New Mexico Trip

I was so immersed in my trip to New Mexico that I didn't get a chance to sit down and write any blog posts while actually there. However, I plan to process the trip and write a couple posts about the many different things that I did. Actual pictures of the trip will come later (the ceiling in my office collapsed while I was gone so downloading pics from my camera was out of the question).

I went on a mini-pilgrimage to the state of New Mexico to visit my friend Graham, a Norbertine novice at the Priory of Santa Maria de La Vid (Holy Mary of the Vine). Graham's blog has been featured here on Church of Turtles in earlier posts and I encourage you to check it out. He doesn't post often, but when he does it is always worth reading! Pictures of the priory can be found there.

Every morning we would rise and attend morning prayer and mass with the community of priests and brothers who live at the Priory. It was a unique experience because the Norbertines sing the office instead of simply reciting it… I have never been a good singer, but I was tremendously moved by their singing.

During the day, Graham took me on tours of many different churches and cultural attractions around the state of New Mexico. Once I have downloaded my pictures, I will post about some of the more unique and historical things that we saw.

We returned to the Priory each evening for evening prayer and dinner. After dinner, I retired to the little hermitage that they set aside for me to stay in. It was set apart from the priory just a short walk into the desert. At night I would pray, study, relax and sleep (which I cherished!).

The Priory is on the outskirts of Albuquerque, which is surrounded by mountains and vast open stretches of desert. Sunrises and sunsets were more spectacular than firework shows!

If you are interested in learning more about the Norbertines in New Mexico. Check out the following video:



Peace turtles!

Lights Out

I started writing this post over a month ago... then my computer battery died and I forgot all about it.

A series of terrible storms passed through Chicago in June and a very serious one left nearly a quarter of a million people without electricity. My roommates and I were some of those people.

One the first night of the blackout, I was home alone. I lit some candles, prayed Lectio Divina style, practiced some yoga, spoke to two close friends on the phone to catch up and eventually fell asleep listening to the rain in a cozy camp chair on my balcony.

On the second night of the blackout, I was home with two roommates and we stayed up talking and playing a board game by candle light. It was very relaxed and intimate.

On the third night of the blackout, I again spent time with my roommates. By this time the apartment had gotten so hot that I fell asleep laying on our hardwood floors because they were cooler than my bed and our couches.... it was fantastic.

The refrigerator couldn’t humm... the fans couldn’t buzz... the doorbell couldn’t ring and slowly, the laptop batteries died.... the phone batteries died.... the flashlight batteries died... it was a very peaceful series of evenings.

I don’t knock technology. As an IT professional, I understand the many wonderful things that technology can do. But regardless... it was nice to get away.

Next week I am going to get away one more time. I will be visiting my brothers in the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Priory in Albequrque, New Mexico. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and post them here for you.

I hope you can get away too... even if that just means turning off the computer and shutting off the lights. Peace!

Peacebuilder's Initiative

Hey Turtles! I spent the last week working with a group of young people as a part of the Peacebuilder’s Initiative. It is a program that identifies young people with leadership potential and educates them about Catholic Social Teaching and then empowers them to go out an make a difference in the world. The young people spent last week learning about CST and experiencing various different Catholic social services in Chicago. This coming year, they will be designing and implementing various peace projects throughout the area.

This past week we learned about dreams, biblical foundations for peace building, forgiveness and reconciliation, the seven pillars of social justice and the movement of God in the modern world. All of these sessions were taught by the faculty and students of the Catholic Theological Union.

In addition to attending these sessions with the kids, each day I accompanied a group of five students to the Peace Corner in Austin. The Peace Corner is a teen drop in center that is owned and operated by the youth of Austin themselves. My teens and I spent time sharing stories with the youth there, painting a mural, playing basketball and having a cookout. This was an opportunity for some cross cultural (my students were mostly suburban) dialogue and relationship building.

At the end of a very intense week, within the context of prayer, we asked the students to share with us the dreams that they had for the world. Their responses included:

“I envision a world without violence.”
“I envision a world of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
“I envision a world where no diagnosis is without hope.”
“I envision a world where nobody goes hungry.”
“... where children can feel safe and loved.”
“... where people choose dialogue and not war.”
“... where all live in harmony with the environment.”

I found myself choking back tears as these young people dreamed of their ideal world... a world that they would later dedicate themselves to building during our final commissioning service.

I relax knowing that our world in the the hands of these very beautiful young people. Thank you everyone for a great week! Peace turtles!

CHILL OUT

If anyone was following along with the Gospels readings for this week, I hope that you noticed a theme. This is the week that the Church remembers that a good portion of Jesus’ teachings were calling everyone to CHILL OUT.

Let’s take a closer look...

Sunday, Luke 7- Pharisee invites Jesus over for dinner... unworthy woman annoints Jesus’ feet... pharisee freaks... Jesus tells him to CHILL OUT.

Monday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said ‘an eye for an eye’ but [I tell you to CHILL OUT and resist the urge to be violent].”

Tuesday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you [CHILL OUT and just love from now on].”

Wednesday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against public displays of piety. Asking his disciples to CHILL OUT and simply pray in secret.

Thursday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against heaping empty phrases onto heaven when praying. He says, “CHILL OUT and simply pray like this... Our Father....”

Friday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about storing up for yourselves treasures on earth, CHILL OUT and store treasures in heaven.”

Saturday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, CHILL OUT, it will take care of itself.”

I hope you realize that the above is an extremely elementary interpretation of these scripture passages, but the message is still the same... CHILL OUT!!!!

Peace turtles!

My Adventure

I went home to see my parents in Detroit for a couple days last week. I was very relaxing and quiet... until it came time for me to come back to Chicago!

I bought a ticket on Megabus.com, a method of travel that I have used successfully many times to travel between the two cities. The bus was supposed to leave at 7:30pm on Friday evening.

My mom drove me to the bus stop and we waited for over an hour for the bus to come, but it didn’t come. We tried calling customer service but the representatives could tell us nothing about the bus’s estimated arrival time. We were stumped.

Then the unthinkable happened... a HUGE thunderstorm broke out and began soaking everyone at the uncovered bus stop. Thunder, lightening and high winds sent people running back to their cars.

When my mom and I were safely back to our car we realized that a young couple was still stranded out in the rain. They had no car to run to. So we drove up to them and invited them to jump into our back seat. They did.

After another twenty minutes a bus finally did come.... but it wasn’t coming to pick us up. It was the bus coming FROM Chicago which needed to drop people at other stops, change drivers, refuel and then pick everyone up. The driver said that it could take him up to another four hours to come and pick us up (a total delay of almost six hours).

The couple in our backseat (who had gotten engaged to one another the night before and who were going to Chicago for a relaxing vacation) decided to go and get one of their cars and simply drive to Chicago. They offered me a ride, and needing to get back to Chicago so that I could go to work on Saturday, I accepted! (I was reasonably sure that they were not ax murderers).

So for the next four and a half hours I drove to Chicago with two complete strangers. They were a very wonderful couple and they shared wonderful stories about their lives with me. I feel very blessed to have spent that short period with them.

I hope that by reading this short account, you can learn what I learned... that there are tremendously good people out in the world! Sometimes a healthy sense of adventure can bring you in contact with lots of amazing people! People on the same journey as ourselves (whether going to Chicago or on a pathway to God!).

Peace turtles!

My parents moved into a shack... literally.

As many of you know, my family has been involved in a sister relationship through our Church with the community of Haciendita Uno (HU) in El Salvador. I have been blessed to be able to spend time in this community on two different occasions in the past two years.

One of the committments we have made to the community of HU is to support the education of their young people. For almost five years we have funded the elementary, middle and high school educations of their children by providing books, uniforms and school supplies. The children, in return, have studied very hard and done remarkably well!

Licho (red shirt) and Wardo (blue), my host brothers.

Now, many of these children are old enough and elidgible to attend college. Almost all of these children will be the first to attend college in their families. Our parish has pledged to help make their dream of a college education a reality.

It costs $13,200 to send one Salvadoran student through college (a six-year program). Our parish has currently pledged to pay for five students to attend and are trying to raise the remaining $33,000 needed to do so!

To raise awareness and help with fundraising, my parents have moved into a Salvadoran-style make shift house on the property of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, MI. The house has no heat, no running water (hence no shower) and no electricity. They are living like our friends in El Salvador and have pledged to continue doing so until all of the money has been raised.

The makeshift house.

If you are interested in learning more about this project, or even helping to fundraise, please visit my dad's blog at deacondonleach.blogspot.com.

Peace and all good, Turtles!

Packrat

I moved into a new apartment over the weekend. I was done with dorm living and jumped on the opportunity to rent a beautiful five-bedroom apartment with three of my friends.

The problem with moving is... packing. I had twice as much stuff as I thought. I'm not talking trash either, I am just talking about those everyday things (dishes, fans, bedding clothes, etc) that we accumulate to help us limp through life.

The Gospel today is quite challenging for packrats. Jesus says to give up "everything" to follow him.

I understand that when Jesus says "everything" he really means "everything." Jesus is asking his disciples to give up their posessions, relationships, desires and plans for the future. But this is a very tall order.

A more contemplative friend once explained to me the importance of detaching yourself from small things, like physical posessions, before attempting to detach from larger things. After looking at my things all packed in boxes... I need to start immediately!

I am leaving to follow Jesus.... should I take my extra coffee pot?

Peace Turtles!