Saint Patrick Omaha - April 11, 2011 - Eric

What's Happening:
Beautiful weather! I'll keep this short this week so you (and me) can get out and enjoy it.

Thank you God not only for creating the beauty of the earth, but for giving me the ability to enjoy it also.

Brianne, me, Teri, Ron, Marilou, and Vesper. They are all smiles despite the fact that I got the Mass time wrong.

Location and Architecture:
Saint Patrick's, 1404 Castelar Street, Omaha. I was waiting to come to this church with much anticipation, I heard it was very pretty and it didn't disappoint. I was so excited, in fact, that I had the Mass time wrong, and got there an hour early ... oops. The church is indeed beautiful, the stained glass is extraordinary, as is the mural behind the almost unbelievably detailed altar. To me, the most amazing part is the painting of clouds behind the statue of Mary.

If you'd like to see the rest of my pictures from Saint Patrick's, you can click here, I included some flower shots from the church grounds and a couple of the Mass Chaos group.

Gospel
"So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him." John 11:16

I love the parts of the Gospels where it shows that Jesus just picked a bunch of regular Joes to be His apostles. Thomas cannot be accused of not following Jesus, he clearly states that he is going with him, but Thomas is not exactly cheerful, or hopeful about the outcome of this adventure Jesus is leading him on.

This reminds of the parable of the two sons.

"What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first."... Matthew 21:28-31

My friends, if there is one being in the universe who can handle all of our negativity, all of our defiance, all of our impetuousness, it is our Father in heaven. God made you, and if anyone knows you, it is He. Like the defiant son, we sometimes go against the will of God, and like Thomas, we are sometimes unhappy about where God is leading us. Don't fret your negativity, remember that God wants us all; He knows we are closer to being regular Joe's than we are to being saints. Work through your bad moments, learn to do His will, and follow Him down the road that He will lead you.

Prayers
Please pray for:
The people of Japan.
The people of the countries in Southwest Asia and Africa in this time of revolution.
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 (seriously overdue).

Next:
April 17th @ 11:30 Saint John Vianney, 5801 Oak Hills Drive, Omaha.

Peace, Eric