Saint Wenceslaus - January 16, 2011 - Eric

What's Happening:
Nothing! Nothing is happening. My life has gone from the frenzied time crunch that is my late summer and fall to a nice relaxing slow pace. So you'd think that I'd have plenty on my mind to talk about, having all this time to reflect, but I don't. I'm not thinking about a lot. I am just really appreciative ... of having a loving God, having great friends, and the opportunity to serve.

Thankful isn't such a bad place to hang out in.

Joe, Brianne, Frank, Teri, Beth, Jen, Patrick, Marilou, and me. Thank you to the nice woman who snapped our photos, she really got into expressing her inner artist.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Wenceslaus, 15353 Pacific Street, Millard. What a pretty, well thought out design for a church. As I've mentioned before, I like the nooks and crannies, and there seemed to be plenty to explore everywhere you turned in this church, and I didn't get the number of pictures I wanted to get, or explore the number of corners either. Another Mass Chaos member came over and gave me the 'you're being too artistic' look, and then suddenly we are taking our group picture. The lighting in the church was wonderful, as was the mixture of old items and new.

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

Gospel:
"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29

I have no great insight into the Gospel this week, I do want to share this; I cannot read this passage without starting to sing "Behold the Lamb" by Martin Willett. It begins

Those who were, in the dark, are thankful for the sunlight
we who live, we who die, are grateful for His word.

As one who has lived too much of my life in the darkness of fear and self-loathing, I am so grateful for the gift of the light. Very few things can remain scary when they are brought out and examined in the light of the sun. When things are brought into the light of Christ, all fear and misunderstanding melt away to be replaced with love and truth.

Jesus takes away the sin of the world. Not the sins of the good, not the sins of the faithful, not the sins of the other guy ... the sin of the world. This frees us from the burden of having to worry about our sins. It frees us from having to worry about what the other guy is doing wrong. Once we are free of these worries, we can examine ourselves, change our lives, and draw ourselves closer to our God of love.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is 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.

Next:
January 23rd @ 10:00 Saint John the Evangelist, 307 East Meigs, Valley.

Peace, Eric

Saint Rose of Lima - January 9, 2011 - Eric

What's Happening:
Marilou gave me the clue last week. I had a multiday migraine, and she mentioned to me that Saint Teresa of Avila was the patron saint of headaches. It turns out there are several, and as I looked at each one I pulled up a website for Saint Gemma Galgani, this website had a picture on the front page, and rarely in my life have I been so taken aback by anything I have seen.

Saint Gemma Galgani

The first picture on the page shows Saint Gemma Galgani, and her face has a very interesting feature, a half closed eye. This is exactly what happens to me when I get a migraine. The pain is almost always behind my left eye, and it makes it droopy. I felt an instant connection with Saint Gemma, a connection of peace. I read her story (from several sources) and I feel quite inspired, and stronger. My boss remarked that apparently I had a new patron.

I love the saints, the heroes of the church. We are taught so much by the example of their lives. Even though they are in heaven, they take an interest in our lives. They pray with us when we are strong, and for us when we are not.

Thank you Lord for the example of people who love you first.

Frank, Marilou, Me, Lindsay, Jen, Frank, Teri, Joe, and Patrick. We braved a little bit of snow, and a little bit of sleep deprivation to be there at 9:00am.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Rose of Lima, 4102 South 13th Street. Here is why I shouldn't write about architecture. The first thing I notice about Saint Rose is that it doesn't have a sprinkler system, and then I notice the beautiful ceiling. The stained glass behind the loft was an amazing blue color, even with a dull, snowy sky. I want to thank the parishioners for their kind offer of taking a poinsettia with us, but I had to decline, I have a cat.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to Saint Rose of Lima here.

Gospel:
"John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?'" Matthew 3:14

Jesus, fully divine has no needs of baptism. Jesus, fully human, does not either because He is without sin. So, what's the big deal? Why did He do it?

I have always felt that one of the most important things that Jesus did for us is remove our ability to credibly say "God doesn't know what we are going through." While this statement is wrong anyway, it could be easy for someone to imply that God is separate from us, and therefore has no first hand knowledge of what it is like to be human.

Not so fast my friend, Jesus may be fully divine, but He is also fully human, and experienced life in the same way that we do. Jesus was hungry, Jesus was thirsty, and like us, Jesus was in need of a connection with our Father. The Gospels are full of Jesus leading by example of the way to do this. Jesus allowing John to baptize Him is just another example His leadership in getting us to God.

Jesus, lead us to the Father.

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is 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.

Next:
January 16th @ 10:30 Saint Wenceslaus, 15353 Pacific Street, Millard.

Peace, Eric

2011: The New Year...

2011: The New Year...

...a time to say goodbye to 2010... a time to make resolutions... a time for a fresh start... It seems to mean a lot of different things to each individual.

I've begun reflecting on what the end of 2010 and the start of a new year means for me as we enter the first days of 2011. The end of 2010 saw us at St. James, the parish I grew up in, but no longer my home. I've not been back there in at least six months, and being there for Midnight mass as I've done for as long as I can remember was a powerful experience. It was bittersweet for me - the combination of being back in my "old" parish with my "new" group of friends and family around me. It also gave me some clarity, as I thought I would miss the comfort being in a familiar setting, with the people, the space, and the music I know. I really didn't. I've found that I find the promise of finding a new parish home in 2011 to be exciting!

It is easy to think of the new year as a time for new opportunities and a chance to start over. However, as I enter 2010, I think it is important for me not to forget where I've come from. The past year has been a trying time for me, but I believe some of the changes of 2010 have forced me to grow as an individual. I feel stronger, and optimistic about what the future holds for me. I'm blessed with a supportive family and friends surrounding me... a roof over my head and food in my stomach... a secure job... and most importantly, renewed faith in my Lord. We should all be so lucky!

My prayer for each of you is that you do not forget the trials, troubles, blessings, and gifts you received in 2010 - but instead use those to move forward optimistically into a prosperous 2011.


Prayers, please, for my dog, Pablo - he's had many, many health problems as of late.

Holy Cross - January 2, 2011 - Eric

What's Happening:
New year, new opportunities. I don't often do new years resolutions, because I think that every day is brand new, however, this year seems to be different. I was so hurried through the holidays that I really let some discipline go. The first Monday of the new year sounds like a great place to start over. Much of changing your life is positive habit building. I want to do three things physically, one thing emotionally/mentally, and one thing spiritually:

P1. Drink more water (not soda). My doctor wants me to drink 60-80 ounces of water per day. My plan is to drink 20 ounces each when I get up, before lunch, and in the afternoon.
P2. Exercise. This will actually be easier than it sounds, I have good habits already built up, I just fell a little off the wagon because of the holidays and a broken USB drive ... really.
P3. Eating better. This is also not quite as hard as it sounds, from the time I got back from Chicago late September through mid-December I did really well. Cooking at home and eating veggies with every meal.
EM1. I want to maintain a more positive outward attitude. My hope is by being more positive outwardly, it will seep inward and help to change my overall attitude.
S1. I like the way I have set up my prayer life, however I want to bolster it by adding prayers to get me by in the moment. This is kind of a new idea for me that I already started doing late last year on a specific subject, but it worked so well to alleviate worry, I am expanding the program.

These are my new habits this year. Lord please help me to keep the focus on you and doing the best I can with your help.

Frank, Brianne, Amy, Joe, Shannon, Lindsay, Frank, Me, Patrick, Jen, Rich, Marilou, Vesper, Tom, Debbie, and Beth. Easily our best crowd ever! Thank you to our FOCUS missionaries, Amy and Shannon, for spending time with us during the holidays. Thanks to Father Salanitro for taking the picture.

Location and Architecture:
Holy Cross, 4803 William Street, Omaha. Holy Cross church is a box church, but a beautifully executed one. The ceiling is broken up with colors and decorations. The speaker system is kind of sneaky, although it is right there in plain sight, it doesn't detract from the rest of the church. The altar and area behind it is really magnificent with the wood and lighting. There seemed to be spots to explore regardless of the direction you chose, and the artwork was great. It was also good to see Father Carl Salanitro, who was my pastor at Mary Our Queen.

You can see all of my pictures of our visit to Holy Cross here.

Gospel:
"The were overjoyed at seeing the star..." Matthew 2:10

We are told that the Magi were overjoyed at seeing the star? How would we have felt at seeing the star that heralded the birth of our Savior? Would we have been troubled? Would we have rejoiced? What would we have wondered?

Although we cannot see the star itself, we can see and experience the everlasting effects of the arrival of God in the form of a helpless child. The star didn't just herald an extraordinary birth, it heralded the most extraordinary birth ever. No wonder stars followed, angels sang, and all of creation rejoices still.

Glory to God in the Highest...

Prayers:
Please pray for:
Tom who is 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.

Next:
January 9th @ 0900 Saint Rose of Lima, 4102 South 13th Street, Omaha.

Peace, Eric