Here is a cute video about Advent … Gangnam style! 🙂 From those wonderful people at XT3! 🙂
Category Archives: Critical Mass
Chapel Chat – November 2012
Chapel Chat – November 2012 from Mark Salloum on Vimeo.
With Fr. John Riccardo and Fr. Steve Mateja.
What Are You Doing for the Year of Faith?
Today marks the beginning of the Year of Faith! It runs from 10/11/12 to 11/24/13. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of Vatican II, as well as the 20 year anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict offered Mass this morning for the Year of Faith and NBC News has some great pictures of the Mass posted.
The USCCB also has a great website with information and materials to help us grow in faith during this year. They state that during this year, Catholics are asked to study and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and the Catechism so that we may deepen our knowledge of the faith.
There is also plenary indulgences available during the Year of Faith. Here are the details on it:
(A) Each time they attend at least three sermons during the Holy Missions, or at least three lessons on the Acts of the Council or the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in church or any other suitable location.
(B) Each time they visit, in the course of a pilgrimage, a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church or a holy site designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith (for example, minor basilicas and shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Apostles or patron saints), and there participate in a sacred celebration, or at least remain for a congruous period of time in prayer and pious meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary and, depending on the circumstances, to the Holy Apostles and patron saints.
(C) Each time that, on the days designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith, … in any sacred place, they participate in a solemn celebration of the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours, adding thereto the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form.
(D) On any day they chose, during the Year of Faith, if they make a pious visit to the baptistery, or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism, and there renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.”
Given the call to Catholics, I found a website that will send you a portion of the Catechism, I think every day, so that you can read through it completely within the year. You can sign up to participate in this here.
In addition, I want to use this time to really grow in my faith. Fr. John gave a talk yesterday on prayer and emphasized that our prayer should be a wrestling with God. After all, how am I going to conform my will to His if I am not willing to bend it to fit the mould more closely? Conforming my will is going to cost me. If I’m not grappling with something, then maybe I’m not really growing. Perhaps, if it is easy, I am only superficially accepting of God’s Truths. I’m really going to have to change things if I want to have a deeper relationship with the Lord. But what relationship is more worth fighting for? And it is a fight. I fight that I will be having with myself. As I try to move from where I am to where I want to be.
I know that this year I will be adding things and changing things in my life to try and draw closer to God. I am the type of person who likes to say, “I will do this once a week/month, etc.,” but I don’t think that setting a schedule is going to help me. Too often, I miss a “deadline” for one reason or another and use that as an excuse to give up on the whole project. So, I’m not going to do that. I will introduce new things as they come to me, and as I feel that God wants me to. And I ask you, my friends, to help hold me accountable. To hold each other accountable in whatever it is that we decide to do to grow in our faith this year. If I leave things just up to me, I’ll probably let myself off the hook sometimes. 🙂
So, let’s fight this battle together. I’ve got your back and you’ve got mine!
God bless your fight and your journey!
Happy Anniversary, Uganda!
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Uganda’s independence from the U.K.
Why do I know this?
This weekend, our parish was visited by Msgr. John Baptist Ssebayigga from St. Kizito’s parish in Uganda, which is one of our sister parishes. He gave a lovely homily at all the the Masses, reminding and calling us to support each other, not just materially, but in prayer. It may be difficult to remember a people so far away. They may become abstract, remote. Having him visit us makes them present to us and reinvigorates us to our commitment. As, I’m sure, the stories that he will return with will reinvigorate his parish in their support of us.
According to Wikipedia, Christians make up the majority of the Ugandan population, with the majority of Christians being Catholics. St. Kizito Parish is named after St. Kizito, the youngest (at 13 years) of the Martyrs of Uganda — burned alive in 1886.
One of the goals that Msgr. shared with us for St. Kizito’s is the construction of a youth center, so that the kids have a safe place to go, and a new parish house, so that they can house more priests to serve the large Catholic population.
To emphasize the things that we have in common, he noted that while we have the Great Lakes, they have the Great Lake: Lake Victoria, which is the second largest freshwater lake in the world — second only to our Lake Superior. 🙂
The Wings of the Wind
The passage today reminds us that the Holy Spirit can take us places we’ve never expected. And, like the wind, we can’t predict the direction that we will be going.
While the imagery and language of “the wings of the wind” is a little … sappy … for my taste, I understand the meaning of it. Now that it is September, change is impending for a lot of people. For kids, it means a new school year. For me, it means the end of one of the best jobs I’ve had.
I’ve been working on the MiChart project since Halloween last year. Almost a year. And the group of people with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working have been like family to me. I’ve loved the job, too. It’s been challenging in the best ways and exciting. Besides my team, I’ve gotten to work with a lot of different people throughout the Health System and in the Epic/consulting world. I’ve made new friends and learned new things.
But my time with the project is almost at an end. In two weeks from today, in fact, I will be embarking on a new chapter of my life at work. I don’t know what the Lord has in store for me, but I trust in His plan. May I be obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He seeks to guide me along the way.
The Spiritual Journey
Lately, I’ve been feeling far from God. There’s been good days, definitely some blessed days (aren’t they all?), but on average, I’ve felt as if I were floundering a bit and surely not where I’d like to be. But it wasn’t until I saw this picture that I really could put a finger on *exactly* what I was experiencing.
Yeah, her. The Woman with a Hemorrhage.
Not because of the chronic illness factor, although that is certainly appropriate. But more of her posture in this picture. Here, she is not merely reaching out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment.
She looks like she is wrapping herself around his calf.
That’s kind of how I feel.
I wish I could be strong and follow Him. But I’m kind of weak in that at the moment. So, I’m going to crawl until I reach Him, wrap myself around His leg, and let Him drag me along the way. Hopefully, at some point, I’ll be able to walk again. But until then, I will bump along the way, getting a little scraped and dirty, but clinging on.
A Blessed Day
I’ve been wanting to go to confession for several weeks now, but at every turn it seems that something would come up. The longer I went, the more I wanted to go. I used to go about every 2 weeks to my pastor for confession, but lately have been going to confession Friday evenings after work at Christ the King. However, after being frustrated in my attempts for so long, I wanted to go to confession to a special place.
Don’t get me wrong, God’s grace is God’s grace no matter the location or the priest who channels his grace.
But.
I’m not the kind of person who *feels good* after confession. I don’t feel “light as a feather,” or anything like that. I just feel like me. Although, when I go to St. Bonaventure’s for some reason, I feel God’s love and mercy more than usual. It’s not uncommon for me to exit confession crying. For some reason, there I have a better sense of my sin, and therefore an increased humility and gratitude for what the Lord is willing to forgive me.
After confession today, the day just seemed to … slow down, in a way. I lingered over sights and appreciated everything that I encountered.
First, I spent some time in prayer before the tabernacle.
Then, as I was exiting, I noticed a garden space. At first, the door to go in was locked, but one of the priests saw that I was trying to go in and opened the door for me. The flowers inside (outside? The garden was an interior courtyard with no roof) were beautiful.
When I first arrived, there was no one in line for confession and no priest in the room, so I had about 30 minutes to kill before the next scheduled confession time. I wandered through the exhibit on Fr. Solanus and then wandered through the gift shop. I ended up getting a rosary bracelet and a couple of postcards.
On the way out, after my confession, I took a couple pictures of the door.
The building stone:
And Sister Death, which is a sculpture of this twisted black piece of a tree.
The sense of peace, quiet joy and reflection stayed with me throughout the day. It was wonderful. I felt His love surround me wherever I went. And I kept receiving signs of love throughout the day. I wish I could hold on to that feeling forever. 🙂
Sammy Qs
I’m reading from 1 Samuel today and I’ve come up with a few questions.
1. In 1 Sam 3:3 it says, “The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the Ark of God was.”
First, what did they mean by “the lamp of God”? And was it something that was allowed to go out at night and be re-lit in the morning?
Second, if he was sleeping where the Ark of God was… Does this mean he was sleeping in the Holy of Holies? Or is it just saying that he was somewhere in the tent? Not that I personally have anything against sleeping snuggled up next to the tabernacle myself… 🙂 In fact, I often wish that Adoration chapels have little cots and that sleeping in the presence of God was not some frowned-upon event.
2. 1 Sam 3:14, “…the iniquity of the house of Eli will never be expiated by sacrifice or offering.”
This seems quite harsh. What does this mean for the hope of salvation for the sons of Eli? Is it possible to still hope that they had a last-minute conversion of heart at the point of death?
Also, this both makes me think seriously about the sins that I commit — I would never want God to say that of me — and be ever grateful that we have recourse to the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Later in the text, Samuel relays to Eli what God had said, and he replies, “He is the Lord; He will do what He deems right.”
What an amazing response! To give your fate over to God like that without whining or pleading? I think this is overlooked by so many people. I know I have read it many times without really understanding what it must have taken for Eli to respond in this way. For me, my priest has instructed me to pray for holy indifference, so that I can pray as Mary did, “Let it be done to me according to Your will.” In this, I can only hope and pray that I will one day be able to put my fate in the Lord’s hands so completely, with holy indifference and complete trust that His plan is the best for me. I know this intellectually, but emotionally, I still have my preferences.
Preparing for Eternal Life
Fr. John suggests that we bring a Bible, paper and pen to church on Sundays. This way, when God speaks to us during the readings or homily, we can write these things down, reflect upon them and put them into work in our lives.
I haven’t reached this point yet.
But, for the past two Masses, I *have* had a couple index cards in my purse….
Yesterday, I caught the 5 pm Mass at St. Anastasia. Fr. JJ was celebrating and gave a homily on John 6, where Jesus says that whoever eats of Him will have eternal life. He went on to give a story of a family on a cross-Atlantic voyage, rationing on bread and cheese, who only finds out at the end of the journey that a sumptuous feast was included in the price of their tickets. So, they could have been eating like kings the whole way. Not only do we sometimes miss the “feasts” that God sends our way during this journey on earth, but we also go the other way and take them for granted — not seeing them as the precious gifts that they are.
In what way to we take Him for granted?
Fr. JJ also reminded us that partaking of the Eucharist is an intimacy, an exchange between people who love each other, and not a one night stand experience. But how many of us treat Communion as a Wham-Bam event? Leaving church as quickly as we can, without so much as a Thank You?
Finally, he left us all with a question. What are we doing — how are we planning — to be a better person?
Because growing in holiness isn’t just going to happen. We have to work on it. We can’t just say, “Oh, I want to pray more.” We have to deliberately set aside the time and DO IT. Are we willing to put forth the effort?
She was Conceived at Conception
I went to the 7 pm Mass at St. Anastasia for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let me just say, it was one of the more amusing Masses that I’ve been to in a while! 🙂
I arrived about an hour early and sat in the darkened church, reading a book on prayer. As it got closer to Mass time, Holly pulled down the flag, indicating that they needed Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, of which I am one. So, I put down my book and wandered over to the usher’s room. She saw me and said, “I knew that putting up the flag would get you out of your seat!” !!!
After the start of Mass, the lector began to proclaim the Word. Or, um, to tell us a scary campfire story. He was VERY expressive. Lots of dramatic pauses. And even a different “voice” for the Voice of God. Well, I certainly paid attention. But I’m not sure that I paid as much attention to *what* he was saying as to *how* he was saying it.
And then for Fr. Eric’s homily. He started off well with, “She was conceived at conception.”
Very true. And she was probably born at birth as well.
Then, he spoke of angels. And how 1/3 of the angels fell. Which means that 2/3 of the angels remained. This is what I was thinking: If each of us gets our own guardian angel and since there are twice as many angels as demons, does this mean that there is only one demon for every two people (relatively speaking)? This gives us even more reason to hope.
Fr. Eric also spoke of how God does not see our flaws and our failings, but rather our potential.
With all of the emphasis on how Mary is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant, this led me to another way to think of Mary. Not only was she sinless, not only did she have incredible faith and trust in God, not only does she continually point the way to her Son, not only does she teach us how to be a disciple, but Mary also teaches us how to be a tabernacle. Through Mary’s example, we can better know how it is that we are to live and have the Holy Spirit of God and — literally, physically, via the Eucharist — Jesus dwell within us.
