Blessed Sacrament - June 26, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
If you did not read the "What's Happening" section of my blog post from Saint Robert Bellarmine, the following may not make any sense to you whatsoever.

It's really tough when your friends are struggling with life. I don't know about you, but I just want to jump right in and try to help them fix things. In reality however, usually people have their own solutions, and they just need the support to get it done. What they need is to know they are loved and that someone will be there for them, encouraging them, helping them bring their concerns before God. There is no glory in praying with someone, no earthly glory, but sometimes God lets His glory shine through us.

Brianne has been going through struggles lately. When you're struggling with larger issues, it's unfortunate how little things can get magnified out of proportion. Two weeks ago, when we went to Saint Robert's, Joe and Frank somehow got their wires crossed, and ended up at Saint Columbkille in Papillion. Fortunately, they were able to get to the right place and were only a few minutes late. This week, Brianne knew we were supposed to be at Blessed Sacrament, but when she got to church on Saturday evening, she too found herself at Saint Columbkille in Papillion. (obviously, I'm next) When she finally got to Blessed Sacrament she was crying. I tried my best to comfort her, but it wasn't going to work.

Enter God and His appointed instrument of His peace: Joe. Shortly after Brianne arrived, it was time for the collection, Joe pulled his wallet out, and on to the floor between us, plopped one thin dime. I reached down to pick it up, tears already welling up in my eyes, and I turned and dropped it into Brianne's palm. I don't think it made Brianne cry any less, but I do think it helped her to know that every tear she has will be dried by a loving God and Redeemer.

Me, Brianne, Ron, Frank, Joe, Lindsay, and Frank.

Location and Architecture
Blessed Sacrament, 3020 Curtis Avenue, Omaha. I like the comfortable feel of churches like Blessed Sacrament. I love the quiet and warmth (too warm for most) of a church with the sun shining through the stained glass. Blessed Sacrament is such a church; with the wood panels, accessible altar, and large stained glass windows. While not 'large', it obviously will sit hundreds easily. I played a bit with the camera this week, so I didn't end up with as many shots as I normally would, but I have the two 'panorama' shots, I hope you enjoy them.

You can see all my pictures from Blessed Sacrament here.

Gospel:
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Luke 9:60

So ... this is one of those readings that makes me squirm in my pew (full reading Luke 9:51-62). Having a relationship with God is the most radical departure from the world you can imagine. No other relationship, not professional, not friendship, not family, nor any kind of other worldly distraction is supposed to come between us and proclaiming the kingdom of God.

Listening to what Jesus says can be discouraging in light of how easily distracted I am. I am forever turning aside from the path to examine something interesting, new, or shiny ... hence my squirminess. I certainly know that I fail at this type of relationship all the time. I wonder who wouldn't want to say goodbye to loved ones before they embarked on any kind of journey? The starkness of the choice between God and the world can make me feel like I will always fall short of the demands Jesus places on us.

However, hope is almost immediately restored. Jesus goes on in the last verse of this reading to say "“No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” At first glance this might not seem like much of an improvement, but for me, the act of setting my hand to the plow is the overriding choice that I am making ... not the one where I am looking aside or back. I have journeyed thus far with Jesus, and not only am I not turning back, there is nothing to turn back for. Any looking back is transitory in nature, and quickly replaced with a resolute look to the future.

Lord, help me to keep my eye, and actions, fixed on my future ... You.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Kevin as he prepares for the priesthood.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
My friend R., who does not know how to change her life.
Heidi who is on a mission trip to Haiti.

July 11th: Saint Columbkille (really)

Enjoy Independence Day safely.

Peace, Eric

Catholic Voice Article

Here is a link to the Catholic Voice article about Mass Chaos.

Mass Chaos

Enjoy!

Blessed Sacrament

So, I have to admit that I wasn't quite ready for the response that I have received since the article in the Catholic Voice came out. There were the unsurprising things like my mom wanting a copy of it. Then there was finding the article posted up at work, which was a surprise. And people starting to recognize us when we're at mass. When you start a project like this, it's not like your goal is to get noticed, though having a blog maybe points you in the other direction.

This week's church was Blessed Sacrament (3020 Curtis Ave.)

Our group for the week.

Left to Right: Bottom: Eric, Brianne, and Joe Middle: Ron, Frank, Lindsay and Frank

This was my first Saturday mass in a while. I have to admit that going to Saturday mass reminds me more of when I used to go to daily mass. Less people, less distractions. It gives you more a chance to reflect on everything rather than be swept up in fellowship.

The Gospel (Luke 9:51-62) is one of those unsettling passages to me. It's that reminder that despite all we say our faith is, we must prepare to back it up with action. You might wonder what makes me unsettled about something as easy as that, but it is a challenge to think about leaving everything behind for the Lord. We grow up and are encouraged to leave our mark, to be someone who stands out, to have ones who love us... but there comes a time where we can try to hold on to all those things and let them be our anchor to this world... or we can take actions that will lead us to the next. I know what I want my choice to be, I just hope I am strong enough when the time comes.

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

And to another he said, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.

But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,

but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”

To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow

and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Blessed Sacrament - Brianne

This week I "pulled a Frank" (showed up at the wrong church... the same wrong one Joe and Frank showed up at last week... wonder if God is telling us something about St. Columbkille?)

Driving to Blessed Sacrament, I cried, a lot (seems to be a theme for the past few weeks). I found myself listening to KLOVE, and two of my favorite songs coming on back to back: "Better than a Hallelujah" by Amy Grant and "Your Hands" by JJ Heller. I realized I was saying under my breath "I need you... I need you... I need you..." as I cried. Sometimes I guess I don't realize just how much I need God's guidance.

I made it to mass about 25 minutes late (could I have chosen a church any further away? I went from Papillion to North Omaha... sheesh!) And missed the entire first half of mass. That being said, I don't really have a lot to say, other than the fact it was nice to see Fr. Craig Loecker again (he's at both Blessed Sacrament and St. Philip Neri) and pass on Mass Chaos information to him.

As new additions to our group are always welcome - it was great to have Frank I. and Lindsay join us! After mass we made our way downtown for the Summer Arts Festival (in sweltering heat) and dinner at The Michael's with some more friends. I continue to pray our numbers will increase at Mass as well (friends - you are always welcome to join us for fellowship, but we'd love to have you come to church with us as well!)

Saint Robert Bellarmine

So, this week I was reminded that sometimes double checking never hurts. I think I've been distracted lately, and more just willing to go with the flow. So, when my brother said he knew where we were going, I did not go through my normal habit of loading it up on my phone. We were already cutting it close anyway, and well, it was one less thing for me.

We arrive there and enter the mass in progress. The strange thing is that we're already at the middle of the mass, and I was fairly sure we were only two or three minutes late. So, I look at my phone finally to see that we were at the wrong church. Needless to say, our two or three minutes late took us about to the point where we entered the mass at Saint Robert Bellarmine about the same point as that first mass (due to some wandering thanks to the strange route my phone picked).

Well, like I was saying, we went to Saint Robert Bellarmine (11802 Pacific St)

I really liked the hanging above the altar.

Our group for the week, minus Joe since he was manning the cameras and didn't get back in time

Left to Right: Patrick, Teri, Eric, Brianne, Me.

I've already painted the somewhat incomplete picture that was available to me. We were unable to sit with the rest of our Mass Chaos friends, but the friendly usher found space in the row behind them.

This week's Gospel (Luke 9:18-24) is one of those challenging passages. Not really challenging in terms of getting the point, more in terms of doing it. After discussing who He is and what will happen to Him to his disciples, Jesus follows it up with this:

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

This is no easy task. This is not go to church every Sunday. This is not don't forget to double check which church you should be at. This is an every day struggle we must remind ourselves that we face as followers of Jesus, and those little things should be the result of wanting to put ourselves in the right place. By denying ourselves and taking up our cross we allow Jesus to be a part of our lives. And in doing so we gain life with Him. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

-Frank

Saint Robert Bellarmine - June 20, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Early in my return to church, I was recently divorced, under-employed and struggling with money. I complained about this to a woman I knew through a fellowship, and she told me the story of her life a few years earlier when she was in the same spot. She too complained to a person about the same sort of thing, and the other person told her: 'When I was in your shoes, I struggled with money, until one day I started to find dimes on the ground. I came to recognize that the dimes were a sign from God that He would provide.'" My friend then told me that after she heard the story, she too started finding dimes until she too was certain God was taking care of her. After the story had been passed to me, I began to notice dimes here and there, but I guess I was more stubborn, because I explained them away pretty efficiently, you know, I just happened to be looking for them now ... until one day.

I was at church helping with a youth car wash, I was on the drying station when this huge 70s van came through. It had already gone through a wet down, a scrubbing, and a rinse already. I hopped up on a chair or something to dry the top of the van, and there, on the roof of the van, was a dime. I must have stared for twenty seconds or so and said something clever like "no *insert colorful word* way". Then, of course, I became so overwhelmed I could hardly even breathe or restrain myself from crying. I believed it then, and despite troubles time to time, I know that God will provide for me.

Fast forward to last Tuesday. Before I headed home on Tuesday, I opened up my work coin jar and thoroughly emptied it out on the desk to pull the quarters out to go to the grocery store. All that was left was a about seven dimes and a similar number of nickels. Wednesday I came in, and before lunch I again emptied out my coin jar to get 35 cents for a soda. Out popped about a dollar in nickels and dimes, and a gold Statue of Liberty $1 coin. I laughed. No coworkers would fess up to putting the coin in there ... a miracle? Of course, they happen all the time, but God had so much more in store for me than just letting me know he would provide for me times ten.

Lunch came around, and I sauntered over and told a coworker the above story. My coworker is quite ill, and has been struggling with his illness for a while. He nearly cried when I told him my story, then he told me a similar one involving coins and how God provided with money for him earlier in his life, and then again as he has needed to help pay for medications. Then he told me something about his struggles with money that made me think, he said: "I asked God why He didn't let me win the lottery, and God said to me 'if you you had all that money, you wouldn't need Me'." Whew! He went on to explain that God showed him that when he had money, that he didn't pray or talk to God until he was in need again. Talk about a take-my-breath-away moment, I know there are areas in my life I don't involve God like I should, and I've had this at the center of my thoughts and prayers all this week.

But wait, THERE'S MORE. After my visit with one coworker, as I was walking out building to lunch, I passed another coworker in her office, I walked into her office and told her the story above. I had my big God-loves-me alligator tears running down my face, of course. She then shared with me a poem that was inspired by another lone tear I had cried at another time that her and I had talked about God. The miraculous coin is sitting on my desk, the stories from my coworkers are in my heart, and I rest in the arms of the God.

Patrick (his home parish), Me, Teri, Brianne, Joe, and Frank. I know what Brianne is getting me for my birthday.

Location and Architecture
Saint Robert Bellarmine, 11802 Pacific Street, Omaha. Something was really really comfortable at Saint Robert Bellarmine. It's really hard to put my finger on exactly what, but think it is must be related to a church I attended in my youth, but I think I've said that before. Patrick told us that it had been renovated several years ago, so memory might not be as good as it just was well designed. Again this week, I was struck by the sheer variety in the churches, the designs, the statuary, and the decorations, all of it beautiful, I literally feel as though I could spend an entire day at each church with my camera and not capture all there is there at any parish. Brianne noticed how the shadow was cast on the wall from the crucified Christ, and I must admit, it's very nicely done.

You can see all my pictures from Saint Robert Bellarmine here.

Gospel:
...who do you say that I am? Luke 9:20

I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't ask the disciples who people said He was because He wanted to know. Jesus already knew what they thought, He already knew what Peter thought. So why did Jesus go through the process of asking a question that He already knew the answer to. For that matter, why would God ever ask a question?

The answer to that question is simple, the question isn't for God's benefit, it's for the benefit of the people, or the disciples, or in this case Peter. Peter reacts to this question with a simple answer "You are the Messiah of God."

I know people who would find the question Jesus asks offensive, or at least would treat it with some trepidation. "Who is Jesus?" It's the question at the center of our Christian journey. Many times in our lives we find one question or another causing us some distress, but it's just a question, it has an answer.

I learned my lesson about questions when I worked for the railroad in Chicago, I did something on the computer one day that gave me an unexpected result, and I called the supervisor over and explained it to him, he said "Are you stupid?" I went off yelling and making a big fuss and the supervisor just stood there and took it, and as I wound down he half smiled at me and said "I just asked if you were stupid, are you?" By that point, I was forced to say that indeed I was.

Jesus asks the question, who do you say I am? My answer: Jesus, you are Lord and Savior.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Kevin as he prepares for the priesthood.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
My friend R., who does not know how to change her life.
Heidi as she prepares for a mission trip to Haiti in July.

Next Week: Blessed Sacrament

Peace, Eric

Saint Robert Bellarmine - Brianne

It was an emotional day for me - there have been a lot of changes in my life lately, and I feel somewhat out of control. This, in conjunction with the dreary weather we've had lately left me feeling really low entering into this week's Mass Chaos. I forgot Kleenex, and had to exit the church (during Amazing Grace... insert tears here) to find some...

Fr. Don Shane presided over a very full church, and gave a very touching (but brief) homily about his father's passing - which brought me to (more) tears. Having lost my Papa last year in the Spring, I found myself missing him fiercely right at that moment, and offered a short prayer for all those who have lost a father/grandfather. I lost myself for a moment, closed my eyes and remembered Papa and all the great memories I have of him from my childhood and from more recent times. I miss you, Papa, and love you so much!

I am pretty proud of some of the photography I pulled off this week - I do not have the skills of Eric or Frank - so I will share some of those with you since I didn't have a whole lot to say...

Saint Thomas More - Brianne

St. Thomas More was a pleasant surprise in more ways than one. As always, there are a certain amount of nerves that go into an undertaking such as Mass Chaos - will people come, are people reading the blog, will the parish be welcoming, is everyone finding what they need, etc...

This week found us with a large group (hooray!), a parish festival, and weather that could have been much worse than it ended up being. St. Thomas More also ended up being the parish home of Fr. Ryan Lewis, the former Chaplain at Roncalli Catholic High School (my alma matter).

Though I did not start this journey as a "church shopping" experience, I do anticipate that St. James may no longer be my home when Mass Chaos has come to an end, and I appreciate Fr. Lewis' offer to "think about St. Thomas as someplace to settle" when the time comes. There is nothing more welcoming than a parish or pastor that welcomes you with open arms.

St. Thomas More had their parish festival this week, which included a fantastic fried chicken dinner, music by Easter Rising, and some fun and games (though we lost repeatedly at the cake walk, sadly). It was a nice chance to see the parish outside of mass and get to have fun with friends.

Saint Thomas More - June 13, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Empty or full? If I am full, then I am happy, right? If I am empty, then I desire to be filled? Nature abhors a vacuum, so if nothing is there, something will fill it? Is any of this making sense?

If we are discussing my stomach, than indeed, I am happiest when I am full. However it doesn't seem to ever stay that way, I keep having to fill it and fill it and fill it, and then I come to find out that some of the stuff I put in there isn't even good for me, huh? Did you know ice cream is fattening? That doesn't seem right to me. Don't even get me started about empty, sheesh, my car, my bank account, my patience ... my calendar is always full at least, but that leaves my available time, you guessed it, empty.

Deep in my heart, hidden under all those layers of things that I try to fill myself with, I have a secret desire. That desire is to be close to God, to be filled with God's love. How do I fill myself with God's love? By emptying myself of all the other desires I have.

---

Congratulations to Keith and Micah Kansiewicz. I had the honor of attending their wedding this past weekend. May God bless you with peace and love.

Brianne and I got together and planned out the next couple of months ahead. Summers tend to be busy, and with several of us trying to juggle work schedules to get us all there at the same time, we figured it would help to plan ahead. You can find out where we will be by clicking on the calendar on the left.

In one of those fun 'small-world' type of stories, a few years back, the above mentioned Micah Kansiewicz introduced me to one of the archdiocesan seminarians, Kevin Vogel. Kevin is serving in West Point during this summer, and it looks like Mass Chaos (or at least me) is going to make the trip out to Saint Mary's in West Point to support Kevin in his journey to priesthood.

---

Me, Brianne, Patrick, Teri, Ben, Joe, Ron, and Frank. Brianne wants to know why there are not more ladies.

Location and Architecture
Saint Thomas More, 4804 Grover Street, Omaha. Hmmm, something looks different, well because it is different. Saint Thomas More has a roof supported by suspension. It has more in common with a suspension bridge than your usual church architecture. It's quite different, and lends itself to some spectacular lines that you cannot really get from a supported roof. It also makes the floor space you can get out of the same size building increase dramatically. Yes, it presents it's own issues, particularly with maintenance, and as the Deacon said after the Mass, it leaks. It's pretty rare to see a suspended roof on any structure that is more permanent than a tent, so it's worth a visit to see.

You can see all my pictures from Saint Thomas More here, including many from the parish festival we attended.

Gospel:
Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly." Luke 7:43

I almost cried when I heard this reading on Sunday, well, I would have, if had let myself go. I certainly spent enough time in my life denying God and trying to fill myself up with all kinds of things that were not good for me. When I turned around and found God standing there waiting for me, I was overwhelmed ... for years. Even after I quit being overwhelmed, I still didn't let myself be forgiven.

Why? The answer to this question is the same for myself as it has been for every human being who has ever pondered the question. I somewhere in my brain I wouldn't let go of my sin, I felt I had to earn my way out of it. This is, of course, a falsehood, the 'earning' of my forgiveness was accomplished long before I appeared on the scene. I recall the first time that I dared to consider the possibility that I was forgiven, it was so thrilling, I could have jumped halfway to the moon. I suddenly understood the extent to which God loved me.

Reconciliation is not for God's benefit, the torn curtain and the passion of Jesus show us that nothing stands between us and God except for ourselves. God gave us forgiveness to remove what we think stands in between us and Him. If you really want to live a sin free life and be close to God, don't try to be perfect on your own, and then approach God. Go get yourself right with God, be close to Him as you can, and you'll find that He changes you to be more like Him, and like His son. Perfect yourself in His love.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Kevin as he prepares for the priesthood.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
My friend R., who does not know how to change her life.
Heidi as she prepares for a mission trip to Haiti in July.
Me, I'm pretty burned out on the job lately.

Next Week: Saint Robert Bellarmine

Peace, Eric

Sacred Heart - Brianne

A friend said to me the week before our Mass Chaos visit to Sacred Heart, "Brianne, you realize once you go to Sacred Heart, you're never going to finish Mass Chaos because you're never going to want to leave." Though he wasn't correct - I have every intention of finishing this journey - he was right about how much I would love Sacred Heart.

There really are no words to describe how different Sacred Heart is from any other Catholic church I've ever attended. When we entered Sacred Heart, the church was bustling. People were mingling throughout the church, the choir was already singing, Fr. Tom was wandering through the congregation - it was like a celebration before mass even started! This is such a change from most churches, as quiet meditation is the norm as far as I've seen. If I could capture the energy of this parish and put it in a bottle, I'd carry it with me everywhere I went!

Mass was great - full of spirit and life. The congregation at Sacred Heart is very diverse, and the church was full to the brim (I'm not exaggerating when I say it was standing room only!) Fr. Tom's homily was spirited - it was so easy to connect to him. He spoke about what it means to be "in communion" - with one another, with God. What a great homily for us on this journey, and a great way to speak about how I'm feeling with my Mass Chaos friends - "in communion". We really are a community through Christ's body and blood. Fr. Tom said, "the Mass is 24/7 - a global community" and that if we think about it, somewhere in the world there is a mass being celebrated constantly. I loved this thought - that I have a family in worship every minute of every day!

The Freedom Choir (directed by Omaha Community Playhouse Music Director Jim Boggess) is a spectacular sight to see, but more importantly, a joy to listen to. When we walked in prior to mass, they were already singing beautifully (and quite loudly!) Their musical choices varied from traditional to contemporary - and each and every song was a treat. The choir featured some amazing soloists and great musicians. We were gifted after mass with two of the Freedom Choir's CDs (which I'm listening to as I write this blog) - I highly encourage you purchasing one and supporting this great group!

The remodel of the parish was done beautifuly - The Pieta (pictured here) took my breath away!

Though my intention on this journey was never to find a new parish home, I do believe I will be coming back to Sacred Heart more than once in the near future...

Sacred Heart - June 6, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
My visiting Sacred Heart isn't just another stop on this journey for me, it's a reunion. In 1996 after my divorce I met a group of wonderful people who helped me get through the divorce, deal with other issues, and get back into church. One of those people is my physician, Dr. Lorrie, the others attend Sacred Heart, Barb, Karen, and Mark.

I met Barb and Karen more or less together and for a while, the three of us were fairly inseparable. I watched Barb and Karen's children go from teens to adults, spent hours at one or other of their houses, and on occasion (mostly my fault I'm sure) we argued like brothers and sisters. I always knew one thing though, Karen and Barb knew what it was to love, and they taught me how to stick with the love, regardless of anything else. Mark and Barb are brother and sister, and I met him a couple years later. Mark taught me something interesting, he taught me to expect redemption. I've not seen him be anything but patient, honest, and open, I hope I that when I grow up I can be just like him.

As time went on, I moved to Papillion, then Bellevue, Karen married Mark, then Barb also married, and I drifted away. Make no mistake though, these were the most important people in my life for a long time ... I had been talking to Karen ahead of time to make sure that she knew we were coming, and in fact she helped me pick out the date ... she used the magic words ... ice cream social. As 'coincidences' work, naturally I ran into them (with Barb's husband Russ) at the Santa Lucia Festival on Saturday night, so we had a chance to talk about our visit. She suggested that they would have us mentioned in the announcements.

Sunday morning Brianne and I arrived early and were walking around the church before Mass. We ran into Karen, Mark, and Father Tom. Karen explained, with our help, to Father Tom what we were doing, and he said "I'd like to make your visit to Sacred Heart an unforgettable one." Father Tom was a man of his word, and at the beginning of the Homily, he had us stand up, recognized what we were doing, and gave us a blessing for our endeavor. It was quite moving, and with some of the people blessing us being such dear friends, it made it all the more special.

On behalf of the other Mass Chaos-ers, many thanks to the parishioners of Sacred Heart for your welcome and blessing and music.

Me, Teri, Jen, Brianne, Ron, Marcus, Frank, Joe, Patrick. Many thanks to J.D. for the camera work.

Location and Architecture
Sacred Heart, 2207 Wirt Street (22nd & Binney), Omaha. This week Sacred Heart Parish celebrated their 120th year as a parish. In conjunction with the anniversary, they renovated the church, and it is beautiful. You can contrast the picture on the left from historicomaha.com (with a somewhat modern car), with the one I took on the right.

If that isn't breathtaking enough, the changes on the inside were just as amazing. The stained glass, the murals on the ceilings, the details, the new floor, it's all amazing. Having seen and known the church before the refurbishment, it was such a joy to see the center of that community be bright and shining. It's worth a visit, and check out the chapel, it has the oldest altar in Nebraska.

You can see all my pictures from Sacred Heart here.

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ / Gospel:
He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves..." Luke 9:13

The apostles come to Jesus with a problem, "Lord, we need to feed all these people." I must admit, this is one of my favorite parts of the Gospels. Jesus challenges the apostles, and us, to figure out how to do it on our own. Jesus asks "Really? How hard is it to feed everyone, or share what we have?"

I have read where some Biblical scholars have said that there is no 'miracle' here, that instead Jesus knew that if everyone saw Him sharing the food He had, they would pull out the food they had and share it too. Even if this was entirely the case, it does not diminish the miracle of the feeding of multitudes.

Jesus, with the Father behind Him, is not just super smart enough to just feed five thousand people with a simple psychological experiment. He fed them, He taught them to share, and through the ages, hundred of millions if not billions of people have had this story to be one of their favorites, and it's made them think: "What do I have that I can share with others?" This isn't charity, it's sharing with the group of fifty you're sitting with, and it makes everyone's life better.

Then, if that wasn't enough, Jesus blesses the food, involving the Father, and making certain that even if the mundane explanation failed, that the Father would provide for anything that was lacking after everyone shared what they had. When we share what we have, we add things together, everything we give in God's name multiplies. It multiplies, multiplies, and then does so again.

Thank you Lord for the lesson in sharing what you have given us.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Kevin as he prepares for the priesthood.
My friend B., who is struggling with herself lately.
Heidi as she prepares for a mission trip to Haiti in July.
Me, I'm pretty burned out on the job lately.

Peace, Eric

St. Elizabeth Ann - Brianne

With the schedule I've been keeping lately, I'm just wee bit behind on blogging. The last mass for the month of May saw me hopping off an airplane at 2:45pm from vacation in Phoenix and rushing home to get ready for Mass Chaos. St. Elizabeth Ann was a fun trip for me - our mass time of 5:30pm allowed Andy to come with me, which hasn't happened much since we've gotten started on this journey.

A few short things to note about St. Elizabeth Ann...

• Their 5:30pm Sunday mass is their "Overflow" mass - geared for the high school youth of the parish. I very much enjoyed getting the chance to worship with a younger crowd - the music was upbeat and contemporary, the youth were actively engaged in the mass, and we were welcomed warmly!
• This was the first mass we've attended where someone has said "we were expecting you" - a positive sign that people are hearing about what we're doing!

The other exciting thing that happened this week was our interview with the Catholic Voice. Eric and I had the opportunity to sit down with Rachel (who will be writing the article) and sharing some of our thoughts on Mass Chaos. Watch for the June 18th edition of the Catholic Voice, or visit http://www.catholicvoiceomaha.com.

Sacred Heart

I have to say that I do feel blessed for having the opportunity to have this group of friends, new and old. I came into Sunday feeling a bit uninspired, and luckily for us all... I did not leave that way ;)

We journeyed to Sacred Heart (2207 Wirt St)

The altar was pretty neat (top). There were a few nice surprises like the oldest altar in Nebraska (lower left), and a loft with a great view.

Our group:

Left to Right (top) Jen, Marcus, Joe, (middle) Eric, Brianne, Frank, (top) Teri, Ron, Patrick

I did mention that I did feel a bit inspired, and I will say that if you go to Sacred Heart and leave feeling the same... I would say that something is wrong with you. It isn't quite the same mass you may be used to, but I enjoyed it. The music was a bit up tempo, the parishioners were extra friendly, and Father Tom made it a complete experience.

The most surprising part of the mass was that our group was recognized during the mass. We received our first blessing. I found it a bit odd. I think sometimes I forget this isn't just some random dare that I'm taking on with friends, but also something that's being shared with others. I still wish I had a better idea though what exactly I'm trying to share with all of you, I guess for now I'm hoping that there's some takeaway you find.

The gospel for this week was the story of the fish and loaves. We've all heard it before. The point made during the homily that made me think was taking into account the balance of how much you get for how much you take. Jesus fed the multitude from a small amount. He didn't say, "Let's count everyone up and make sure I'm passing enough to you." He gave what he had without reservation, and it was more than enough for everyone there. I will admit that hearing this kind of hit me in the gut. I wasn't really giving much, and was getting even less before that moment, but hearing about the inspiring things that Jesus did made me realize that maybe I should put a little more effort into getting myself right. I put more energy in, and I felt like I got much more out of the rest of mass. Hopefully I can keep that up.