Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas turtles! I wish you all the best this holiday season!

Two quick things...

The Holy Father extended Christmas greetings in 65 different languages today. In English, he gave the following blessing: "May the birth of the Prince of Peace remind the world where its true happiness lies; and may your hearts be filled with hope and joy, for the Savior has been born for us." Great words to meditate upon today!

Finally, one of my favorite Christmas/Advent prayer activities is to meditate upon the many ways that the birth of Jesus is portrayed in diverse cultures. Simply do a Google image search for "nativity" and see all of the wonderful pieces that are pulled up. Here is one from Africa:

Peace turtles!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve turtles! I hope that everyone is able to be with family and friends this holiday season. Know that I will be praying for all of you and am relying on you to pray for me as well!

Let's take a moment to talk about Christmas Eve, a very Holy Day that is easy to miss as we prepare for Christmas Day.

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First, we have a lot to pray for:

According to the Infancy Traditions about Jesus, Mary and Joseph were traveling far from home to participate in the census... please pray today for all travelers.

Upon entering Bethlehem there was no place for them to stay, so they had to stay in a manger (or a cave)... please pray today for the homeless and also for immigrants.

Mary goes into labor and gives birth to our savior (I spoke about the Incarnation a few weeks ago, please see that post)... please pray today for all mothers, especially teenage mothers and mothers who will give birth this coming year.

Shepherds hear Angels proclaiming the coming of the Lord and they come to the manger to see Jesus... please pray today for all laborers, especially those without work this Christmas Season.

There is so much to remember and pray for on this very holy day!

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In popular Catholicism it is often believed that the Virgin Mother petitions the release of many souls from purgatory on Christmas Eve. Of course, this is a popular belief, we don't think that Purgatory is a length of time with a release date, but if you know of anyone who has died this year, Christmas Eve is still a wonderful time to remember them!

For those interested in learning more... I believe this belief has been re-popularized by the revelations of the Virgin Mother to the Medjugorje Visionaries. You'll have to do some research on your own!

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For the last seven years I have been part of a group who gathers to pray at noon on Christmas Eve. During our prayer time together we hold all of these intentions, as well as those who could not be with us, up to the Virgin Mother through the Rosary. I encourage all of you to pray the Joyful Mysteries tonight alone or with your families as a way to celebrate this holy feast.

When I was little I liked Christmas Eve (conveniently also my mother's birthday) because we could use it to go to Mass early and have more time to open presents on Christmas Day... I now know that it is so much more.

Peace turtles!

Avatar

I recently went to see the movie Avatar. I had no idea what it was going to be about but I ended up really enjoying it! Behind all of the 3D effects and stunning graphics is a great movie. However, hit a little too close to home for me...

(The following will not give away the ending, I promise!)

Avatar chronicles the story of Jake Sully, a paralyzed ex-marine who is recruited to be an "avatar-driver" for a mining colony on a distant planet. An avatar is a human-indigenous hybrid that the driver has full control over through a remote connection at the mining colony. Sully's mission is to infiltrate an indigenous community, learn their ways and ultimately convince them to leave their homeland so that the mining company can remove precious minerals from beneath their colony.

The miners don't understand the deep interconnection of all the life forms on the planet. They don't believe that the indigenous community has any dignity- and don't even try to appreciate their rich traditions.

In the end, Sully becomes one of the indigenous people and leads them in a fight for their survival. I'll let you see the movie and fill in the rest of the details for yourself.

Here is why this movie hit a little too close to home for me...

When I was in El Salvador I had the opportunity to visit a community that had been ravaged by the Coca Cola Company. Coke had: built a factory in their community; pumped all of the ground water out of the region; and then closed the factory leaving behind- what had once been a lush forest- an uninhabitable wasteland.

Avatar isn't a completely fictional movie. Multinational Companies are committing the same crimes against indigenous communities here on planet Earth, and they are destroying our planet to make a profit.

In Avatar, Sully stands up to the mining company and helps to organize the indigenous communities in their struggle. Who is going to stand up in the REAL world and do the same thing? Maybe you? Do you have the courage to put your life and reputation on the line for the oppressed?

I hope that everyone gets a chance to see this movie. My prayer is that you can see past the amazing special effects and let the struggle portrayed in the film inspire you to make a difference in THIS world.

Peace turtles!

Pope Encourages Turtles!

The following is an article I found on Zenit. It summarizes a statement made by Pope Benedict XVI that states, "loving is a person's only task." The Holy Father continues, "to learn to love requires a long and demanding journey."

As turtles, we understand how long and demanding the journey toward holiness can be. But eternal life... and in this case, Love... are only experienced by those who embrace the journey.

We will struggle in our attempt to love others. We will, without a doubt, fall over and be pinned to the ground by the shells of division, anger, frusteration and sin... but forgiveness, patience, understanding and humility will aid us in our effort to get back up and keep trying!

Thank you Holy Father. Peace turtles!

You can read the article here.

Advent

Wars are being fought... families are being torn apart... immigrants are dying in the desert... the sick lack people to care for them... children are hungry... natural disasters destroy whole cities... mothers are being encouraged to kill their unborn babies... the media spreads misinformation 24-hours a day...

There are times- and I hear this from other Christians often- that I want to stand up and shout, "THIS IS NOT HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE!" But would anyone really listen? Could they hear me over the noise and chaos that permeates our world? Probably not.

The world was, for the most part, just as screwed up that first Christmas as it is now. But despite the chaos and confusion, God still entered the world...

Advent is a time to remember how God came into our world.

Crashing down into the violence... the fear... the chaos and confusion... the despair... God comes in the form of a small child. He is born on a silent night in the most humble of dwellings. He is not born into a royal family nor bring with him a conquering army... He simply comes... simply.

Imagine that small child- his lungs breathing their first breaths... his tiny heart beating as his mother holds him close... his eyes struggling to open for the first time.

The silence of that night, more than anything in history, has changed the world forever. We now have hope... God has not given up on us.

That Holy Silence from the first Christmas still echoes in our world. I am taking this advent to reflect upon this and open my heart to experience it. I wish you all a blessed Advent... live simply... listen for the deafening silence.

Peace turtles!

Where the Wild Things Are

So I absolutely loved this movie! I may have even been the inspiration for Carol’s character. I love to love but hate the pain that is so often associated with it. I’m looking for someone to follow but so often get let down. I can build and organize great things when I am motivated but have also been known to royally screw things up when I am hurt or upset. Obviously, I am a wild thing.

The movie teaches us that there is no escape from pain. Each of us must draw our strength from within and from the love of our friends and families. So much of our life is spent waiting for someone else to come and fix our problems or to heal our hearts. These are things that we ultimately must do for ourselves.

I have some theological reflections in the works based upon this movie that I may post here later. For now, I just encourage everyone to see it. I even suggest that you wear your pajamas when you go to see it (my friends Kemper and Darcy and I did when we went!), maybe it will help bring you back to where you were when you first read the book.

Now that's an awkward hug!

Luke 8:16-18

The following is an abridged version of a homily that I prepared for my preaching class. I hope you enjoy:

I am very blessed to be able to live in the resident community at Catholic Theological Union.

As the youngest member of the community, I feel perfectly poised to gather as much wisdom from my brothers and sisters as possible. I am sure that they would tell you that I am in need of it the most! Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed, depressed or worn out there is always a spiritual companion close by.

A couple weeks ago I was feeling overwhelmed with the realization that I would be following this same grueling schedule for at least four more years. I wanted to quit.

Distraught late at night I found Dorothy, a minister from Africa who has been living with us for a couple of months.

Upon hearing my predicament, Dorothy issued one of the strangest pieces of advice that I have ever been given…

She said, “Don’t stay in the same bush for too long or the hunter will get you.”

“What?” I responded. I had come to seek pastoral advice and had instead received nonsense.

Dorothy explained that this was a common phrase in her country. She said “imagine that you are the rabbit, if you stay in the same bush for too long the hunter will find you and catch you.”

Suddenly, I realized what Dorothy was doing. She was communicating wisdom to me, but she wanted me to unpack it for myself.

We have a natural tendency to want everything spelled out for us. Unfortunately, growth rarely occurs when things are spelled out exactly. Good students know that wisdom often has to be unpacked from “nonsense.”

Dorothy’s advice helped me to see that if I didn’t find ways to very my routine and make my studies more enjoyable, it could cause the death of my vocation. So, I needed to identify and confront my “hunters” -- those things that weigh me down most.

Once I had unpacked these insights from Dorothy’s advice, I was hungry for more. Just the other day I heard her say to a student she hadn’t seen in a long time… “You are like a grain of salt lost in the cabbage stew.” I’ll be wrestling with that image for quite some time!

In today’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t spell out exactly what he means to his disciples either. Like Dorothy, Jesus understood that his disciples wouldn’t grow unless they could unpack wisdom from the Word of God on their own, especially in his coming absence.

Perhaps the most troubling statement in this passage is “to the one who has more will be given and to the one who has nothing, even what little he has will be taken from him.”

At first it sounds like Jesus is talking about material possessions. If so, not only is this terrible news for the poor, but it doesn’t sound anything like the Jesus that all of us know!

So let’s unpack it…

Based upon the fact that Luke includes this passage in a wider section on hearing and responding to the Word of God, we can safely conclude that this is the Jesus that we know… and he is not talking about material possessions.

I think that Jesus is trying to communicate the beauty and benefits of unpacking Wisdom from the Word of God….

The one who takes the time to unpack Wisdom from the Word of God will be blessed with more Wisdom. This could take the form of a charismatic gift or simply a desire to unpack even more! The one who waits for Wisdom to be spelled out exactly will lose even the wisdom that he does have… perhaps due to apathy or mental degradation.

If this is true, what else can we learn from this passage?

Jesus’ disciples have gathered around him and he says “Nobody lights a lamp and then hides it.”

I am sure that they had a reaction similar to the one that I had when Dorothy told me to be a better rabbit.

“Duh Jesus, nobody does that. We came all of the way here and this is what you have to say?”

Let’s just accept the fact that Jesus is going to make us work for this, he’s going to make us unpack it for ourselves…

Perhaps we can unpack that:

The Word of God is not a secret, it is meant to be shared.

The Word is most useful in places where darkness abounds.

We should invest in those things that make the Word visible.

Hiding the Word can be dangerous.

The beauty is that we could sit and unpack wisdom from these statements forever!

These passages reveal that if we approach the Word with a willingness to engage it and unpack It’s Wisdom for ourselves—rather than waiting for God to spell everything out exactly—we can delve deeper into Wisdom than we had ever imagined.

Work in progress...

God didn’t just create everything and then stop…. He came crashing down into His creation and has continued to sanctify and perfect it. Through the Incarnation… The Holy Spirit… Divine Revelation… and countless other avenues our God is storming history. He isn’t just sending His angels and sanctifying His saints…. He sends Himself!

What we know of God on the historical level we must also know on the personal level. God didn’t create any of us and then stop… He created us and then went to work.

God fights for us… God loves us… God strengthens us… God moves and inspires us…

If God expected each of us to be perfect He would have stopped working as soon as we were born. But God knows that each of us is a continuing act of creation.

As you settle down into your prayer time today, reflect upon the simple fact that God is not done making you yet. Of course we have to be willing to let Him work in our lives… but He cherishes our GROWTH more than our failed attempts at perfection.

Spiritual Practices

A common practice many of us use to grow spiritually is to make spiritual commitments. For example, we may commit to saying the Rosary each day. We may commit to attending a weekday Mass each week. We may commit to pray for a different friend each day. We may even commit to fast one day each week.

All of these spiritual commitments are good...

However, many times we make these commitments and then become unnecessarily stuck to them. We must remember that these commitments only have value for as long as they are leading us closer to God.

If you commit to pray the Rosary every day you must ask an important question- for how many days? Praying the Rosary every day for a month, even a year is a great commitment, but praying it every day for the rest of your life is a completely unfair responsibility to give yourself.

I am not calling for a generation of spiritual quitters, I am just trying to put things in perspective. For example, if you pray the Rosary every day for a month and find yourself growing more each day... then by all means... commit to pray it every day for another month. But if you find yourself resenting your prayer time... perhaps at the end of the month you should take on another challenge.

For example, I made a commitment at the beginning of this year to spend time each day writing spiritual poetry. I naively believed that my love for reading poetry should correspond to a love for writing poetry... it does not. I find that I dread sitting down with my notebook.

Of course spiritual challenges should be difficult and make us a little uncomfortable, but writing poetry makes me so uncomfortable that I have found myself not only resenting the practice of writing but resenting God for "calling me to do it."

Then I remembered... God didn't "call me to do this," I called myself to do it in order to find God. I chose a path that I thought would lead to God and it didn't. I shouldn't continue running down the old path... I should find a new one.

A friend told me that she felt guilty because she could not attend daily Mass like she had committed to do a couple months ago. She made this commitment to get closer to God but now finds that she feels guilty and like she has let God down... how sad!

I'm not really sure how to wrap this post up except to impart some wisdom... everyone needs to make these spiritual commitments in order to challenge themselves and grow. But if you find that your commitment is leading you away from God- ABANDON SHIP. Make a new commitment, find a new path.... do whatever you need to do to make sure that you are headed closer to God.

Amen, alleluia.

A Note From Lilith

I just received word from my friend Lilith in the Philippines. She is asking that everyone continue to hold her country and her people in your prayers. As many of you know there has been severe flooding in the region for some time now.

Lilith is a professor at St. Scholastica's University and just graduated with a doctorate in ministry from the Catholic Theological Union here in Chicago. She said that she has taken the rest of the semester off from teaching in order to assist with the relief efforts.

The picture below is of two boys searching through what remains of their home. Lilith took this picture herself. Even those who have not been directly effected by the waters have been profoundly affected. Please pray. Peace turtles!

Help Our Kids!

There was a boy beaten to death in front of his school here in Chicago about two weeks ago. There were many witnesses- it was even caught on tape.

Two other students have already been killed this school year- at schools- by guns.

Last week, another youth- away from school- was beaten to death while witnessing a street fight on the south side.

On average, over the last three years, 30 students are killed while in attending the Chicago Public Schools.

Last July, two teenagers were shot outside of a gym at their Catholic Church; also here on the south side.

I don’t mean to bash the public school system or anyone else. But I encourage you to look up and read these stories (they are all on Google News). I was going to give you the URLs, but making you search for them yourselves will force you to stumble upon the stories of countless other youths who have been killed in our city.

I hope these stories make you sick. I hope they make you angry. I hope they change your life and force you act. I hope these stories make you fall to your knees and pray more urgently than you ever have before. I hope they transform your heart and make it eager to advocate for our young people.

Think… Pray… Act. Peace turtles!

Where are you going?

On Saturday, I participated in a retreat at the Catholic Theological Union. The retreat focused on the theme of "calling." More specifically, we reflected on the times that we heard God calling us to something greater than who/what/where we were at the time. This can be a life-altering theme for anyone.

During the retreat we were asked important questions, such as; Where are you? What direction is your life headed? What has God called you to? Who are you? What do you desire? What questions do you struggle with?

All of these questions challenge us to take a good look at ourselves. Why are we attending the schools that we do? Why are we working the jobs that we are? Why are we in relationships with that we are in? How did we get here? Is this where we intended to be?

We can't just meander through life without asking ourselves these important questions. It's hard to know if you're where God wants you if you can't remember where God asked you to go.

There is a mural here in Hyde Park underneath the Metra station at 56th and Lake Park. The title of the mural is "Where are you going?" The mural depicts many diverse different people (presumably people who were interviewed at that very station) and places next to them an answer to this very important question. One young man says "I can't afford to live where I work, so I live here and ride the train to work everyday." An old woman says "I have a friend who lives in this neighborhood, one of my few friends, I come here to spend time with her." Another man says "I come to look for my friend, an illegal immigrant, who works in this neighborhood."

Mural, with artist Olivia Gude

None of the captions is very long but each of them reveals something profound about the person they are attached to.

Similarly, answering these questions about our call by God- namely, where am I going and why?- can reintroduce us to ourselves and set our moving back in the right direction.

So, where are you going? Peace turtles!

I am an awkward turtle...

I gave the URL for this blog to someone the other day and he responded "good for you, we need people to challenge the Church." (meaning the Catholic Church to which I belong). Maybe the name suggests something other than was intended... so let me explain.

I'm trying to walk this incredibly difficult road toward Sainthood. To be honest, it is often overwhelming. That is where the image of an awkward turtle comes in. People always say things like "don't worry about falling, it's getting back up that matters most," to which I would like to reply "but I have this hard shell to carry around, it's not that easy to lift!" Hence, this blog and it's readers are a Church of Turtles... perhaps Church FOR Turtles would have been a better name.

I've begun participating in a great shell-shedding adventure that involves being part of a lay formation program at the Catholic Theological Union while I am studying for a degree in Divinity. I am not a priest, nor do I aspire to be one. The formation program at CTU is similar to that experienced by our religious brothers and sisters and I study along side members of our many numerous spiritual traditions.

I also live in Hyde Park, Chicago which is a focal point of religious education for many faith traditions here in the United States. Many of my posts come from my experiences here at CTU and the people that I come in contact with in the neighborhood.

I write this blog first for purely personal reasons... it forces me to think and reflect. Second, I write it in the hopes that other "back wobblers" may read it and be inspired by it.

My apologies to anyone who comes expecting some ultra-progressive commentary on the Catholic Church, you won't find it here. I don't deny that the Church has problems, I just don't feel the need to commentate on them.

Peace turtles!

Frater Graham

For those of you who are interested in knowing more about my friend Graham, the Norbertine novice living in a hermitage here in Chicago (although some hermits may take exception to this statement), he now has a blog where he writes about his experiences in religious life.

It's a fascinating blog, I've read the whole thing.

Don't miss his poetic language and attention to every artistic detail... he talks like that in real life... it is not a scheme to make religious life sound any different than he is really experiencing it.

For those of us who have not experienced life in a religious community, Graham does a great job of communicating his joys (and soon sorrows, he assures me) on the blog.

www.norbertine.wordpress.com

Peace turtles!

Gender Inclusive Language

I in no way want to imply that woman have not gotten the short-stick when it comes to naming things. For example, masculine pronouns are attached to God... and women get... cars, boats and airplanes. For this reason, I support the use of gender inclusive language when referring to the theoretical human person, humanity and God.

However, I witnessed something shocking today as I was doing my homework. An author had placed a large quotation of Karl Rahner in her thesis paper and had replaced all masculine words with gender-inclusive words in brackets (which was fine). She had been so copious in applying these brackets that they appeared in almost every sentence of the quotation...

...until...

...Rahner made a reference to the devil. All of the sudden the author stopped replacing masculine pronouns and adjectives with gender-inclusive words. It appeared as though the author wanted to show that while God and humanity should be portrayed as gender-ambiguous, EVIL on the other hand is surely masculine.

I mean... people call God 'mother' and 'she' all of the time, but "Princess of Darkness?" I've never heard that one.

It's not even that the author would have had to edit the text to make the devil feminine, because she was changing everything masculine to make it inclusive; hence "his" became "one's" and him became "person," etc. So why not continue that editing trend and apply it to all transcendent beings?

Oh well, maybe I've just bitten off more than I can chew.

Pray for Your Friends

I know this may sound like very basic advice, but don't forget to pray for your friends.

I have a friend who's going through a pretty rough time right now. I've taken time each day to either pray the Rosary for him or lift up petitionary prayers. What an intimate thing; to lay down a loved one before the Lord! I have no idea how God is answering these prayers but I can feel the Spirit working!

Also, I live in a residence community of students. I am very close to the people in the building and I have begun saying a little blessing for all of them each night before I go to sleep. Nothing very specific or special, just asking God to hold all of us close.

For all of those times we cannot make it on our own... it's nice to know that there are people looking our for us. Peace turtles!

Remember that saint you chose?

I received the Sacrament of Confirmation when I was twelve years old. There are just some things that a twelve year old cannot appreciate... like the beauty of choosing a Saint to model your life after.

The Saint that I chose was Alexander. I chose him because I had always wished that my parents had named me Alexander instead of Chris. I had no devotion to St. Alexander and really hadn't done any research about him.

Looking back, there were so many that I wish I would have chosen; John Bosco, Pio, Maximillian Kolbe, John the Baptist, Aloysius Gonzaga, Dominic Savio. But alas... I did not choose these names, I chose Alexander.

The other day someone asked me what my Confirmation name was and I told them this same story. Afterward, I felt called to look up some information about St. Alexander (basically, I wanted to introduce myself after having used his name for over a decade). I was amazed at how much I was able to identify with St. Alexander. It was almost like God had known that I would find conviction of belief in Alexander's example but was just to young to appreciate it yet.

Here is some biographical information about St. Alexander for anyone that is interested:

St. Alexander

Feastday: March 18

St. Alexander, Bishop and Martyr. Alexander was a student with Origen at the famous Christian school of Alexandria in the late second century. He became bishop of Cappadocia and during the persecution of Severus was imprisoned for several years (204-211). Following his release from prison, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was proclaimed coadjutor bishop there in the year 212. Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria, censured Alexander for participating in the ordination of Origen and for encouraging Origen to teach in churches while still a layman. Despite this, Alexander received Origen in exile. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Alexander developed a great theological library. During the persecution of Decius, he was seized and again imprisoned. After making a public confession of faith, he was condemned and thrown to the wild beasts, but they refused to attack him. Alexander was then taken to Caesarea where he died in chains in the year 251. The Church recognizes him as a martyr. St. Alexander, despite his great learning and important ecclesiastical positions, was known as an individual of great mildness, especially in his sermons. When put to the test during two persecutions, he remained steadfast in faith and was willing to suffer death for the Faith.

Today when we are criticized by friends and society for the moral tenets of our Faith, St. Alexander is a prime example of how we should stand fast in the face of ridicule and ostracism.

A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken

Sometimes God just throws things at us. That is exactly what He has done to me with this book. I got an e-mail from a book club announcing it was their assigned reading, I was asked by two separate friends if I had read it and it miraculously was returned to our library that same day. Needless to say, I began reading it right away.

It is a rare thing to find a book that melts your heart and challenges you to love more deeply than you knew was possible. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken has been that book for me.

This is the story of Sheldon and Jean (Davy) Vanauken. They met and developed a love stronger than most of us may ever know. The book follows their lives through youth, Pearl Harbor, Oxford, a friendship with C.S. Lewis, illness and the tragedy of lost love. This heroic journey of love taught Sheldon important lessons about the Severe Mercy of our God and his poetic writing communicates those timeless truths to his readers.

While reading this book I was shaken, I was challenged, I experienced great joy and I cried my eyes out. I cannot give a higher recommendation of anything else to read. No further description from me could express how valuable I found this book.

Keep me posted if anyone decides to read it, I would love to discuss it with some of you!

Papal Wisdom #1- Charity and Justice

Relationship Between Charity and Justice

This won’t be easy for some to swallow- and I don’t claim to practice this perfectly in any way- but here goes:

In section 6 of his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict speaks of the relationship between Charity and Justice.

Justice is what leads us to give to another what is rightfully his or hers based upon their being (dignity) and sometimes their actions (work). Thus, there can be no Charity where there is no Justice.

We cannot consider something ‘ours’ if it should rightfully belong to someone else. For example, if I have enough water for two people and you are going to die of thirst, it would be unjust to deny you a full ration of the water. However, there would be no authentic Charity in this action because I would only be giving you the water I did not need… sacrificing nothing and changing my own circumstances in no measurable way.

Charity is when, out of love, we give something that is rightfully ours to someone else. If I only had enough water for myself but shared with you anyway- that would be Charity.

Too often when we say we are being “charitable” we are really only giving our EXCESS to the poor. That would be Justice- not Charity.

This is somewhat of an overwhelming challenge. First, we must establish justice by giving away every excess that we have (because, by right, they belong to someone else anyway). Second, we should continue to give, out of love, from what we have to those who remain in need.

Think… pray… act. Peace turtles!

Relationship

Hey turtles! I've spent the last two days teaching new mentors for the Archdiocese of Detroit's Ministry to Youth in Detention. We have a great group of new mentors stepping up to help carry on the program this year. A special thanks to everyone who has been involved on this amazing journey.

Jerry Goebel, our vision director for the Ministry to Youth in Detention and Director of One Family Outreach, repeated a concept this weekend that I have always appreciated. His wisdom is that "Prejudice cannot withstand relationship." What powerful words for a world with as many divisions as ours.

Afraid of the poor? Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
Afraid of street kids? Spend time mentoring.
Afraid of the elderly? Talk to an older person after Church.
Afraid of other races? Visit a cultural festival or ethnic organization.
Afraid of illegal immigrants? Start a conversation with the next foreign low-wage worker you encounter.

Prejudice cannot withstand relationship. It's hard to be afraid of someone once you have gotten close enough to see the light of Jesus in their eyes. It's not easy to harden your heart toward someone that you have come to love.

Peace turtles!

Morning Glories

This morning was a great morning! I woke up dark and early at 5:30am and headed off to the park near my house to watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan.

There is something magical about being awake before the city (I live in Chicago). At 5:30am there are no sirens, there are no horns, no screeching trains, nobody screaming at people to shut up from their windows... it's just peaceful.

I sat on my favorite rock and awaited the sun's morning glory. As expected... at exactly 6:03am the sun peaked over the low clouds on the horizon.

I sat amazed at the bright colors and in awe of God's continued goodness toward us. I closed my eyes and whispered "of course God, this is how you meant it to be, show me your glory..."

"SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!!!! WHERE THE SKIES ARE SO BLUE!!!!! SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!!! I'M COMING HOME TO YOU!!!!"

...What?!

On the rocks below me was a very mentally ill homeless fellow, backpack and sleeping bag in hand, starting his day by walking toward the city. Here was a man, awake before anyone really had to be on a Sunday, filthy from head to toe, no doubt starving and quite possible lonely... but joyful and singing all the same.

I think God answered my little prayer right then and there. It was His was of saying, "Yeah, the sunrise is cool- but this is soooooo much cooler- look at this man who I created and love so dearly!"

Be on the lookout for the glories of God. They surround us more intimately and completely than we will ever know.

A picture I took this morning.

Feast of the Assumption

Today is the Feast of the Assumption. In honor of our Blessed Mother I have composed a humble poem. I also hope that it is somewhat explanatory for our non-Catholic brothers and sisters who are unsure about our relationship to Mary. For those Catholics (and other Christians devoted to Mary) I hope it inspires you and helps you celebrate this feast.

Come to His Mother

How to approach this Love-

So pure it terrifies me!

Perhaps I will go it It’s mother.

The most perfect woman;

Written into His passionate

Love story with man.

The Light reflecting off her begins

To melt my heart.

I hold her hand… and trembling,

I ask her to introduce me to the Word.

Being full of grace,

She does not fear entering

Into His Glorious Presence.

Comforting me,

Guiding me,

Proud of me;

She places me in the arms of her Son.

Culture of vHate

Friends have directed me to quite a few YouTube videos of angry atheists (and angry Christians responding) lately. The atheists call people of faith "stupid," "brainwashed," and "naive." The Christians who respond to these videos throw out words such as "sinful," "intolerant" and "hell-bound." My message to everyone is "what do you hope to accomplish?"

I can think of no great teacher in the history of our world who changed the hearts of their opposition by insulting and degrading them. I even think that all of these people building a 'culture of hate' on the Internet are well aware of this fact as well. Insults, swearing and angry rants get hits though... they get a vlogger's name recognized. Shame on those who would degrade a whole group of people for their own popularity.

What's happening is that the two sides are becoming increasingly polarized. The 'culture of hate' is breeding a new group of fundamentalists who will cling to their beliefs and unbeliefs despite the truth that is revealed to them.

Atheist bloggers scream "they believe the huge lies of the Bible." Really? Why don't you tell me what the lies are and how you know them to be lies?

Similarly, the Christians scream "they deny the most sacred truths of our existence." Really? How do you know them to be truths? Why do you believe them? (Because calling people names really doesn't prove to me that you know anything about Christianity).

I would love to see an actual religious dialogue on YouTube. One where the person posing the questions can do so respectfully and those posting comments and responses can show an equal amount of courtesy.

If these are the central truths of our existence... they deserve to be discussed and debated as such... with deep thought, human decency and a thirst for truth.

Helpful Hints for Exploring Religions

This is by no means and exhaustive list... but it's a place to start. When exploring another religion, or even your own, please keep these helpful hints in mind.

1. Don't judge a religion by its fundamentalists. For example, its not fair to judge the authenticity and devotion of all Muslims based upon the actions of the Taliban. It would be like judging the faith of all Christians based upon the actions of the Westboro Baptists. Ask yourself... how are the majority Christians/Muslims living their faith?

2. Understand that you will never fully understand a religion like its practitioners. Remember, only those who devote their lives to the practice and study of their religion fully understand the spirit of it. Simply reading about a religion in a book or attending a worship service, however beneficial, will not give you the full sense of any religion.

3. Give your questions to the right people. Don't be like Bill Maher in Religulous and interview people about their faith at truck stops. Even the most faithful members of a religion may not have the education and practical training neccessary to adequately answer your questions. Seek out teachers and religious leaders in the faiths you wish to explore.

4. Don't judge the religion by the concepts and principles that you believe in. Every religion does not have to have a "devil" and a "savior." Further, all deities and spirits found in other religions should not be labeled demons.

5. Recognize that while truth is not subjective... it can express itself in many forms. Many of the world's religions have different ways of saying very congruent things. Just because someone is of a different faith than yourself does not mean that what they believe is 100% absent of truth.

Remember the Least

My day was more hectic than I would have liked... and tomorrow is not looking any better.

I was so worked up when I left work that I knew the rest of my day was going to have to be a dramatic intervention in my welfare.

So I partook in my favorite activity... drinking coffee and reading a good book (non-fiction for me please).

The book I am reading is called "The End of Food" by Paul Roberts. As I sat drinking my coffee, the book began to describe the plight of coffee growers in Brazil, Vietnam and other developing nations. It explained the perilous cycle of economic depression, overproduction and poverty that has plagued the industry for decades.

I didn't feel bad for drinking the coffee (in fact, we could help the situation by drinking more of it) but I was profoundly struck by how selfish I had become. 

Yeah, I worked harder and for more hours than I had planned to today... but I'll get paid a fair wage for it. I may work for more "supervisors" than is prudent... but I have work. 

I shouldn't be so quick to forget how privileged I am. My little evening of coffee and reading turned into an attitude adjustment. Thank you God.

HEROIC FAITH

Hey Turtles,

Below you will find some notes from my recent presentation on Heroic Faith. The actual outline of the talk would be too long and awkwardly abbreviated to post here... so I have expanded some of what I believe to be the most important points. Peace!

Our God is a living God and we get to enter into a relationship with Him. This relationship is what gives our lives full meaning. Undoubtedly, this is the most important relationship that we will ever have.

Heroic faith is about how we enter into relationship with our Living God. Heroic faith requires that we be fully open and honest with God about what state we are in. It requires that we be completely authentic.

By completely authentic I mean...

That when we are joyful we dance with HIm.

When we are broken we lay before Him.

When we are angry we wrestle with Him.

When we are doubtful we cry out for Him.

This is requires a level of openness that few people ever achieve with themselves, let alone in a relationship with another. It is because this level of relationship with God requires such courage and perseverance that we call it HEROIC.

But we don't have to be worried about being honest with God... because He created, sustains and watches over us... He already knows where we are!

We love to make excuses for why we cannot have heroic faith. We even look at those heroes (saints) in the faith who have gone before us and convince ourselves that they were made of something stronger than we are. 

That is not true! We are made of the same stuff-- we have been made by the same God, we are loved by the same Father and we have received the same spirit!

Saints are just the sinners who keep getting back up when knocked off the path of holiness. Over time... their heroic commitment to God eclipses their brokenness and imperfection.

There is no sin in coming before God as we are. It is no more a sin to wrestle with God than it would be to dance before Him. Similarly, it is no more a sin to ask God if He exists than it would be to lay yourself before Him in your brokenness.

TRUTH

I had to go to Wayne County Court (Detroit) today for jury duty. I was not selected to serve on a jury but I was hit by something deep while sitting in the courtroom.

In every trial there is falsehood and in many of them there are people who are deliberately lying (be them prosecutor or defendant). You see, both sides can't be telling the truth (why have a trial if they were?). There are a lot of untruths floating around a courthouse.

This is symbolic of our world. Think of all the gossip, demeaning advertising, sarcasm and lies that shoot through our world everyday. Don't think to hard... it's overwhelming!

The only thing that can cut through all of these evil messages is THE TRUTH.

Whenever you get a chance today make sure that you testify to the TRUTH... the Sacrifice of Jesus, the Power of the Spirit and the Faithful Love of the Father.

Peace be with all of you!

Ears

Today I was struck by the last phrase of the Gospel. Jesus says "Whoever has ears ought to hear."

This phrase reminds me of Chris Tucker in Rush Hour II. This is Jesus' way of saying "Do-you-understand-the-words-that-are-coming-out-of-my-mouth?!"

Jesus is talking about more than not ignoring him. He is encouraging us to take what he says and apply it to the core of our lives!

God has given us ears to hear... but we must work to develop hearts that listen. 

I'll let you read the passage, Mt. 13:36-43, to find out what Jesus was encouraging his disciples to hear.

Peace turtles!

Matthew 13:31-35

Mt. 13:31-35

Jesus liked to use everyday examples to get his point across. In today’s Gospel he compares the Kingdom of God to the growth of a mustard seed and leaven in bread.

I take it that none of you have tried to grow mustard in the desert… so let me try to paint a picture.

Farming in Jesus’ time was a very exact science. There was a short window between seasons where crops could be planted. Plant too early and your seeds will be washed away in the rain. Plant too late and their roots will die when the rainy season comes to an end.

Mustard takes about 6-8 weeks to grow from a tiny seed into a large (almost 4 ft. tall) bush. During this time period the farmer would have to weed, water and protect the crops.

Baking bread took similar time and effort. Jesus’ peeps had no grocery store to buy baking powder and yeast… leavening agents had to be grown for a few days within the leftover dough before more bread could be made (like the Amish Friendship bread that you bake and pass the extra dough along to your friends). Bake too early and your bread will not rise… bake too late and the dough will go bad. Both scenarios land you knocking on the door of your neighbor begging for bread.

Do you see what Jesus is trying to say? The coming of the Kingdom is going to take some serious time and effort! What Jesus was starting with his short ministry and small group of followers- with hard work and patience- would continue on through history to bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God to humanity!

This work continues on today. The work of building the Kingdom has been handed from generation to generation and now we find it in our hands. Happy farming and baking! Peace turtles!

The Least Engaged

I have a favorite saying. The saying, from Jerry Goebel, is "The least engaged have the most power in a relationship." This simply means that if you desperately want a relationship to work but the other person doesn't want it to... it's not going to work. Both members of the relationship have to be fully invested in it.

Until recently I had never applied this phrase to my faith. Obviously God is the most engaged member of my relationship with Him. Afterall, God has created me, He sustains me... He even sent His Son to die for me. There is little more that God can do to make this relationship work. The rest is up to me.

It's pretty simple. If I don't take the time to make my relationship with God work... it won't. Peace turtles!