Presentation Counts

I am now a guest blogger at this amazing new blog, "Wake. Breathe. Bleed. Live".  My friend created it as a resource for those who work in ministry, "A means to feed yourself, so that the world may be fed. With so much demand on ministers to be the ones to continually expend themselves to feed the flock, we felt it was important to offer a place to be able to come, read, reflect and grow."

I figured that since I am posting substantial posts on that blog, something that I rarely do on my own blog, I could just post them here as well.  This is the most recent one that I have written for the blog:


Life’s all about presentation.


For example, consider the women in this photograph:

The sign, along with their frowns and looks of death, clearly reveal their opposition to liquor. As I can endorse the moderate consumption of alcohol, it is clear that these women will not be attending my St. Patrick’s Day celebration. They are simply standing for their cause and practicing their freedom of speech, but in the end, I don’t think we can assume that this poster was effective. As the quote states that surrounded the picture in the email when I received it, “If you were around in 1919 and came upon this poster, I mean, seriously, wouldn’t you just keep drinking?”

In my short time in ministry, many great publishers, organizations, and companies have presented their products to me. It is exciting to see these groups reaching out to modern man in ways that will attract him. Whether it be online accessibility, modern color schemes, “hip” language, or eye catching graphic design, these products are certainly appealing to the audiences we are trying to serve. After considering program after program from organization after organization, I can’t help but be relieved to remember that the Church isn’t triumphant in winning souls because of its catchy slogans and attractive study materials. It is important to use our resources to reach out to people and develop relationships, but we must always use them in the context of the bigger picture.

In his encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, John Paul II said, “No darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it”(1). What does this mean? The Truth is what ultimately attracts human beings to Jesus Christ. These study programs can be fantastic tools to lead men and women of all ages to Christ, but only as much as they participate in the Truth.

When I consider the various study programs, I always ask myself, “Does the attraction of this product go beyond its physical appearances and convenience? When one is no longer entertained by the unessential details of this product, will it still continue to lead them closer to Christ?” The best and most successful study programs are those that, whether immediately or gradually, draw one to Christ rather than to a particular theologian, author, or famous speaker. If they aren’t essentially focused on Christ and the Truth, they may lead to momentary success but long term failure.

I am thankful for these programs and have found them useful in my ministries as much as the studies reach out to the way modern man lives, thinks, and relates to the Truth.. However, I am even more thankful that the human person is created to desire and seek the Truth and I can do nothing but guide them in their search.

Via Dolorosa: The Way of the Cross

My parents made sure that our family prayed the Stations of the Cross as part of our family Lenten devotion each year.  This is why I thought I would be somewhat prepared for my big trip overseas to participate in the Via Dolorosa marking Christ's journey to calvary.  What I experienced was very different than expected.

First of all, it was loud and busy.  It's funny how we make assumptions about things.  Clearly, because the stations of the cross are always in a quiet church with a reflective atmosphere, the "real thing" would offer the same sort of quiet solitude for prayer.  False.  The Via Dolorosa occurs along a path throughout the Old City of Jerusalem.  This means that we were traveling through the same streets as everyone who was simultaneously traveling to the store, school, or home.  In the background of all of our Bible readings were normal conversations as well as annoyed glances as we clumsily filled in around the stations and blocked the street from others.  Even more, the majority of this journey occured in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.  Instead of honoring Christ's  death within the open arms of Christian hospitality, we entered into his Passion in the streets of a foreign religion. 

So what was it that allowed me to enter into Christ's calvary with all of the noise, distractions, lack of hospitality?  The fact that it would have been exactly the same at the time of Jesus.  When Jesus was condemned to death, there wasn't a crowd of old ladies following Him with their rosary beads.  Instead there was noise.  The citizens and guests of the area were trying to go about their everyday lives when they had to move aside for a man carrying his cross toward the outskirts of the city.  He was not embraced by the hospitality of a group of people, but rather, just one woman, Veronica.  As Mary watched her son struggling with His cross, she wasn't amongst a symphathetic crowd.  She knew who was to be crucified that afternoon, but the world did not stand in reverent silence as the Son of God passed through them, scourged, bloodied and head toward is brutal death.  In the same way, the world did not stop for us.  

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre had its own surprises in store for us.  This church marks the location of Golgotha where Christ was crucified and also contains the sepulchre where Jesus was buried. In the same way that the streets were full of noise, many chattering groups of people gathered in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Even more, the space in this church was divided between several different Christian churches who don't particularly like each other. This meant that when the one group began evening prayer, another group gradually got louder to try and over power the other one.  As a Christian who is relying on these fellow Christians to protect and take care of the holy sites, I was glad to see the high level of maturity between the groups [sarcasm].  Sometimes it is just best to forgive and forget.  But anyway, back to Jesus.

The last several stations along the Via Dolorosa occured in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  We were fortunate to visit the Holy Land at a time when there are very few pilgrims making the trip overseas, so for the most part we didn't have to work around large congested groups of people. Nonetheless, we had to wait for short amount of time, probably half an hour at the most, to make it to the rock of Golgotha.  Even though I was on a once in a lifetime pilgrimage walking along the same roads as our Lord, I became annoyed with the wait. It was later in the afternoon, and to be honest, I was probably hungry and ready to head back to the hotel for a nap. 

During this wait, however, I noticed one of the girls in our group crying as she waited.  I remember wondering how she was able to concentrate and focus on Jesus' death with the distractions of the noise and traveling fatigue.  Later on as she was talking to the group, I realized that it was because she had connected our wait to that of Jesus' own suffering on the cross.  While I was standing and craving pita bread and hummus, she had considered the long hours that Christ spent on the cross.  Jesus had to wait, too. 

We adore you, oh Christ, and we praise you. 

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Winning.

Thank you Charlie Sheen.

I'm bi-winning, too.

winning.

The Celtic Tenors

I recently attended a Celtic Tenors concert.  If you ever have an opportunity to see them I would highly, highly recommend it.  They sing a very diverse range of music from traditional celtic-y songs like "Danny Boy" and "Fields of Athenry" to American classics like Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally".  What made the concert an even more incredible experience was the fact that they were joined by the local symphony.  Let's just say I had goose bumps several times throughout the evening.  After the show they walked around and spent time talking to everyone!  As my sister said, "That was a good dose of Irish charm for the evening!" 

Check out some of their music:

Finnegan's Wake



Danny Boy

You should probably check out their website to see when they are coming to your area.

Say Cheese!

My LIFE Family Picture:



Please note that all of the children are sitting in the back because they are not old enough to sit in the front with their parents.  What a happy [and safe] family!  

The "F.H."

As I consider my future husband, I realize that I need a man who...

....puts the toilet seat down




...can spell (and protect me from warthogs)

...is an Italian barista




...has a connection to Dick Vermeil so that I could invite him to the wedding




...bears a striking resemblence to one of the following men:

           


...likes to dance




These are just some of the essentials.

Oink.

Tonight I am going to write about ham steak.  Not because it has a poor reputation that I am trying to heal, but simply because it seems to lack any reputation at all.  After introducing yet another friend to this easy, simply, flexible, and yummy meal, I decided that it was time.  Yes, it was time that all of those who may randomly stumble upon this blog while googling things such as, "easy...simple...flexible...meal," have the opportunity to consider ham steak as an option for their next home cooked meal.  When it comes to cooking this meat, your imagination is your only limitation.  It can be topped with basic BBQ sauce or smothered with brown sugar and honey.  For all of those out there who dream of someday being Farmer John's wife, remember that a perfect ham steak might just be the way to his heart. 

So there you have it.  Before you rush to thank me....you are welcome.  Praise God for the pork.