And So It Begins!

Totus Tuus started today!!! I'm actually really pumped about it, despite the fact that I was so busy this past week that I couldn't even think about the fact that it was starting up.

Now that I've had adequate time to reflect on what I'm getting myself into (again), I'm really very excited to be started with it again! The other team members seem pretty awesome, and I'm really pumped for what the summer has in store!

We're staying tonight at the Chiara Center in Springfield, IL, which is attached to the convent of the Hospital Sisters as well as a gorgeous chapel. It's pretty awesome and very hotel-like. Personally, I miss the Villa Maria, though...

Also, Deacon Brian Alford gets ordained for the Diocese of Springfield on Saturday!! I really wish I could go, but alas I'll be in South Dakota for training! Speaking of which, I leave at 8 am...time for bed!

Busy Times!

After departing the funeral on Monday, my family and I drove up to Champaign to collect the rest of my things from my college apartment. The trip was pretty quick, but not without its trials. Only twenty minutes into our return trip, the alternator of our truck decided to cease and desist, making all battery-run devices in our vehicle a precious commodity. We discovered (oddly enough) that at slower speeds, the alternator seemed to charge the car battery sufficiently for a short time, so we simply pulled over periodically to ensure that the fuel-injector (which runs off the battery) wouldn't stop giving our vehicle fuel (as is required for a car to move). This worked well...until we reached Decatur, where we had cleverly called ahead to an AutoZone to ask if they had a new alternator for us to purchase. We were in luck! They did...

And so as soon as we pulled off the exit, the truck died. Aww yeah. Long story short, dad thumbed his way to the AutoZone (still 5 plus miles away from us), while mom and my brother and I stayed in the car to explain to a curious police officer why we were pulled off the road in such a precarious place. An hour and ten minutes later, we were well on our way back home. We had some good jams going the entire way, too; gotta love family sing-alongs!

Today was a bit more chill. I spoke this morning to a local parish about Totus Tuus, hoping to increase the number of enrolled students for this summer. The parish coordinator and I moved from classroom to classroom, delivering a slightly-modified spiel to the un-suspecting children. Hopefully it served its purpose. It got me pumped up at least...

I'm also in the process of moving everything from the back of my truck to my bedroom. It seems like things expand in volume when they have to fit into smaller spaces. To thwart this problem, I've engaged in a battle with the things of my past, attempting to convince them that I no longer need them and that they'd find better rest at a trash dump than in my closet and under my bed. It's a process, and one that I probably don't have time for, but it's on its way.

Tomorrow I only have to finish that epic project, pack for Totus Tuus, and write about 30 thank you cards. Oh, and pick up my friend from New York at the St. Louis airport (yay!). And meet some friends for lunch. And do some banking. And maybe even sleep some before starting Totus Tuus bright and shiny on Thursday!

Heh...what can I say? I live a busy life, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes, being on the brink of so many exciting things is just, well, exciting.

--

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne

Death and Hope

On Monday, the family and I attended the funeral of my uncle's dad (Bill Fite). It struck me as I was sitting in the small country church that I wasn't very phased by death. After all, for Christians, death is only the parting of our spirit from this material world. What lies in store for our soul (given that we've lived a life worthy of our call to holiness) far surpasses what we could ever get from this earthly life. Of course I was sad to see the passing of a man held so dear to his family, but I couldn't help but be hopeful that Bill was in a far better place than I was, sitting in that little creaky church. All that saddened me was seeing the sadness of the family...perhaps they, too, would find hope in Christ's conquering of death. But at the very least, it's always a little hard to cope with never being able to see someone again. What completely wrecked my composure was seeing his great-grandchildren (about 7 and 4, give or take a couple of years on each), who certainly did not understand the circumstances. Their tears were sincerely hard to witness, but the family support was beautiful.

An aside: at the wake, the four-year-old was pulling on the bottom half of the casket, determined to look over the edge of it (but only succeeding in making several people anxious that the thing would topple over). Upon asking the child what he could possibly be doing, he replied simply: "I want to see where the other half of grandpa is." Kids just say the darnedest things...

A Quick Reflection on a Busy Weekend...

Having had my college graduation party this weekend, at the forefront of my mind is how truly blessed I am to have the excellent group of family and friends that I do. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect celebration, except maybe to request that I get a little more time to spend with each of the guests. A few college friends even found the means to drive from the distant corners of Illinois and show up in dusty ol' Bethalto, IL. (Thanks to those of you who did! It meant a lot!!)

Today, after spending the afternoon at my grandma's house opening the gifts from my graduation party, my family attended the wake of my uncle's dad. Family continued to be on my mind as I witnessed a family say their final goodbyes to their father and grandfather. It was really beautiful seeing a man, with a small but close-knit family, be received into eternal rest after a long and fulfilling life. While death is inevitably sorrowful, I couldn't help but reflect on how beautiful death can be to a Christian...

My immediate family (including my brother! who came home from Conception Abbey for my graduation party!) then retired to our home, where we ended up listening to Chris Stefanick's talk entitled Beyond Boredom from FOCUS Nashville Conference 2011. We had some good discussion about it afterward that again made me very thankful to have such a beautiful Catholic family. Faith, though always present from the beginning, has slowly begun to make its home at the very center of our family; I'm glad to see it.

Thank you, God, for such a beautiful weekend.

They Call That a Statue?!

Once upon a time, two days ago, a new statue of Bl. John Paul was revealed in a Rome train station.

From what I can tell, the reactions have been pretty mixed. And by mixed, I mean to say that I'm pretty sure most Catholics hate it. Understandably so, too, since the massive structure just kind of looks like they went to the scrap yard and picked up some bronze, slapped something that looks mildly similar to the late Pope's face on it, and called it a commemoration. I mean, come on...surely the contractors would have given you an extra few weeks on the project if you needed it. Maybe then you could sculpt something that resembles the man we all knew and loved.

Okay, so all-in-all, it's not completely horrible. But I think the fine man that shepherded our Church for oh-so-long deserves a little better than tolerable. Give the guy a real statue. May I suggest you give it hands?

There's No Place Like Home

I frequently forget how much I love to be home, at least for short periods of time. I forget how much I love rolling down the streets I know so well with the windows down and the music up. I forget how much I love looking at the birds flitting around my backyard, or the beautiful gardens that I used to help maintain. I forget how much I love just being able to relax and not think about the next deadline or thing that I have to do.

Don't get me wrong, I love the busy life...I suppose that's why I keep it that way. But I've been thinking a lot (more) about the "simpler" life...perhaps what my life outside of college will be like. I really enjoyed (and I am NOT a morning person) waking up for Mass today and going to breakfast with a friend from high school. We chatted about simple things for about 3 hours in some little cafe in Edwardsville. It was really nice.

I came home, took a nap, and didn't take life to seriously. That's nice for a change. After dinner, mom and I took a walk around the neighborhood (while praying the Rosary). Again, something I never find time to do, but absolutely loved. I came home, dusted off a bike for nostalgia's sake, and took a spin around the block a couple of times. I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've ever even thought about getting on a bike...but it reminded me of simpler times, when the wind whipping through my hair as I sped down the hills in my neighborhood was about all I could do to get myself out of the house.

I also spent a little time walking around the backyard, looking at the tons of plants that my parents have spent much time laboring to nurture. As I was pruning some hips off a rose bush, I thought about how weird it was that there weren't a ton of bees flying around me yet (it's too early in the season, I suppose). I used to hate bees...they were just a nuisance more than anything. Things like that mark the maturity of a gardener, I'd say: the point when you realize that bees are an essential part of the process, and as such, you're just gonna have to share the rose bush with them. I think there's a spiritual maturity parallel there somewhere, but I'm too tired to dig it out right now.

Lastly, I ask you to pray for the repose of the soul of Bill Fite, the father of my uncle, who died today. He was an excellent man and lived a very long life (I think he was 96). May he rest in peace!

The Death of Osama bin Laden

I know, I know. It's been like a week (or more?), but I feel like commenting on it.

As a Catholic, I was a little saddened by the amount of celebration that was going on with his death. Yeah, he did horrible things...I understand that. But what happened to preaching forgiveness? Jesus said to forgive those who do us wrong, not just those who want to be forgive for it. I can say from experience that it's truly hard to forgive someone who doesn't seem to be at all sorry for what he's done, but God calls us to rise above and be Christian in those circumstances.

After all, God loves Osama just as much as he loves me, right? As a person of equal dignity, Osama and I are equals. And frankly, I want my brother to come into heaven as much as any other person I may or may not know. Shouldn't we all want that? To see as many people in heaven as possible? To have as many people experience forgiveness as God would grant?

One priest who accepted a Mass intention for the late terrorist leader, according to catholicculture.org, caught a lot of flack for it. He simply replied, "Their hearts are troubled because they're thinking emotionally about what he has done, and he has done a lot of evil."

Let's remove our emotions about the matter, and remember Osama's dignity. Let's pray for the repose of his soul.

Reflection on Priest

After reading a post from Fr. Daren's blog (dzehnle.blogspot.com) from quite a while back (what can I say, I'm trying to catch up on the semester's-worth of blogs I haven't read), I ran upon a reflection on the person of the priest from my very own patron saint: St. Norbert.

Oh, Priest! who are you?

Not through yourself, since you are from nothing.

Not for yourself, since you are mediator of men.

Not to yourself, since you are the spouse of the Church,

Not yours, since you are servant of all,

Not you, since you are God.

Who are you then?

You are nothing, and all.

A Return to the Blogosphere?

Well, we'll see how far this goes, but I'm interested in starting to post on this wonderful thing slightly more frequently.

Now that I'm officially a college graduate, maybe I'll have more time on my hands! (Doubtful.)

I leave for Totus Tuus training on May 26th, so the time will be short when I have very little to do. But regardless, perhaps I'll find a little time to update this intensely exciting (heh heh...) blog every once in a while.

Oh yeah, I'm officially a seminarian for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois now! I'll be headed to the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in the fall! I can't wait!!!