What's my vocation? Dear 17 year old me...

Yesterday was World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Late again, but hopefully you said a prayer for me anyway! What is vocation? It comes from the Latin to call. It's not just the vocation to the priesthood - we all have a one!

Last night, I got to tell my story for the umpteenth time. It's funny, I don't get tired of repeating. Not just because I get to talk about myself - finding happiness and fulfillment is what's most important to everyone.

Two fellow seminarians and I went to dinner with a wonderful couple from Idaho. Before the appetizers reached the table, Br. James was well along in recounting his vocation story, and Br. Andrew didn't stop until we had finished our pasta. His was already cold.

Then it was my turn! Just that morning, I was thinking about what a vocation really is. But wait a second, let's back up a bit...

A pilgrimage to remember: Church-a-thon

Thanks for the support, and thought you might enjoy this!

Check out the details: Our journey.

The Original Church-a-thon 

Priorities - Who to love?

Life's busy! We have to do what's most important. Sorry, I haven't blogged recently. I figure that finishing my studies and getting ordained a priest is the priority for now. I hope you will agree - I'm counting on the prayers.

Now that I finished THE paper for my bachelor's in theology on St. Augustine's view of the human will, I hope to have a little more time.For now, I read this yesterday in the breviary. It's worth reading once, twice, three times!

His Blood Cries Out: Ooberfuse and what happened to Shahbaz Bhatti.

They wrote the theme song for the Pope's visit to England. They peformed center stage in Madrid, and last summer ooberfuse was asked to perform at a high-profile peace rally in London’s Trafalgar Square.

The occasion was the 1st anniversary of the assassination of Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti. Ooberfuse is a music project that blends ingredients together that are usually kept apart. Whether it be the introduction of eastern flavours into western pop or faith inspirations into secular traditions the music challenges the tired conventions and formulas of regular everyday pop music. Hopefully the result of this experimentation, an explosion of soulful ryhthmic sounds, raises minds, hearts and souls.

Happy Easter!

Strength for the Journey: What Fortitude, Church-a-thon, and Holy Wednesday have in common (Lenten Virtues Part 2)

Holy Wednesday - April 4, 2012

You're probably asking what the Church-a-thon has to do with Holy Week let alone the virtue of fortitude. One reflection from the pilgrimage sums it all up? I've always wondered why Christ got up from a fall while carrying the cross.

Why not just die lying there? Getting up doesn't seem to make things any better. He just has to prolong his agony. Yet, he was a man on a mission - a mission of love. He wouldn't rest until he had given all he had.

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:1

Fortitude is a virtue that can be considered a kind of firmness of spirit that allows us to pursue and obtain a difficult goal even when it's dangerous. But it's also a gift of the Holy Spirit that gives us strength in practicing virtue, rids us of mediocrity, makes us courageous before enemies and obstacles, enables us to suffer with patience and joy, and gives us heroism in the great things and the small things.

We need fortitude whether it be a pilgrimage to thirty Churches, our daily cross, the pilgrimage of our lives, or an incredibly difficult sacrifice like Christ made on the cross.

3 simple steps to forming fortitude

1) Fulfill your duties with perfection no matter how difficult.
2) Rather than asking God to take away your cross, ask for the strength to carry it.
3) Voluntarily and faithfully practice self-denial to become more like Christ.


No back to the Church-a-thon and how I formed just a little more fortitude while praying for all of you!

5:10: Waking up... late.
Beep, beep, beep! The obnoxious noise finally ended as I hit the snooze button. Wait, we're already late. We're supposed to leave in 10 minutes. There is no way that is going to happen!

Strength for the Journey - Church-a-thon and Fortitude

A pilgrimage evokes the believer's personal journey in the footsteps of the Redeemer…the pilgrim progresses along the path of Christian perfection, striving to attain, with the support of God's grace, “the state of the perfect man, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ” (Eph  4:13).

John Paul II, Incarnationis Mysterium, 7

Thanks for all of your prayer and support. We had a great pilgrimage to 32 churches in Rome starting with Mass at St. Mary Major - the last Station Church.  

More coming soon on the journey, the virtue, and Holy Week!

 

What is love? Two easy steps (Lenten Virtues Part 1)

The last serious post was almost a month ago, Lent, grace, virtue, and so on. I haven't come down with a strange Asian flu. I haven't been abducted my a strange sect, and my social media accounts have not been hacked. I have, however, been very bad about blogging. Better late than never, I guess.

I promised to talk about virtues. Well here's the first: LOVE!

Yes, it's a virtue, not a catchword or a feeling. We sometimes equate love with happiness, emotion, even sex. Sometimes, it seems like we're on the outside looking in - we long to love and be loved. It just never seems to work. These are not love although they can be related.