Gaudete means Rejoice

Gaudete Sunday!!  Have you ever hear of it?  I am sure you all have experienced it, but maybe did not know it was called Gaudete Sunday. 

 

Gaudete Sunday was last Sunday.  In this time of anticipation of the birth of our Savior, we shift our focus from anticipation to rejoicing.  The short definition of Gaudete is “rejoice.” 

 

Much like Lent, Advent readings are often somber in nature.  It is also the reason priest wear purple vestments, but not this Sunday.  Rejoicing is the reason we change from purple to rose colored vestments, and we light the rose colored candle.  This change in color is a reminder that even though we are filled with secular Christmas joy, the real reason for the season is close.  Having presents, huge meals, and gamily get togethers bring joy, but not the same joy as the coming of Christ.   

 

This week, spend some time rejoicing in the Lord and all his wonderful blessings, but most importantly, stop and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior and the forgiveness of our sins.  Rejoice in the Joy of the Christmas season and the fulfillment of God’s wonderful plan to save us all.

Advent is about Anticipation

The following is part of the weekly note I sent to the St. Pius X families the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. 

 

What are you thankful for?  There are so many things I am thankful for, I am not sure I can list them all.  I am very thankful for the staff, students, and the families of the St. Pius X community.  Everyone has been so kind to me as I transitioned into this position.

 I am also thankful for the wonderful student leaders that are developing right in front of my eyes.  From the Leadership Day to the canned food drive, I am thankful for all those that make St. Pius X unique and stand out above all the rest. 

 I am thankful for the many blessings of Catholic Education.  The ability to celebrate our faith in a school setting is refreshing and a privilege to be a part of.

 As we celebrated the end of the Liturgical year, last weekend, on the Feast of Christ the King, we now start the season of Advent, the coming of Christ into this world.  Advent is a season of anticipation of the Nativity of the Lord.  With the hustle and bustle of the upcoming Christmas Season, I would like to encourage everyone to spend time anticipating the birth of Christ. 

 There are many things we can do to help build this anticipation, things such as lighting candles on an Advent wreath, using a daily Advent calendar, or praying a daily Advent devotional.  All of these will help build the anticipation of Christmas day and the birth of Christ. 

 With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, please take some time to share with your children the true meaning of the Christmas season.  Help them by building the anticipation of the coming of Christ.  Remember, Advent is the time to wait, not the time to celebrate.  And soon enough, the Christmas Season will be upon us. 

it's simple....SIMPLIFY!!!

In today's Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples two by two, to preach the word of God.  He tells them to only take the cloak on their back and the sandals on their feet.  They were to go to a house and if they were invited in, preach, and if they were turned away, leave.  Jesus sent them out in a simple way and with almost nothing, as to not to worry about do they have this, and that, much like we do when we pack for a vacation.  Do we have the phone charger, did I pack my swim suit, etc... And to top it all off, Fr. John's message to the students was to be simple.  For the more we have, the more we have to worry about, and that takes our mind off of God and His message.  Fr. John says why bring 100 pencils to school when you only need one.  Having so many pencils means one has to worry about not losing them.

If you have read any of my past blogs, you will know that I am a true believer that God sends thoughts into my head and then later just brings the thought home, and today was no different.  You see, as the season is starting to change, so is my wardrobe.  It is time to trade in the short sleeve shirts and shorts, and time to dust off the long pants, sweaters, and jackets.  And every year as we go from Summer to Fall, I will take inventory of the summer clothes I have not worn, for the entire summer, and bag them up and donate them to Goodwill.  I usually do this over my Fall Break, and vice versa, do the same at Spring Break, with the winter clothes I did not wear over the winter.

As you can imagine, with the nice cool mornings and evenings over the last few days, the thought of doing my summer clothing donation has jumped into my head, about a hundred times over the last week or so.  And yet today, the Gospel passage, and Fr. John's message to be simple, was proof, to me that is, that God wants me to make the wardrobe change. 

I tell that long story because there are many times in my life that I do not believe I can hear God talking to me, especially when I am struggling.  I pray and pray and pray, waiting for a sign, or a simple conversation and I do not hear nary a thing.  Not one iota of a conversation.  But guess what, I do not hear it, not because it is not there, but because my life is so crowded with things that there is to much muck to wade through before I can even think about what God wants me to do. 

So it is my sincere hope to start to simplify the thoughts in my head, the busyness of the day, the have to do this and that, etc.  I have to simplify those things, like I simplify my wardrobe every year.  When I simplify, it rids me of the clutter that blocks my path to God's Kingdom.  So maybe, just maybe, one day, God will send me two by two, to spread his word. 

It is simple, SIMPLIFY!!!

Not Sure What Else to Say

Last week, something very special happened that truly makes St. Pius X(SPX) Catholic School a unique and special place.  I was watching our 4^th grade girl’s kickball team play Our Lady of Mount Carmel(OLMC).  The first inning went as you would imagine, three up and three down, for both sides.  It was after that, where things became quite impressive.  The SPX Panthers went on a kicking streak, scoring 18+ runs in one inning, and they never looked back. 

 Part of the reason for this success, is great teamwork, and part was because two players from OLMC were hurt and could not play anymore, leaving their outfield unattended.  It was then that the coaches from both teams got together and decided to share players.  I must add that the official told both coaches that he did not think it was a good idea.  It was decided that two of our SPX players would play for OLMC.  When our coach asked for two volunteers, the entire team raised their hand, wanting to play for the other team.  WOW!!!  They gave of themselves to help others.  Where is that concept in reality TV?

I am so proud of our 4^th grade team.  They put aside the spirit of competition, and the idea of winning and losing, and put the feelings of the other team first.  The truest definition of love is putting others first and not expecting anything in return, and that was shown on the kickball diamond.  Win or lose, on the diamond, fourth grade girl’s kickball team, you have shown a perfect example of Christ’s love for others.  This was such a great example, the visiting team's priest, who came to watch them play, expressed his delight at the decision to share players for the good of all and the fun of the game.  I cannot thank you enough for representing your team, your sport, and your school in such a positive way.  You have made everyone at SPX proud.

 

Most Catholic Schools are known for great academics.  Most people send their children to Catholic Schools for a faith based education.  It is stories like this, that make me proud to be in the Catholic School System and to send my children to Catholic Schools. 

I want to be old.

Every year I go visit a friend of mine in Hendersonville, NC.  It is usually over the July 4th weekend and  entails me finding a Catholic Church.  This year was no different, other than I do not have to find the church, for I have been there before.

As always, I get to Mass early.  While all the Mass parts are the same, I take a little extra time to gather myself in the frame of mind for Mass, take a few extra minutes to learn my surroundings, and make sure I give myself enough "get lost" time, because there is nothing worse than walking into Mass late.  Since I have been doing this trip for many years, get lost time is not an issue, but I cannot make myself leave later for Mass, so I just sit quietly, observing my surroundings, pray, and people watch, and this last time was no different.

I tell you this because when I was people watching, I noticed this elderly lady.  I would guess she was in her late 80s, minimum.  She entered the back of the church(if you know me, that is where I always sit, for I feel that I am not worthy of even being in that space), and did her five minute shuffle to a pew in the middle.  When she finally got seated, I just watched her prayer routine and it was very awe inspiring. 

I am in my 40s and I have baseball catcher knees, so kneeling down is often a task for me.  Kneeling down is never the problem, for I have gravity's help on the way.  Kneeling for a long time, and getting up, are the issues.  My knees go through a tingling stage, then a throbbing pain stage, and if I have to kneel to long, they might even go numb, which is why it is hard to get up.  I tell you this because this elderly lady, who shuffled to her pew, knelt right down and started praying as if she was a spry young child.  She must have been in that position for at least 15 minutes.  Very impressive if you ask me.

Now that is not the reason I bring this topic up.  As many of you know, I struggle with my prayer life.  And by struggle, I have no problem turning to Jesus in times of praise, anger, fear, struggle, etc.  I feel that I got that part down.  Where I struggle is what to say.  I am not sure I am praying in the right way(isn't it just like a teacher to want to know the right way to do anything). 

After watching this elderly woman pray, I was in awe.  She kept crossing herself, and by crossing herself, imagine Sammy Sosa just hit a homerun.  Remember his post base running, dugout routine.  He must have crossed himself thirty times in a mater of ten seconds.  Imagine this elderly woman doing the same.  Anyway, I digress, this elderly woman crossed herself, had her eyes closed, and appeared to be in a true conversation with God.  She was praying with such passion, a passion I have never witnessed.  I kept wondering if every time she crossed herself, was it the time she actually heard God's words, or received a thought that answered her prayer?  She was inspiring to watch.

After listening to the homily from last Sunday, I know it is not how you pray.  It is that you are having the conversation with God.  Inviting Him into your life, is the most important step.  It is when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, that the pathway to Heaven is opened for us.  And I know, God does not keep score.  If He did, I would be out because of the mercy rule.  It is, however, inspiring to see this elderly woman, who I would guess has been Catholic her entire life, still have the power and enthusiasm to pray with such gusto. 

I know that I am a long way from the experience of praying like this elderly lady.  I know that it is not how you pray, it is what you say.  But, I hope to have the enthusiasm to pray when I am an old man.

Repeat but Relevant

This post is a repeat.  It was from a couple years back, and it is about the story of Jesus feeding 5000.  It is one of my favorite stories of scripture and last weekends gospel reading.  In the trouble times we are told our nation is going through, maybe it is time for a reminder that even the smallest fragments are relevant. 




Recently at church, one of the readings was the story of Jesus feeding 5,000.  For my friends who do not know this story, I will give a brief overview of this story.  At this particular time, in the Bible, Jesus is being followed by huge crowds.  As evening approaches, the disciples encourage Jesus to send the huge crowd away, for they have no food to feed them.  There is a boy, among the crowd, that has some loaves of bread and a few fish.  Jesus takes the food from the boys, blesses it, and multiplies it to feed 5,000 men and their family, with 12 large, wicker baskets leftover.(Please understand that the Bible does this story much better justice than I just did.  I encourage you to read the gospel of John 6:1-15)

This is by far my favorite Bible story, EVER!!  For some reason, I could listen to any priest, preach about this story and I never get tired of it.  Every time I hear this story, I get a different point of view.  Many wonder about the miracle of taking five loaves of bread and two fish, and allowing them to feed so many.  Some often look at it from the boy’s point of view, giving of his food for the sake of others.  Others may even question the disciples and their faith in the power of God.

But not too long ago, I heard a sermon about this story from a very unique point of view, the leftover fragments.  Now I am sure you are questioning my sanity, but I must say, it was a great point of view.  I will try to do it justice in my words.

In today’s fast paced world, we are so busy moving from place to place, or trying to accomplish this thing or that thing, that I am not sure we often look at the details.  As I write this, I can tell you I am guilty on countless occasions of trying to get things done quickly, to get on to the next task at hand, as to accomplish the overwhelming list of things to do.  I often get side tracked by my smart phone and answering an email, which often leads to me missing some little fragment of information, either from my children, my wife, staff member, boss, my God, this list is truly endless.

In all the details of feeding 5,000 men and their families, Jesus never missed a detail.  He even made his disciples pick up the scraps and leftovers.  I am pretty sure Jesus was not living by one of my favorite mottos, if you rent or use a space, make sure it is cleaner than it was when you got it.  I can also bet Jesus was not worried about litter or being green, as we would in today's society, when he insisted on the disciples picking up every fragment.  I believe this was Jesus trying to convey to us that even the smallest morsel, or fragment, is important. 

Even though we live in this fast paced, GIGANTIC world, and we might often feel too small for Jesus to even notice.  It is nice to know that He cares for us, no matter how small or big we perceive ourselves.  We do not have to be a Nobel Prize winning author, or have been awarded the humanitarian of the year, for Jesus to care for us and recognize us.  We do not have to be the greatest evangelist to get the love of Jesus.  All we have to do is accept Him into our lives, follow Him, and He will give us the guidance we need, regardless of the fact that we might be a large slice of bread or even a crumb, He loves and cares for us all.

Church Signs

I love Church Signs, you know, the ones that are by the street and either give information or maybe a funny quip or two.  I REALLY like the ones that have funny quotes.  You know ones that say things like, "If your life stinks, we have a pew for you." or "Stop...Drop...Roll, does not work in Hell."  The list could go on and on.

Today, though, I saw a Church sign asking, "Holy Spirit, revive this land."  I will be the first one to agree that we need to revive this land. With political correctness run amok, offensive flags, gender issues, our land is amongst the most confused I have ever seen. One of my favorite quotes is, "If we do not teach our children to love God, the world will teach them not to" and I think if we depend on the trends that are overtaking our world, we are well on our way to making that statement true.

I guess my biggest issue with the comment asking the Holy Spirit to revive this land is, I believe they have it wrong.  What the sign should say is, "Invite the Holy Spirit into your life, and help change this land."  I appreciate the thought behind the original quote, but, it is my understanding that the Holy Spirit is already here.  The Holy Spirit is right next to you, me, and everyone, but in order for It to work, and "revive this land," we first have to accept that the Holy Spirit is here, by accepting Jesus Christ as our savior.  The Holy Spirit cannot work for us if we do not believe It exist. 

The Holy Spirit works for me, because I believe.  I really think there are many times I have looked up at the right time, and avoided a car accident, or some potential tragedy, because the Holy Spirit is with me, watching me and giving me that feeling of safety and security.  The Holy Spirit helped me when I was in between jobs, and feared for providing for my family.

The Holy Spirit also convicts me when I do something wrong.  You ever get that feeling, the instant you say something or do something that would upset God or a parent or a boss.  When I get that feeling, I immediately say, "Ohhhhhh, wish I would not have done that, or said that."  That is the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and as Thomas Carlyle said, "Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct."  Conviction is important, even though it feels crummy, because the Holy Spirit is using this opportunity to convert us or get us back on the correct path. 

So, while I appreciate the idea behind the sign, I think we are putting to much on the Holy Spirit to do the things that we would be doing, already, if everyone believed.