The New Evangelization

So the joys and "Hot Mess" of NCYC are now over and its good to be back home. 24,000 screaming teens, the Jason and Crystalina talk, a 30 min concert by Matt Maher, a phenomenal Mark Hart talk, and the smiles and prayers of the teens made it all the crap of being a chaperone worth it. I compare it to a fusion of a Lifeteen conference (the singing and dancing) and World Youth Day (the chanting in the sidewalks, trading of items, and less charismatic stuff). All great stuff that sent the kids out on a spiritual high...but I believe that there's a better way to evangelize.

As you may know, Charlie Weis is soon to be disposed of as the Head Coach of ND Football. My friends (including our one-and-only Isaac Garcia) and I have been sending each other around 50 emails about the possibilities of who will replace him. At the top of everyone's list-Urban Meyer of Florida-2 time National Champion, has resurrected every program he's been at, and was named after the Popes (talk about a devout Catholic family!)

I told someone about the 50 emails that we have been sending about the tantalizing possibility of Urban Meyer and she said that my friends should spend more energy on saving the world or something like that. I relayed this message to my friend Kevin Baker and he responded with this:

"If Urban Meyer comes to Notre Dame, we will win National Championships. If Notre Dame wins, then the school and the Catholic Church will be in the mind of every kid out there. All those kids in poor urban areas will want to study hard and get into ND. Then they will come to visit Notre Dame, see the Basilica and the Grotto, convert to Catholicism, and then soon- we will have a bunch of Catholics running around. And who wouldn't want that?"

The person I told this to simply said, "Touche." So what can we all do for the Catholic Church? Pray that Urban Meyer becomes the next Head Coach. For sure.

Why haven't we been doing this all along??

In the last week or so, I've stayed up past my arbitrary bedtime on several occasions. Why, you ask? Because I've been video chatting with various Echoites. Skype, iChat, G-Chat... I've used them all. Why haven't we been doing this more? I demand more inter-Echo video chatting!

(...because I miss all of your beautiful faces!!)

Charity!? : A response to Isaac

Thank you, Isaac, for your recent postings, especially on the Catholic blogosphere. Reflecting on the idea of "charity" made me think about other areas of our lives as well. Has our world forgotten about charity? No, I don't think it has forgotten, but it is easy to pass up.

Today the Young Adult Council of the Diocese of Fort Worth hosted a Flag Football tournament for charity. This is the fourth annual tournament and each year the winning team's name goes on the trophy. Maybe it is the fact that there is a trophy, or that people get really into football, or the simple nature of competition that lies within most of us, but parts of the day can be rough.

Of course we want to do our best and beat the other teams, but people easily forget that this is for fun. Emotions get high, the attitudes change and taunting words come out. Today I had to tell two people to "chill out, this is for fun." We forget that it is a day for fellowship and supporting the two places that would be receiving our money (the Sisters of Mary of Namur and the Loretto house, a place of those who are considering abortions and other critical life issues). Games are not fun when people get too rough, too competitive, and have unsportsmanship behavior - we all know this. It's sad to know that that can impact the day for someone. Praise God for the teams that do come out for fun and don't care if they win or lose.

As Apprentice Catechetical Leaders, what can we do to encourage charity in our world today?

Speaking of the Headless Clown...

You know you need to clean your room when...

... the Headless Clown has been "hidden" in there for almost a week in a not-so-discrete spot, but you fail to notice it until you're told it's there.

The Headless Clown: You're doing it right

The Catholic blogosphere is like any blogosphere: those who are most passionate speak their mind about subjects they care about.  But the Catholic blogosphere also has numerous charity fails, and when they are from self-proclaimed Catholics, it hurts all of us.

This article on the Catholic blogosphere goes into more detail (including quotes from Bishops/Cardinals who are the target of a uncharitable words), but I think that we're doing it right here on the Headless Clown.  So I say congrats to all of you.  *slow clap*

Kinda Miraculous

I happened across an article I wanted to share: Texas Planned Parenthood director has change of heart.

Another example that no one is beyond the mercy of God, beyond the possibility of continual conversion to love.  Praise be to God!