Mission Juarez, Mexico

Taken outside of Don Pedro's home, community members
joined us in the work.

Centro Mujeres Tonantzin A.C.

When we first crossed the bridge to enter into Mexico, I was surprised to see so different a culture and environment. It was almost instantly, so different that it was hard to believe the US was only about a minute back the way we came. It's a different way of life. We traveled 11 hours to a very poor part of Juarez, a small community called Anapra just northwest of Juarez. We were hosted by a community of woman from Centro Mujeres Tonantzin, a center of faithful people that are dedicated to help the people of their community by providing for those in need.

Don Pedro sitting outside his home

They build better homes for people, install efficient bathrooms, corrals for animals, gather for prayer groups and meals all in the spirit of good Catholic faith and witness. While we were there, the community came together to help an elderly man with his home nearly in ruins. He had a one room house made out of wood, a dirt floor, a few pots and pans, a bed and a small wood burner to keep him warm during the cold nights. Our mission was to build this man another section in his house. With the frame for the new section already installed, we started right away. With a few guys building a wall out of tires along the side of the house, a few reinforcing the frame inside the house, and myself on the roof, there were many helping hands on the site. We mixed cement, poured cement, shoveled tons of sand, painted the inside of the house, cut wood, moved tires, carried buckets full of water, and added plywood, made a door, and even had electricity installed. The very last day we all worked together to put up a new bathroom house. We dug out a hole and used pallets for the walls. With everything finished up we took a few last pictures and blessed the new home. Don Pedro was a happy man, his house was warm inside and I think that our work for him will have lasting impact on his life and for me to be apart of that makes every strain and sweat worth every bit.

a four foot deep septic hole,
how I ended up with this job I'm not sure.

The home of Don Pedro, with his new
bathroom on the left

a picture of the cement mixing crew

The new wall made out of tires that was put up
duringthe week, taken during the sandstorm

Some of the children we met during our trip.

I was really inspired by the wealth of the people, it clearly wasn't the kind of wealth that we have here in the US but a spiritual wealth. It was a different wealth that gave that inner happiness and inner joy. In my reflection I thought about how much I have, how much I have taken for granted those things that other people want so much like my freedom or inside bathroom. Here the people have so little that crime is hardly a factor because there is nothing. Yet, their possession is faith, their wealth is Christ. I could tell very quickly that these people are rich in Christ and for me coming in from a country that has so much. It made me want to be rich in Christ and poor in possessions. The people really made that life desirable because they have so much joy and happiness, even the children. Visualizing that happiness for myself really allowed me to examine myself and what I have. Things like possessions and desires, even my vocation. I think that there has been new light on my vocation, light that lets me see once again that desire to serve God's people no matter the circumstance. It allowed me to have a new motivation and fire to continue on a journey that requires me to be poor in desires and wants yet rich in Christ the King.

I am grateful for my formation directors to have set this trip up. I am grateful to have gone and experienced the very life and faith of these happy people. I think that witnessing their joy despite their troubles leads me to answer my calling even more faithfully and actively. Shout out to all God's people man!

Chaos to Conversion: Detachment

Hermitage day at Our Lady of the Angels Friary in
Black Forest near Colorado Springs.

There's a story in the Gospels about a man who comes across Jesus, and so he asks him what it takes to inherit the Kingdom of God that Jesus so often spoke about. Jesus tells him that he should sell what he has, give to the poor and then he will have treasure in Heaven. The man, walks away sad because he had so many things. (Matt 10:17-30) I love this story in Matthew, because it reveals to us that there is necessary a physical stripping of ourselves if we really want to build that still-shaky relationship with God. Not only does our faith require a physical detachment but I think what the Gospel is pointing to is an interior detachment as well. Detachment from caring only about ourselves, from restlessness in our own hearts, detachment from all the noise and chaos within. It's a two fold coin and I think the journey through that process leads to a true, healthy and happy conversion.

As Postulants, my classmates and I do various ministries throughout the week. The two main focuses are with the homeless and the elderly. Both require stepping outside the comfortable box we're so used to and putting ourselves in the very shoes and life of the person. The difficulty is understanding what they need and recognizing how you can be there for that person even if that means thinking less of yourself and what makes you comfortable. So often the people that we serve end up serving us in some way and for me in my ministry, the beautiful thing that we [my brothers] recognize is that these people, who have nothing, still have so much to give. Homeless are asking me if I am doing alright, and if I need anything. Elderly who are dying and on deathbeds are asking me if I have eaten or if I am okay. I have found it ironic that those who seem to have no life, give the most of it. From that lesson, I believe that that's what the gospel is calling each of us to do. Give up all that you have, so that you can be so immensely open and free for God that you are able to give every ounce to those who need it the most.  The calling is to seek a true poverty that always leads us to love as Saint Francis did. With that two fold coin, I have outlined just a few things that might help you and me on that journey to the Kingdom of God when it comes to detachment. Here are a few things that might help battle the consequences of obtaining material things, contrary to detachment.

PRAY- Praying is conversation with God, it's also understanding that somebody greater is in control, and we can't fight the good fight alone. So recognize that every day is a struggle in the spiritual life, a continuous battle that can be won. Pray always even when you don't have the patience to pray, especially in the silence. Pray for help, pray for conversion and pray for the grace seek God above all other things. Join me in this petition.

GIVE THANKS- It's easy to forget about all the things we really do have when we're living in it. Like the saying, "You don't know what you have until it's gone." So be grateful and never take life for granted. Be thankful for every circumstance and trial and show compassion to all those that you encounter, you might be the last person they have. Give your thanks to God by praising him and honoring him with talents and gifts. The greatest way of Thanksgiving to God is through the Holy Eucharist in the Mass. Join me in this petition.

In our natural born tendency to possess material things, I believe there becomes chaos in our lives, in our spirituality and therefore keeping us from really understanding and portraying a life of love and discipleship in Christ. For Saint Francis, once we knew that his own Chaos was preventing him from truly loving those people who needed it the most, he began living out the gospel, praying and praising God every moment of his life. It's the same for us, once we recognize our own chaos, there is a move and a desire for detachment with the help of God's grace. In our prayers, thanksgiving and praise we can begin a journey to conversion.

Saint Francis of Assisi, Pray for us

Marked with TAU (t-uh-owl)

As the beginning of our Postulancy year begins to pave its path in our discernments, my brothers and I are marked with the symbol of St. Francis. To start the year we are welcomed into the Franciscan Capuchin brotherhood as formees, thus the marking of the Tau.

The Tau cross is the last letter of the Greek Alphabet and began to emerge during the formation and conversion of St. Francis of Assisi. In fact, he used it as a symbol for his brotherhood by putting it in paintings and on walls where he stayed, he even traced it over his body before any of his actions. The Tau cross was a coat of arms for him and he used it as his symbol. In introducing his brotherhood and order to Pope Innocent III at the time, the reigning Holy Father proclaimed that while the marking of the Tau was a gesture and only for those who have committed to crucifying the flesh of their own bodies of sin and destruction and conforming their lives to the life of Christ by imitating his life and love.

The Mark of the Tau is a transformation from dying to the sin that once held us and rising to the new life of Christ. In a very real way, my brothers and I are learning to conform our lives not only to this brotherhood, but also to the life of Christ. The forming is within the very marking of the Tau, and also the conforming to new life both Spiritual; in prayer and meditation, and also the physical; adapting to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The honor and privilege for me is being able to wear the signature of Saint Francis that very closely depicts Christ Crucified. The joy is that it allowed me to feel all the hurt that I had placed on Christ through the weight of my sin and I wanted to fulfill the mission of the Tau: To mortify the flesh of my own sin and be transformed not only by the message of the Cross but to the message of the Cross that is, to the life of Christ Crucified.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

In 1531, Our Lady appeared to a lowly, humble man Juan Diego so that he could carry out a message of hope and Christianity to the Bishop. Our Lady sent him out to the Bishop, so that a church be built, a new way to Christianity for the sake of many people. Before Juan Diego he left that morning, he would set out to find a priest so that he could hear his uncle's last confession before death. When Juan got the message from Our Lady to go to the Bishop, he feared his uncle's death. He promised Our Lady he would return and carry out her mission, but at that moment the Blessed Mother spoke to him something that still strikes me today. She confirms him and assures him that she is a Mother who cares and is always by our side, giving us everything we need by the power of Christ, her son. She tells us:

"Listen, put it into your heart, my youngest son, that what frightened you, what afflicted you, is nothing; do not let it disturb your face, your heart; do not fear this sickness nor any other sickness, nor any sharp and hurtful thing. Am I not here, I who have the honor to be your Mother? Are you not in my shadow and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hallow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need something more?"

We have assurance from Our Lady, the Mother who welcomed Christ into the world telling us that she is with us under her protection and in the crossing of her arms. Mary is telling this to Juan Diego, but essentially to all of Humanity.

Our Lady appears to a land where there is no Christianity whatsoever, she goes there to place in them a faith, and trust in God her son. The Americas at that time, were sacrificing their own to gods of the cosmos so that they might live. They were placing their trust in false gods. When Our Lady appeared, it wasn't long after, that many people were being converted over to Christianity. This is why in many respects, the people of the Americas have such strong devotions in Our Lady of Guadalupe, because without her they would be nothing and never know God. Mary, literally established Christianity among the land and for the people. She is the patroness of the Americas. Another interesting point is that Our Lady appeared to the Indian people, as one of their own. She is dressed in a tilma that resembles their own culture, what the people saw was a woman who was just like them, leading them to a way out. She appears over the sun and moon, signifying she is greater then these false gods, she is the Queen of Heaven and Mother to all. The people recognized her as a Morenita, which is Spanish for "the dark woman". This is yet another attribute giving for the people letting them know she is one of them, but not only is she one of them, but also appearing as a Mestiza, a woman of mixed European and Indian ties. Many times, these women and children were victims of rape, abuse and so many times neglected because of their color. The Blessed Mother, is identified as one of them, she places her self with the suffering and with the most vulnerable, the children. She is also the Patroness for the unborn.

The universal mission that can be seen is the Catholicity of our Lady of Guadalupe, she places a foundation for people to follow Jesus, people of all race, even the lowliest who were once abused because of their culture. Mary came to place in them a new hope, a hope in Jesus her Son by assuring us that she will always be with us praying for us.

                                                             

Created with His Image

The world is full of wonders, so many that God himself created. Sometimes we take for granted the world we live in, almost as if we don't even know where living in it. Were so caught up in our day by what we think we have to do, or what we think we need to get done that we don't notice the things God has set in front of us. The world today is to busy to just stop, take a deep breathe, and meditate on what God has created. Even to thank him for loving us enough to create us almost exactly like him. We are all created in God's image and that to me is a privilege. In the world, it's hard to be still, its hard to be quiet on a spiritual level. It's easy to be loud, or always moving because that's what the world requires of us. Constant movement, constant change, it seems like there is hardly enough time to sit and be still, something that causes discomfort. It reminds me of the scripture from Psalms 46:10 " Be Still and Know That I am God." sometimes it just takes all that we have to sit still and thank God for everything we have, but that's okay because God is a loving and merciful God, He looks forward to the prayer that we say to him. God wants everything that we have to offer to him, when we were created, the image he placed within us is the image of his own self! Our souls, are made from the very image and likeness of God, we read this in Genesis 1.Our lives, have goodness, they have meaning because we have the very image of God dwelling within us. We were created to be holy to see everything that God sets in front of us. To see everything that he sees. It's our destiny to be Holy. It's What we were created For. Reminds me of the story of Jesus in the bible when he is speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees, in those days were holy people, they were obedient to the law, very meek and humble. The sad part, is that they were on a mission to catch Jesus by confusing him in his teaching. They wanted a reason to arrest him. They asked Jesus for his opinion, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Pointing to the coin Jesus says, whose image is this? "Caesar's" they said. Jesus said "So then, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's" Jesus is teaching on the very image that is placed in us. Just like the coin, bearing the image of Caesar, we are inscripted with the very image of God. The coin belongs to Caesar, and we belong to God. So for us the message would be to give to God the image he placed in us. This means our lives, our hearts and our souls. Everything about us should be placed at the mercy and will of God because we bear his image. We were created to be his, created to be holy and loving as he so we could share in Eternal Glory with Him, our creator.

Workers of the Kingdom: The Beggar Builder

Building the Kingdom of God is such a vague phrase that I think a lot of times we're confused by it. For me questions start coming up like, how? and with what? It's like all of a sudden I'm looking for the new employee orientation signup sheet. Ok, maybe I should of took a construction class or two or watched dad while he was working extra closely. It's easy to miss the point, as you can already tell. In my reading, the life of Saint Francis can help us learn alot about building the kingdom, but not just building, we can learn how to rise up, and when to sit down. When we sit down, we instinctively listen, when we stand, it's a movement to get things down. A good worker knows that he can't get nothing done when he's sitting down, but it's good to sit and it's healthy to listen. St. Francis, was a builder, he was called to build not only himself, but the kingdom of God through the restoration of his own innerself. Which I find interesting. He was a beggar-builder. In his early conversion, St. Francis, lessened himself entirely so that he can build up. This came by placing himself in the dark and quiet caves. He would pray for hours at a time in the dark. Despite his lifelong desire to become wealthy and an honorable knight, amazingly, he abandoned all of that and placed himself at an even lower rank. First, francis sat and listened, he placed himself at the foot of the cross, inside an old shrine, the church of Saint Damian. Over the years the church had been neglected, run down and even worse, it was falling to pieces. It was here that Saint Francis of Assisi would pray before the crucifix. As Francis knelt before the cross, a voice came to him and said, "Francis, do you see that my church is in ruins? Go and restore it for me." That moment St. Francis rose, and did what he could to repair the broken church. Not only was the message a message of rebuilding, it was also a call to leave the things that he cherished so much and rebuild internally, and then outwardly from that. Francis would rise up and place himself among the lowest of the low; a beggar he would become, but not only a beggar but a new kind of beggar that asked for rock in order to build, rather then bread to satisfy himself. When we hear about the lessening of St. Francis, the message for us is to place ourselves at the foot of the cross, abandon those things that we want and listen to what God wants of us. We are each by our very nature, called to build up the kingdom of God. The Lesson from St. Francis is to put ourselves down first, in order that we build up. Sit down, pray and be silent even in chaos. Asking for bread in the sense of fulfilling what is good for ourselves, we are turning to the very needs of our own. By asking for rock, as Francis did, we are also asking God to provide us with everything necessary to build and fulfill his mission placed in us. But the kneel down is not easy, especially for a man, it's like asking for directions when your driving--guys just don't do it. But with this kneel down, this lessening comes all sorts of things, suffering comes, uncomfort, challenges and even changes that we might not be accustom to. The Joy is that all those things need to happen so that we can be made builders and workers for Christ. As a beggar builder, we are called to lessen ourselves, place ourselves below the rank of others and build up from there the Great Kingdom that we are called to build.  

Knowing your Blessings: 3 ways

There is tendency in life to look back on what we've done in life. No matter how many great quotes we read to let our past be our past, there is always that habit of looking back. I always think of Rhafiki off of the Lion King when he says you can either run from it, or learn from it. At times I think I need a stick to the face to wake me up, and help me see what's ahead and those things that I have and others don't. Sometimes, it can be hard to look at life in a positive way when all we see is what we have done. Aside from that great movie, instead of recognizing our past that we so often do, we should recognize the things that we love so much. Recognize our blessings and the things that make us who we are today. Here are three ways I have come up with to help me see the good in my life and alter the bad.

The first is PRAYER.

Learning to build ourselves up in prayer is not an easy thing to do, I struggle with it and I'm sure many of us do. It's a process and takes habit. The joy is that by our prayers, not only are we conforming ourselves to the heart and will of God, but we are also building a foundation for a relationship with the divine; in mind, body and soul. By our prayer and communication to God, we are able to recognize our blessings in a more complete way. But it doesn't end there, we are also able to see those faults and weaknesses that hurt us, for example our sin, or our vices that were once virtues overpowered by pride. Prayer in essence is our communal relationship with God and it allows us to see what breaks us (sin) and what makes us (blessings). 

The second is the EUCHARIST. 

After our prayer we are in relationship to God, however, as long as we are on earth, that relationship will never be in a complete way. Once we recognize those blessings and weaknesses in our lives, we ought to thank God and give him praise because of them. But why would we thank God for our weakness? The fact is that they help us become better. Just by us recognizing that weakness is a sign and movement toward the good. The word Eucharist, comes from the Greek translation of "thanks-giving" and so if you think about it, in our partaking of the Eucharist, we are professing by word and action our thanks to God, Most High. The Eucharist, in its holiness, is a perfect and most sincere way for us to praise and thank God in all He has done. In our partaking we are made alive, and alert. We are awakened and ready to combat those evils that come for us, this comes from us seeing our weaknesses and what truly hurts us the most. 

The third is LOVE OF SELF

In our prayers and thanksgiving, our "true colors" and true vocation will be made known to us. We will see who we really are, and what we are called to be. Before we sign that divine contract as I like to call it, what should be practiced is a love of self, not so much a pride but who you are upon recognizing yourself. Loving yourself and who you are made to be. If we compare ourselves to other people constantly, then what Joy will that bring us. If we learn to love ourselves and the unique characteristics we each have, we can understand that somehow on a spiritual level, we too can be a blessing for another person. As a consequence of our prayer, we learn to accept who we are and see those things that prevent us from loving ourselves, therefore building our spirits up not down. 

In our prayers and relationship to God we are able to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses. God allows us to see those goods and bads. In our participation of the Mass and the Eucharist we are praising Him and giving Him thanks for all that is preparing us. Then, when we love God in our prayer and in the Eucharist we learn to love who we are and who we are called to be by altering those weaknesses for the good. 

The Beggar: Fill Your Cup

Here at the mission house, the usual call for morning prayer is at 5:30am. This marks the start of a meditation period that is widely used in Capuchin Friaries across the globe. This morning during my meditation, I had an interesting experience with Jesus being present to us on the cross. As I held my coffee in my hand gazing directly up at the cross. I remember being attentive and in full focus. I was more in tune because we'll coffee on a white Nike shirt is not a good thing, and I was being aware of the burning sensation on my hands from the hot mug. The point being is that I was reminded of the warmth and the radiance  that God can offer us just by looking at the cross of our Lord Jesus. As I drank my coffee pretty soon I had none and the reality if the moment was that I was empty, and not only was I empty but I was also broken. I pictured myself a poor man, looking up at the only source of happiness with a plea for mercy, love and grace. I felt like my cup had to be filled with a love that can't be replaced and in a sense, replaced with a coffee far greater then any coffee. This morning I envisioned myself a poor man, begging Christ on the cross to fill my cup once again, and not only fill it, but overflow it with love.

If we think about it we will always seek satisfaction, it's what we do as humans. Is that bad? No. It's just disappointing to know that some satisfaction is not true satisfaction and we can't ever be truly happy with a false sense of happiness.  It isn't real. So with an empty cup, a cup seeking possessions, money, fame, fortune and materialistic things, that cup will always be empty because they don't make us happy. What we should do is ask Christ to fill our cups with a love that is greater than all things, even our own faults. If that means presenting ourselves as a poor beggar, who seeks nothing but happiness. 

Sanctified: Spirit, Body & Soul

For the week I helped out at a Catholic Summer camp in New Mexico with the youth of Amarillo and I can say that it helped me really understand my role as a member of the Church and here's why. There's a message in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, a prayer for us that we be purified and sanctified in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a calling for us to be out of the ordinary and step outside that box that we've always been living in. So I think the message for us is to be spiritual, and understand what it really means to be sanctified and purified. By that I mean for us to answer and fulfill the prayer that Saint Paul set out for us that we should be sanctified in the spirit, purified through the body, and perfect in the soul. The real only way to be sanctified is through us giving a hundred percent to God everyday that we live, in Prayer, in Mass, by the sacraments and meditation. That all helps us be one with God and ultimately sanctified by his never-ending grace. There's a call to be sanctified in Spirit, that means for us to be open to the Spirit of God, and his graces that he supplies us with everyday. To be sanctified in the Body means for us to never give in to our desires and our passions because in reality it is our desires that please us only for a moment. So the message is for us to crucify the flesh by never turning to what is evil and sinful because sin can separate us from God, our Creator. In the Soul, we are alive and well. It is the soul that gives us life, and the soul that makes us the very image and likeness of God. We should purify our souls by meditating and praising God. Let the mind conquer our emotions and from that the will of God will be revealed to us.

To be Sanctified means to be renewed and cleansed, it was great to be around a fired up youth that require a cleansing and a purification of self and I'm grateful for that. The joy is that by us admitting our faults and our sins we are sanctified and purified by the very sanctifying grace of God through confession. I always love the guilt that is placed inside of me because through it we return to the yard of Christ. We are sanctified all you gotta do is admit and confess with your spirit through grace, abandon the body of sin, and pray to God through the soul that was breathed into us.

Shoutout to everybody that went, Perryton and Sunray! God bless you guys.

Called to be Saints

A Saint in the church is someone who is holy, and venerated by the communion of people that make up the Church. Saint, literally means 'to be Holy', these holy people, these holy saints are worthy of our prayers and worthy of our intercessions. They are not perfect people, they are just like us but faithful and obedient to the will of God. Many people speculate about the saints in the church, often asking why we pray to the Saints, why should we pray to them when I can just pray straight to God. The answer is that we need help. The church venerates the saints as intercessors. I like to use the example of a mail-carrier. The Saints for us, are those who hear our intentions and pray for us since they are declared Holy and with Christ in heaven. If I am suffering, lost, broken or in chaos, then I would want all the help I can get. That means from my family here on earth, my friends and even the Saints who are models of faith. All of these people can pray for us in our suffering and God can offer us His mercy and grace. The fact is that we are all called to sainthood, by our baptism as infants, we share in the goodness of God's love and therefore have an initial invitation to holiness. In our call to holiness not only do we need to know God and love God, but we also should know 5 key principles that can help us obtain true holiness. These I explained during the Junior Rally workshop I gave this past weekend:

The First is HUMILITY:
We should be humble in life and know that we are creatures of God and we need his mercy more then our pride. We should be humble when we do things, we should not let our pride get to us. Humility is about abandoning our pride and understanding our weaknesses. I just graduated with my Bachelors in Theology so it would be weird for me to go into a career of teaching mathematics. One, because I'm not good at it, and two, because that is not my field. Humility is about not thinking of ourselves less, but thinking less of ourselves, as G.K Chesterton once put it. When we are humble, we know and understand that it is not all about ourselves, but about God who sustains and holds everything about us in place.

The second is FAITHFULNESS:
Faithfulness is about trust. Sure, it's good to trust in ourselves having confidence in what we can do. But faithfulness in this case is about trusting in God it is about having confidence in the character of God. Sometimes it is rejecting that notion of 'I am the center of attention' and the problem with the common notionof faithfulness is that the focus many times is on me. Faith is realizing that God is good, deserving of our trust and knowing that God sees what we can't. Faithfulness is recognizing that God is the better driver and he is able to control our lives toward the greater good better then we can because that is what he wants after all! We see in the Old Testament when God commissioned Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses in his fear, was not faithful or trusting in God's divine promise. He gave God five excuses and said he couldn't do, I am not fit for this job, he said, pick somebody else. After placing his trust in God, Moses succeeded and led God's people out of Egypt just before he would die. Prior to his death, God would commission Joshua as the successor to Moses. I will touch on him more later. So, we can see that faithfulness requires a trust in God and faith in his divine will.

The third is PRAYER:
Prayer is the most fundamental aspect in the lives of the Saints. What prayer is, is the communication and the bond they had between the Father and themselves. Without prayer there can be no relationship. Think about a common relationship, dating or marriage, in that relationship that has to be a fundamental level of communication, without communication then the relationship either won't exist or if it does already, goes haywire all because of a lack of communication. It is the same with a relationship with God, if we don't have that prayer and communication with God then how can God reveal himself to us, and how can we learn to know and love God. God made us to be holy, He made us so that we can be happy with him. This means that He wants us to pray to him, because He wants that relationship and He wants to reward us because of it. If we look in the New Testament with Jesus and his Father, Jesus was made known the will of the Father because of his Prayer to him. Yes, the Church teaches that Jesus and God are one in the same, however, Jesus still had that human nature and by his prayers to the Father He set an example that we should pray to God so that our will can be made in union with the will of the Father; this is exactly what Jesus did when he said "Let your will be done, not mine" So prayer to the Father, is a fundamental part in our call to holiness.

The fourth is COURAGE:
Going back to the commissioning of Joshua after Moses' death, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous more then any other person in the bible. He instilled in Joshua and reminded him to be strong and be courageous, because I will be with you wherever you go. So I think there is a message even for us, that we should be courageous, we should be bold. This means strong and courageous in our faith, in our prayer lives, we should stand up for what is right and against what is wrong. Who cares if we are young, who cares if we are weak, we should be strong and courageous in everything we do. One message from Saint John Paul II that I see alot is "Do not be afraid" There is a message that we should be strong and remember that God will accompany us always. Many times we might feel like were sent with no direction on where to go, but God is not a clockmaker where he creates us and lets us run on our own. Rather, he creates us, sends us out and accompanies us even after he sends us. So we should be strong and remember Joshua 1:9, "be strong and courageous".

The final is OBEDIENCE:
Obedience being our offering and our giving in to the reality that God is King and Ruler of our lives, yet still allows us to do our own thing. Obedience is us just listening and paying attention. How can we listen to what is going on if we are loud in our lives. Loud with sin and loud with our actions. We are called to obey God, be obedient to him and mindful of who He is. So many times listening is about shutting up and just staying still, even for me I have a hard time just being quiet that I miss what is going on. Psalm 46:10 tells us "be still and know that I am God." When we obey God that is us professing in our hearts that we are trusting and surrendering to the very goodness of God's will. The perfect example of obedience is the Blessed Mother, in her youth she obeyed God, placed her trust in him and surrendered her body as the vessel that would bring Jesus into the world. She is a model for us all and we should pray through her for the same obedience, humility, faith and courage as she. One thing I touched on during my presentation is that obedience starts now, in our homes and with our families. If we cannot be obedient to our families on earth then how can we be obedient to God who is in Heaven. So it starts now.

By our baptism, we are all called to sainthood, we are all called to holiness and to achieve true holiness we should be mindful of God in humility, trusting in him with faith, we should call upon him in prayer, stand up with him in Courage and surrender to him with obedience.

Being a Light of Christ: Guiding Principle

For me in my prayer life, I like to pray that I be a light for all that I meet. A light that shines from my word and deeds so that people can see Christ through me. I want people to experience Christ through me and what I do as a person.

In our faith and lives as Christians, it can be super hard, being a light or a reflection of Christ. It sounds like a radical idea especially when we allow other things to exist in our lives like envy; which brings hate, or impatience; the stripping of the very peace that we're ordered to, even the presence of sin and slavery that puts a rift between our relationship with God. It is true that our actions are louder than words, everything that we do has a positive or negative impact on the people who look up to us and see us like our family and peers. I am a victim of all these things, in my prayer of being a reflection of Christ to all, God still, in our weakness delivers and provides all that is necessary to be that light or be that message. God gives us the gift of Grace that binds us and strengthens us to use and reflect to everybody we meet. In our weakness, we do fall but in our strength of guilt we rise and return. The prayer of being a light that reflects to all people is not for self-pride but I think rather permission to be the mediatrix between man and God. In Christianity there can't just be one light, but many. Lights are meant to lead out of darkness. So we are called to be the light for the many, reflecting Christ. Isn't it true that a light is seen more clearly at night?  Even when darkness is present, or sin or trial, the Grace and the light of faith of a person is the guiding principle. Let there be light! 

Jesus, help me be a light for all those I meet. That everyone I meet and come in contact with see YOU through everything I do, and everything I am.  Amen.

Practice Patience

For the past couple days, I have slowly been realizing that my own patience is one of those virtues that is needed and I can't strive to be better without it. Patience, especially for me is hard, I struggle with inconsistency in my patience. I can tell you that I am not a very patient person, especially when I see something I want. There is inconsistency there because some days I am pretty patient other days, not so much. I get ahead of myself, and want things done, I'm impatient thinking about a couple things like my future, or the days that I am in, and even school now.  I think a big-part of our Christian lives has to do with waiting. Not necessarily waiting on things to happen on their own, but waiting and being patient in our fast-paced lives. When I think about it, we live today in a world that is supplying to our needs, we can get just about anything if we really want to. For example, if we want food, we eat, if we want drink, we drink. The norm is if you want something you can get it. Today with patience I think it applies the same; If we want something, we're so used to having those things placed right in front of us really fast. When we are patient towards receiving, all of a sudden its different for us. Now we have to wait for any sort of delay to pass, wait for things to develop and train our minds to really slow down and get used to the act of waiting itself. The joy is that God who is the cause of all things even our choices allows for us to practice this patience of our own so we can enjoy something even greater in the end. In life, our patience is tested everyday. Last night for me, it was in the McDonald's drive-thru line. Maybe for you its something else, the experience is that in our patience God molds our minds and prepares our soul to be still and quiet to focus on him. In our delay, God prepares us and stills us to experience a far greater joy in the end. We hear in Proverbs that "Patience brings peace." This is true in our lives, for the fisherman, patience is everything and has to be applied on the job, if it ain't, then he is looking at a hard day ahead of him. I have to remind myself constantly that I'm not here on my own time, If we did what we wanted when we wanted all the time then what room do we have for that growth of peace and stillness that we need to experience Christ? So far I have learned that Patience is not only training but it helps us also learn to submit ourselves to the will of the Father and not our own. When we are patient, the outward sign is that we are placing ourselves at the foot of the cross and we are allowing the one true God to do with us according to His will. This is the true meaning of patience.
 
I remember the scripture from Psalm 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God"

World Youth Day 2013 -- Don't be Afraid

Once again, my experience inside a country besides my own has placed within me my worth and my duty as a Catholic. In 2008 it was Honduras, now five years later in Brazil. For two weeks, I've been apart of a pilgrimage and journey that has moved me by compassion and grace, and by it a fire has been placed inside of me. This fire is a spiritual desire, a yearn and motivation to answer one of the many invitations that Christ offers. The invitation to Be not afraid, the invitation to Be strong and to have courage. It is not the invitation that is tough, it is the response and a lot of times this is what I lack in life. I lack strength and courage, I even lack the move to do something and stand up for what is right. This week I was brought back to the book of Joshua, where God constantly tells him to be strong, and be courageous, to not be afraid. I was reminded in my weakness and my shamefulness to break my doubts and to Rise up because Christ is always with us no matter what. In the final mass Christ worked through the Pope and delivered the same message to 3 million people. We were all reminded to not be Afraid, to Go, and then serve. I was amazed at how God works.

 In our faith there comes a calling for each person and I think whatever the calling may be there is that natural instinctive of hesitation, doubt and then confusion. It was through the humility of the Pope that helped deliver what would be a reminder for the youth of the world to not be afraid. The Pope referenced the story of Jeremiah, and how God called him to go and proclaim the gospel, but Jeremiah feared and doubted the hand of God because of his youth. I thought boy, that sure does sound like me, a clumsy young adult who is afraid of his own youth. Easily enough, Pope Francis reminds us to not be afraid because Christ never leaves us alone, he says that Christ always accompanies us. What better assurance can we have that God will truly be with us as he was with the first twelve he sent? The comfort is that the Pope who is the most revered man on earth in his humility is delivering a message from God Most High to us; his servants. After so many years of building up this still-weak faith how can I not say yes to the will of God and devote my life to him who gave me life. I yearn, and I burn for the fire of faith, 

Spring Break 2013 -- Building the Kingdom

Like last year, I decided to spend my Spring Break this year doing something a little more selfless. Something other than worry about myself or what I want or even what I need. We traveled southeast for about six hours to the Louisiana city of Shreveport to build homes for homeless war veterans. The experience as a whole was a great one, we worked for a whole week putting up walls and handling nail guns with carpentry pouches around our waists.   I think the joy of it all was first of all being reminded how much of a joy this sort of thing can be. Just being there, serving, working and busting your hump for someone that's less fortunate than me is always a humbling experience. The people we met were very trusting towards us, they gave us a job and they trusted us. Almost like if they had known us for a really ling time. It's like it didn't bother them. The life lesson there was that we will make mistakes we will fall, but in the end it makes us who we are and it shapes us in making this great thing out of ourselves.
Christ came and made himself lesser than what he already was to save us and lead us. I like to think that we are called to follow and do the same thing. Making ourselves lesser in what we have and who we are to help the ones that need the things that we want.

Hike for Christ

For a while I've been wanting to do something different and head to Palo Duro Canyon to hike what's known as the Devil's Slide to pray a rosary at top.
I didn't know when I was gonna do it, I just knew in my head that I was gonna do it, somehow, sometime. Well today I had that chance. The chance to get away from what I had already fallen back into, sin. In our sin we are separated from Christ, an in our repentance we are joined with him. I think the great thing about this act of repenting is realizing our sin, and realizing the call from Christ to return. When we realize we sin its a good thing, that guilt is good, because it shows that our soul is alive. If we don't have guilt in our sin, then our souls are dead an need life. This action of going out and using everything that we are given to reach the top of the mountain, our bodies, our hearts, minds, and energy, in the same way is necessary for a repentance. In our weakness we fall, but its our guilt that gets us back up.
Cara, a friend of mine had drove down from Oklahoma to join me on this small breakaway, even my family! To go an hike down in Palo Duro Canyon is a great experience for me and I hope for her as well. When I climb I remember the words from Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as he climbed, "The higher you go, the closer you are to Christ." I like to remember that a hike is a hike of repentance and a hike to Christ to who we are saved. Thanks for coming Cara.

Dutchover Wedding

It all seemed to happen so fast. I can still remember the first day I meet the two love birds. Dutch and Karen were starting their junior and senior years there at Saint Gregory's. Dutch was starting his Senior year and Karen her junior year. It was really fun to get to know these two for the little time that we had together there at school. I learned a lot of things from the both of them, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who learned to find another meaning of love just through the love that they shared for each other. This love that I wrote about before, was finally sealed, confirmed, wrapped and shared together.
I've always been the kind of person to be happy for my friends when I know their doing the right thing. I feel like I have known my buddy dutch for a really long time, almost like a lifetime friendship and its to the point where you start to be happy for him because you know he's happy. For Karen too, I have never seen a couple more in love in my life, and it's really cool to be a witness of that. These two are some of my bestest of friends and I would want them to be as happy as can be. I just want to congratulate them again, on sharing their love to world. Expressing it to people who might even feel like they can't love. I hope you guys live a beautiful life, forever with each other. Thanks for being my friends, I love y'all and congrats.

Karen, watch my boy.

And Dutch, be good man. 

With Time, Comes Decisions

Well, I'm starting another long yet adventurous year here at St. Greg's. It's already my junior year and I feel like I don't really remember much of anything. The first year I was here I was so grateful and so excited that I enjoyed everything about this place. My second year I had a lot of fun, learned a lot of new things about communicating to different people and having the will to make new friends when you left the old ones from back home behind. Now it's...well...Now, and it feels like everything is moving too fast to even decide what I'm really suppose to do. I guess when times flies, you know your having fun. I always believed growing up that through time comes, you know, a lot other things. So here for my junior year at a Catholic school with the intention of graduating with a Theology degree gets me pretty excited but even like wandering about it too. But like I said, With time comes decisions, I like that one better. I have to say, I'm excited for the new year. We have a bunch of freshman coming in, new names I've never even heard of in my life, it'll be fun. My brother, Nick will be tagging along with me now here. It's great to have a little piece of home with you, while your away. So It'll be good, I'm looking forward to it.

My Reflection on Discernment

I was suppose to write an essay reflecting on my discernment of religious life within the Roman Catholic Church, so I typed it up and emailed it to Saint Gregory's. hopefully they will call me soon with the news if I am accepted or not. Well I thought It would be a good idea to post the essay on my blog so here it is:
To discern means to reflect and find the interior of yourself as the person God has set for you. To think beyond the average person and see what you know God would see. An Important factor in helping that phase of discernment takes a life of prayer, humility, faithfulness not only God but to others. Live a life of solitide, quietness and peace. I believe that putting yourself in a prayer ful environment always helps the process of discerning God’s will go a lot easier and a lot more fuller than what you would experience in a loud and busy surrounding.
My Name is Vincent Carrasco and I have been discerning my vocation to the priesthood for quite some time now. Everything that I have mentioned above, I have in some way or another experienced it to the extent that it has had a major effect on my Catholic faith and formation growth. My first few years in High School, I never really liked to say or think about myself going to the priesthood. In fact I don’t think anybody did. I told my self that If I did, I would only do it for praise and recognition, that was my excuse for not thinking about it. During those few years in High School I attended a youth group at my local church of St. Anthony’s called LifeTeen. These two hour classes every Wednesday and Sunday nights for 4 years really shaped me into being a better person. The retreats and conferences we attended brought me to really understand my calling and the path that I was to follow so much easier. My Junior year was very congested going on all sorts of trips, visiting the third world country of Honduras to build homes for homeless, Steubenville of the Rockies, a Leadership Conference at the University of Notre Dame and our end-of-the-year retreats. By the time it was all over the notion of becoming a priest was in my head. Little did I know I wasn’t leaving. At this time I had already experienced being faithful to others by serving them. I had this desire to serve that was like hunger or a burning flame that only desires more and more, I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing so I did the one thing that helped my be satisfied, that was to serve more. When I left for my first semester in college that calling only became more and more brighter as my inner self. People would come up to me telling me that It looked to them as if I was glowing with happiness and joy covering my face, then they would ask, “Do you happen to be discerning the priesthood?” Not being ashamed I would answer back with a head held high, “Yes I am” I was happy, I was at peace to know that God was with me It felt so comforting and so new, there was nothing I could do but smile even more. Even When I see priests, they bring light and peace, and happiness to me. I feel like this is something that I was truly called to be. In College I was blessed with the opportunity of living in a two-story home that was walking distance from the Catholic Church. I was living by myself so I believed it was a much more easier and laid back environment for a more prayerful life. Rather than being in a house with a family of five in it, would make my prayer life full of distractions that exist. To discern a person has to have to live a life of humility, if somebody comes in with a bad attitude or let’s say negative the discerner receives feedback off of that and it creates a not so well prayer life. Same thing with school, where you have all these distractions and downsides of live that the world today is a professional at bringing people down. One thing I always had in my mind was the fact that if you look at life, the plants the morning sunrise and evening sunset, even the formation of our very own bodies in the womb. They all grow in silence, not in music or noise, silence. In that same way, we are called to live just as we were created in silence and in humility; because its through silence that brings prayer and meditation. At the same time, I was committed to a life of solitude and service by being a Core Member for the Church’s EDGE Jr. high kids. I gave talks and teachings that were even surprising to me. At the peak of it all, I was forced to move out and withdraw from school my discernment went down the drain from there. A few months later I received a call from the vocations director wanting to meet up, at that point I knew that God truly does follow through with what he does. Strange enough, for some reason that desire to do what I wanted was still inside me. The thought of being a priest still crossed my mind even when I had forgotten about it for three months. When I see priests, they bring light and peace, and happiness to me. I feel like this is something that I was truly called to be.
Months later I am still waiting for that single door to open so I can finally make the step that I know is a stepping stone from Christ. The thought of being a priest to once again serve the people of Faith is something I am really anticipating. Deep inside I know that I was created to serve, we all were, however to know that I have been giving the want to and the “gusto” to carry forth with this is something that I would not want to go to waste. Finally I would like to say that the process of discernment has been a breeze so far only because what I have learned and what I have gained through faith formation classes and all the retreats I have been on. Just to understand that Christ died for me on the cross is something that motivates and drives me to do what we are called to do, just like waves are driven to the shore I am the exact same. Being Catholic I know that Christ created us to be Holy, Its our obligation and its our calling. Saint Gregory’s Scholarship Committee, please help provide what I need to carry my cross, just as my savior did for me.

Saint Gregory's University

This past week I had a unique experience by visiting a Catholic University that I think maybe the one perfect for me. Saint Gregory's University is just about an hour east of Oklahoma City, In Shawnee. When I first drove up the "family circle drive" I was so astounded by how much this reminded of being so at peace, because it's been so long since I have experienced that peace. I noticed right away that here my everyday worries and troubles were burned and brought down to a sense of peace, right here at St. Greg's.
When I arranged a tour, I set it on a Thursday. It turned out that I was the only tour for the entire day, so I got tons of help and information that was really needed. I was so grateful, the facility members were all doing their normal things, all accepted me with open arms even if I had, for some odd reason made the decision to go to the Baptist College which was right down the street. I felt as if God had put everything in his hand, and was just holding it out to me to reach out and grab.
Hopefully, everything works out for me. Saint Gregory, Pray for Me.