Friday, June 26, 2009

Mi casa es su casa...

This is a Spanish phrase that many of us know and say whether we speak Spanish or not. The phrase means my house is your house. It is often said in order to make someone feel welcome in our house and let them know that we would like to show them our hospitality. Today, I used a similar phrase that still had the same underlying meaning, “mi carro es su carro (my car is your car).”

For four days this week I have been attending Basic Youth Ministry classes at the Pastoral Center. I have another blog entry in the works about the classes and some thoughts that I had but I want to share this other experience with you first. We got out of class today a little before 3pm today. I thought that I might beat the traffic on IH 35. However, I am quickly learning that traffic on IH 35 is always a disaster and it really starts to get bad after lunch on Fridays. It took me about twenty minutes to complete what should have been a five to ten minute trip back to the rectory.

As I got settled into the house and put my phone on the charger, I walked out of my room headed for the office so that I could work on Rosetta Stone in order to learn more Spanish. As I rounded the corner to the kitchen I was startled and almost ran into Sra. Maria. Maria is the lady who comes to the rectory on Wednesdays and Fridays to clean, do laundry, cook, change sheets on the beds, etc. Usually she leaves around 2pm so I did not expect her to still be there. She only speaks Spanish so some of my attempts to communicate with her are obviously amusing to her. Today was different though. Today I found a way to speak to her that I think we could all understand.

As Maria prepared to leave I noticed that she had an umbrella. I was proud of myself for learning the word for an umbrella yesterday and I said to her, “Usted tiene un paraguas,” (you have an umbrella). She smiled at me and let me know that I got the word right. I continued walking towards the office before I stopped in my tracks and realized why she had the umbrella. I turned around as she was preparing to walk out the door and asked in broken Spanish, “you aren’t walking home are you?” She told me that she was planning on walking to the Sheraton motel where she waits for her daughter to get off work and then the two of them take the bus home together. The Sheraton is not too far (perhaps a mile) but it would mean that she would have to cross IH 35 not to mention walking in 105 degree heat. Maria is in her early seventies and there was no way I was about to let her walk. I asked her if she did this every week and she said that she did. I told her to give me a few minutes and then went to load up my pockets again (cell phone, car keys, house keys, rings, wallet, etc). When I returned I told her that I would give her a ride home in my car. She tried to refuse and told me that her house was too far. I told her that I did not care how far it was but I was going to give her a ride home.

As I traveled North on IH 35 I looked over at the Southbound traffic and grimaced. The traffic was already bumper to bumper and at a standstill. I was not looking forward to the trip home. As we were driving I tried my best to make conversation with Maria in Spanish. I learned that she has been cleaning the priest’s house for the past six years. I told her that I had six more years until ordination. She asked about my family and I told her about my brothers, sister, mom, etc. She then told me about her family as well. She thanked me again for the ride and I said, “Mi carro es su carro.” It was a little cliché but in this case it was actually true! I explained to her that the car was owned by the Diocese and was given to me to use during my time of formation. I told her that the car belonged to her as much as it did to me. She seemed happy with that, smiled, and said, “Gracias.”

As we pulled into her neighborhood she showed me the bus stop where she catches the bus to come to the rectory. We then traveled another mile to her house. I then realized that she walks from the house to the bus stop. I know I would complain about having to live this way. When we arrived at the house she invited me in to meet her family. I met her granddaughter, great grandson, and two dogs. She offered me something to eat and drink several times and I politely refused several times. In hindsight I probably should have accepted something because she was trying to thank me. I don’t know enough Spanish to let her know that I had already received my gift.

I did not stay at the house long as I wanted to get back before the traffic got any worse. I prayed as I sat in traffic in an attempt to not let my temper get the best of me. It also gave me a chance to practice my prayers in Spanish. Before you think that I am patting myself on the back too much, I want you to know that I do not share this as a means to advance my own cause for canonization in your eyes. I just realized what a gift it is to be able to help someone else with the gifts that have been given to you.

You must understand that I find myself at a point in my life where very few of the things I have actually belong to me. Every dollar that passes through my pocket comes from the charity of others (I have what I need so don’t take this as a plea for charity). The car that I drive does not belong to me. The Bible I read from was given to me. The vestments that I wear in Mass were a gift. The computer that I am typing on was a gift. The food I eat is a gift. The phone I talk on is paid for by someone else. The words I use are a gift. My life is gift. You get the idea. Oh yeah, one more, if you are reading this, you are one of those gifts I have received.

As I sit here on a very hot Friday afternoon, I find myself thanking God for the gifts I have been given. The gifts are more enjoyable when I share them. They allow me to see a bigger piece of the puzzle. They bring me closer to God when I share them. I pray that God continues to bring about conversion in my heart. I ask that he continue to allow me to serve his people and share the gifts I have been given. I pray that he give me the generous spirit to mean it when I say to him, “Mi vida es su vida!” (My life is your life).

Pax Tecum,
Tom

Saturday, June 20, 2009

“My grace is sufficient for you…”

The readings for today’s Mass are two of my favorite readings in Scripture. The first reading is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:1-10). I will let you read the passage for yourself and I will not provide a lot of exegesis but I do want to share a little bit about why I like this passage so much. St. Paul says that when he boasts, he will only boast about his weaknesses because it is in weakness that we become strong. “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

The gospel for today is the story of Mary and Joseph losing and then finding Jesus in the Temple. For whatever reason, it took Mary and Joseph three days to find Jesus. I am not sure whether this is due to the physical distance that they had traveled from him or whether they did not know where to look. Jesus’ response to them seems to imply that they had not looked in the right place for him.

Both of these readings are relevant to my journey over the past year and my experiences this summer here at Our Lady of Guadalupe. I have encountered my weaknesses in many ways over the last year. One thing that seminary is good at is allowing a seminarian time away from all of the other masks that he has worn throughout his life to discover both his strengths and his weaknesses. Seminary is a time of discernment. It is a time not only to discern whether or not God is calling us to be a priest or whether we want to be a priest, but it is also a time for us to discern our gifts that have been given to us. It is also a time for us to discern what parts of our lives need healing, correcting, or remodeling. Often times I have considered encountering these weaknesses to be difficult and have seen them as my cross to bear. Perhaps that is true, but each time that I have encountered a weakness it has brought me closer to God. It has allowed me to stop listening to my pride and some of the delusions that the devil and the world lead us to believe and to discover the truth about God’s mercy and love. At times, it is a pain in the side as St. Paul mention’s, but that pain is a grace and as the scripture says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

I have a more concrete example of the gospel that few people witnessed directly. Last summer I had the privilege to take some of the teens from our parish to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. It was a difficult trip in many ways but was also filled with many blessings. On one night in particular the group was separated. Of course this happened on the one night when we didn’t pass out the handheld radios. One half of the group went to a Matt Maher concert in the Sydney convention center and the other group somehow got separated despite our best efforts to stay together. I left one group at the concert hall and told them not to leave. I then went in search of the other group which consisted of about half our group. As I walked the area of Darling Harbour retracing our steps, I simply could not find the other group. I was worried because I knew some of the other teens would not be able to find their way back to our hotel and had no way to call me. I thought for sure that I was going to have to explain to six sets of parents that I had somehow lost their children. Having given up on the search, I went back to the concert almost in tears. As I arrived back at the concert, the group was in the middle of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As I joined our group I realized that those who I thought were lost had joined up with the rest of the group. You cannot imagine the feeling of relief that I felt. Immediately this scene from the gospel came to mind. I don’t think that I ever felt closer to what Mary and Joseph must have felt. Of course, I did not have the added stress of knowing that the child I lost was the Messiah that would save the world!

Aside from experiences such as that one, I experience this gospel almost daily. I think most of us tend to look for God in the wrong places. Most of us know that we can find God in the Eucharist, at Mass, in prayer, in adoration, etc, but I think many of us miss the many times He is right there with us in our normal daily activities. A few weeks ago I was serving a funeral at Our Lady of Guadalupe (we have one or two each week). As I walked from the front of the church down the street to the back entrance into the sacristy, I encountered a homeless man pushing his cart up the street picking up cans. As the man saw me walking down the street dressed in cassock and surplice carrying the processional cross, he stopped, took of his hat, placed it over his heart, and paused while I passed by. I tried to smile at him and nodded my head as I passed him. I learned from watching that man. In my mind he had every reason to be mad at God. I thought to myself, I wonder if I was in his position would I have done the same. In my current state of life which is fairly comfortable I am embarrassed to admit that I may not have paid any attention to a guy walking by carrying a cross. That man taught me something and I think you can figure it out for yourself what the lesson is. It needs no explanation. One thing I will remember about that experience combined with others here at OLOG is that I must keep my eyes open for Jesus wherever I go. I may be surprised at where I find him. At times it will be difficult to find him in some people, but he is there. I think it is just a matter of how hard I am willing to look for him.

Anyway, I apologize for perhaps trying to pull too much out of these scriptures but wanted to share my thoughts. I will try to post more often (a promise I have not been that faithful too) and share with you some of the many wonderful experiences I am having. In the meantime, please join me in a prayer of thanksgiving as my house is under contract after being on the market for 14 months. Please keep the situation in prayer and pray that the closing goes well on July 23rd. Until then all of you and your families remain in my prayers.

Pax Tecum,
Tom

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

What an awesome week!

My internet access has been somehwat limited since I arrived at my summer assignment. The first problem was a hardware issue, namely, my laptop was stolen. Once I recieved a new laptop I was able to connect to the internet in the rectory. However, in an attempt to install a wireless router and set up a wireless network, the two other seminarians that I live with and I managed to break the whole thing. So, now I am am waiting on someone much more capable than I to clean up the mess we made and hopefully get the internet working again soon. In the meantime, I am working in the church office which I only have access to during the day since I do not have a key.

Anyway, that is enough whining for a while. I am only bemoaning the lack of internet because I wanted to share with you a few of my experiences the past week or so. On Saturday, our diocese celebrated the ordination of five men to the priesthood. I had the privilege to serve at the Mass. Two years ago I came to the ordinations and sat in the pews and watched from that perspective. Last year I sat in the section for seminarians and had a little better view of what was going on. My perspective was definitely different as I sat there and wondered if the day would come when my nose would hit the marble (the newly ordained prostrate during the Litany of the Saints). By sitting in the section for seminarians I could clearly see the face of the bishop and the other priests as they prayed over the newly ordained and laid hands on them.

This year, I was able to see the ordinations from a new perspective. Having completed a year of seminary I understood more the joys, trials, challenges, blessings, etc that come along with being in seminary. I was able to serve the Mass and view the ceremony where I could see the faces of the newly ordained as the bishop was speaking to them, praying over them, laying hands on them, and annointing there hands. The expression on the new priests face was priceless. At one point the bishop made reference to the fact that six years ago the newly ordained were sitting in a pew wondering if God might be calling them to the priesthood. At that point, one of the newly ordained who I had been talking to prior to the Mass looked at me and winked as I too sat there six years from ordination wondering what plans God had in store. Overall, it was a wonderful day and it gave me great hope, not only for my own life and possible vocation to the priesthood, but also for the future of the church in central Texas.

The next day we celebrated Confirmation with seventeen kids from our parish. It is always a joy and blessing to celebrate this sacrament with our teens and it is always a good day when I get to serve a Mass with the bishop. His homily was great and touched many people in the church. The parish was having a small festival the rest of the day so I joined in on the fun.

On Monday I attended a reception for our Vocations Director and our Vicar General who are both moving on to new assignments. Both of these men have played an important role in my life not only in terms of discernment but in giving me Fatherly advice and being a friend to me. Our Diocese is truly blessed to have them and they are a model for the type of priest I hope to be.

Yesterday was my day off and I decided to spend it by myself. Spending time alone is not something that I often do as I am more accustomed to visiting people and running from one thing to another or talking with someone on the phone. I slept in (almost 9am) and then went for a walk up and down the shores of Lake Austin. I left the phone at home and just enjoyed the quiet. I did not have an Ipod in my ears and it would have been quiet had it not been for the many people who had the same idea as me. It was still a pleasant walk and I think I will do it more often. I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing at bookstores before returning home.

When I arrived back at the rectory I got a call from the office letting me know that I had a package. When I opened the box I was more than pleased to discover that my Summertime Roman cassock had arrived. This cassock is made of lighter material and it will definitely keep me cooler while serving at Mass and other events. The one I had previously (year rounder), while made of heavier material and more formal, is extremely hot in a church where the air conditioning works just enough to keep me from passing out. When I ordered the cassock I was told that it was on back order for 3-5 weeks. I was overjoyed when it arrived in less than 2.

We have a busy weekend ahead: three funerals, an ordination anniversary mass, a wedding, and five weekend masses (for any priests that are reading this, I am not pleading for sympathy as I know this may be considered a light weekend by your standards. Hopefully I am shedding light for others who may not realize how hard you work). Overall, though I am really enjoying being back in a parish and am at peace in my new assignment. I am sure that it will be over before I know it.

In the meantime, please continue to pray for me as I continue to pray for you and your family.

Pax Tecum,
Tom