Midwest Weather Ridiculousness.

Let's take a look at the weather conditions I've seen in the past week since I've been home (6 days to be exact):

• Sub-zero temps
• Snow & ice-covered roads
• Delightfully cold (15-32) temps
• Crazy snow storms where you can hardly see and shouldn't be driving
• Massive FOG -- seriously no visibility. Scary to drive in.
• Unseasonably warm weather (55ish)
• Rainy day that washes away the 1ft+ of snow on the ground and causes major flooding

Gotta love the Midwest! I heard someone say Mother Nature is going through menopause. Hilarious. Apparently she and I have something in common! (Sorry... inside joke-ish with SPFL.)

And current temps in St. Pete are in the mid-70s...

blogging drought

only proves that we all only blog when we are wasting time at work. Go Echo.

P.S. Pope's Christmas address kicks.
P.S.S. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Let the record show

On this day, Milwaukee house has officially switched over to toilet paper that we bought. Up to this day, Saturday, December 20th, 2008, we lived off of toilet paper donated during our move in, some four months ago.

Oh, and we also got 13 inches of snow from Thursday to Friday in a twelve hour time span.

Sweet T-Shirt Man

Tonight one of my lifelong friends hosted his new clothing/T-Shirt line's Launch party. It is called PAL Campaign. Here is the Company's "About Me"

Paz y Amor! Our line of ultra stylish and attractive T-Shirts are made to help promote the ideas of Peace and Love. We derive inspiration from Christianity, Art & Music, Urban Street Culture, Worldwide Sports, and from people like you.

As our brand continues to grow and develop, we plan on adding more wardrobe elements for the peace lover in all of us. Founded in February 2008, our company strongly believes that Peace and Love practiced and spread can have a dramatic and profound effect in our world.

Holding firm to this philosophy, we hope to make this campaign a Universal affair!

If you have a youth group or young adult ministry group and are looking to get some T-Shirts then Check out some of the designs at www.palcampaign.com

I really like the St. Peter shirt.

'Twas the Night before Christmas

What a busy season!

Oh my, I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but let me share with you how busy this time of year is at the parish...

Today I strolled into the pastoral center from the gray, foggy weather at about 9:30 am and discovered another gift in my office. I strolled downstairs to fix myself a cup of coffee (which still hasn't kicked in). Then I looked up where some Goodwill stores are around my parish so I can go get my ugly Christmas sweater for a party this weekend. After that I checked my email several times, looked around my office and thought of something to do! I grabbed my *Nsync Christmas CD, popped that in, and started to work on Christmas cards for the parish staff here. I finished one and decided to blog about this eventful morning. How I managed to squeeze this time into the morning I have no idea. I am just so swamped!

Now take some time out of your hard working parish life and enjoy these winter cartoons:

Now it all makes sense...

Ya see, when I was little, I didn't really buy the whole Santa thing after a certain age. I was a pretty scientifically-minded kid and just couldn't understand how this single person could travel around the entire planet over one 24 hour period visiting every home on it. Back then in terms of theory, all we had was S+M=PuT, where S=Santa Claus, M=Magic, and PuT=Presents under Tree. Now, one Dr. Larry Silverberg of North Carolina State University, has finally explained it all. If only they had this when I was growing up...

Echo Word Fugitives

In The Atlantic magazine, Barbara Wallraff writes a column called "Word Fugitives."

The idea is pretty simple. Wallraff writes, "A word fugitive is a wanted word or expression, one that someone has been unable to call to mind. Quite probably no exactly apt term exists -- but maybe one should."

Readers write in with particular situations that seem happen to everyone, but have no word that precisely describes the given circumstance.

And so I bring you: Echo word fugitives, situations that happen to all of us that the English language has failed to capture. Until now.

Our first scenario: working with kind, well-intentioned volunteers who have no idea what's going on, and the desire to take over while yelling, "JUST LET ME DO IT."

Post your ideas in the comments, and I'll select a winner and run it in the next installment of the series. Winners will receive a prize yet to be determined.

Also, if you have an EWF of your own, feel free to get it out there.

Happy neologizing.

New Bioethics Document

FYI: The Vatican (CDF) yesterday released the most conclusive document on bioethics in over 20 years.

We Lost Nothing Less than a Hero

Cardinal Avery Dulles died today at the age of 90. NYT obituary

I look forward to read more of his work. I am sad that I have not read much.

There is a thought provoking and inspiring quote in the article: "His task as a theologian, the Cardinal often said, was to honor diversity and dissent but ultimately to articulate the traditions of the church and to preserve Catholic unity."

I hope that we can all be open to different theological strands, appreciating and incorporating the good they have to offer, while at the same time always maintaining and promoting the unity of the Church.

Eternal rest grant to him O Lord...

The Dark Knight of the Soul

So tonight D-House watched The Dark Knight (it arrived in the mail from Amazon two days ago. obviously i pre-ordered it two months ago.) for our community activity and I am jazzed up about it as I was several months ago after the midnight activity. After watching it, we had an insightful and opinionated discussion after the movie-what other superhero movie does that? I have been thinking for a long time about how The Dark Knight could be used for catechesis and I came up with 3 things.

1) LECTURE: "I have seen now what I would have to become to stop men like him."-Bruce Wayne/Batman. A major theme of The Dark Knight is escalation. Batman had stopped organized crime as it existed for decades and they in turn resort to a man who calls himself an "agent of chaos". The Joker has no code or motive except wanting to watch the burn and kill for kicks. Can/Should Batman stop him by killing the Joker which seems to be the only way possible? It's a discussion of Virtue Ethics. Can we resort to the lowest mean possible in order to achieve a "greater good"? An example of this would be political campaigns that do anything possible to get people to vote not the other guy or another would bombing abortion clinics to stop abortionists.

2) ACTIVITY: The Prisoner's Dilemma. I had my 8th grade CRE act this one out. Two boats. One with citizens and the other criminals. Bombs on both boats. Blow the other up or both blow up. See what happens when people decide. You can mix it up by adding different incentives/punishments for each side like ($1 million for the criminals if they go through with it, jail time for the citizens if they do). Or you can put the bomb on the boat of whoever decides to blow up the other-Tricky tricky.

3) PERSONAL: Who doesn't want to be Batman? Seriously. He's selfless, badass, brilliant, jacked, has the best toys and spiritual director in Alfred, rich, etc. etc. He sacrifices himself and his own desires for Gotham. What a hero.

And always remember, "the night is darkest just before the dawn. I promise you the dawn is coming" and "Why so serious?"

For those of you who are slackers like SPFL...

KEEP GOING!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! :)

For those of you who had no paper to turn in today...

No paper!

For those who had a paper to turn in today...

Praying to our gas-guzzling gods...

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0746551320081207

I know I've been a slacker and haven't posted a single blog post, and maybe this is a sad initial one to make, but here goes. This was way too crazy of an article to not send out. Things have gotten so bad with the auto industry that apparently at one church, SUVs were brought in and literally placed in front of the altar and became a central part of the service. The pastor prayed that Congress would bail out the auto industry and then literally annointed the cars with oil. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about sacramentality and the importance of the physical world and also think that it's important to discuss how we can assist those who are suffering in our economic climate, but this struck me as just a little odd.

More on Rob Bell

Yes. 3 of the last 4 posts are by me. Oh well.

I was interested on Rob Bell (the dude from the Nooma videos). I ran across this article on Rob Bell. Sounds like he's a pretty cool dude.

Just wanted to pass it on.

We could only be so lucky.

If only we could do this. Think of how much less time we'd spend eating? Less time eating = more time catechizing.

Get it. Get it.

Maybe she will join ECHO!

"I've been contemplating a college course in religion. I love religion. I remember whenever the book ‘The Da Vinci Code’ came out, the Discovery Channel did this three-night piece on it that I TiVoed and then watched eight times.”- Jessica Simpson

Note, however, that Jessica once thought that buffalo wings were actually made of buffalo and she also has pretty much cursed Jonathan's favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys.

The "Right Kind" of Catholic

I chanced upon a blog that had a post called The Right Kind of Catholic. Before you scroll up and down or decide not to click the link because of the title, she doesn't really mention what the "right kind" of Catholic is. It's more a post about Catholicism in America. I think it's a pretty good read about divisions within the Church. Just wanted to pass it on to you.

To comment on it, one of the comments mention that in America we, as a culture, have an attitude of winning. Not just winning, but a want for our opponents to suffer. I can't count the number of times I've heard people say (and sadly I sometimes join in), "I'm glad Michigan lost again". Or so many other people say, "I'm glad Notre Dame sucks at football". I think this permeates into our faith, this victorious attitude. We, as American Catholics (as a whole), sometimes want to push a certain part of Catholicism when, in fact, it doesn't work like that.

At Notre Dame, some people would refer to the "Campus Ministry Catholics" and the "Center for Social Concerns Catholics". I think the distinction is ridiculous. The Eucharist dismisses us to "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord". AKA Matthew 25. And service can never be seperated from our personal relationship with Christ.

Both. And.

I think the diversity is great. And I'm glad that each of us has a different personal point of emphasis. I do caution against heresy -- in the Chestertonian definition of the word. That is, heresy is when someone holds one particular truth (be it the divinity of Christ, humanity of Christ, or any other thing we as Catholics believe as true) so close to their face that it blinds you from the other truths.

There are legitimate differences. And there is a certain hierarchy of truths. But only one Jesus Christ. Let's prepare His way; make straight His paths.

The BA Archdiocese of MKE

I just downloaded a document from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's website called "Resources and Guidelines for Adult Confirmation." Just wanted to say that it is legit. Thanks, Milwaukee.

Procrastination...

So we've got this 20-page paper to write... that was technically due approximately 3 days ago... and I still have less than a page. Oops! What better way to procrastinate than to write on the blog! Duh.

Here are some of the things I've done to keep from writing my paper:

Clean my room.

Do laundry.

Watch Pushing Daisies on abc.com.

Read the blog.

Catch up on my Facebook stalking.

Keep busy at work.

G-chat.

Update my Google calendar.

Online Christmas shopping.

Put music on my iPod.

Make chili.

Keep track of the Marquette basketball team.

Take a nap.

Paint my nails.

Clean the coffee pot.

Send text messages.

Return phone calls.

Go grocery shopping.

Reorganize the refrigerator.

Spend 10 minutes trying to think of other things I've done to procrastinate...

I'm running out of things, and I'm actually starting to write my paper! Ut oh.

What have YOU been doing?? :)

A Nice Quote

I'm doing my research paper for class on the Imitation of Christ and I keep coming upon this fabulous line a Kempis has in Chapter 2:

"Behold, You are the Holy of holies, and I the scum of sinners!"

An Advent Poem

My mentor chose this reflection for our staff meeting today. I thought I'd share it with you.


The Many Disguises of Emmanuel

Emmanuel, God-with-us,
long awaited, eagerly anticipated,
delicious dreams of royal robes,
a messiah enthroned with elegance.

False notions and easily accepted illusions.

A few open ones, full of surprise,
heard the fresh, full cry of life
echoed in the uninhabited haven,
the only place ready for a birth that was ripe.

Shepherds, sages, and scribes,
drawn by angels and stars,
discovered this divine simplicity,
then hurried from the hillside
with news that amazed them all.

But many years later the cry goes unheard,
stifled in the roar of unyielding opinions,
submerged in the noise of hasty judgments,
masked in the false folds of cultural glitter.

The Surprising One continues to come,
entering the world in endless disguise,
concealed in those we have never forgiven,
secreted in the hearts of people we despise,
found in the rejected and unacceptable,
hidden in the ones we ignore and criticize.

-Joyce Rupp

Wee Believers - New Toy, Just for Boys!

If you don't know what to get young catholic nephews, brothers or cousins for Christmas this year, don't worry: Wee Believers, a Catholic toy company, has you covered. They've just introduced a plush Mass kit, allowing small children to have a hands-on experience during Mass. It even includes a set of foam wafers.

Of course, we wouldn't want young girls to get the wrong idea- this is not for them! The website makes it clear that it's intended for boys. Let's encourage Vocations, not heresy. Indeed, only kids with a Y chromosome should be engaged in "first-hand interaction" at Mass. It's not as though we rely on women to be Sacristans, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and ministers to the homebound.

Silence

We're doing an Advent workshop deal for the middle and high schoolers in our Christian Formation here at St. James next Sunday. I wrote an introduction to this video that we're going to watch in conjunction with the workshop. The video will be linked below the reflection.
---
We are here to be silent. Why silence? I thought we were here to do some sort of Advent-y prayer. Yes. We are. Silence can be a type of prayer. Meditation is prayer. We’ll be doing some of both. But it’s important to have a purpose when we are silence, when we meditate. The purpose is Advent. It’s a confusing word that we hear this time of year and sometimes push it aside, knowing that it means the time before Christmas. But Advent is a time of preparation—preparation for God entering into our lives, both in Bethlehem 2000 years ago and this very day, here and now. “The message of Advent is that God has not abandoned you. God is with you.” And so in preparation for Jesus entrance into the world, the Church gives Advent as time to prepare.

This seems crazy, but one way of preparation is silence, purposeful silence. Think about it. When we’re about to tell someone something important, we often take a pause before speaking. Silence. When we’re faced with a big decision in our lives, we take a moment—or many moments—to reflect before deciding. Silence. When we’re studying for that big test, we gather our notes, homework, and quizzes, and get busy studying. Hopefully, in silence. Silence removes the distractions, removes the noise, removes the busyness of our daily lives. Silence gives us time to think, time to prepare, time to be. Silence.

And so, I invite you to take this time out of your busy schedule to enter into silence. Well, it’s a guided meditation on silence, so there will be some talking. I invite you to think about what he has to say, think about how this applies to your life. There is paper and a pencil for you to write down anything that comes into your head. Afterward, we will discuss. Until then—silence.
---
And here's the video. Yes, we bought it. We're not going to show this version of it with the translation on the bottom, though that would be awesome.

Thoughts?

Sweet Website for Procrastination and Catechesis

A couple weeks ago, MTV decided to discontinue their famous music video show, Total Request Live also known as TRL. An era was done and a piece of my middle school days died with it. Fortunately, MTV has created a new website where one can get, watch, and enjoy every music video like ever and in much better quality than youtube

Some of my personal favorites include: NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" (the whole puppet thing is awesome), 50 Cent's "PIMP" and Nelly's "Shake your Tailfeather" (the theme songs to our Student Government Retreat Senior Year of High School), and pretty much anything with Rihanna or Beyonce in it.

So whether you need something to procrastinate with rather than working on your paper or need to show a music video for a talk, then check out

www.mtvmusic.com

Reviews of Colleen Moore and her visit to D-House

"mesmerizing"-TIME Magazine

"without equal"-Los Angeles Times

"rare specimen of human being"-The New Yorker

"Truly revolutionary, Moore has inspired the Catholic Church by going gently"-Pope Benedict XVI



What a woman.

Bubonic Plague?

Here in Fort Worth there has been a growing population of rats. Gross, right? Well if you haven't heard already, we had a rat in our house. I saw it, twice, on Friday. The thing was huge! And pest control was not helpful at all, but Paola's boyfriend sure was! He found the hole behind the fridge and filled it in. We're pretty sure that the rat was in there (or the garage) when he did that, so hopefully we won't have any more rat problems (except for the creature living in the attic). Don't ya'll which you could live here??? It's so much fun to be scared to go into your kitchen!

In other, more upbeat, news: I'm going to a Jeremy Camp concert tonight for free! It's a private, fan appreciation, concert that the Christian radio station is putting on. I'm taking three other girls in the diocesan young adult group who are actually my age!

I've also been listening to Christmas music... how else am I supposed to get in the mood for the upcoming Holidays when it's still in the 60's and I'm wearing shorts and flip flops today??? I heard that it's snowing up north, or did snow last night, and I am so jealous! I miss the snow!!!

Clam Chowder Day

In case you were not aware, today is International Clam Chowder Day. As a lover of people and food, this day is very important to me. I hope you don't mind if I post a brief history of the holiday:

During a cold, stressful and rainy week in Eureka a community of friends found the need to make plans, big plans. Thanksgiving break approached; the light at the end of the tunnel increased by the day. On the most difficult day of that week, Wednesday, 8 days before Thanksgiving, these friends made a pact- that they would on the following Saturday take what hopes, disappointments, joys and sadnesses they had, pool them together and find a way to celebrate the moment they had with each other. They also saw the bridge-building effects of doing this over a bowl of clam chowder, a food loved by many and which provides a symbol of the creamy warmth we need from each other this time of year. This day was known as Clam Chowder day, to be observed at the most convinient possible time, the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

And so it came to pass. That Saturday the friends found themselves united in bonds of love for both the comforting effects of Clam Chowder and, most importantly, for the gifts of friendship they provided for each other.

Since 2002, this Holiday has been celebrated in all places around the country, and will hopefully one day be celebrated internationally. Last year friends took in the joy of clam chowder in the Holiday's home, Eureka, San Francisco, Orange County, Washington DC, Massachusetts, Ohio, Indiana, and Maine, to name a few.

So, ask yourself, is there one person in this world you appreciate enough to share clam chowder with? Are there more? Hopefully your answer to at least the first question is yes, for, if with no one else, then you should share Clam Chowder with yourself.

Clam Chowder Day is a day about taking a small amount of time from your busy schedule to experience the moment, and to experience that moment in the presence and appreciation of those we love mutually. The delicious meal is included in an effort to share something hearty, traditional, simple and, as all take from the same pot, communal in nature. It is asked that no extraordinary means are exerted in order to celebrate the day, but that special advantage of one's given situation is taken. There is little greater joy than that taken in knowing that the present situation is the best, since it is all that is had.

In the spirit of the holiday, it is crucial to add that one need not even eat clam chowder if, by some choice of lifestyle or other personal taste, she would prefer not to. Indeed, many of our friends and family have found a bond to the animal world too strong to go ignored and have, honorably, made the decision to align their lifestyles according to that bond. Those who identify themselves as vegetarians should by no means feel excluded from this Clam Chowder Day. Corn Chowder or Potato Chowder are completely acceptable sea-food free alternatives. In the end, the point of the Day is to be fed by the chowder of our shared love.

Therefore, take joy in what we have! If you have celebrated Clam Chowder day in the past, then include someone new. And if you are new to this Good Day, then do whatever you can to take the opportunity it provides.

Wishing you happiness and peace with a grateful heart for your friendship and love, and, of course, a joyful Clam Chowder Day.

Saint Paul

As reported in the comments section of my previous post, "Lovin' & Huggin'" I discovered two new poems on the 11th, including one titled "Saint Paul" by one of our lifelong faith formation students, who, we'll call, for the sake of protecting the innocent, Aquila. His age is unknown, but estimated to be somewhere between 8 and 10. The original is decorated with numerous colored foam hearts, circles, triangles and squares. In a review of the poem for the BBC, Pauline scholar Jerome Murphy-O'Connor called the work "an outstanding example of 21st-century Christian poetry. Inspired stuff. And historically sound. Ahhhh?" Enjoy. (Capitalization, spelling, and punctuation left in orginal form.)

Saint paul, Saint paul how do you do.
Do you miss being a jew?
Saint paul, Saint paul
On your first mission you brought alms to the christians.
Saint paul, Saint paul
on your missionary journey
You built churches in Asian minorities
Saint paul, Saint paul
On your second missionary journey
You revisited the churches in Asian minorities
Then passing through Galatia
You had a vision that led you to mecadonia
Saint paul, Saint paul
On your third journey you visited nearly the same regions
Saint paul, Saint paul
On that same journey you were prosecuted by Jews
For two years in chains
Saint paul, Saint paul
After two years of ball and chain
You were sentenced for same punishment as Spain
Saint paul, Saint paul
Released at last but for your life It has ended,
With a glorius past.

Who Said Rap/Hip-Hop Isn't Catechetical?

This weekend at Immaculate Heart of Mary, we had a Confirmation gathering of all the 8th graders (school, CRE, Academy, homeschool) and their parents and sponsors. The kiddies break off into groups and one group is "fortunate" to have me as their "leader". Anyway, we got to talking about what Confirmation is and what it is not.

It is not 1)graduation from being Catholic 2) a get-out-of-jail card 3)a reason to be on Super 16th bday party.

We got to a point in the conversation where it was like "What's the point in Confirmation then?"

And I said, "To help you 'Live Your Life...hey hey hey.'" while doing the fist pump. In Class. The kids laughed. I got to quote T.I. & Rihanna and be bada$$ for another day.

Speaking of bada$$, i caught a girl text messaging in class and called her out by simply saying, "Caitlin. Stop text messaging" while looking the other way. The class was stunned. Legendary. For Sure.

Celebrating a Legend

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Thomas Jackson: gentlemen, role model, scholar, and dear friend.

I thought it appropriate for us to remember him tonight as we wait in vigil to celebrate his birth.

Appropriate memories are appreciated.

Parable of the Talents

I wrote another reflection for the St. James Christian Formation blog. Thought I'd share it with you too. It's for this upcoming weekend.
---
At the center of this parable are three servants and a journeying man. Two of the servants are praised as “good and faithful” while the other servant gets labeled “wicked” and “lazy”. The man, who leaves on a journey, leaves no instructions for his servants, but simply entrusts them with everything. At the end of the parable we find out that he is demanding, maybe even a little unfair. He wants results from places where he gives no expectations. He “harvests where he doesn’t plant and gathers where he doesn’t scatter”. It’s unreasonable to expect these things, and maybe the man’s unreasonableness is the reason why he gets angry when the third servant fails to double his allotment.

Why in the world is Jesus telling us this story of a man with unreasonable expectations? Because God is unreasonable. It seems unreasonable for God to send us His Son here to earth and even more unreasonable that Jesus would die for us. It seems unreasonable for there to be a Church that exists for two thousand years despite corruption and abundance of sin. It seems unreasonable for a parent to wake up at three in the morning to care for a crying baby.

Love is unreasonable.

Jesus coming into the world seems unreasonable, but Jesus is the ultimate example of love. A two thousand year old Church seems unreasonable, but despite the corruption and sin, the Church has been an instrument of love in the world. Anyone waking up at three in the morning seems unreasonable, but a parent’s love for the child trumps sleep sometimes.

God is the unreasonable person who entrusts us with everything. We have the earth, we have our family, we have our friends, and we have our lives. Of course, God does give us some instruction unlike the journeying man. But these gifts from God are all freely given to us out of God’s love for us. It is up to us to multiply this love by our thoughts, words, and actions. Doing so could result in being called a “good and faithful servant” of God. (Perhaps coincidently, the title “Servant of God” is the first title give to a person on their way to sainthood).

When we fail to multiply that love, when we cut ourselves off from other people, we risk being called “wicked” and “lazy”. At the heart of this failure to love is likely fear, for “there is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18). The third servant, out of fear, buried the talent. And us? Out of fear, what do we do? How does fear hinder our love for our family? For our friends? For our other brothers or sisters in Christ?

Huggin' & Lovin'

I spoke at our seniors' club luncheon today about Echo and the joys of corrupting the youths. Before my talk, I sat at a table with a number of wonderful folks, including a delightful wiseacre perfectly named Walter J. Roob. At one point, Walter handed me a 20-year old sort-of business card, which looks kind of like a Mass card. (Foreshadowing?[I'm a jerk.]) On the front is a picture advertising his former photography business, which is one of those one-picture-looks-like-two depending on how you hold it..ugly hag in one direction ("Before Roob Photography") and good-looking gal in the other ("After Roob Photography"). On the reverse side is an original Roob poem, entitled "Huggin & Lovin." Enjoy.

Ever wonder what your hug can do?
You can help someone when they're blue.
Your hug can say "I love you so,"
Or "I hate to see you go."
Your hug can say "Hi again,"
"I love you," or "How've you been?"
Your hug can heal a hurt,
When a friend's been done some dirt.
Your hug has heavenly beauty about it.
You can hardly live without it.
Your hug delights, thrills, and charms.
That's why God gave you arms.
Hug and love your father and mother.
Show God's love to sister and brother.
Huggin's great with your grandpa.
It's even warmer with your grandma.
Little puppies and kittens, too,
Love lovin' and huggin' from you.
Every human being, slave or king,
Knows that huggin' is "The thing."
Language is no barrier with huggin'.
If God is Love, huggin' is lovin'.
See 'em, touch 'em, smell 'em, feel 'em.
Love 'em, thrill 'em, show 'em, heal 'em.
The Bible even tells of Jesus,
Laying on his hands to please us.
So reach out your arms, do it each day.
Start lovin' and huggin'. You know it's O.K.

Double Blogging

For the first time in my life, I am a contributor on two blogs. This one and my newly re-launched (meaning that I finally started posting again) A Texan in Indiana Wisconsin. I just wrote a post about this weekend, and the craziness of it all. Since you have a bunch of free time, as you're looking at this blog, feel free to check it out. And then you can read all my other 600+ posts about my life, and see my journey through college to now.

But now it's time for pray pray.

Long...long...looooonggg...time no blog...lo siento...

Hello my Echo friends in other places other than Peoria...ok...Anna too. :-) It actually has not been a long time since I have blogged..now that I think about it..since this is my first time! Hope everyone is enjoying their experiences and completely letting go of themselves for the greater glory of our God. This experience has been quite a journey for me and I am sure one for you too. Everyone's is different and fits the plan that God has for our lives that will bring his beauty and be a sign of his love to the world!! Being a catechist and leader is beautifully humiliating and has drawn me closer into the depth of our God's love. Do you ever just ache to share such joy for those sitting next to you at Church or those you walk in with through the front doors at Church? I have learned that this is what I am called to do every morning and evening for every weekend Mass. I am a greeter during the beginning and closing of every Mass. My primary phrase is "goodmorning" or "goodevening" and sometimes an occasionally "how are you?" or "Go Irish!" or "Don't stop believing in the Irish...I know they can do it!" ;-) (JK)...Seriously though...sometimes I have found this simple act to be the most humiliating and least favorite tasks of my apprenticeship...until this weekend...no...there was never an "ACL moment" to bring me to the realization of how awesome this little task is...just a simple pause in thought and change of heart...realizing that the first step to catechesis and bringing God's beauty to the world is to humbly look into the eyes of every stranger and smile with authenticity...such a simple act...but something that I have faith will open hearts and doors in others not to know me soley...but to know His love first...How awesome is it to be a living light of Christ for others!!! Hope you enjoyed my rambling...

Love and Peace to All!
Kathy

Smile to let His light shine through you!!! Rely on Him always!!

Office Chat

My diva of a youth minister: So a kid waiting in line for confession dropped the f-bomb!

My mystic of a mentor: I'm sorry- what is a "f-bomb"?

For all you Latin fanatics out there

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/209946/november-06-2008/happy-88th-birthday--mom-colbert

So...

So... Whatchya'll been up to? (Translation: What have you all been doing recently?) Working towards Heaven, I hope! :)

This weekend is very chill for me. Today I spent the night all by myself in our house, which hasn't happened for a LONG time! I have nothing planned this weekend! Well, as of a few hrs ago I added a meeting to tomorrow morning, but it's just at IHOP for a team on the diocesan young adult council. Nothing too fancy. It's pretty awesome to simply spend some time in prayer, read what I want to read, watch a movie and some TV. I had hopes of watching a class tonight.... oops. Kind of behind on that... Maybe tomorrow!

Quote

I read this early this morning:, and it was so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you:

"Rosa sat so Martin could stand. Martin stood so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children could fly"
- Bil Browning

An Open Letter

I wrote this letter this morning and posted it on facebook. i figured i might as well do it here too.

So democracy happened last night and we now have a historic moment. No matter who you supported, we can all say that we were a part of history-the election of the first African-American President in the history of the United States. Considering that it was around 40 years ago that African-Americans were unfairly discriminated against with Jim Crow laws, this is truly a historic moment for our country. Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and all his supporters. To those who voted for McCain or voted not-Obama, one can take some solace in how classy and dignified Senator McCain was in conceding the election last night. For a man who gave his life to his country, one can expect nothing less.

Our greatest president ever, Abraham Lincoln, said in his 2nd inaugural address, "With malice towards none and charity towards all...let us strive on to finish the the work we are in...to do all which we may achieve and cherish a just and lasting piece among ourselves and with all nations." I ask that no matter if you voted for or against Barack that one reflects upon these words. You may ask, "Why is Tae bothering to write this?" It is a question that I ask even myself this morning, but as I look upon facebook status after facebook status of "we're screwed", "I'm packing my bags", "F*** liberals" then I know this is the time to write. Are Republicans going to have to do some soul-searching as a party? Absolutely yes or at least I hope so. Should democrats rub it in the face of their more conservative friends? I would hope not. The last thing we need is more partisanship and anger; what we need more of is more love of neighbor.

If anything, Obama possesses a great grasp of history and his small yet very large place in it. He states that" I am reminded everyday that I am not a perfect man, and I will not be a perfect president". Obama is not the messiah or Superman just as much as he is not the Anti-Christ or a Marxist. We cannot expect him to solve everything and we do not know how much the events of our time will shape him. Lincoln never fully intended on ending slavery as much as preserving the union. George W. Bush planned on a humble foreign policy until 9/11. We cannot foretell how someone's presidency will shape out even a person as popular and charismatic as Barack Obama.

In closing, I want to state that one of my favorite photographs is the picture of JFK standing over his desk called "The Loneliest Job". It captures the loneliness and difficulty of the office of the Presidency. Everyday Obama will make moral decisions and he will often feel alone. It is in this time that we need to be there with him. And just as he inspires and challenges us, we can and must do the same for him. Thank you.

We're riding the wave...sorta

This is a new way to communicate, this blog I mean. It looks like the Church is going to continue to move to Internet things. Check out the article about the Catholic Church embracing the Internet and technology.

Time for me to unembrace it for a while and get some work done.

Virtual Echo Man Pumpkin

I didn't carve an actual pumpkin, but I did carve a virtual one.



Carve your own here: http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Happy Halloween!!

If you go out tonight, expect this to happen to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkr_x7--WBk&feature=related

Or see this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBySfz_w3YE&feature=related

Ultimate Fakebook

I have a group of friends from Kansas who used to be fans of a local power pop/rock group called Ultimate Fakebook. Sounds from the group can be found here. They have a creative style but unfortunately, broke up in 2003. The band's name has been used colloquially to represent a fake person/action. A poser.

The band reference is relevant only to mention that the title Ultimate Fakebook has recently been revived because of the actions of my exuberant roommate: Genevieve Jordan. Today we had the chance to hear 'Delaware's Own' Joe Biden speak about 10 minutes away from the D-house convent on the campus of his alma mater: The University of Delaware.

Gen decided it was a good idea to leave around 6:45am to get a good spot for the 10:30am talk; I obliged, and we did get a good spot in the second row.

The spot was discovered to be even better as the potential VP descended to shake hands in the front row. Gen, sporting her snazzy maroon Philadelphia Phillies hat, reached her hand through a window between two shoulders in front of her. As Joe grabbed her hand Gen shouted 'Go Phillies!' Joe smilingly responded, "Yea! But the Phillies did it. Now it's go team!'

A seemingly warm encounter. So why condemn Gen to 'fakebook' or even worse, 'ultimate fakebook' status, especially since she has, commendably, been to one game at the Phillies stadium?

-She has never watched more than an inning of World Champion Phillies baseball before or since (including all of the playoff and World Series games)
-She can only name 2-3 players on the team
-She didn't know who/what the Phillies were before we moved to Delaware

Today, Gen used the tools that she had to prompt a conversation with the political celebrity; well done, she 'took what the defense gave her'. Yet, this came at the expense of playing the role of ultimate fakebook. Poser.

...I would have done the same thing!

Spying on Mike

I've been looking around on the St. Dominic's website to see when their Saturday Mass time is (4:30pm). As you know by Mike's post way below, he want on a mission trip to Ecuador. What you might not know is that there are pictures up on their website from this trip. And the blessing of the animals (that all 3 of us participated in--check out picture 22). And several other Mike related events, including a bonfire.

Don't kill me Mike.

Wilmington: "A Place to be Somebody"

Our baseball team-- soon to be World Champions
Our senator-- soon to be Vice President


...we're the shit

Spreading some Music Love

This past Saturday Angela and I went down to San Antonio for a Young Adult Conference. They had some great speakers there. It was just a one day deal and they ended it with a concert by Mike Mangione and his band! Mike is an amazing Catholic musician. His songs might not specifically be about Catholic things or God, but he wants people to interpret them as they will. He is an independent artist, so y'all should check him out! We got to meet him after his concert. He is from the Milwaukee/Chicago area and we actually have a friend in common, which is pretty awesome.

He is a pretty short guy, so I was bending down to get the pic (like I do with most short people...) and he goes "stand up straight!" He told me his wife is 6' tall. wowzers. Anyway, you can check him out at his own website and listen to his music on myspace. And you should check out where he's playing at to see him in concert b/c he is amazing live! And I saw by his microphone stand that he had a holy card of Pope John Paul II, a San Damiano crucifix, and another holy card. He knows where his focus is!

Echo-lantern

Peoria wishes all of Echo a blessed All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day!

Mark It Down

October 27, 2008: Brookfield's first snow of the season, and, I venture to guess, the earliest of all houses.

Unless Fort Worth has some surprising news.

Quarterly Report

So... we have finished our first quarter of being "Apprentice Catechetical Leaders" in our parishes and I think this is as good of a time as any to look back and reflect on we (or more specifically me)have learned so far. This is just a brief and somewhat censored list on things that I have learned about being an ACL and myself

1. Monkey See. Monkey Do.: After 4 years of going theology professors' classes, I have picked up a thing or two from them. Cunningham's walk with his two arms behind his back (that one's for you Meli). Fr. Odozor's seizing of the dramatic/intense moment. Fr. Daley's "any thoughts?" and getting all exuberant. MacIntyre's penchant for getting chalk all over his clothes when teaching and overly sharp/critical questioning. And of course Cavadini's fixing of glasses and pondering glances. If anything, I have completely found what I want to do with the rest of my life and by doing that I have discovered what I don't want to do as well...

2. "So do you have those TPS reports?": I never want to work a 9-5 or more specifically in my case a 9-4 job. Ever. I don't mind being in my office, but I can't stand being in there for overly long periods of time. Terry the Mentor mentioned the other day that she read an article about how people stay thin by being fidgety and constantly moving-she thought of me. I just want to go explore or camping for extending periods of time. This summer before we start up at ND again, I am going to either Israel or roadtripping. If the college version of me saw me now, he would be pissed how somewhat boring I have become.

3. "Sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.": I love all the people I have met while working and living in DE: Terry the mentor, Bob the curmudgeonly priest, Clement the Monsignor, Niamh the pre-school girlfriend, Random Kids at the school who wave at me, the hot yet unavailable teachers, my students young and old, Ed Gordon the Diocesan Director, and Mike and Lauren the neighbors. After years of living with brilliant college students, its great and eye-opening to live with people of all types and backgrounds. They are all good-hearted people. That means they deserve the best that I can give and should give. Being a hero...I mean catechist is more than just being the person that people need; its about being the person that people deserve.

So yeah those are some of the things that I have learned so far and hope to learn more. J-Lew is probably going to say something about how this post is so long, but you know what-Screw it.

Suggestions?

The D-House women are nowhere to be found this weekend!

Suggestions for me and The Tae?

This article makes me smile

I'm preparing for 10th grade class on Sunday. The topic is prayer. I've made it a goal of mine to include some sort of CS Lewis thing in every class from here on out.

After a couple of Google searches, I came across an article that talks about the mystical nature of Narnia and mentions prayer. So I read it, and it made me smile.

Any ideas for presenting prayer to 10th grade?

Standing On Top of the World

Hola, amigos. Here's a little taste of the Ecuadorian world, as I stand atop Quito's famous Basilica del Voto Nacional.

I need an ice scraper

I woke up this morning to go to 8am Mass, thought I'd have enough time (12 minute drive to parish, leave 16 minutes 'til Mass, until I realized that there was a thin layer of ice on my windshield. I lacked an ice scraper. So I had to turn on the car and wait for it to thaw out.

Fun story. I know. Moral of the story, don't live in Wisconsin. Other moral of the story, steal Tom's ice scraper. And, as always, the third moral of the story, after parking the night before you think there might be an ice storm, either leave your car running overnight or put a thin layer of either wax paper or plastic wrap over the windshield and the un-windshield (the back windshield which isn't really a windshield because it doesn't shield you from the wind in the same way that a real windshield does). That way you just have to wrap up the wax paper/plastic wrap and throw it onto the ground. Very environmentally safe.

World Series, HERE WE COME!!!!

RAYS WIN!! RAYS WIN!!

1998-2007 = Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays

2007 = Worst record in baseball

2008 = Tampa Bay Rays

(took "Devil" out.)

2008 = World Series

Coincidence? I think not...

Vincentian Prayer

Bill Johnson at a workshop thing a couple of days ago prayed this prayer. I really like it:

Divine Savior,
transform me into yourself.
May my hands be your hands.
May my tongue be your tongue.
Grant that every faculty of my body
may serve only to glorify you.
Above all, transform my soul and all its powers
that my memory, my will, and my affections
may be the memory, the will, and the affections of you.

I pray you to destroy in me all that is not of you.
Grant that I may live but in you and by you and for you,
that I may truly say with Saint Paul, "I live, now not I,
but Christ lives in me."
Amen.

Whoa!!! Gettin' Rid of Hair

I really just wanted to use that subject line, but just so y'all can recognise me next time you see me, here is what I look like minus 13 inches of hair.

Gettin' rid of hair. . . must be an echo thing.

Dept. of Cooler Echo Placement Than Yours: Not In Your Hemisphere

Hello darlings, and greetings from Quito, Ecuador. That's right, the southern hemisphere. Drink it up.

I don't really have time to write, since I'm bumming a computer off a volunteer at the kick-ass center I'm staying at. More will follow. But I wanted to get the jealousy brewing, or something.

Back Sunday night. Expect some kind of long-form thing within the next two weeks.

Just in Case Jerry DOES Read the Blog

A little background information:

When Jerry came to visit my parish last week Janet and I took him all around the premises, like the rest of you did. Since I'm teaching middle school religion classes every week, we thought it would be nice to introduce Jerry to one of my classes. So, we popped in on the class and I introduced him to the regular teacher, Mrs. Pennington, and the 7th graders. Jerry was actually great with the kids, although he only said a couple of things to them and then we were off to see t rest of the campus.

Now the story:

Yesterday, as I was walking to my 8th grade class I ran into one of my 7th graders. He asked me whether I was teaching his class and I told him that I wasn't, but that I would next week. His response was, "awesome. Is that Dr. Bomby... Bommer.... uh... Dr. guy going to come back with you?"

I had to reveal that Dr. Baumbach had gone back to his normal job at Notre Dame. 

"Dang," the 7th grader said, "I love that guy!"

Evidently, Jerry made a pretty big impression on my class!

Finally experiencing Fall

Oh how I have missed Minnesota! I am currently back in this grand state on a vacation from Texas. The leaves are beautiful and the weather is chilly. I saw a ton of friends when I went to the main academic building when afternoon classes were done with and got bombarded by people, it was amazing. Tonight my friends had a cookout at 7pm, so, it was basically dark out. We grilled up some hot dogs and my vegetarian friend ate chicken for the first time in 4 years! We loved it. The friend I'm staying with made an apple caramel crisp pie, wow was it delicious! She also made a pumpkin pie but we didn't eat it. And it got cold out! I loved it! I know, I know, call me crazy. But I don't get to experience my hands hurting from being cold in Texas.

So anyway, I'm loving being back up north. It feels a little weird not having a "home" on campus and there are many new faces, but plenty of familiar ones! Tomorrow one of my friends and I are going to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, WI. We're only going in the morning, but we both haven't seen the completed church (which they believe will be dedicated as a basilica).

Oh man, I am tired... ok, so random post.... catch y'all on the flip side!

Echo Gourd

(sorry for two posts in a row- but this was worth it)

The Baumbach Blogger

One of the first things Jerry said during my meeting with him was that Milwaukee house told him about the blog. He said it in a way that made me feel "found out" or convicted. I’m sure I said something stupid in response and then moved to a different subject.

He brought it up again at dinner, a couple of times. I soon realized that Jerry has NO IDEA what the blog is, and because of that, his imagination has really run rampant. He has some strange sense that the blog is all about him and that any piece of information that lets out about his life is no sooner spoken than posted on the blog for all to see.

"It probably even has my sons’ shoe sizes."

He feels very guilty about forgetting to tell St. Petersburg that his son is expecting a child. Apparently they asked him how his family was doing and he never answered. He was afraid that he would tell us something about his family (like expecting a grandchild), it would make it to the blog, and then St. Petersburg would see it and get their feelings hurt.

In other news, Jerry thinks his grandchild should be named "Echo." I thought he was kidding—and I think he sort of was, but he sort of wasn’t. Jonathan suggested the name "Gogy" if it’s a boy and I think "Gogia" is an appropriate feminine alternative.

Sarah, however, had the best idea:

"I think you should name him Hector because it has all the letters of ‘ECHO’ plus two more."


A final Jerry moment to report:

I gave him the routine parish tour and we came to our music director’s office. I introduced them and Jerry looked around and said something like, "yeah I appreciate what you do. I’m a real mystagog by nature."

cricket. cricket.

I had almost forgotten that mystagogia is ALWAYS relevant.

A Marriage Proposal

"Are you marrying Mr. Tae? Because I want to marry Mr. Tae!"-4 year Niamh (pronounced Nieve) to her grandmother, Ginny

The Prayer of Oscar Romero

Some of you have probably heard/read this before, but I found it when going through some of my things and I thought I'd share it with you. It's a good prayer for the work we're doing.

Have a beautifully blessed day! :)

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

3 Cheers for YAM!

YAM, as in, Young Adult Ministry! I wish there was a better acronym for that... oh well. This past week was crazy; I did a young adult related activity 6 days in a row! So here is a preview of the young adult ministry in the Diocese of Fort Worth. Normally it isn't this busy!

Monday: Small Church Community (dinner and "bible study" on the upcoming Sunday readings)
Tuesday: Theology on Tap (which is awesome here!)
Wednesday: Holy Family/Saint Andrew Young Adult Leadership meeting
Thursday: Diocesan Young Adult Council meeting and going out for a drink afterward
Friday: Symphony night! We scored more free tickets for the symphony, went out for a drink after that as well
Saturday: Flag Football practice (The diocese puts on sports tournaments 4 times a year; the fall is flag football for charity)

On top of that Jerry came to visit on Wednesday and Thursday and we had lunch with the Bishop on Friday. Jerry's visit was great, we gave him advice and we ate at a steakhouse. He also said that St. Petersburg spilled the beans on Echo 5 (I guess they told him about our blog). :O

How I Spent My Saturday: A Photo Essay/Bedtime Story

Today I got the full Florida experience.

I started off my day with a 5 hour trip to the beach.

(Let's not talk about the sunburn...)

Did I go with my grandma?

No...

I went with my two favorite girls from work -- Mary & Joanne!

Mary and I decided to go for a swim.

Wave to Joanne!

But then we came back and sat in ankle-deep water.

And while we were talking I started collecting sea shells.

I came home with a delightful little collection.

Then we went home. BUT the day was not over!

After dinner at a parish event, we went to Mary's neighbor's house to watch the Rays/Red Sox game. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into.

Loretta (Mary's neighbor, second from left) had all of her sisters over for the weekend. One of the sisters brought matching pjs for all of them.

This bunch of Red Sox fans (complete with heavy Boston accents) provided mucho entertainment for the evening. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious they all are.

And let me tell you - the 53-minute 5th inning was a little crazy.

The game is currently going into the 11th inning... approximately 4.5 hours after it started.

Needless to say, I'm glad I left when I did.

Time for bed.

I hope you all enjoyed this bedtime story.

I had a fabulously delightful day, and just about every person I hung out with could have passed for either my mother or my grandmother.

Gotta love living in Florida...

Famous People in DE

enough said.
(pages 9-10)

Render to Caesar...

At St. James, we reflect on the Gospel for the next Sunday every time we gather together either as a staff, in RCIA, in Christian Formation classes or a variety of other ways. I thought I'd share this with you, not for this week, but for next week Gospel:

What happens to Jesus here is what happens to us frequently. People try and trap us in our words, even and maybe even especially when faith matters come into play. The Herodians are trying to do that here with Jesus. Jesus, of course, knows what’s going on, and responds with some slick words of give to Caesar what is Caesars.

Jesus’ wit is just a funny little subtlety compared to the message of the Gospel. I think these words are especially powerful in today’s world, where the financial situation for the country and the world is very unstable. Money is not the most important thing in life. A job that makes a ton of money is not that important, because ultimately, money is meant to be spent. Money is a means to an end, and not an end itself. Money helps us get by, allows us to buy food and necessities—even some things that are not necessities. Currency is helpful, but ultimately is used to get other things that we need. On top of that, in the US, money is not even ours. It belongs to the government. That’s why it’s illegal to deface money. So give to the government what is the government’s—money.

The interesting part is the second half of the sentence though. Jesus could have left it at just that, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Instead, he calls us to give to God what belongs to God. This brings up the question, what belongs to God? Only the most important stuff of life: our time, our energy, and most importantly ourselves. For in God we live, and move, and have our being. While our money is stamped with the seal of the US government, we were stamped with a mark at baptism that claims us as God’s. But just how do we give to God’s what is God’s? How do we give God ourselves?

That’s the question for today’s Gospel. We are faced with the dilemma of giving of ourselves. Where and to whom do we give ourselves? To our job? To an addiction? To money? To our school? To ourselves? To our family? To our friends? To God?

Where are the priorities in your life? And are you faithfully repaying to God what belongs to God?

Most VAIN blog post... ever.

Per the request of another Echo-cincoer, I'm putting pictures of my new haircut on the blog. The first picture is semi-hideous, but I like the second one!

Say goodbye to six inches of my hair!!

DJI

Fact: Since we began at our parishes on August 19th, the Down Jones Industrial Average has dropped over 17%.
Conclusion: Echo 5 is bad for the economy.

Jerry visits SPFL

Famous Quote from Jerry Baumbach for the night

We are at dinner and he is fiddling with his camera trying to figure out how to zoom and he says.... "I know more about mystagogy than cameras." We died laughing. Sooooo funny!

Please Check for Heresy

So I am leading my first Echoes of Faith session-which is a catechesis program for school teachers and first time catechists. It's on Scripture. To help them, I came up with this.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Handy-Dandy Method to Reading and Understanding Scripture
By Tae Kang

Article 1: Is Scripture meant to be read and understood solely literally?
Objection 1: It seems that Scripture is meant to be read completely as a literal translation. It is, after all, the Holy Book that all should follow down to the last comma and period.
Objection 2: God inspired the authors of the Bible with His Spirit. God does not make mistakes with His intentions, so thus the Scriptures are meant to be read literally as to grasp God’s intentions.
Objection 3: If I do not read and believe everything in the Bible literally, I will lose my faith for how will I know what to believe?
Objection 4: Sarah Palin understands the Bible literally. Shouldn’t I? (not trying to make a political statement here-solely a statement of fact)

On the Contrary: The Holy Scriptures are not meant to be solely read and understood in the literal translation. To read it only literally loses the great, deep treasures that Scripture has to offer.

I answer that: There is more than one way to read Scripture.
1. Literal
2. Allegorical
3. Moral
4. Eschatological/Anagogical

(Yes it spells out LAME)

For example, read Gospel of Matthew 25: 33-Separating the Sheep from the Goats

I do not have time nor care to reply to the objections stated above.

Work Foul!

Today I spilled my coffee. I'm a bit tired and... the mug was a little hot. Oops! The only thing it got on was my big huge thing of paper. No idea what it is called. I'm sure my office will have a pleasant aroma of coffee now. We'll see!

That reminded me of another story. Paola, Angela, and I went downtown to this Musicarte thing (that is what it was called). There were vendors and musicians all celebrating Latino heritage. Angela and I had gotten a margarita (which was probably the best margarita I've had in my life!) and the three of us went to go sit down on a bench. Well, Angela spilled some of her's before we even sat down! We also wanted our picture taken and there were some officers on the corner, so I went to get one of them to take the picture. This guy was a little older, at least in his 40's, if not his 50's. He saw Angela's spilt margarita and goes "that's a party foul!" Oh my goodness, we couldn't believe he said that! Oh the fun times in Fort Worth.

Ok, I should get working on stuff for my Confirmation class this Sunday. These kids are great. Rowdy at times... but what do you expect with 40-50 kids in one area together? They're also attentive, which is great!

ps: it's actually raining here. First time since Ike.

So I am sitting here in the living room reading the blog, as I check it almost everyday, and I mention to Katie, "I never know what to post on the blog. I am just not random and not good at it like everyone else." Everytime I read the blog I'm like, "I'm going to post today," but then nothing comes. lol. yeah that's me. So this is it. Ellen's blog post. Enjoy.

When is a Man Educated?

(Ugh. I tried to edit it, and - like Sarah - I accidentally deleted it. Oops! Let's try this again...)

"When he can look out upon the universe, now lucid and lovely, now dark and terrible, with a sense of his own littleness in the great scheme of things, and yet have faith and courage.

When he knows how to make friends and keep them, and above all, when he can keep friends with himself.

When he can be happy alone and high-minded amid the drudgeries of life. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something besides mud, and into the face of the most forlorn mortal and see something divine.

When he knows how to live, how to love, how to hope, how to pray--is glad to live... and has in his heart a bit of song."

-Joseph Fort Newton

We found this on a box of tea. I thought it was great, so I wanted to share it with ya'll.

BUT you should know that a few people (women) in the office who read this saw the opening question and their first response was, "Never." Funny cuz it's true... :)

Have a fantastic weekend!!

The Rosary and Knute Rockne...who knew they went together

Today in my pursuit of finding resources to teach the rosary because the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary falls on Tuesday's class, I came across the following. It was listed as an activity in a saints resource book under a section titled Our Lady of the Rosary.

Share an Anecdote: Tell the students the story of Knute Rockne, who was one of the greatest college football coaches and a convert to Catholicism. Rockne, who made the forward pass popular, was well known for giving Notre Dame University football teams the ideals of sportsmanship and fortitude. He was killed in a plane crash in Kansas on March 31, 1931. When the rescuers found his body, he had a Rosary still clutched in his hand.

Wow, not what I was expecting to find as an activity to teach the rosary, but definitely an incident that brightened my day! Even catechetical resources share the enthusiasm for Notre Dame football! GO IRISH!

First house to turn on their heat

Milwaukee House. Tuesday, September 30th, 2008, approximately 11:10pm.

Note: we attempted, unsuccessfully, to turn the heat on about 2 weeks ago, but then we realized we had to go downstairs to flick the switch on the Carrier Weathermaker. Post Note: The model in the picture may or may not be the model the the Milwaukee House. However, the device is a Carrier Weathermaker and it does look like the one in the picture.

Echo Milwaukee -- so crazy, not even three towns can contain us.

"Do these pants make me look fat?"

So tonight in CRE, one of the things we talked about was the Story of the Rich Young Man. The theme for the day was "Morality is not easy" and i felt the story was a good fit. We got to talking about the Ten Commandments and more specifically, "Thou shalt not bear false witness". I said that this pertains to even the littlest and seemingly smallest questions. I asked if anyone has asked them, "Do these pants make me look fat?"

I gave them two possible responses to this tough dilemma

1." You're beautiful no matter what"
2. "I am not an expert in the question you are asking."

Before you pick up your pitchforks to hunt me down, know that we talked about a lot of other things: being a Catholic is a challenge in today's society, "it is our choices that show who we truly are far more than our abilities", St. Peter being crucified upside down, my college application story, LOST, we acted out the Prisoner's Dilemma from The Dark Knight (unfortunately the citizens decided to blow up the criminals this time-but there was a twist: the bomb was on their boat), and "come to me who are weary and burdened...". so i wasn't corrupting too many of the guys' minds. yet.

Score and Name

Tae and I just finished playing touch football with two 7th graders from a local Catholic grade school.

1. What do you think the score was?
2. What would our team name be?

T-ball

I played tennis this morning with an 83 year-old parishioner who used to play at Villanova in his prime. He was giving me tips the whole time, though he didn't move more than 2 feet in the hour we played. Later as we were playing another older man named Archie joined us. The kindly old Chinese man told me after playing: 'you have good fastball'. I'm assuming he was talking about my forehand.

Laskey and Isaac, consider this fair warning that my game will be radically improved after playing with the elderly. Beware.

The Wedding Coordinator

I would just like to congratulate Meli Barber for being fantastic at her job. My high school friend's wedding yesterday went very smoothly mostly because of her. Isaac, you'd better hope she's available for your big day.

Indianapolis was lovely. Echo house Indy is huge and confusing. I got lost inside.

Echo SPFL is famous.

Here it is... the article that was on the COVER of the St. Petersburg edition of the Florida Catholic newspaper. (How embarrassing...) Enjoy! :)

'Echo' is real-life class for theology grad students

Solution to bug problems

Fort Worth House, I have a solution to your bug problems...

Get Tae for a housemate, or possibly another guy might work.

Here's how it works:

Sarah sees a HUGE bug; she screams. Gen comes running, looks at it, and screams. Tae comes to the rescue, squishes the bug, and even throws it away in his trash can.

Problems solved. It's that easy.

Some Quotes that Brighten My Life

"Once you go Asian, you don't go Caucasian"-Mike Rose our neighbor at Oktoberfest

Ginny the Volunteer Secretary: Tae, do you play any sports?
Me: Well, I like to play football and basketball. Oh and beach volleyball in the summer.
Ginny: Oh, with the girls in their bikinis?
Me: Um no. they're wearing regular clothes.
Ginny: The girls in the Olympics wear bikinis.
Me: yeah, they wear them to move faster. the clothes slow them down.
ginny: i think that's my problem in life. im wearing too many clothes that slow me down.

No one in our parish knows Ginny's age-she's covered her tracks real well and hunted down all the records and deleted them all. Our assoc pastor wants to find out her age and thus taunts her with comments like

"ginny's been around since christopher columbus did his first communion"

i got on the bandwagon with comments like

"hey ginny, did you ever go on a date with this guy?"-while pointing to a picture of Thomas Edison

she only says to fr. bob-"he's been hanging around you too much". gotta love parish life.

Live blogging (or as close as we can get)

Announcing:

There will be live Echo blogging tonight for The Office season premiere. Please feel free to leave questions, comments, and concerns--including the most recent Emmy shaft-session.

Happy blogging!

The Award for Most Creatures in their house goes to...

Fort Worth!

A gecko, a few roaches and waterbugs, ants, and now a mouse. Oh goody. Seriously, where is our guy roommate!?!

Tonight Angela and I prayed Night Prayer and we were on the floor in our prayer room (one of the first bedrooms on first floor). We were just chatting and all of a sudden she stammers out "a mouse!" We both screamed and I clamored on top of a chair. We had no idea if it went into my room or the guest room right next door. Thankfully Angela is brave and she went into my room first. Well, I haven't quite cleaned my room fully, so there were quite a few objects on the floor. We looked around those first and by the desk and behind and under my night stand. I looked on the side of my bed (against the wall) and saw mouse turds. Great. We weren't seeing anything so we almost gave up and were going to search the other room when all of a sudden I moved a folded blanket that was between my bed and the night stand and it came scurrying out. It ran towards my desk, went behind there, then behind the door, and finally ran out of the room. I was on top of my bed (I didn't really leave that spot when looking for the thing) and Angela was in the hallway. We were both screaming our lungs out (my throat is a little sore because of it). He scampered into the prayer room and Angela closed the door. We put a towel by the crack on the bottom (since I guess those things can squeeze through small places). We forgot the light was on so banged on the door to make some noise then quickly opened it up and shut it off.

We went upstairs to tell Paola about it. She thought we were watching TV and making noise b/c of that! Nope, sorry, not this time! Angela and I came down and put another towel in front of the door to secure our captive while Paola sent an e-mail to our diocesan director. We had to check to see if there were any other mice under my bed (I have a wooden box and the backside is open b/c there should be drawers there, which we believe we found tonight). Angela and I had a plan of action in case there were more... I grabbed some stuff I would need for tonight/tomorrow and put it out of the room. If we saw any we were going to trap them in my room for the night. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but we had to do what we had to do. We moved my bed and Angela looked under there with a flashlight. To our relief there wasn't a single living animal. She then vacuumed up two of the mouse droppings but decided we should put some in a bag in case the pest control wants them (to learn more about the mouse?). We believe my room is clear, but I still have my tennis shoes on and was quite jumpy at first. I've finally let myself take Isaac's would-be advice and calmed down.

Don't y'all wish you could have as much fun with creatures as we do here? I couldn't even tell you the last time I've screamed so much!

Oh man, I'm in second place

I entered this contest hosted by Blue-Gray Sky called Pick Six, and I am in second place after a month of games. Second place out of thousands (or at least what seems like thousands). Check out the Pick Six standings. I'm fifth from the top with 98 total points. Or you can look all the way to the right and you will see that echocinco.blogspot.com is the first blog listed.

Get it, get it.

"Can I help with anything?"

So... I can't quite follow up an amazing news article about Jerry, but I have a fun story. Tonight the Fort Worth house went to eat at the house of the Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Ft Worth. He and his wife also invited 3 other young adults who are on the young adult council for the diocese, who Angela and I had met before. And we had met Chris, who works as webmaster for the diocese, a few besides that. Kevin and his wife, Nikki, hosted a lovely meal and we had some great conversations. We heard a lot about the early life of Kevin and Nikki, which was really cute. They just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. Anyway, back to the actual story.

We were all done with our meal and dessert and coffee, and Chris had left (rather, went outside with Kevin and they chatted by his car for awhile, which up north we call a good 'ol Midwestern good bye). Angela asked if she could help with anything, and Nikki said "no, I will take care of it." And she was pretty persistent about that. I was still sitting down and Angela comes over and tries to take a glass and goes "just a little bit!" but I told her "no, sit down!" She restrained herself for awhile, but then, despite what the hostess said, started cleaning up! She's pretty funny that way. I guess it runs in her blood. So, if y'all want to have us over for dinner, don't worry about cleaning because Angela will take care of it for you! =) "Can I help with anything?" is Angela's favorite line. Love you, girl!

Baumbach Visits Wisconsin, Leaves Impressed

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Dr. Gerard Baumbach, director of the University of Notre Dame's Echo Program, told Milwaukee House residents that he was thrilled with their community during the first of his annual house visits Monday.

"Congratulations to you," Baumbach said to Echoites Thomas J. Action, Izzie Garcia and Mike Laskey. "When I see what you've done here, my heart sings."

Baumbach spent Monday night touring the Milwaukee home, and was particularly struck by the house's prayer room, large deck, and official mascot, Poko the goose. After the tour, the impressed Baumbach treated the three men to an upscale dinner at Brookfield's North Star American Bistro, joking that he would take the residents of Peoria to Burger King Wednesday night to save funds.

Baumbach spent Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday touring the Echo parishes in the area, meeting with apprentices, mentors, and apprentices and mentors, and occasionally breaking into spontaneous prayer.

Baumbach has been visiting parishes to get a sense of what he calls their "climate and culture" for the past five years, after spending a quarter-century in catechetical publishing. "No two parishes are identical," he said. Due to time restrictions, Headless Clown researchers were unable to complete a full survey of American Catholic parishes to verify this claim.

"It was really nice to see Jer-Bear," one house member said, on the condition of anonymity. "I especially liked the free dinner, and he brought along a box of chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Company. Those were delicious."

Fish and Chips?

I don't know if y'all got an email about this or not, but the more spoiled members of Indy House are currently on pilgrimage in the Holy Land. They're keeping a blog of the adventure, so check it out if you get the chance!

http://archindy.org/175th/blog/

(My title line is a reference to my favorite comment on it so far. You can find the comment in the "Humor" podcast.)

"Pop quiz, Hotshot!"

So I'm being a jerk and giving my class a pop quiz today. Gotta love the power. Let's see how you guys do.(bonus credit and love if you get what movie my title line comes from)

1. ____________________ is the Patron Saint of Theologians. Theology

means _____________________ of God.

2. Who is not a Church Father? Warning: there may be more than one.

a) St. Jerome
b) St. Peter
c) St. Ambrose of Milan
d) Blair Waldorf

3. Pope Gregory the Great invented Gregorian Chant. TRUE or FALSE?

4. Complete the Quote: “Our heart is ________________ till it __________ in Thee.”

5. What does it mean to be inclusive rather than exclusive?




6. What time does class begin? ___________________(6:30)

7. Learning about morality is good for me and my education. T/F?

8. Life is like…
a) A box of chocolates
b) Grand adventure story
c) A game of baseball/football/basketball/field hockey/(insert sport here)
d) All of the Above
e) None of the Above
BONUS: What does A.D. stand for and mean?

"We're going to pray two rosaries..."

Today was the first day of Christian Formation classes at St. James. I came in early and helped out with managing the traffic, greeting families, and answering the phone. Today was actually the first day I answered the phone: "Christian Formation Office, this is Isaac". It was awesome. But the big part was that it was the first time as a catechist, well, in a narrow sense.

I have a 10th grade class of youth who are willing to learn and who are good kids. I think that it'll be a really good year. I look forward to our future meetings together.

Some of the highlights include opening with prayer by saying, "We're going to pray two rosaries and the follow it up with another prayer service at the end of class." The look on their faces was hilarious. Of course, after I told them that this was not going to be the case, they seemed a little more relaxed. But we did start class with a prayer. I want to try and show them different icons/crosses/holy cards, so today was St. Francis' cross, which I don't know the name, but I'm sure one of you awesome people know it off the top of your head. So I led the prayer of St. Francis' prayer before the crucifix. It's a very good and simple prayer. Just like St. Francis.

Que mas? Oh, a big thanks to JP for icebreakers. I used beach ball interrogation which everyone seemed to enjoy. That went over well. Did the human knot. And asked the epic question "if your faith were an animal, what kind of animal would it be and why?" Thank you ND Vision for helping me with that one. [aside/shameless plug (especially for you Midwest folks): I highly recommend you to look at the Vision stuff and talk to your youth minister about potentially getting a group out there. Contact Lenny for more info].

Overall, a good experience and I hope that many more good things will come from it. Class was pretty short today and we were also competing with the Packers vs. Cowboys game (which the 'Boys won, get it, get it). I have 2nd grade on Tuesday and then RCIA starts up next week. I also went to training for SVdP society. It was amazing. If any of you are still looking for things to do in your parish, I would recommend checking out your local conference. A lot of good work is done through St. Vincent de Paul.

Anything else? Oh yea, Golden Tate = ridiculous. He cannot be stopped. If only he played offensive line, defensive line, and and receiver...

Oh yea, Jerry is visiting Monday. Get jealous. Just kidding. No, but seriously, it should be cool.

You're in my prayers Echo Cinco. Enjoy your week.