The cheerful smile for those who bother you; that silence when you're unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in those who live with you... this, with perseverance, is indeed solid interior mortification.
Don't say, "that person bothers me." Think: "That person sanctifies me."
-- St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, nn. 173-174
(Via Paths of Love blog)
30 September 2009
24 September 2009
Women and Ecclesial Decision Making
Historic step by the Bishops Conference of India.
How can we move toward this in our parish ministry and in our national structure?!
Something to think about!
How can we move toward this in our parish ministry and in our national structure?!
Something to think about!
21 September 2009
Who Are We?
I apologize for the length of this post. This afternoon I received some upsetting e-mails and this is my response and reflection to them:
As young American Catholics we need to ask ourselves “who are we?” in the broader context of the Church. What do we truly believe and how are we carrying out the gospel message? Today we are faced with many inculturation questions: in our personal lives, our work, and our parishes, and this is not just in Texas.
Two weekends ago my parish began to introduce a new Mass setting, “Misa Luna.” The bishop wants all parishes in the diocese to incorporate this into Sunday worship because this is the setting that will be used at diocesan-wide events. There is an option for doing it bilingual, and my parish has decided to use it. Most of the parts we sing are in English and only a couple we have sung in Spanish. They continue to introduce new parts week by week.
Today I, and many other staff members, received an e-mail from a young married woman. She said she is very sad today because her family is leaving the parish I work at. They have been here for 8+ years and it is where she went through RCIA. Her reason for leaving is the switch to singing bilingual Mass parts. She said she was sad, but her responses are what sadden my heart: “If you don't speak English, I think you should go to a Spanish-Speaking or Vietnamese-Speaking parish. We will drive farther and go out of our way to attend an entirely English-Speaking church because that's the language we speak.” And in a response to my e-mail she said:
“Why is it okay to have completely Spanish-Speaking Parishes, completely Vietnamese-Speaking Parishes but no completely English-Speaking parishes? Why do my children have to learn a language that is different from that of our Constitution, that which is printed on our Dollar Bill, that which our President delivers his national addresses in?”
I do not know why this woman has such strong feelings and perhaps she had a negative experience in the past. But isn’t this the American attitude that we need to fight against? Who are our neighbors? And if we cannot accept and welcome our neighbors into our lives and into our places of worship, then who are we as Christians? Paul fought against similar attitudes: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
We cater our world to what we want. We fit things into our own boxes and make decisions and actions that are selfish and uncaring of others. Sure, communication would be easier if we all spoke English, but what about the beauty of inculturation. If we simply pass on the opportunity to learn about other cultures, the rich traditions they carry, and even their language, then we are rejecting our neighbor, our brother, our sister.
If we answer the question that Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” and proclaim him to be our Messiah, the Christ, and we profess to be followers of him, then we need to answer the question “Who am I?” in light of those responses.
As young American Catholics we need to ask ourselves “who are we?” in the broader context of the Church. What do we truly believe and how are we carrying out the gospel message? Today we are faced with many inculturation questions: in our personal lives, our work, and our parishes, and this is not just in Texas.
Two weekends ago my parish began to introduce a new Mass setting, “Misa Luna.” The bishop wants all parishes in the diocese to incorporate this into Sunday worship because this is the setting that will be used at diocesan-wide events. There is an option for doing it bilingual, and my parish has decided to use it. Most of the parts we sing are in English and only a couple we have sung in Spanish. They continue to introduce new parts week by week.
Today I, and many other staff members, received an e-mail from a young married woman. She said she is very sad today because her family is leaving the parish I work at. They have been here for 8+ years and it is where she went through RCIA. Her reason for leaving is the switch to singing bilingual Mass parts. She said she was sad, but her responses are what sadden my heart: “If you don't speak English, I think you should go to a Spanish-Speaking or Vietnamese-Speaking parish. We will drive farther and go out of our way to attend an entirely English-Speaking church because that's the language we speak.” And in a response to my e-mail she said:
“Why is it okay to have completely Spanish-Speaking Parishes, completely Vietnamese-Speaking Parishes but no completely English-Speaking parishes? Why do my children have to learn a language that is different from that of our Constitution, that which is printed on our Dollar Bill, that which our President delivers his national addresses in?”
I do not know why this woman has such strong feelings and perhaps she had a negative experience in the past. But isn’t this the American attitude that we need to fight against? Who are our neighbors? And if we cannot accept and welcome our neighbors into our lives and into our places of worship, then who are we as Christians? Paul fought against similar attitudes: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
We cater our world to what we want. We fit things into our own boxes and make decisions and actions that are selfish and uncaring of others. Sure, communication would be easier if we all spoke English, but what about the beauty of inculturation. If we simply pass on the opportunity to learn about other cultures, the rich traditions they carry, and even their language, then we are rejecting our neighbor, our brother, our sister.
If we answer the question that Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” and proclaim him to be our Messiah, the Christ, and we profess to be followers of him, then we need to answer the question “Who am I?” in light of those responses.
A Meeting of Cultures at the Table
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners"- Pharisee #5
A little known fact about my parish is that it has a Korean community that meets on Sundays at 6 p.m. As a pureblood Korean, one would assume that I have gone to say hello, help out with catechesis, or even poach a free Korean meal or three. You would be wrong. Why? There's a multitude of reasons, I suppose, including the fact that I am the worst in my family at speaking Korean. It would kinda be like asking Barack Obama to speak Swahili...wait probably not that bad. I can at least get by in restaurants and some social situations and talking with my mom.
But yesterday was the Confirmation celebration of the Korean community and my pastor invited me to attend as his special guest. I figured that now in my 2nd year at IHM; I would be more settled and ready to take this on-so I accepted. I went to the liturgy and it was a pleasant reminder of my childhood-a fusion of our Bishop's english, a valiant attempt at speaking English, and Korean. After the liturgy, the Bishop invited me to sit at the head table with the leaders in the community and a couple of the priests. I am sure everyone was wondering, "Who the heck is this joker? Why does this schmo get to sit with the Bishop?" For once in my life, I get to be a mysterious figure-yes!
One of the funniest moments of the night had to be one priest grabbing a whole wasabi (a Japanese hot spicy mustard) ball and putting it in his mouth. You're only supposed to eat a dab of it. We thought that we had to take him to the emergency room. Ironically enough, one of the Korean leaders did the exact same thing a minute later. The white priest felt much better.
The great thing about the meal was introducing our Bishop to the wonders of Korean delicacies and dishes. He was genuinely interested in trying the different things unlike my pastor who was nervous in everything pretty much. He asked me to explain different things about the foods and Korean culture. Just as Jesus met with a different culture (tax collectors and sinners) and ate with them, our dinner was a meeting of different cultures and customs yet the same creed. The Bishop then asked me, "So what are you planning on doing in DE after this year?" He was adamant about wanting the four of us to stay in DE and he wanted to make sure that we were in constant conversation with the diocese about it. Apparently we were an "investment".
At the end of the night, I turned to one of the leaders and thanked him for their hospitality. I gathered up some courage and said, "My Korean sucks, but if you need any help with classes or ministry; I would be happy to help." I don't know if anything will come from this meal, but I look forward to seeing what happens.
A little known fact about my parish is that it has a Korean community that meets on Sundays at 6 p.m. As a pureblood Korean, one would assume that I have gone to say hello, help out with catechesis, or even poach a free Korean meal or three. You would be wrong. Why? There's a multitude of reasons, I suppose, including the fact that I am the worst in my family at speaking Korean. It would kinda be like asking Barack Obama to speak Swahili...wait probably not that bad. I can at least get by in restaurants and some social situations and talking with my mom.
But yesterday was the Confirmation celebration of the Korean community and my pastor invited me to attend as his special guest. I figured that now in my 2nd year at IHM; I would be more settled and ready to take this on-so I accepted. I went to the liturgy and it was a pleasant reminder of my childhood-a fusion of our Bishop's english, a valiant attempt at speaking English, and Korean. After the liturgy, the Bishop invited me to sit at the head table with the leaders in the community and a couple of the priests. I am sure everyone was wondering, "Who the heck is this joker? Why does this schmo get to sit with the Bishop?" For once in my life, I get to be a mysterious figure-yes!
One of the funniest moments of the night had to be one priest grabbing a whole wasabi (a Japanese hot spicy mustard) ball and putting it in his mouth. You're only supposed to eat a dab of it. We thought that we had to take him to the emergency room. Ironically enough, one of the Korean leaders did the exact same thing a minute later. The white priest felt much better.
The great thing about the meal was introducing our Bishop to the wonders of Korean delicacies and dishes. He was genuinely interested in trying the different things unlike my pastor who was nervous in everything pretty much. He asked me to explain different things about the foods and Korean culture. Just as Jesus met with a different culture (tax collectors and sinners) and ate with them, our dinner was a meeting of different cultures and customs yet the same creed. The Bishop then asked me, "So what are you planning on doing in DE after this year?" He was adamant about wanting the four of us to stay in DE and he wanted to make sure that we were in constant conversation with the diocese about it. Apparently we were an "investment".
At the end of the night, I turned to one of the leaders and thanked him for their hospitality. I gathered up some courage and said, "My Korean sucks, but if you need any help with classes or ministry; I would be happy to help." I don't know if anything will come from this meal, but I look forward to seeing what happens.
18 September 2009
Jesus, Compassionate Savior
I wrote this for our intergenerational catechesis program (GIFT), for our newly rolled out blog. Wanted to share it with y'all. The answer to a basic question, "Who do you say that I am?"
---
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior.
Compassionate because you, the Eternal Word, didn’t regard equality with God something to be grasped. Instead, you let go, you humbled yourself, you emptied yourself taking the form of a servant and came to us like us in all things except sin. You could have come in a scary way, through a talking animal, a powerful giant, or a flying angel. Instead, you were found human in appearance. You wanted to be like us. You lived life as one of us and you know of our pain, our suffering. Jesus, you yourself suffered and were obedient to death, even death on a cross.
But Jesus, your compassion is not limited to your birth and death. Your life speaks of compassion. We see you healing the blind, curing the lame, dining with sinners and the least among us. You speak with women and men, with children and adults, the words of everlasting life. You look upon crowds both now and then and are moved with pity and provide nourishment, with bread that sustains our body, mind, and spirit. You want to be with us, want to meet us most especially in those places we consider unworthy, unsatisfactory, imperfect. Your special love for the poor extends into the poor areas of our life.
Jesus, your desire to heal extends beyond our time and our space; you are our savior.
You saved us through your suffering, death, and resurrection and save us now when we call out to you. When we face a difficult situation, when we are in pain and need healing, when we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we turn to you. Salvation is life-giving and you are the source of life.
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior. Desiring our good, loving us until the end, and always calling us towards yourself, may we live eternally in your loving embrace.
El Greco: The Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind
"Who do you say that I am?"
---
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior.
Compassionate because you, the Eternal Word, didn’t regard equality with God something to be grasped. Instead, you let go, you humbled yourself, you emptied yourself taking the form of a servant and came to us like us in all things except sin. You could have come in a scary way, through a talking animal, a powerful giant, or a flying angel. Instead, you were found human in appearance. You wanted to be like us. You lived life as one of us and you know of our pain, our suffering. Jesus, you yourself suffered and were obedient to death, even death on a cross.
But Jesus, your compassion is not limited to your birth and death. Your life speaks of compassion. We see you healing the blind, curing the lame, dining with sinners and the least among us. You speak with women and men, with children and adults, the words of everlasting life. You look upon crowds both now and then and are moved with pity and provide nourishment, with bread that sustains our body, mind, and spirit. You want to be with us, want to meet us most especially in those places we consider unworthy, unsatisfactory, imperfect. Your special love for the poor extends into the poor areas of our life.
Jesus, your desire to heal extends beyond our time and our space; you are our savior.
You saved us through your suffering, death, and resurrection and save us now when we call out to you. When we face a difficult situation, when we are in pain and need healing, when we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, we turn to you. Salvation is life-giving and you are the source of life.
Jesus, you are our Compassionate Savior. Desiring our good, loving us until the end, and always calling us towards yourself, may we live eternally in your loving embrace.
"Who do you say that I am?"
17 September 2009
Holy Name Elementary School Needs Your Help!!
Remember in Jan's class when I was talking about how we basically have two years to figure out our funding problems or my Church faces closure? Well this is a quick way to help! Just click the link and in 15 seconds, you can help Holy Name win $20,000.
Thank you so much!!!!
Thank you so much!!!!
13 September 2009
MY SISTER GOT ENGAGED!
I know that none of you know her, but I was so flippin' excited yesterday that I clearly had to share the news with all of you. They are currently in Hawaii - he proposed yesterday on the top of Diamond Head. (Get it - diamond... eh?) :) They got a woman to take some pictures of the two of them after their hike to the top. After she took two pictures, Bryan asked her to take one more and pulled out the ring. Pretty perfect if you ask me...
Oh. And I get to be the maid of honor. So exciting!!!
08 September 2009
What did you see on your drive?
A very simple question. Sometimes our drives are monotonous. Sometimes they're glorious. Most of the time they fall somewhere in between.
But what did you see driving today?
Me, I saw chickens pecking around a yard, about 20 feet away from the highway. You?
But what did you see driving today?
Me, I saw chickens pecking around a yard, about 20 feet away from the highway. You?
04 September 2009
The Spirit Is A-Movin'
Our RCIA program is getting a huge overhaul this year. And I'm coordinating it. In the past, it was dry and boring. The Spirit still worked through this, but it could definitely have been more engaging. Since the new Rector at St. Jude's gave me responsibility for developing an RCIA team, I have been operating within various levels of "Holy shit I don't have an effing clue what I'm doing." Rather than spend all my time freaking out, I've been trying to commit my new roles in the parish, especially the ones in which I am least experienced, to prayer.
And so, as I've been searching for team members in a parish that has no sense of community, God has been very good to me. The best and most surprsing evidence of God's hand in the matter came today. I was working on the new handbook for religious education when the receptionist called to tell me I had a visitor. A woman I'd never met before was in the waiting area of the office, hoping to volunteer for the RCIA team. She has had years of experience coordinating RCIA for her last parish. She is moving to another state in 9 months and wants to get involved somewhere else while she lets them transition to new leadership. She said she just had a feeling that we could use some help, but she wasn't sure why. Needless to say, I signed her up immediately.
God is crazy!
And by crazy I mean awesome.
01 September 2009
Our Cute Retired Pastor
Our retired pastor still hangs out around the parish. He's not here all the time, but he comes into the office and answers e-mails, reads things, who knows what else. Today he walked by my office and said "Don't fall asleep now!" Surprisingly I'm rather awake! I went down to our copy room to pick up some stuff I printed off and there he was, looking at a magazine. He started telling me a story of his sister, who has passed away. He said she would always call people by cute names, such as honey bun. When she was in the nursing home the assistant would say good night and she would respond with "Good night sweet pea." He said the assistants working there laughed so hard at that. I was thinking to myself, where is this story coming from!? Well, on the cover of the magazine there was a picture of a baby wearing a hat. And on the hat it said "sweet pea." Funny how God can make us remember things about our loved ones.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)