Litany Lullaby

When my family immigrated here to the States, my family and I lived in Far Rockaway, New York. From what I remember, it's basically NYC, in Queens, I think. I remember that my then-only younger brother (there are two of them now) and I went to a St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School, a private Catholic school attached to St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish (which is now a Baptist church from what I hear). We lived in an apartment complex across from the East River, and I remember that most Saturdays, my family and I would go to the "beach" across the street and play in the sand. I also remember my dad trying to teach us how roller skate and ride a bike in the hallway. I remember trick-or-treating, celebrating Christmas, birthdays, and watching the fireworks during New Year's. But what I remember the most is that every single night, my family would pray the Rosary. Now when I say "pray the Rosary", I mean my parents would pray the Rosary and my brothers and I prayed our "kiddie" prayers: Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. And we always did this right before we would go to sleep. My brother and I would get into our bunk bed (I think I always had the top bunk), my parents would tuck us in, and then we would start praying. After we prayed our "kiddie" prayers together, my parents would sit down, face the little grotto that had a Santo Nino and a Mahal na Birhen, and they would pray the Rosary as we went to sleep. It became almost like a lullaby for me and my brother. It was not until much later when I finally learned how to pray the Rosary in RE that we started praying the Rosary together as a family. We did this every...single...night. I do not remember ever missing it. It was our thing, our nightly ritual. Even now, my family still prays the Rosary every night, and of course, I join them when I'm home.

Over the years, because of life and circumstance, our nightly ritual changed a little bit, but not much. When I was younger, after the Rosary, my parents would pray the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loreto. If you asked 5 year old me, I would have told you that all it was, was my dad saying some big words, and both of them saying "pray for us". But 5 year old me would have also told you that I remember the things my dad said, what I realize now to epithets of the BVM, were always pretty sounding, stuff like: "Tower of David", "Tower of Ivory", "Cause of Our Joy", "Singular Vessel of Devotion", and a bunch of other stuff. It was always around this time, when they were praying the Litany, that I started to fall asleep...knowing I was safe and in a good place (spiritually). I don't exactly remember when, probably a little after my baby brother was born, but eventually my parents stopped praying the Litany. They still prayed the Rosary, but the Litany stopped. I never asked why, but maybe I will someday. And over time, I had forgotten it. It wasn't actually until I was in college, when I just happened across it again, that it brought back all these wonderful memories. I think I was giving a talk on the Rosary and I wanted to show people how my family prayed it. So after a bit of web surfing, I just stumbled upon it. I was reading it, and all those pretty words came flooding back to me, as if they never left. And I guess in a way, they never did. In retrospect, the Rosary and the Litany, and my parents devotion to both, is what has probably heavily influenced my own strong devotion to Mama Mary. Being a mama's boy, I guess I see my own mother in the  Mahal na Birhen and vice-versa. But regardless, I am a Marianist, through and through. 

So now I come to the point of this post. I want to share with all of you...my lullaby. For those who don't know, a litany is basically a list. You have the Litany of the Saints, the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a whole host of other beautiful litanies that the Church gives us. But out of all, this will always be my favorite. It lists many of the different epithets of the Holy Mother, always with the invocation of "pray for us". Critics of prayer like this, both Catholic and non-Catholic, always criticize the repetitiveness of it. How can this be prayer, repeating the same thing over and over again? My question to them is: how is not? When we are praying for something, something important to us, we don't just say it once, right? We say it over and over and over again, hoping and praying that God would hear us. So to with this. As Catholics, we believe Mama Mary to be the greatest intercessor on our behalf, the Mother of God, exalted higher than all the saints and even all the angels. This is the Virgin to whom the angels proclaim "Hail, full of grace". As my priest says, "she has the ear of Christ", just as she did during the wedding at Cana. 

So here it is, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my lullaby:

Lord have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God, pray for us
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us
Mother of Christ, pray for us
Mother of divine grace, pray for us
Mother most pure, pray for us
Mother most chaste, pray for us
Mother inviolate, pray for us
Mother undefiled, pray for us
Mother most amiable, pray for us
Mother most admirable, pray for us
Mother of good counsel, pray for us
Mother of our Creator, pray for us
Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us
Virgin most prudent, pray for us
Virgin most venerable, pray for us
Virgin most renowned, pray for us
Virgin most powerful, pray for us
Virgin most merciful, pray for us
Virgin most faithful, pray for us
Mirror of justice, pray for us
Seat of wisdom, pray for us
Cause of our joy, pray for us
Spritual vessel, pray for us
Vessel of honor, pray for us
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us
Mystical rose, pray for us
Tower of David, pray for us
Tower of ivory, pray for us
House of gold, pray for us
Ark of the covenant, pray for us
Gate of Heaven, pray for us
Morning Star, pray for us
Health of the sick, pray for us
Refuge of sinners, pray for us
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us
Help of Christians, pray for us
Queen of Angels, pray for us
Queen of Patriarchs, pray for us
Queen of Prophets, pray for us
Queen of Apostles, pray for us
Queen of Martyrs, pray for us
Queen of Confessors, pray for us
Queen of Virgins, pray for us
Queen of all Saints, pray for us
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us
Queen of peace, pray for us
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us.
Pray for us, most holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.

O God, whose only begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech you, that while meditating of the mysteries of the most holy rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

During Easter:
God our Father, you give joy to the world by the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the prayers of his mother, the Virgin Mary, bring us to the happiness of eternal life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


And for any Latin fanatics out there like me, here is the Litany in Latin: Litaniae Virginis Maria


Thanks letting me take my trip down memory lane. My mother always says "the family that prays together, stays together". And even though, my family has had its fair share of problems, I firmly believe that our prayers, by the grace of God, have kept us together. If I ever figure out my vocation, and its to be a father and family man, I fully intend on praying every night with my family and spreading our tradition. But then again, even if I was Father, I think I'd still do the same thing. 


May this prayer be for you what it has been for me: a lullaby, soothing me, and letting me know that everything is ok. 


Dominus vobiscum.

Belgian folk print depicting the different names of the Blessed Virgin Mary said in the Litany of Loreto.

HHS Mandate: Not Just Religiously Wrong

Ok, ok, ok, ok! I am super-excited about this particular post for a lot of reasons:

  1. Makes me realize that maybe I should have been a Poli Sci major instead of Biology, but still pre-med.
  2. Talks about some things that we've discussed in my American Constitutional Development course.
  3. The HHS contraception mandate is not just religiously and more morally wrong, but unconstitutional.
  4. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is a BAYLOR BEAR! How awesome is that? Flinging that green and gold afar!

See the video of Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina (Baylor alum and a Baptist =)) rip into Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services (a "supposed" Catholic, but judging from the video...I'm not sure where she got her education) regarding the HHS mandate on contraception after the jump.

Hilarious Picture and Caption from a Better Blogger

From The Pinoy Catholic, a much, much Better Filipino Catholic Blogger: SNAPSHOT: What the Holy Father was saying.

I don't know why, but that picture and caption cracked me UP! Whew..dang funny. Lol. We should all be willing to make fun of ourselves as Catholics every once in a while.

FIN!

Bringing out a little of the old Spanish to say "I'm done!"...with the semester that is. This has been a really really rough year, for greater reasons other than difficult classes. But by the grace of God, the divine mercy of Christ, and the strength of the Holy Spirit, I got through it all, although not completely unscathed. I've lost many things, friendships included, but I've also gained some things, like an even more fervent belief that God will not put you through anything that you cannot get through. My faith has suffered alot, and it won't be until many years from now until I finally figure out if I come out of this better or worse. But by all initial estimates, I think I'm going to be ok.

Of course, now that the semester is over, that means that Finals are beginning. A few Dead Days and then BOOM! FINALS! Dreaded, dreaded Finals. Necessary evil, but evil nonetheless. I jest (kind of) since, as a student, my vocation is to my studies, and this gives me renewed strength to always do well and always glorify the Lord in the process.

So friends, as these dark and dreary days of endless studying, endless hunger, and endless insomnia begin, please pray for me. As always, let me know if I can pray for you.

Dominus vobiscum.

Bahaha! Man, I just love cartoons! This one is eerily accurate. Plus, it has my post title in it, "FIN!", and...there's zombies. For some reason, college kids are obsessed with zombies lately. Lol. But seriously...please pray for me!

Source: DeviantArt

Extra Credit: Pilipinong Katoliko

This was Spiritual/Cultural Autobiography for my World Religions class. I thought it was fairly decent and insightful. It took me awhile to write it, but my prof seemed to like it too. I thought this cartoon is pretty hilarious too. Read it after the jump.

Extra Credit: Response to NY Times Religion Articles

As part of my World Religions class, we had the opportunity for extra credit by writing a one-page response to religion articles in The New York Times. Yes, I know, I didn't really need to underline it, but since I'm about to post a class assignment on here, I thought I would try to be academically correct. Anywho, for those of you who have read the NY Times will know that being a crazy Northern liberal newspaper (it's not really, but what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't jokingly stereotype) it doesn't always have the most favorable view of any religion. That being said, that's why writing these articles were fun.

Studere et Ora: Helpful Prayers for Studying Students

Woo! It's that time of the year fellow students...drumroll please...FINALS!! And as this season of necessary evil rolls around for students of every age, where appetites increase and hours of sleep decrease (greatly, on both accounts), Holy Mother Church offers us spiritual food and rest, through the intercession of those holy men and women whose lives and actions are uniquely related to the needs of students. 

Prayer against Loneliness

Sometimes, you just feel a little lonely. Being so close to Finals, not knowing what do with my future (the discerning thing is getting more and more annoying and more and more confusing), pushing away some of my friends, and generally freaking out about the complicated state of my life in tribulation, have all led me to feel a little (understatement) lonely. Its like a dull heartache and it hurts. But in spite of all of this, I have hope...we have hope. The Church offers us many avenues out of our loneliness. St. Rita, patron saint of Impossible cases and against loneliness. Our Guardian Angels. The Blessed Sacrament in the sacrifice of the Mass or during a Holy Hour of Adoration. The Liturgy of the Hours. One of my favorite prayers against loneliness, however, is one I've only recently discovered. It is attributed to St. Raphael the Archangel, patron saint of Happy Meetings:

O Raphael, lead us toward those we are waiting for, those who are waiting for us!  Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand toward those we are looking for!  May all our movements, all their movements, be guided by your light and transfigured by your Joy.  Angel Guide of Tobias, lay the request we now address to you at the feet of Him on whose unveiled Face you are privileged to gaze.  Lonely and tired, crushed by the separations and sorrows of Earth, we feel the need of calling to you and of pleading for the protection of your wings, so that we may not be as strangers in the Province of Joy, all ignorant of the concerns of our country.  Remember the weak, you who are strong–you whose home lies beyond the region of thunder, in a land that is always peaceful, always serene, and bright with the resplendent glory of God.  Amen.

 We have hope. No matter how dark our loneliness, the light of Christ shines through and cuts the darkness like a blazing sword, guarding our heart from despair. We are blessed for we have hope.

Peace and blessings to those who are lonely. By the intercession of St. Rita and St. Raphael, may the Almighty Father, author of life, lift you from despair and set your feet upon steady ground, through his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Insomnia and Heavy Thoughts

It's 4:30 in the morning. Luckily for me, today is Diadeloso (Day of the Bear) at Baylor, meaning all classes are cancelled. How cool is that? Baylor gives us a day's reprieve to just have some good old fashion fun. They bring in live musicians, really notable ones I might add (Matt Maher played two years ago I think), serve some good food, play some great games/sports, and a whole bunch of other stuff...all for free! But for the tuition we pay here, it better be. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this is a Christian university with certain expectations, it is still a college, meaning many people will spend most of the day (and all night) having a different kind of "fun". I've never been one to participate in such activities, so my night will be rather lonely, but I'm ok with that.

Growing up, I was always different from my peers (even my church friends), and I never found the necessity to participate in the traditional American teenager pastimes. That difference extended into my collegiate life, where I was definitely much more different. It always surprises people when I tell them that my first sip of alcohol was not until I was 21. And since then, drinking is still not at the top of my list of "fun" things to do. Before and after that momentous birthday, I'm uncomfortable in those social situations, especially when minors are present, so I avoid them at all cost. All I can do is pray that my friends are safe. So yeah...always been different.

So it's not 4:45am, and I still can't sleep, so I'm spending my time ranting blogging about random things....or maybe not so random things. Unfortunately, I have undiagnosed insomnia (lol) which is a terrible thing to have for a college student. So more often than not, I find myself not being able to sleep like a normal person, meaning sleeping before 2am. Which is why I'm really glad that we the day off tomorrow...or today. During the bouts of sleeplessnes, I find myself wandering the web for something interesting to read, which finally brings me to the topic of this particular post.

I was reading a bunch of different Catholic blogs earlier, all much, much, much, better than mine. And there was a common theme I noticed. Now before I say this next part, I want to state that I am in no way trying to offend any blogger that may happen to stumble upon this particular post. It is not a comment as to the quality of any one blog. It is simply an observation. But from what I've read, Catholic bloggers really really like to complain. Like a lot! Again, I'm really not trying to offend anyone, just pure observation. Catholic bloggers really do like to complain...and they like to complain about a variety of things. Now most of these bloggers, as far as I can tell, are very devout Catholics and secure in their faith, otherwise why would they be blogging in the first place? Some topics are about the differences in the liturgy, others are about traditionalist vs. non-traditionalist views. Many talk about all the things other Catholics are doing wrong, while others comment on the current status of the Church. But whatever the topic is, we (yes, I am now including myself in the Catholic bloggers group) like to complain. And each blogger thinks that their particular complaint/criticism/opinion is the correct one. The funny thing is, many of these bloggers will often contradict each other. But you know what...in my humble opinion, I think that's one of the beauties of the Church.

We each draw from our various cultures, backgrounds, ways of life, and experiences. And from these, our opinions and preferences are shaped and nuanced. Some older generation Catholics love the Ordinary Form of the Mass, while some younger Catholics are being drawn to the Extraordinary Form. [I love both: I normally attend Daily and Sunday Masses in the Ordinary Form, but there are just some days that I feel the need to go to our local Latin Mass]. There are Catholics who have readily accepted and adapted to the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal (this really applies to Stateside Catholics, and any language that translated from the English instead of the Latin), while there are a number of Catholics who have openly vocalized their strong dislike for the new translation. [Knowing my love for the Latin Mass, I absolutely love the new translation, but I will concede that it does definitely take longer to say some things than before. Lol. That's just a fact]. Everyone has their own view of how the Liturgy should be and look like. Differences in opinions in homiletics, liturgical music, and religious education dominate the blogosphere. But as I said before, I think this is a beauty of the Church. Even with all our differing opinions, we can still call ourselves Catholic, the Universal Church.

But this post does come with a warning/disclaimer. There are few blog posts, and I cannot emphasize enough how few, that just don't seem theologically sound. Now while the nuanced differences in theology are ok (to a degree), the one thing that all Catholics (most especially bloggers) should be in agreement with are the doctrines, dogmas, and basic Catechism of the Catholic Church. In regards to the sanctity of life, the Sacraments, the Mass, our Creeds, and all other basic teachings of the faith, there is not any leeway for disagreement. Our dogmas and teachings have been given to us through Divine Revelation, whether in Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition. There is no flip-flopping, waffling, side-changing, or conceding when it comes to our catechism. This next part will be honestly blunt, and may be offensive, but only to those who are guilty of the aforementioned waffling. Contraception, abortion, woman priests, disregarding any of the Sacraments, etc, are all inconsistent with the Catholic faith. In short, those cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose what beliefs and teachings are convenient for them, are not truly Catholic. Gasp! Shock! What is he saying?!

Being Catholic is not easy, this we all know. But faith is not meant to be. I know, some of you may be asking yourselves who am I to tell you whether or not you are a true Catholic. So instead, ask yourself. Are you? Now I'm not asking you whether you are a theologian, church historian, or expert. But I am asking, do you profess the Catholic faith with a basic understanding of the teachings of the Church especially in regards to the Sacraments? Honestly ask yourself this, do I believe in all those things to have been divinely revealed to Holy Mother Church, passed down through the ages, as basic tenants of the faith? I think that its this lack of true catechism that is greatest problem in the Church. All other problems stem from this.

Sure, some Catholic bloggers will argue that its the differences in liturgy or the varying practices of others that greatly divide the Church. But its not. The greatest problem in the Church today is the lukewarm, cafeteria Catholic. The ones who claim to be Catholic, but do not have a basic working knowledge of the Catechism. The ones who claim to be Catholic, but decide to pick and choose which dogmas and practices are best for them. The great problem in the Church is the one person who claims to be Catholic, and is anything but. So as a Catholic blogger, here is my complaint: if you are going to call yourself Catholic, then BE Catholic. Anything else, and you're just a simple, but dangerous hypocrite.

In an earlier post, I touched on JPII's "New Evangelization" and how that evangelization needs to begin with the re- evangelization of the people. This is how we must address this problem, this great threat. With love and renewed teaching. My heart breaks, literally breaks, when I hear in the news that the current administration is claiming that most Catholics are in disagreement with their Bishops. It breaks when I hear statistics that claim most Catholics are in favor of contraception. It breaks when I hear about Catholics who leave the faith as a result of the hypocrisy of others. It breaks when I see Catholic families going through divorce, children refusing to believe in the validity/necessity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, people thinking that the Eucharist is just a symbol, or the increasing disbelief/skepticism/vilification of our priests (this one hurts ALOT!).

Sure, we can argue about the merits of the Ordinary vs. the Extraordinary Form. We can argue about the appropriateness of receiving communion in the hand or not. We can argue about music, liturgy, church design, methods of religious education, and a whole host of other things. But the one thing that we cannot argue about is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is what makes us Catholic, how we are able to proudly proclaim that the Church is the Bride of Christ, how we can proudly proclaim that we make up the mystical Body of Christ, with Christ as the head. We must never stray from these teachings.

So there it is: the heavy thoughts of a sleep-deprived, insomniac college Catholic. Yes, its just one big complaint, but I think it's a complaint that we all need to be aware of. So here's the last thing I'm going to say for the night/morning/I-don't-even-know-anymore: to my Catholic friends, BE CATHOLIC...truly, devoutly, proudly, unfailingly, unashamedly, unabashedly, unwaveringly, immutably, wholly, spiritually, physically, and blatantly. Be Catholic.

Thoughts, comments, complaints, critiques, or criticisms are always welcome.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pax vobiscum. 

Yay for Catechists!

This website, Amazing Catechists, is essentially a blog of resources made for catechists by catechists. I've already had the opportunity to read some of the posts and they are really great. Teaching the faith can be difficult at best, its not like teaching math or science. Let's face it...most of the kids are there by parental mandate and would rather be elsewhere. That's not meant to be a negative remark, but it's really just fact. Now as catechists, we do our best to bring the faith alive, to show kids the beauty of the Church, and the reasons for our convictions. We do our best to show them that a life of Catholic faith is worth it, that it makes sense. But again, let's face it, that's easier said than done. So as catechists, we need all the help we can get. This website is a good starting place. I encourage you all to take a look at it, whether you're a catechist or not.

May the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit fill you up and strengthen you in your catechetical ministry.

Maligayang Kaarawan, Santo Papa!

In case you were wondering, that's "Happy Birthday Holy Father" in Tagalog, my native language. Today, the Universal Church rejoices and celebrates as our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, turns 85, becoming only the sixth pontiff ever to do so in the list of 265 popes.

I love this particular picture of Papa Bene because 1) love that he brought back the galero capello romano (much thanks to Pinoy Catholic for the correction) and 2) he just looks kinda happy. As the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI heads-up the 1 billion strong member faith. Even in his old age, the Holy Father's commitment to the faithful is inspiring. And despite the many, many, many problems that have rocked the modern day Church, the pope has handled it all by the grace and mercy of God, leading the faithful through some fairly dark times. But the light of Christ cuts through the darkness, and all over the world, faithful Catholics carry that light to others.

By the grace and blessing of the Almighty Father, may Pope Benedict XVI have many more happy and healthy years, all I'm sure, in service to Holy Mother Church.

"Do not be unbelieving, but believe"

                                            Source: saints.sqpn.com

Mass is many things for many people. Above all, it is the great prayer of the Church, where we come together as as a family, to gather at the table of sacrifice, to be nourished physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, wholly by the Body and Blood of Christ, in both Word and Sacrament. It is eucharistia, our thanksgiving. And while every Mass should be like this, but every once in awhile, you go to Mass and you leave feeling like that Mass was just for you. Like Christ knew your heart, which he does, and that He willed for that Mass to be celebrated just for you.

Today, on this Divine Mercy Sunday, I was blessed with such a Mass. In that church (St. Louis in Waco), I felt as if God sat beside me and whispered in my ear, "This is for you. I see your heart. I see your struggles. I have heard your cries and your prayers. This Mass...this is part of my answer. Take comfort in it. Take comfort in my Beloved Son. I brought you here, to this sacred space and to this place in your life, and I will get you through it. Take the peace of my Son into your heart. I have heard you and I am here. This is for you. I love you."

I know what you're thinking...that's a little hard to believe...this guy is crazy. Sometimes I find it hard to believe too. My troubles are insignificant, and I'm just fantasizing about God. This Mass is for everyone, for all God's people, not just me. But if you sat where I sat today, if you were me, you would know what I'm talking about. You would believe me. But belief is a difficult thing...especially if you are struggling with something or another. It's hard to believe in a divine presence, its hard to believe in God, in something so amazingly intangible, especially in this day and age. It's easy to believe in the visible, instead of the invisible.

Take today's Gospel. The disciples, minus St. Thomas, were in a locked room and I could only imagine what was going through their heads. They saw Christ crucified and now what were they supposed to do. Think back to when you were younger and you were at the mall or the store with your parents. You let go of your parents hand for one second, and all of sudden, you're lost. You can't find them. I'm sure it's happened to most of us. I know it happened to me alot. What did you do? You stood there, terrified. You didn't know what to do, you didn't want to move, you were so paralyzed by the fear of being lost, of being without your parents, so you cried. In reality, your parents were probably no more than a few feet from you, so close, but you were still paralyzed at the thought of being alone, you couldn't think straight. That's how I imagine the Apostles at that time. Paralyzed by fear, by the thought of having lost Christ. What were they supposed to do now? And then poof! Christ is there. "Peace be with you". Why were those Christ's first words? "Peace be with you." What were your parents first words to you when you finally found them after being lost, after crying your eyes out? "It's ok, I'm here." "Peace be with you".  It's all ok, I am here. And in their unbelief, He shows them His hands and side. And then the same is with St. Thomas, who would not believe until he saw. They all struggled with loss and it was a struggle that could not be eased by belief in the intangible, in the invisible. So Christ had to appear again, He had to show His hands and side to show that he was real. He appeared again, and said "Peace be with you". He appeared again, provided tangible proof, so that their struggle was made easier.

I think it's safe to say that is the message of Easter, the message of the Resurrection. That after saving us from ourselves, from our great sin, Christ is always there. That in our struggle, in our great unbelief, Christ is there to give us peace. But Christ's reappearance to His followers has a second meaning for us as Christians. Just like Christ, we, too, are supposed to make ourselves visible to the world, as Father so eloquently said in his homily at Mass today. As Catholics, we are blessed to have the Blessed Sacrament, to have Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, right there on the altar and in the tabernacle. We are blessed to literally "see" him. But for others who do not share our belief, for our Protestant brothers and sisters, for those who do not believe in Christ, how will they see Him? The answer is through us. As "little Christs", we are called to be visible in this world, to be the visible, outward sign of God's love for humanity. We are called to be visible love and visible peace, both inherently intangible and invisible concepts. Through us, we make the love and peace of Christ visible.

I am struggling with so much in my life right now. My faith, my belief is...unsteady. It's hard to admit that, especially for a self-proclaimed devout Catholic. I have defined myself to others through my faith, so to struggle in this regard is unnerving. I am lonely, and miserable, and lost. So that's why it felt like today's Mass was just for me. God saw all of that, and felt it. So in His infinite love, through the divine mercy of His Risen Son, this Mass was celebrated for me. You may not believe that, and even I might question it, but for the first time in a really long time, I felt some small measure of peace today. After feeling abandoned for so long, today felt a little less lonely, and a little more hopeful. I was St. Thomas, coming to my knees, and proclaiming "My Lord and my God!".

God was helping me to believe again. Christ was showing me a little divine mercy. I was a lost and frightened child, but God said "It's ok, I'm here. I'm here. This is for you. I love you. Believe that". Friends, Christ is here with us, just a few steps away, ready to comfort us and guide us as we go out into the world, being visible signs of His love, peace, and divine mercy.

Let us pray that we "do not be unbelieving, but believe". That we may be as blessed as those who have not seen but still believe. Let us pray for the Divine Mercy of Christ, for us and for the whole world, because we so desperately need it. Let us pray as little children and remember that Christ, no matter how lost we feel, is always close by.

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole word.

O Holy God, O Holy Might One, O Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Jesus, I trust in you.

Pax vobiscum.

Blogging: The New MySpace

Seriously, blogging is, like, the new MySpace. Yes, I know that sounds very middle school, but, seriously! Facebook is good for networking and keeping up with friends. But I remember the days of passive-aggressive venting and ranting on MySpace for all your friends to see, especially the girl you were being passive-aggressive about. If you happen to be  occasional reader that just happens to stumble upon this blog, you'll notice how late (or early) I post. And I love being able to customize this thing. It's the new adult (kinda) and mature (slightly) version of MySpace. But thankfully, my posts are a bit more sophisticated and worth reading. But I can't promise that it won't be passive-aggressive.

Feel free to enjoy the awesome music player I just added. So much fun!

Dominus vobiscum.

"Jesus was revealed": Seeing Christ

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee's sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We also will come with you."
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?"
They answered him, "No."
So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something."
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord."
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you just caught."
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, "Come, have breakfast."
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?"
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.

So I never realized just how many times Christ showed himself after the Resurrection.

World Religions

Given that I'm in a class called World Religions, I thought this post over at the Aggie Catholic blog, was very interesting. Click here for the infographic.

Now I did read the comment at the bottom about the LDS Church. My World Religions class was blessed to have a LDS guest speaker the other day, and I learned alot of things from him. Now while I respect what the Church has to say, I think this is one of those extremely rare cases where my opinion differs slightly from the Church. But that's another topic for another day.

Our First, Most Cherished Liberty

Ok, here we go. Time for some of the more hard-hitting stuff. Here is a fact that everyone needs to understand: in today's climate and culture, faith will always be attacked. Here is another fact that Catholics have to live with: in a society that attacks faith, the Catholic Church will be one of the first and hardest hit. Why? Not because we are outdated, not because we are holier-than-thou, and especially not because of all the misconceptions, presumptions, and falsities held by others. It will be because the Church, throughout the centuries, has stood the greatest change of holding back societal degradation and decline of values and morals. Now, I am by no means saying that the Church is the only one, in fact there are many groups, both religious and secular, that have stood to stem back the tides of decreasing morals and principles. But because of its size, position, influence, and power, the Church will always be seen as the enemy by secularists. And because of the values we uphold, our beliefs and convictions, we are called backward, ignorant bigots living in the past, with no place in the modern world. So the Catholic Church has come to represent all those opposed to societal "progress". Last fact: in a world that attacks Holy Mother Church, established by Christ and carried on by the apostles and their successors, we, her people and faithful, MUST, I repeat, MUST be ready to defend her and ourselves.

And in the latest string of attacks, the current administration's Department of Health and Human Services Mandate.

Pardon the Mess

I apologize for any confusion. I've changed my blog name and web address about a million times in the last 5 minutes. Found out that there are other blogs called Catholic Collegian, and I wanted to avoid confusion/headache in the future. Anywho, if you happen to stumble unto this humble blog, I hope you enjoy it!

"Evangelization must be directed towards the Church itself..."

Many young Catholics like to use the term "New Evangelization" as part of their ever increasing use of modern media to proclaim the Gospel: Facebook, Twitter, blogging (much like this young Catholic), etc. In a more broad sense, they mean for the term "new evangelization" to be the use of any modern technology in spreading the good news. Pioneered by Blessed Pope John Paul II, the "new evangelization" of the Church has come to mean how the Church interprets its missionary work and how to go about missionary work in this day and age. But unlike many Protestant denominations, the Church is not focused on proselytizing, just simply spreading and sharing. But before the Church can go about "evangelizing" other people, she must first "re-evangelize" her people. This was an issue that JPII addressed in his 1990 encyclical, Redemptoris missio. Here is a small excerpt:

... it is painfully clear that many Catholics (and other Christians)
have not been effectively incorporated into life in Christ.
Baptized as infants many have never made a personal commitment
to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Gospel.
As adolescents and adults many drift away from the Church.
Evangelization must be directed to the Church itself.

In my humble opinion, this is where the young Church needs to step in, where young Catholics can most adhere to the "new evangelization". It has been my observation that there are many Catholics, faithful Catholics, both young and old, that lack a degree of spirituality or even a level of catechism, and it is an issue that must first be addressed before evangelization can truly occur. There are many from my generation, my friends and myself included, that have passed their parents in terms of catechism and understanding the faith. I have seen time and time again, young adults being the ones to urge their family into Mass, to initiate prayer, or to simply teach. And even more so, I have seen young adults find great comfort in the type of Catholicism that their parents probably shied away from. There is a growing trend in the young Church that relies on an orthodoxy that older generations lack. I recently read a book called The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy by Colleen Carroll that explores this phenomenon. More and more young people are going to daily Mass, go to Confession on a regular basis, drawn towards catechism of younger children, and participating in ancient traditions of the Church. Therefore, I believe that its up to us then, the young faithful laity to spearhead this "re-evangelization" of our faith. We are the revolution that JPII called for, so too must we take charge in the "new evangelization" that he sought. We've heard it time and time again, my friends, we are the future of the Church. We must, we need, to take part in that future, today.

With the intercession of Blessed Pope John Paul II, may the Almighty bless you and me with the strength to answer this call, to constantly re-evangelize ourselves, and Holy Mother Church.

Dominus vobiscum.

CtR

My home parish after Easter Vigil...so pretty.

"...heart on my sleeve"

So I guess this is going to be my first personal post, which involves more of a certain level of vulnerability than normal. Which is funny because vulnerability is a big topic for this post.

Last night, I was blessed with a truly unique and rare experience...at least for me. I had a talk...a real talk with a good guy friend. Now, before I continue, I need to explain why this was special for me. Growing up, I was never the typical kid. I was always more mature for my age, and while I loved playing outside with my brother and my friends, I was always more content behind a good book. I loved to learn growing up, and I still do. Given all that, it was always difficult for me to make friends, especially guy friends. Girls were always just easier to talk to, and to be honest, the flirting was always fun (shameless, I know, but I have matured since then...I promise). Now don't get me wrong, I had my best guy friend in elementary and middle school, but there were few guys in high school I could call a best friend. I was always jealous of those guys that had their own guys, that friend they could talk about anything with. Any guy knows that guys need their guys, plain and simple. In college, I was close, but time and circumstances prevented it, unfortunately. So given all of this, I really don't remember the last time I had a real talk with a good guy friend.

So here is where the vulnerability comes in. It was not easy to admit any of that. Pride and twisted societal idea of manliness makes it difficult to admit things like this. But for any true Catholic guy, you need a similar individual to talk things through with, because girls (and ladies, please don't take any offense) just don't get guys. So again, that's why this particular conversation was very special to me.

Last night, at a popular coffee shop chain, me and my friend...let's call him Travis ...had a real conversation between two simple Catholic guys, trying to make sense of our lives in the light of faith. We talked about alot of things from who we were to who we are now. Travis and I have become friends only recently. The funny thing is, we've been around each other for quite some time, having gone to the same middle school and the same church. But who we were growing up could not have been more different from each other. Travis was a guy's guy...sports, hanging out, and he still is. I, on the other hand, was all about school and extra-curriculars, and I still am. For all intents and purposes, we were polar opposites, and playing to societal expectations, its easy to see why we never crossed paths. But even if we did, there was certainly no guarantee that we would have become friends. So why now? The difference between then and now, for both of us, is that we have each grown immensely in our shared faith. Our lives and circumstances may have been different, but they all led us both to the same place, it all led us to have that  real conversation at the coffeehouse.

Now, to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect going into it. As I said before, I couldn't remember the last time I even had a conversation like that, so I thought I was just going to make a fool of myself. And given that we both had class in the morning, I didn't think it would last very long. I remember my mom calling me, telling me that she would probably be asleep by the time I got back. Since my mom normally sleeps at midnight, I told her that I would probably be back before she went to sleep. I definitely did not. Travis and I talked for four hours, past closing time, going from the patio to the lounge to the parking lot. Now I won't go into detail about everything we talked about, but a main theme was our faith and our vulnerabilities.

Travis told me alot that night, "I wear my heart on my sleeve." It was something he and I had in common. I have never had an easy time trying to hide my feelings, and while I could certainly be passive-aggressive, people always knew that I was being passive-aggressive. We talked about relationships, our past ones and our current ones (or lack thereof). We talked about how we grew in our faith, the different events in our lives that have led us to the same conclusion: a life without faith is nothing. But we both knew a life of faith was not an easy one. Our Catholic faith would hold us accountable on all our actions, and everything we say or do must be for the glory of God. But that's not easy. In fact, its probably one of the most difficult paths to choose, especially in this day and age. But aside from not being easy, a life of faith, where everything revolves around grace and providence, involves so much vulnerability on our parts. We place all our trust in God and in His Son. In exchange for our faith and our trust, its easy to expect a level of divine consideration. Sure, throw in a couple of curve balls every once in awhile (like the sports analogy?), but for the most part, life should be simple and uncomplicated, should being the operative word. So when something major happens, something that is life-altering or devastating, faith and trust are the first things to go out the window. I speak from experience. Is it too much to ask for a little leniency for living my good life of faith? Faith inherently leaves one vulnerable and open to hurt. Take that idea and extend it to include the relationships we make, or more precisely, the ones God decides to give us, and our vulnerability is increased. Living that faithful life means that we believe all our relationships, filial, romantic, platonic, etc., to be more than just coincidence. So when someone hurts us, its easy to place the blame on God. Suffice it to say, being men of faith means being vulnerable men, and for two guys who wear their hearts on their sleeves....that concept is terrifyingly debilitating.

But here's the flip side: living a life of faith means opening yourself up to happiness that you could not even imagine. In this culture, its plain to see how the idea of quid pro quo developed. I live a decent life, a faith life, and God blesses me with good things. But that's not what faith means, its not what truly living a life of faith means. Yes, faith means placing all your trust in Him, but it also means that everything that happens, both the good and the bad, happens for a reason. I know, I know...that's so cliche. But it does not make it any less true or applicable. Faith means that all things, all experiences are meant for us to grow in Him, both the good and the bad. And if it just so happens that God decides you need a little more bad to do alot more growing, faith also means trusting Him to not give you anything that you can't handle. Travis mentioned that his life was like the story "Footprints in the Sand". That story is the epitome of living a life of true faith. So, as one who has recently had alot of growing to do, most of it as a result of the "bad", I can say, faithfully and undoubtedly, that faith...is worth it.

Through the course of our conversation, Travis kept thanking me. At one paint, and I paraphrase, he said "Man, I'm just blessed that God put you [all] in my life". He kept telling me that I was teaching him alot. But something I don't really think I got to say back was "You're helping me more than I'm helping you". You see, Travis (who I hope reads this) has such a vibrant faith, a "childlike confidence" in God. He talked about waking up everyday and thanking God for the sunrise and the chance to live and experience that day. He has something that many of us, especially those involved in lots of ministry, tend to lose along the way: the simple and amazing awe and wonder in God. Again, speaking from experience, getting so focused on ministry, its easy to lose sight of the simple things and the most beautiful things. That doesn't mean that I take my faith for granted by any means, or that I've lost sight of why I do ministry or live a life of service. But Travis has this vibrancy about him, that pure and simple childlike trust and wonder in everything that God does and in all the little blessings He sends our way. It's something more of us have lost and so desperately need, something that I need to find again. And Travis has helped me realize that. There were many times during our talk, that we may have both gotten emotional, again, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, being vulnerable. I didn't get to tell Travis this, but his friendship is exactly the kind of thing we talked about all night, the reward of my vulnerability and my faith.

For all intents and purpose,culture and society say that Travis and I would have never been friends. But luckily for us, as Catholic Christians, our Catholic faith is so very counter-cultural. We've all made lots of friends in lives. Oftentimes, friendships are fleeting. The friends I made in elementary didn't last past the 5th grade, or past middle school, or high school. In high school, friends that I went college with, friendships that I thought were inseparable at the time, have drifted as a result of...life. And even now, these strong friendships that I made in college, friendships even built around faith, may not last, some I've already lost as a result of my own gigantic failings. But everyone once in awhile, God blesses us with a true, lasting friendship. No matter what kind of relationships we develop, whether they last or not, each and every person we encounter is put into our lives for a very specific reason, even the ones that hurt us, even the ones we lose. But you have to be willing to be vulnerable, willing to have faith. Otherwise, everything becomes meaningless, without purpose. As for me and Travis, no...I don't know if we'll be friends for a long time. But after our  real conversation and the blessing he has already become in my life, I pray that our friendship will only grow. Sometimes a guy just needs another guy, a good friend, a real friend. God has blessed me with many of those, and he has blessed me again, immensely, in my friendship with Travis. Since faith is a gift, God has also blessed me with faith...and with vulnerability. My great prayer for all of you is that God will bless you as he has blessed me.

(Travis  I'm praying for you bud. Thanks. Oh...and you should definitely be texting her LOL)

Catching up, part 2

Despite the extra day's reprieve provided by going to a Christian university (we got Friday AND Monday off), its back to business and sleep-deprivation. But I still wanted to post my experience of my Easter Vigil (and the new translation changes). So to start off, here is a video used to practice the Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation typically sung by a deacon, at the start of the Vigil. Being a baritone, I'm more partial to lower registers, so this video, provided by Youtube (you can find anything on there), is a lower pitch, but still amazingly beautiful. Of course, it's the new translation:

Source: Youtube

And here is a side-by-side comparison of the old and new translations of the Exsultet provided someone with more experience and better capabilities than me. Listening to the Exsultet is kind of...haunting...and beautiful. It is the great proclamation of the Church, and I love that the new translation is more faithful to the original Latin, like all the new translation. The imagery is much more beautiful and more appropriate to the Church's arguably highest Mass of the year.

The seven readings spanning salvation history is great. Just great. I learned that originally there were actually twelve readings, but has since been reduced. I'm really glad that my parish went with all seven readings instead of reducing it to four, it definitely made for a much better liturgy. I was also blessed to be with one of my good friends, and last Saturday was his first Easter Vigil. I wanted him to experience this liturgy at its finest, and my parish did a great job in that respect. They did take some creative liberty in regards to the psalms, which was definitely interesting. But to focus on those seven readings, each reading focuses on salvation history, or those instances in history where God has intervened and saved his people from whatever was troubling them. There's the story of God staying the hand of Abraham as he was about to offer his only son, Isaac, as sacrifice. And then there's the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea as they escape the wrath of Pharaoh. And then we have prophesies from Isaiah, Baruch and Ezekiel. All proclaiming God's mercy and salvation history. All of this leads up to the greatest moment in salvation history, where God sends his only Begotten Son, to suffer and die on a cross for mankind, and rises from the dead three days later to complete that salvation.

To continue the joyous celebration of this Mass, the Church welcomes those who journeyed hard and long to join the Church. At Easter Vigil, those elect seeking to become Catholic, are reborn in the waters of Baptism, completed by the Spirit in their Confirmation, and receive the spiritual food for their new journey in Holy Communion. My friend leaned over to me during the baptisms to ask me why they did Baptism, Confirmation, and then Eucharist when, normally, children go through the sacraments of Initiation in order of Baptism, Eucharist, and then Confirmation. I didn't give him a good answer then, but I have a better one. The Sacraments of Initiation were originally done in the order of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. In much of the Stateside Church (some dioceses are changing their policies in accordance with the desire of the Pope), Confirmation is seen as a "choosing to be Catholic" kind of sacrament, so its done later in a child's life, typically the teenage years, after First Communion. But traditionally, Confirmation is supposed to a completion and perfection of your Baptism. In the olden days, Confirmation was done after Baptism, when a child reaches the age of awareness, and then would receive First Communion after. It is was thought that Baptism and Confirmation were both necessary before one could receive Christ in the Eucharist, as the latter completed the promises of the former. I think its for this reason that at Easter Vigil, the elect go from being baptized, to be confirmed, and finally to receiving First Communion. At my parish, as my mentioned before, we welcomed 12 and it was glorious. My favorite part of all of Easter Vigil is at First Communion. I love watching the faces of the "young'uns" as they receive Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, for the first time. Their faces light up and its so obvious how happy they are. I think we could all learn from this, to always be as happy as they were, when we go to receive Christ.

Anyways, I think I've gone on long enough. If you happen to read this, I hope that you learned something and take something away from it. Happy Easter!

Catching up

Happy Easter everybody! And I'll probably be saying that from now until the Easter season is actually over. Why? Because it's a really important statement. Happy Easter...rejoice in the Resurrection, renew your baptismal promises, reinvigorate your life in Christ. It's a small phrase with a whole lot of meaning.

Anywho, now that the weekend is over, I can finally take a breather and catch up on things. More importantly, I get the opportunity to reflect on all that has happened these last few days. It seems almost surreal if you think about it. In such a small amount of time, you go from watching Christ suffer and die on a cross, to celebrating the strengthening of the Church at Easter Vigil, and then to experiencing the joy of the Resurrection at Easter. For me, it seemed like it was almost too much to take in, too much to try to comprehend. I felt like I needed more time in between, more time to digest each little detail. But then again, this is how we believe these chain of events actually unfolded. Its easy for me to say "I need more time to understand", being 2000 years later. But what of Christ's disciples? They WERE there when they crucified my Lord, and nailed him to a tree, and laid him in a tomb. But they WERE also there when He came to then again after three days, hidden away in that upper room. They experienced all these things, one after another, firsthand. Whatever my feelings were, theirs were a million times more. Aside from the revelations of the Prophets, I think thats why Christ rose again on the third day. Because having him leave us was so painful, any longer and it would have been unbearable. Of course, that's just the random thinking of a sleep-deprived college kid, but it would make sense to me. Here is a question every Christian should ask: if I have truly experienced the saving love of Christ, how can I do anything else without it?

My parish was blessed to have Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, at our Good Friday service. Listening to his homily, he is obviously a gifted theologian and even better at conveying that theology to his flock. The Veneration of the Cross, I think, is one of the most beautiful traditions of the Church. I saw people, young and old, get down on their knees to kiss or reverence this cross, these pieces of wood. Now we all know that the cross was only a representation of the True Cross, but the amount of piety and devotion and love towards that cross was so amazingly overwhelming, as if our cross were the True Cross itself. It just goes to show the power of Christ, Christ who was able to turn a symbol of death into arguably the greatest symbol of love. As it always is, Good Friday is anything but "good", but it was necessary...for you and for me.

Source: Youtube

Easter Vigil...to be continued

2,391!!!

It's been a long day, and an even longer Easter Vigil, with my home parish of CtR welcoming 12 people into the Church. But it was all so amazingly worth it. Also, as heard from His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston welcomed 2,391 people into the Church this evening. All God's people rejoice and sing alleluia! So just a quick note before I'm off to Lala-land....Happy Happy Happy Easter everyone. Jesus Christ is risen today, alleluia!

"God is in the Details"

Its a day late, but I was up late last night messing with this blog, so here is my very first post on Holy Thursday.

First things first, as you may know, this is the first Triduum using the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal and I was really excited to see what the changes were. To be completely objective...it was long. The new translation certainly takes alot longer to say and the syntax is definitely much more complicated. However, it was beautiful. Sure, I'm sure alot of us were getting tired and weren't paying as much attention to the words as we should have, but it was beautiful. The language was more spiritual in nature and certainly invoked a feeling of "old" or even "ancient", just like the new translation, which is more faithful to the original Latin, was meant to do. As always, the liturgical team at my home parish did an excellent job for the liturgy. However, being the somewhat more traditional Catholic that I am, I would not have been opposed to more incense! Incense, representing our prayers rising to heaven, should be used for more than just incensing the altar and the people, but I digress.

My parish priest gave an excellent homily, one that truly helped the congregation focus on the details of the Paschal Triduum. He said that "God is in the details". Not the details of the liturgy, such as making sure everyone is where they need to be for the Washing of the Feet or that there is enough hosts or that all the ministers are doing their jobs, although all the things are important and lend to a good liturgy. The true details of these Three Days, the true importance lies in all the little details of the Gospel that we may miss:

"So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples' feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist."

Everyone knows Holy Thursday by the Washing of the Feet during the Last Supper. But there is a crucial detail that we might miss when we are trying to look at the big picture. Here our Lord and our God, our Creator and Redeemer, goes down on his hands and knees to wash the feet of his disciples. As Christ later says, we have been "given a model to follow, so that as [He] has done for [us], [we] should also do". If the Saviour of the World could humble himself in service to us, how could we not do the same for others?

The Celebration of the Lord's Supper is an important liturgy. It is here that the institution of the Holy Eucharist happens. It is here when Christ acknowledges his coming death. And we must pay close attention to these lessons. But it is also here where Christ washes the feet of his disciples. But sometimes we overlook that He had to get on his knees to do it. For us as Christians, and as Catholics, being on ours knees is a sign of our  humility and that is where we are strongest, where we pray and give thanks to our God, and where we must serves others.

Final note: last night, I had the opportunity to sit in Adoration for an hour before the Blessed Sacrament was reposed at midnight. It was dark in our chapel, but there was so much light there, light from the people who came to pray and worship even in the dead of night, to spend time with the Lord. I remember seeing this couple walking up to the tabernacle and just kneeling in front of it. I remember the woman crying as I walked into Adoration just a few minutes earlier. I couldn't help but wonder what it was that was troubling them, that they felt they needed to be so close to Him. I stared at them for awhile and just prayed for them. They obviously found amazing comfort in just being in that sacred space and being so close to our Lord. So here is another detail that we overlook, another one that we take for granted: as Catholics, we are beyond lucky, to have the opportunity to be so close to our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. We all have asked for and wondered God's presence, but He has always been there, in the tabernacle or on the altar, in the form of bread and wine...His Body and Blood.

And we will see Him again today...as a sacrifice for our sins. May the Almighty bless you all with strength today. I know I will need it...watching True Love die.

Dominus vobiscum.

Whoops...Renovations

So I know no one is really reading this blog, but just in case someone happened to stumble upon it (by the way, stumbleupon.com = great site for procrastinating college students), I apologize for the many many many template changes. I was playing around with everything.

Potentially Problematic Penitential Popular Piety in the Philippines

Yes, I thought the title would be slightly more clever than "Look at these Filipinos!"

There is a tradition of popular piety in the Philippines that, at times, seems extreme to the outside world. Being raised in American culture, despite being Filipino, I can speak to the surprising and oft disturbing aspects of piety in the Philippines. Perhaps the most recognized example of this is the tradition that takes place in Pampanga every Semana Santa (Holy Week). Penitents, mainly male, hooded in red cloth, flagellate themselves while processing barefoot outside for miles on end. Some do this as a sign of devotion, in the hopes that their prayers will be answered or their wishes granted (the second being less theologically correct). Many, however, do it as a sign of penance for their sins and/or for the sins of their loved ones. Now, to be clear, when I say "flagellate", I don't mean mock or pretend whipping. I mean, true whipping, causing their backs to burn and bleed. Its this that scares and frightens much of the Western world, and even other Filipinos.

Critics will ask "Why is this necessary? Christ suffered and died on the cross for us, for our sins. He bore the necessity of suffering, so that we might not have to". Others will say that this is just the Philippines, where things are done in a backwards way, that it is just not civilized enough to realize their error. Even the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines have long discouraged this and similar practices as inappropriate.

Now before I answer, let me be crystal clear: I do not condone this method of penance, but I appreciate the reason (though some of the reasons need to be addressed with better catechism). To the critics, I say that Christ died so that our sins may be forgiven. That forgiveness brought us into reconciliation with God, without which would have led to eternal separation from God. But it has long been a teaching of the Church that sin has a twofold punishment: an eternal and a temporal. Reconciliation addresses and forgives the eternal punishment. However, there is still a temporal penance that must be accounted for. Good example: a child disobeys his parents. Later, the child ask for forgiveness, which his parents lovingly and immediately give. But the parents still ground the child. In American society, this is definitely not a foreign concept and it lends to a good understanding of penance. Now while I can keep going on the topics of sin and penance, this post would be much longer than I wanted...and I'm already bordering on the long-winded. Suffice it to say, penance is a necessity. To the other critics of the Philippines, yes, my country is still developing. It still holds to many traditions that seem out of place in the modern world. But that does not mean it is ignorant or backwards. It simply recognizes the beauty and importance of doing things the Filipino way. I would argue that when it comes to civility, the Philippines is far more civil than much of the Western world. And lastly, the Church does not approve of these practices, and trying to be the good Catholic, I agree with the Bishops. There are many methods of penance, but this does not seem to be the best one. However, as all Catholics know, popular piety cannot be easily disregarded. The rosary started off as local popular piety too. Now, I am in no way suggesting that self-flagellation will one day become as mainstream Catholic as the holy rosary, but I am saying that popular piety, when given the proper catechism, is a foundation of the Church. The Catholic Church is an amalgamation of lay faithful that come from all parts of the world. And with them, the laity bring cultural beauty to the faith.

So there it is folks. Being Filipino, I do not agree with the methods. But I do appreciate and respect the piety behind it. While the Church offers us many avenues, we each still seek our own path to heaven. Who am I to deny the truly sorrowful penitent his or her penance? What God desires more than the bones of a saint or the blood of a martyr is the penitent tear of a sinner. As we enter these holy days, let us all remember that.

Dominus vobiscum.

Photos: Reuters

Tenebrae

So I got the opportunity to attend a local Tenebrae service in the Extraordinary Form today. And it just goes to show that there is so much hidden beauty in the Church, beauty that definitely needs to be less hidden.

Tenebrae (Latin for shadow) is the celebration of Matins and Lauds of the Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter). Originally, it was celebrated during the early morning hours of each of the three holy days, as is the norm for Matins and Lauds (the first two hours of the Liturgy of the Hours). Since then, Tenebrae is celebrated on the Wednesday before Holy Thursday, often in the evening. During the service, the psalms of Matins are recited, followed by lessons from Lamentations, then the psalms of Lauds, ending with the Benedictus, or the Canticle of Zechariah. It also involves a large candlestick holder, known as a hearse, that holds 15 candles. After the recitation of each psalm, a candle is blown out and various other lights in the church are put out. During the Benedictus, the six candles on the altar are also extinguished, until the very end, when the church is lit only by the top candle on the hearse. This candle is then placed under the altar and the church is immersed in darkness. The end of the service is signified by the strepitus, or great noise. The congregation slams a book shut or hits a hymnal against a pew. In my opinion, this was probably the most symbolically significant point of the service, signifying the earthquake that took place at the death of Christ. The noise begins unexpectedly and takes everyone by surprise. I took a moment to appreciate the noise because it was quite beautiful, in its own right. And then I took part in slamming my hymnal. At the risk of sounding slightly sacrilegious, it was alot of fun doing so.

It sounds like a lot, and given the fact that the particular Tenebrae I attended was in Latin, it was easy to get lost at times. But still, it was definitely something better experienced than talked about. Like I said earlier, it is a not-so-well-known gem of the Church, something that only adds to the beauty and rich tradition of the faith. It was an excellent start to the Easter Triduum, allowing me to reflect on all that has happened during this Lenten season. It has prepared me for the finality of the Holy Thursday, the suffering of Good Friday, the rejoicing during the Easter Vigil, and the hope of Easter Sunday.

As we enter these holiest of holy days, may we all be prepared.

Dominus vobiscum

New Blog, New Beginnings, New Life!

So I've tried blogging once before. I didn't really know what to do then. Should a blog be like an online journal (NOT a diary) of my musings and feelings for all the world to see? Or should it legitimate reflections and serious topics like so many other Catholic blogs? The first option scared me to the nth degree because it involves a large amount of vulnerability. What if people don't like what I have to say? Or worse yet, what if no one reads my blog. Then I realized, if no one reads, I don't need to worry about saying something stupid. Whew! My second realization was that this blog could be both option 1 and option 2, although I don't really know how serious or legitimate it will be, but here we go anyways!

So this is my new blog, Flippin' Catholic. Flippin' really means two things: 1) I'm Filipino, and Flip' is a weird term I once heard used to describe a Filipino and 2) I'm just blatantly Catholic. My faith and the Church permeates every aspect of my life. Despite my many, many, MANY shortcomings and problems, my faith gives me reason for being and the Church gives me the tools and resources; and all of it is ad majorem Dei gloriam! All for the greater glory of God!

This is also my new beginning. For the past year, my life has been in such great turmoil. And I've been holding it in for far too long. I told myself that Lent was going to be more for me this year. I would shed away all the old, and "die unto myself" like the Gospel says. And at the end of it, at Easter, would be the start of my new beginning. So brothers and sisters, I humbly ask for your prayers, because I don't know how good of a job I've done so far. And I need this, I need to start over.

And with my new beginning, at Easter, we each will be reminded of the New Life that we are called to, and have been brought to by the saving and redeeming sacrifice of Good Friday and the resurrection of Easter Sunday.

May this Easter be the renewal of your faith. May we each be blessed with the strength to actively strive for that New Life. May the Almighty this blog, my new beginning, and all your lives.

Pax vobiscum