Monday, January 3, 2011

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.

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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.

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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

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