She Stared Into My Soul

I entered in, and already there weren't too many seats so I spent some time looking around. Spotting some familiar friends, I saw an empty seat and made the awkward gestures of "is that seat open?". A quick nod, and I even more awkwardly climb over my friends to get to my seat.

Between my friends was actually a third.

There was one moment where she stared at me for a while, and I couldn't help but stare back. A long stare.

I looked into her eyes.

She looked right back at me.

We shared a deep and profound moment. Maybe I had a deep and profound moment, though she probably didn't comprehend it as such.

She wasn't just looking at me. She wasn't looking through me. She was looking at me. And she smiled.

In this deep and profound stare, I realized that I mattered to her, but not in the typical way people matter to others. As she looked at me, I knew it didn't matter to her what my awesomeness and shortcomings are. She didn't care.

As I looked at her, I realized what an amazing gift she is to be here staring right back at me.

She stared into my soul.  I stared into hers.

And it was amazingly awesome to just have that brief moment of profoundness.

After a few moments, she went on to her usual fidgeting, playing with her dad's watchband, throwing her padded book at me, and snuggling in her mom's arms. She didn't even cry.

Here's the context:
It was Palm Sunday, and I was running a little later than normal for being early to Mass. Because of that, and because of the increased attendance due to the significance of the day, I found it challenging to find an open seat in a pew. Luckily, I spotted my two friends and the empty seat next to them, and they had their 11-month old daughter with them.

She's absolutely adorable! I've known her since she was a few months old in-utero.

(42) Week 15! :-D #100picsofbeauty #livesonograms #overcomingchallenges

A photo posted by JR (@r4nd311) on Nov 9, 2013 at 10:25am PST

This was a profoundly deep moment for me exchanging stares with her because how often do I get the chance to just really look at someone deeply and to be looked at similar way? It just made the moment so much sweeter because I know her parents love her so dearly, and I know of their struggles before having her.

And all this during Mass.

Awesome.

- JD

A Universal Moment and Practical Application of Pentecost

I've lapsed in my blogging, and I apologize. It was not without reason. With that said, I'll attempt at providing updates.

This was back in April.

A cherry blossom glimpse of Nagoya Castle

I traveled to Japan for work. Hence, my lack of my usual online presence, including blogging. I ended up staying in Japan for three weeks even though the original intention was to stay only for two weeks. Life is hard, I know.

It actually really sucked initially because my trip out to Japan happened on Easter weekend. I wasn't able to make it to Easter Mass because I left too early on Saturday morning and would arrive too late in Japan to make it to an Easter Mass in Japan. I did speak to my pastor about this, and I was given dispensation (to miss Mass) and a blessing for safe travels.

I haven't missed a Sunday Mass in a very long while and to miss only one of the biggest Masses in the liturgical year was such a bummer for me. I guess because of my missing out, and my personal goal to visit Catholic churches wherever I go when traveling, I definitely used the Google to find out if there were any Catholic churches near my hotel in Japan.

I learned in my initial research on Japan that it is currently only 1% Christian. From my Catholic nerdiness, I learned that St. Francis Xavier brought Christianity to Japan only ~400 years ago, which is pretty young in the Church's history. So in my Google-ing of Catholic churches near where I would be staying in Japan, I wasn't too hopeful of finding something nearby.

Fortunately, there was! The cathedral, in fact! The seat of the diocese! And it was only about two miles away from my hotel!

Too happy to find Nunoike Catholic Church

My first free weekend in Japan, I sought it out. I remember entering that church and feeling a sense of home. Actually, even a sense of yearning because I had missed (Easter) Mass the weekend before. The Mass was in Japanese. Luckily, they passed out pamphlets with English translations of the day's readings. The homily was long, and because I didn't really understand what the priest was saying, I did some light Lectio Divina on the Gospel. I also appreciated the traditional Catholic feel and look of the Mass. The hymns sounded like hymns, and the choir sang beautifully.  If only I could share the sights and sounds! (Maybe they had signs everywhere saying not to take pics and vids...)

It was really nice because despite the Mass being said in Japanese, I was very familiar with everything going on in the Mass. I could still fully participate and not feel lost. The brilliance of the Catholic Mass, undoubtedly.

Mikokoro Catholic Center

Later that week, I wanted to go to Confession. That resulted in me spending more time using the Google to see what other Catholic churches were nearby that also offered Confession. That led me to find a Catholic center run by Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. I was drawn to that one because it's actually a little closer to my hotel and Confession was offered anytime! I just had to ask the priest. Psh. Why the heaven not?!

I actually went to that Catholic center one night during the week hoping to see if I could catch the priest for Confession but was not successful. I didn't find him! So I went back the next night and planned on being there after daily Mass to talk to a priest. Success!

After that, I decided to go to Mass there the next Sunday, and I did!

If you remember, back in 2013, I went to Rio De Janeiro with millions of other people for World Youth Day. I was just blown away by all the people I encountered from all corners of the globe who went to Rio to share and grow in the Catholic faith during World Youth Day festivities. But here, in this humble Catholic church in the middle of Japan, I was reminded again, albeit on a much, much smaller scale the universality of the Catholic faith.

You see, it was actually kind of crazy! The priest who celebrated Mass is Australian. The congregation? Mostly Filipino (represent!) with a sprinkling of Americans and Japanese. Mass was in English. And where were we? In the middle of Japan.  These observances gave me pause because of the combination of different cultures coming together to celebrate the Eucharist in the Mass.

I remembered in my studies of the Catechism with the youth group on these words of St. Iranaeus of Lyons:

Indeed, the Church, though scattered throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, having received the faith from the apostles and their disciples. . . guards [this preaching and faith] with care, as dwelling in but a single house, and similarly believes as if having but one soul and a single heart, and preaches, teaches and hands on this faith with a unanimous voice, as if possessing only one mouth.

For though languages differ throughout the world, the content of the Tradition is one and the same. the Churches established in Germany have no other faith or Tradition, nor do those of the Iberians, nor those of the Celts, nor those of the East, of Egypt, of Libya, nor those established at the centre of the world. . ." The Church's message "is true and solid, in which one and the same way of salvation appears throughout the whole world.

Reference CCC 172-175. 

In other words, the Christian faith given to us from Christ through the apostles is communicated to us as one, despite differences in language. I've been to Mass in English, Spanish, Tagalog (Filipino), Latin, Portuguese, Korean, and now Japanese. But Mass is Mass, no matter what tongue. The faith is passed on through the Church with one unanimous voice with her one mouth.

Speaking of tongues (pun totally intended), today has special significance on the liturgical calendar. Pentecost! When the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the upper room and they began to speak in different tongues, but people understood their preaching in their own native language!

Combined with Christ's commissioning of the apostles to make disciples of all nations, and the gift of the Holy Spirit that enabled them to speak about the faith to everyone, ~2000 years later I begin to appreciate the response of those milestone moments in Scripture. Being in Japan. Mass in English, Japanese, and also offered in Tagalog at the cathedral and the Catholic center. The congregations comprised of people from totally different cultures. This is what a practical application of Pentecost looks like! In 1% Christian Japan!

Anyway, bottom line...long story short...I think it's really cool to be 6000 miles away from home and still experience home in the Mass despite it being in different languages. It's the same Mass in Japan as it is here at home. One faith. One voice. One universal moment to remind me of it all.

Happy Pentecost!

Veni, Sancte Spiritus!

-JD 

Pentecost by Restout // Wikipedia

I Got Scolded At Mass Today

I'll begin this blog post in saying that I attended an anime convention for the first time in my life yesterday. And long story short, because that placed me across town and because of the hospitality of friends letting me crash at their place after said anime convention, I decided to venture forth where this Catholic has never gone before in terms of parishes visited.

With that said, I knew that my crashing at a friend's place meant that I would be in the near vicinity of a Catholic parish that I've always wanted to visit. This parish is Mater Dei, which is a Latin Mass parish in Irving, TX. My motivation for even visiting Mater Dei is simply to experience Mass done in the Extraordinary Form again. No English. It's all done in Latin. Pretty cool!

Apart from me stumbling through Mass as I attempted at following along with what everyone is doing in terms of postures and trying not to get lost in following in the Missal to see the English translation of what was being said, I was particularly jarred by how the priest scolded us.

During announcements to the congregation, the priest (Fr. Longua) opened up in saying that sometimes a father has to scold his children. That makes sense to me because how often has my own father scolded me for things... Then he made reference that he, as a Catholic priest and father to us as a congregation (not in the same sense as God is our Father in heaven), needed to scold us. Okay...

Apparently last Friday for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (it's a holy day of obligation for us Catholics (and that we should go to Mass)), some woman with a lot of kids had a crying baby. Her husband wasn't present due to work. Apparently, one of the parishioners at Mater Dei harshly scolded the mother for having the crying baby and told her to go to the crying room (some churches have designated areas for parents to calm their kids).

And mother-of-crying-baby got really upset. She was already stressed out already from looking after her kids and dealing with her crying baby. And now someone is upset at her.

And the priest scolded us that this happened.

He said that it's okay for babies to make weird noises. If a baby makes a sad noise, we're free to share a sad moment with the baby. A happy noise merits a happy reaction and moment from us.

Fr. Longua mentioned that under no circumstances is it cool for us to be totally unwelcoming and harshly tell mothers to get out when crying babies happen. This parish (really any parish) should be welcoming because it's already tough to be welcoming and for someone (one person) to harshly tell this mother to get out of Mass is unacceptable. But I wouldn't say he scolded us out of anger. Very father-like. You know, very disappointed, but still forgiving. I knew that him scolding us was not a gesture of malice, but really from a place of love and desire for us to be better versions of ourselves.

Actually, it was awkward because as he was saying these things, I wanted to raise my hand and make the classic Mean Girls reference and yell out "I DON'T EVEN GO HERE!" so as not to be guilty by association with my fellow pew warmers.

*He

Haha, but I love what Fr. Longua said because it is applicable to me. I haven't personally given mothers death stares or vocally expressed them to excuse themselves, but it's important for me to keep in mind Fr. Longua's words. He also said something cool, and I paraphrase him in saying it is selfish of us to be upset/frustrated/angry about crying babies at Mass. We should focus on the Mass and not the crying baby. If we react in an upset/frustrated/angry way, the focus has then turned onto ourselves and not the Mass. This is kind of a big deal when one realizes that the Mass is about worshipping God by encountering Him in His Word and Flesh in the Eucharist. That is our focus. Not ourselves. Nor what's going on with others.

See, crying babies at Mass are definitely a thing at my home parish. Man, sometimes the 9AM Mass is a cacophonous symphony of crying babies and that can be quite distracting. In recent years, I've taken such moments to be opportunities to really refocus on the Mass rather than the baby crying. It's difficult. It takes practice. Even as I've practiced, I still let my focus go wayward sometimes. But I never react in a negative way to the sound of crying babies at Mass.

Actually, the sound of crying babies at Mass is a good thing. It means that a baby exists in the midsts of the pews. This means that the love between husband and wife has indeed been fruitful. A crying baby is a beautiful sign that the Church is growing. Not just the domestic church (ie. the family), not just for the local church (ie. the parish), but the Church as a whole (ie. the Body of Christ) is growing! This growth points towards the fruitfulness of the love that Christ has for His Bride, the Church. And that's really cool.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that beautiful fact when I'm too frustrated with a crying baby. Sure, it is indeed courteous of parents to excuse themselves (without being harshly told) when dealing with their crying baby. And even if they don't, it's still on me to focus on what I should be focused on.

In the end, I'm grateful that Fr. Longua scolded us. It needed to be said. I needed the reminder of what my focus should be on during Mass.

Mass isn't about me.
- JD

Mater Dei altar and consecration // Mater Dei on Flickr
Crying Baby // BabyWorld
She Doesn't Even Go Here // WiffleGif

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

2013: Wedding #2

(Maybe I haven't specifically blogged about 2013's Wedding #1...but don't worry about that...but I do hint at it here: Quick Takes (Vol. 6))

This was the wedding that makes me feel really old.  You see, the bride and I go way back. The bride's father and I go wayyyy back since he was my Sunday school teacher (aka...CCD...or religious education teacher) back in 9th grade.

But fo realz, I feel old. I taught the bride how to march when she was a freshman when I was clarinet section leader.  That was like ... 9 years ago x_x. Perhaps I can take credit for her not tripping in her wedding dress down the aisle due to a glorious roll-step. 

I had the honor and privilege of being asked to Lector for the wedding Mass.  Simply because I'm a Lector normally for my parish and apparently I do decent job. If you don't know, during a Catholic Mass, Lectors proclaim the Word of God by reading aloud the readings of the day from Scripture for the Mass and congregation.

The Mass was beautiful! But I mean, what wedding Mass isn't beautiful because man and woman publicly declare to witnesses and God truly present of their love and commitment to each other? 

What makes this wedding experience unique for me is that the rehearsal, Mass, and reception were live-streamed over the Internet for friends and family who couldn't make it to the wedding. How cool is that?! One of the bride's uncles is tech-savvy (and the other Lector) and made it possible with a laptop, camcorder, and Samsung smartphone tether setup.  Same guy was also the other Lector.  It was fun and intriguing to me seeing him run those electronics to make it all work.  And apparently it was quite the success since I heard grandpa (the bride's) saying how he keeps getting texted by family members regarding their comments during the various segments of this whole wedding process. Kudos to that uncle!

Which, tangenting off that... Today was another big day for the bride's family because that same tech-savvy uncle got his papers signed officially ending (amicably) his involvement with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal as he pursues seminary to be a diocesan priest. 

#Lectors

So, as of today...he's officially a seminarian for my diocese!  He just needs to get accepted to the Catholic university/seminary that he wants to go to in order to take the next step.  Please pray for him! (and I hinted at him in this blog post: One of the Realities of Being Catholic)

At the reception, I got to hang out with my goddaughter! She's getting big and can walk so confidently now! Her dad was the youth minister of the bride, good friend of her family, and is the youth minister I volunteer for.  I'm thoroughly impressed with her skills at manipulating a fork. And dancing skills.  It's the little things in life.

Totes adorbz

Also, due to the miracle and magic that is smartphone tech...there's really no need for disposable cameras to use and capture memories.  The bridge and groom decided to use the app, WedPics...and I totally made use of it!  Perhaps you saw some other pictures floating around on Facebook/Twitter. ;-)

Anyway, Wedding #2...complete! Congrats to Jessica and Shea! Please pray for them in their journey together as husband and wife and that their marriage is a visible sign of love that is free, total, faithful, and fruitful.  

- JD

Palm Sunday

I was at a retreat this past weekend (future blog post), and the priest leading the retreat mentioned how one of his old students texted the link to the YouTube video below.

First, some background.  For most Christians, the Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday.  On this day, we commemorate Jesus' triumphant arrival entering into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19: 28-40, John 12:12-19).  This was a big deal because the people of Jerusalem had heard about the works of mercy and miracles Jesus performed in neighboring cities.  And they welcomed him by laying palm branches and their cloaks on the ground as he rode in on his donkey with his disciples following him.

For Catholics, Mass always begins with a procession.  And for Palm Sunday, usually the priest invites the congregation to meet outside of the church for a blessing of the palm branches.  Then he reads a Gospel account of Jesus entering into Jerusalem.  After this, the priest and his helpers (deacons, acolytes, altar servers) process in with the congregation carrying palm branches to signify this triumphant arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem.

And every Catholic Mass has a reading of the Gospel, and every Palm Sunday, an account of the Passion is read from Jesus' betrayal to his burial in the tomb because it prepares us for Holy Week and to reflect on the Passion before we celebrate His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  I'm not sure how other parts of the Catholic world read it, but at least here in the United States, the Passion is read in parts.  Usually the priest reads what Jesus said, another speaker reads stuff like what Pilate, Herod, and other individuals said.  Another person narrates.  But the whole congregation participates too at certain points.

For example, you can read Luke 22: 14-23 and kind of see how you could split the dialogues into different parts.  Now, this is not a performance even though everyone has a speaking part.  It is an active participation of the Gospel, moreso than usual, for everyone.  Yes, in words, but with the intent of really placing ourselves in that setting of Jerusalem 2000 years ago.  Or at least, everyone needs to be fully engaged and actively participate.  But why? Why do it this way?  Do we get anything out of it by doing it this way?

With all that in mind, that provides the context for this video and perhaps it illustrates the answer to why it is done this way:

Crucify him! Crucify him!
- JD

:-/

Monastery & Mass

Day 2 - Thursday January 24, 2013

Click here for Day 1.

1:16AM (Fri)

Somewhere In Virginia at Host Family Home

I didn’t really expect to wake up last night at 4AM in the morning to the feeling of sheer cold.  I was sleeping in a room in the basement of our host family's home.  Apparently the heater got turned off at some point and t-shirt and shorts were a terrible idea, even with my supposedly "cold weather" sleeping bag.  I toughed it out though, and even went ahead and put on my Under Armour thermals because…well…I have them.  Builds character and preparation.

6:30AM rolls around, and being up and about was refreshing because it got my body moving to warm up a little.  The cool thing about waking up this morning despite overcoming the lack of heat was to see the aftermath of the previous nights’ snow fall.  I looked out the window, and it was beautiful to see a healthy blanket of snow cover the ground.

Our host family's backyard!

After a quick breakfast, my group at that particular host family's home headed out to the Metro station.  I spent nearly an hour and a half outside of the Metro station because we waited for the rest of our group to arrive from their respective host families’ houses. I definitely appreciated the functioning use of the main zipper on my jacket.  And gloves.  And scarf.  And UA thermals. And beanie. And second jacket. And hoodie.  It was cold.

I Got Served

So last Sunday, I was all suited up for varying purposes for the day, but the cool thing about being suited up is that it is the best I can wear to Mass.  I might not suit up all the time for Mass, but when I do...I try to serve in some way.

I signed up to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion for the 11AM Mass I was attending.  Mass was normal.  The usual.

When it came to ministering the Body of Christ to the faithful...one of the greatest fears for any Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion occurred.  To me.  First time. Ever.

Jesus fell on the floor! :-(   :"-(    T_T

As an EMHC, you usually try to be adaptive to the various postures and gestures people have in orienting their hands/mouth to receive the Eucharist.  But, bless her heart, this little girl came up to receive the Body.  And I tried placing Him in her hand, but she, instead, tried to grab the Body from my fingers before I placed Him in her hands.  And that's when Jesus fell on the floor...

So, our protocol is to pick Jesus up and place the Eucharist under the ciborium and to make note of the place where He fell and to guard it to prevent people from stepping on Jesus.  No sooner had I picked up Jesus from the ground when an altar server immediately appeared behind me with a purificator and water for cleanup in front of Pew #1.  It's like...he was watching and waiting for something like that to happen.  Then boom.  Like a Catholic ninja, he was there.

Shout out to the altar server!  Definitely eased my mind knowing that the situation was rectified and taken care of in less than a minute.  My freaking out only lasted a few seconds, haha.  I know this probably occurs every so often to many an EMHC...but...the first time it happens to you has more of that shock value...But, thankfully, other servers have got my back!

Faith. Hope. Charity. And quick responses.
- JD

Easter Vigil

Now I'm not sure if I've ever gone to an Easter Vigil Mass before...maybe I did once during high school? I can't remember.  To make it easier, let's just assume I've never been.

And I went tonight, "for the first time."  And all I can say is that it was pretty legit.  And beautiful too!

I love how they shut off the lights in the sanctuary before Mass and processed in with the Easter candle lighting the way.  Then slowly the room filled with candlelight because everyone was given a candle to hold.  Cool effect for the blessing of the fire.

I didn't realize there were seven readings for this Mass with seven responsorial psalms and prayers.  But, what I liked about it all is that there is no skimping out.  Each reading progressed towards the Resurrection in a such a way that deserves a good Bible study to connect the dots.

And then there were the catechumens.  I'm normally used to babies getting baptized (hey, I'm Catholic), but to see a long line of adults, young adults, and kids get baptized was pretty cool.  There was a certain joy arising within me seeing all this knowing that these people are being initiated into God's family.

As if the line for being baptized wasn't enough, the number of those catechumens receiving the sacrament of Confirmation seemed like double (though it includes those who were baptized earlier).  Again, that certain joy welled up within me seeing all this because now they have this mission and responsibility to fulfill as a Confirmed Catholic.  And to make it that much more exciting, I was sitting next to my own Confirmandee, and he was pretty excited about it too seeing what will happen for him in over a month.

Then lastly, the Eucharist.  The usual stuff, but now those who were just baptized and confirmed can partake in communion.  And that's pretty legit.  Their lives are very, very Catholic now.

Anyway, I think back to the discussions I had with some fellow Catholic friends about Easter Vigil and how awesome they think it is.  And I totes agree.  The triple-whammy of sacraments all in one Mass makes it pretty cool.

On my way out after Mass, I could just see the joy in the new Catholics' faces as they took pictures in the sanctuary and the narthex was buzzing with more people taking pictures and excited chatter.  Cool stuff.

And I should keep this short...only because I have to return for the 9AM Mass so that I can attend with my own family.  But anyway...

Summary:
Easter Vigil is legit and a really cool Mass to experience.  A really exciting time for the greater Catholic Church as we welcome new members in our family.  I see why people recommend going to it...and I do the same: you should go if you've never been! :-)

Faith. Hope. Charity. Vigils.
- JR