"Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you."
- Saint Thomas Aquinas

The little things

I'd always heard that a smile can make a person's day. And I really believe that, but I haven't always found it to be true. Sometimes when I'm walking along around campus and happen to make eye contact with a complete stranger, my automatic response is to smile at them. And a lot of times, rather than being welcomed and encouraged by my smile...the person looks at me like I'm a weirdo. He or she has misunderstood me and I'm left a little discouraged. And sometimes when I'm at work as I say "Hi" to each student that I check-in, some completely ignore me. Why is that?

This is my guess. What's become the norm is acknowledging and respecting only those people you know and care about, helping only those that are there for you. It's become so deeply engraved in our minds that we rarely see outside of that perspective. It affects even the smallest of interactions. Our cashiers, those we ride the bus with, our teachers, the smart guy we use to help us get our homework done, those that stay long hours at the end of each day to clean up our messes after we've left the building. If we compared our interaction with a potential boss during an interview and our our interaction with our bus driver...we would see the difference. We treat each other based on how seemingly valuable or how relevant a person is to us. As John Paul II states in Love and Responsibility, this relates greatly to the personalist theory where a person is viewed as a means of achieving an end rather than as the dignified being they are.

Why do we smile at a stranger?

I think a smile means this - the recognition and appreciation of the masterful work of God and the dignity of the person as a creation of God. When we smile at another we see them as a person of beauty. We see a fellow being that shares with us the parenthood of God as Creator. We see a reflection of God's authorship and take delight in it. We also see a person who shares in our frail humanity - who has their own unique set of gifts, their own joys, struggles, experiences, yearnings. We see them as they are and love them, knowing that we are not any better than they. We acknowledge that they, like us, have been called to glorious living in Christ, whether this truth is yet realized or not. We see them through the loving eyes of a loving and merciful God and pray that they are able to see that too.

There is so much beauty in just a simple smile. If only we're willing to risk the awkward glances, the puzzled looks.

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"Our Christian community should open us up to those with whom we share this planet all over the world. It should provide us with a means of solidarity, a sense that because we are members of a human family, created by God, we are all connected and even responsible for each other." - from Already There

"Courage. Suffice to know that that Jesus loves us greatly." - St. Padre Pio

"If God can work through me, He can work through anyone." - St.Francis of Assisi

“God our Father, you redeem us and make us your children in Christ. Look upon us, give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promised. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.” (Entrance Antiphon, 23 Wk of Ordinary Time)

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother .. (Martin Luther - Sermon, Christmas, 1522)

The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist. -- Pope St. Gregory the Great

The power of healing

Today in my contemporary moral issues class, we had to share our responses on our essays and random questions we were asked. When my teacher asked me, "If you could have a superpower what would it be?", I answered "The power to heal - not just physical healing, but mental, spiritual, emotional. Healing in every sense of the word." And he responded, "That's interesting, others have always just said telekinesis, time travel, lightning speed...but you said you want a power that you can use not really for yourself but for others." And I said in reply, "I think we're all looking for healing in some way, so it would be good for everyone."

And even though I hadn't thought too hard about it when I chose healing...I started thinking about it some more afterwards. And I think that as Christians, who have experienced the healing hand of God, who've experienced His presence -which itself brings healing and renewal - we begin to desire that for others. We come to realize that He is the ultimate Healer and when we seek healing, we are really just seeking Him.

As soon as you identify yourself as Christian...you leave room for judgment. Seen automatically as pushy, forcing your beliefs on others, judgemental, close-minded, selfish. But really, Christians just want to bring healing. They just want to see themselves and others healed by the Gospel, being healed of sin, selfishness, impurity, anger, everything.

It's hard being in a morality class with 48 other students that each have their own view of what is morally acceptable. Honestly speaking, it's really intimidating. Sometimes I just want to pretend I'm not there so that I don't have to respond to views that I don't agree with, ones that break my heart to hear. But I remember the plan of God, I remember that He uses every experience and every challenge to help me grow and to help others grow.

Pray for me, that I always acknowledge the ways and design of God. That I always stand up for what is true and good and beautiful in a way that would please Him. Pray that others are drawn to that same truth, beauty, and, goodness that is ultilmately found in Christ.

In a world of relativism, how do we view life and love through the lens of God? I don't want to live up to the world's standards..what good will that do? I want to strive for God's. I want a share in glorious living He calls me to, one that opens me to the trueness and fullness of my identity.

Audrey Assad - Mapping the Landscape of Catholic Voices

"Flying in the face of the Protestant faith my family has held for many generations, I crossed the Tiber and became a Roman Catholic during the Easter vigil in the year 2007. To this convert, the Catholic Church presented herself as the answer to many questions that had plagued and rattled me for decades; I wrestled as a Protestant with why, like Bono, I still hadn't found what I was looking for. I set off on a journey to discover the truth and, to my shock and great delight, discovered that Rome was indeed "home."

I did and do take solace in the Church, as a sparrow makes a nest in an old, solid oak; the Church's very age and wisdom speak quietly for themselves, silently drawing in wanderers like me. Jesus loves wanderers and prodigals; and the Church must welcome them with open arms -- in my case, she did, and warmly at that.

I find it beautiful about Catholicism that worship, in her way, is not so much an experience as it is an act of the will; yes, the senses are engaged by the sweet, thick smell of incense at the alter, the soft flickering of candles, the otherworldly melodies of chant; but ultimately, as a Catholic, I go to Mass to worship -- to give Jesus the honor and glory He is worthy of; I go to Mass because I love Him.

I love Pope Benedict XVI particularly because it is the Church's very historicity that he symbolizes. He stands, unmoved, against the tides of post-modernism and materialism that ravage the West, (often) a lone voice in the battle. I admire and respect his staunch willingness to be Catholic -- theologically, intellectually, volitionally, and emotionally Catholic -- in a world where religious freedom and tolerance are preached by many, but where the Catholic voice has for centuries been either stifled or diluted. On the heels of the much-beloved John Paul II, any flimsier man would perhaps have been cowed; but Benedict, speaking with both grace and power, has preached Christ, and Him crucified, as the answer to the questions of every man -- Jew or Greek, Muslim or Hindu, black or white, man and woman.

Many despise his unwillingness to budge from a traditional, conservative position. I, on the other hand, rejoice in it. The Church doesn't need a babysitter or a mentor to sit in the seat of Peter; she needs a man with principles, a man of conviction. Pope Benedict XVI is "being" that for us. Americans in particular, I think (and I am obviously speaking as one), have issues with entitlement. We don't want rules and regulations; we want a pat on the back or the license to do as we please. Thankfully, Benedict is refusing to acquiesce, which in itself reveals his great respect for the dignity of man. He will not water down the message of Christ for the sake of seeker friendliness." -Audrey Assad

Oh, relativism.

Something I reread the other day from my journal about the idea of "cultural holiness" ...which has really come up recently. It affects the way we perceive the world, others, and ourselves.

Many of us have felt in our hearts a personal call to holiness, that God has called us to be "conformed in His image." And this is a great truth of our Christian lives. But many times we set the bar too low because we don't realize the great heights to which God desires to have us reach. The idea of holiness becomes relative. I'm "holy" compared to so-and-so. Christians become caught up in this idea of "adapt(ing) to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around..." them. "As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like himself (I'm not sure who the author was...)."

Holiness begins with God - not ourselves. Only in looking to Him do we come to know and are able to live true holiness.

"Purity is not something negative; it is not just an unopened bud; it is not something cold; it is not ignorance of life. Is justice merely the absence of dishonesty? Is mercy merely the absence of cruelty? Is faith merely the absence of doubt? Purity is not merely the absence of sensuality; it is selflessness born of love and the highest love of all."-Archbishop Fulton Sheen

"How liberating it is to be a Christian!"...For those in Christ, "positive things [become] a reason for gratitude and joy. Negative things [become] an opportunity for abandonment, faith, and offering. Everything [becomes] grace!" - Fr.Alfonse Navarro

"Dear young people, today Christ is asking you the same question which he asked the Apostles: “Who do you say that I am?” Respond to him with generosity and courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to him: “Jesus, I know that you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me.”
- Benedict XVI

"Be the kind of man that when you wake up in the morning the devil says 'Oh crap he's up' "
-Nathan Wiatrek

LOL.