The Heights of Faith

Do you ever read the Bible and think, "man, this stuff is unreal!" Think about the time Peter walked on water, or when Jesus raised Lazarus, or maybe when Gideon took 300 men into battle and won! In our modern scientific age (granted I am a big believer in science) we have lost the radical faith of our forefathers. The author of the Letter of the Hebrews says, "faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) What an amazing challenge from the Word of God! Lets dive into this.

First what does this NOT mean? This is not a rejection of reason or the rational. No! To do such a task would be a rejection of God, a rejection of humanity - God's greatest creation. To venerate reason is something truly human and truly divine. The gift of reason is the gift that makes men and women most like God. Without the gift of reason, we act solely from instinct, we have not control of what we are do, we are just mindless animals acting purely from emotions. Okay, maybe we do act from emotions sometimes, but then we feel bad, or we start to feel the effects of our actions. Okay - maybe you aren't convinced that you are made for something more. Think about this - why are you so darn unsatisfied in this world? Why do you yearn for something that you can't seem to reason? The awkwardness we feel in this world - could it be pointing that we are made for the next?

This is where faith comes in. Yes, believe in reason. I am amazed at many people in the world that did not know God added great things of value through the gift of reason. But what do they compare to the saints. Helen Keller is great, but compared to Mother Teresa, she just doesn't measure up. So its not about competition. You are right, that is not the point. But think about the faith of Mother Teresa. She served millions and millions. She prayed several hours every day! She was the most respected role models among little girls in the 90s in the US. What made her different? What made her so unique. She believed that God exists! She believed that He sent his only Son, Jesus Christ who lived, died and raised from the dead for all! She believed in the Holy Spirit who guides the Church and the hearts of every Christian! This is the motivation of a saint. Faith in the God-man, who is the center of time and space.

This faith will take men and women of great reason to new heights that only those who know Jesus Christ can go . Yes, Jesus is a real person and Yes Jesus is God! Have you battled with this thought with all your heart? Have you sought the truth will all of your being? Are you still unsatisfied? I know that my longing in this world will be answered in the next, because of the gift of faith! What a great gift we have in Jesus Christ and His Church!

Duluth: One Thing Have I Asked

During my recent travels to the University of Minnesota Duluth, I found myself in the midst of a Spirit driven people that were seeking God's face. However, as most university settings there is much animosity towards those who try to walk in the ways of the Lord. This sign (to the right) was posted in the hallways of the school, it simply states, "Believe in God? Neither do we!" A young woman saw this sign in the hallway on a Sunday evening around 8 pm and started to cry. She wasn't sure what to think; where to go - she felt all alone. And at that moment, she heard music coming from the auditorium , just up the stairwell. It sounded like church music -she was being called by the Lord God, in whom she desired to know. She walked in and found out that it was a Catholic Mass. Being a baptized Catholic, it had a familiar feel to her, but she still felt like she didn't belong. Then a gentle and caring face came up to her and introduced herself to the young woman and invited to come to Mass and sit up front with her. The young woman was given great consolation that the Lord Jesus did exist during Mass and in fact said that she was coming back next week to Mass with her parents and her friends. Her exact words were, "I was checked out, but now I am definitely checked back in."

Romans 8:28 says, "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose." The Skeptic Society at University of Minnesota Duluth made a sign to help those who doubt, doubt more and yet this sign caused a young woman to ask some the most profound questions of her life. Why am I here? Who is God? Who am I? Is there a purpose if there is no God? These questions brought her to tears, yet it is when we are lowest that the Lord God comes to us and picks us up, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17). God wants us to ask questions, he wants us to seek Him with all we have. He does ask us to become perfect, but we cannot do that without Him, "we can do nothing without Him" (John 15:5).

But if we seek God, we start to find Him in places we never dreamed of. In the the dark shadows in the valley of death. And when we seek God, we become less afraid, because we start to love. our love is empowered by this seeking and "perfect love cast out all fear" (1 John 4:18). This is the love that this young woman found in Duluth on that cold Sunday evening in an auditorium before our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. She found the answers to all her questions. Yes her prayer became that of the "One Thing!" Let us Pray with her and the Psalmist

"One Thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord.
and to inquire in his temple." (Psalm 27:4)

Check out all of Fr. Mike Schmitz's homilies on their podcast.

How He Loves

After a long day at work and some studying for school, I decided to look up a music video of my current favorite song, "How He loves" by the David Crowder Band. The more I reflect upon the lyrics of the song with the passion in which it is sung, I can't but help but be drawn to prayer. I am not usually the guy who stops his car after parking in the parking lot at the grocery story to then close his eyes and start to weep because he understands the great love the Father has for him. But as I was driving home today, this was the very experience I found myself having. "How He Loves" was playing on the radio and I was moved with great peace and tears. I had a moment of clarity in the midst of life's confusion. "Nothing else mattered! God loves me!"

And don't get me wrong, I am not the kind of hold hands and dance around Jesus is a nice guy sort of dude. I believe Jesus is the Son of God and the Lord of my life. I know that He is the great warrior sent to battle death and Satan, which He defeated upon Calvary by the act of loving obedience to the Father on the Cross! Now, in my room, with my guitar in hand, I start to play the song that brought me to such a great heights earlier today. And then, the Holy Spirit speaks...I remember the verse that Father Randy Timmerman preached on so long ago (3 years now) when I was a missionary on campus at UW-Madison. I ran to my Bible and opened up the word of God and read these words, "And Jesus looking upon him loved him." (Mark 10:21a) Yes, The young man that knelt fore Jesus and called Jesus, "Good Teacher" The young man that knelt before him and said that he had kept the commandments. Jesus gazed upon him with love. I went back to playing guitar and praying and picturing myself in the scene. Jesus is looking upon me, He is looking upon you with Great love!

I thought about this young man, that knelt before Jesus. He wanted so badly to be justified for being good...for playing by the rules. I could hear him say, "Haven't I done enough...What more can I do?" Jesus demands him to give everything and to come and follow him. Jesus desired to walk closely with this young man, closely like he was with Peter, Matthew, John, and the other apostles. Jesus wanted this man to live the fullness life in total communion with Him. But the young man, even knowing that he was made for more, could not grasp the courage to follow Jesus. But as the young man walked away, Jesus did not remove his loving glance, the gaze that reveals hearts. Jesus would not water down the Gospel and make it some second rate version, though. He knew all he could do was look upon the young man with love and invite that young man to Follow Him! It would not be long that Jesus would look with love from the Cross that think of that young man and die there on the Cross for Him. It is the gaze of the Cross that truly revealing the loving glance of Jesus Christ! This same loving look that this young man received from Jesus is the same one you and I receive from Him. Oh, How he loves us!

Compete Well For the Faith

So maybe you never read the Bible or maybe you are like the way I use to be and not realize that the readings at Mass are from the Bible. (It is a running joke with my non-Catholic friends that Catholics don't read the Bible) I am usually struck by a word or two during the Mass from the Scripture readings. Today, I was struck by one phrase in particularly which comes from 1 Timothy 6:12, "Compete well for the faith." Why did just a simple phrase speak so deeply to my heart. There are two reasons.

The first reason is the reminder that I need to have a sporting spirit about everything in life, even my life of faith (which actually impacts everything that I believe) Our lives are full of ups and downs and there is going to be temptations to be discouraged and feel like a failure. I remember playing football in high schools on the offensive line. Sometimes I knocked the guy across from me on his back and the running back would be able to breeze by the hole I created with ease and other times I would miss the guy completely and the running back would be tackled for a loss. (Boy were those incidents embarrassing on film) But after that moment happened that moment didn't matter anymore. The only thing that matter was the decision that I would make next. Would I beat myself up, or would I get back up and try to win the next down. This is what I am referring to as the sporting spirit. St Josemaria comments on this topic by saying, "Tackling serious matters with a sporting spirit gives very good results. Perhaps I have lost several games? Very well, but — if I persevere — in the end I shall win." (Furrow 169)

The second thing that was brought to my mind is that life is not easy, especially the Christian life. But who said it was going to be easy. First I am not sure of any great person in this world that did not have to struggle and persevere for something. Things are handed to us on a silver platter. Think about your own life experiences. When do things taste the sweetest? The greatest victory for a sports team is an upset of the number 1 team or bouncing back after a disappointing loss. It is those who learn to persevere through what seems to be apparent failure to make it to their end in joyful pursuit! Remember that Michael Jordan commercial

Our failures will ultimately lead to our successes if we tackling them with what Josemaria calls the Sporting Spirit or Stephen Covey refers to as the Habit of Proactivity. And we must always remember the words of St Paul to the Romans, "We know that in everything God works for good with thos who love him , who are called according to his purpose," (Romans 8:28)

Each Moment Matters

Today I had one of those awkward moments that most of will partake in at sometime in our lives of riding with a complete stranger in the elevator. This is happens quite often in my job since 1) I am a missionary and part of my job is meeting complete strangers (however I only have one degree of separation with all people due to my good friend Jesus)2) My office is at the top of a five story office building.

The conversation wasn't long and it wasn't really about anything of importance. I try to open it up by talking about how it is easy to forget the beautiful sunshine outside when we spend all day in the office building. The man concurred but instantly turned to reality that winter was not far away. I told him that I was moving out here from much closer places and I wasn't too worried "Beep" We had gone two floors and both parted to go our separate ways.

But being the kind of person that I am, I started to think about this encounter a little bit more and the situation that we find ourselves in each day. I got thinking about this man and his situation of not even thinking about enjoying the outdoors while the sun was shinning bright and it isn't too cold outside, but the fact that winter is almost here when fall has not quite started to bring sick feeling to my stomach like Christmas decoration in stories before Halloween has even commenced.

Lets step back in Philosophical history to a man by the name of Henri Heidegger. Heideggar was an existentialist and one of his primary principles was what he called authenticity and authenticity is the understanding of the experience of something in its present moment but seeing it as it is ordered toward death. That is a mouth full! Think about it this way. We come to know something, say moment, a ray of sunshine coming in from above the dances through the leaves of the trees and sprinkles down upon the locks of your hair and your fell the heat and your experience the sunshine, but don't just experience this, but understand that the experience will pass away to coldness and death! Now I am not proposing that this man in the elevator understood this philosophical principle or anything to do with Henri Heide-who?, but he has been effected by the the progressive thought of our culture and seemed to walk away without even an openess to taste the beauty of the sunshine this day.

Now, Heidegger may be dancing with some truths, but he not putting forth a true Christian view. The Christian view of experience is much more human. It is not something that just stays in our minds and hasn't be effected by the past and won't effect the future. In fact in every moment we are able to reach the heights of experience, to transcend the material into the immaterial through our thoughts and ideas, and maybe even a conversation with the highest of immaterial beings, God! Now let me take a step back, what do I mean by material, I mean things that you can sense through taste, hearing, smell, touch, and see! But we can't see our thought, we can't see our ideas, but we have these immaterial thoughts all the time. And it is proof that they are immaterial because the more we learn, our heads don't get bigger, but it seems there is a spiritual element to knowledge, meaning that it is can't be measured by pure matter or material things.

This must be why St Paul referred to faith with the Greek word pistis , which mean knowledge. Faith is a knowledge of God. It is this very faith that gives us awe at every moment that God is our midst, no matter if we are experiencing a sunrise, a traffic jam, an opera, a bad meeting, or on our knees in the Church. Knowledge of God, is faith! But this faith is not separated from our reason like make of the followers of Luther started to proclaim (and even Luther himself). There is no faith without reason. Think about it, what do we have faith in...well maybe you will say Jesus, but where do you get the understanding that Jesus is who he is...the Scriptures right (and Tradition for those Catholics out there, like myself, but you cannot trust revelation without reason, because Jesus did not try to bypass into our minds a thought of him, but entered the drama of human history, so that we can say we St. John "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life." (1 John 1:1) The revelation of Jesus in the incarnation becomes the point where knowledge becomes faith. This faith in the God-Man shapes all of human history and each moment of our lives.

We are called to live in the present moment and the present moment must be lived with God. There are so many temptations to just be temporary or just pass through or get by in daily life that we forgot to see God acting in our lives through its common events and the people we meet, the Word of God in Scripture and the Holy Spirit speaking in our hearts. This is the true gift of wisdom! Today, meditate how God is working in your life. Do you only see things ordered to death? Or do you see the connection between death and life? What will you experience today that will dive you in deeper to the eternal hope of glory with God the father!

I close with the words from a Carmelite monk who writes in a book named Divine Intimacy:

The gift of wisdom leads us to peace: the interior peace of the soul who, having tasted God, gives itself to Him without reserve, in complete surrender to His divine will; the serene peace of one who, seeing God in all things, accepts the hardships of life without being disturbed, adoring God's providence in all.

Findng the Right Words to Speak

It is easy in the world of campus ministry to get caught up in our own agendas, hopes, and dreams for a student’s life. I have caught myself many times trying to find the right words to say in a one-on-one with a student, a small group meeting, or speaking to a large group. I believe that our Lord wants to use us to speak into the lives of our students and He has given us His very own words to help us in doing so.

Severely years ago I was able to read the Second Vatican Council Document Dei Verbum which is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. I was struck by a sentence in section 21 of the document that says, “The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body.” I thought about the reverence that I offered our Lord in the Eucharist through genuflecting and adoration and found myself in great need to increase my devotion to the Scriptures. I wrestled through my bag and finally came upon my Bible, opened it up and fell upon my knees to reverence the Presence of our Lord in the Divine Pages. I started to dedicate time to pray with, study, and listen to the Scriptures.

Then I started to realize that by bathing in the Scriptures that the words I use and the conversation I would have were filled with Scriptural reference. It wasn’t that I was quoting the Bible left and right to people and using Chapter and verse notations to those I spoke with but that the words that are inspired by God started to become my own words. Also, I found the words of Scripture applying to every aspect of my life, my relationships, my work, and my recreation. I thought if the Scriptures could do this for me that they would be able to pierce the hearts of many others, as well.

Through my study of Scripture, I came across several verses in the Scriptures that spoke of the powerful affect of the Word of God. When we approach the Scriptures and open our hearts to them, the Lord will enter our hearts in a radical way that opens us up to our deepest desires. . Hebrews 4:12 says, “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” This is what we desire to do with the students we work with on campus. We want to bring the words of God to them so they will find real answers and encouragement in the challenges they face daily. There are many ways we can bring these words into our work with college students. I would like to propose three simple ways that anyone could use on any campus.

One of the main ways we can have students enter into the Scriptures is through weekly Bible studies. These small groups give students a chance to dive deep into the Word of God and see how the inspired Word of God is still living and applicable in their daily living. I remember that as a college student there was nothing I look forward to more than the weekly Bible study that I was in and the one that I lead because during these hours I found myself in a front row seat to seeing God work miracles in people’s lives. I remember working with a student at UW-Madison that after being in Bible study for one semester decided to make the heroic decision to stop abusing alcohol. After he made this decision, he found the strength to continue by his daily prayer with the Scriptures, which lead him to participate more deeply in the Sacraments. Less than a year after meeting this student, he was not only drinking deeply from the Word of God, but he was sharing it with his roommates and fellow classmates. The Scriptures can truly have a powerful effect on people!

As students progress in their knowledge on the Scriptures, they find themselves called to dive deeper into them through prayer. One of the ancient ways of praying with the Scriptures is called lectio divina, which is Latin for “sacred reading.” This is when we take a paragraph from the Scriptures and enter deeply into the text. The Lord will give us a word or a phrase to pray over and speak to us in our hearts about what this word or phrase means in our lives. Pope Benedict XVI is known for promoting this way of praying. He said during an address on September 26, 2005, “If lectio divina is promoted with efficacy, I am convinced that it will produce a new springtime in the Church.” This is because the art of praying with the Scriptures enters us into a heart to heart conversation with our Lord Jesus and when we begin to speak to Jesus from our heart, our hearts our transformed and when our hearts our transformed, we become saints. And saints transform the world! For more reading on the subject of Lectio Divina, I would recommend Tim Gray’s book, Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina.

Finally, I would suggest that we work with our students in the art of Scripture Memory. The ancient world was known for their knack of memorization, but in our own advanced time we hear the complaint that people don’t have very good memories. I think we are wrong in saying that we don’t have very good memories. Most people that tell me they don’t have good memories have hundreds of songs memorized that they hear on the radio and just as many movie and television quotations. This is not bad in itself, but it does point to the fact that we do have good memories; we are just memorizing different things than Scripture. Once I was speaking to a group about the need to minister to our college students and I was able to speak from the heart about many Scripture that I have memorized from my own personal study of the Word of God. Afterwards, the group commented on my ability to memorize the Scriptures and how it seemed I really believed what I spoke. Then one woman commented, “We are what we speak!” This is why we should memorize the Scriptures. The Word of God will become part of who we are and our entire beings will be transformed by the inspired words of Scripture. I have found Rich Cleveland’s Catholic Topical Memory System to be an extremely helpful tool in the memorization of the Scriptures. It can be done in both a one-on-one setting and a Bible study format.

The Word of God can transform our lives. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” This is the goal of the Christian walk and what we are attempting, by the grace of God, to do on college campuses. I sense a hunger on the college campus, a hunger that cannot be satisfied by power, greed, sex, or money. It is a hunger that can only be fed by the everlasting Word of God. Let us turn to the Scriptures and find the words inspired by God Himself, so when we work with students we will not use our own words but the words of He who has sent us.

Marriage: The Art of Giving Oneself Away

"I take you into my arms and I love you. I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you. "

- St John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom name literally meant John "The Golden Tongue." He has proven to live up to his name sake once again with these words on marriage from his ancient Homily on the Letter to the Ephesians. These words were placed on the back of the program from the wedding that I attended this past weekend. I remember when the groom first heard these words as they were preached from the pulpit one Sunday morning. I remember him and I going to the computer to look up where they had come from and finding the esteemed homily from one the Church Fathers. Yes, the Church has always placed marriage in high esteem! It is no some second-rate vocation for those who can't cut the celibate life but one for those called to bring the light of Jesus Christ into the domestic and ordinary world.

Matrimony is the only sacrament that is based on a natural foundation. Marriage has existed since the beginning. Man and Woman were made for each other to become for each other a total gift that would be given to the other. It is in marriage that we as humans are able to imitate God, because marriage is a community of Love which is mirror of who God is. It is probably better to say that God is family and that we are "like family" It is in God that we understand the meanings of family and community.

God is a Trinity of Persons, meaning that his one divine nature has three person perfectly existing and acting with it. God is different than us (which makes sense because if he was just like us he would seize to be God) His nature is infinite, meaning He has always be here...there is not beginning or end with God, He just is! With us we know that there is a beginning,, that is what we call creation or birth (or conception if you want to get real technical). So God is different than us. And in this infinite inner life of the Trinity there exist a perfect gift of persons. The Father gives Himself completely to the Son and the Son in return gives himself completely to the Father (Remember the Crucified Son on Calvary) and the love that forms between these two infinite persons we give the name Holy Spirit.

Now no analogy is perfect, nor is comprehending fully the mystery of the Trinity even possible for mere mortals like us, but when we turn to the family we start to see this life giving love of the Trinity. Yes, the husband gives himself totally to his wife and the wife in return gives herself totally to her husband and often their love is so powerful and life-giving that nine months later we have to give that love a name!

Now back to where we began. Marriage is about falling head over heels in love with another that you are able to give your entire life to without reserves. There is a great trust needed for marriage, a trust in God....it is in this trust that love cast out fear (1 John 4:18). It is in this trust that man and woman rise above their weaknesses and their selfish and learn to lay down their lives for each other. In the Community of Love, self does not exist. The hard times do not seem so hard and the joys of life are so sweet. It is the duty, no the desire of the lover to see his or her spouse in the eternal vision with our God face to face. This is what the labor of love on this earth is working towards.

I love the words of the Golden Tongue, "For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us." It is here that we find great food for though in our own lives. Do we live life in such a way that we desire to love people in this life so that we might be with them in the next? In the next life (or better state the fullness of life or the continued life, for we are not reincarnated like some might think) we will be face to face with our Creator who loves us with a love that will overwhelm us like a mighty river! And this is why we must put the people we love, particularly those we are called to married "above all things" in this life.

Our lives are not our own. Remember the words of Jesus, "Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life, will preserve it." (Luke 17:33) This doesn't mean our lives will be filled with dull images of dry and colorless drama, but remember that in the Community of love, self does not exist....This is precisely Jesus point. We lose our "self" by giving our "self" to another. It is in this pure and noble gift, which many of us will call marriage that we find our "self" and not to mention become saints!

And so it begins...

In reality, all moments have extreme signifiance. In fact, if we considered the ramifications of each given moment then we might start to think more before we acted. But this is not the point I would I like to talk about. There millions and millions people in the U.S. that consider this time of year as the beginning of their year. Yes, school is starting in many places all over the country. Some schools start tomorrow and they will be the first of many that will commence during the next several weeks.

It is a great time of year! I love watching the high school football practices and seeing them get ready for the Friday Night lights. Seeing the cross country team run mile after mile in prep for the first big meet. And who can forget all the back to school prices at the stores around town...you gotta love the sells! But the moment that I would like to pause and ponder over is the moment of that many young Catholic missionaries are going to campuses all throughout the country.

They are spending time praying and strategizing with their teams asking the Lord Jesus to send his angels to the campus and prepare it for their coming. They are calling upon the Holy Spirit and asking that He move the hearts of many college students this year, especially in the next weeks. Most college students find their friends, join their clubs, and get in a routine within the first 6 weeks of campus. And FOCUS missionaries will be a part of many college students lives this year.

In our day, we have forgotten our story. We are part of the greatest story ever told. It is a glorious, tragic, and uplifting. There are heroes and villians and life and death! We will laugh at certain points in this story and cry at other points. This story is the story of our race and our relationship with our Creator, God. People say, "yeah, but don't a lot of college student not bel'eve in God." That may be true, but it does not stop Him from existing. And not only existing but truly living!

There was a great conversation I had with a young man at UW-Madison last year. I was on the campus mall in front of the Union. We were passing out holy cards of the image of Divine Mercy. It was then that a young man came up to me and said, "I see what you are doing!" I thought to myself, "He sees that I am passing out holy cards and that I desire him to know God's love and mercy and embrace it whole-heartly." But he did not see what I was doing. He begun to raise he voice at me and repeat over and over, "Your book is 2000 years old! your book is 2000 years old." I asked him what he meant and if he wanted to talk about it. But the more I approached him and tried to have a conversation, the faster he walked. I let him go. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to me. I saw him 20 minutes later on the street and I approached him and we started to talk about what he studied and what he thought we were doing out front of the union passing out holy cards. Finally, he asked me if I ever doubted. I said yes! but I continued, "Yes, I doubt, but I don't think one who believes can escape doubt and at the same time, I am not sure if a doubter can escape belief." If you are a one who doubts then one day you will wake up and start to doubt your doubts. The real adventure is belief. He accepted this critique well and we exchanged info and went along our ways. We never did see each other again, but I pray that a seed was planted in this young man's heart.

There are going to be thousands of these stories this year all over of the country because of the radical availability of missionaries on university campuses. It is a wonderful time of year and I am proud to serve these great men and women who serve on the frontlines of the New Evangelization. Tomorrow I begin my travels for the year with a trip to the Minnesota. Who knows the conversations to come in the next year or the people I will meet. I entrust the future to our Lord Jesus and pray to live firmly in the present giving Him all I have.

An Ode to My Old Man

This past weekend marked a significant event in the course of history. My dad turned the big five-O (50 in layman's terms). We had a big ole party with over 60 people in attendance for this extraordinary event. There was lots of food and fun! (Of course, I am not sure if my mom and dad were able to eat anything until people left because of all the hosting they were doing).

My dad is the youngest of 8 and during each siblings 50th B-day celebration there is a book full of stories and pictures put together. It was fun to watch dad read the stories while we all each others company as the night drew to an end.

There are so many stories to tell about my dad. There is so much that I appreciated and love about him. He is my hero and my model is many ways of my life. He is the reason I learned to play guitar and write music. I remember that he would sing to me as a child because I could never sleep at night, but if Dad came in and sang his own rendition of "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor, I slept like a rock! I wrote a song for him several years ago for Christmas. What a beautiful moment that was to perform that song for him on Christmas Day.

I remember jumping in his arms after winning a soccer game as a kid and him scold me for being too competitive when we would lose a baseball game. I remember going to REO Speedwago and STYX with him and the way he smiled during his favorite songs (which became some of my favorite songs as well) It is tough to forget the time we climbed that waterfall in Jamica and the all the Spades games we played up in Canada that summer that we went fishing with Papa and Parker. The time he helped me move to New Mexico and what a trip we had a year later to Hastings, NE. Who could forget the times we thought the Chiefs would win it all and the good times we have had going to Royals games even though we knew they never had a chance.

The movies we have seen, the times we have went to Mass together, the sports we have played and watched, the laughs we have had, the times tears filled our eyes, the people we have met and the ones we only wish we could meet. I can't thank God enough for the great dad that he has given me to be my model and my guide. As Papa and you always says, "Keep Smiling." I love you, Dad and I know you love me!

St. Paul's thoughts on Fundraising

This summer I took a class on the Letters of St Paul through the Augustine Institute. One of the assignments that I have been working on for the class was to a write a paper on one of the themes that St Paul goes after in his letters. So after some prayer and thought, I decided to write a paper of St Paul's thoughts on raising financial support.

As I started to research this subject, I found myself immersed in the life of a man that traveled throughout the entire known world and loved to write letters to the communities that he had established along the way. St Paul is one of the most committed men that has ever lived. What is amazing that he appealed for financial support to most of these communities in his letters.

Since this is not the paper that I am writing (if you want it I can send it to you in September when I am done), I will only highlight a few key areas that St Paul found important.

1) St Paul believed in partnership of the Gospel, which led people to give to being a part his missionary endeavors. The word for partnership is "koinonia" in the Greek. This has many meanings such as community, fellowship, participation, partner and even is the word that describes the highest of living in the Christian life - that is participating in the Mass.

We see St Paul's understanding of Partnership most played out in his letters to the Philippians and his letter to Philemon. In Philippians, it is their partnership with Paul in the Gospel that leads them to give to him. We see in Phil 4:15-20 a type of receipt that is given to them saying that their payment is now paid in full! In Philemon, we see Paul talk about his partnership with Philemon to ask for one of the most expensive request that one of Philemon's slaves be released. This all leads us to see that Paul's understanding of fundraising is personal and mission based

2) All the communities that Paul served gave him money to "send him on his way" This was part of of the understanding the early Christian communities had. It wasn't a "service charge" for we know that Paul gave the "gospel free of charge" It was a sending to a new mission ground, a way to support the missions. It is a lower form of the participation that we already talked about but a way to see the Gospel spread, none the less.


3) Paul did not ask money from people that he was still evangelizing. Why does Paul work in Corinth and Thessalonica? This is because the communities there were still not converted and hadn't entered into a partnership with him. It could be argued that Paul was receiving money from other communities during this time as well as working as a tent maker.

4) Paul saw giving as a need for all believers because it helped them grow in their faith life. This is very explicit in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. He is calling upon people to give freely and cheerfully because he knows that this will help them grow in their own relationship with Christ. We even see him speak of this relationship in Acts 20:35, where he quotes the words of Jesus, "It is better to a give than receive."

There is a brief introduction to where giving to mission causes and the Church come in the Bible.

If you want to join my mission support team, please click here. I would love to have many of join me as the early Christians joined St Paul.

August 4th - A Day to Honor Our Priest

There has been a lot of good news in the Church about the priesthood as of recent. Vocations in many dioceses are on the way up and many young men are making the sacrifices to become these heroic role models that the world needs. FOCUS has seen, as one of our great fruits, many of its students go off to study for the priesthood. We have seen 162 men from our Bible studies in the past 11 years join the seminary and start their studies for the priesthood. I personally have worked with 8 men that are now studying to be priest.

August 4th marks the Great Feast day of St John Vianney, the first parish priest to be canonized a saint. This year happens to be the year of the priest because the Church is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the death of the great saint. Now, when I say celebrating death, it really means life, because death to a saint is really a birth into eternal life with Jesus Christ.

The Vatican has announced tomorrow to be a day where we can receive a plenary indulgence for praying for priest to the High Priest Jesus Christ. A plenary indulgence is grace granted by God for those who have total contrition for their sins, go to Mass, and to Confession and finally pray for the Holy Father's intentions, where all that person's temporal punishment due to sin would be forgotten. Click here for more information on indulgences.

Even for us that are not ordained priest should rejoice in this day and during this year. It is the priest that brings us Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, that Jesus uses as His ambassador to forgive our sins and save our souls in Confession. It is the priest that can give a person anointing and Viaticum on their death beds and send a soul to God. Yes, the priesthood is part of God's plan for salvation from the beginning. We see this in the Garden of Eden when Adam is asks to "shamar" the garden. You might have read this as "keep" in Genesis 2:15, but the word shamar is the same word used for the duties of the Levites in the book of Leviticus. Yes, the Old Man Adam was a priest, and so was Jesus Christ, the New Adam.

But there was a three-fold priesthood in the Old-Testament that was fulfilled in Christ. The Levites had three levels of the priesthood. The Levitical people being the broadest level, then the ministerial priesthood, which were the ones that offered the sacrifices in the Temple, and then the High Priest, who was the only one allowed to go into what they called the Holy of Holies. This has been fulfilled in the Three-fold priesthood of the New Testament: The priesthood of every person, what we theologians (I use that term lightly in accounts to me) call the baptismal priesthood - This is the priesthood of every believer in Jesus Christ, because we are all called to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1). Then there is the ministerial priesthood today. These are the ordained priest, like John Vianney, who offer the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, and finally there is the High Priest, Jesus Christ!

Please pray for Priest this day and wish your local priest a Happy Feast Day!

My One and Only Constant

This summer has proven to be a summer of great trial with need of perseverance from all the travel and transition that I have been going through. I have been living out of my suitcase for over two months now as I have traveled from Madison to Champaign to Minnesota then back to Champaign then back to Madison to Kansas City to Denver and now back in Kansas City. Due to the mobility of that we are privileged to have in our modern world, I have found myself traveling thousands of miles with ease, but this kind of travel starts to take a lot out of one.

But I have found a constant in the midst of the hustle and bustle of travel and the quasi-frustration of being frazzled by not having my own space or a place to put up my books and place my clothes. It is the Blessed Sacrament that I find to be my one and only constant. It is here that I become face to face with Jesus Christ who gives me strength and is my refuge. The Eucharist (another name for the Blessed Sacrament that comes from the Greek word eucharistia, which means thanksgiving)is not simply some symbolic image of bread that speaks to God's nourishment in our lives, but really is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ.

I don't plan on doing an entire apologetic (apologetic is a fancy word for argument)in this post, but I will say this that if the Eucharist is not Jesus Christ than we are worshiping a piece of bread. As Flannery O'Connor, the great American writer, once commented when confronted with a conversation about the Eucharist being a symbol, "If it's just a symbol, then to hell with it." This is simple but orthodox thinking.

Like O'Connor and many others, I believe that Jesus is bodily present in the Eucharist. Everywhere I go I make sure to visit a chapel and see my Best Friend. I try to go to the Holy Mass every day, where I am lifted to the heavenly banquet and brought face to face with the Resurrected Lord Jesus. It is during the Mass, especially when the priest is lifting the consecrated host and chalice that I am able to poor out all my troubles, joys, hopes, and anxieties to the Lord Jesus. It is as if my heart starts to beat with the Heart of the Lord's during these quiet moments of devotion. I share with the Lord my weaknesses and my total need for Him. Without Him I can do nothing. He looks upon me with Love and I enter the greatest adventure that a human heart is about to embark on, that of the interior life.

I will hope to write more on this later, but I close this post with a simple quote by J.R.R. Tolkien the author of The Lord of the Rings.

I put before the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament...There you will find romance, glory, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth, and more than that: death by divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands surrender to all, and yet by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seem in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, that every man's heart desires."

Gazing in the Museum of the Divine Artist

Today at Mass I had the unique experience of feeling the love our Lord Jesus has for each one of us, but in a unique way that He seemed to just be singling me out. But before I get to that experience I want to address the idea of experiencing God's love.

It is an awesome reality that there is an all knowing, all loving God that really cares about me. That desires to spend time with me and walk with me wherever I go. But sometimes through the hustle and bustle of life, I run too fast, I don't stop to smell the flowers and look around and experience the truth, beauty, and goodness that surrounds me each day. For instance, I love art. I enjoy going to a museum and looking at a piece of art, examining it for the artist intention and hopes and dreams that are filled in the mingling of colors and shapes. It is amazing that each time the brush goes across the canvas, that there is a desired intention, an end that the artist is working towards. Each color, each line is one more step towards the perfection of the creation that started in the mind of the painter. So when I am looking at a piece of art, I start to contemplate and experience something that takes me out of myself into the minds and hearts of others

In a sense, this is what happens when I take a moment (or longer) to dive into the art of Divine Artist. I look at my own life and the life of others as a mere painting in the making. We have a purpose, we have an end in which we were intended to move towards. I might have an experience of joyfulness or loneliness or frustration, but each of these are strokes that the Divine Artist is brushing upon my canvas. He is either allowing things to happen to me because He knows that I can make it through them or He graces me with consolation, but in a word, He paints with peace. Often, we are too frantic in our modern world to slow down and see that all things are working according to his purpose (Romans 8:28) or that there is nothing that He cannot make good! There is no need to discouragement when you are a child of God. There is no need for despair, even in our darkness moments, because the Divine Artist is fashioning us into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and making us who we are meant to be. Be not afraid of being put in the hands of the potter (Jeremiah 18:4-6) for He will make you into who you have always desired to be and even more.

As so, as I knelt before an image of the Divine Mercy today after I received Holy Communion at the Holy Mass, I saw the Lord Jesus seem to walk out of the photo and start taking steps towards me. There is nothing that I can do that can keep Him away from walking towards me...now I have the choice, do I start walk towards Him, do I stay where I am, or do I run away? I choose to run at Him...He is also walking towards you, what will you choose?

From Bored to Overwhelmed

Do you ever sit around on a Sunday afternoon and think about how you have nothing to do? You start to complain to yourself and maybe your roommates, husband or wife, or children about how bored you are and that you feel like you got nothing to do. Someone might make a joke back saying, "I find something for you to do." But you don't take up their offer because you are not searching for some type of work or even something to to even do. What! I thought you were bored, I thought you were looking for something to do! And here I am offering you something to do and you don't even want to give it a shot...What the heck is wrong with this situation?

Maybe you didn't ever desire something to do, maybe this lethal boredom that you are struggling with is just leading you to look for the next pleasurable kick. Yeah, your right! There is nothing wrong with pleasure, but does the pleasure bring meaning to your life. Do you feel that you have something of worth...and even more that you are someone of worth! Why do we seem to lose the excitement that should come with life? You say, "I thought life is suppose to be like it is in the movies or what I see on TV or what the latest Budweiser ad. Well, I don't really believe life is suppose to be like that, but I mean...don't you...umm, think life should be that exciting...you know, like it is in the movies and stuff."

It's not that you are wrong that life should be exciting like the movies, tv, and even advertisement. What I would propose is that you are shooting too low. The kind of excitement that we can get from The Bourne Identity or 24 is only a glimpse of the excitement that we receive when living a life in and for Jesus Christ.

Not only does Jesus give us a purpose, "For I know the plan I have for you..." (Jeremiah 29:11), but he will take us places that we never dreamed of going. It is not that Jesus satisfies our deepest desires, but he overwhelms them! "Our cups will overflow" (See Psalm 23) in Jesus Christ. We can't possibly even start to grasp the plans He has for us. Maybe this is hard for you to grasp...I understand, I am from the Show-Me state. But I know that when I search in the depths of my heart I find a searching, a longing that has not been answered by solely the path of pleasure and success. Remember the Rolling Stones! "I can't get no satisfaction. What about Bono and U2, "I still haven't found what I am looking for."

But it was the Beatles who got it right, "All we need is Love." But it wasn't what they thought. God is Love! He will overwhelm our deepest desires with this love, if only we start to take a step towards Him. We cannot delay! We must take one little baby step in his direction and then commit our entire lives to Him. His love will pour into our hearts like a mighty river. We will find ourselves refreshed and peaceful! If you have never done this, go into a quiet place, a chapel or your room...wherever and sincerely poor your heart out to God, asking him to be your All in All, to be the Lord of your life and your heart. If you have done this before, do it again...Everyday. There must not be a day go by that we don't turn to our Father in Heaven and ask for His Love to overwhelm our hearts. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," (1 Corinthians 2:9)

A Not so Ordinary Extraordinary Ordinary Day

As of today, I started living full-time in Colorado. It is kind of a funny situation right now. Most of my things will be in boxes for the next 6 weeks as I travel from Colorado back to Kansas City and then to Madison and the Twin Cities throughout the next month and a half. I will live in a house almost an entire month, without really calling it home. But all this is in a day's work for a modern day missionary.

Today was my first day working out of the office. Of course, this is moving week around the office and people things are in boxes all over the place and then the office seems kind of barren from people on mission trips, vacations, or taking classes. But I am still of awe of the fact that I am able to sit in an office and down the hall in the office building is our Lord Jesus in the tabernacle in our chapel and the fact that the President of FOCUS, Curtis Martin, just stops in to give me a hard time and have a five minute strategic conversation with my colleague and me. It was an amazing day full of energy and hope.

I wonder if things ever seem normal in an environment where life seems so extraordinary. I am sure they will, if I lose the eyes of faith. You see...through the eyes of faith every day, every moment is extraordinary. But this is the daily struggle we must enter into...How does an office of daily communicants live in extraordinary joy so that the entire office building might be set aflame with the love of Christ...what a beautiful thought, but this is not just a thought, it is my desire. It is Jesus' desire for the world, that at His name all knees shall bend!

A Theme Quote for the Year...

Most people don't think of their years in the same way that I do. The world sees the year starting on January 1st and the Church starts during the first week in Advent (usually late November or early December). However, I see my year a little different, because of the line of work I am in. Teachers and students would understand. Yes at the ripe old age of 27, I think of life in semesters still. What I would like to say is that I think I have picked a theme quote for the year! (Meaning this next school year) It is from St. Catherine of Siena

Catherine of Siena once said, "If you are what you are meant to be, you will set the world afire." I love this quote, because it points to each of our own unique and personal, but universal call to holiness. It has flooded my own prayer life in recent days and I have found myself coming back to this quote time and time again in the past several weeks.

Catherine of Siena has always been close to me. I pray through her intercession everyday. I first encountered this wonderful saint in college when I read her dialogues with God the Father for a class I was taking. I have also read many of her letters throughout the last several years, as well. So one of my new year's resolutions (remember that my year is just starting) is to make more post on the blogs. (I pray that you might read them and find some sort of enjoyment) I use to write stories and letters to my friends in college, maybe I will get back into that creative habit. I will post more of my "new year's resolutions" as they come, but it is my hope to become what I am meant to be, because there is nothing greater that we can do, but set the whole world afire with the love of Jesus Christ!

Reflecting during Michael Jackson's Memorial

I hardly ever get a chance to sit back and relax and turn on the TV. Today was one of those days. As I was flipping through the channels, I started to realize a trend...the same thing was on almost every station. Today is the memorial service of Michael Jackson. I had a moment to pray for the repose of the soul of the "King of Pop" as I listened to one of my favorite singles by him, "Will you be There?" from the 1993 Dangerous Album. During my short minutes of reflection, I thought of how I would listen to Michael Jackson's music with my mom and my dad growing up. I thought of how we would sing loud and proud in the car to "You are not alone" or "Man in the Mirror." I had a brief chuckle as I thought of us dancing around the kitchen as if we were in the "Thriller" video. There is no doubt that Michael Jackson's death has left a lasting imprint upon my own life, as well as the life of millions of people.

Michael Jackson's life was not easy. He did something that many African American children of his time could only dream of. However, there is no doubt that there were many decisions that he made nearing the end of his life that no one (including himself) was proud of. But it is not this negative light that we want to look at as we have an opportunity to reflect upon life, but that fact that even the "King of Pop" must die. C.S. Lewis reflects in his book The Weight of Glory upon how we as humans think about death. It is not that we don't think we will die, it is that we forgot that it is coming. This is why the good Christian is called to think about his or her death daily. Remember this is not some morbid daily routine we are called to, but an interaction with the Divine Face in which we hope to see clearly for all eternity upon our departure from this passing world.

Back to Michael Jackson. We are given a moment in time where we all must honor him for the gifts that he has offered our world during his time here. But our reflection must not just stop with giving honor to Jackson's life but come back to our own experience. Are we pursuing the truth with all our heart? Do we strive to know the Lord God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength? How do we treat our neighbors? The answer to these questions will reveal our next step in our own joyful pursuit. Whatever the answer is for you...move forward and closer to God, for that is who our hearts long to see.

Go Forth, Christian Soul

I found this amazing while writing an essay for my Fundamental Theology class today. This is the Prayer of Commendation that is said over a dying person during the the Viaticum.

Go forth, Christian soul, from this world
in the name of God the almighty Father,
who created you
in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God,
who suffered for you
in name of the Holy Spirit
who was poured out upon you
Go forth, faithful Christian soul

May you live in peace this day,
may your home be with God in Zion
with Mary, the virgin Mother of God
with Joseph, and the angels and the saints...

May you return to your Creator
who formed you from the dust of the earth
May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints
come to meet you as you go forth from this life...
May you see your Redeemer face to face...

Put off the Old Man

Lets reflect on this verse, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17). This verse is a power verse in times of temptation and when feeling down. It is a verse that finds itself filled with the reality of the human situation in Christ Jesus. One might ask, "How does one become "a new creation?"

Great question! We are all fallen and broken by what is called Original Sin. Original Sin is a state of being that the human race has lived in since the time of Adam of Eve. It is our falling from our original relationship with God and our original relation with each other. Original Sin made us a fallen and divided people, a broken family! We experience this brokenness in our own world, which is full of hate, the sword, despair, and death. But in Christ Jesus, our relationship with God was restored once for all on the Cross! It was here that our sins were forgiven and we were made sons in the Son!

So if we put on Christ, we die with Christ (See Romans 6 about baptism) and if we die with Christ we will raise with Christ. We are called into the new family of God the Church, where we are called to put off the old man and put on the new. Some key questions we need to ask ourselves are, What do I still need to cast off of the old man, so I can become a new creation? and How am I growing in becoming a "new creation" everyday?

An Unusually Missionary Day

I am sitting in the airport in Milwaukee waiting to fly out to Denver for some meetings. This is not a normal day in the missionary life. Usually, I am laboring away on campus, meeting up with students for coffee, to throw a Frisbee, or to talk about our Lord. I find myself excited with this change of pace and the travel. Something in my heart loves to travel; to sit in airport terminals and think, pray, read, and write. There is nothing quite like it. But there seems to be a little bit more attached to this trip.
On the bus this morning on the way to the airport it hit me. I received a message on my voicemail from the person picking me up at the airport and she proceeded to share three other names of people that she was picking up at the same time. I grew extremely excited hearing each of the names mentioned. They were some of my best friends, men that I have known for years and that have influenced my life in many ways. I speak with most of these men on a semi-regular basis, but at the thought of seeing my missionary brothers and good friends my heart was seized with joy!
In the missionary life (probably in life in general), we don’t always get what we want. We don’t always live around the people we wish we did. The word missionary means, “one who is sent.” Sent where? Sometimes it seems that this means to be sent away from our family and friends. At least, this has been somewhat of my experience of being a missionary. But there is no room for sadness, nor is it required. I don’t look at my life as what I have given up, but what I have gained. In the Christian life, we are asked to submit everything to the penetrating life of Christ…EVERYTHING, but we will GAIN EVEN MORE! This is the beauty of the missionary call! Yes, I am far from family and old friends, but when are paths do cross, the joy is inexpressible (as you probably can gather from my joyful but still vague post!)
I will close with this quote on friendship and brotherhood from the great Bishop of Hippo from the 4th Century, St. Augustine:
“What drew me closest to my brothers was the delight of chatting and laughing together; of showing our affection for one another by kindly services; of reading together from books that spoke of pleasant things; …of joking together amicably; of disputing now and then but without resentment, as one is wont to do with himself; of awakening by rare contest the pleasure of being one in mind; of mutually instructing one another; of longing for the absent one, and tasting joy at his return. We loved each other with all our hearts, and these marks of friendship that were shown on our faces, by our voices, in our eyes and a thousand other ways were among us like ardent flames that fused our souls together, and of many made but one.”

Great Website on the Divine Mercy

Opps! I forgot to post the link about Divine Mercy.

Here you go http://thedivinemercy.org/

The Message of Mercy

Around 9 years ago, Pope John Paul the Great declared a wish of the Lord Jesus, which was made known to a little nun in Poland some decades before. He declared the second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a Sunday that is dedicated to our Lord’s Divine Mercy poured upon the world for sinners like you and me. If you would like to read more about the Divine Mercy, you can check out this site. But I would like to concentrate on why this is important to our generation and bringing people to our Lord Jesus and His Church.

We live during an age where we have made ourselves little gods and do not think we need a Savoir. We can be our own Savoir! Could that be true? This past couple of months, the FOCUS team at UW-Madison has been taking the message of Divine Mercy to the streets and has experienced this attitude first hand. There are people that laugh when they hear someone proclaiming the love of the Lord Jesus or maybe they just ignore the person handing them a holy card. I even encountered a few people angry at seeing the image of Jesus out on campus. “Jesus does not belong here; he belongs inside your Church.”

No, my friends, Jesus does not just belong inside little pious Churches (or impious ones at that!) but He belongs in the life of all people because we are in need of a Savior…we are in need of God! Why are we in need of God? We need mercy! Think of your own experiences – maybe you will have to think back a bit – but we have experienced brokenness and heart ache. We must realize that we are part of this brokenness and heart ache. Once we discover this, we must not be discouraged or grow afraid but throw ourselves in the ocean of God’s mercy! St. Faustina, the great apostle of mercy, wrote about this mercy in her little diary that every man, woman, and child should own and read. In her life and words, we will find strength and encouragement in our own walk with Christ!

Do not walk, but run! Go now and buy the Diary! Read it every day, just a couple of pages at a time or a few more here and there and be strengthen by the Great Mercy of God! He is calling us back to Himself! We need to respond! There is no tomorrow in the life of God…We must act NOW…TODAY! And pray tonight to God…”Make me a Saint!”