Saint Peter's - October 24, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
What is the role of the clergy? I heard a priest friend tell me once that the role of the priest is to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable. It makes a nice little phrase, but does it really work?

It is easy to see how to apply 'comforting the afflicted', but what exactly is 'afflicting the comfortable'? We get comfortable with our own thoughts, opinions, and activities, and many of us would stay there because it is what we are used to. Afflicting the comfortable is to make us consider what we think, what we talk about, and what we do. When we are confronted with a Homily message we don't really care for, we are forced to rethink, discuss, and share our thoughts and feelings ... and possibly even change our behaviors.

If part of the role of the clergy is to make people think, and to generate discussion, then Father Cook, you did a masterful job on Sunday at Saint Peter's.

The subject was about the new Catholic Missal, and people have opinions. Unfortunately, I haven't yet seen the changes for myself. I personally think it will end up being much ado about nothing, but it's great to talk about it. I can't tell you how proud I was to be part of a group that was so loving and respectful, even in disagreement.

Lord please continue to bless us with clergy who make us think about you and talk about your church.

Karen, Me, Jen, Ron, Patrick, Joe, Mark, Kat, Kali, and Brianne. Taken outside the 11Worth Cafe. Not pictured, Frank.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Peter's Parish, 709 South 28th Street (27th and Leavenworth Streets), Omaha. The 9:30am Mass at Saint Peter's is a high Mass with plenty of Latin. The design of the church befits the high Mass and it's majesty. The church is large and the ceiling so high that even the choir loft looks small. The stained glass is amazing, and the design is balanced such that no one feature of the church overwhelms any other, so it's quite peaceful and harmonious.

I just want to make sure that I get it out that the choir was amazing.

We had an short amount of time to take pictures this week, so there are only a few, sorry. You can see all of my pictures of Saint Peter's Parish here, with plenty of bonus pictures from the 11Worth Cafe.

Gospel:
"...for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. "Luke 18:14

Hey! Everybody raise your hand who would rather be humbled than to be praised. I think that question will result in a whole lot of people sitting on their hands every time. We see in the full text of the Gospel (Luke 18:9-14) that one person is approaches God and tells Him all about his bad self. The other man is in awe/fear of God and begs for mercy.

What is exalting yourself? What is humbling yourself?

We witness people exalting themselves all the time. People want to tell you how great they are, how they have it altogether, and if you'd just listen to them, they have all the answers. Exalting yourself sounds a lot like advertising. Much of it is to convince others (and yourself) of your own goodness.

Humbling yourself is the realization of the truth. The truth is we are not capable of getting to Heaven on our own. Even more so, we really we cannot appreciate anything good, nor really even survive without God, He is the source of all. We are sinners, but we are loved sinners (thanks Joe).

Our challenge is not to be discouraged by our sinful ways, but to have the bravery to admit our sins, and yet despite this acknowledgement still approach God and ask for mercy.

Lord, please teach me to humbly come before you and ask for mercy, and by your example of mercy to me, teach me to be merciful to your other children. Amen.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Amy and Shannon for protection on their missions.
Frank who is looking for meaningful employment.
Kevin as he prepares for his final year of seminary and the priesthood.
Marcus as he has been accepted into seminary and will be discerning the priesthood.
Frank and Lindsay for blessings on their engagement.
My friend M., who is pregnant, please pray for her and her baby.
My mother Judy to have her back healed.

Next:
Sunday, October 31 @ 9:30am at Mass: Saint Cecilia's Cathedral, 701 North 40th Street, Omaha.

Peace, Eric

Saint Joseph's - October 17, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Mass is not an obligation or something to be endured, Mass is a celebration! We gather each week or day to celebrate the greatness that is our Father. The wonder of Jesus saving us from our well deserved judgment. The encouragement that the Spirit provides us. We revel in the lives of the saints. Let's party it up!

Sometimes Mass is loud, musical and crowded, sometimes it is quiet and peaceful. Either way ... or any way, Mass is a moment of joy and love in a world of confusion, doubt, and hatred. Don't leave yourself on the outside, get yourself some churching up!

Frank, Ron, Joe, Kat, Teri, Brianne, Me, and Ben ... we know how to celebrate Mass.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Joseph's Parish, 1723 South 17th Street, Omaha. Before we planned this section of our church tour, I probably would not have been aware of Saint Joseph's. Indeed, even walking up to the outside, it wasn't really very impressive, but the inside is amazing. The details of the woodwork, the stained glass, and statuary just took me aback, and I think everyone else too. While it is true that we had a few minutes of having the church to ourselves after Mass, I think more pictures were taken this week than at any other Mass. I can hardly decide what pictures to include.

You can see all of my pictures of Saint Joseph's Parish here.

Gospel:
"Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them?"Luke 18:1

Here is a theme of my life, discouragement. I was thinking not five minutes ago about how much is stacked against me at my job to get a promotion. Other times I am discouraged about how difficult it is for me to find someone to love of my own. Other times it is something else entirely. I could probably go through a litany of reasons, good reasons, of why it would be better for me to not try, rather to waste my time.

Ah yes, worldly logic, but we're not bound to just what it is here, we have the Creator in our corner. Jesus tells us right here to go to God with our problems, to be persistent, and that God will come through for us. There is a sign on my cube wall at work that quotes "I used to tell God how big my problems were, now I tell my problems how big my God is." (I'm sorry, I don't know the source)

One of the reasons that we avoid God and prayer is because it is difficult. You cannot have a relationship with God and not be changed, and really none of us are good with change. Prayer is asking God for something. God prepares us for what we ask for. We say "Hey God, please let me win the lottery", God may grant us our request, but before He does, he will prepare us for it, so it doesn't ruin our relationship with Him.

Remember, God's goal for us is to spend eternity with Him, not for us to be 100% comfortable in life. God also knows that we are human, and even when we can focus on the prize of eternal life with Him, we can be discouraged or distracted on the way. So He has provided us with instructions, prayer, and the Spirit. My friends, to be encouraged is to be connected to God, let us focus our desires on Him.

Come Holy Spirit and help us to bring our concerns before the Father.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Amy and Shannon for protection on their missions.
Frank who is looking for meaningful employment.
Kevin as he prepares for his final year of seminary and the priesthood.
Marcus as he has been accepted into seminary and will be discerning the priesthood.
Frank and Lindsay for blessings on their engagement.
My friend M., who is pregnant, please pray for her and her baby.
My mother Judy to have her back healed.

Next:
Sunday, October 24 @ 9:30am at Mass: Saint Peter's Parish, 709 South 28th Street, Omaha.

Peace, Eric

When Life Happens... Blogging Ceases

I wasn't sure how to approach this blog - I've been off for so long, and so much has happened. I decided I wanted to focus this blog on my Mass Chaos friends. Eric has done such a great job with chronicling our visits to each parish (including photos that make mine look very amateur), and also reflecting on the readings, that I'd like to share with you the "behind the scenes" of Mass Chaos.

I've said before, that through this journey, I've made some of the most amazing friends. I could never have imagined how close we'd all become! While Mass Chaos was about making a trip to 57 churches, it has become what we've dubbed the "3 F's" - Faith, Food, and Fellowship! Here are some of the fun photos and stories to go with our outside of church Mass Chaos journey thus far.



We've done a number of parish festivals - St. Thomas More, St. Margaret Mary, St. Stanislaus...

We've participated in St. Leo's Trivia Night (and won for best table decoration and costumes!)...

We've done a whole lot of eatin' - at various places around the Metro area... DJ's Dugout in Bellevue is the new favorite location for post-mass football and food...

We've trekked out of town to enjoy Mass at some of the non-Omaha parishes - most recently - Fort Calhoun for mass and Surfside food...

We've Mass Chaos karaoked...

We would LOVE for more people to share this journey with us - it isn't just about visiting parishes - it is about building relationships with a great group of people! Hope to see/meet you all soon!

Brianne

Holy Ghost - October 10, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Congratulation to Mass Chaos regulars Frank and Lindsay who got engaged over the weekend!

I went to a wedding on Saturday too, and although I am happy for the bride and groom, I ended up feeling a little envious. I certainly desire, and pray for, a woman of my own, and I'm certain I probably get in my own way and over think the situation a lot. I try, with various degrees of success to not focus on the issue, because I think that will lead to bad decision making.

Envy is, of course, one of the seven deadly sins. It's not hard to see why it is deadly, I had dear friends get engaged, and someone I respect gets married, and I am talking about me. This is a problem. Me focus really leads to bad decision making. Other focus leads to good decision making or God's decision making.

Kindness is the virtue that opposes envy. Kindness can be something that one does to ones self, but mostly we are kind to one another. Kindness is considering others feelings first. I find kindness in that short pause before I say something stupid, or in listening to what others have on their mind. I wish ... I pray that I get better at both.

Heavenly father, remove from me my envy, and replace it with kindness. Amen.

Ron, me, Joe, Kat, Brianne, Lindsay, Frank, and Frank. Our engaged couple is Lindsay in the white shirt, and Frank in the Red shirt.

Location and Architecture:
Holy Ghost Parish, 5219 South 53rd Street, Omaha. Have I mentioned before what I really love about this church tour, the amazing way you walk into a church and you see a different way of interpreting God's kingdom. The church has rules of design, and then allows art to happen. Holy Ghost's building is open and light, the stained glass is impressive, and the music was wonderful.

You can see all of my pictures of Holy Ghost Parish here.

Gospel:
"Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?"Luke 17:17

Okay, I couldn't resist. We purposely went to Holy Ghost on 10/10/10 because they had a 10am Mass. So here in verse 17:17 of Luke, Jesus refers to ten. The numbers are astounding, and probably meaningless, unless the meaning is to get our attention, but I digress.

This passage is difficult for me. I cannot picture myself as the one who returns to Jesus praising God. My thought is, well Jesus told them to go and present themselves to the priests, isn't that what they should do? My thinking is that I would go and present myself to the priests, and then go and try to find Jesus, and certainly I would give thanks to God.

Perhaps this is one of those times that I am taking this story too literally, regardless, I am not getting it. A friend of mine and I were talking the other day about not understanding certain passages of the Bible. I gave an example of how I didn't understand something to the point of it becoming a stumbling block to me. The priest whom I asked for an explanation went off on a five or six minute long explanation, but at the end I must have still had a confused look on my face, so he paused and said "what does God say when you pray about this?"

Of course, the thought of praying about it hadn't occurred to me, but soon after I did, specifically about the passage in mind. Within a couple of weeks God had shown me several examples of what He meant, and my apprehension disappeared to the point that I know longer remember the example. God does not mean for us to be confused about His word, He has provided us with many translations, the church, the clergy, and our friends all to help us understand His Word, but He also provides to us, Himself.

My friends, don't fret and stress over His word, what the church says, or even when you confuse yourself with your thoughts or actions. Give your confusion to God, and trust that He will show you what it means. I might mean that you have to learn a new point of view, but He will guide you through it all.

Lord, open my mind, and my heart, to the beauty and meaning of your Word.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Amy and Shannon for protection on their missions.
Frank who is looking for meaningful employment.
Kevin as he prepares for his final year of seminary and the priesthood.
Marcus as he has been accepted into seminary and will be discerning the priesthood.
Frank and Lindsay for blessings on their engagement.
My friend M., who is pregnant, please pray for her and her baby.
My friend S., who has been ill and fears it might be something serious.
My mother Judy to have her back healed.
Me, and my doctor's appointment this week.

Next:
Sunday, October 17 @ 10:30am at Mass: Saint Joseph Parish, 1723 South 17th Street, Omaha. We got our schedule finalized through the end of the year except for Thanksgiving Day. We know we are going, we just don't know where, when, or if it will be a new church or just an informal gathering.

Peace, Eric

Saint John the Baptist, Fort Calhoun - October 2, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Give up or give to God? A few weeks ago I was describing to a friend about cutting off my own cast after I broke my hand a few years back. She said "You certainly are willful." I think it's a good word to describe me. I'm not really one to be stubborn, if it becomes obvious that something that I don't have an emotional tie to isn't working, I do something else. However I hold on to what I want or emotionally desire to do for far longer than is good for me.

On my own, I end up with dreams and desires that are unfulfilled and seemingly unobtainable, specifically for me, having a wife and children. I have a very bad habits with giving up (or not), both giving up without trying, and refusing to give up on them despite what is obviously right in front of me. Either way, I don't involve God, and therefore these issues remain governed by my will, not His. A smart friend of mine reminded me that God is interested in the desires of my heart, but even if God wants to give me what I desire, my insistence in doing it my way messes everything up.

What would be good for me is God's will for me, not my own, but my holding on to things stops me from enjoying all that the Father will give me. Instead of giving up, I should offer my desires to God, let Him bless them and fulfill what is best for me rather than what I want. When I give my issues and desires to God, and let go of the result myself, it's not giving up, it's asking for help.

Lord I pray that you help me give it to you instead of giving up or holding on.

Beautiful weather, beautiful people: Joe (presenting us), Frank, Me, Lindsay, Frank, Brianne, and Teri.

Location and Architecture:
Saint John the Baptist, 215 North 13th Street, Fort Calhoun. A funny thing happens during Mass. I sit, stand, kneel, pray, participate, and listen, and while I am doing so, I notice all sorts of marvelous pictures to take. Mass ends, and I don't remember a thing. While we were waiting for Mass to begin, I turned to Teri and said "I'm usually uncomfortable in new places (yes, this makes Mass Chaos a challenge), but I feel right at home here. Saint John the Baptist is a small parish, but there was just something about the design of the church, the fall sunlight streaming through the stained glass, and the tile around the altar. It all worked together to be a friendly experience.

You can see all of my pictures of Saint John the Baptist's Parish in Fort Calhoun here.

Gospel:
"Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?"Luke 17:9

Of course I have heard this passage before, and read it, and suddenly on Sunday, I nearly laughed out loud because I finally got it. Father Preisinger had a masterful Homily, and explained it so clearly, I'm not sure I could have not gotten it. Doing your job is not something that you should expect credit for.

I went through this at work at a couple years ago. I felt that I was hearing negative things all the time, and that I should be given more credit for all the hard work I was doing. In fact, I was looking at this incorrectly, my paycheck is my reward for doing my job, and the negative feedback coming from my boss(es) was opportunity to improve my work and attitude. Oddly enough, once my work and attitude improved, I started to hear more positive feedback from the boss.

I'm sure that many people who do good things would like to feel appreciated for the good things that they do. God does appreciate you, and if His grace, His love, and His providence are not enough for you, there is the reward at the end of being with Him forever. Doing the right thing by God and your neighbor is not frequently glamorous, or fun, and particularly rarely does it produce worldly acclaim. It is, however, the job that God has given us to do, to be His presence in the world. Let us do our given work with humility and effort so that when this life ends we hear the words "Welcome, good and faithful servant."

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is being deployed to Afghanistan, and his wife and two daughters.
Amy and Shannon for protection on their missions.
Frank who is looking for meaningful employment.
Kevin as he prepares for his final year of seminary and the priesthood.
Marcus as he has been accepted into seminary and will be discerning the priesthood.
My friend M., who is pregnant, please pray for her and her baby.
My friend S., who has been ill and fears it might be something serious.
Me, I applied for a new job.

Next:
Sunday, October 10 @ 10:00am at Mass: Holy Ghost Parish, 5219 South 53rd Street, Omaha.

Peace, Eric

Saint John the Baptist

It always feels odd to go to church on a Saturday. It makes it automatically feel like a Sunday, since well, that IS the normal day. We picked a Saturday mass so we could have dinner together at the Surfside Inn before it closed. One of the aspects of Mass Chaos I've enjoyed most has been the fellowship. We have welcomed more people into our group, and it has been a pleasure to see who will come out with us.

We went this week to Saint John the Baptist (215 N 13th St, Fort Calhoun)

One thing I know I need to work on is figuring out how to take better group shots when we don't manage to get someone to take our picture. I end up having to prop the camera up in a random place and contend with timing our shots right. This was not one of them. Still, was fun. :)

Our group for the week (left to right): Joe, Frank, Eric, Lindsay, Frank, Brianne and Teri.

The gospel this week is from Luke 17:5-10. It is one of those times where a question we ask Jesus is probably one we should ask ourselves. The apostles want Jesus to "Increase our faith." (Luke 17:5). Is faith something that needs to laid out to work? Well, that's a rhetorical question since Jesus answers that for us with the story he tells about the servant.

"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'" (Luke 17:7-10)

I think this is an important lesson to remember, since it is an easy trap to fall in with faith. Why do we do X thing? Because we are told to do so. What do we gain from not trying to put our own understanding into that question of why? Well, we gain something for following the letter of the law, but our personal faith does not grow. And isn't it our personal faith that we want to be growing?