Been busy in berlin

I will try to put a few things up here for you to read on Satuday (my rest day before he big race) So just give me a few more hours and I will have some wonderful photos and stories of what we have seen and in our first two days...I am tired now, I will do more later.

Peace

First Communion photos

We had our First Communion for the children last weekend. It was a wonderful Mass, the children looked so cute and it was a very special time for our Parish Family. I have been sent some photos from different families, here are a few. If you have photos of the First Communion and would like them posted, just send them to me and I will put them up. Peace

What a beautiful class.

Family members await their First Communicants.

And here they come, looking o' so Holy!

Wilson even got a Kiki cake for his party...lucky guy. FWIW, the cake was AWESOME!

Fr. Vic rulz the Wii tennis tournament, even while seated (dang, he is really good!) Jamie is also quite an accomplished Wii Sport champion. Even in real life Jamie is quite a sport champion, notice the medal she won in Volleyball earlier that day!

Something to think about

Now don't try to go to deep into thought about this but it is quite nice. For some reason I cannot believe Parker and Stone are part of this but I guess they are. Peace

Holy Thursday

(image by Sieger Koder)

This evening we will celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper. The Pope has already finished his. We will celebrate at 7:30. The Triduum is my favorite time of year. The Mass of the Lords Supper is second only to the Vigil. Tonight we hear wonderful readings that reflect themes of Eucharistic and service. This is the Mass as a kid when I wanted my feet to be washed, although it never happened. What a wonderful sense and model of service the Lord provides. On this night it is my most happy duty to wash the feet of others and to remind them that:

"I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Then they go immediately and serve others. It is humbling to be a part of this wonderful Mass, in persona Christi. It sets the Triduum off so well. For a few more reflections you can go here, here, here, here and here. Also here is a poem titled Jesus Speaks I by J. Janda:

I give you
life
I place you on

earth

for a very

special reason

but you won't
find out unless
you ask me what
the reason is

and talking
is so easy

The Triduum flows so wonderfully, it is a true joy to pray along the journey. I hope you will take this time to pray along. You can use the resources I gave earlier for Triduum, or use whatever you have to journey through the Triduum. Enjoy the Triduum it is a wonderful gift.

Lent is just a week away!

CC Photo: LarimdaME

Are you ready for Lent 2008? If you are like me you have thought about it but have not decided how this Lent will be something special. We have a week left, perhaps we should prepare ourselves??? (FYI Masses here at St. Matthew are 9am and 7pm) So what are you going to do? How are you going to use it as a time to change? Will sacrifice be too much? Will doing more not help? What are you going to do and more importantly how will your Lenten journey increase the Joy of the Lord in your heart? If you have ideas use the comments to share them, lets see if we can support each other on our common journey during Lent.

Here is something, attributed to Thomas Merton, I got from a priest friend around New Year's but I think it works well for Lent. Maybe it will stimulate some thoughts for you.

Pay attention to people.
Fewer things honor people as much, or make them peaceful more readily, or give them an experience of their worth as clearly as paying attention to them.

Verbalize human experience and teach others to do this.
The more inarticulate we are, the more likely it is that we might seek violence as a way of expressing ourselves.

Reject excessive activity, accomplishments or success.
There is something belligerent about frenetic action.

Practice contemplation.
Contemplation is defined as life review, in silence, connecting our reflection with the ideals we have not achieved, making amends for things we regret, and thanking God for the good we were given, the losses we survived, the love we received beyond all measure.

Embrace silence.
Silence is shattered not by speaking but by eagerness and anxiety to be heard by others. Silence invites others to speak. Genuine silence is creative and liberating.

Resist consumerism.
A desperate need to possess is a form of violence.

Lose, then let go.
We are acculturated to go from success to success. Losing gracefully, even in terms of the long run, is a remarkable virtue. Clutching at success, when letting go is necessary, destroys us.

Read Scripture.
If you were to read Scripture reflectively for only five minutes a day, your life would be enriched. Scripture makes the norm, not whatever is presently fashionable, but what is truly enduring. It roots us and gives us peace amid the turbulence of passing crises we face.

Maintain a sense of history.
We become frantic when we see life in the short run. In the longer view of human history or even our personal histories, patterns of meanings emerge. The good does prevail.

Hold the conviction that people are basically good.
People must be reliable or else the Gospel would not have lasted; Christ would have been forgotten. Much of the violence done in the name of religion has been premised on the idea that people are evil.

May the energies of your heart invite the Holy Spirit to visit you with ever-increasing frequency for dispassion. Eastern Orthodox benediction.

what is this about?

Ok so at the Mass on last Monday this guy was in front of us the whole time. It kinda bugged me, what with aligning Christianity with warfare. This is not the first time I have been troubled by it, but it just kind of bothered me at the Mass for Life. Anyway, what do you think. Oh, and since I am asking for comments. When you are done commenting, just make sure to leave your name at the end of the post or sign up for an account so I know who you are. So again, what do you think?

And if you cannot read his shirt (click photo for larger view) it says:
Christian life is WARFARE. Hit hard, with heroic virtue. Hit fast with the 10 commandments. Hit often with vigilant prayer.

Oh and when you read it remember who said it first, and in what setting.

Photos still not working correctly, so

Well the way I post photos is still not working, I am hopeful it will be working by days end. So, here is a nice post over at Vox Nova, Yves Congar. Enjoy

Update: It is working now.