don’t even know about all of the private  little personal conversations that he shared with each one of the apostles as they walked down the dusty roads or warmed themselves by the fire at night,

Jesus listening to them,
talking with them,
laughing with them,
and even crying with them.

And yet after they had experienced all of these incredibly powerful things…
they could not even stay awake with Him for an hour in the garden of Gethsemane.
they betrayed him,
they ran away and abandoned Him,
they denied Him,

Yet don’t be fooled  the story of the passion of Jesus Christ,
is not about betrayal,
it is not about abandonment,
It is not about denial…

It is rather is about being loyal,
about being loyal even unto death.

The passion teaches us just how far God will go..
The passion teaches us how strong God’s love is for each and everyone of us…
…no matter what our sins are,
no matter how cold our hearts have become.

Holy ones sadly we are not much different than the apostles.

All of our lives are filled with incredible moments of grace.

Our families
Our friends
Our talents our gifts
The chance to be here and study and learn.
The chance to prepare ourselves well to make a difference in a world so much in need of love and healing.

We have all received
grace after grace after grace after grace after grace,
sadly sometimes we just don’t seem them.

We like the apostles run and hide.
We like the apostles fail to be loyal to our friends,
and we like the apostles often only stick around when things are going well.

We like the apostles live  as though we are not loved or that God does not care for us…

As we meditate on the Passion of our Lord Jesus

Let strive to imitate God’s faithfulness,

Let us try to follow the example of Jesus who loved us all with reckless abandon ,a loving reckless abandon which led him to His death on the cross the price of His love.

Remember when he died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

That which had separated the holy of Holies That which had separated God from us and His creation was gone.

Nothing now separates us
Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

We adore you O Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy Cross you have Redeemed the World.

  

 

5th Sunday of Lent Year B 2009

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel

In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah it becomes so clear that God longs to be a part of our lives.

God is not just some powerful force to be reckoned with.

He is not some vengeful God waiting for us to screw up,
rather He longs for a relationship with us.

And in this relationship…
He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because we are afraid of being punished.

He doesn’t want us to do the right thing just because it’s the rule or the law.

In this beautiful passage we learn that God wants us to do the right thing because we love Him.

He longs for us write his name on our hearts … just like to two young lovers carve their initials in a tree.

As Jeremiah said so beautifully

I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

When a person is in love… they are never satisfied with giving the bare minimum, rather they willingly and happily pour out their lives for the other.

People in love often pour out their lives until there is nothing left to give.

Love, real love allows us to do heroic things.

Look at loving parents who make sacrifice after sacrifice for their children.

Look at saints whose heroic lives could only be motivated by love not fear.

Look at the martyrs who heroic deaths clearly testify to the incredible power of love. No one gives their life away just because of a law.

The Catechism says that this new covenant…this new relationship that God longs to have with us
begins on Calvary.

It begins on Calvary with the death of Jesus God’s Son.

With this cross God shows us just how far he is willing to go.

With the cross he shows how much he is willing to give.

With the cross he proves how much he is willing to pay for the price of each and everyone of our souls.

With the cross God teaches us how we should love.

“Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains a simple grain”

When we hear that all of us should ask ourselves am I willing to fall to the ground and die ?

Do I love anyone enough to fall to the ground and die for them?

St. Thomas More Parish – Boynton Beach FL

They were always late for Church they usually made it in the front pew for the handicapped around the opening prayer.

He would hold her with his hand around her waist and guide her into the front pew…

Her shuffle and her absent gaze spoke volumes.

When communion time came he would guide her up the communion line and he would always say the same thing to the priest..

Please Father just give her a little piece just a little piece.

Then he would beg her
Come on honey… open your mouth open your mouth sweetheart and I would place a tiny piece of the Body of Christ on her tongue.

Then from somewhere he would produce a sippy cup with water and he would place it at her lips and she would almost instinctively drink from it.

Then he would guide her back to the pew.

One day after Mass everyone was standing outside talking …

It was too early for the early bird specials in the local restaurants that all the senior citizens loved.

The man and his wife were there… a woman came up to the man began to talk…

After a while she said to the man

You are a “young” man and you still have your health
you should put your wife in a home and enjoy life.

There was an audible gasp from the people standing around her.

We were all trying to figure out how someone could say something so inappropriate.

The man looked angry for a second and then he responded to her very gently.

This is my wife and I love her
I love her when she is sick and I love her when she is healthy
and as long as I can manage, as long as it is good for he,. she is going to live with me in her home.

Then he looked the woman right in the eye and he said.
Even now as sick as she is she is God’s greatest gift to me.

That man’s heroic care for his wife was not motivated by any law or rule.

Rather it was motivate by a covenant of love.
His witness was so powerful to everyone present.

Holy Ones…

God longs for us to love Him

And he wants our actions and lives to be motivated by love.

St. Augustine understood that he said..
Love God and do whatever you want.

On the Cross God teaches us what love is
and He shows us how much He loves us.

How much do we love each other?
How much do we love God?

Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies….

Amen

4th Sunday of Lent Year B 2009

Ours is a God who just won’t who just can’t give up on us.
He can’t give up because love never gives up.

In the first reading the Book Chronicles recounts an incredibly sad story.

Because they abandoned the rightful practice of their faith… because they were unfaithful to the covenant…
because they refused to listen to the numerous prophets the God sent them and kept sending them over and over again to call them back to fidelity….

…in desperation God allowed them to be defeated by the Persians.

He allowed His temple to be destroyed and His people to be taken into exile.

It must have seemed like the end of the world them
as the temple was torn down and Jerusalem set afire.

It must have seemed like all was lost as they were led away in exile.

And I am sure that God wept with them as they walked down the road to Persia victims of their own lack of faith.

He wept because he loved them.
He wept because they had abandoned their friendship with Him.
He wept because they had become so stuck in their sin that there was no other way to win back their hearts.

Only after 70 years of exile and slavery would they be allowed to return to Jerusalem and re-establish the covenant.

In the Gospel we hear a similar story.

Nicodemus  a holy man comes to Jesus in the dark of night.
He came in the night because he is afraid to be seen. 

He was afraid to be seen as a follower of Jesus or
as someone who believed in His word or His works..

Yet he was drawn to Jesus and it was
almost impossible for him to stay away.

As and Jesus tried to explain to him how God longs for all men and women to be saved Nicodemus’ heart must have been moved.

But when Jesus said that the Messiah would have to be lifted up on the cross of the Romans this was too much for Nicodemus to take.

This was so contrary to the type of Messiah the Jews expected that Nicodemus refused to believe refused to surrender.

And he walked back out into the darkness, confused and unwilling to become His follower.

Yet one day it would be this same Nicodemus who would boldly walk up to Pilate in full light of day and request  the body of Jesus.

The Jews were unfaithful
They suffered the consequences of their sins
And they were redeemed

Nicodemus
Was intrigued by the powerful witness of Jesus
But he was afraid.
Afraid of what discipleship would cost him

And so he walked back out into the darkness of confusion and cowardness only later would he be able to experience the saving power of Christ lifted high on the cross.

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

Failure 
suffering
Redemption

It is the story of the people of Israel.
It is the story of Nicodemus.
It is my story and your story.
It is the story of all of Humanity.

Until we embrace the will of God completely and whole heartedly… until we accept the love and mercy of God completely.
We are condemned, better yet we condemn ourselves to repeat this pattern over and over and over again.

Think about
How much of our suffering …
How much of our pain…
How much of our hurt our confusion…
How much of our unhealthy relationships, our addictions, our lack of peace..

has its roots in our sins
In our pride
And in our selfishness

Only Jesus Christ
Can reach in to the confusion of our lives…
Only Jesus Christ can reach into the darkness of our doubts our fears…
Only Jesus Christ can save us from our self imposed exile.

For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son that all who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life.

Ours is a God who just won’t
who just can’t give up on us.
He can’t give up because love never gives up.

Amen

Third Sunday of Lent 2009 (RCIA) Year A

Readings for this Sunday

He was tired and hot and hungry
He had traveled a long way
All he wanted to do was sit down and rest a moment

But there she was confidently carrying her bucket to the well.
He knew her.
He knew her story.
He knew her fears.
He knew that her confidence was a façade to cover and protect her.
He knew everything about her and he loved her
He loved her because he was God
Tired or not
Samaritan or not
Woman or not
Stranger or not
He reached out to her
He is God…

But he knew that if he approached her too quickly it would be another wound another hurt.
He knew that if he approached her too quickly she would run and hide that was her normal “modus operandi” when she was afraid
find someone else.
He knew that if he held up the mirror and showed her clearly who she had become it would be too painful

So even though he was tired and thirsty and just wanted to sit
He approached her
He took the first step
He broke all the rules…
don’t talk to samaritains
don’t talk to women.
Don’t take water from someone who is unclean

He approached her humbly asking a favor
He began to establish a simple relationship with her
He bantered with her
And she began to trust him

She began to trust him so much that she
even challenged him.

“How are you going to give me water you don’t even have a bucket”
She said with a little swagger
She has let her guard down

And when the moment was right
with a few simple words he showed her who she had become

There was no anger or self righteousness
There was no tone of disappointment in his voice
He didn’t say “Look how you let me down”
He simply listed her sins

He showed her all of the desperate compromises she had made
And she did not run away

She began to hope
Maybe she could start anew
Maybe she could be forgiven
Maybe she could offer sacrifice
That’s probably why she wanted a clarification.
Where should she go to make amends to offer sacrifice
in Jerusalem or on Mount Horeb?

She asks him what her next step should be
He doesn’t get pulled into the polemic between the Jews and the Samaritians

His answer is simple

“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.”

You can find God where ever you want
He tells her
Where you are there God is.

The conversation continues and she tells him that she hopes for the Messiah
She longs to understand “He will tell us everything”
And now after all of that preparation
He reveals himself to her
“I am he the one who is speaking to you”

Jesus gently shows her who she has become and reveals himself to her.

When the disciples returned they begged him to eat something
And he responded I have food about which you do not know
What was this food
When did he eat..
His food was loving that woman at the well
His food was building up a relationship with her
His food was restoring her to hope

So moved by his compassion and his interest in her
she does not just go back to her daily life or keep thinking of her own needs

She goes back to her village, her people and she brings them to him
How did she get them there to walk out to the well ?
She must have begged them
She must have pleaded with them
She must have cajoled them,
Somehow she shook them out of their daily routine

Like he had done for her
They all came

And after a few days they also believed
No longer because of what she had said but
Because they too had met him.

You know it seems like a simple story at first glance
It seems like normal moment in a normal day
A thirsty tired man asks for some water
Yet it is so much more

God is always looking for a way in.
Every single soul is precious in his sight
He is never scandalized by our wrongs
He really does long for us to have life, life to the full in Him

The characters in this Gospel are simple
God who loves
Broken humanity who dares to hope in that love again
And once healed brings others to it

All of us go to the well
All of us go through life doing the things we have to do
Some are tedious and monotonous like drawing water
Study
Laundry
Cleaning your room (Some of you don’t do that too offen)
Going to class

At different times in our lives
All of need to be forgiven
Actually almost all of us need to be forgiven constantly

Do we ever look at who we have become
Or What compromises we have made

Hope needs restored
No matter what our sins might be.
Will we, do we, dare to hope again
Do we dare to believe in God love

When God revealed himself to the woman
She was so much in awe that she brought others to him

Who have we brought to God
Who have we helped accept the mercy and forgiveness that God so longs to give

Where should we pray on this mountain or in Jerusalem

“You can find God anywhere”
Where you are there he is….

Most of the time He finds you..
ask the woman at the well

2nd Sunday of Lent Year B - 2009

At first glance the first reading doesn’t make sense.
God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, his beloved son.

God obviously knew how the story would end so the test was not for His benefit.

That means that the test had to be for Abraham’s benefit. Abraham had to understand that you could not go wrong trusting and obeying God.

Abraham had come a long way… there were moments his his past where he had doubted God and God’s will.

Now God was asking him for the ultimate test.
God was asking him for radical abandonment.
God was asking him to sacrifice his son.

In the second reading from the Letter to the Romans.
Paul reminds us that God is for us and that nothing else or no one else can be against us.

And the proof of this incredible truth can be found in the fact that God did not spare His Son.

God who is all good all loving all just… did not rewrite the rules for Himself.

Humanity owed a debt to justice a debt to goodness.

And since we couldn’t pay it because He loved us God, paid it for us

He paid our debt with the blood of his Son on the cross.

radical abandonment.

In the Gospel Jesus had just told his disciples that he will be rejected by the elders, suffer terribly and be killed.

This was exactly the opposite of what the Disciples hoped would happened.

They had hoped that Jesus would become the leader of the people.

The had hoped that he would be respected by all and help rid Israel of the Romans.

It was very difficult for them to let go of their dreams… like it was difficult for Abraham to consider sacrificing his son.

Like it was difficult for God to pay the price of our sins with the blood of his Son.

The disciples hearts were so hardened.
It was so hard was it for them to let go of their preconceived dreams that Jesus had to take desperate measures.

He had to take them up on a mountain top and reveal His glory to them so that they would not loose hope.

Only with a lot of effort and time were they finally able to embrace the way that God intended to save humanity…. with sacrificial love of His Son.

Radical abandonment Abraham tied up his son and was about to kill him.

Radical abandonment God did not spare his Son

Radical abandonment Jesus would have to suffer and give his life for our salvation.

Radical abandonment the disciples would have to let go of their dreams of grandeur and also embrace the road to the cross.

Abraham finally was able to trust God enough… to Love God enough… to sacrifice is Son.

Perfect love, God’s love enabled God to surrender even the life of His Son for our salvation

Jesus loved us so much he was able to die for us. It wasn’t easy don’t for get the garden of Gethsemane.

The disciples loved Jesus enough that they would eventually also surrender their lives rather than renounce their faith in him.

The readings today all point to one common theme.

Love is all about surrendering.
Radical abandonment

When I say I love you I am also saying I surrender myself I abandon myself to you… even my desires, my dreams, my hope, my plans… and even my life if you need it.

A long time ago a Dad whose Son was in big trouble said to me… “I’m not happy now but I love him so much still I would step in front of a train for him and thank him for the privilege of doing it “

I have repeated that over and over again.

Love is not a sentiment.
Love is not just a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Love means letting go and it means letting our lives to drop from our hands.

Love means radical abandonment..

If radical abandonment had to be a part of Abraham’s Life and if God had to abandon his Son for our salvation.

And if Jesus had to radically abandon his life

And if the Disciples would eventually had to abandon their hopes and their dreams and their lives

And if all the Saints had to abandon their lives to God in faithful loving obedience to God’s will.

And if the martyrs had to surrender their lives.

Why or how do we somehow convince ourselves that radical abandonment does not have to be a part of our lives.

What keeps us from loving?
What do we have to let go of?
What do we have to surrender?

Love is not easy if we think it is we are not loving

Love is Radical abandonment that’s at least one of the many messages the Word of God calls us to reflect on today.

Amen

Photo found with google images Author: Azlin Ahmad

Pray as you go ....

I don't know if anyone is more hyper that me. I find it hard to just sit. I often say I only have two speeds fast forward and sleep... I enjoyed this little prayer time this morning maybe you will too.

I found this a long time ago then lost it... it found it's way back into my live via the website of the Diocese of Juneau Alaska... long story. Every morning the Irish Jesuits podcast a simple meditation on the Gospel of the day with music. It takes about 4 minutes... here is the link for today's meditation.. I found it most helpful in my spiritual life maybe you will. The main site's link is http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

God Bless you all...

Ubuntu ?

Last year when we visited Kigoma Tanzania on a service trip. Bro. Stan a Brother of Charity spoke frankly about their need. He spoke about the need for books lots of them especially in areas like social work and nursing and education. He spoke about the need for computers and information systems that could connect Kigoma to Libraries and give the people there access to good professional journals.

He requested that we send them a shipping container filled with these essentials. I have to admit the project seems stalled. There is a committee and interest but we just can't seem to get beyond stage one. It is frustrating for me I am sure it is also frustrating for Bro. Stan.

I have to say though that we made just a little progress this weekend. CUA buys new computers every year. The hardware requirements of Windows just keep growing and sometimes a hard drive or a mother board or something goes bad. The university has give us access to all of the used computers some are in really good shape, and we have been trying to figure out how we could use them. We don't have the money to provide Microsoft liscenses for all of these machines but we have explored open source operating systems. These are programs that people work on together and provide free of charge. These last two days I have been "playing" perhaps "fighting" is a better word with Ubuntu it is a free linux based operating system with which runs Open Office a Microsoft Office clone. It is really stable and did I mention it is free and viruses are not really a big issue for linux based machines. This is huge because it brings us a small step closer to reconditioningthe best of those used computers and sending them to places that could really use them.

Right now I am typing this on a Intrepid Ibex machine (that the name for version (8.10 of Ubuntu)

We shall see.... If anyone one knows anything about Ubuntu and wants to help let me know.

Peace...

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