Joy Amid Tragedy?

Up until yesterday, I didn't have time to sit down and really reflect on what happened on Friday. My excuse is that I was busy and didn't have time to read the details of the story. All I knew was that there was a school shooting and the victims were innocent children who were 6 and 7 years old. Tragic and sad? Yes. But why read more and reflect on it if I'll get sad in return? And that is exactly one of the many problems we have in this country.

Our deacon talked about it at the end of his homily on Sunday, and that's when it really struck me. 27 lives taken right before Christmas. Their families can't get them back. Their families will be suffering grief and mourning the loss of their loved ones while the rest of the world celebrates this usually joyful time. And I thought to myself, how crazy that this happened right before Gaudete Sunday...the Sunday of Advent when we're supposed to be rejoicing and focusing on joy and the coming of Christ. And the songs we sang at Mass today were about God's goodness. Good can come from anything...but it will be difficult to find the good in this.

After an event with middle school youth, I finally sat down at my computer at work and read up on the tragic events of last Friday. I became teary eyed thinking about all of it and also hearing about the brave teachers and administrators of the school. They are certainly martyrs. The reality of the event slowly started to sink in. After getting into my car and driving, I just wanted to cry, but held back for my safety on the road and for my trip to the grocery store. I didn't want to look at people, but I did and offered a smile, and everyone smiled back. Small signs of hope and joy.

We can choose to let it affect us or we can choose to ignore it, and I think all too often people choose the latter. It's what I did at first, but then I remembered that we're all connected and if we don't let this break our hearts, then what will? We cannot become complacent in the world we live in, staying inside of our own little bubble and thinking things can't/won't affect us. But we can't hide. We cannot become emotionless robots. Change only comes when we love, not when we fight and argue over rights and who is to blame. Our world is lacking in love, and it all begins at home. Unfortunately tragedies will happen, whether from nature or mentally ill individuals, but we have to come together as one human race for comfort and to find peace once again.

"At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing...You changed my mourning into dancing." Psalm 30:6, 12

"Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy." John 16:20

God has made promises to us through His written word. "Joy" appears numerous times throughout Scripture, even paired with mourning. We can keep faith and take hope in these words and promises. Life is difficult, no one ever said it would be easy, but if we seek it out and seek God, we can experience joy.

Eternal rest, grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

Below is a poem I found on Facebook:

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38,
When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"This is heaven," declared a small boy. "We're spending Christmas at God's house."
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then he opened His arms and He called them by name.
And in that moment was joy that only heaven can bring.
Those children all flew into the arms of their King.
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of Mom and Dad."
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below,
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.
Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let my power and presence re-enter this land!"
"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"Come now my children, let me show you around."
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran,
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"In the midst of the darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Awesome Video about Mary

The folks at Busted Halo have done it again! I love their videos and their newest is "Mary in 2 Minutes."
Check it out!

JPII on Prayer

Last week a new (rather, new to me) quote from Bl. John Paul II was brought to my attention, and now I'm slightly obsessed with the quote because it is so true:

"Every day dedicate some time to conversing with God. This is a sincere proof of your love for Him, for love always seeks to be near the beloved. This is why prayer should be put before everything else. Whoever does not understand this, or does not put it into practice, cannot excuse himself by saying he has no time; he has no love."
Bl. JPII, Homily on April 7, 1987

It makes perfect sense! And those words also hit home; how many days have I gone through the motions without taking time to stop for prayer? Or think that because I went to daily mass,  I'm set for the rest of the day? I am not a morning person, so the thought of prayer right when I wake up isn't really processed by my brain... but after reading that quote I've been starting off my mornings with some prayers of gratitude and intercessions. Faith and keeping up our prayer life can be difficult especially in our world that is driven by "being busy" with everything. And working for the Church doesn't always help either because I plan lessons and prayers and am surrounded by Catholic stuff all day, that I just want to crash and relax when I get home, not feel like I'm doing work. I know other youth ministers feel the same way... which is why it's so important to remember these words of JPII and ground ourselves in prayer and in that love relationship that God desires of us.

Have we lost Courage?

Today I had a high school bible study and we read Acts 3-4. We discussed a variety of things concerning those chapters (and the previous ones), but in the end we focused on courage and being bold in our faith. After Peter and John were arrested for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, I'm sure a lot of followers were fearful they, too, would be arrested. So they all prayed for boldness in faith and in preaching it.

I asked the group who or what is an image of courage for them, and they didn't have many answers... have our youth become complacent to what real courage is? Heck, courage in general? Do they not have anyone in their lives who stand up for something, or do they just not realize courage when they see it? The first two people who come to mind for me are my brother and my friend John, who both served in the military and did tours in Iraq. I have high regard for our brothers and sisters serving in the military. But even praying outside of Planned Parenthood clinics is an act of courage. Those who defend the faith do so courageously.

When asked what they could do to be more courageous, one high school senior said that nothing comes to mind because today we aren't asked to die for our faith. He mentioned it's only little things we do. He didn't realize that even doing those little things can be seen as acts of courage (until I mentioned it to the group). We did talk about praying before meals out in public; about half the group does so on occasion. It is in the little things that we can be courageous. Heck, sometimes I feel that even wearing my cross and miraculous medal around my neck is an act of faith that some might look down on.

How do we teach this generation about courage? We listened to the song "Courageous" by Casting Crowns, and the lyrics that stick out to me are: We were warriors on the front lines, standing unafraid, but now we're watchers on the sidelines, while our families slip away. We have forgotten the real reason for Church and worship and I know I even have times of complacency in my own life. It's time to be courageous.

The New Kid

As another year of Sunday Night Youth Group starts up we are blessed to have a new group of youth, as well as our returning students, join us on a faith journey. And similar to most youth groups, some youth want and choose to be there while others are coerced or forced to attend by their parents. The youth in the latter group often open up eventually and start to have a good time, while others continue to sit in the sand on the shore, refusing to get their feet wet by the tide.

This year we have two brothers who are new to the program. One is a freshman and the other is a sophomore. Turns out their parents recently went through a divorce and they changed/transferred parishes. The younger brother seems content with being at youth group and is talkative with new people. The older brother...he's a different story. For the sake of this (public) blog, we'll call him Jonah, because I'm sure the only thing he wanted to do on the first night was run in the opposite direction.

Our first youth group was three weeks ago. Jonah sat by himself at a corner table with his arms crossed. If you asked him any questions, he would only shake or nod his head. We played some games and did ice breakers that night, but since there were 40 other youth present, I don't know how much Jonah participated. When the night was over I wasn't sure if he had a learning disability or if he just really didn't want to be there. As you already know, it was the latter. I wanted to make it my personal mission to break him. Ok, not in a bad way, but to make him feel welcome and to get him to realize that we want him at youth group.

Week two rolls around and Jonah, once again, sat at that corner table. During "gathering time" I approached him in another attempt to strike up a conversation. I asked about his week but didn't get much of a response. Then I told him I liked the cross he was wearing. He said "thanks." Then I asked where he got it from and he told me the parish they were previously at gave it to him as a going away gift. I was so amazed that he spoke that I became the speechless one. I was ecstatic! At the end of the night we learned that the small group that Jonah was in got him to laugh. Another joyous occasion!

I don't know all the details, but I think his mom told him to try out youth group and if he didn't like it at all, then he wouldn't have to keep going. Well he came back last night for our third week. This time I was at the sign-in table and greeted him with a big smile. We also did something different...we split all the youth into groups and asked that they go to their assigned table right away for dinner (instead of eating with the same people they always eat with). We want the youth to get to know each other better and we think it worked quite well. Jonah actually went to his assigned table (and asked where it was). I don't know how involved he was in the meal conversation, but I'd like to hope he was involved a bit. During Br. Ron's talk, Jonah was very engrossed in the story about St. Joseph of Cupertino. I had Jonah in my small group for the discussion questions. I couldn't get a response from my questions except for head nods, shakes, and shrugs. But once we started talking about Homecoming words came out of his mouth. I also found out he likes baseball. At the end of the night I thanked him for coming and told him I was glad he came out. I also made just a random comment, "oh, that's where your name tag is!" (since it was on his pants and not his shirt) and he actually smiled. On the inside I definitely looked like this:

So then I was thinking...I'm trying to make Jonah feel extremely welcomed and that he is wanted here at youth group...but we should be doing that for every youth! In small ways we do, but we should go out-of-the-way for every youth, not just those who don't want to be there. Youth are looking for community and for a place to belong. We should be welcoming each and every youth and thanking them for coming and telling them that we are happy they came out that night. I do a general "thank you, glad you came" thing, but we need to personalize it. I'll be sharing these reflections with the youth group team and I hope that together we can put fort an amazing effort at making each youth feel like they are wanted there on Sunday nights, whether they already know it or not. While it helps to have awesome lessons, fun games, and engaging praise and worship, sometimes the most important things at youth group are the small things: feeling welcomed, laughter at a joke, bonding that happens over dinner. By creating a safe space for our youth, we'll get them to come back and to eventually open up.

A Salute To Our Troops

Lately I've been reflecting on how our current troops and veterans are under-appreciated. I used to never give a second thought to our military men and women except on holidays honoring them. But then my brother joined the National Guard and he was sent to Iraq. I know what he did over there in general, but I'll never know the full effects of his tour there. And recently I've become great friends with a guy who was a Navy Corpsman and also served with the Marine Corps. He did three tours in Iraq and while he's more open to talking about it than my brother, there's still so much myself and others simply will not understand. And he even said he's just now realizing that.

I can't justly compare it to my time in Echo, but there are similarities in that only the 17 of us in Echo 5 will understand our bond and love and all the crazy things we experienced in our two years of the program. Even if some stories are shared about our troops overseas, we will never understand. And unfortunately, those effects of their service run deep. Our veterans are struggling when they come back, and knowing and caring about two of them breaks my heart thinking about their hardships.

Yes, sometimes I question the reasons for our US presence overseas, and yes, these men and women freely choose to enter the military now and know of the chances of going and serving a tour in the Middle East. But despite your own opinion on our military and the wars we're fighting, these men and women risk their lives and livelihood. And coming back home they risk the chance of ever having a normal life. I'm not trying to say we should "feel bad" for our veterans; what I'm trying to convey is that we all need to be more understanding and respectful of them. And thank them often.

Even those who are still in the military here in the states continue to serve their country with right duty and honor. The other day I came across a story about a marine who stood guard at the hospital room of a dying 12-year-old boy. That is honor. That is a true hero. That is what it means to be an American. Yet so many people have lost that... You can find the full story here: http://www.modernamericanheroes.com/tag/sgt-mark-dolfini/

At Country Jam, a three day music festival in my hometown, the country music artists did a great job of honoring and saluting our troops. They gave them shout outs, had them on camera, even brought them up on the stage at times. And Trace Adkins played one of his newer songs, Semper Fi, a song honoring the Marines. After the song, my brother said it didn't do justice to what the Marines actually do for our country. I think it's still great that they still write songs like that though.

To all those who have served, are serving, and will serve our country in one of the branches of the military, thank you. I don't say it enough and I don't pray for you all enough, but I hope to start doing so now.

Recognizing Volunteers

I always knew it was important to recognize our volunteers, no matter what sort of organization you're a part of, but I didn't realize the full impact until a couple weekends ago.

Every summer we attend DCYC, our Diocesan Catholic Youth Conference. Throughout the weekend awards are given out to youth and adults who have committed their time to youth ministry at their parish. Last year I didn't give any awards to my parish youth, so this year I decided to do so. Three went to high school youth who have been very involved in youth group this past year; they're always reliable and want to do more. I also gave a "Light of the World" award to one of my chaperones, a mom who has been a great help with my middle school youth ministry. Earlier in the summer I thought of giving her a gift card as a thanks for all she has done, but I think this award meant way more.

When her name was called out on Sunday morning, she was so surprised! She said she was going to cry because she was so honored. I don't think she did, but I was fighting back tears of joy at seeing how happy she was. I have been so blessed to have her support and volunteer time, but I probably didn't show my appreciation enough. That morning was definitely a reminder of the importance of recognizing and appreciating our volunteers. They do things because they want to and would volunteer even without recognition, but we still need to show our gratitude. Without our volunteers we wouldn't be able to do anything! So from the bottom of my heart, whether you volunteer at a church or different organization, thank you for all you do.

Brave

Last week I saw the new Disney/Pixar movie "Brave." The only thing I knew about the film beforehand was that it is not your typical princess movie. The wild-haired protagonist  wasn't looking for a prince charming, rather she sought out independence and freedom. Now I'm a fan of "traditional princess" movies, but I gave this a shot and thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

Here's a great review of the movie by a Word on Fire contributing author. There are some spoiler alerts, so be aware, but it has great lessons in it and I will definitely use this for a youth night some time!

http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/July-2012/Film-Brave-Shooting-for-her-own-hand.aspx

Faithful Simplicity

Today a Catholic Update article was placed in all of our mailboxes at the parish titled "Faithful Simplicity" by Susan K. Rowland. I wish I had received this a couple of weeks ago, then maybe I wouldn't have wore myself out and given myself a cold from being busy and stressed out!

The author talks about how the topic of "simplicity" has become quite popular over the years, which shows that our lives have become far too busy and complicated. Isn't that the truth! I can admit that even I love articles about organizing or "simplifying" my life!

"We cannot have outer simplicity in our homes and schedules without inner simplicity. And, if we are at peace inside, if we lean on and learn to trust God for our needs, our outer lives will reflect that."

Rowland gives five tips for simplifying:

1. "Start by keeping a simple, 15-minute, morning prayer appointment with God." I always have intentions of doing this, but my morning always seems to slip away from me. I'd like to actually try, perhaps it's best to have accountability prayer partners for this!

2. Find out what "faithful simplicity" means to you. In the article she listed questions to help people try to figure it out, such as: having less clutter around the house? less to do? buying less? getting your finances under control? going out less and enjoying relaxation at home more? seeing friends and family you have been too busy to fit in? saying no to things you don't care to do?

3. "Ask a friend to help you clear your clutter...then reciprocate by doing the same at your friend's home." They'd have to be a really good friend to help out with something like that!

4. "Start a stream-of-consciousness journal...writing about your emotional issues gets a lot of anger and confusion out of your head and onto a harmless piece of paper. Writing about your worries is a great life-simplier. This exercise can help you clarify problems, or it may simply allow you to vent and let go of anger." I'm a big fan of journaling, it definitely helps me see how I overreact but also lets me see how I've grown over the years.

5. "Get rid of old projects...give these things away to a thrift store or toss them out." Some people are great about finishing every project they start...others, like me, aren't the best! I always want to finish things, maybe if I just had more time! :)

What's Your Habit?

Today I finally got around to reading the Spring issue of Church Life, an online magazine put out by the Institute for Church Life through Notre Dame. I haven't finished all the articles (I got caught up watching cute YouTube videos like this one). What I did read was a great article on prayer by Larry Cunningham. He was one of the professors I had during my summers at Notre Dame for Echo.

One line that stuck out to me was, "For the Christian, prayer is not a discrete act done now and again. It is a way of life." How many times do we make it a single act done once in awhile, perhaps when things are rough? It is difficult forming the habit of prayer, but once we do it, we come into the act of "remembering God" easily and keep Him at the forefront of our minds and hearts.

Larry gave these practical tips for developing the habit of prayer:

1. Begin each day by remembering God and asking for grace for that day.
2. Cultivate the spirit of gratitude for the gifts we have received.
3. Remember others, especially those in need, and "lift them up" before God.
4. One small gesture is to sign ourselves with the sign of the cross; it is both an act of faith in the Holy Trinity and a prayer which says that we do all things "in the Name."

On the first day of the summer class I had with Larry, he told us the simple act of remembering God was prayer itself. I was definitely a fan of that statement! Sometimes it's the simple things that will lead us into habits. Another youth minister I know would tell people to begin the day by quoting from one of the psalms: "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." On days I don't want to get out of bed, that simple sentence helps motivate me to get up and start my day.

I know I've mentioned the Liturgy of the Hours before on this blog...it's something I used to do all the time in college, but I also had my friends to keep me accountable in praying it with them. It's more difficult when you don't have that community to pray with (in physical terms, of course we are never alone in our prayer). It's definitely one of my favorite forms of prayer because it brings peace to my day, whether it's morning, evening, or night. Here's to starting that habit again and making prayer a way of life!