Happy Thanksgiving to my little blog readers (if you actually exist?, sometimes I think I'm the only one who reads what I write!). I hope you have had a day filled with family, friends, food, and football, and most importantly, I hope you set some time aside to offer thanks to the One who provides us with the many gifts with which we are blessed.
This week has been tough for me. I came home encouraged and ready to go, with lofty fundraising goals and a busy schedule set for the week. The first two meetings of my week (one on Saturday and one on Monday morning) were extremely fruitful, edified me so much, and reminded me why I am a Catholic Missionary. After those two appointments, it doesn't seem like much else went right. I think that God is telling me that I need to let go of my goals and form my desires to His. In addition, I need to rely much more heavily on prayer. I need my communication with the Trinity to be comparable to breathing.... just something I do... every single minute of every single day. I want my life to be a prayer.
I love the idea of repentance, and the fact that the Father offers us a clean slate any time we ask, by going to Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
I heard this song on the radio today (which I just looked up, and coincidentally is a Matt Maher song), and one line particularly struck me. It said "if you're lost and you need to be found, if you're looking for a Savior, all you gotta do is turn around." I started thinking about how it might not apply to me, because I'm already seeking God, so if I turn around, wouldn't I be going the other way? I quickly dismissed those thoughts because it occurred to me that any time I screw up, or step off the path of righteousness, even just a little, I need to make a complete 180 in my soul. When I fall off, I start seeking myself, my desires, the things that make me happy. It is particularly in those moments when I need to turn around to find the Savior, and the best part is that He's always waiting there with open arms.
The world without the light of Christ is a dark place and being a Christian is so difficult. Eternal salvation will be worth it. Christ will win the battle against sin and death, in my heart and in the world.
Tomorrow I am headed back to Auburn to finish my last semester as a student and my first semester as a missionary. Please pray for me, as I am extremely busy over the next 2 weeks, finishing school, taking finals, team offsite, regional gathering, graduation, etc.
St. Michael, the Archangel, pray for us!
25 November 2011
21 November 2011
Nostalgia
As usual.
I'm home doing some fundraising and having a little break from the hustle and bustle of school and work, and this song is pretty descriptive of my feelings right now (about both Auburn and Southlake), so have a listen!
I'm home doing some fundraising and having a little break from the hustle and bustle of school and work, and this song is pretty descriptive of my feelings right now (about both Auburn and Southlake), so have a listen!
Saint Margaret of Scotland, pray for us!
15 November 2011
Life Update
I think I want to start (occasionally) blogging about the ordinary occurrences of my every day life.
Today I had the worst case of the hiccups known to mankind. It was crazy. I think it is my body's way of officially saying "I'm done being sick!" (Or at least that is my interpretation.) The past week, I've been terribly sick, congested and feverish, with a bad cough. I'm learning to embrace suffering!
The weather is awesome (yesterday I wore shorts) and I am eagerly awaiting my trip home to Southlake!
After today, I have two more days of college left. Sometimes I still can't even believe that I'm IN college, and now I'm about to GRADUATE. I'm perpetually in a state of disbelief. This semester has flown by, even faster than the last, and I am SO excited to close this chapter of my life and dive fully into the next. I can't wait to see how much better I will be able to serve the Lord once I'm focusing all of my time and efforts on the mission.
Right now, I am reading Soul of the Apostolate with my teammates. It is forcing me to be radically introspective and helping me to examine my motives in prayer and the causes of my actions. I am praying that I will decrease and He will increase. I highly recommend this read, especially for those committed to the New Evangelization and for those who, by nature of their vocation, do many active works.
I'm also reading (and loving) Come Rack! Come Rope! which is a novel written about the Protestant Reformation in England in the sixteenth century. I have learned that I need fiction in my life. The works of fiction I read always speak so much about the human experience, which I appreciate because I am convinced that you can know God by knowing people to the core.
Saint Edmund Campion, pray for us!
Today I had the worst case of the hiccups known to mankind. It was crazy. I think it is my body's way of officially saying "I'm done being sick!" (Or at least that is my interpretation.) The past week, I've been terribly sick, congested and feverish, with a bad cough. I'm learning to embrace suffering!
The weather is awesome (yesterday I wore shorts) and I am eagerly awaiting my trip home to Southlake!
After today, I have two more days of college left. Sometimes I still can't even believe that I'm IN college, and now I'm about to GRADUATE. I'm perpetually in a state of disbelief. This semester has flown by, even faster than the last, and I am SO excited to close this chapter of my life and dive fully into the next. I can't wait to see how much better I will be able to serve the Lord once I'm focusing all of my time and efforts on the mission.
Right now, I am reading Soul of the Apostolate with my teammates. It is forcing me to be radically introspective and helping me to examine my motives in prayer and the causes of my actions. I am praying that I will decrease and He will increase. I highly recommend this read, especially for those committed to the New Evangelization and for those who, by nature of their vocation, do many active works.
I'm also reading (and loving) Come Rack! Come Rope! which is a novel written about the Protestant Reformation in England in the sixteenth century. I have learned that I need fiction in my life. The works of fiction I read always speak so much about the human experience, which I appreciate because I am convinced that you can know God by knowing people to the core.
Saint Edmund Campion, pray for us!
02 November 2011
Beautiful Letdown
I'm sorry for the delay in posting, I've been pretty busy!
I have a ton of ideas floating around in my head for blog posts, so hopefully I'll get some time to put my thoughts into words!
Last week, I meet this sweet man, Joe. Joe owns a t-shirt embroidery company here in Auburn and has been so helpful to FOCUS at Auburn. (Yes, we're getting t-shirts!)
Joe has worked on some things for us before (he did our polo shirts for free!), so when I said I was with FOCUS, he jokingly gave me a hard time. He said, "Oh, so you're with that Saint Michael's crowd, huh?" and I said, "Yes, sir!" And he said, "there are a bunch of crazy folks down there," and I said, "Yes, sir, a bunch of sinners," and he said, "that's why I go there! You know what happens when you get too good, don't you? They nail you to a cross."
I wish you could all meet sweet Joe. I pray that we all have his faith, and the ability to so seamlessly share it with others.
That conversation reminded me of a Switchfoot song that was popular when I was in High School. I always liked the song, but I never took the time to hear the words that I was singing in my car on the way to school, or on my iPod while cleaning my room. One day at a meeting for my youth group's Pure Love Club (sounds cheesy but is actually really cool), one of the girls printed out the lyrics for us and gave us time to think about its meaning.
When I first started thinking about it, I was confused. I thought about how it seemed strange that ANYTHING having to do with Christ could be a letdown. Then I heard the line that talks about the Church of the dropouts and losers and sinners and failures and fools. Isn't that amazing? God became man, took on flesh, and allows a sinner and a failure like me to serve Him. He doesn't ask us to be successful, only faithful, and His Church isn't full of holy people, it's full of sinners who have recognized a lacking in their own hearts that can ONLY be filled with His Presence.
Have a listen for yourself.
All you holy men and women, Angels and Saints of God, pray for us.
Holy souls in Purgatory, pray for us.
I have a ton of ideas floating around in my head for blog posts, so hopefully I'll get some time to put my thoughts into words!
Last week, I meet this sweet man, Joe. Joe owns a t-shirt embroidery company here in Auburn and has been so helpful to FOCUS at Auburn. (Yes, we're getting t-shirts!)
Joe has worked on some things for us before (he did our polo shirts for free!), so when I said I was with FOCUS, he jokingly gave me a hard time. He said, "Oh, so you're with that Saint Michael's crowd, huh?" and I said, "Yes, sir!" And he said, "there are a bunch of crazy folks down there," and I said, "Yes, sir, a bunch of sinners," and he said, "that's why I go there! You know what happens when you get too good, don't you? They nail you to a cross."
I wish you could all meet sweet Joe. I pray that we all have his faith, and the ability to so seamlessly share it with others.
When I first started thinking about it, I was confused. I thought about how it seemed strange that ANYTHING having to do with Christ could be a letdown. Then I heard the line that talks about the Church of the dropouts and losers and sinners and failures and fools. Isn't that amazing? God became man, took on flesh, and allows a sinner and a failure like me to serve Him. He doesn't ask us to be successful, only faithful, and His Church isn't full of holy people, it's full of sinners who have recognized a lacking in their own hearts that can ONLY be filled with His Presence.
Have a listen for yourself.
All you holy men and women, Angels and Saints of God, pray for us.
Holy souls in Purgatory, pray for us.
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