Prepare to Share the New Evangelization

"New Evangelization can succeed when it comes from a humble place." stated C. Colt Anderson while speaking at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle as part of the Fall Lecture Series on Thursday, October 6. His lecture titled What Is The New Evangelization? was presented on Thursday, October 6. This lecture was conversational in tone, integrated questions from the audience, and included a digital slide presentation.

Many Catholics do not like the word evangelical because some Protestant denominations have taken the word and applied it to their ministries which often are biased against Catholicism.

C. Colt Anderson speaks at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle.

"To be Catholic means you have to be evangelical," stated C. Colt Anderson. "All we have to do is repent and call people to convert. The Council of Trent encourages us to keep trying, encourages us to remain in some mode of conversion."

Evangelization can help remind people about the deeper meanings of their faith. Evangelization can reinforce the necessity of penance, the necessity to repent, the necessity of prayer, the necessity of doing works of charity. There is also the message that we are all going to be judged by God for all of our actions some day. We are all going to be held accountable for our actions, for our ability to love, for our ability to forgive.

"The Church has lost the sense of urgency. The urgency that we're talking about is forgiveness and how important that is." said Mr. Anderson. "God is willing to forgive us."

Many people have drifted away from thinking about God's justice. There appears to be a belief that by attending Mass each Sunday, doing works of charity insures entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. Those activities help but they do not guarantee it. Many people today do not have a sense of being judged or a sense of accountability for their sins and wrongdoing.

Catholics believe in redemption. Catholics believe in salvation. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ allows us to be redeemed, to be saved. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ presents each Christian with an opportunity for salvation.

C. Colt Anderson listens to questions about New Evangelization.

Mr. Anderson said, "God brings good out of the evil we do and the evil we suffer. God brings some meaning into the narrative of our lives."

There was a brief discussion of rhetoric. An overview of apologetics, polemics, catechesis was presented. Effective evangelization begins with knowing, understanding, and respecting your audience explained Mr. Anderson. "Be plausible, be brief, be clear." 

The main goal of New Evangelization is to get lapsed Catholics to reconnect with the Church. "Lay people are asked to share their faith. Lay people are asked to teach about their personal experience as a Catholic. Lay people are asked to share their delight in their faith. Lay people are asked to  persuade people to return to the Church."

The call to conversion remains the responsibility of all Christians. "We have to witness for our faith." stated Mr. Anderson. "Being Catholic is the best and safest way to salvation."

Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week

Today is Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week of Ordinary Time.

The first reading is from Zechariah.

The Gospel reading is from Luke.

The Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle celebrated the Feast of Saint Matthew on Wednesday, September 21 at all the Masses.

The First Reading was from Ephesians.

The Gospel Reading was from Matthew.

The Measure of Christ's Gift

How was your day? How is your life going? What are you doing with your life? Are you going in the correct direction? Are you moving?

These simple questions can amuse or annoy us. These simple words can urge us to look beyond our current state. We need to look beyond our present surroundings. Simplicity sometimes leads us toward a certain manner of living. We can discuss the obliquity of faith.

Each time we attend Mass we are asked to remember the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus Christ invites us to love each other, invites us to have faith in each other.

Beauty, goodness, and truth wait to be discovered, wait to be uncovered.

The measure of Christ’s gift remains constant, remains direct. Jesus Christ explicitly commanded each one us to love God, to love each other. This love is a gift. This love is a blessing.

Jesus Christ taught us how to forgive and suggested that we should forgive an infinite amount of times. Forgiveness is important in the lives of all Christians. Forgiveness keeps our lives moving.

We have motion, we have prayer, we have the knowledge of Jesus Christ’s life and death.

We have numerous signs leading us to salvation, numerous paths leading us to redemption.

We received the best gift, the gift of the holy spirit when we were baptized, when we were confirmed.

Reflection - Attending Mass - September 20

Attending Mass is important for the spiritual development of each Catholic. How we participate in the Mass is very important. Going to Mass involves more than simply going to Mass. Listening to the Word of God involves more than simply listening to the Word of God. We are asked to participate in the Mass. We are asked to capture and share the Word of God with others. Attending Mass is a community activity. Remember we are all brothers and sisters. We are all seeking spiritual development, seeking signs from God, seeking salvation.

We are encouraged to share our Christian experience. We are reminded to seek the invisible, the unseen. Appearances are sometimes simply appearances.

Attending Mass, hearing the Gospels each week prepares each one of us for public displays of evangelization. The world, our world, our friends, our families need to be reminded of God’s affection for us.

Mass introduces us to many collaborators for God. Remember that each time you attend Mass, you are being radical, you are making a statement about love, forgiveness, mercy, and love. The celebration of the Mass remains a thousand year old communal existence of hope, love, and sacrifice that mirrors the mystical state of faith. Not all questions have to be spoken, not all questions have to be answered. We can pray. We have prayer.

The Mass is a celebration of the Eucharist.

The Mass is a prayer.

Attending Mass presents the sacramental essence of the experience of being Catholic Christian each time we enter a church. The decision to participate, to reach out for God, reach for the garment of Jesus Christ remains a personal, individual choice.

Attend Mass

Attending Mass provides focus for my day, gives me a sense of accomplishment. Each time I attend Mass I am happy to pray to God, I remember some of the people I have promised to pray for. Thinking about how to call God and actually calling God can be a beautiful experience. Looking within our soul, within our minds, within our hearts can be daunting, frightening. Many secrets are hidden within us. As Christians we are constantly making room for God, making room in our internal and external worlds. I pray that God will enter my soul, my mind, my heart. I give thanks because I believe that God made heaven and earth. I give thanks for each prayer I say on earth, for myself, for others. Indeed I am happiest when spontaneous prayers for strangers, forgotten intended prayers enter my mind. I do not want to imagine an existence with God. I seek an audience with God. I seek to learn about heaven, I seek to avoid hell. All this finds my mind, leads me to prayer, leads me to hope.

Each time I attend Mass there is a moment of bliss, a moment of extreme sorrow. Pain, suffering, darkness wait nearby, wait for me, wait for strangers, wait for people whom I care about and for whom I pray. In the faces are many emotions, in the faces are many needs. In the faces are many reasons for thanks, many reasons for praise, many reasons prayer.

Heaven and earth, heaven and hell, earth and hell these are topics, these are combinations which are familiar to Christians.

Attending Mass is an opportunity to remember goodness, holiness, kindness; an opportunity to reach for them; and an opportunity to seek perfection for God’s pleasure, to seek perfection in loving and serving God.

One Word, One Request

How wonderful life is. How great God is! How easy it is to serve the Lord! As Catholics we only have to remember one simple word, one small word with a large punch. No matter how bad life might be, we only have to think of finding a way to simplify our lives and doing one thing. Prayer can center us, lead us to do this one thing if we let it. We are asked all the time. The request is made week after week, in various prayers, in various readings. The Catholic Mass is both a memorial and a sacrifice; the Catholic Mass is the supreme example of this word. Humility, charity, obedience, compassion, mercy are the foundation of this word in my life. How wonderful is it to think of God, to listen for God’s voice, to believe that God will call! How wonderful it is to go to Mass each, to volunteer to help with the different parish ministries! How wonderful it is to think of stewardship! How wonderful it is to think of others!

For now we approach a glass window, and now we can look into a world brightly. We view the world with faith and hope, we view the world with goodness, kindness, and holiness. Our simple desire is to give evil a bad report, a true report. Our simple desire is to remind our neighbors of God and the search for salvation.

Life can be beautiful, life can be fulfilling, life can lead away from death. Life can lead to the kingdom of God. As Christians we simply have to believe.

We are encouraged to remember to love our neighbors as we love ourselves! All things are possible for us when we remember to love each other, when we remember to love God.

Christians Share the Good News

Each day in each month in each year is a time for prayer, for remembrance, for hope. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, World War II began. Will any event today be remembered in seventy years?

Spreading the Good News is the responsibility of all believers of Jesus Christ. The Gospels are to be shared with all human beings.

Each day there are births, deaths, doctor appointments, weddings, dinner parties. Each day there are opportunities to serve the Lord by sharing and living the Gospel.

How great it is that equable and equitable sound alike and resemble each other to confuse people.

Christians are often described as being equable, as sharing the same views and opinions.

Life is filled with many suppositions. Christians are all human beings with a mixture of misadventure and happiness. With prayer and discipline it is possible to avoid the advance and seduction of sin and vice.

Curiosity, innocent and pure, can lead to serving God, to loving God. The best affliction that a Christian can have would be the love of God above all things. The best support that a Christian can have would begin with forgiveness.

Parish life is both inspiring and challenging. Trying to find the best way to serve the Lord is difficult. The need for good deeds, for compassion, for mercy increases each day. Prayer is always needed. Kindness in human interaction is needed. These things I learn each time I go to Mass. I am reminded of my vulnerabilities and I try to improve.

My spiritual life is filled with questions, allusions, metaphors. There are clear skies, smoking candles, crashing waves, soft harps. My spiritual life is filled with great motion as I try to be obedient to God, try to move closer to God. There are moments when I move two steps away from God, then five toward God and then four away and six toward.

It is natural and healthy to want an intimate relationship with God. The knowledge of each person’s life contains both happiness and unhappiness. Each day presents an opportunity for education, an opportunity to serve the Lord. It is natural and healthy to want to use Jesus Christ as a role model, to consider sacrificing your life in the name of God.

Life in a parish reinforces the responsibility of all parishioners to become involved, to do a little more than attend life once a week. The more you allow yourself to become involved the more you can learn about God, about serving God, about loving God, about loving your neighbor.

Parish life inspires me to want to spread the Good News.

Summer of Mercy 2.0 - Rosary Procession

The remarkable love of virtue and life and the zeal for following in the footsteps inspired parishioners from the Archdiocese of Washington to attend a special Mass on August 3 at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle. This Mass was Summer of Mercy 2.0 event. It was an illustrious moment of prayer and reflection and diligence. 

Approximately one hundred people joined the procession and said prayers while walking on the narrow rush hour sidewalks. What a great moment of catechesis! One hundred people moving through the streets of Washington reverently praying and reflecting.

How to Explain

When I originally conceived this essay, I wanted to explain how I spent my Sunday. What I thought about, what I prayed about, what I thought about praying about, where I went. It was arranged in a completely accessible linear fashion. But, how would my story translate to non Catholics, to non Christians. Is there something universal in my activities?


My activities are amusing to me sometime. I am always making deals with myself. I am always filled with all types of crazy yet conventional thoughts created by great literature and big budget Hollywood films.


Sunday began with thoughts of the night before at the Dominican House of Study Spring Gala and Silent Auction. I briefly reconstructed the evening into interesting little bits and ordered it in a more literary way. My morning began with brief prayer and then I began writing.


I stopped writing and then planned my day. I planned to attend Mass at 11:30 AM and then return to the Cathedral around 2:30 to photograph the Spanish Stations of the Cross.


How completely cautious and conventional this is. Where is the passion, where is the energy? Is it possible to share my exuberance, my excitement without sounding too zealous, too fervent? Is it possible to create a document which makes going to Mass appear like a great way to spend an afternoon?



As a Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle Altar Server my spirituality has deepened; my love and enjoyment of the Mass has grown exponentially; my sense of goodness, kindness, and holiness has increased. I look for signs of goodness, kindness, and holiness in my actions and the actions of others.



I was asked to carry the Cross in the procession during the 11:30 Mass. Although I frequently have fears of dropping the Cross because of my own personal lack of strength, carrying the Cross helps me focus on the Mass more completely.



How can such a beautiful ceremony be described in such a way to personalize the experience, bring it alive with hope and yet, encourage curiosity with appearing to encourage curiosity.


What is it that makes attending Mass unique for me? Why do I attend Mass? There is a wonderful feeling which I experience sometime while being an Altar Server. There is a moment when I am able to forget myself for a moment, forget my own silly pettiness and hope and pray for someone else’s happiness and security. Attending Mass is more than prayers, attending Mass is more than receiving Communion. Here is a chance to hear God’s voice, here is a chance to answer the call. Here is a chance to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Is there a way to say that simply, gently in a manner which could help someone want to walk into the Cathedral and ask about being Catholic, about being an adopted child of God.



After the 11:30 AM Mass I remembered that there was a special Mass in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador who was assassinated thirty-one years ago while saying Mass. I quickly left the Cathedral, returned home, picked up my camera.


I returned shortly after the 1:00 PM Spanish Mass had started. How great it was to see all of the faces in the Cathedral. How great it was to hear the choir singing, to hear the guitar playing, the congregation singing.


Remembering Archbishop Oscar Romero is important for all Christians who want to follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus. His life was both cautious and bold, his words were erudite, brash, and inspiring. Archbishop Romero’s life presented the beauty of and the danger of Christ Jesus’s social justice teaching captured in the Beatitudes.


There is much to learn from his life. His approach was slow, filled with reflection and prayer. He provided a valuable lesson about involvement in dealing with the marginalized people and their oppressors. He started out with hope, with love. He studied the issue and prayed about the conditions of the poor, and those who were in opposition to the government. His decisions were not always the most popular decisions, the most popular statements but they were the correct ones for the situations, for his country. There is nothing worse than ignoring social injustice.



Archbishop Romero reminds us about the living water, about being shocking, about doing the right thing and not being afraid of making the greatest sacrifice.


How can all of this be shared with others in a conversational, non threatening way.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Today is March 25, 2011. Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Today the Gloria will be said during Mass.


There is sunlight today. Outside I can hear builders hammering and using all types of gizmos to create mechanical noise. Now I can hear the sound from a car alarm system.


Life is filled with many alarm and alert systems.


We often talk about things that we have given up for this or that reason, things we have sacrificed for this and that reason, or to benefit some other person. We have so much to talk about, to complain about.


Do we allow ourselves the space to be obedient to God without reservation, without hesitation? If God appeared in front of us today and asked us to do something, how would we react? Would we question God to determine if it was truly God? Would we debate God? Would we say no? Would we say yes but then allow ourselves to be distracted? Would we ask God to prove himself before we comply?


This scenario creates endless questions. As Christians our decisions hopefully are governed by compassion, mercy, humility. As Christians hopefully we are prepared to be obedient servants of the Lord. As Christians hopefully each day we are able to grow in love and charity for our neighbors. As Christians hopefully each day we are able to grow in love and obedience to God. As Christians hopefully goodness, holiness, and kindness direct our actions and our prayers.


We should neither request or expect signs from God, instead our actions should be a sign of our devotion, our obedience, our loyal loving service to God and everyone with whom we come into contact.


We are asked to be obedient. We are asked to love.

Parish Life

Parish life at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle often moves at the pulse of the avenue in front of this handsome place of worship; I believe this; I have observed it on many different occasions. There is a wonderful pulse about the place, a spiritual pulse nurturing and inviting. There are moments when I have felt insignificant but something within the Cathedral reminds me to be quiet, to look not with my eyes, to hear not with my ears, to touch not with my fingers. Here is a place of prayer. Here is a place to reflect upon the many facets of life.

Parish life has its own unique pulse. Last night I stayed for a talk that I had heard the day before. I stayed in part because I wanted a photograph of the committee members who had worked hard to plan this event. I stayed because someone asked me to stay.

Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place to attend Mass; Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place to cultivate and nurture your relationship with God; Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place for gentle fellowship.

I was glad that I stayed and listened to the talk again. I was there with friends. I was there learning about the history of Church tradition. The Passover and the Eucharist were linked. Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin were mentioned as being part of the history and tradition of the Church. Being a product of the Twentieth century it is easy to believe that the cinematic American English brogue dominated the ancient world. It is refreshing and beneficial to be exposed to the truth and then realize how beautiful and majestic and enduring the Church is.

And so I was listening to the talk and learning something new. The talk was not the same talk that I had heard before. There were minor changes.

So it was enjoyable for me to attend this talk, treat it as something new, see familiar faces from the parish. The Cathedral parish is a great place of Beginning, a great place of Hope. With a little patience our thoughts can be attuned to the rhythm of charity, humility, compassion, mercy, and obedience, attuned to the rhythm of love. Here Hope is lithe. Here Faith is lithe. We each have the opportunity, the obligation to share Hope, to share Faith.

There were a few sentences which made me think, made me want to read the Bible more. The Liturgy of the Word is sunlight for the soul. A gift of joy to provoke discernment and prayer. Within the Bible I can discover something new, something beneficial if I allow myself to be open, to take the time to prepare.

The movement of God in our lives is not mysterious; our acceptance of God and his influence is mysterious controlled by our own capriciousness, our own selfishness. God is always present in our lives, always asking us to be obedient.

Urban 2011 March

There is something drab in the hurly-burly of Connecticut Avenue, something missing in the anxious faces on M Street, something lost in the marching feet on Rhode Island Avenue. Urban life often leaves us peevish and anxious and ready for brief childish temper tantrums because someone is driving or walking to slowly, or talking too loudly, or not paying attention while walking and almost collides with you.
Urban life often leaves us feeling insignificant and drab. How we long for a verdant pasture with soft grass and towering oak trees, for solitude, for silence. But when we have schedules to keep and meals to miss to complete this deadline, there is nowhere to go but back to our offices, back to our cubicles. Our souls are under attack each and every day, we are subjected to rudeness, hatred every day. Often we are able to overlook it, to protect ourselves from the corrosive, corrupting experience.

Urban living can overtime leave our souls dull and lifeless, our minds darkened and depressed, our hearts cold and locked. Our being, our spiritual being needs to be nurtured each and every day, our spiritual life needs to be sharpened with love and hope and mercy. We must learn how to love, how to follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus, how to be obedient to God.

Each day we hear about man’s inhumanity. Each day we make typographical and grammatical errors. Hopefully, in our hearts we ask God for forgiveness when we sin. Each day we dream of a better tomorrow for ourselves and our loved ones.

Being Christian is the most beautiful gift; being Christian is the best prize; being Christian is alive with undiscovered prayers which slowly awaken within us each time we go to Mass or unexpectedly share goodness and kindness with others. Being Christian allows us to join the story of the life and resurrection of Christ.

The city is often described as a jungle or a forest. It is neither. The wilderness in the city is dangerous, meant to tempt us, lead us away from God, away from goodness, away from holiness, away from kindness. The pulse of the city is always a little elevated. City living demands that we ignore much of what we see, hear, and feel. Neither the street lamps nor the neon lights can hide the darkness which envelopes the city.

Attending Mass can be a moment of hope, a moment of love in our lives when we are able to relax and allow the Lord into our lives.

The pulse of his being moves around us each day; the pulse of his being encourages us to stop before making some questionable decisions; the pulse of his being asks us to be compassionate to our neighbors; the pulse of his being reminds us to love, to share mercy and kindness with each other.


Simple Thoughts on Abortion

This week my imagination has been busy alternating between thoughts about abortion, snow, and being more productive. Other thoughts have been able to survive, even thrive for an hour or two to be replaced and forgotten. Abortion as a real world reality dominated my thoughts, caused me to rethink how I view the world. All other thoughts this week except those at the grocery store which were on a search and avoid corn starch syrup were filtered by an awareness of the impact of abortion.

I have always believed abortion to be wrong. In many ways it always seemed like a doomsday literary device, the crisis is temporarily averted but the danger remains, the anxiety, the angst, the depression remains.

Attending the March for Life on Monday was beautiful, inspiring. My mind was not prepared for all of the people present on the Mall or marching to the Supreme Court.

My day began with a beautiful Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, then a journey on the Orange Line to the Mall. How amazing it was seeing all the young people walking near Federal Center South West! How wonderful it was watching them huddle together, listening to instructions, listening to prayers.

I had no idea what the Mall would look like. It was a cold January afternoon. I was dressed in several layers. I was carrying a big, black camera bag. My initial thoughts were centered on lens and camera angles and cold fingers and other things that photographers worry about whenever they pull out their cameras. There was a moment when I imagined that I was either F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway or Howard Hawks or Frank Capra.

There was something all crazy and upside down about our culture, like a thirties screwball comedy without the happy ending or a sense of moral redemption or even a sense of cultural morals or ethics. Thoughts like these often flash into my imagination on days when I am being unnaturally quiet and anonymous.

Abortion remains the quiet anonymous aberration, the post sexual revolution paradox of the convergence of convenience, consequence, and responsibility. Abortion remains an instant polarizing conundrum. Everyone has a point of view, everyone is ready to argue this topic. Few people are ready to listen to what their opponents are really saying.

A fundamental shift in our culture will be needed to combat or stop abortion. All people must be educated on how to make good choices, how to avoid hormones and peer pressure, how to do the right thing. Our society provides mixed messages regarding sexuality. We are routinely told sex is good, encouraged to have sex. Each day our sexual openness provides new risks and dangers for us all. Sex has become just another consumer good, another commodity. There is nothing beautiful or sacred or mysterious about sex. For many sex is like a large order of french fries or a latte. Our culture encourages and allows us to use sex for instant gratification.

Hopefully with time our society will again value goodness, holiness, and kindness and encourage all its citizens to respect themselves, to have patience, to remember God and his laws. Our society likes to talk about Plato, Socrates, Einstein, Darwin. We like to talk about natural laws.

There is nothing natural about abortion. It is truly barbaric. It does not simply kill unborn babies. Abortion attacks the spirit of all those living, breathing, and praying. Abortion is an attack on our way of life, on our dreams, on our future.

holy and beloved - December 26, 2010

It was a time to be warmhearted, to be time of tenderhearted; a time to believe in hope, in God. There were thick white candles with delicate orange flames reaching toward the ceiling, dancing toward heaven.

How easy it is to forget the behind the scene preparation for each Mass, to forget the ritual which precedes the rich, spiritual Rituals of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Here reverence and respect have an uneasy alliance. There is much scurrying, much hurrying. Patens and cruets have to filled and placed in the proper places. The chalice has to be covered and placed in its proper place. The ribbons in the books must be on the correct pages. There are voices saying hello, voices saying good-bye. There is much activity. There are questions about Mass, questions about brunch or the football game. It is a spiritual time. It is a very human time. It is a time for reflection. It is a time to search for chalice veil or a cushion for a chair or to ask someone to pray for you. Always people are walking this way, walking that way. Here is a moment of quick, joyous welcome. Here is a moment to accept a quick handshake, humble smile.

There is a little anxiety as volunteers arrive and ask for instruction.

There is a pureness in the moments leading up to a Mass, a moment of incorruptible high ideals and righteous as these minutes are freely, lovingly given in service to God.

There is laughing, water sipping, hand-washing, book skimming, slouching, standing, wobbling, joking, listening, praying. Here is a community.

Here is an opportunity to follow Jesus Christ, to escape the darkness and dangers of the secular world. Here is a time to be earnest, humble, and loving. Here is a time to seek illumination from God. Here we discuss contemporary hope and the encyclicals of the Pope. We ask about the Cardinal's ring which glancing at the processional song which we will sing.

There is a moment of silence, a moment of prayer, a moment when time does appear to stop, and Jesus Christ does gently appear on each face, each loving, believing face.

ABUNDANT JOY AND GREAT REJOICING - December 25, 2010

training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age Titus 2:12

It was a time of warmheartedness, a time of tenderheartedness surrounded by hope. There were thick white candles with delicate orange flames reaching toward the ceiling, dancing toward heaven.

How easy it is to forget the journey, to allow the moment, this minute to dominate the mind, the imagination. Life does not stop. Each minute flows into the next. Minutes flow into hours; hours flow into days. The journey continues whether we are prepared or not, whether we are able to upgrade or not. There is always motion, always a need for patience.

And here is a moment of delicate welcome, the lingering embrace of remembrance and forgiveness which recalls yesterday's hope, yesterday's love.

This is a moment of familiar songs, familiar sayings. For this instance the thick white candles offer reassurance, offer hope, offer continuity and faith. Here in this instance each individual is fine and dandy, each individual cannot complain. Here is a moment when good is allowed to triumph!

This is a moment of red and white and green leaves. This is a moment of soft lighting. This is a time to remember to be moral, to remember the Church's moral code. How romantic and perfect this night appears with the white lights on the evergreen trees. What a great moment to reflect upon personal morals. Each Christian is asked to live a morally-sound life of goodness, kindness, holiness; of charity, humility, and service to God. Each day provides opportunities for moralistic evaluations and decisions. Each day provides opportunities for honor, good character. Remember that each candle has one purpose: to provide light. High ideals are great companions to have as we walk on the right road, following the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Sharing love and hope freely, gently is always a boon. Each day we are given an opportunity to exalt the goodness, the mercy, the presence of God in our lives. We constantly make choices. We must remember to do what is productive for God, what is beneficial to God. As Christians, God must always be an active part of our individual decision making process.

The candles stand guard, patiently sacrifice their wax to provide light. Allow each Mass to be a pilgrimage, an expedition to holiness, to love universal and unconditional.

Spirit of holiness - December 19, 2010

When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Matthew 1:24

Each year the true message of Christmas is submerged beneath more hype, more consumerism, more angst. Christmas is not about giving and receiving; finding the perfect present; getting the best deal. There is so much hype that the real Christmas story is hidden from view.

The birth of Jesus Christ is important but that occurs after two very important events which are not mentioned outside of Mass.

What are the two events? What type of implications do these two events have on contemporary life?

The Nativity scene is very beautiful, very powerful. The entire story about the manger is gentle, natural, believable. The world and the time of Jesus Christ is rendered in such organic boldness that everything always is fresh when the story is told.

The two events which are central to this story concern Mary and Joseph. For the birth of Jesus to occur, both had to say yes to God's request. They both had angel visitations. They both had reservations. They both put their faith in God, complied with God's wishes. Both Mary and Joseph obeyed God. They each had free will. They could have said no. They decided to say yes.

The true message of Christmas begins with two people doing as God requested. The true gift of the season is their obedience, their faith.

All Christians should remember the angel visitations and prepare their lives for the tasks which God may request to be done.

Christmas can be a time of spiritual renewal if time is left for reflection, discernment. The presents should not be the focal point of this season. The focal point should be finding ways to serve God. The focal point should be saying yes to God. All Christians should be attentive, patient, and listening for God's call. All Christian's are asked to serve, are asked to have lives with foundation of charity, humility, and obedience.

Christmas reminds each one of us of the importance of listening and obeying God.

The true Christmas story is about the spirituality of two individuals, the simplicity and beauty of both their faith in God and their unwavering obedience to God. Their acceptance of God's requests fulfilled prophecy and suggested the foundation of a mystical union with God. Mary and Joseph together present a purity of heart, purity of obedience, purity of compassion and love, purity of conformity to the will of God.

The true value of the Christmas story rests in the lessons of preparation, renewal, and acceptance that the season offers when the spiritual needs are nurtured. Christmas is a time to open up each heart, open up each soul, open up each mind for God and for God's work.

Christmas reminds each Christian of the importance of saying thank you to God, of praising God.

The perfect gift for God is our obedience to his will.

Be strong, fear not! - December 12

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. James 5:7

I meant to write this entry earlier but it was such a busy day that I spent more time at the Cathedral than I had originally planned. I participated in one Mass, photographed another Mass, photographed another celebration, photographed a Christmas present wrapping party, participated in another Mass, had pizza and photographed more gift wrapping, then photographed the choir evening concert, and then photographed happy parishioners singing Christmas carols and drinking wassail. It was a delicious day, filled with prayer, filled with thoughts about the Lord.

It was a day of standing on the marble. It was a day of giving thanks.

The day was dedicated to God. There was something nurturing and playful; there was something healthy and alive, energizing my spirituality, evangelizing my spirituality. There was so much to observe, to experience, to remember.

There were children. There was a procession. There was a recreation.

A miracle was replayed and presented in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

There is something beautiful, something immense in being a part of this parish. Each day can be an expedition leading to goodness, kindness, holiness; leading to God.


Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another? Matthew 11:3

Send Them - December 1, 2010

"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." Matthew 15:32

How we interact with each other is very important. Each person's interactions can have either a negative or positive impact upon other people. Whether one person acknowledges another, listens attentively, opens a door can affect the actions and statements of others. Human beings exist within a hazy blur of hyperbole, creating crazy hypothetical questions about life, using hypotenuse triangles to explain this and that while trying to find each other's hypostasis. It is the search for the essence of the individual which sometimes leads men to God. The key ingredient of this search is whether we can see and/or sense evidence of goodness, kindness, holiness in each other. The essential element which we are all looking for is a sign of love. For unconditional love is the meat and potatoes of charity, humility, obedience to God. The key component is the ability of the individual to act in a way that is tender and non-selfish, a way that expresses honest concern and shows honest compassion. When this occurs, there is a moment of bliss, a moment of peace, a moment of hope when everything else is forgotten. This is a moment which should be cherished. The lessons of goodness, kindness, holiness are difficult to hear, process, accept, and imitate because they are often in direct conflict with how the popular culture dominated society behavior patterns where nothing needs to be respected, where being irreverent is considered the norm. Popular culture does not respect the soul of the individual, the souls of all human being. The essence of the individual is courageous in goodness, kindness; faithful in compassion, obedience; caring in words, actions.

Christians are asked to be gutsy, to have moxie, to develop and display dauntlessness, to be lionhearted, to have valor, to be valiant in the name of Jesus Christ, in both their thoughts and their deeds. Christians, simply, are asked to love and fear God and to love their neighbors. When a person is able to love, unconditionally, without compromise then finding the inner peace and the inner strength to be courageous.

Learning to commiserate with other people is a beautiful skill to have. This skill requires a level of courage. Being truly, honestly empathetic can provide understanding, hope. Being empathetic is active, asks each person to participate, to use their senses to explore and share the experience in a way pleasing to God, in a way that leads toward God, in a way that reinforces the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Christians are part of a group. How each individual describes and interacts with the group is very important. Attending Sunday Mass is important, but there is an underlying desire for each Christian to do more than that, to incorporate the lessons of love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ into their daily lives. Christians are often described as a flock of followers, a herd of believers, the assembled, the gathered. Christians consociate. Each Sunday Christians rendezvous and experience the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Each Christian has the responsibility of sharing his experience, the responsibility of asking others to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. The experience of being Christian can provide hope, love, courage. Being Christian is a beautiful consociation. Being Christian asks us to find the essence of goodness, kindness, and holiness within ourselves.

Hanging on Words

"It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'" Luke 19:46

Many people have their own personal ideas about prayer. Many people have their own personal ideas about attending Mass. When we go Mass we understand that there is both a Liturgy of the Word and a Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Mass is a celebration. These things we know. But, what happens when we attend Mass?

Are we engaged and listening to each prayer and reading that we hear? When we recite the prayers and the creed, is our voice passionate, are we speaking with love and hope? When we receive the Eucharist, what is in our hearts, our minds, our souls?

As Catholics we are asked to be active participants. It is not enough to simply recite our lines. We must remember the life of Jesus Christ. We must remember the death of Jesus Christ. This is essential. As Catholics we must open our minds, be ready to learn about goodness.

Attending Mass should be a time of renewal, a time of peace. We should look forward to attending Mass. When we attend Mass, we should always remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and remember to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Attending Mass should be a way to show and share your love.

We must allow ourselves to hang on every syllable, every word that we hear during the Mass. There is a purpose for each word. As Catholics we must teach ourselves how to listen and reflect on each Mass. As the believers we must always hang on to every word and be prepared to encourage others to do the same. Our actions should inspire others to follow us and to believe in God.

Prayer is very important to us as Christians. How many prayers do we hear during each Mass? Are the prayers important to you? Do the prayers move you, make you think, help you to understand and remember the passion of Jesus Christ.