Discovering Christ - Weeks 6 & 7

The last post on the summer session of Discovering Christ! I can't believe it's over already. Of course, these past couple of weeks were really powerful as Dave and Fr. Erik discussed living as a Catholic disciple and we held a mini-retreat for those who were unable to make the Holy Spirit retreat on July 11th.

Last night, we also go the opportunity to hear participants talk about how Discovering Christ has changed their lives. Their testimonies were powerful - and a great confirmation that Discovering Christ is going to have such a great impact when it's released to the public (stay tuned for information about the Discovering Christ leadership conference!)

Finally, the pictures you've all been waiting for:




Phil of Wired Different Media in action.





A few of the fantastic kitchen crew.





The small group facilitators.





And finally, some worship from the final night. :)

So, feel free to leave some comments about the Discovering Christ experience. We love hearing from you.

Dead Poets and the Gospel

A few months back my wife and I watched Dead Poet's Society. Surprisingly a first for me.

It is a well-known movie starring Robin Williams, Mr. Keating, as the iconic professor who stands up to a boy prep's schools "regime" and way of teaching - and he encourages the boys to think for themselves and to be poetic.

There is one scene in particular that I like and can tell us something about the Gospel. This is one of the early scenes of Mr. Keating introducing the boy's to poetry... really good stuff :)

When I saw this it struck me as a great analogy to relating the Gospel to today's generation.

It seems like the world and many of my peers have read about Christianity and the Church in a sort of a "J. Evans Pritchard, PhD" sort of a way. Either from the media or a detached religion teacher or bored parent. And they are left with a view of God that is distant, a behavior nazi, judge, boxed-in, narrow, etc.

Not the unspeakable and personal love of the Trinity many of us have experienced- loving Father, brilliant and compassionate and strong Savior, and fiery Spirit.

What we need are impassioned followers of Jesus - Christians, Catholics - ready and able to tell the Gospel in its fullness, beauty, and passion (better than Mr. Keating, cause poetry ain't that good :)

To take what could be explained very easily in a dry textbook on "Christianity 101" and squeeze the essense out of the Good News...

"But poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for."

"That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

This is the beauty of being captivated by Jesus... Its more than encountering beauty and love... But it is overflowing to others in mission. One full of danger, romance, adventure, sacrifice, tears and joy!

What are your thoughts on this clip? What does it stir in you?

Holy Spirit Retreat

Greetings blog readers, it's been awhile for me (Pete). Last week I had a pretty rough cold/fever that kept me resting a good amount (& blowing my nose) :-/

The retreat was held in the glass room. Here's a view, thanks to Miguel, from the veranda off the room:



Well the retreat day went wonderfully. But how was the Holy Spirit present? Well each of the 30 or so young adults who came brought Him in some way through their unique experiences and backgrounds. But, even more, several things assured me of His Presence:

1. "You can tell the weather, but can you tell the signs of the times." Well, thankfully, in classic fashion, the weather prophets were wrong about Saturday- at least at the Friary ;) It was supposed to be mid to upper 80s out. In a room with no air conditioning and the cameras and lights for the video production, this was going to be a problem. We prayed about this. It ended up being 78 with a real nice breeze. Thank you Jesus.
   
   
2. "Well Dave you don't need to give your talk..." This was my remark after hearing my wife give an awesome testimony to begin the day about God's saving presence in her life. Dave agreed... but felt like we might still give talk for video purposes :)
   
   
3. "What is the Church's greatest need?" Dave concluded the first talk quoting from Pope Paul VI who responded to this rhetorical question, saying "the Holy Spirit!" Not more programs or this or that spirituality or whatever, but the divine fiery gift Jesus promised His people! Dave's talk as well as Fr. Arnold talk answered this question in spades and were truly anointed and imparted grace and truth to all of us retreatants.
   
   
4. "We carry this treasure in earthen vessels..." This statement of St. Paul's describing the paradox of how the Lord Jesus uses weak, imperfect people like us to accomplish great things, was certainly a theme for me- due to my cold. Erik, who led the worship, also didn't feel spiritually that great about everything- but we were both pleasantly shocked by the amazing ways in which God moved people during prayer time and worship, to encounter His love, shed tears, and share together. It was very very cool :)

Lots more happened and I hope some of the leaders will also share a bit about what the Lord accomplished and is accomplishing...

I'll leave you with a picture of the "photographer," Miguel, and Vincenzo enjoying lunch break at the retreat:

"We had been praying for peace during the Mass."

I don't think I'm unique among Christians when I say that when I hear "martyr" or "persecution of Christians," I tend to think of St. Stephen or Sts. Felicity and Perpetua or other such people who lived long, long ago.

I don't tend to think of people today, killed because of their faith.

According to an article on CNS, seven churches were bombed in Baghdad and Mosul between July 11 and 13.

Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shelmon Warduni of Baghdad had finished celebrating Mass, and spent time talking to his parishoners before going to his office. It was then, while he was in his office, that a bomb exploded next to the church.

"It was hell,"he said.

All told, 4 were killed in the area of the Church of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart; 32 others were wounded in the seven bombings, according to the AFP.

The bishop asked for prayers: "We don't have any weapon but prayer. With prayer, we can kill the war."

Amen.

Please pray for peace in the Middle East - and also for the conversion of souls to a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

Discovering Christ - Week 5

Last Thursday we held the fifth session of Discovering Christ. Dave gave a great talk, titled, "Why is the Resurrection Important for Us?" in which he discussed not only the reasons why Jesus's resurrection matters, but also good reasons to believe in the resurrection.

Small groups discussions continue to go really well, and I know that many of the group leaders have seen God work within their groups. It's really exciting.

Here are some pictures:



Dinner and discussion at the Friary's dining room.




A small group discusses the talk in the library.

Discovering Christ - Fourth Week

Thanks to the grace of God, and the hard work, dedication and financial resources of many people, last week we held the forth session of Discovering Christ. Attendance was great - and so was dinner :-) - and attendees heard and discussed a talk from Fr. Erik about "Why Do I Need a Savior?"

It was really amazing to see how God is working through Discovering Christ. In my small group, we saw some clear examples of the intervention of God in the lives of participants. I'm very excited to see what He does in the next few weeks and at the retreat as He draws people closer to Him.

Here are a few pictures from last week:

Opening worship led by Erik Christensen.

Pete kicking off the night in the beautiful dining room of the Friary.

A small group ends their discussion in prayer.

Charity in Truth and Evangelization

Today, Pope Benedict XVI released his third encyclical letter, the highly-anticipated Charity in Truth, which is concerned with the global economy, human progress and Catholic social teaching, such as the preferential option for the poor and the sanctity of life.

Of course, though, since all truth is rooted in the Person of Jesus Christ, and God is Love, evangelization and the need for Christ is part of the encyclical too. The pope writes (recalling Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio):

...authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension[16]. Without the perspective of eternal life, human progress in this world is denied breathing-space. Enclosed within history, it runs the risk of being reduced to the mere accumulation of wealth; humanity thus loses the courage to be at the service of higher goods, at the service of the great and disinterested initiatives called forth by universal charity.

That's the great challenge for our era. The mentality that "whoever dies with the most toys wins" can be rampant and pervasive in a consumerist culture--which pretty much directly contradicts Matthew 6:19-20:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

Pope Benedict XVI continues:

Moreover, such development requires a transcendent vision of the person, it needs God: without him, development is either denied, or entrusted exclusively to man, who falls into the trap of thinking he can bring about his own salvation, and ends up promoting a dehumanized form of development. Only through an encounter with God are we able to see in the other something more than just another creature[17], to recognize the divine image in the other, thus truly coming to discover him or her and to mature in a love that “becomes concern and care for the other.”[18]

I think right now, with the shaky economy affecting millions of people, that God is hearing a few more prayers and I hope, at least, that more people are realizing their own dependance on God. Me, as a recent graduate enjoying my internship while simultaneously job-hunting, I'm becoming quite aware of how much I need Him to find me a job. :-)

I also really like that the pope points out here that we can only truly see others if we see them through the love of God. Otherwise, they can easily become mere creatures--rather than those made in the image of God--or, even worse, burdens on society.

Most specifically to evangelization, the pope writes:

The Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, for its part, is very closely linked with development, given that, in Paul VI's words, “evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man's concrete life, both personal and social.”[30] “Between evangelization and human advancement — development and liberation — there are in fact profound links”[31]...Testimony to Christ's charity, through works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelization, because Jesus Christ, who loves us, is concerned with the whole person. These important teachings form the basis for the missionary aspect[32] of the Church's social doctrine, which is an essential element of evangelization[33].

I think this part highlights one of the great things about Catholic evangelization historically--it shows concern for both body and soul, temporal matters and eternal. As St. Peter Claver (missionary to African-American slaves) put it, "We must speak to them with our hands by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips."

However, this can also be one of our greatest temptations and downfalls in the evangelization: to assume that we don't have to preach the gospel with words (think about that St. Francis of Assisi quote). Of course feeding the poor is essential--it's one of the seven corporal works of mercy.

But the poor also hunger for the Bread of Life and thirst for the Living Water. We would be making a huge and tragic mistake if we didn't tell them about Jesus, too.

May our hunger for the Eucharist lead us to identify with all those who hunger for Truth and Love and give us courage to share "the reason for our hope" (1 Peter 3:15) with them.

Thanks, Pope Benedict, for yet another great encyclical.

"The best way to evangelize..."

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver gave a talk June 26 at the National Catholic Bible Conference in Denver, CO on the role of Scripture in the renewal of both ourselves and the wider culture. It's a fantastic talk and I would recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you've ever wondered about the Catholic Church's thoughts on the Bible.

My favorite part is the following:

The best way to evangelize is to burn, like St. Francis did, for the love of God; and to sustain that kind of zeal you need constant contact with the fire of God's Word.

It's so true, isn't it? Few people become Christians because they are taught Christian doctrine. Millions have become Christian because they met a Christian who loved God so much that it spilled over into love for other people.

When love for God is strong, so is the desire to know Him more fully. That's where a zeal for His Word comes in. As St. Augustine put it, "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."

The archbishop also pointed out that if we want to see renewal and change in the world, it must begin within ourselves.

It's tempting to see the moral problems of the wider culture and want to begin there, outside ourselves, focused on others. But all authentic reform begins within our own hearts.

I know how hard it is to begin there. With all the problems we're facing right now, as a country, as a culture, as a Church, it's easy sometimes to point the finger, instead of recognizing that my own sins and failings are partly to blame. Mea culpa. I really appreciate the archbishop's reminder that if I want a holier culture, I need to cooperate with the grace God is giving me for my sanctification.

Finally, the archbishop also quoted a statement from Vatican II on the Scriptures, which bears repeating:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of the life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body. (Dei Verbum, 21).

Sometimes, as Catholics, I think we get so focused on the awesomeness of the Eucharist that we can forget how great the Bible is. As this excerpt shows, the Church wants us to uphold both as our "bread of the life."

Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, also wrote about this tendency, as the archbishop noted:

The fact that God's words, something that God has said and is saying to us, are accessible in the world is truly the most exciting news I can imagine at all. [But] we are too dulled through everyday use to grasp the awesomeness of this statement. (A New Song for the Lord, 169).

May God grant us a passion for His Word and a love for the people who need to hear it.

How has the Lord spoken to you through the Scriptures lately? What are you doing to deepen your zeal for God's Word?