Who Are We?

I apologize for the length of this post. This afternoon I received some upsetting e-mails and this is my response and reflection to them:

As young American Catholics we need to ask ourselves “who are we?” in the broader context of the Church. What do we truly believe and how are we carrying out the gospel message? Today we are faced with many inculturation questions: in our personal lives, our work, and our parishes, and this is not just in Texas.

Two weekends ago my parish began to introduce a new Mass setting, “Misa Luna.” The bishop wants all parishes in the diocese to incorporate this into Sunday worship because this is the setting that will be used at diocesan-wide events. There is an option for doing it bilingual, and my parish has decided to use it. Most of the parts we sing are in English and only a couple we have sung in Spanish. They continue to introduce new parts week by week.

Today I, and many other staff members, received an e-mail from a young married woman. She said she is very sad today because her family is leaving the parish I work at. They have been here for 8+ years and it is where she went through RCIA. Her reason for leaving is the switch to singing bilingual Mass parts. She said she was sad, but her responses are what sadden my heart: “If you don't speak English, I think you should go to a Spanish-Speaking or Vietnamese-Speaking parish. We will drive farther and go out of our way to attend an entirely English-Speaking church because that's the language we speak.” And in a response to my e-mail she said:

“Why is it okay to have completely Spanish-Speaking Parishes, completely Vietnamese-Speaking Parishes but no completely English-Speaking parishes? Why do my children have to learn a language that is different from that of our Constitution, that which is printed on our Dollar Bill, that which our President delivers his national addresses in?”

I do not know why this woman has such strong feelings and perhaps she had a negative experience in the past. But isn’t this the American attitude that we need to fight against? Who are our neighbors? And if we cannot accept and welcome our neighbors into our lives and into our places of worship, then who are we as Christians? Paul fought against similar attitudes: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

We cater our world to what we want. We fit things into our own boxes and make decisions and actions that are selfish and uncaring of others. Sure, communication would be easier if we all spoke English, but what about the beauty of inculturation. If we simply pass on the opportunity to learn about other cultures, the rich traditions they carry, and even their language, then we are rejecting our neighbor, our brother, our sister.

If we answer the question that Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” and proclaim him to be our Messiah, the Christ, and we profess to be followers of him, then we need to answer the question “Who am I?” in light of those responses.

Mindfulness

Yesterday I had a phone conversation with the Associate Director for Echo; it was our fall "check-up," to see how things are going. We had a small discussion on mindfulness because I told her about my unwinding ritual of drinking tea every night. She brought up something she read on living mindfully...always being aware to the moment we are living in.

Well, ironically, today has been very unmindful. Oy. I completely forgot about my birthday lunch: some of the ladies from my parish wanted to take me out a day early. This morning I figured I wouldn't go into work until later since I'll be there late because of religious ed classes, so I did some homework at the house and hoped to get in to the office by 12. At 12:10 I was about 4 minutes away and my mentor called, wondering where I was. Oops. I was planning on getting to the office and finishing my homework, which I needed to post by 2pm. And then...lunch... Well, turns out I got my homework done in 15 minutes, though it can't be very good.

I feel very anxious right now. I've been thinking about a guy too much! But how do you get someone off of your mind!? I need to relax...breathe...and be mindful of this day.

Tomorrow is my birthday. :)

Ugh, homework.

Here I am, back at it again. My last on-line class for my M.A. through Notre Dame. Praise the Lord! I'm working on my discussion post right now, which is supposed to be 300 words. I have 200 so far, not too shabby since I haven't finished it yet! The only thing is that we're studying Thomas Aquinas right now. I cannot wait to get to the other part of the course, but that will be in 5 more weeks... Thomas is great, but way too intellectual for my own good! I'm taking my sweet 'ol time working on this assignment. My Pandora station helps get me through it. An Echo friend suggested Joshua Radin and I love the music that comes with it! It's very chill and occasionally it plays more upbeat songs. It's a great station for work, besides the praise and worship stuff. :)

Ok, back to discussing what the reality is of the Eucharist.

A sacrament is so termed because it contains something sacred... the Eucharist contains something which is sacred absolutely, namely, Christ's own body...
ST III.73.1 ad 3

Tea Time

This year is going to be extremely busy. Not only do I have a bit more responsibilty at my parish but I am also the new co-coordinator for our Diocesan Young Adult Council. Oy! That means an extra meeting once a month and lots of extra emails: checking up on the teams I'm "in charge" of and communications with the Core Team. And of course I have my lovely class I'm taking and all other social young adult events. *Takes a deep breath*

With that being said, the past few nights I have taken to brewing myself a cup of tea and reading a bit from a book. I think I'll be making this a nightly ritual, it is such a great way to unwind! I think I'll be reading something different every night, but all the books are related in some way to spiritual reading.

I'm also trying to stay on top of keeping my room clean. As an ENFP I tend to neglect common household chores - oops! I have been trying my best to stay on top of my dirty dishes, and I must say, I have been doing quite well! I'm still in the process of cleaning my room, which wasn't very clean when I left for Notre Dame for the summer. Not only will I feel more at peace with life once it is clean, I'll be able to relax even more in my room since I won't have to worry about picking stuff up and/or sorting through junk in drawers. It's a process... but I'm working on it! I have a lack of storage space in my room, even though have a walkin closet.

I'm looking forward to a peaceful year and learning how to manage my time better. That is a lifelong process, I know, because it can change when life events change.

He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:39

Back to Texas

I find myself once again in Texas. So many things are changing, developing, evolving, and growing. I only have one year left at St. Andrew's and I'll be looking for jobs in Fort Worth soon. I was reminded today of a youth minister position that is open in Denton...I might have to get my resume finished quickly to get it to them!

I look forward to this upcoming year with great anticipation. I will have more responsibility at St. Andrew's, being in charge of high school religious ed and helping out with middle school R.E. as well, and I am the new co-coordinator for the diocesan Young Adult Council. Hopefully this will all be manageable! I'm also looking forward to developing all of my relationships more this year. I met a plethora of amazing people last year and I'm sure this year will provide many opportunities to get to know them more, plus even new people! There is one particular relationship that might be developing into something more... :)

I should continue to unpack...I'm really bad at this game of getting clothes from my suitcase(s) to the closet.

"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances..."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Celebrity Awesomeness

Check out this news article on a celebrity who is speaking out on abortion:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518087,00.html#1

Leaky Eyes

I don't know what it is about the movie Raise Your Voice but it never ceases to be able to make me cry. The story revolves around Terri's brother dying in a car accident. He had just graduated from high school while she is a couple years younger than him. It's extremely sad to see her (and their parents) struggle and learn to cope with Paul's death. It's also a story about self-discovery. The last time I watched it I came home from college - I'm not sure if it was for the summer or on a break - but that night I balled my eyes out! I guess I needed a good crying. At this point in time I think the brother/sister relationship gets to me. In a couple months my brother will be deporting for Iraq. I'm sure he'll be fine, but he'll also be gone for 9 months (or something like that). Christmas is going to be quite strange without him there. Things get difficult enough splitting holidays now that my parents have been divorced. It's approaching five years now, but time doesn't solve all problems.

Things continually change in life but we have to keep on living. The most difficult part can be just that, figuring out how to live with the changes. It took awhile to transition to living here in Fort Worth and sometimes I feel as if I'm still in that transition.

A Simple Quote

Here I am, in my office on a Sunday afternoon, waiting to go to the 12:30 Mass. Between RCIA and Mass I decided to pick up a book I had briefly began a month or two ago called "The Sun and Moon Over Assisi." It is the story of one man's conversion sparked by the Franciscan way of life and he then writes on the lives of both St. Francis and Clare. In the book he quotes another man who wrote one of the many biographies on St. Francis.

Paul Sabatier, in his introduction to his Life of St. Francis of Assisi, writes: "One must not ask too much of history. The more beautiful a sunrise is, the more difficult it is to describe it."

I found that last sentence to be rather profound and full of truth. It's also touching to me because two weeks ago I saw two of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in awhile, they were simply breathtaking and I did not want to turn my gaze away. Unfortunately, one of the evenings I was driving, so I had to pay attention to the road! But in those moments I reflected on the beauty of God and how he wants to romance us in such little ways.

March Storm

The clouds roll in
kissing the wings of birds in flight.
Branches swaying at its whisper,
the shadow from sun a delight.

Rain dances down
soaking into the worn grass.
Puddles forming at its touch,
the mirror image broken like glass.

Thunder storms in
breaking the silence of night.
Dreams cowering under covers,
the wait is long for the light.

Linking Posts

It turns out that I never finished my thoughts on gratitude... I think things got quite busy that day. Today I spent the most time and energy on a blog post in awhile and it has the length to prove it! I thought I'd link to it from this blog. So here it is:

http://waitingforpursuit.blogspot.com/2009/03/beauty.html