Don't Tell Dan Brown...

...that I'm going to an Opus Dei men's night of recollection tonight.

That pretty much makes me one of the Werst Kafliks Evurr. Secret societies, murderous plots, misogyny, secret theological truths unearthed about Christ, beating my own self to a bloody mess, among other things in this cult-like society as presented in The Da Vinci Code.

Yep. Don't tell Dan Brown. He might get upset and be inspired to continue Robert Langdon's story.

Lol.

I'm glad that there is such a thing as reality and that fiction is entertaining. Because! In real life, Opus Dei isn't what Dan Brown makes it out to be.

A refutation of Dan Brown's version of Opus Dei, by the real Opus Dei: http://opusdei.us/en-us/article/the-da-vinci-code-the-catholic-church-and-opus-dei-2/

So for our weekly Bro Night with my housemates, we're going to this men's night of recollection.

I've been to a few Opus Dei men's nights of recollection before. Assuming tonight will be no different, I'll expect that we'll be engaging in such debaucherous things as praying before the Most Blessed Sacrament (ie. the Eucharist (ie. Jesus Himself)), being led in meditations/contemplations/reflections by an Opus Dei priest, have the chance to go to Confession, attend a brief seminar on how to integrate Catholic faith and everyday life and work, and an examination of conscience as related to how well we are being the men we are created to be whether married or single.

And more praying!

Scandalous! I know! Sheesh.

"Opus Dei" means "God's work", which is a characterization of the founder's ideal on how we as Catholics, especially laypeople, can glorify God through our everyday work and labor. 

Again, don't tell Dan Brown because Opus Dei, in reality, is truly Catholic and not some false shadow of the truth.

Please pray for me as I contemplate how to better integrate my faith in my engineering work on a daily basis. And please know that I'm praying for you, too.

St. Josemaria Escríva, founder of Opus Dei and pretty cool priest, pray for us!

-JD

St. Josemaria Escríva // http://catholicseeking.blogspot.com/2012/06/st-josemaria-escriva.html

How Satanists Backhand Compliment Catholicism

I just recently visited a Bendictine monastery up in Oklahoma. I found it interesting that, posted in several places throughout the monastery, is the letter of an archbishop asking all Catholics to pray for the Satanic Black Mass to be cancelled today on September 21. Makes sense because the monastery is located in the middle-of-nowhere of Oklahoma and the Black Mass is happening in Oklahoma City.

The temptation right now is to talk about this Satanic Black Mass from an angle of whether they should or should not or whether public/private places should even hold such things simply because that's what's been covered in media. But that's not what I want to talk about. Here's a mass media article to help provide a little insight.

In my very light research of a Satanic Black Mass, I found out that while there can be some variation as to what actions or ceremonies are done within a Black Mass, it essentially is based off of a Catholic Mass. A Black Mass is a mockery and parody of the Catholic Mass. Perhaps for some, this is not a big deal because Mass is long and boring. For Catholics Who Care, that's terrible because it takes our highest form of prayer and desecrates it. But that's not what I want to talk about.

What's often required for a Satanic Black Mass is a consecrated host. In Catholic terms, this is the Eucharist. Our communion bread. A consecrated host means that the piece of unleavened bread has undergone the traditional ritual since The Last Supper which transforms this bread into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. That's a long winded exhortation of theological matters, but that's not what I want to talk about. Just note that Catholics believe that the Eucharist is truly Jesus.

So, they mock the Catholic Mass and desecrate the Eucharist.

They. mock. the. Catholic. Mass. and. desecrate. the Eucharist. They invoke Satan and try to cast out the Holy Spirit. They desecrate the (consecrated) host with bodily fluids. And other things.

See, as terrible and targeted as this is, I think these two facts are, in a somewhat farfetched way, back handed compliments for Catholicism. 

Farfetch'd from Pokémon, to illustrate the point

First of all, it's a Black Mass. Not a Satanic Black Worship Service. Not a Satanic Black Bible Study. Not a Satanic Black Prayer Meeting. A Satanic Black Mass. Very intentional that it mocks the Catholic Mass. Which leads me to think that the Catholic Mass seems to be worth mocking. And our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters should be seriously offended that their forms of worship aren’t the model for a Satanic Black Mass. 

Second of all, while most Christians believe that their hosts are merely symbolic of Jesus’ Body, only Catholics believe in the fullness of truth regardingthat during a Catholic Mass, the host becomes Jesus’ body, blood, soul, and divinity after consecration. Sure, some other mainline Protestants also believe that theirs become Real too, but not with the same full understanding that the Catholic Church has.  Oh, and Satanists affirm the Catholic understanding. They believe it really is Jesus, too. That’s why they strive to steal the Eucharist from Catholic parishes. There’s no way to obtain one unless one goes to Mass, take one, and try to leave with it. Or they attempt to break into a Catholic parish and steal it from the tabernacle. Again, most Christians don’t believe it’s Real. But Satanists do! That’s so crazy! That’s why Satanists want to desecrate the Eucharist because they know it’s Jesus! They would have to settle for a symbolic ritual of desecration by using communion wafers that you can buy leisurely at LifeWay. Or something. Again, our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters should be offended that their form of matter for communion isn’t the first preference.

As they think that they’re doing the right thing by opposing the influence of God and the Catholic Church, they provide some interesting backhand compliments.

So, should I be honored that this Black Mass is happening tonight? Should I be angry because they’re taking two very important things to me (the Mass and the Eucharist) and spitting (literally) on them? 

I’m not honored but perhaps slightly flattered that the elements of my Christian spiritual life are the ones worth targeting. However, I don’t advocate for Black Mass, even for the curious. I’m aware of the realities of opening oneself to the influence of evil is not a good thing. It’s serious stuff. Even they say this is serious stuff. I'm grateful that (allegedly) they're not using a consecrated host this time.

But, our response as real Catholics, isn’t to go beheading those who attack us or who are different from us. If the Satanists want to desecrate our Mass and the Eucharist, our response is to…have special Masses, special gatherings for prayer and adore Christ in the Eucharist all the more. Again, back to the letter of the archbishop of Oklahoma City, he calls for all Catholics to do something for tonight’s Black Mass at the same time it is happening.

That’s where I’ll be tonight. Adoring Christ in the Eucharist. Fellow Catholics (and our Christians brothers and sisters and other people of good will!), come let us harness the power of Google and find out if a local Catholic parish is hosting anything tonight in reparation for the Satanic Black Mass. There are Masses, times of prayer, Adoration, and Eucharistic processions that might be happening, especially around Oklahoma City. 

“Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith…”
-JD

This post was inspired by Mark Shea's, "Monstrous" post.

This post also linked at Catholic Bloggers Network.

Farfetch'd // Pokemon Wikia

Going to Visit A Monastery & Taking Prayer Requests!

Sometimes great adventures get proposed over cold adult beverages and 60 cent wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. As Taylor Swift may briefly say, it was just a typical Tuesday night with some guys from my parish, including our Director of Religious Education (DRE) and some visiting seminarians from Albuquerque, NM. 

Towards the end of the night and after the last Thai Curry wing was consumed, our DRE came up to me and my housemate proposing an adventurous idea: a pilgrimage to a Benedictine monastery in Oklahoma. The initial details were basically take a car and drive up, stop 20+ miles away from the monastery, walk the rest of the way, join the monks for their prayer times, stay the night, have a full morning and afternoon of prayer and reflection, then drive back. Oh, and beg for food in order to eat.

Crazy.

...and in my mind I was like..."HEAVEN YEAH!"  My only hesitations in saying yes were some typical annual obligations that fell on this planned weekend of pilgrimage-ing. A week goes by, permissions asked of wives and housemates. It looks like I'm going to be in a car full of other men doing this pilgrimage.

We will leave in the dead of the night (3:30AM) on Friday, drive a long while, stop at a Catholic church in Waggoner, OK mid-morning, then walk all afternoon to the monastery where we hope to have dinner with some friends of the monks at a volunteer fire station. We'll be bringing a large wooden cross to carry with us as we're walking. Then at night, we'll join the monks for Compline (Night Prayer). Saturday will be filled with more Liturgy of the Hours with the monks, times of silence and prayer, a conference/reflection led by our DRE on the Holy Cross (the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is Sunday), hang out with religious sisters, and Mass at some point. Then we return home.

I'm pretty excited. I haven't been on any sort of retreat for my own sake since last year when I went on a silent retreat. I see it as a great opportunity to grow physically and spiritually due to the demands of this pilgrimage. Walking 20+ miles?! In the afternoon in the summer?! I've never done that! And Benedictine monasteries have a certain Catholic cool factor due to the nature of the Benedictine way of life. Challenge accepted.

With all that said, I'll undoubtedly have time to pray. If you would like me to pray for you while I'm on this pilgrimage, please submit your prayer request via the form below.

Thanks and God bless! And please pray for the other men and for me as we go on this pilgrimage that God teaches us what He wants us to know during this time on our pilgrimage. And let's also ask for St. Michael the Archangel's intercession for this time before the pilgrimage because I can already tell that Satan is on the prowl trying to ruin things because he doesn't like this idea at all.

Lastly, please pray for our pilgrimage's general intention (what we'll be praying for during the pilgrimage): for an end to the Black Mass scheduled on September 21 through the victory of the Holy Cross.

Pax
- JD

Our Lady of Clear Creek Abby // ClearCreekMonks.org

The Reality of Death

And I can say with confidence that...

We're all going to die.

My grandparents' graves

It is inevitable.

When I was younger, I attended the funerals of distant (both in blood and literally) family members, and it never really mattered to me. Like, I had no attachment to them. Sure, it was sad, but being young and not really fully appreciating what it means to grieve and mourn, it never hit me. I knew those distant family members were gone, I understood why my parents were sad, but I didn't really, truly care. It wasn't until I was an underclassman in high school that the reality of death became real to me with the death of my grandparents on my dad's side.

I actually got to know my grandparents. Even though they lived in California and I in Texas, my parents made sure that we got to visit them and that they got to visit us frequently while I was growing up. When all my dad's siblings immigrated here from the Philippines, we held annual family reunions! So, losing them at the beginning of high school was pretty hard.

With their deaths, I began to ask myself, in sadness..."How can I cope with the loss?", "Are they in heaven?" and other usual questions.

I lost my grandfather at the beginning of my freshman year of high school. Things were going downhill for him that summer. I forget what caused him to decline, but I think it had something to do with cysts that developed internally that compromised his health. I remember visiting him in the hospital and a month later having to attend his funeral. His was the first funeral I've ever been to for a close family member.

My grandmother passed away almost exactly a year later. Her memory was declining at the time of my grandfather's death, and I remember my aunt telling me that she could hear my grandfather calling out to her from beyond the grave. Creepily romantic, yeah? Late in the summer that year, she fell down and hit her head. She survived it for a while, but eventually she passed away.

When she passed away, yes, I was indeed really sad about it. But having gone through the process of grieving and mourning for my grandfather the year prior, I was more prepared this time around. But even more so, in that time between my grandfather's and grandmother's passing, I grew in my Catholic faith.

I started attending religious education classes at the start of high school as part of my learning and education in preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation. My grandfather passed away at the beginning of my freshman year, and I didn't really know how to cope. Thankfully, through those classes, I began to pay more attention to and learn more about the faith that my family has passed on to me. While I may not have understood the Catholic understanding of suffering and death at the time (maybe I still don't, or not that well), I knew that in dealing with my losses that the Catholic faith was something I could turn to. And yes, with both of their passings, I'm pretty sure I leveled up in my praying.

How can I cope? I don't know, but perhaps asking God to give my grandparents a nice little plot of heaven would be great. At least I know they'll be taken care of.

How can I deal with this sense of loss? I don't know, but maybe by asking God for a sense of peace and calm for my own sake would help me move on.

I'm pretty sure that in going through the process of the deaths of my grandparents helped solidify, in a real way, for me about being Catholic. I first realized I had to have humility. My grandparents don't belong to me nor to my dad and his many siblings. They belong to God. I had to acknowledge that there really is a God and that whenever we pass away, we hopefully return to His loving embrace in heaven. I also had to realize that the Church has given me ways to pray. When my grandmother was in the hospital, I took up a devotion to the Rosary because I didn't know how else to pray for her. Or myself. Or my family.

With praying and beginning to dive deeper into my Catholic faith, I could begin to make sense of death and how to deal with it.

So, with the passing of my grandparents, it became so, so, so real to me that...

Death is a reality. 

But there was this jerk who lived 2000 years ago who Death could not hold (that's why He's a jerk...to Death). He rose from the dead in all glory and power like He said He would. He showed us that death is not the end, and He invites us to be with Him and the Father who sent Him. Because of Him, the gates of heaven burst open! And heaven is where we can enjoy a sense of eternal joy and peace!

O Death, where is thy sting?!

...well maybe if Death had a stinger... o_O #joke

Knowing about Jesus, His Death, and His Resurrection...and His Church, I can arrive at a sense of peace when dealing with a loss.

And perhaps that's the attraction of Catholicism--that it provides a way of peace and sense in dealing with the reality of death and the teachings of Jesus on the reality of what comes after death. Catholicism doesn't have a cheap or cheesy understanding of the matter, but rather a beautifully rich and full sense of death and resurrection. And the "last things": heaven and hell.

So yeah. Looking back since then, I think coping with death always helps me turn towards my Catholic faith because through it, at least I know there is meaning and purpose. My understanding of the Church's mind on these matters is still a process of learning, understanding, and appreciating even as I deal with the deaths of others that are or are not close to me.

Please pray for my grandparents and for the repose of their souls! That they may enjoy the beatific vision of God in heaven!

- JD

Scared to Die

Yesterday, going down the nursing home's hallway, I finally came up to her room and saw that the door was open. I knocked on the door out of courtesy but no response.  I enter quietly, and I see her there fast asleep.  I made a few attempts at calling her name in order wake her, and she eventually woke up. But she started crying as soon as she woke up.

I have the privilege of visiting nursing homes about once a month. Inspired to do this after doing a week-long service camp last summer, I am part of my parish's ministry to the sick at nursing homes. We visit Catholic residents at many of the local nursing homes in order to pray with them and to minister the Holy Eucharist to them so that they receive God in Word and Flesh because they normally don't have opportunities to go to Mass due to their current health situations. I've been doing this for about a year now, and just due to the nature of interacting with elderly and sick individuals, the reality of death is very apparent to me. But, on this particular visit to one of my usual residents, the reality of death was not something I, myself, personally related to in a profound way.

In the previous times I've interacted with her, she was coherent and very talkative and good-natured.  Sometimes she has short-term memory loss.  In recent reports from my fellow ministry volunteers, it seems as though her health has declined recently. Knowing this ahead of time, I wasn't sure what to expect upon arriving.

This happens frequently where I stop by a resident's room only to find them sleeping. And I usually make a few attempts to wake them up, and in her case this time, I was able to wake her. But like I said, she started crying.

I didn't know what to do but since she's a talkative one, I kind of waited for her to explain.  She kind of apologized for being a mess because had been crying a lot. And she said, in flowing tears, that she's scared to die. I didn't know what to say.

She further explained that she had a choking episode earlier in the morning.  Through this unfortunate experience, she realized she could have died had no one helped her. And after the fact, as I was dealing with this after the fact, the reality of death must have been ... totally real to her. 

I'm not gonna lie. I'm sensitive to death. And I nearly started tearing up out of sympathy for her because that's a certain kind of suffering that I can't totally fathom, but I understand. I mean, it's understandable to be scared to die. But since I've grown deeper into my Catholic faith, death for me personally is something less to be scared of, but I know that other people aren't at peace with the idea.

She went on for a bit expressing her fears, and I tried giving her some comforting gestures like pats on her shoulder and head and that's okay to be scared. I mentioned earlier that she has some mild short-term memory loss or has a short attention span. Thank goodness though, because I was half-expecting my interactions with her to be me having to listen to her cry for a long while.  But out of nowhere she stops crying and gets distracted by the TV that was on. That led to her noticing the verse of Scripture that someone had banner'd across the top of the wall above the TV:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

She explained that she's glad that [whoever] had posted that on her wall because it helps her deal with what her fears. I then felt it appropriate to let her know of a quote by St. Augustine.  I only offered it because it's something that I've been reflecting on a lot lately, and it just somehow felt fitting to give her:

...our heart is restless until it rests in You. (from his Confessions)

The way I was understanding her fear of death was that it is out of anxiety and not being at peace with the idea of death. A sort of restlessness.  In my own life right now, I'm terribly restless and have only found peace by resting in God (usually through Adoration of the Holy Eucharist). And it's been a frequent reflection of mine for a long while now.

She really liked that quote. I'm not sure that she'll remember it, and I regret not having written it down for her, but I could tell that it did strike a chord with her.

After that, I offered to read her Sunday's Gospel reading, though I read the shorter version. These were the parables that Jesus told regarding the rejoicing of finding the lost sheep as well as the woman who lost one of her coins and rejoiced after she diligently searched for it and found it. Since I read the shorter version of Sunday's Gospel reading, it didn't include the fan favorite: the parable of the prodigal son.  She really liked hearing the Gospel that I read, and she even offered her own personal reflection (briefly) from the reading.

And we kind of got back into the conversation of being scared to die. To which I then asked her if she wanted to receive the Eucharist (because she sometimes doesn't).  She was a little hesitant because she let me know that she wanted to go to Confession as well.  Haha, she actually asked me if I could hear her confession, but I told her that I can't do that since I'm not a priest, but I offered to have a priest come visit her at some point sometime soon.  She very much liked that idea.

She ultimately decided to receive Jesus in the Eucharist because she felt that it would help her deal with her restlessness and fear regarding death.  So after humbly obliging to rinsing out her dentures at her request so that she could talk better and eat better, I was able to minister the Eucharist to her.

After she received the Eucharist, she was just incredibly grateful for my visit.  And she was just really grateful for us praying together and her receiving the Eucharist. By that point, I had to leave to go visit other residents, and I assured her that I would continue praying for her and that I would call our parish office to have a priest come by and visit to hear her confession.

I left her room feeling really grateful myself for having had this opportunity.  This was my first time talking about the reality of death with a nursing home resident. They're usually A) asleep, B) wanting to talk about other things or C) incoherent.  It just seemed really providential that it all worked out this way.

I was thinking just now how this little episode visiting her kind of ties in with this past Sunday's Gospel. Would a lonesome sheep not be scared that he is separated from the rest? The woman who lost her coin was probably scared because she lost something valuable.  The prodigal son was probably freaking out once he lost everything and was fearful in coming back home.  Yet, as Jesus shows us, there's much rejoicing to be had whenever the lost has been found.  And when we know this and take it to heart, we have nothing to fear, not even death itself.

I did call my parish earlier today, and a priest will be visiting her soon! :-)

Her name is Judy. Please pray for her! ...that she finds rest and peace in God and that whenever her hour has come, she's ready to come home.

Pax.
- JD

The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773) // Pompeo Batoni, Wikipedia

After World Youth Day in Rio

Very official looking banner at the street where they usually do parades like for Carnaval

It's been a few weeks since I was in Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day. I had a rough time upon returning! I got back home in the middle of the afternoon Wednesday, a few days after the closing Mass. The very next day, I went to work. That Thursday and Friday was rough because I hadn't yet returned to a normal sleeping schedule. And because I make some ridiculous Catholic decisions sometimes... that Friday after I returned, I went to a young adult Catholic conference at a nearby parish! Had that all weekend! In brief summary of that conference, I liked the keynote speaker, the workshops were helpful, but more importantly, it was great for networking!

Well, Aggie Network-ing works too #AggieCatholics

Narwhal flu?!

So, because of the constant rain and being out and about in that rain nearly every day while we were in Rio, members of my group got sick. You know, usual cold and cough stuff. Praise God that I didn't get sick while we were Rio-ing it up, but I definitely became sick after we returned home! Again, typical cold and cough stuff. Nothing exotic like some sort of animal flu from...I don't know...Peru or something.



So yeah, it was rough after getting back from Rio. But now that I'm recovered and have caught up on sleep (mostly), and now that I've had some time living a post-World Youth Day life, I've had some time reflecting on how it has impacted me.

First, let's get the usual awkward question out of the way.

But let's have a prequel! A flashback!

So last year during Texas' tax-free weekend, I was out and about looking for new shoes and more specifically, new and good shoes for walking around for my trip to Rio de Janeiro a year later (yes, after my executive decision to go, I started making material preparations (and yes, those shoes worked out great)). But in the process of selecting those pair of shoes in the store, I ran into a high school friend that I hadn't seen in a long while. Insert small talk and brief catching up. While the purpose in visiting a shoe store doesn't leave much to be asked as to why we found ourselves in this shoe store, the obvious question was still asked by my friend as to why I was purchasing new shoes. I awkwardly and gladly explained that these new shoes were for lots of walking during World Youth Day. Thankfully my friend already had an idea of what World Youth Day is because her older sister went once and came back wanting to be Catholic (their family isn't Catholic). Not only Catholic but super Catholic. Insert awkward laughter. But then my friend asked me ...

...the awkward question...

"...so are you going to be a priest when you get back?"

Lol. I gave her the shortest answer I could, given the circumstances (I mean, shoe buying is serious stuff) while still being truthful.  I replied with, "haha, we'll see", and she gave this weird look. We then carried on with our tax-free shoe shopping sprees.

Now that I've been to World Youth Day for the first time and have had some time to let those experiences marinate in my memory and soul...my answer to that question remains the same from before World Youth Day. But here in this blog post, I am able to offer more explanation since I'm not in the process of purchasing tax-free shoes for some crazy out-of-country trip a year later.

My answer? Ultimately, what makes us the happiest and most at peace (in a profound way, though not without trial and suffering out of love) is living out life according to how God created us to be. He calls us to live our lives in various states and as Catholics, we call these states in life as single, married, or religious life whether as a brother/sister, monk/nun or priest. But it takes careful reflection, prayer, and discernment with God's help to figure out which of these states of life He's calling us to be that will bring about our greatest joys and peace. So, the short of it is...I'm currently single, but open to the idea of religious life or married life. One of them, I desire more because it attracts me more. But I think the best way I can describe where I am in all this is that I'm in an ice cream parlor with only enough money for 1 scoop of ice cream, and the two available flavors are both very good. But I keep coming back to the original flavor that looked good to me. And I'll leave it at that for this blog post. In summary, World Youth Day did not all of a sudden compel me wanting to be a priest. Or religious brother. Definitely not nun or sister =P. But I haven't ruled the religious option out.

Just tryin' to be more like St. John Bosco

What World Youth Day did help me regarding religious life is gaining a better appreciation for those who have already answered that call. World Youth Day was chock full of priests and religious! (In fact, remember that my group cheered every time we saw one! And we had a friar with us too!). Without a deeper understanding of who they are and for what purpose they serve, religious people in the Catholic Church seem like a bunch of suppressed but holy individuals who do nothing but pray all the time. It's easy to forget that they are just normal people. Granted, they've chosen a life that is radically different than our modern understanding on how to live life. They do not live for their own sake, and they have sacrificed life's greatest things not because those things are bad, but because they are really good. And that's a beautiful. Hence, we cheered. Not only that…but…there seems to be a rise of friends in my proximate circles who are pursuing the religious life, and I can't help but celebrate their decisions!

Now, to the meat of why I originally wanted to do this blog post.

How did World Youth Day impact me?

I don't know that it really did anything truly revolutionary for me. Some people come back from World Youth Day truly changed and greatly convicted to make life-changing decisions. So, as an example, while I didn't come back from World Youth Day wanting to become a priest, one of my second cousin's came back from WYD Toronto wanting to become one. From what I heard, he went through with that and is currently in seminary. One of my favorite Catholic speakers and apologists, Matt Fradd, had a deep conversion moment when he went to WYD Rome 2000. And, after some digging around, I'm sure it will be easy to find stories of people who come back from World Youth Day drastically changed. And more power to them for that! But that's not how I left World Youth Day.

First, World Youth Day reminded me that I have grown lax in my day-to-day practice of my Catholic faith. Our group leader (and I love that he makes us do this) makes it a point that we try to make Mass every day any time we're on pilgrimage. We were supposed to have a priest with us so we could conveniently have Mass, but he had to back out of our trip at the last minute. Instead, we attempted at going to Daily Mass at various parishes close to our hostel in Rio. Daily Mass used to be something that I could make once a week, but work has been so terribly busy over the past year that it's been difficult to do that. Therefore, it was refreshing to encounter God through His Word and His Body in the celebration of Mass throughout the week while we were in Rio.  In addition to going to Mass every day (or attempting to, since we didn't make it every day), we prayed the Liturgy of the Hours every day! Like, we packed (Shorter) Christian Prayer books and 4-volume sets with us! And praying the Psalms at certain hours of the day is a great way to sanctify the day in union with the rest of the Church because the Liturgy of the Hours is the 2nd official prayer of the Catholic Church (1st being Mass, ;-) ).  Daily Mass and Liturgy of the Hours were things I kept up with for a while in the past few years, but I stopped due to being busy…not devoting the time… etc.  In addition to those, we had opportunities to go to Adoration throughout the week. I also used to go to Adoration on a consistent, once-a-week basis, but lately it's been super difficult due to my busy work schedule. And that's a shame, because spending time adoring our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is one of my favorite ways to pray. In Rio, it was really nice to return to our usual church to spend time in Adoration, usually after having a hectic morning and lunch. And then there was that time we had Adoration with Pope Francis and 3+ million of our bros and sisters. That was something. Really, our whole time in Rio for World Youth Day was an immersion in Catholic prayer life through things that are not new or foreign to me because I used to do these things consistently. But by having these opportunities at World Youth Day, I was able to engage in these prayer experiences consistently once more that are easily accessible and doable back at home. So, since getting back from Rio, I've at least restored praying Liturgy of the Hours (at Night, at the very least). Still working on how I can make it to Daily Mass and Adoration consistently again… and a daily Rosary, too.

Secondly, World Youth Day showed me what joy in being Catholic looks like. Yes, but on a grand scale! Through a worldly lens, it becomes exceedingly perplexing as to why anyone would A) want to be Catholic, B) be a Catholic and spend lots of money to travel across the world to a meeting place where the Pope will be, and C) be Catholic and be joyful about it. And yet, from the moment we were on our way to Rio at the beginning…it was evident that this World Youth Day thing is a big deal. And I began to savor what it all meant during our first day in Rio. That first day, we were warmly/enthusiastically welcomed by Brazilians, met so many others, sang songs, danced in the streets, photos taken, trinkets exchanged, smiles, laughter, and just pure joy!

The prevailing theme throughout the week was encountering people from all over the world and the Church and sharing our joy in being Catholic! I mean, it's not the same kind of joy that you'd find in Rio a year from now at the World Cup. That is a passionate, competitive joy and rivalry out of love for fútbol. The joy expressed at World Youth Day stems from this unity we as Catholics have in our faith because our faith is in Christ.  As much as I would love this explanation of joy to be longer than the previous explanation on how I'm a lazy Catholic, I don't know how to say in words the joy that I experienced and saw firsthand during our trip to Rio. It's one of those "you had to be there" sort of things. And then, on top of that…there was a plethora of religious people present and they too shared in our expression of joy! And we, my group, were often overjoyed in just seeing a priest or nun (and others) walk by! So yes, World Youth Day showed me what joyful Catholicism looks like. And that's great because even before World Youth Day, I was already joyful in being Catholic, but now it is nice to know that I'm not the only one, haha. After World Youth Day in Rio, I feel more comfortable in sharing that joy with others with no discrimination whether Catholic or non-Catholic.

Lastly, this World Youth Day inspired me to have an excuse to travel the world every few years. And if I start saving for the next World Youth Day after the previous World Youth Day…then… I should be okay. Just to name a few, it's been in the Philippines, Denver, Cologne in Germany, Sydney, Toronto, Madrid, Buenos Aires, etc and of course Rio De Janeiro. Come at me, Krakow 2016! YOU ONLY POLAND ONCE! Blessed Pope John Paul II is impressed.

In summary, I had a really positive experience at World Youth Day in Rio De Janeiro. While it didn't do anything totally revolutionary for me, I had a blast and such a blast it was to share these experiences with my fellow pilgrims from SEAS and STA and 3.5+ million others. I now have a better idea of what it means to be part of the universal Church united in Christ like I expected I would. And I definitely had all these bonus experiences like seeing Pope Francis in unique ways, making friends with people from all over the globe and so much more. Man, I feel like I could blog a lot about my experiences.

OH WAIT!

...I did.

...so maybe I blogged nearly every night/early morning of our trip to Rio on behalf of my group, including the pre-Rio retreat that we had. It also served as a way to let our family and friends know that we didn't get caught in Brazilian riots or other perilous foreign affairs.

Here's the link: setonaquinaswyd13.wordpress.com (or if you're already on this SEAS/STA blog and seeing this post being cross-listed...then...this is awkward)

Whew. This was a long blog post.

Can't wait to do it again! #Krakow2016
- JD

Narwhals // "Narwhal tracking project helps chart species' future", X-Ray Mag
Fr. Zoltan Lendvai // Day In Photos, NY Post
Bl. Pope John Paul II // Papal Pose for Photographers, Tradition In Action

Total Consecration: Day 24

Reading: Matthew 6: 19-21

from St. Louis du Montfort: True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, #178

Reflection:
Everything in this worldly life has a finite end.  That's why treasures shouldn't be kept here on earth, but rather in heaven.  Because...heaven is eternal. Not only that, but things treasured in heaven are free from decay and wrongdoing.  Nothing rusts, nothing can be stolen...according to Matthew's Gospel.

Mary is the gate of heaven.  Through her, God's perfection dwelled and through Him, heaven opened up.  As St. Louis du Montfort put it, Mary is a "spiritual vessel" to where we can submit our treasures.

What are some "treasures" that I have? I'm blessed with a good family, good friends, the gift of being easy-going with joyful optimism even in stressful times, the graces to be able to grow deeper in my faith when it is so easy for me not to, and many other things.  The thing I treasure the most is my life.  It is truly a gift and even though I haven't lived it out the way I originally planned...(well, that's the problem...my plans)...my life seems to be working the way it should.

Response:
And so I entrust all these treasures to Mary, who is the gate of heaven and a resident herself.  She can help store my treasures in heaven where they will be free from decay and wrongdoing for all eternity.

Ad Jesum per Mariam,
- JD

Total Consecration

Some blog posts ago, I reflected on who the First Christian seems to be.  I would say that this first Christian is none other than the human being who knew Jesus first and most intimately--His mom.

As Catholics, we do not worship Mary but definitely hold her in high regard, just as God Himself holds her in high regard. Just as getting to know Jesus helps us better understand God the Father, getting to know Mary better helps us understand Jesus.

I think as Christians, we really miss out on a lot if we disregard Mary and her role in bringing Jesus, quite literally, to us. 

Exploring that role shows how devoted Mary was to her son.  Getting to know some her shows that she wants nothing more than for us to get to know her son more.  And she will help us...intercede for us...bring us closer to Him.

So, as Christians, we are devoted to Christ--as we should be!  From a Catholic perspective, we give Mary honor because she is the greatest creation by God, and she brings us to Christ.  Therefore, it is not surprising that Catholics can have a devotion to Mary with the ultimate purpose of being devoted to Jesus.  To Jesus through Mary.

Pope Paul VI once said:

We are convinced without any doubt that devotion to Our Lady is essentially joined with devotion to Christ, that it assures a firmness of conviction to faith in Him and in His Church, a vital adherence to Him and to His Church which, without devotion to Mary, would be impoverished and compromised.

And in the Vatican II apostolic constitution, Lumen Gentium (60, 67), it says:

The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique meditation  of Christ, but rather shows its powers.  All her saving influence on men originates not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure.  It flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His meditation, depends entirely on it and draws all its power from it.

...the practices and exercises of devotion to her recommended by the Church in the course of the centuries [are to] be treasured...

Devotion to Mary, then, ultimately bears fruit in knowing Jesus that much more.  And as a Christian, why wouldn't I desire that?

Most people are familiar with the Rosary since it is probably the most recognizable tool in having a devotion to Mary.  But most people are probably not aware of its purpose and use in devotion.  Long story short, praying the Rosary is asking Mary for her help in meditating through the life of Christ by reflecting on the major milestones of His life recorded in the Gospels.  It's like...prayerfully going through the Gospel without necessarily using a Bible.

Yes, Rosary is a big one.  But then there's St. Louis Du Montfort.  He was a French priest who lived in the late 1600's.  He went around spreading devotion to the Virgin Mary throughout Europe.  This guy absolutely loved Mary and developed spiritual exercises in order to consecrate oneself to Mary as a form of devotion.

But his True Devotion to Mary is an intense exercise in spiritual life involving much reflection, emptying oneself of the worldly spirit in order make room to gain knowledge of self, then knowledge of Mary, and thus ultimately knowledge of Christ.  He prescribes 33 days at which to devote daily prayer and meditation to consecrate oneself to Mary.  You begin by choosing a Marian feast day then counting back 33 days to start the consecration.

Why do I even care about this?  Well, I think over the past few years, I've really developed my Catholic knowledge through religious education, teaching that, and learning apologetics.  I've always felt lacking in spiritual development, and this is a great opportunity.  That's why it was quite refreshing when I went to on a silent retreat a few months ago.

And then I'm mostly motivated to do this consecration since my pilgrimage group for next month's trip to Rio De Janeiro will all be doing this as well.  Actually, I'm starting a little earlier with a friend or two than the rest of my pilgrimage group so that whenever I finish up, it will actually be a feast day (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) since there are no Marian feast days during our pilgrimage.

I'm excited and at the same time nervous...simply because I tend to lack discipline in maintaining a new habit. And then things are crazy right now with work, pilgrimage prep, and everything else I've got going on at my parish.

But, I think the fruits of going through this devotion will be much needed.

Challenge accepted.

Ad Jesum per Mariam,
- JD

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 4)

--- 1 ---

Annnd...looks like my grandmother is first to completely move out of the house.  Well, my grandfather did last year, and now my grandmother will follow suit.  They moved in with my parents and me back at the beginning of the 1990's and have lived with us since recently.  They immigrated from the Philippines!  In recent years, my grandfather desired to move back to his home in Manila, and so my mom and her siblings have been working at getting the old house renovated.  My grandfather moved back last year to oversee the completion and now that it is done, my grandmother moved out today to go be with him.

It's hard to tell, but we are, in fact, in Canada. 2010.

But! She has a pit stop in Canada for like...a month.  My aunt and her youngest daughter is finally getting married up in Canada so she'll be there for that before moving to the Philippines.  Yes, I have Canada-pino family members.  Nearly all of my mom's siblings live up there. Cool, eh?

I don't know that it's hit me yet that it'll be really difficult having both my grandparents on the other side of the world and not being able to see them on a near-daily basis...but...at the very least...I'm truly grateful for having grown up with them so close to home (so close, hey were actually in my home).  Time for me to figure out how to cook Filipino dishes...

--- 2 ---

One of my Catholic friends invited me to this monthly "night of recollection for men" in the neighboring diocese.  It's hosted by Opus Dei (the real one...not the one where you have to crack Da Vinci codes) at a Syro-Malabar Catholic parish.  The zhwaa?  The parish intrigued me because it looked like a normal, typical Catholic parish but the hymns/books in the pews were totally a different language and some of the words seen throughout the sanctuary weren't even English.  I just looked it up and The Order of Syro-Malabar Qurbana is an Eastern Catholic rite that originated in India and is in full communion with Rome.  Intriguing, indeed.  I also noticed how there were absolutely no kneelers in the pews.  Just knees to carpet.  Good thing I've been practicing for moments like this.

This "night of recollection" involved a meditation led by the priest, who also heard confessions at points throughout the night.  There was an examination of conscience and classroom time to learn more about a topic, which in this case was the virtue of temperance.  It ended with exposition, adoration, and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.  Apart from microphone issues at the beginning which made it awkward...it was a good night to reflect and pray even though my schedule is busy enough as it is.  This experience reminded me a lot of that silent retreat I went on a while back...but...in the space of a few hours.  Since it's monthly event, I look forward to going next month.

--- 3 ---

I've mentioned before that we Catholics are spoiled.  We're able to go to other Catholic parishes to partake in the sacraments if necessary.  Yes, I'm known to go to other parishes for confession because sometimes my own parish's times for confession don't work out with my schedule.  I'm beginning to consider to just sticking with my parish or spiritual director for confession because there's a particular parish in my circuit of backup-parishes-for-sacraments that something weird always happens every time I go.

Last weekend I went to this other parish for Confession.  And I was utterly shocked. And disappointed. But...I have a blog post waiting to be posted regarding that.

--- 4 ---

I think a good indicator of answering God's call and will for one's life is this certain, profound joy expressed that is noticeable and unique.  In a previous Quick Takes...I mentioned that my friend was acknowledged at an event of her answering the call to the religious life.  Well, yesterday my friend shared her story and journey on how she arrived to saying "yes!" to the call to serve as a religious sister with the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, a cloistered community of intense prayer yet with missionary outreach.  What really stood out to me was seeing her joy in finally arriving at this decision to enter into the religious life...not that it was easy to make this decision...but...experiencing the peace and joy in knowing this is what God wants her to do.

Smiling is a good habit. Not to be confused with habits.

Yes, so as long as this blog is entitled, "En Fuego"...and so as long as St. Catherine of Siena said "If you are who God calls you to be, you will set the world ablaze"...then yes, I'm interested in just trying to be who God wants me to be.  How do I figure that out? How do I know? ...stuff like that.  Some words of encouragement from a friend.

--- 5 ---

My Aggie Network seems to be increasing as of late.  No, I don't mean that I'm getting more sports coverage because the Aggie Network is not the same as the Longhorn Network (#joke...but it would be more like Texas Exes).  It seems as though my company likes to hire Aggies...and I'm okay with that because it makes it easier to talk to coworkers, haha.  I officially met three Aggies in the past few weeks...and two of them were in the aerospace engineering program as well!

WHOOP!

--- 6 ---

Pope Francis canonized 800+ saints this past Sunday.  I mean...in addition to the individuals canonized, there was a collective group canonized as a whole!  Italian martyrs, because the Ottoman Empire apparently beheaded people who weren't willing to convert to their religion.

I bring this up because there's a lot of Christian persecution in that part of the world still...and subtlety here in the United States.  Is my Catholic faith worth dying for? Yes.  Is the world going to gun for me because I'm Catholic? Absolutely.  Am I ready to die for my faith? Not sure...will I ever be ready? 800+ Italians in the 15th century apparently were ready.  What a witness to their faith!  #inspiration

--- 7 ---
I was somehow invited to like...4 weddings this year and 3 of them are Catholic weddings.  I'm legitimately excited! The first of these weddings is next weekend and I think it'll be the most Catholic wedding I would have ever gone to.  Tune in later for more details!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Divine Mercy

Click here to scroll down to instructions on how to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Before explaining what Divine Mercy is, I should define what is "private revelation." If you already have an understanding, then don't click the following link.

What is private revelation...?

First, what is "public revelation?"  Public revelation is what we know about God through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition through the deposit of faith given by Him.  God revealed Himself publicly to the Jewish people, and we know this through reading Scripture in the Old Testament.  From the apostles, we know they passed down what Jesus had taught and revealed to them.  God's final, definitive revelation is His Son, Jesus Christ. With that said, the Catholic Church teaches that public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (emphasis mine):

66 "The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Dei Verbum 4) Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.

Yes, even if God has revealed everything we need to know about Him in Jesus, our understanding is not completely clear.  Over the course of time, our understanding grows clearer and clearer.  Sort of like going up a river from its mouth where it is muddy and dirty to its source where it is clear.  Or like the sunrise that begins to slowly stretch its rosy fingers over the horizon.

Sometimes God reveals Himself in a very personal way to us.  Or maybe He sends an agent like a saint, an angel, and yes, even His Blessed Mother.  In these instances, He reveals something meant for us personally.  This type of encounter is a "private revelation" which happens all the time, but some individuals may experience a more profound and blatant encounter of God's revelation.  How are we to understand such things?

Again, from the CCC:

67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church.  They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith.  It is not their role to improve or complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.  Guided by the magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church

Christian faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such "revelations."

So in other words, "private revelation" is okay as long as it does not conflict with what has already been revealed and that it helps us live more fully in what has already been revealed by God.  How can we be sure that "private revelation" doesn't conflict with something?  The teaching authority of the Catholic Church.  Whenever someone makes a seemingly out-of-ordinary claim through "private revelation," the Church will investigate to make sure that it isn't heretical or contradictory to what we already know through the deposit of faith.  And since the Church has been around since Jesus, who better to keep track of the deposit of faith than she?

The other thing I should highlight about "private revelation" is if it is Church-approved, then we, the faithful, should make attempts to gain deeper understandings of what was revealed.  However, if a "private revelation" is not Church-approved, then we are not required or encouraged to pursue it.

For more explanations, go here:
Private and Public Revelation - EWTN
Private Revelation - Catholic Answers
Apparitions/Private Revelations - EWTN

With all that said (if you read it), that leads me to Divine Mercy.  Essentially, Jesus gave us a clearer understanding of His infinite and divine mercy through private revelations given to a Polish religious sister named St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.

Who is St. Maria Faustina Kowalska?

Her original name is Helena, and she was born into a poor, peasant family in Glogowiec, Poland.  She was the third oldest of ten children, and "from childhood she distinguished herself by her piety, love of prayer, industriousness and obedience as well as by her great sensitivity to human misery" (Diary, xv).  At the age of seven, she started feeling the call to religious life.  Her parents were not keen on letting her join a convent, and she tried repressing her desire to join a convent.  But from a vision of the suffering Jesus, she strengthened her resolve to join a convent.  She ended up in the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw.  There, she received the name Sister Maria Faustina.  She completed her novitiate (basically, the novitiate is the newb stage to religious life) and professed her perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience after five years of being in the convent.  She worked in various houses for the Congregation in different locations in Poland, especially as cook, gardener, and doorkeeper.

Sr. M. Elizbaeth Siepak writes in the Introduction of St. Faustina's diary:

To all external appearances nothing betrayed her extraordinarily rich mystical life. She zealously went about her duties, she faithfully observed all the religious rules, she was recollected and kept silent, all the while being natural, cheerful, full of kindness and of unselfish love of neighbor.  

Her entire life was concentrated on constant striving for even fuller union with God and on self-sacrificing cooperation with Jesus in the work of saving souls. (Diary, xvi) 

The Lord also endowed her with many graces and gifts.  These include the gift of contemplation with deep knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy, visions, revelations, the hidden stigmata, the gift of prophecy and reading into human souls, and also the rare gift of mystical espousals.  However, she wrote:

Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God.  ...My sanctity and perfection is based upon the close union of my will with the will of God (Diary, par. 1107)

I'm a fan of that last sentence.  She willed to align her will to that of God's will.

As she grew older, she started having health problems.  And sometimes she experienced a profound spiritual suffering known as the "dark night" where a soul doesn't receive any consolation from God as if He has abandoned the soul.  She grew very sick and eventually died in 1938 at the age of 33.

Because of the life she led, her personal piety and obedience to God's will, and passionately serving as a conduit to God's message of mercy, she was canonized as a saint by Blessed Pope John Paul II in April 2000.

How was Divine Mercy revealed?

She kept a diary, which is out in publication.  Apparently Jesus revealed to her that she should keep one.  I started reading it a while ago, but haven't yet finished it.  In it, she shares her daily struggles with religious life and life in general, but most intriguingly she wrote down what Jesus said to her whenever He appeared. It's almost conversational, as if St. Faustina was really talking to and listening to someone.  Or rather...Someone.

Through these private revelations, it is clear that Jesus was with her throughout her life, especially during her times of suffering.  Though He spoke to her a lot, I want to focus on His message of Divine Mercy.

Again, from the Intro, Sr. M. Elizabeth Siepak summarizes Jesus' mission for St. Faustina:

"Today, I am sending you with My mercy to the people of the whole world. I do not want to punish aching mankind, but I desire to heal it, pressing it to My merciful Heart" (Diary, par. 1588)

"You are the secretary of My mercy; I have chosen you for that office in this and the next life" (Diary, par. 1605) ... "to make known to souls the great mercy that I have for them, and to exhort them to trust in the bottomless depth of My mercy" (Diary, par. 1567) 

Her mission is to remind us about the truths of God's merciful love for us as well as providing us with new ways to have a devotion to The Divine Mercy.  There are several ways to have a devotion to Divine Mercy as revealed to St. Faustina by Jesus. They are as follows:

• The Divine Mercy Image (seen at the top of this post), which is a painting of a vision St. Faustina had of Jesus.  The elements of the image has special meanings.
• The Feast of Divine Mercy, which is the day that Jesus specified to focus on the shelter of His Mercy. He specifically said that the second Sunday of the Easter season (ie. the Sunday after Easter) is to be the Feast of Divine Mercy.  Blessed Pope John Paul II declared in his homily at the canonization of St. Faustina that the second Sunday of Easter will be known as "Divine Mercy Sunday"
• The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which is a prayer of atonement and appeasement of God's wrath dictated to St. Faustina by Jesus
• The Novena to Divine Mercy, which is a 9-day recitation of the Chaplet in preparation for the Feast of Divine Mercy or for whatever petitions by the faithful
• The Hour of Mercy, which Jesus specified as the third hour whereby the faithful should focus and immerse themselves in his Mercy

More info about each can be found in the intro of her diary by Sr. M Elizabeth Siepak or at DivineMercy.org.