Saint Patrick's, Elkhorn - November 28, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
Last week was my first week of missing a scheduled Mass Chaos since we started this adventure, so I have one on the make up list. It was kind of disappointing, but every once in a while my migraines take a nauseous/dizzy turn, and the only thing that helps is sleep. I was kind of disappointed, it was our first visit to a Spanish language Mass at Saint Agnes, and I've not been to one before. I was excited to try something new.

I've spent the last several years trying to get stability under me, now I'm feeling more adventurous. It's a pretty classic Maslow, I've been struggling to meet basic needs, now that I've got that taken care of, I'm ready to find opportunities to grow. God has taken care of my needs all along the way, and assisted me in finding the right opportunities.

Now He wants me to grow. This is not surprising, God stretches us so we grow, all good parents challenge their children to more, and God isn't just a good parent, He is the best parent. Sometime this is unpleasant, but God knows best, I just pray I have the grace to go where I am led.

Frank, me, Patrick, Ron, Tom, Jen, Kat, and Joe. This is the serious picture.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Patrick's, 20500 West Maple Road, Elkhorn. Saint Patrick's pulls off that really neat trick of seeming larger on the inside than it looks on the outside. The circular design with the altar near to the center of the church means there isn't a bad seat in the house. Saint Patrick's low ceiling makes it seem all the more cozy. This is all done without any interior support columns, so it's a nifty piece of engineering on top of being a nice church.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to Saint Patrick's in Elkhorn here.

Gospel:
"Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." Matthew 24:42

I might approach this Gospel a little differently than others. The primary message I take away from this is "You don't know when, so stop your worrying about it." People have pulled me aside and said before "Can you see the signs? The end is coming" Well, no I can't, and in fact you don't know either. Jesus says very clearly that know one knows.

If you knew you were dying in exactly one week from right now? What would you do differently? Would you try to cherish every moment? Would you tell your family and friends that you love them? Would you try to get right with God?

My question is; since you don't know when it will be, why aren't you doing those things right now? It's not just that Jesus could be knocking at the door in five seconds, you just don't know what can happen to you at any moment. A car accident, a harsh storm, an earthquake, a bus falling from the sky; the point is any moment could be your last, or the moment Jesus returns in glory.

Don't waste your time worrying about when this will occur, spend your time being prepared. Get yourself right with God, let your friends know how much you care, cherish every breath you have.

My friends, I want the impression that I leave you with is how important you are to me. I hope that the last words you hear from me is how I love you. I pray my last words are praising God. If I have to do these things every moment for the next sixty (or more) years before my end or all of ours, then it is my sincerest wish that I do so joyfully. I encourage you to do so too.

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.
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 mother Judy to have her back healed.

Next:
Sunday, December 5th @ 9:00am at Mass: Immaculate Conception, 2708 S 24th Street, Omaha. This Mass will be in Latin.

Peace, Eric

St. Agnes - Brianne

First off, let me note that Eric was sick this week - it was the first week we've missed him at Mass Chaos, so I felt extra pressure to make sure a blog got up. I apologize for being brief, but I wanted to make sure none of the parishes went without note on the blog!

This week's Mass Chaos took us to our first non-English mass; we attended mass in Spanish at St. Agnes (22nd & Q). Ron agreed to be our fearless leader, being a fluent Spanish speaker, and I had the benefit of sitting next to him.

Though I am what I'd consider a "bilingual listener," it is amazing how difficult it is to keep up when people are speaking so quickly!!! I've attended mass in Spanish before, and though it is easy to understand where you're at in the Mass, it is nearly impossible to respond (or read responses in Spanish) as quickly as everyone else is. Despite my frustration, I really enjoy the Mass in Spanish. Jen brought up the the point that when the language isn't your own, you listen extra hard to try to understand what's going on. Though I'm sure some of the homily was lost on me, I did a decent job of keeping up...

What I've always enjoyed about any of the Spanish speaking masses I've been to in the Omaha Archdiocese is that they are always FULL. Mass was near standing room only! I also love that there is a great sense of community - people conversed before and after mass with the people around them.

After mass we decided to walk up the street to 24th and enjoy some Mexican food (keeping with our theme of faith, fellowship, and food!). Yummy!

Saint Benedict the Moor - November 14th, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
There is one invention that helps us improve relationships with both with our fellows and God. This invention is simple, it is a flat piece of metal, a piece of silvered or otherwise backed glass, or even still water. It is called a mirror, and it works like this. Stand in front of the mirror, call to mind what makes you mad, and say "My biggest problem in dealing with ______ is" and look in the mirror, and tada, there's your problem. This is not an easy thing to do. So expect some resistance from the person that you are accusing.

Once you get it through the head of the person in your mirror that they are the issue, you will now have the opportunity to change. Take these things in prayer to God, and you will (possibly very quickly) find your perspective will change.

I've been unhappy with these confrontations lately. I have been examining how my relationships are going, and after being forced to the mirror by unhappiness in my (in particular romantic) relationships, I've had to examine my attitudes about them, in particular my sense of entitlement. I have walked away from the experience believing that I am indeed the biggest problem I have, and I am determined to change my attitude, and as best I can, make amends to people who have been hurt by me in the past.

Along the way I've learned more about myself, I've come closer to God, and being free of my own sense of injury, I believe I can approach all my relationships in a new light of service.

Dear Father, help me to remember your Son's words, and to remove the beam from my own eye before attempting to remove the splinter from my neighbor's. Amen

Tom (Welcome!), Kat, Me, Brianne, Ben, Julia, Lindsay, Frank, and Frank. After lunch we all looked considerably, um, wider.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Benedict The Moor Parish, 2423 Grant Street, Omaha. I try really hard to not play favorites with the parishes that I have visited, but the sense of community that was present at Saint Benedict the Moor was tangible. I would like to thank the parish community for making the Mass Chaos group feel so welcome, and thank you for the invitation to return, I am planning on it. Also, the music was absolutely fantastic.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to Saint Benedict The Moor here.

Gospel:
"...for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute." Luke 21:15

(I am going to go out of context on the Gospel reading for this week (Luke 21:5-19) and pull out this one verse.) For me, the greatest joy that I have is when I know that I have just done something or said something that God wanted me to do. A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend and I said something to encourage her that was so smart, so irrefutable that our friends all said immediately that they loved it. My reaction was "That just came out of my mouth?". Anytime that I say something with wisdom, I consider it to be God talking through me, rather than anything inherent in me.

The verse immediately preceding this one talks about not preparing ahead of time, and just letting God work through you. As I thought about this beforehand (i.e. preparing), I was going to mention something about a willingness to be God's instrument being a vital part of the process, but I quickly 'remembered' a couple incidents where God used some pretty unlikely people to make a point to me, so God will use who He wants, when He wants, and who are we to complain? He's God.

This being said, it is hope of mine that the more that I suppress my own desires, and make my entire life available to God, the more likely it is that it is he'll use me. "Here I am Lord", use me.

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.
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 mother Judy to have her back healed.
My foot for healing.

Next:
Sunday, November 21 @ 11:00am at Mass: Saint Agnes Parish, 2215 Q Street, Omaha. This Mass will be in Spanish.

Peace, Eric

Saint Charles Borromeo / Holy Family Shrine - November 7, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
(I hope I remember this correctly) When Father Lordemann was at Saint Mary's in Bellevue, he gave a Homily about the chalice that he used when he said Mass. He said that his chalice was given to him by an uncle who was a priest, and likewise his uncle got it from his uncle. If I remember correctly, he said that he would be able to pass it along to his nephew.

We visited Saint Charles Borremeo this past weekend. It is a new church, and from the drawings I saw there, and on the website, it is obviously not completed as of yet. The windows on the church were all glass and led to a bright open feel to the church. There was, however, one stained glass window behind the altar (see picture below). We were told later that the stained glass came from Saint Richard's, which in turn came from Holy Angels.

These items are outward and visible signs of the church's presence. If these things, which are perishable, have been used to the glory of God for almost a 150 years, how much longer will the non-perishable parts of God's church last? My friends, your body may be perishable, but the spirit that God has put in you is not.

Lord, please grant me the wisdom to not get caught up in the moment, but instead help me to be focused on the everlasting.

Happy birthday Brianne! Teri, Frank, Nonnie, Marla, Brianne, Paul, Joe, and me.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Charles Borromeo, 7790 South 192nd Street, Gretna. As I observed above, this is a new church (I thought I saw on their website that the first Mass was celebrated there on Pentecost this year, but when I went back to it, I couldn't find it), so everything is clean, modern, and brightly lit. I am unsure as to what other parts of the church are new and which came from Saint Richard's. I thought the statue of Saint Mary was stunning. I also liked the largest lamb in the stained glass, from my angle he appeared to be smiling.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to Saint Charles Borromeo here.

After Mass we got some food and went to the Holy Family Shrine, 23132 Pflug Road, Gretna. This was my first visit to the Shrine, and unfortunately, part of the center was under construction, so not everything was as put together as I would have liked ... which means I'll have to take another trip back! It was a fantastic experience, a place of peace just yards away from the interstate.

You can see the rest of my pictures from the Mass Chaos visit to the Holy Family Shrine here.

Gospel:
"...and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Luke 20:9

A few weeks ago I was given a compliment through Brianne about my thoughtfulness when I write something in this space. This is humorous to me right now, because this week, I got nothing. However I am filled with joy today over the things that God has provided. A job, a home, friends, and food. I am also thankful for a changed life (mine) and the opportunity God has given me to move from my sinful 'dead' life, to one that is full of life and opportunity. I am alive, and alive eternally.

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.
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 mother Judy to have her back healed.
My foot for healing.

Next:
Sunday, November 14 @ 9:30am at Mass: Saint Benedict the Moor Parish, 2423 Grant Street, Omaha

Peace, Eric

St. Peter & St. Cecilia

The last two weeks of Mass Chaos have been interesting - a chance for us to have some very deep conversation regarding our personal viewpoints on our faith and Catholicism. i would describe both St. Peter and St. Cecilia as more conservative Omaha parishes - using Latin in places, more traditional music, etc. For those of you who know me, I would consider these parishes were a bit outside of my comfort zone.

At St. Peter, Fr. Damien Cook spoke about the upcoming changes to the Roman Missal. (If you are interested, you can read about the changes here: http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal/ - I found the Sample Texts a good piece to read). This homily created quite a stir in our Mass Chaos family, and much of our post-mass conversation was a good debate about our opinions regarding these changes. I really enjoyed the way we could have respectful (yet passionate, and somewhat heated) conversation with one another. It is amazes me - the depth of my friends' faith.

I would love to hear your feedback on the changes to the Roman Missal - feel free to post comments!

Though I am not a huge fan of the more traditional mass, both St. Peter and St. Cecilia are beautiful parishes with some breathtaking architecture. The masses were both well attended, and the music was spectacular at both! The girl's choir that sang at St. Peter's took my breath away, and St. Cecilia's music is always fantastic as well. My only gripe about attending masses with music such as these is that I never know how to sing along!

On a personal note, I hope to catch back up on my blogging - I'm sorry that Eric has been carrying all the blogging responsibilities on his shoulders.

Peace and love,
Brianne

Saint Celilia's Cathedral - October 31, 2010 - Eric

What's Happening:
November! This is how my year runs: January through Memorial Day: Dull. Memorial Day through my birthday (July 23): stuff to do, time to relax. My birthday through October 31: run around like crazy. November and December: rebound relaxation. I have a wedding to go to this weekend, but after that I have no Saturday plans through the last week in March. I know things will pop up, but the silliness of not having any peaceful time is over.

Quite frankly all this busyness is not good for me and I know it. I don't eat right because I'm always on the move. I don't exercise because there is no time. My relationships suffer because it's hard to find time to talk, and that includes the most important relationship I have, the one with God.

It's not hard to see the outward effects of all this just by reading these pages, much of the outward enthusiasm I had for Mass Chaos three months ago has disappeared. I am not saying it isn't rewarding, it's just that I'd like to spend some time with my nose in a book, or quiet contemplation sitting in church all afternoon, or going for a quiet hike, someway to decompress from all these social interactions. No one likes to feel rushed, especially with their relationships. We want to enjoy our friends, our experiences, and the creation that God has provided for us.

Lord, I pray for the wisdom to stop and smell the roses. Amen

Frank, Teri, Me, Lindsay, Frank, Brianne, Joe. We are huddled together for warmth.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Cecilia's Cathedral, 701 North 40th Street, Omaha. There was a very good reason I chose the 9:30 Mass, I just can't remember what it was ... we already see that the later in the day we go to Mass, the more Mass Chaos'ers it attracts. My rambling point is, that the church was in use immediately after Mass, and so I didn't have much time to take pictures.

When I went to Mary Our Queen, Father Gutgsell was in residence, as a person who likes a thinking approach to my relationship with God, I had forgotten how smart Father Gutgsell is, and how much I enjoy the way he ties the readings in along with something that makes you think. All this being said I had two emotional/spiritual experiences this weekend. The first was during the creed, I had an intense chill that gave me goose bumps for about a minute. Then later during the homily I thought I heard the flapping of wings, and saw a shadow of something cross the ceiling, I had the thoughts/feeling of a dove ... I'm sure Brianne thought I was crazy as I looked intensely at the ceiling.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to the Cathedral here.

Gospel:
"...and Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.'" Luke 19:9

The Gospel reading this week (Luke 19:1-10) is a great summary story about who Jesus is. Firstly we are told that Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus, i.e. sinners want to seek out salvation from their sinful nature. Zacchaeus is unable to see Jesus easily because he is short, this shows us that something in his nature prevents him from finding the Lord.

Jesus finds Zacchaeus in a tree, and calls to him with a command that He needs somewhere to stay. Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus and tells him, not asks him, that he is going to stay in his house. People begin to gossip about Zacchaeus, and when he is confronted *after all Zacchaeus didn't just for the first time think "if I have extorted anything from anyone") he confesses to the Lord.

Jesus then reminds us "...this man too is a descendant of Abraham.", in other words Jesus declares that this man too belongs to God! Jesus concludes that He has come to seek what is lost. Jesus came to seek people such as Zacchaeus, a tax collector, (if you don't understand how hated a tax collector would be to the other Jewish people, you should really make yourself clear on the subject). Jesus isn't here for the spiritually healthy, but for the sick.

If Jesus can save people like Zacchaeus from judgment, my friends He can certainly shepherd you and I as well. Seek the Lord, even if you can't make that last step to Him, He will call to you. Confess what you have done, and He will bring you back to God.

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, November 7 @ 11:00am at Mass: Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, 19251 Chandler Street, Gretna. Followed to a visit to the Holy Family Shrine around 1:00-1:30pm, 23132 Pflug Road, Gretna.

Peace, Eric