So.. I'm falling in love with my faith and the Spirit that moves it.
How 'bout it, huh? I've read through two enlightening, revealing, unveiling books. And it makes me want to learn more. I want to know about God's Word in relation to the Church. What is liturgy anyway? What is the Eucharist anyway? What is the Ark of the Covenant and the Ark of the New Covenant anyway?I'm one step closer to really understanding the Catholic faith, but I feel as if I can't tell you in detail what I've learned. I'm not so sure if I understand it myself. But I know that there's Truth behind all the words I have read. Anywho, I'm babbling. But I know for sure where my home is.
I challenge anyone and everyone, but most especially Catholics who do not understand the beauty of Mass to read these books:
Rome Sweet Home - Scott Hahn
Hahn and his wife's conversion story to Catholicism
The Lamb's Supper - Scott Hahn
Hahn's explanation of Mass in relation to the Book of Revelation. Oh what?!
It's funny too, because I've been praying about going to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. And I find out shortly after I send my application that Dr. Hahn is a professor at the university. Reader, please pray for me that God leads me closer to Him(:
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
AMEN!
In other words, "So be it." (In other other words, "I believe")
I'd hate to give a summary of all the talks, even though I feel you may learn something. And I dare NOT share my theological views online-at least not now. I'd prefer for the questions to come to me again, and this time I'll have some answers. So be it? Amen.
Hey! Well I just want to say that a lot of us are in the right place, at the right time. It happened to me, it happened to the teens that went on retreat, it's happening to you.
Anyway, our theme for this weekend was "In the flesh." And I thought I was gonna be okay with it, the Eucharist = real flesh. But they took it on another level. (Another reason why you can't ever try putting your faith or God Himself in a box. It WON'T work)
"Be Christ in the flesh to someone we encounter." As I prepared to do the reading yesterday, I understand the word kindness. And what I learned in a discussion was, SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY. Don't think twice about an act about universal healthcare, approve of it. Don't think twice about whether we should have the death penalty, disapprove of it! Don't think twice about giving money to the homeless, give him half of what you have. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was someone who was Christ in the flesh to everyone she encountered. I seriously hated giving money to the Catholic Church because all they do is ask for donations for this and that when I saw that our community was still messed up. How could the Catholic Church ask for more and more money if it seems that the Church is rich? Hey, hey! Keyword is "seems." In actuality, the Church as a whole is poor. It's poor because of its need to take care of the poor and the retired missionaries who ministered to the poor. Amen!
I also felt that this weekend was one giant healing session. So many hurts that people didn't want to bring to Christ, but eventually did during Adoration. Even when we shared the last two hours of the retreat brought many people to tears, including myself. And it just showed how connected we are in the Eucharist. Even thought the Church as a whole is HUGE, we are all tight-knit because of the Eucharist. I knew their pains, even though I didn't talk to them all weekend. And something Scarlet said struck me: "With every crucifixion, there is a resurrection." Oh really? Well let's take a look at it. Jesus died and rose again. In relation to salvation: when we die with Him, we rise again. So when we lift up our sacrifices and we suffer in Him and with Him, we find glory! All those weeks we prepared for TCOG, there were a lot of hurts and sacrifices needed to be made, but the glory that came from the participants' response to Christ overcame the hurts. His glory when he rose again overcame sin and death. I believe. Amen!
Again, I want to reiterate that we find ourselves in situations where we are at the right place at the right time. This is so because we are all part of His amazing plan. And so how this works is that. I started this blog about thirty minutes ago, because the Holy Spirit told me so. And you are reading this blog for a greater purpose. You may not realize it now, but you just listened to the Holy Spirit. So there, we were both at the right place at the right time. So be it. I believe. Amen!
I may have more to say when I have less homework. Hahah! God bless!
I'd hate to give a summary of all the talks, even though I feel you may learn something. And I dare NOT share my theological views online-at least not now. I'd prefer for the questions to come to me again, and this time I'll have some answers. So be it? Amen.
Hey! Well I just want to say that a lot of us are in the right place, at the right time. It happened to me, it happened to the teens that went on retreat, it's happening to you.
Anyway, our theme for this weekend was "In the flesh." And I thought I was gonna be okay with it, the Eucharist = real flesh. But they took it on another level. (Another reason why you can't ever try putting your faith or God Himself in a box. It WON'T work)
"Be Christ in the flesh to someone we encounter." As I prepared to do the reading yesterday, I understand the word kindness. And what I learned in a discussion was, SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY SIMPLIFY. Don't think twice about an act about universal healthcare, approve of it. Don't think twice about whether we should have the death penalty, disapprove of it! Don't think twice about giving money to the homeless, give him half of what you have. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was someone who was Christ in the flesh to everyone she encountered. I seriously hated giving money to the Catholic Church because all they do is ask for donations for this and that when I saw that our community was still messed up. How could the Catholic Church ask for more and more money if it seems that the Church is rich? Hey, hey! Keyword is "seems." In actuality, the Church as a whole is poor. It's poor because of its need to take care of the poor and the retired missionaries who ministered to the poor. Amen!
I also felt that this weekend was one giant healing session. So many hurts that people didn't want to bring to Christ, but eventually did during Adoration. Even when we shared the last two hours of the retreat brought many people to tears, including myself. And it just showed how connected we are in the Eucharist. Even thought the Church as a whole is HUGE, we are all tight-knit because of the Eucharist. I knew their pains, even though I didn't talk to them all weekend. And something Scarlet said struck me: "With every crucifixion, there is a resurrection." Oh really? Well let's take a look at it. Jesus died and rose again. In relation to salvation: when we die with Him, we rise again. So when we lift up our sacrifices and we suffer in Him and with Him, we find glory! All those weeks we prepared for TCOG, there were a lot of hurts and sacrifices needed to be made, but the glory that came from the participants' response to Christ overcame the hurts. His glory when he rose again overcame sin and death. I believe. Amen!Again, I want to reiterate that we find ourselves in situations where we are at the right place at the right time. This is so because we are all part of His amazing plan. And so how this works is that. I started this blog about thirty minutes ago, because the Holy Spirit told me so. And you are reading this blog for a greater purpose. You may not realize it now, but you just listened to the Holy Spirit. So there, we were both at the right place at the right time. So be it. I believe. Amen!
I may have more to say when I have less homework. Hahah! God bless!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Dear Friends,
If you're exhausted, frustrated, depressed, sick of all the mumbo jumbo in your life then I encourage you to run--run as fast as you can all the way Home-- and cling on to God. (I'm not quite exactly sure why I am compelled to write such a blog, but hopefully this may be useful to you. Whether you stumble upon this on December 9,2009 or January 10, 2010 doesn't really matter. Whatever the case may be, this message is for you, and you'll know who you are.) Leave behind all the noise and settle in the stillness, in His arms. Because who knows better with what you're going through than Jesus Himself? Walking 100 mi. radius from His home, suffering from physical tiredness but also spiritually, as He battled with the thought that the people He's gonna save are the very people who will spit on Him, curse Him, and reject Him! But above all of this, the image we see of Jesus is an image of peace and gentle compassion. Despite these physical and spiritual struggles, He was able to overcome them. And so He tells us "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest in yourselves" because He knows that if we rest in Him and let His graces fall on us, then we will most definitely find rest.
Too many of us-- much too many of us-- think we can go on with our own strength. Our very strength is temporary! And some of us may even try to find temporary escapes. Someone once said that if you attach to things that die (even our strength is eventually exhausted), then we die. But if you attach to God, who is immortal, then we live forever. We find strength in Him because His power is endless, just as His love is endless. And if you think you are unworthy of those graces, then you're mistaken because God is too generous and too loving to keep you from His grace. "If grace is an ocean, then we're all sinking."
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Dear Friends,
If you're exhausted, frustrated, depressed, sick of all the mumbo jumbo in your life then I encourage you to run--run as fast as you can all the way Home-- and cling on to God. (I'm not quite exactly sure why I am compelled to write such a blog, but hopefully this may be useful to you. Whether you stumble upon this on December 9,2009 or January 10, 2010 doesn't really matter. Whatever the case may be, this message is for you, and you'll know who you are.) Leave behind all the noise and settle in the stillness, in His arms. Because who knows better with what you're going through than Jesus Himself? Walking 100 mi. radius from His home, suffering from physical tiredness but also spiritually, as He battled with the thought that the people He's gonna save are the very people who will spit on Him, curse Him, and reject Him! But above all of this, the image we see of Jesus is an image of peace and gentle compassion. Despite these physical and spiritual struggles, He was able to overcome them. And so He tells us "take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest in yourselves" because He knows that if we rest in Him and let His graces fall on us, then we will most definitely find rest.Too many of us-- much too many of us-- think we can go on with our own strength. Our very strength is temporary! And some of us may even try to find temporary escapes. Someone once said that if you attach to things that die (even our strength is eventually exhausted), then we die. But if you attach to God, who is immortal, then we live forever. We find strength in Him because His power is endless, just as His love is endless. And if you think you are unworthy of those graces, then you're mistaken because God is too generous and too loving to keep you from His grace. "If grace is an ocean, then we're all sinking."
Sunday, December 6, 2009
TCOG
The Calling Of God, FTW!
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Well, I just want to say, although it's cliche, that "everything happens for a reason." SO! Today, I woke up and I as planning on going to confession and Mass and possibly Adoration Chapel. And so I go to confession, and instead of the guilt trip feeling, I felt peace. I knew REPENTENCE. I also saw Mark and Kellie, so that was a major whoo hoo! And then after, I saw ERICK! And then we did Stations of the Cross, and it made my desire to repent even stronger. I mean, I was absolved already, but as we went through the stations of the cross, I wanted to REALLY REALLY REALLY turn away from some of my bad habits. Then there was Mass. Let me tell you, Latin songs really set a different mood. So that was pretty darn amazing. My lola, Erick, and I go to Adoration Chapel, and I was just soaked up in His love. Worked on the talk there, and I really asked for His guidance for this night.
And to be honest, I was getting kind of worried as more time passed. We didn't seem to be running on schedule, but we saw that there was a purpose. Everything just came into place. And we had the commitment and the pray overs. Some powerful stuff. Worship. There was no other way it could have been done. And on Erick's part, it was no accident that Kellie, Mark, and I ran into him, because God was calling him to serve. He called us all for a purpose: to set our hearts ablaze with His love. I knew He was there with us tonight. And so I applaud everyone who committed or recommitted their lives to Christ. And whoever is reading this, I just ask for you to pray this with me:
Lord God, I know You did great things in those who have answered Your call. I just ask You to continue to envelope them with all Your love, so that they may continue to want to know You and fall in love with You more and more each day. I ask that You give them the courage to always be ready to give an explanation or a reason for their hope--that same hope which is found in You, my God. And let them be an inspiration, a light, to everyone around them so that they too, will want to know You more. Amen.
Praise God! Praise God! Praise God!
Well, I just want to say, although it's cliche, that "everything happens for a reason." SO! Today, I woke up and I as planning on going to confession and Mass and possibly Adoration Chapel. And so I go to confession, and instead of the guilt trip feeling, I felt peace. I knew REPENTENCE. I also saw Mark and Kellie, so that was a major whoo hoo! And then after, I saw ERICK! And then we did Stations of the Cross, and it made my desire to repent even stronger. I mean, I was absolved already, but as we went through the stations of the cross, I wanted to REALLY REALLY REALLY turn away from some of my bad habits. Then there was Mass. Let me tell you, Latin songs really set a different mood. So that was pretty darn amazing. My lola, Erick, and I go to Adoration Chapel, and I was just soaked up in His love. Worked on the talk there, and I really asked for His guidance for this night.
And to be honest, I was getting kind of worried as more time passed. We didn't seem to be running on schedule, but we saw that there was a purpose. Everything just came into place. And we had the commitment and the pray overs. Some powerful stuff. Worship. There was no other way it could have been done. And on Erick's part, it was no accident that Kellie, Mark, and I ran into him, because God was calling him to serve. He called us all for a purpose: to set our hearts ablaze with His love. I knew He was there with us tonight. And so I applaud everyone who committed or recommitted their lives to Christ. And whoever is reading this, I just ask for you to pray this with me:
Lord God, I know You did great things in those who have answered Your call. I just ask You to continue to envelope them with all Your love, so that they may continue to want to know You and fall in love with You more and more each day. I ask that You give them the courage to always be ready to give an explanation or a reason for their hope--that same hope which is found in You, my God. And let them be an inspiration, a light, to everyone around them so that they too, will want to know You more. Amen.
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