7 Quick Takes (Vol. 10)

--- 1 ---

What a crazy week in the political realm!  Perhaps our government decided through an act of congress to make this week a crazy week. Whatever the case, the movements of the government on the big issues are indicative of times when everyone's Internet/social life is filled with exchanges of slogan statusing and passionate opinionating.  Surely some glorious meme-ing as well.

I usually stay out of it.

It's not that I don't have my own opinions to express... But, I just rather not get caught up in the excitement and passion.  People get too emotionally invested or too sensitive about certain issues, and that's fine, but sometimes keeping charity and recognizing the dignity of the person behind the physical or on-screen keyboard is lost, and that's not cool. And also... I'd prefer to take the time to get informed about the issues before expressing something about it.

So, the unfortunate (fortunate?!) consequence of dealing with all this stuff by taking the time to get informed about the issues is that by the time I have a good grasp of what the real issues are, it's usually after the emotions stop running high regarding those issues. In other words, the fad is over on the social medias.  I guess that's why I'm left with dealing with these issues ...offline.  I guess I like it better that way anyway.  I'd rather do something about these issues face-to-face with people.

With that said...

--- 2 ---

...I'm a total jerk to today's culture. In the real life. Simply because I'm leading a group through learning about Blessed Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. This.  This is going to help provide the foundation at which to deal with the big issues like abortion and so-called "same sex marriages." Well, at the very least...in a Catholic context.  And things in a Catholic context tend to have a universally applicable vibe once I dig deep enough.

While I'm not going to provide a treatise on the Theology of the Body, other people have.  And that's how we're learning. Because other people have made the Theology of the Body more digestible for the rest of us.  And now I have to lead group discussions on it through the digestible portions offered by others like Christopher West, the Everts, and countless others.

So yes, we need Catholics to teach Catholics how to be Catholic using Catholic things that are Catholic.

Yo dawg, I hear you like teaching Catholics.

--- 3 ---

And speaking about Catholic things...  My parish is currently refreshing all of our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion through mandatory trainings.

I don't always minister Holy Communion, but when I do...it's EXTRAORDINARY

I'm grateful for this because as an EMHC, it's important that we're all on the same page regarding how we approach our ministry.  Some things aren't liturgically or canonically correct to do such as laity seemingly communicating that they are giving a blessing (with the Eucharist!!!) when this action is only  reserved for ordained priests and deacons.

Not that we had widespread issues as a whole ministry, but we've had enough discrepancies or lack of uniformity to merit this.

By being on the same, correct page, we communicate the proper spirit of our ministry.  And this is a good thing.

Heaven forbid we do our stuff without being properly taught...

--- 4 ---

While on the topic about not being properly taught your own ministry... A group (let me stress that specific collective noun) from one of my beloved organizations on campus at Texas A&M did something rather dumb.

A group of Fish Camp counselors took some pictures at the Bonfire Memorial.  It's a tradition to take counselor pictures on campus. These pictures depicted them taking group and partner pictures at the memorial, standing on the memorial, suggestive poses at the memorial, and other types of pictures.

More on the story here: KBTX - Reported Fish Camp Counselor Pictures.

It's really, really disrespectful to the 12 Aggies that passed away in the Bonfire collapse back in 1999.  Really, really poor judgment on the part of the counselors.

As a former Fish Camp counselor and someone who has really strong, indirect ties to one of the 12, this is definitely appalling.

But! I'm not going to blame the rest of Fish Camp for the poor decisions of a select few.  I know Fish Camp will handle this as best as they can.  Well, they need to because Fish Camp's ministry (or purpose) is to help transition incoming freshmen to the Aggie life, including getting them on the same page because some certain things are not okay to do.  (see, there's a connection to #3).  Counselors, in order that they may communicate the proper ways to be an Aggie, need to exemplify the Aggie Spirit...even when having photographic evidence of fun. Freshmen will see that.

So thank goodness I'm an Aggie Catholic because I'm able to forgive them. But, justice needs to be served.  This short-sighted decision does have consequences.

--- 5 ---

In superficial news, I upgraded to a Keurig. My last coffee maker involved many parts to clean up after brewing, which became a hassle for me and my family.  The convenience of its maintenance is the attractive part of owning a Keurig.  It saves a ton of water during brewing and cleaning.

But! I don't see myself buying a lot of K-Cups.  While really, really convenient, they're also more expensive.  I don't want to raise my daily coffee expenditure more than I have to.

Thus, I'm on a quest for a reusable filter...

--- 6 ---

Summer seems to be a popular time for weddings.  And out the small handful of weddings I've been invited to this year, this weekend's wedding is one that I cannot make.  For one, it's in Canada. Two, I have too much stuff going on back home for me to spend the weekend in Canada.  My aunt is finally getting married and my mom's side of the family is mass gathering in Sasketchewan for it.

In the meantime, I'm holding the fort. With my vicious beast of a Chihuahua.

--- 7 ---

In a letter to Amy Ronald on December 15, 1956, J.R.R. Tolkien said that:

I am a Christian and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect 'history' to be anything but a 'long defeat'- though it contains ... some samples or glimpses of final victory.

Something to reflect on.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

- JD

Bonfire Memorial / MSC Hospitality, Zeinert Photography

Philippine & Canadian Flag / Philippine Embassy Ottawa

Young Men Choosing the Priesthood

I saw an article being shared by, lol, a friend who is discerning religious life.  Ya know, with the vows and robe-like garb.

Some highlights:

...the number of men joining the priesthood is up.

And who is joining might surprise you. 

Brett Metzler bench presses 250 pounds, squats 305, and can shoot hoops with the best of them.

And he's quoted in saying:

 "There's a month when I was really excited to become a priest. And then just normal guy stuff kicks in.  I mean you want to get a girlfriend.  You're in college and there's thousands of beautiful women everywhere.  I mean you want to get a girlfriend, you want to get married.  I thought I was going to have hundreds of kids for my family with play with when I got older.  But the more you pray about it, the more time you spend in silence, the more God kind of reinforces that call."

You can read more here, "More Young Men Choosing Priesthood" by Tracy Kornet at CBS 11 DFW.

Watch the video too!


And oh yes, I am slightly biased in a non-Catholic way--Brett is an Aggie.

I think it's too easy to forget that Catholic priests and those wanting to become priests are just normal guys.  Just, they have obediently, freely, willingly decided to answer a call from God in this special way to serve in a special way.

I know some guys from my own church who are wanting to become priests and they are, in fact, just normal guys but striving to fulfill this call.  I'll blog about 'em sometime as well as my sisterly friends at my church who have also answered this call to live a religious life.  Also, Texas A&M seems to be a hotbed of religious vocations too...but that's another blog post, as well.

#Vocations,
- JD

Apostolic Secession?

Huh? Apostolic secession? Is that like...where the the apostles seceded from their communion with Christ? Sure, but that would be terrible because the deposit of faith given by Christ to His apostles would have scattered and there would be no union. There would be no Church and no Christian faith.

Man, I'm so grateful that the apostles didn't secede from Christ (well, there was that one...)

Judas Seceded From The Communion

Haha and it's a weird way of associating political vocab with theological truth. Or maybe I just wanted to use that play on words: apostolic succession (#Catholicvocab) vs. apostolic secession (#notCatholicvocab).  And maybe I just wanted to draw a picture...

But hmm, it seems that secession is a popular topic these days. We're a few weeks past the presidential election, and it seems more than half of the United States have petitions to secede from the Union (petitions.whitehouse.gov, accessed Nov. 18, 2012). Kind of crazy, because that wasn't a consequence I was expecting immediately following the election. Didn't we Americans get what we wanted? We voted and now here we are again. How can we go from elections to secessions so quickly? Perhaps we don't know what we want other than wanting what we think we want. Or something. But either way, it seems that there is unrest and disapproval with the way things are going right now and secession seems to be the solution!

I started thinking about this, and it was hard not to think about it because both my Facebook and Twitter timelines showed expressed thoughts on seceding from the United States, whether "yeah we should!" or "this is such a dumb idea!"...or the "I'm indifferent but it's interesting that there are states petitioning for secession!"

For whatever reason, a Gospel passage came to mind as I thought about the idea of seceding from the United States. And because my life is Catholic, I started thinking about it more but through a Catholic mind. I know for us hardcore Catholics, the results of this election are disappointing. Careful examination of the status of our country and where we're headed is enough cause for worry, and so it is easy to buy into the idea of secession. But is seceding really what's best for us? Would that be a sort of band-aid solution? Would we be just running away from the issues that we are concerned with regarding the federal government? Aren't we called as Catholics to not be afraid?

With all that said, I would say that we are citizens of the kingdom of God first before we are citizens of whatever government rules over us.

Here's that Gospel passage...

From John 15: 18-27, The World's Hatred (NAB)

"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.  Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.'  If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept my word,, they will also keep yours.  And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me also hates my Father.  If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father.  But in order that the word written in their law might be fulfilled, 'They hated me without cause.'  "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.  And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The parts that stick out to me are...

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
In other words, we are in the world rather than of the world.  I always have to remember that I'm made for heaven. This world is temporal. My life on earth is temporary. I'm simply in the world, but I know this is not my final place. I'm made in the image and likeness of God, and God desires His children to be in union with Him in heaven. Humankind seceded from God in the Garden (Genesis 3), but God desires that we restore that friendship and union with Him because He loves us and sent His only Son to redeem the world by His cross.

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first
No wonder! I mean, if the world hates Jesus, then surely the world hates His followers too. Makes sense. And if the world hates Him, I would imagine that the world would try to make it difficult for His followers to follow. Hey, let's photoshop out crosses, let's force Catholic adoption agencies to let homosexual couples adopt, let's force everyone to pay for contraception/abortion/sterilization despite your religious beliefs, and the list goes on and on.

Tying this all together, the idea of seceding from the United States does seem like a good idea because we have lost confidence in the future of our country and the idea that we're better off doing our own thing. But, we have to remember that doing our own thing means nothing unless we maintain our union with Christ.  Perhaps our country is falling apart because we're too busy trying to do our own thing instead of keeping Christ as our center and source of unity.  It doesn't matter which Caesar we serve, but we must still render unto God what is God's (Matthew 22)...and what is God's?  We are.

We are in the world, not of it. And even as the world tries to make it difficult for us to live out our Christian faith because the world hates God and thus hates us, we cannot be afraid. We are disciples of Christ and as such, our commUNION (#Catholicpuns) with Him gives us the strength to endure our trials and tribulations in this world.  We should strive not to break that union from Him through sin.  We should carefully reflect on what it is we ultimately desire...and what God ultimately desires for us.

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care.

Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection.

Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people.  Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.

Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life.  Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God's law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.

Amen.

Faith. Hope. Charity.
- JD