Running the Race

     As time forms the exciting experiences of World Youth Day into fond memories, I can't  help longing to be back in Brazil again with my fellow pilgrims. However, myself and the other three million WYD attendees must not linger in our longings, but go and pass on our encounter with Christ and the Church to others.
     When I am asked about what I took away from the pilgrimage experience, I think back to the moment I first saw Pope Francis with my own eyes. For several hours I stood waiting near the barricades lining the avenue along Copacabana Beach; then later as the popemobile started its way up the street, I was pushed even closer in by the swelling crowds. I was a mere twenty feet away from our Holy Father when he passed by amidst camera flashes and chants of "Papa Francisco" and "Esta es la juventud del Papa". In that moment, I thought "this is what I've been planning and waiting for over the past year". I was surrounded by millions of Catholics from all parts of the world gathered in Rio for one thing: to encounter Christ through His Church entrusted to the successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis, and to all of us. I was so joyous to be there and to see the Pope, that I sprinted up the beach to get as close as possible to the altar to see and hear Papa Francisco address us for the first time.
     Each of us must continue to run towards the altar everyday, to where Christ brings Heaven and Earth together. We are on a race in which Heaven is our finish line, and we are to invite whomever we meet to run beside us. Pope Francis imparted many words of wisdom upon us but the ones that impacted me most are from the closing Mass: "Jesus is speaking to each one of us, saying: 'It was wonderful to take part in World Youth Day, to live the faith together with young people from the four corners of the earth, but now you must go, now you must pass on this experience to others.' Jesus is calling you to be a disciple with a mission!" So as I settle back into my community, I am aware that because I was given many blessings and graces during the pilgrimage, much is expected of me in order to help carry out Christ's mission! If each of the three million WYD attendees joins in this mission to be a disciple, we can change our parishes, our communities, and our world by inviting others to run the race with us!



Myself and Holly after our run towards the altar



Papa Francisco



at the closing Mass

Here is Pope Francis' homily from the closing Mass. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130728_celebrazione-xxviii-gmg_en.html
    

The Pope's Words from August 4th's Angelus in Rome

I can't think of a better way of putting my thanks and hope for those I met and led at World Youth Day. These are the words from our Holy Father this morning:

I also want to emphasize my gratitude, my deep gratitude, to the Brazilian people. A great people, the people of Brazil, a people of great heart. I won’t forget their warm welcome, their greeting, their affectionate gaze, so much joy! They are a generous people. I ask the Lord to bless them greatly.
I want to ask you to pray with me, that the young people that participated in World Youth Day will be able to translate this experience into their daily journey, in their everyday conduct; and that they will be able to translate it in the most important choices of their life, responding to the personal call of the Lord. Today in the liturgy the provocative words of Qoheleth resonate: “Vanity of vanities . . . all things are vanity” (Ecc. 1, 2). Young people are particularly sensitive to the emptiness of meaning and values that surrounds them. And they, unfortunately, pay the consequences. On the other hand, the encounter with the living Jesus, in the great family that is the Church, fills the heart with joy, because it fills it with true life, a profound goodness that does not pass away or decay: we have seen this in the faces of the youths in Rio. But this experience must face the daily vanity, the poison of emptiness that insinuates itself into our society based on profit and having [things], that deludes young people with consumerism. The Gospel of this Sunday reminds us of the absurdity of basing their happiness on ‘having’. “The rich man says to himself: ‘My soul, you have many good things stored up . . . rest, eat, drink, be merry!’ But God says to him: ‘You fool, this very night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’” (cf. Lk 12, 19-20). Dear brothers and sisters, true wealth is the love of God, shared with the brothers. That love that comes from God and makes us share among ourselves, and makes us help one another. He who experiences this does not fear death, and receives peace of heart. Let us entrust this intention, the intention of receiving the love of God and sharing it with our brothers, to the Virgin Mary.

This Could Sting a Little

Have you ever been called by someone who had the wrong number? For most of us this is a regular occurrence and we do not think too much of it. What if you were busy caring for a loved one, say a son or daughter, or a mom or dad, and someone kept calling you away? Sounds like a frustrating situation right? Now let's say that it is someone you know calling you and then not saying anything. They know you are busy taking care of your family or loved one, but still they call you over and over never uttering a word. I know this doesn't seem like a real situation. You are wrong!

But wait who would do something like this? It seems so childish and even cruel.

WE are the ones on the cell phone not saying anything! Every single time you utter the Almighty's name He comes rushing to your aid.

We talked about how we serve a Jealous God. He would DIE for a relationship with us, to talk to us! How do we repay Him for this yearning for our presence in His Kingdom? We call Him up and then never say a word to Him. He loves us so much and is jealous for us because He knows that in order to spend eternity with Him we must first come to know Him through our personal relationship with Jesus. What kind of relationship will we have if we prank call him and never say anything?

"Oh My God! I love this song!
First of all, no you do not "love" this song, and second of all, before Jesus came and forgave us, this statement was a one way ticket straight to the fiery pit for all ETERNITY! In the third commandment God tells us through Moses to not ever take the Lord's name in vain. Let's not forget that God knows all things. You do not have to tell Him if you like something or if you are uncomfortable. And because he is all-knowing do you think we can fool Him by saying, "Oh My Gosh!"? He knows that we almost called Him into our lives, if for only an instant. But instead tainted His Holy Name with a cheap substitute. Before you said, "Oh My,"he was rushing to the phone to listen to what you had to tell Him.

How do we fix this?
I have been blessed greatly, in that I have a companion who is trying to stop using our Lord's name in vain as well. It has worked well for us, so partner up and pray for one another that you will both remain  vigilant over the most powerful muscle in our body. The muscle that can call down the heavenly host and even the King of the universe. (your tongue)

He Loves you. YAHWEH is caring for you and leaving only one set of footprints in the sand. So next time you think you need to call out His name let it end in a prayer. A short conversation. Or even just a, "Oh My God....I Love You!"

Desiring to do God's Will

"For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work," Philippians 2:13

         It is fitting that the theme for World Youth Day is “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), because God has been calling me to do so this summer. If you had asked me a year ago what I thought I would be doing today, I would have said probably preparing for medical school or a graduate program. Although I still have a chance to start medical school this fall (I am on the alternate list for a school in TN), I never would have guessed that God wanted me to devote this summer to international missions instead.
We started preparing for WYD early this past September. I was ecstatic about the prospects of experiencing the universality of the Catholic Church, but doubtful that we would raise the over $36,000 cost for our group of thirteen. It was during the early stages of fundraising for WYD that I first felt desires and nudges from God to do international mission work as a part of my calling in life. I was interested in joining Christ the King parish in Little Rock on their annual medical mission to Honduras. I believed that it would be a good opportunity to serve others and prepare for medical school. However, I knew that between the financial strains of applying for medical school and paying for WYD I could not afford a second trip this summer. I pushed my desires aside and continued to fundraise for WYD. At the end of February those desires grew stronger and I even wrote in my prayer journal that international mission work may be one of my biggest callings in life. By this point, we had raised most of the cost for WYD and were about to send in our final payments. A few days later, I also learned that St. Joseph’s in Conway was paying for a handful of missionaries to join Christ the King on their Honduras mission. I knew then that God was providing me ways to live out what he was calling me to do. Little did I know that he still had more in store for me! Catholic Campus Ministry was gathering their group for their third annual mission to Belize. I had the privilege of going on the first two missions with them and was joking with my friends that were still in college that if I was asked to go again I would. After Mass a couple of weeks later, I was approached by Andrea Papini asking me if I was interested in going to Belize again to help with organizing the mission!
I have recently returned from the missions to Belize and Honduras and I am confident that God did a lot of good work through me on those missions. The past year has really helped me to grow in my trust in God’s provision and that he longs to give us the desires of our heart in unexpected ways. He wants us to be happy and at peace so that we can spread the joy found in Christ to others.
     We are just a few weeks away from WYD. I am excited to learn more about making disciples of all nations at WYD and hope that God continues to send me to do his work throughout the world!

Divine Personal Protection

Divine Personal Protection

[for long version read bracketed text]

        Later this year I will be turning 23 years old, and I must admit that it seems like I just turned 20. As a not-so-former-teenager I feel that I can still relate closely with those who are still in the most confusing years of their lives. Teenagers. I have a younger sister who is 15 and this next piece of advice is for her and every other young person who suffers from the heart ache so often found in our relationships today.

         I have been blessed through out my life to only ever have suffered minimal heart ache. Here I am with the secret. I have a Personal Guard for my Heart. I have asked Jesus to guard my heart for Him alone countless times. He has never abandoned me and will never leave me wanting. He is a jealous God after all. So if I love Him more than any of His flock I will never have my heart broken.

        [When with our friends and our potential more-than-just-friends we always find a way to share what we look for in a relationship. We usually outline only some of the good characteristics we require, but we find time to list every trait we consider to be “deal-breakers”. As many of us already know, that list can be quite long. So instead of listing them all, I am going to only mention one, Jealousy.

         We long for commitment to another person but then require absolute freedom to do as we please as soon as we enter that commitment. We don’t want to change any of our habits for that person in order to compromise with what they might want. And just as soon as they question something we have done we assume the worst and lash out at them. It’s not like they are some stranger calling us out for something we may have done wrong. This is someone who is supposed to care for us and us for them.

          Let’s give this a little perspective. We reject the accountability for our actions due to the conviction we often feel because of that same accountability. Perhaps that person only wants the best for us. They do care about us after all. So this jealousy trait we have come to give a universally bad connotation could have a loving nature behind it? Have we not been told that we serve a jealous God? But what does that mean? Is God going to come read all my text messages and quiz me about who I was hanging out with all day? No, our God is a very different kind of jealous and is jealous for a very different reason than we are.

           We are jealous for ourselves. We want more of someone’s time, more of everyone’s stuff, and more of the world’s power. However, The Almighty is not jealous for Himself, He is jealous for us! He wants us to be satisfied, but not just for the next few days or minutes. He longs for our eternal satisfaction on His streets of gold! He isn't the jealousy that gets upset when we go out with our friends and forget to call and talk to Him. He is the jealousy that is sad we didn't tell Him goodnight, but then forgets all about it and leaps for joy when we tell Him good morning. (We will discuss prank calls in our next lesson)  For it is through our relationship with him we are eternally satisfied; and our Lord wants what is best for us.]

            I encourage you to read John 17. Listen to the possessiveness Jesus places on His Disciples! They belonged to Him! They were not and we are not of this world because they gave themselves to Him in the same way we are called to give ourselves to Jesus!  So yes jealousy as we know it is ugly. But my God is jealous for me because He knows it is up to me to climb the staircase and I can only do so though my time spent with Him. He placed that first commandment there for each of us. For He is Jealous for me, and by my obedience to Him, He has granted my redemption.

Brazil 101

  Brazil is a very large and diverse country so it is difficult to characterize, but here are some fast facts about the country hosting WYD!

• Official name: Republica Federative do Brasil; the name Brazil is thought to come from the
  brazilwood, a tree that once grew along the coast
• World's 5th largest country by area and population
• Population: 193 million people
• Official language: Portuguese
• Was a colony of Portugal until 1822
• Motto: Order and Progress
• Capital: Brasilia
• Largest city: Sao Paulo
• Currency: the Real (R$)
• Current President: Dilma Rousseff
• National dish: feijoada- a stew of pork and black beans with white rice, collard greens, and oranges
• Religion: approximately 75% Roman Catholic

¡Pon tu confianza en Dios y te sorprenderá!

Una de las pasiones que está en mi lista de acontecimientos personales a futuro es viajar.  El simple hecho de pensar en conocer culturas diferentes, conocer gente, tradiciones, lugares, bueno la lista puede ser interminable,  hasta con la idea de sentirme la “rara”, en cualquier lugar remoto, me emociona.  Pero, a veces la “cruel realidad”, lo hace difícil o casi imposible.   La falta de dinero, el trabajo, no tener tiempo disponible, los pagos al fin de mes, hacen que ese deseo lo pongamos al final de nuestra lista de prioridades aunque sea algo que deseamos con toda nuestras fuerzas. 

Dios es grande e infinitamente misericordioso, y él lo único que quiere es que nosotros seamos felices.  A veces, nos sumergimos tanto en nuestras preocupaciones, las cosas que ocurren en nuestro alrededor que acabamos gritando ¡cuando no es una cosa, es otra! 

A lo que voy es a lo siguiente…  Si han seguido este blog, se habrán dado cuenta que mi sacerdote,  mis compañeros y yo tendremos la oportunidad de viajar a Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.  Vamos a vivir una experiencia única  de esas que marca la vida por siempre, asistiremos a la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud. En esta ocasión, hablare de mi lado personal, yo sinceramente  me siento tan afortunada de poder vivir esta experiencia que aun estoy en shock, ¡No lo puedo creer!  Voy a poder cumplir uno de mis sueños (viajar) y todo porque tome la decisión de confiar en ÉL.  Si, en mi caso así fue.  Dios siempre nos demuestra con detalles cuanto nos ama, pero a veces nos segamos a ver las cosas hermosas que están en nuestro alrededor.  Hay una cita hermosa que me encanta de Albert Einstein que dice lo siguiente, “Hay dos maneras de vivir una vida: La primera es pensar que nada es un milagro. La segunda es pensar que todo es un milagro. De lo que estoy seguro  es que Dios existe.” Esta cita explica exactamente lo anterior.  Dios me mostro con este gesto cuanto me quiere y que ¡soy su consentida!

Es difícil la edad de la juventud, especialmente cuando llegas a un punto en tu vida en el que se te acabaron las opciones en la vida y te preguntas, ¿Y ahora a donde le doy?   Allí es donde Dios nos está hablando, donde nos invita a tener fe de lo que te tiene preparado para ti.  Seguir el camino aunque se vea incierto y aunque parezca que vamos con los ojos cerrados, porque sinceramente, quien mejor que Él para confiarle nuestra vida.  Eso me demostró con este viaje.  Si, el sabia de mis gustos y pasiones, y miren me puse en sus manos y que tan grande oportunidad me puso en mi camino, asistir a JMJ.   Voy a ser honesta, al principio fui muy pesimista cuando recibí la invitación para asistir a JMJ.  Lo veía tan lejano, fuera de mis posibilidades, pero Dios ya tenía ese “regalazo“ planeado para mí.  Aun viendo las dificultades que se me presentaban tome la decisión de aceptar la invitación y dije, “¡Que Dios me agarre confesada!”  No quiero mentirles, el proceso fue difícil, incierto, y en ocasiones tuve miedo.   Pero no permití que esos pensamientos invadieran mi confianza, aunque fue difícil continúe.    Hoy en día puedo gritar, ¡Voy a estar en JMJ en BRASIL y tengo la certeza que en este viaje fui guiada por ÉL!

Si nos ponemos a pensar, nos damos cuenta de que Dios y todo en su entorno es bello.  Qué gran dicha  de cumplir mi gran anhelo (viajar) y a su misma vez asistir a la congregación católica más grande de jóvenes como es JMJ. Dios mediante conoceré al Papa Francisco y podre decir que yo estuve allí.  En si la moraleja de mi historia es que Dios te quiere dar todo lo que tú anhelas, solo tienes que confiar en Él con tus sueños y deseos.  Deja de preocuparte y ponlo todo en sus manos,  el te guiara a donde debes estar.  Dile todo lo que quieres, pero recuerda: Él te dará lo que es para ti y lo que necesitas, no lo que tú crees que sea necesario para ti.  ¡Confía en el! Mira mi experiencia, Yo viajare a un lugar de ensueño y a su misma vez estaré allí por Él. 

You Can Do What I Can Do!

The Holy Gospel according to Luke 2:41-51- 06/08/2013

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were ASTOUNDED
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!

     We have all heard this story many many times. As far as I can remember I have always heard this story used by church leaders as an example of Jesus following His parents and being obedient. While this is a very important lesson, I feel that there is an equally important lesson to be learned in this story. A lesson that will have implications in almost every other New Testament and Gospel reading. 

     Before we go any further lets discuss who Jesus was as a 12 year old boy. In His time, education was structured much differently from our own. In fact their grade school's one and only focus was the Word of God as it was presented Moses. As children of this time period, they would all study the first five books of the bible or the Torah until about age ten. This first studying of the Torah was called Beit Sefer (Bait Se-fair), and at its completion the children would have memorized the first five books in the bible. They would know the words of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy by heart! Once they had each finished Beit Sefer, 90% of the children would go on to become apprentices in the family trade or business. Only the very best of these would go on the continue their study of the Torah in what was called Beit Talmud (Bait Tal-mood). 

     In this second tier of the education system, the children would finish memorizing the Torah. So that by the time they were about 14-15 years old they would have all of the books from Genesis-Malachi memorized. They would also learn the different traditions and applications of the Torah. The young teens would then learn the interpretations of the word of God. 
     
     I realize that in all of this talk of the education system of Jesus' time I have yet to mention the teachers. The ones teaching the children of the Torah were in fact Rabbi, and in as much were the very pinnacle of Jewish society. No one was as revered as a Rabbi, one who knew the word of God and how to teach it to the people.

     Now lets look at who this young 12 year old Jesus was. He was in among those who would be His teachers if He had been a child of the city of Jerusalem. These guys were the Harvard professors, and here is this pre-teen from some tiny working town talking with them. And not just asking question after question as you might expect, He was giving them answers. Not just regular old answers straight out of your text book. Jesus gave them answers and they were ASTOUNDED! They didn't dismiss some annoying young kid, they sat and listened to Him! For me, the lesson to be learned here is that my Jesus was the best of the best. He was in the 99th percentile. So what happened next?

     It's true we know very little about our King's childhood. We do know, however, about what those who completed Beit Talmud did. Most of them went home. In fact even the best of these didn't always move on. Only those who were truly put on this Earth to be Rabbi went on to the next stage of education. This was called Beit Midrash (Bait Mid-rash). And in this final stage of the education process, the 14-15 year old kids went and petitioned a Rabbi. They went and told the Rabbi, "I want to learn to do as you do." Immediately the Rabbi would grill the student on their knowledge of the Torah, of the prophets, on the oral traditions, and many other things. Once this test was over the Rabbi usually told the youngster, "It is clear that you know the Torah very well, and that you love God. Go now and ply your family's trade." What a let down, right? Sometimes, however, The Rabbi was impressed with the students knowledge, astounded even. It was at these times, when the Rabbi thought the pupil had what it took to do what the Rabbi himself did, that the Rabbi would say, "Come,follow me." The Rabbi wasn't just saying lets go on a walk and I'll teach you a few things. He was telling this pupil, "Come be my disciple, for I believe you can do what I can do." Let's put this in perspective. Here is this wise Rabbi, respected above every other person in the community, telling this 14-15 year old boy, "You have what it takes to be at the pinnacle of society, let me show you how." How could you not follow him?! 

    Once a student had become the disciple of a Rabbi he left his entire life behind. The teen would have left his town, his synagogue, and even his family. He followed the Rabbi everywhere, yearning to become what his teacher was. He would usually spend the next decade and a half learning to be a teacher of the Word of God to the Jewish people. Then at about age 30 the disciple would go out and begin their ministry. Coincidentally this is the same time that Luke tells us that Jesus began his ministry. (LUKE 3:23)

     I'm almost done, I just want to tie-in what we have learned, to put it in perspective. Lets start from the top, Peter and Andrew are off in their boat, just fishing like they would any other day. Then they here some guy call from the beach. They recognize him as a Rabbi. What does Jesus tell them? Come, follow me! Come you lowly fishermen for I believe you can do what I can do! Matthew tells us they dropped their nets and left immediately. Of course they did! Here was this guy who has all the knowledge of one of the premiere members of their society, telling them that they can do all that he can do. Of course Peter stepped out onto the raging water! Jesus said I can do what he can do, and by Him I'm going to walk on that water. When Peter sinks, Jesus asked why did you doubt? Peter wasn't doubting Jesus. Jesus wasn't the one sinking. Peter doubted himself and that he could do as Jesus did.

     We have been told thousands of times that Jesus calls each one of us to,"Come, follow Him." I hope you hear now what I hear when someone tells me those three little words. Jesus is telling me that I can do what He can do. I can pick up my cross, cast down Satan and all my shame, and carry that cross all the way to gates of the Kingdom of Heaven where I will be the child He is so infinitely proud of and will wrap in His Eternal Embrace. Oh how He loves me. 

Less than 50 days to go...

Well, folks, here we are, less than 50 days from World Youth Day. We leave July 17th. We have all our passports and visas, and most of our payments in. We have done our final fundraiser, and now all that is left is paying for our Mission week in São Paolo and tying up loose ends. We have applied for a Challenge grant through Catholic Extension and look forward to hearing soon how well we did for that. We should finish with all the visa/airline/international work with Catholic Pilgrim Office this week. I have to clear my "good standing" for the Diocese of São Paolo and Rio this week, and we should be set for everything. Stay tuned for more experiences and preparation from our group! Here's a great video for motivation...