Open Up and Say "Awe"

The below post is from my friend Bill Donaghy at http://www.missionmoment.blogspot.com/; I loved this post so I wanted to share it here; Enjoy July 4th!

"Entrances to holiness are everywhere. The possibility of ascent is all the time. Even at unlikely times and through unlikely places."
- Bamidbar Rabba
Our little boy is captivated by absolutely everything. He is nine months old; his little eyes are brand new, his tiny ears are brand new, and his little soul is like a sponge absorbing EVERYTHING.
We watch in amazement as the little nuances of sunlight on a wall capture his attention, or the corners and colors of his toy blocks become like the facets of a diamond in his hands. The other day, he amused himself with a plastic cup for about 15 minutes, turning it over and over again in his fingers, crinkling it, bending it, chewing on it. It was hilarious too watch, and humbling at the same time. Humbling that something so ordinary could capture his attention for so long...
Our little boy is teaching us as parents, with our 30 something eyes and ears and hearts, to see everything as if fresh from the Hands of God. These are the days of living wonder for him... and for us.
THE BIG PICTURE
Catholics are back in "Ordinary Time," liturgically speaking, but beware... this is just when the most extraordinary things can happen. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, I think we're given the power to see things in their true light, finally.
Our boy is still dripping with the waters of Baptism; he can see. But with the gift of the Spirit, we too can "see." Finally, the veil of mediocrity, of ennui, of agenda, or mere utility (only seeing a thing as a thing for our use) is pulled away. The Spirit is our Divine Physician making a house call, inviting us to open up our mouths and say "awe." To be captivated again. Behold! The world is full of gratuitous beauty! Faces, places, colors, sounds take on all the freshness which they had for us when we were young and the world was new.
Further, we can with the gift of the Holy Spirit go into those places we once feared the most; the inner depths of our own hearts, those locked rooms, those shadowlands that we thought we're unapproachable by anyone, including ourselves, let alone God. Now, He whispers, let's "lower our nets for a catch." And He says, "Fear not," reminding us that we are truly called to be like little children, and that He Who Is Our Father will take us into those places by the Hand.

May God grant us "old heads" the grace to become little again. To rediscover everything, to see every object and every subject, every thing and every person as a gift from the Hands of the Father. From the ordinary and mundane to the extraordinary and sublime...
"To see the miraculous within the ordinary is the mark of highest wisdom."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

New Drawing

Drawing for me is an incredible stress reliever and a creative outlet, I work in a business were the results of your labor are often a very long process. In building and in art, you have the immediate satisfaction of your labor. I have been working on these first drawings with my two oldest kids, which has made it even more enjoyable for me. As you can see I am a below average artist, but my two kids age 6, and 7 think I am Michelangelo. I received two unexpected gifts from my son Joseph. Right before school ended a parent of one of Josephs classmates came up to me, and asked if I was a professional artist, I said no, why? She said that Joseph told her son, "that my dad is the greatest artist in the world!!" The next gift came, the other night, I told him that I was working on this drawing for his room, because he liked it so much, and that I actually wrote his name within the detail of the drawing, (Don't try to find it, even I have trouble locating it.) But that night as Mary Kate is putting Joseph to bed, he says to her, "Dad is an amazing artist, he actually has secrets in the detail" What a gift working on this with them has been for me! It reminded me of something that Jim Stenson said about the role of a Father, "Its to give them a glimpse of what the heavenly Father is like," All earthly fathers are imperfect, but we can try to offer them a glimpse! I thought to myself, I am hiding secrets in this little drawing, God the Father, truly the greatest artist in the world, is hiding details for us all throughout nature, life should be a constant adventure to find those mystery's.

The meaning of the drawing is from a book "Strangers and Sojourners" by Michael O'Brien. Its actually my least favorite of his books, but there is a couple great scenes, and this is one that has stuck with me. The meaning is that God's Love and Mercy are an ocean, next to the drops of water of our sins. I am learning more and more that if you miss God's mercy, you miss everything!

The Joy of Summertime

My kids last day of school was on Thursday and I kept singing The Fresh Princes song Summertime, "School is out, and its kind of a buzz, but back then I didn't really know what it was," (They thought I was crazy) Now I know what it is, summertime is great!, I thought that this morning, so as summer starts next week, here's a little ode to summertime,

1.) No traffic- This week is when you can really start to feel it, no school buses, no crazy parents, just a nice relaxed drive to work for the next 2 1/2 months, get the coffee, the braveheart soundtrack, and I'm good!

2.) Summer-league Hoops- If only I was as good at real hoops as I am at outdoor summer league hoops! I still think the NBA missed out on this great white hope!

3.) The Ocean- My whole family loves the ocean, and from now until October, we make it a goal to be in the ocean on a weekly basis. My theory is that the ocean expands your horizons, anything seems possible. It offers a glimpse of God's greatness, its so big, and so obviously good, but we need to respect the oceans majesty. Pope Benedict makes the point about the doubt an atheist must experience when next to the ocean at night time, when he must say to himself, maybe I got it all wrong!

4.) Vacations- Its so important to step away for awhile, to rest and recoop.

The list goes on, and on! But summer is finally here, and I am pumped!

"You will have everything you need"

I heard the following story over 2 years ago while on a retreat, and it has nourished my soul ever since. I don't have all the exact details, because I was half asleep while listening, every Catholic retreat house that I have ever been to, has beds for men that are 5 foot 7, I always wonder, were there any tall Catholics 70 years ago when they built these places. I have never had a good night sleep on a retreat, my legs hang over the bed, and there's always a bed coil sticking in my ribs all night, most times I just end up on the floor. So its a miracle that I actually heard this story, the Holy Spirit wanted me to hear what I heard though, and I hope it nourishes your soul as well.

"There was a successful real estate developer about 20 years ago in Mexico, who was kidnapped for Ransom by drug-dealers. The kidnappers locked him in a basement and completely stripped him of all his cloths. They had a radio that would play the same annoying song on repeat all day long. 3 times a day they would lower food and water in from an outside window. This went on for 2 months,and the man would just sit and stare at the wall, his hair and beard growing out of control, he would sit in total dirt and despair all day long. He was totally depressed and was hoping these men would just end his life. One morning, while the guards were lowering the food, he made a simple request, he asked them if tonight they could bring him a full glass of whiskey, and for some reason, out of the guards remaining charity in their hearts, they fulfilled his request. So he ate all his food, and kept the glass of whiskey for later, in order to have something special amid all this darkness. As he was about to slowly drink his whiskey, he made the sign of the cross and said a short prayer of thanksgiving for this small gift. It was then that he heard clear as day in his prayer the words, "pour it out, I will give you everything you need," The prisoner was totally taken aback, because the prompting was so real and so clear, so he pleaded with God, "Lord, here I am in total darkness, and now I have a simple consolation, which is not a sin, and you want me to pour it out," and again he heard clearly, "You will have everything you need, pour it out," So the man obeyed!

At that moment, everything changed for him, he left the way that he behaved for the first 2 months behind completely, and everything became useful to him, even the annoying song he would use as a tool. After the song played 10 times, he knew it was time for exercise, after 15 times, it was time for the Rosary, he built his whole day around prayer, exercise, work, and relaxation. He was a developer, so he would draw large complex buildings in the dirt on the basement floor, during his time for relaxation he would dream of vacations with his wife and family. Nothing changed about his circumstances, it was the same dark basement, the same annoying song, the same horrible food. But everything changed about him, his trust began to grow, as he would mediate on those words, "I will give you everything you need,", and he became obsessed with escaping. One night the guards failed to completely secure the window after lowering dinner, and he knew now was his chance to escape, he waited until after midnight, and climbed up the wall and poked his head out the window, right next to the window on the porch was a man with a machine gun, completely and totally asleep, again the words echoed in his head, "I will give you everything you need," so with the last strength that he had, he quietly snuck by the guard and ran for the highway near by, where he flagged down a truck-driver who delivered him to safety, the date of his escape was Dec. 12, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patron of Mexico.

Here's what has stuck with me, we can't control many things in our life, but we can control our attitude. The same motto is true for us, God will give us everything we need, all we have to do is ask.!

Update on Quote of the Day

I am going to be posting the inspiring quote on the below twitter account, I am not usually into the latest fads, however I think its important to use technology in any good way we can; enjoy!http://twitter.com/thayden7

Quote of the Day

I have decided to post a new inspiring quote every morning, it will be on the top right hand side of the blog; enjoy!

Chris West and the Theology of the Body

Christopher West has been the most popular speaker in America on John Paul II's great work the "Theology of the Body". Most people have not even heard about "The Theology of the Body", so to learn more about it go to the "Theology of the Body" website http://www.tobinstitute.org/. Christopher West was on ABC's nightline about two weeks ago, and since then there has been a pretty big dust-up on the Internet from some leading scholars, that stated Christopher West has distorted JP II's Theology of the Body, to read the two articles that criticize Chris West's approach, read here http://http//www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=15950, and here http://http//www.headlinebistro.com/hb/en/news/west_schindler2.html

I am so grateful that the Theology of the Body is getting out there, and this current dust-up is leading to some extremely healthy debate within the Catholic Church. To read 2 major scholars that came to Christopher West's defense, read here http://http//catholicexchange.com/2009/05/28/118937/, and here, http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6117&Itemid=48

I personally support Christopher West's work, and think he is doing a great service to the Church in popularizing the Theology of the Body, because John Paul II's master piece is so important. The American Catholic Church needs to realize that we have struggled from the effects of Jansenism on our faith. So many people speak of "Irish Guilt", and "Irish Shame", and its a fact that the Irish Church suffered mightly from Jansenism and a false shame about themselves and the body. Its too much to go into in one post, but John Paul II's Theology of the Body is the medicine.

Here's why John Paul II's work is so important in my opinion, the Catholic understanding of the person is that we are made Good by God, the classic Calvinistic doctrine is that man is ultimately corrupt, but by God's Grace we are saved and transformed. That sounds simple enough, but its wrong, and the results if lived out can be a devastating, The Irish Church in many circles, fell into this heresy. They believed in the power of Grace, but they wrongly believed in their own depravity. The Church's teaching from the very beginning, is that man is created Good! We are fallen and suffer from the effects of original sin, but we are created Good by God.

Think about how this simple clarification can effect every choice you make today. If you believe that you are Good, that you are made by a Good and Loving God, your choices are probably going to reflect your identity in this way. But if you believe that you are bad, then in the words of John Paul II, you are going to wrongly struggle with a "suspicion" of yourself, which can lead to choices that don't reflect your identity. That's why I encourage people to dive in head first into John Paul II's Theology of the Body, and if Christopher West is the easiest to understand, then praise God!

I always mention Sister Elvira, who founded "The Community Cenacolo", which are basically rehabs for people with struggles in life with drugs, depression, etc. She was asked by EWTN, how people who were involved in lives greatest evils, can make a comeback and become saints! Her answer says it all, "I tell people when they enter, you are GOOD, you are GOOD, your are GOOD, now FORGIVE, FORGIVE, FORGIVE."