StCYM: Hayride/Campfire

The youth group went on a hayride and had a campfire at Hickory Ridge Farms Saturday. When I planned the event I did not expect it to be quite as cold as it was. However, when realizing that it is indeed the end of October it should have been expected. We have definitely been spoiled lately.

The first portion of the event was the hayride, where we got on a flatbed trailer and were towed by a tractor through the woods of the property. It was dark and bumpy, but we had a good time talking and sharing stories. We also learned that one of us (who will remain anonymous) absolutely hates s'mores. This person (not me) is a good father because he sacrificed a lot for his children. I am grateful for his involvement in the group.

While riding through the woods I also learned about some of the adventures our youth have already taken in their young lives. Studies in Europe, experience with hostels, going on cruises. What an event filled life these teens have! It was certainly fun to share in these stories and to discuss the great German food of course.

Eventually we saw our campfire prepared for us in the distance. While traveling to it I had forgotten about the cold since I was so engaged in conversation. Once I saw the fire, I remembered how cold it was and how good this fire was about to be. Once we got to it we all rushed to the fire! We all got really close so we could experience its warmth.

There is a lesson in this. We didn't think twice about going to the fire. Once we finished our journey through the woods we immediately approached it. There was no fear, no hesitation, no doubt that this fire was going to keep us warm (and cook our hot dogs and s'mores). Fire is often symbolized as God engaging with us. We look to Acts and the tongues of flame or back to Exodus and the encounter between Moses and the burning bush. Do we run to God like we ran to the campfire?

God is the God of life! St. John Paul II told the youth in Denver that God wants us to have life! And have it abundantly! The fire of the Holy Spirit is for us to stay warm when the world is cold. And it is indeed cold! Do we forget how cold the world is because we are so engaged with the noise in our lives? Let us continue to return to the fire of the Gospel for warmth. Let us return constantly to God in prayer and in the Sacraments!

God is good!

Deus providebit! Credo Domine!

Called to Self Awareness: Reflection on Romans 1:16-25 and Luke 11:37-41

Have you ever examined yourself? Have you ever taken some serious time in prayer and gone over how you are deep down inside? If we are to follow the CALL, then we need to know about our spiritual well being. When we call ourselves Catholic, do we truly attempt to BE Catholic? In today's readings we are reminded of the importance of remaining pure.

In Romans 1:16 St. Paul proclaims that he is not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the "power of God" for all who believe in salvation. We often hear of our brothers and sisters being persecuted in the early Church, but they are also dying for Christ today. The self awareness check, here, is to determine our level of commitment. Are we ashamed of the Gospel? Do we hide it from others to avoid awkward moments? Do we down play our commitment around others to avoid being uncool? These are hard questions. It is hard to swim against the current of our society. Keep swimming!

There is another thing we have to be self aware of. Instead of being ashamed of the Gospel, we could be faking our commitment to it! Our Lord admonishes the Pharisees saying, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil," (Luke 11:39). When doing the dishes do we just wash the outside of the cup or the back of the plate? Of course not! We make sure to clean them completely. What is your spiritual life like? Are you clean on the outside by simply going to Mass just to go? Or simply doing the Sign of the Cross swiftly to look right? Brothers and sisters seek cleanliness from Our Lord!

It is important to examine ourselves, because what is on the inside will eventually have an effect on what is on the outside. The saying, "you are what you eat", applies to our spiritual lives as well. Let's challenge ourselves to spend a few minutes each day becoming more self aware. We are CALLED to produce good fruit and to do so we must be a good tree. To be a good tree we need to feed ourselves properly.


Pax

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Readings for 17 OCT 2017


Deus invictus! Credo Domine!

StCYM: Cathedral Visit

Sunday we visited the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. It was great to be able to take the teens and some parents to see the Bishop's church. Some have been in the Diocese of Cleveland all their lives and have never visited so they were excited to make the trip to E. 9th and Superior.

Our visit started with Mass celebrated by Fr. Sean Ralph the cathedral's administrator. The readings were Isaiah 25:6-10; various verses from Psalm 23; and Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20. The Gospel reading was Matthew 22:1-14.

In Fr. Sean's homily he encouraged us to respond positively to God's invitation to His heavenly feast. He laid out who was excluded from heaven and who was included in heaven. Responding positively to God's invitation means being one with His Church and living a holy life, which we are all CALLED to do. This sometimes includes things that are not easy to understand or follow.

Following Mass we received a tour of the cathedral from Fr. Sean. We began in the sacristy where we were shown the different vestments and the significance of the different colors. We are also shown where the bishop's staff is kept along with a relic of the Cross.

After the sacristy, we entered the sanctuary where we learned about the bishop's cathedra (chair, Latin) and his coat of arms. We also learned about the statues behind the altar and who they were. We were taught about the various symbols and their origins and meanings.

Once we exited the Sanctuary we learned about the two wings on the sides of the church. We were told about the significance of the imagery around the Mary. The statues around Our Lady are of her family (Sts. Joseph (husband) and Anne (mother), and the Christ Child). The painting on the wall above and around her depict her life ending with her coronation at the top.

Opposite Mary is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Pieta next to Christ, where we learned about the significance of that scene. Above and around Christ is the depiction of the Apocalypse as described in the Book of Revelation.

One of my personal favorite parts of the cathedral is the crypt. In the crypt lye the predecessors of Bishop Perez. The reason I consider it one of my favorite parts of the cathedral is because I am able to see the Apostolic Succession of the Diocese of Cleveland. The bones of St. Christine of Bolsena are below the altar in the Resurrection Chapel. She was a very young martyr who was martyred when she was only about 13 or 14 years old.

Once out of the chapel we learned some Latin. We learned the words Laudamus te, Benedicimus te, Adoramus te (We praise you, we bless you, we adore you). The words are from the Gloria in the Mass. We are CALLED to praise, bless, adore, and glorify God at Mass and in the world.

The last stop of the tour was in the choir loft upstairs. We were able to look at the entire church and truly take in its beauty. Overall the visit to the cathedral was one of prayer, worship, fellowship, and learning. We celebrated Mass with different people and we saw the center of the diocese. All the authority of the priests comes from that place (the Bishop sitting on his cathedra).

God is good.

Conversations in the World: My Version of Catholicism

Advent greetings! It has been a while since submitting a blog post. One of my resolutions for 2017 is to be more consistent and post at least once per month. I pray I am successful. Anyway, in this post I'd like to give a reflection of a recent conversation I had in the world. What I mean by having a conversation in the world is discussing different Church teachings or stances on various topics with someone who is either not Catholic or is a separated Catholic in a non-religious setting. Based on my experience most of these conversations happen over a good glass of beer at a local bar. In this conversation the topic was conversion and witness.

We were discussing the coercive nature that some religious people evangelize, including Catholics. He mentioned how people have been pushy or even shut him out. I immediately acknowledged that coercion does exist, but that it is not the proper way to evangelize and began to discuss what proper evangelizing is and what the Church teaches in regard to conversion. God does not coerce and this is evident in Christ's ministry. Christ was not a warrior that sought to gather foot soldiers and ransack Jerusalem. The proper way to evangelize is to be like Christ; a faithful witness to the truth seeking the good of others. Christ, the Son acting in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, gave people a choice. It is important to note that Christ didn't mince words. He gave people a solid choice to make, but he let them make the choice upholding their free will. It is important to remember that the Holy Spirit does the converting when a person's heart is open to respond to the Spirit. All we can do and should do is proclaim the teachings of the Church and be a witness to the teachings. We must recognize our sinfulness and need for the Church.

It was a very civil discussion with someone who believes in a world beyond this one, but who is not religious. He appreciated my tone and said he likes my version of Catholicism. I must note that I responded by thanking him and added that my version is not my version. I simply seek to follow Christ as I work toward holiness in serving God and His creation. I love these types of conversations. Don't be afraid of engaging in conversations similar to these. You may not know all the answers, I certainly don't, but that's why we have smart phones. If you get stumped, simply look up the answer on a good Catholic app or website. If the person you are conversing with is a good person, they will appreciate your diligence. The moment was certainly a moment of consolation in my discernment of the priesthood. 

Deus invictus

Thanks Jane for the correct translation!

Upon walking out of the beautiful Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland after Confession I texted my accountability partner "God wins again! I am clean. God be praised!" This got me thinking about God's victory in His mercy. I was also truly blessed to get a parking spot at a meter outside of the Cathedral (that still had time on it!) since the Cathedral parking garage was full due to it being a work day on top of people being in town for game seven of the World Series. I am certainly going to classify that as divine intervention. Anyway, I immediately listened to The Priests rendition of Vivaldi's Gloria III: Laudamus te" (We praise You) which I often listen to after Confession or when feeling blessed. The first three lines are "Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te." (We praise You. We  bless You. We adore You). This song helps me get into a state of gratitude for God's mercy, which led to my reflection on God's victory which I proclaimed to my accountability partner.

God is unconquerable! The reason I proclaimed "God wins again!" is because God truly continues to be victorious in His mercy toward His creation. The ultimate victory of sin and death is God's through Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So each time we accept His mercy we share in God's victory. It is a beautiful thing! How great is a victory that can be relived again and again? It is truly powerful. I mean, I know I don't get sick of watching the final minute of the Cavs' game seven victory over the Warriors (neither do my Facebook friends since I see it on my feed all the time). I also don't get sick of watching Rajai Davis' eight inning two-run shot over the mini monster at Progressive Field during game seven of the World Series (I know I know we still lost). We should have the same attitude in an exponentially increased sense regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We should never tire of God's mercy! We share in God's ultimate triumph every time we receive this glorious sacrament.

So, let is remember that Deus est invictus (God is unconquerable). Our sins are many, sure. Our sins are deplorable, absolutely. However, no sin is greater than God. Not a single one. It is easy to fall into despair after doing X for the thousandth time. However, do not despair! Go! Relive the victory over sin! Relive the victory over death! Through Christ we persevere and march on. Nothing can defeat Christ. No amount of self loathing will make the previous sentence false. Let's take all of our faults and shortcomings to Christ and let Christ bring us to victory in Him. Amen. Pax.

Neglect in the Spiritual Life: A Self Reflection

After I went to the gym last night I went for a short drive around Parma to do a bit of self reflection. The reason for this cruise was because before I went to the gym I fell to sin, again. Getting through my workout was very difficult due to my motivation being very low as I felt ashamed of myself. However, I powered through it and then decided to drive. During this drive I reflected about my prayer life and came to a heavy realization; I am neglectful in my spiritual life. My spiritual life, as I realized, rather finally admitted, is very shallow.

Sure, I do have some consistent piety. I commit to Eucharistic Adoration once per week on Friday from 11 to midnight, I attend Mass two to three times per week, I go to Confession about once per week. I am good at going places, but that is where my discipline ends. I am absolutely terrible at being pious at home. It is shameful that I cannot bring myself to do more than pray anything outside of a Hail Mary upon rising and putting on my Brown Scapular and a Hail Mary and St. Michael prayer before sleeping. Sure, this is a good start and I shouldn't abandon this, but what bothers me is that this small amount of piety is not building up my Armor of God.

I would say that the list of things I do is pretty good, however it is what I do during my time at one of those things on the list and how I apply it that matters. I do believe that I am good at praying for others and for big things that I don't necessarily have control over. Where my prayer life severely lacks is in praying for myself. I do not find myself praying for things that I think I have control over (i.e. finances, job, living situation). This is very neglectful in my opinion! Am I too proud to ask the Almighty for help in these matters? Is it deep rooted despair that I am ashamed as a sinner to ask God to aid me in the little things? I would say perhaps a little of both.

In today's world it seems all too easy to blame everything on society, and perhaps society shares in the blame. In our culture we are expected to mold the world to our liking. We are expected to do a lot without God. Am I caving to this thought? See? It is all to easy to convict society of wrongdoing, seeing as a lot is indeed wrong with our society. I do not think the answer is blaming society. The answer is prayer. How can expect to conquer my big obstacles without overcoming the small ones, especially when perpetuating the small ones is seen as relief from constantly attempting to overcome the big ones?! Do you see the problem? I am in a cycle of self created obstacles.

Allow me to get a little more specific. I would say that habitual sin is a big obstacle. Now image yourself focusing all your energy on overcoming habitual sin. A noble undertaking, sure. We are called to be saints after all. However, to relieve stress and relax from the constant war against habitual sin you turn to the things that keep you from what is important in the spiritual life that is prayer and fasting. For example, I'm tired from battle so instead of praying, fasting, doing spiritual reading, and tackling smaller obstacles (shallow prayer life, finances, living situation) which would be immensely beneficial, I watch YouTube for hours or browse Facebook for a large amount of time in my room. I don't like what I see society doing and so I get angry and I'm back to being stressed and tired and my spiritual fuel is at zero.

Do you see the neglect? This is why I haven't blogged in a while either. It is easier to simply share a story on Facebook and add a sentence or two of commentary and watch the comment section explode in discussion. Don't get me wrong I'm all about some quality dialogue, but what are the fruits? So I have identified a problem; self perpetuating obstacles and not properly applying my piety to my practical life. While I'm good at applying my piety to my big obstacle of habitual sin, with everything else it is as if my spiritual life and my practical life are completely separate.

What are the solutions? This is where I encourage input from you the reader and maybe a quick prayer. I think the first solution is to focus more energy on smaller projects while remaining aware of the large obstacle. It begins with prayer. Pray for the smaller things that I think I have control over. Invite God into my practical life, my everyday life. Invite the Lord to journey with me to work, to the gym, to my friends, etc. Invite God to look at my finances with me and to plan with me so that I can improve my living situation. The Lord is faithful and will remain so. It is up to me to invite him in to the everyday.

Pax,
Johannes


Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

Hail Mary,
Full of grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of they womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now,
and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Throwback Thursday: Sermon on Mark 4:35-42

While I was a prospective Lutheran seminarian and as a Lutheran seminarian, I was given opportunities to preach at my former church. I would be lying if these moments did not have a large impact on my faith journey. In this second Throwback Thursday post, I would like to share my sermon on Mark 4:35-42. I believe the reason I recorded the rehearsal was, because the table I used last time would be used by the bell choir. My sermon outline is at the bottom.

Credo Domine

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Sermon on Mark 4:35-41 (2 Corinthians 6:1-13)

Intro:

-        - Water is the most powerful force in nature (good and bad)

-       -  Water is also most powerful natural element spiritually (Baptism)

-       -  Water is still very significant in today’s cultures (lead into points from Mark)

Main Points from Mark:

-        - Water has significance in Hebrew culture

-        - God can control the water (Job 38:8-11)

-        - Disciples were shocked that Jesus has the power to control the water (Psalm 107:28-30)

-        - Although Jesus was with them a storm still arose

-        - Disciples approached Jesus in an unfaithful way

-        - What do we do when a storm forms in our lives?

-        - How do we approach Jesus during these storms?

-        - We must be faithful and trust in the Lord

Main Points from 2 Corinthians:

-        - Do not accept God’s grace in vain

-        - God listen’s to us at the proper time and saves us accordingly

-        - The strength of a Christian has been displayed in many ways

-        - We should open our hearts to the Good News