Searching for a Burning Heart

Hard times

2007-11-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

So I am in the midst of my crunch week... or month... It seems that they always try and get you while you are down. I don't know why, but I have no motivation to do any of my work. Every time I try and start something I get distracted and get nothing done. I have wasted 8 hours today after not doing anything yesterday for the horrible football game. (we lost 51-31). It was miserable. Anyways, it seems like things just aren't working out right. Someone is upset at me and it really is for no reason at all. For some odd reason it seems as if they are just taking things out on me. I have an interview for a job at the end of the month and can't make a dinner the night before. Yet because of this, I am being called selfish and I just don't get it. The other person is now resorting to even more drastic tactics, now calling me socially unjust. What utter bullcr@p. It just upsets me. It seems as if i have become more distant from some of my friends and I am now just really down. Nothing seems to pick me up, except my gf. She still makes me smile, even when I know I have work I should be doing. It just seems though as if I am in a dark time of life. My prayer life is shot... and I really struggle when trying to focus on God. It seemed so easy before but now I struggle to pray an Our Father. Its rather rough, especially when others are counting on you to help them out. I just feel lost and writing this helps me just voice it, even if others read it. Maybe they will see why things are so confusing. Maybe I will reread this in the future and understand what God is doing. As for now, I am still lost and searching for him. Well thats it for now.

God Bless,
ForeverSearching77

Newman Club

2007-08-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

So... maybe it has been a long time... but a new school year... maybe I will try this again.

Anyways, tonight was our first Newman Club meeting of the semester. I met a whole lot of people and am very excited about our upcoming activities. Some people seem to be very interested and I wouldn't be surprised if they start showing up more often.

As for me, my prayer life has been hurting pretty bad over the summer. I personally have not found it easy to pray. It is rough... in some ways being at home was distracting. After working 9 hour days, I didn't feel like going to Mass or praying. I was just tired... not to mention having the siblings at home. I hope that with the new school year, I will be able to up the ante.

I am excited though about starting a male bible study. I talked to my friend D yesterday and he said he would love to have a group on the book of Romans. I think it would be awesome to have an all guys group especially as there aren't that many Catholic men at St. Thomas More.

Anyways... more on that another time.

Hopefully I will see God in my life more often each day. He was clearly there today as I gave my personal testimony to other people. He has impacted my life and I know that I am not alone.

Please Pray for me.

God Bless,
ForeverSearching77.

Prayer

2006-09-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

I was talking with my pastor today, and he shared this prayer with me. He said that it was one of his favorites. It comes from Thursday Daytime prayer in week 2 of the psalter. It reads:

Lord Jesus Christ, victim for our sins, you trusted in your Father's protection and kept silent when you were tormented. Give us that same confidence and we will gladly suffer with you and for you, offering the Father our living sacrifice of praise and walking before him in the light of the living.

I really like that. :-)

Excerpts from my heart

2006-09-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I attended the Evangelic Catholic Summer Training camp, with the support of several of my fellow parishioners, here is a little thank you for their support:

As Christians we are called to live out our faith. We are called to be evangelical. About 2000 years ago, Christ started with twelve men and in particular three (Peter, James and John). After spending three years with them, he had trained them to teach others about God and the importance of His love. With the help of the Holy Spirit, those twelve men have transformed the world, and started what we now know as the Catholic Church. It didn’t happen overnight, but by giving their testimonies, many disciples came to Christ.
As members of the Body of Christ in today’s Church, we are called to continue this mission. Before Jesus was crucified, he spent time in the garden praying. He prayed, “I pray not only for them, (his disciples), but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” (Jn 18:20-21) Here he prays particularly for those who spread the Gospel. We are called to share the Good News with others.
At the Summer Training Camp, the focus was on a relationship with God. We spent the first hour of each day in prayer. Then throughout the day, we would be given time for reflection. We were shown the importance of a daily interior conversion towards God. We do this by choosing God’s will before our own. It was emphasized that this is done with a Rich Sacramental Life and through a life of Prayer and Scripture Study. One method that was introduced was Lectio Divina, or meditation on Holy Scripture.
After emphasizing methods of improving our own personal relationship with God, we learned how to share our faith. We learned how to facilitate small groups as well as how to give a three-minute testimony. These methods help us share in a Strong Christian Community and evangelize to others. Finally, by obedience to the word of God and the Church’s teaching, we are able to live an Evangelical Catholic life.
A couple days ago, I was asked to speak to our Newman Club on “Living an Evangelical Catholic Life.” After some thoughts and prayers, I felt ready to lead the meeting. The meeting went well and I enjoyed sharing a different aspect of the Catholic faith with my friends. During my preparation, I noticed the importance of scripture and prayer in my own life with Christ. I hope to be able to share this with others, letting them know that God truly desires a relationship with us, for “whoever remains in me, and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)
The Evangelical Catholic Summer Training has shown me ways to live out my faith. I am now much more open to sharing His love with others. However, I must admit that the thought of being both Evangelical and Catholic at the same time amazes me but I now understand that we are called to be just that though, both Evangelical and Catholic.

Again thanks for all your support.

School Starts Tomorrow

2006-08-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, classes resume tomorrow. Fortunately for me, I only have one, so I won't be in class all day. Maybe I will update this with some pictures from the summer. I have had a very intense summer working for Roche (A pharmaceutical company). It was a lot of fun, and I know I may have changed several lives.

As for other things, I went to the Evangelic Catholic Summer Training Camp last week in Madison, WI. It was absolutely amazing. Everyone there was On-Fire for Christ, and a large portion of my week was spent in prayer and reflection. It truly was an amazing retreat. I wish I could go back there. I truly rekindled my faith and my love for Christ. Now if only I can keep it that way.

As for tomorrow, I have one class on the future of energy in our nation. It should be relatively simple but very interesting. I look forwards to it. Thats about it for now. Here are some pics of the EC trip:

This is the sign for St. Paul's, the home base.
Here is my small group. The best group ever. I wish I were back with them

Finally just a nice picture of the dock on Lake Manona

Its been a while

2006-05-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

ARG... internet explorer is annoying. I had just written an update, but it erased it. Anyways here we go again.

Summer has started, and it has been pretty good so far. I went camping last weekend with a friend from Fort Mill and that was amazing. I think the most incredible part is that the forest didn't burn down... Hehe. We went canoeing and hiking and overall had a good time. The canoeing was so great that we went downstream and then back upstream to go back downstream again. It was supposed to take an hour and a half to go downstream but we went upstream in 45 minutes. We rocked. So if you want to go canoeing, then let me know. In the meantime we talked about everything, from women to God. I think we have decided to take over all campus ministry in SC, so watch out. We are coming.

Anyways, this weekend is promising to be just as good. I am going to my friend's ordination to the deaconate on Saturday and then moving into Florence SC where I will start my summer internship. That will be fun. All of this occurs just as I turn 20. What an amazing tale.

In the meanwhile, yesterday I went to Columbia to meet one of the candidates for our campus ministry position. He was pretty cool and I look forward to talking to him again. Afterwards, I had to race back home to help my mother with a confirmation retreat. Only as soon as I got onto the interstate, I remembered that I forgot to turn back in one of my forms to get a transcript sent. That was annoying as I had to drive back into Columbia. But eventually I made it home.

As for the retreat, it went well. It is amazing how one's outlook on faith changes over time. I don't know how much the kids got out and you can only tell in time. As for my confirmation class, I would say that less than half of us still attend Mass regularly. But one never knows. For most people, they choose not to follow their faith and in this world It is almost understandable why. However, I hope that this is not the case for these kids. I do hope that they get something more out of their confirmation.

While doing the talk, Andrew gave a wonderful analogy that I would like to talk about. He said that several years ago some Presbyterians knocked on his door and asked, "When did you accept our Lord and Savior into your heart?" To this he responded, "When did you first start to love your mom and dad?" How amazing is that, and yet how true. I don't think that my love for my parents has ever stopped and I don't think it will, they have always loved me and I them. They have always cared for me and our love will continue to grow. In the same way, God's love is very similar. If he is only slightly more forgiving than my parents, then that is truly amazing. I am willing to bet that He is. Often people fail to see Him acting in our lives but he is. I may be away from home, but I know that my parents still love me and would be willing to pick me up if I needed it. I can always talk to them. I think in many the same ways, God acts in our lives and that alone is incredible. It makes me happy and I think it is something worth pondering about.

Well I should go, I have other stuff to do and need to be getting ready for the weekend. Oh but I thought I would remind you. Today was JPII's Birthday so do say a prayer for our beloved deceased pope. Then say another for Benedict as you are already praying. :)

ForeverSearching 77

For the Beauty of the Earth

2006-04-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Wow. I randomly went with some friends to Folly Beach last night to go watch the sunrise. It was absolutely amazing. The colors were so rich and the companionship was awesome. I really would like to do it again. I truly enjoyed it. It is amazing how beautiful the sunrise is and how special God made it. Maybe I should try catching it more often.

As for the evening, I was almost constantly attached to one of my friends. It was pretty funny. For the first half, my friend Steph clung t0 me. she wasn't feeling really well so she stayed home, yet for the second half my friend Kate kept me warm. Don't worry nothing happened. I feel as if it strengthened both friendships, especially this morning when Kate said, "Wow, you really are amazing, even though you may have been attached to a girl all night, you never once took advantage of it. Most guys would have at least claimed that their hand slipped." Well that is one way of looking at it. I feel as if you must always respect one another. Especially close friends. Why couldn't all my friendships be that simple? Oh well. As for now, I need some sleep. Amazing how staying up all night can make you tired. Hehe.

Well God Bless,
ForeverSearching77

Now just for my mass transfer exam

2006-04-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well the good news. It is only 1 am and my group has finished its mass transfer project. Yay... Absorption towers are very annoying, and I don't want to think about it again for a while... Lets hope that there is not one on the final tomorrow/today at 2pm. In the meanwhile, I will probably wake up around 10am to study for that exam. Wish me luck.

In the meanwhile, I was thinking. I just wish I could go back to the days of innocence. Back to the days when girls were girls and guys were guys. Everyone knew that girls had cooties and you should avoid them. Those were the days when the biggest worry was that horses would knock down your earthen made dam in the woods or that you would be challenged to a neighborhood water war. Oh how fun those days were.

I wish that I didn't have cares like that nowadays. It is too much to have to try and figure out how to design an absorption tower when you get a height of almost 200ft. That is just too dang large. Pardon my engineering side. Then Hysys disagrees and gives you a value of just 6 ft. Very annoying.

As for girls, one would not have the problem of trying to figure out what others think of you. I absolutely hate it when they say one thing and mean something entirely different. It also annoys me when they say what they should have done and ask what you would have done in that instance. Some things just can't be changed in time. Sure I am probably bad with this too... but its my blog.

More often than not, I do think it would be cool to start a men's group on campus that is formed to develop strong friendships and a stronger faith. A male catholic group would absolutely rock. I think I am going to try and do that come next fall. It would be neat, and definitely a great retreat from this female dominated world. One only wonders why Jesus remained single. JK. Anyways, I need some sleep before I say too much or get others upset with me. Let me know what you think anyway. Any solutions to anything would be great.

ForeverSearching77

EXAMS

2006-04-26T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yay for exams!!! Not really. The past two weeks have been absolutely jam packed with loads of schoolwork and almost no time for relaxation. Even after the senior dinner I wasn't able to go relax. Instead it was straight down to swearingen for several exciting hours of Mass Transfer homework. We have a huge project due tomorrow when we take our final and it is absolutely incredibly long. I have spent more hours down here in the past three days than I have in a long while. So it gets pretty boring staring at the concrete walls.

In the meanwhile, I didn't even bother staying for Newman last night. I was too tired to even attend a meditation period. Instead I slept on one of the couches before returning back to Swearingen. One would think that I live in the engineering world.

As for our final, it should be four questions and rather long. I am not looking forward to it as it will take 3 hours, but afterwards a trip to the beach with some friends to watch the sunrise is in order. I have already finished all my other work and the next exam that I have is on Saturday morning, so I am not worried at all about it. Especially because it is my Differential Equations course which has been a joke all semester. Every day I am becoming more and more convinced that the only majors requiring actual work are engineering ones. More so chem E. As I know that I practically live down in Swearingen. Liberal arts majors just get on my nerves sometimes ;-). But such is life. Oh well, I better get going so that I can get a little more Mass transfer in. Fun Fun. Maybe I will see you again soon... That is if I ever escape this concrete prison.

ForeverSearching77

This says it all

2006-04-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last Week

2006-04-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

First off, I met a really cool guy from Italy last week. One of my friend G's Italian friends Paolo was in town and we all went out for dinner and then ice cream. It was awesome. We decided to get gelato instead which was really good. Not as much cream and it just tastes better than ice cream. It was a great night and I really enjoyed getting to share tales of Italy and foreign cultures. Americans are simply not educated very well in European or World History/Culture. I really felt stupid when talking to them. Truthfully, I couldn't have told you why India and Pakistan are such arch rivals or why Italians think they are above the law until the other night.

In other things, I took a cool picture of one of the Horseshoe plaques. In September 1987, Pope JPII actually came to Columbia and gave his blessing on USC. He said, "It is wonderful to be young, it is wonderful to be young and to be a student, it is wonderful to be young and to be a student of the University of South Carolina." Only a year ago this week was his funeral and burial. That was and still is one of the most emotional events of my life. He was everyone's pope and I think the Church is very grateful for what he had done. Just try and remember him in your prayers this week.

As for me, I decided to take a break and have gone home for the weekend. It really is nice and I look forward to getting more sleep. So I must be off. Good Night.

ForeverSearching77

Ideas for NC

2006-04-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, now that I have mentioned some of our weaknesses, I have compiled several ideas for what we could do. (Some of these have been said by others)

Others Ideas:
Include Scripture into each meeting, perhaps starting the meetings with a reading
Have testimonies regularly, or perhaps after Mass,
Discuss key saints perhaps a Saint of the Week,

My ideas:
More Praise and Worship (better songs, contemporary Christian)
Continue the Bible Studies,
Start a couple one-on-ones, *involves the pastor greatly*
Lots more prayer, (Rosary or office of the hours)
Create a vision of where we are going with the meetings
Perhaps start a Discipleship Training group
Emphasize humility (not quite sure how, but I think that this would really help. I feel as if others have left due to a sense of pride, where they see us as condescending)

Well any others? Please let me know what you think.

ForeverSearching77

Newman

2006-04-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

I just have to spew for a little bit, so here are some of my thoughts.

Following the weekend, it was really made clear to me that our Newman club lacks a vision. Sure we have a mission statement, which reads "We, the Catholic students at the University of South Carolina, strive to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ in the Catholic Christian tradition, and to spread the Good News of life in Christ with our campus community through prayer, faith-sharing, fellowship and service." We had updated this in the fall and had promised to try and follow it closely. I would simply like to evaluate how we are doing in my opinion.

First off, we have maintained a strong group at the University and do have an appearance on campus. However I am not sure how much we actually are striving to strengthen our relationship with Christ. It was pointed out to me that often at our meetings we focus on the Church's doctrine. I am not against church doctrine, but we focus again more on the idea as opposed to the person (see previous post). As for spreading the Good News of life in Christ, I don't think we do this a lot. Certainly we celebrate Mass, but often NC can be elitist, where you have to do this in order to be a good Catholic. People aren't excited about their faith, and aren't ready to share it with others.

Another good quote said this weekend, "You can't have 2 without 1." The question is, what are we doing with the 1 that is coming? I think we establish the Church's tradition and reasons behind it, but we fail to show people how to pray or the power of a direct relationship with Christ. I myself have fallen victim to this and it was made very clear to me over the weekend. Faith needs to be personal.

The next point discusses through faith-sharing. Certainly every once in a while there is a speaker who gives a testimony, and we do have 3 very active Bible Studies, but there is nothing regular in our meetings or at Mass. Maybe that would be something to try out.

Finally through fellowship and service. I think we have these down. If you don't believe me, look at this past weekend, I drew very close to some members of NC that I haven't gotten to know very well, but I did the same while in Biloxi with NC and I have always enjoyed our monthly dinners. They have gone well and I am glad that they have. It is easy to find Christ in others when you work together and just share Christ's love with each other.

May God grant you peace,
ForeverSearching77

ECI 2006

2006-04-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but this will be a long post. :-)

I finally got back today from the Evangelical Catholic Institute at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was absolutely amazing. I picked up a lot of new info and new ideas and am really excited about implementing them. What is even cooler is that several of my friends were able to go to the conference as well. This year, I won't have to try and implement them as a student all by myself. There are others on board. Our pastoral associate was awesome in helping last year, but the other students lacked my vision. This time they have shared in it and I am very excited.

The Evangelical Catholic movement is clearly spreading within the United States and across the world. It is quite possibly going to be the future of the Church. Those students and youth who are excited about their faith will be ON FIRE and ready to share their faith. These same youth will further be leading the Church. It is really exciting.

The EC model focuses on several points. An Evangelical Catholic experiences a daily interior conversion and has a rich sacramental life. Further they engross themselves in a strong Christian Community and devote time to both the Word and Scriptures. It is through Prayer that they grow stronger in their faith. The emphasis upon EC is Christ and not apologetics. Often I find myself making this mistake. Too often I am focused on the little things and fail to see the big picture. I am focused on an idea and not a person.

Brad Klingle sp? from UW gave an awesome speech on this and in it he said, "A theist is someone who believes in God, a Christian is someone who believes Jesus is the Son of God, and a Catholic is someone who believes that Jesus is alive in His church." How true is that. I feel that often I forget this. My faith has been based on ideas and not the person, it is so off the right path. It is necessary to make Christ your best friend, if this happens then it is easy to share Him with others. Don't you always introduce your best friend to others? Christ needs to be our best friend.

I learned many other things as well. In specific I learned about leading one-on-one groups and Discipleship Training groups. Both of these things emphasize training disciples into becoming workers who will go and help in the fields. "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38.

Well more to come later.

COOL pic

2006-03-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

I took this photo while on Spring Break in Biloxi. Is it just not awesome????

Life IS Good

2006-03-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

I just had to let everyone know that my week just got a million times better. My professor emailed my class to tell us he is moving his test to next week. This is awesome, because I already had two other tests scheduled this week and am supposed to go to Madison, Wi on Friday. So SMILE and have a wonderful day!!!!

A Clean Slate

2006-03-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

Life is just so much better when everything is clean and orderly. That is how I feel tonight. Our Church held its Lenten Penance Service this evening to celebrate God's Sacrament of Mercy (Reconciliation). It was absolutely awesome. The service started very similarly to Evening Prayer (said daily by priests around the world). After a brief homily by the priest, we were all allowed to celebrate the sacrament.

There were only 3 priests and about 45 people, so it took a little bit to actually get to go to Confession, but soon enough, after tons of prayer I was able to go. It has been a little bit since I last went, so I was very happy to wipe my slate of things. I always feel so relieved afterwards. Life seems so much better.

I did meditate a good bit on several things, and I thought I would share them. In the sacrament, it is important to realize why you are confessing your sins. I finally came to the thought that God desires to be close to us and actually in us. I felt as if I have always put God right next to me. He is in his place and I am here, if I needed Him, he would help me. How wrong am I? As I continued to meditate, I came to the realization that God really desires to be in us. The reason we should try to avoid sin is not simply because we want to get to heaven. Instead, there is a desire to be spiritually pure. To be absolutely clean of our sins. In Reconciliation we get this opportunity. Further by being pure, we are able to be temples for the Lord. So instead of God being in His place, he is rather in us, not apart, but together. How beautiful is that?

All that said, I found the Sacrament to be awesome tonight and I am really thankful for the opportunity. (Now for a little blurb on my thoughts of purgatory). Some people think that the idea is completely bogus, that after this life we must wait before seeing the Lord. However, I view it in this way. If we get a cut, we can use a bandaid and it will heal. That is kinda like going to confession. However, we will still have a scar afterwards and that won't go away. This is like our soul when we sin as I see it. Only once we die, we still have the scar on our soul. We may have been forgiven and the wound healed (Granted forgiveness), yet we still have the scar. In purgatory, the scar is removed and we are able to fully be a part of God in Heaven. How wonderful that will be!!!

Enough for now. More to come later,

GOD bless,
ForeverSearching77

Summer Time is near

2006-03-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

I am sorry for not yet posting about Biloxi. I don't know if I will or not, but in any case, I just had to let everyone know I got a job offer today for this upcoming summer. I had an interview last Friday which must have gone superbly to be given an offer and now I will be up in Florence working as a Chemical Development Engineer. Its pretty sweet. (The pay is really good too, so that is even more exciting.)

As for Biloxi. That week was awesome. We ended up roofing 2 houses in 4 days. Both families were extremely nice and I absolutely loved getting to know them. The second family even let us ride their horses. How neat was that. I felt that we accomplished a lot and really helped these people out.

The destruction there was absolutely unbelievable, and this is several months after the hurricane. For every house with a good roof on it, there must have been 5 or 6 others with tarps. Further, every house I entered had no interior walls. The water rose 4 feet high eight miles inland. It was is so insane. So now, everyone is living in trailers and just still struggling to put their lives back in order. It is unbelievable, so please continue to pray for them.

*Top picture is of some of the destruction that we saw
* Pic below is of one of our finished roofs.

I must go... Got tons to do.. as always.

God Bless!!!

This Roller Coaster Called Life

2006-03-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

I have had a crazy past week... Biloxi was awesome... More to come on that later... once I have time. Probably Friday or Saturday. But I must say the more important stuff first.

Kim passed away last Thursday afternoon and was laid to rest on Sunday. I was able to make it up to her funeral on Sunday afternoon in Cornelia, Ga, but am still having a difficult time with it. Kim and I were very close and I never was able to say good-bye. I still struggle with it daily.

As for other things, one of my friends whom I had just recently gotten close with was very upset with me tonight and I had a very difficult time talking to her. She seemed to want more out of what we have, and I don't know how to best go at things. From the top it all looks good, but after some thought, I think things are going too fast. That is life, but hopefully I will deal with that this weekend too. Don't get me wrong, I like the girl and she is very very sweet, just I need some more time to think.

On that line, another friend came to visit tonight that I had only met once before. It was pretty cool as she is on spring break here. Tonight was the only night though that she could escape her home as her boyfriend comes into town tomorrow. Which settles things there. It was good to talk and she gave some good advice and made things slightly clearer to me. Hopefully that will blossom into a good friendship.

Sorry about the personal rants, but my life has been a roller coaster, and part of the purpose for my blog is to find my calling. I don't know what it is, but hopefully I will find it. As for now... my calling is to sleep... (After night prayer of course)

More to come later... esp pics from Biloxi and stories... Plus clarifications on this past week and my interview with Roche Carolina this Friday.

Please pray for me as I go through this week.
Also, keep Kim and her family in your prayers, as well as my friend Alexis who lost both parents and her grandmother in less than 8 months and is now dealing with taking care of her younger siblings.

ForeverSearching77

Prayer Request

2006-03-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my friend Kim and her family. Kim is suffering from Wegener's disease and had been in the hospital at Emory for the past several months. She had just gotten home on Saturday, only to have her mother pass away yesterday very unexpectedly. They are not quite sure what happened yet and will find out much later, but it has definitely hit her and her family rather hard. Please keep them in your prayers.

ForeverSearching77

Reflection from Lifeteen.com

2006-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a really neat reflection from www.lifeteen.com that I figured I would share.

Are you holy? Most people would say “no.” They would say that Mother Teresa and the Pope are holy, but they themselves are not. A priest that led a retreat I was on in Italy asked us what the opposite of holiness was. He said that the opposite was FAILURE. That would mean that a lot of us in this world who aren’t holy are really failures. That’s because we are all made by God to BE HOLY. Today’s first reading tells us to be holy because the Lord is holy. Holiness is what we were designed for. To not reach holiness is to fail in becoming who God made you to be. And holiness has to do with that surrender to God and being in line with his will. It is being all that he calls you to be in this very present moment.

Lets all try and be Holy during this season of Lent.
ForeverSearching77

Vocations

2006-02-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

I just read an interesting article on Catholic.org linked below. The article deals with how many American Catholics are not moving towards vocations, but instead are letting this void be filled by immigrants. The article mainly deals with the influence on culture upon discernment. I could never agree any more with the article.

Americans tend to be on the side of materialism. If you think about it, a life of riches and pleasure sounds a ton more enticing then one of simplicity, humility, service and celibacy. That is the message today's society is giving.

Lent is a time for us to meditate on simplicity and what we truly value. Happiness can be found, it is just a matter of where. I am not sure where and that is my lifelong quest.

Final thoughts, it is amazing that immigrants have such deep faiths. Why is it that when we feel settled down we allow God to slip from us easier? Do we forget the many blessings he has given us? Certainly we are more blessed with a stable standing then when we aren't? Does God only work in change? Why is it that we seek Him more in times of trouble? How can we find God in our daily life? In our daily conversations? Is today just another day, or will I truly find joy in it?

These are all questions just to think about, but I know I don't meditate on them enough. I pray that God will continue to bless me and allow me to see His love.

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=18837

Stupidity

2006-02-25T20:41:00.000-08:00

I am sorry about posting this... But I simply have to. There are some things that you should just not do, and this is one of them.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/13958688.htm

This article deals with how Clemson University's newspaper, (well there affiliated newspaper) has decided to publish the cartoons of Mohammed. On one side, yes people are curious, but when 100+ people have already been killed due to this exact same act, wouldn't you think twice about publishing? Are they really that stupid at clemson? I thought it was a university, obviously I was wrong.

In my perspective, yes I do agree that the outrage in the Islamic community is way overdone, however, I would also be upset if I saw a cartoon depicting Christ in a bad manner. I probably would not kill over it, but I would definitely be angry and would boycott the paper. The Islamic world is very different from the Christian world, and sometimes, they should try and stick to their teaching, but to disgrace another's faith is terrible. Almost certainly the publisher for the Clemson observer is a Christian, and I wish that they realize how terrible their actions are. Just as the outrage in the Islamic world is not true Islam, neither is this true Christianity. Whatever happened to turning the other cheek? Sometimes it is just forgotten. Sorry about the rant, but that is simply how I feel.

ForeverSearching77

HOME

2006-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

So Friday was insane. It was nonstop. I was in class from 10 to 5, with only a break for lunch from 1:30 to 3. Most of that was at the center waiting for one of G's appointments, while he got a rental car. How annoying!!!

Then I went to class and was stuck in there for an hour and a half as the professor worked every single homework problem. (My homework was 20 pages long) so yes, it took a while. Only about 25% of the class was actually there, mostly wanting to pick up the homework assignment, but it turned out that he did not have it. Instead we will get it on Monday and it will be due after SPRING BREAK. Very, very annoying. I am not the most pleased with this professor. We recently got our tests back and the class average was only 35/100. I got a 51 and the highest grade was a 66. Something is wrong there.

After class, my friend J. D. Gave me a lift home so that I could wish my sister a happy birthday and do some laundry. The cake and party was fun, and what was even better was the fact that I got 11 hours of sleep. I woke up at 11 to get a haircut at noon and then do some shopping. It was a very peaceful and restful trip home. I absolutely loved it. Afterwards, I got a ride back to school with my mother and some ladies who had a function in Columbia. That was a long ride. They were all chatting, and it was raining, so I was truly stuck in the car. To make it worse, the driver was going 80 mph down the interstate in the pouring rain. I thought we were going to crash for sure. We hydroplaned a couple times on the interstate. I could tell just in the back, so I was holding onto the car handles for the entire ride. Fortunately we got here safely and my mother will be riding home with my father who is a very safe driver.

So now I am back and simply working on my blog. What a break from this crazy life. God Bless.

ForeverSearching77

Last Week

2006-02-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

Last week was crazy.

First, after getting back from the retreat on Sunday, I had Newman basketball on Monday night following Students for life. Both were fun. *I hit a three while playing basketball, which was cool even though we lost.*

On Tuesday, we had adoration during the afternoon. For some reason, I didn't feel as if I got anything out of it. I didn't even achieve a sense of peace which normally occurs. It was very odd and I think it was due to exhaustion. The irony comes in that our Newman club topic was on prayer and the problems in prayer. I just found it quite interesting to come right after I had struggled so.

Wednesday wasn't so bad in that my Mass transfer class was cancelled. Further it was engineering week so I got to play with the Baja Car on Greene St. That was awesome, until it started to rain and I was forced to go to my French class. I somehow managed to finish all my Mass transfer homework that day though. I think the rain helped.

Thursday involved my making the bulletins which took two hours. I really dislike the busy work when there is noone else at the center. Normally it is fun, but it was just ugh... Oh well. That was followed by a Bible study on Matthew 11 that night. We discussed John the Baptist, and further the importance of living a simple life.

I will finish the week in the next blog entry. There is just a ton of stuff.

Updates (retreat)

2006-02-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Hey, sorry about that. Life is Crazy!?! doncha know?

Well anyways, the retreat was awesome. I met some really cool people and definitely have several new memories. It was neat to see the usual suspects, but I do love meeting the new ones. The social aspect was excellent. The spiritual one, could have used some work.

As for the speaker, he was decent. I have seen better speakers, but Fr. Digacamo sp? Was suffering from Laryngitus sp? I seemed to agree with most of what he had to say and didn't question much. I understood most of it and already knew a good part. However, on the last day, he definitely brought up some interesting discussion. He dealt with the current crisis in the Church. A lack of harvesters for the harvest (i.e. priests). He suggested women priests and it was completely out of nowhere. Everyone was shocked as he seemed to be very conservative about everything else he said, only to throw out a chunk. I am not sure that it was his point, but everyone seemed to be discussing it afterwards.

As for my talk, that was excellent. I led a discussion very similar to a small group bible study. The first time was awesome. There was about 10 people in my group and everyone was willing to share and speak. We covered a ton of stuff and I could have easily gone for another 30 minutes. We started by discussing the two disciples' walk to Emmaus where they met Jesus on the road, and then went into the seven habits for Evangelical Catholics. It was great. Everyone seemed to enjoy the speech.

The second time wasn't too bad, but I had about 25 people in it and only a few were willing to share. I received positive feedback, so I must have done something right. I enjoyed giving the speech and I hope that some good turns out.

On a personal level, I felt very moved by my own talk. I teared up both times while discussing the Scripture. While relating the taking, blessing, breaking, and giving of the bread in Emmaus, I related it to the Eucharist and also the crucifixion. For some reason, whenever I mentioned the crucifixion, I started to tear up. I was moved and hopefully others were too. My heart was definitely burning.

Wow... Very moving.. A couple cool links

2006-02-13T20:05:00.000-08:00

Wow, I just read two awesome articles off www.catholic.org. The first one dealt with the forgotten Valentine. Of course this talked about St. Valentine, an early bishop of the church who was beheaded. It was pretty amazing.

Then I saw a second article of a homily given to Pope Benadict XVI by Father Cantalamessa. He dealt with the issue of Faith and Works. Do I need some work if what he says is true. Check out the links.

On Valentine
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=18661

Father Cantalamessa

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=18021

God Bless,
ForeverSearching77

Prayer

2006-02-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

For some odd reason, lately my spiritual life has been pretty poor. I don't know why. I wasn't able to focus very well this morning in Mass. I caught the readings, but during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, I was just flat out of it.

Every once in a while, I have days where I am not able to focus on the Mass as much, but today I could really notice it. My mind was constantly wandering and thinking of other things. This didn't just happen during Mass, but also during my personal prayer last night. My mind has just been bothered by several other things. Other concerns in life. It does not make being a spiritual person any easier. Possibly it is just due to a lack of sleep. (I woke up early due to the cold last night.) However I don't think that that is the reason.

I spent a good bit of time reading "The Alchemist" last night (A personal favorite) and I was reading the story of a boy who talks to a wise man to find out how to live a happy life. The wise man tells him to carry around a spoon of oil for two hours and then return without loosing any oil. The boy does so and walks around the entire castle before returning. Upon his return the wise man asks, "Did you see the hall of tapestries or the rich garden that I spent 10 years building?" The boy, rather embarrassed replies, "No." So the wise man tells him to go again and wander the halls. This time the boy returns and enthusiastically tells the wise man how he loved it. The wise man replied, "But what about the oil? You have spilled it. The secret to happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon." I think that this is so true.

I don't know where I would place myself. I think often I am the little boy who cares more about the oil. I fail to see the beauty in my friends or in prayer. Often I am just caught with the current worry and desire. How hard it is. I found it especially rough last night as I read one part that said. "and when every day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises." How true this is. The number of days that I have simply let pass by. One really doesn't know how beautiful each day is and I can only wish to have those days I have given up back. Life really hits you hard once one realizes this. One is truly blessed and we should daily look for these small blessings. Each day will be worth so much more and our lives would be much fuller.

Well I hope to remember today and hopefully find some joy and peace in my life. As for now I must get back to the homework.
God Bless!!!

Dorm Life

2006-02-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

So, one would think that by paying several thousand dollars for housing and tuition, that one would at least have hot water and heating. Well I have found that this is not always the case, especially this past weekend as I have been freezing in my apartment. The heat and hot water have not been working at all. Not to mention the fact that this has probably been one of the nastiest and coldest weekends all winter. (At night at least.) It is supposed to drop to 24 degrees Fahrenheit tonight.

Well, housing has finally done something. My RA has been gone all weekend, but now as he has returned. He has been trying to contact everyone to solve this problem. It has affected my entire building and noone is happy. Noone has been able to take a hot shower and this has been terrible for the past several weeks. At least now the hot water seems to be back. Lets hope it stays that way.

I have woken up the past two days with a sore throat which I accredit to the cold. Five heavy blankets didn't cut it last night. You would think that I would be alright. Well anyways, I woke up this morning and took some ibuprofein before going to Mass. As for now I should be doing other things... Such as homework... ugh. Oh well. I will say more later, but I really dislike housing. They may say one thing but they do an entire other one. (They told us we would be out heat and hot water on Thursday... Never mentioning this weekend.) Oh well.

Have a WARM blessed day!!!

ON Fire Catholic

2006-02-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

Next weekend, I am going on a statewide campus ministry retreat and am expected to give a 45 minute lecture on being an "On Fire Catholic." I have absolutely no idea what I am supposed to do and am looking for a couple of ideas. So I am going to throw out some of mine and let others add their opinions.

Here is the list of the 7 Habits of "On Fire Catholics" (Thanks due to U.W. St. Paul's Evangelic Catholics)

1. Interior Conversion
2. Rich sacrament Life
3 & 4. Lectio Divina (Word and Prayer)
5. Christian Community
6. Evangelicalism
7. Obedience

Other keynotes

8. Evangelizing
9. Establishing
10. Equipping

Done through:

11. Small groups
12. Large groups
13. One-on-ones
14. Discipleship Training

principles to implement

15. Supplicate
16. Select
17. Send
18. School
19. Supervise
20. Supply your ideas
21. See your pastor

Alright. That is my list of things needed for an "On Fire Catholic" Now all I have to do is organize my thoughts.

Any ideas??? Maybe a quick ice-breaker before going in-depth or what?

Thanks,
ForeverSearching77

ugh... help please

2006-02-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ugh... I was just reading my friend's blog... he just updated it. He is my dear friend Kim's fiance and they were supposed to get married this summer. However Kim has been in the hospital in Atl Ga for several months. Well tonight he posted this entry. How should I respond. Or what should i do?

so i have been having a really really bad day... kim isnt feeling good and her chest is burning again.. hopefully it wont lead to coughing up blood again... i love her and cant stand to see her hurt so much... i am also losing it... i just cried for an hr straight... i just want her healthy so bad... i know with God she could be healed over night and i pray for that every second of every day... im tired of handling this and just cant handle it any more... i thought it was promised we would never be given more than we can handle and i am certainly not handling this anymore... i would give anything to get her healthy... i just want things to improve and to go back to normal... im tired of people getting mad at me for trying to stay updated and trying to talk to kim... kim is mad at me at the moment because i called at 2,4, and 6... 4 i talked to her mom who said to call back around 6-7 to see if she was feeling better... she wasnt in the room when i called, so kim answered the phone and automatically got mad because i had called... i dont like it when shes mad at me... i know before she got sick we loved each other... and i still think i love her... but honestly i am no longer sure, for the simple reason over the last 16 months both of us have changed a lot and i really dont know her anymore... i do know that when her and i talk and shes feeling some good that she still makes me very happy... but thats so few and far between i really dont know what to do... i want to stay with her because i do love her... and i believe when she is healed we will get to know each other again and be just as strong and great a couple as before (probably better), but this whole not getting better thing is getting old... i mean 16 months and instead of getting better, shes gotten worse... i just want her to get healthy and for us to be able to go on a date again, to cuddle during a movie, to talk for hours like we used to, to make each other happy by knowing excatly what the other wants, to be able to go dance under the stars, to sing to her, to be with her...please GOD heal her... i cant take it any more... if yall have any idea of how to make things better or how to deal with this please help... i am starting to lose faith in everything, including kim and i, and GOD... i dont want to lose my faith, but its hard to mantain my faith when nothing ever goes right... i know if she got better i would never doubt my God... i think God can heal her and believe he will... and thus i hold onto faith... but please GOD heal her soon... like tonight please... please pray for her and for me...

Ugh... What does one say? or should I not say anything?

-ForeverSearching77

Statewide, apologetics and a bunch of salty nuts

2006-01-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

I couldn't pass writing tonight. I have to rant some before I go to bed. Today was pretty awesome. I applied for a summer engineering internship this afternoon before taking a great nap. I woke up just in time for a planning meeting for the Statewide Catholic Campus Ministry retreat. It will be awesome. Thus I was able to see my friends from CofC and the Citadel. How awesome. I love Craig and Greg. They just chose the wrong school!!

We discussed our plans and somehow I was put in charge of a workshop on that Saturday?!? How crazy. What is even crazier is that it was decided to be called "On Fire Catholic" or just after my blog. I think I will let ppl throw out ideas for it on my blog and I will write some as I come up with them. Feel free to add comments. It will be a cool project. So I saw God within my friends and through the meeting.

Afterwards, it was just in time for our meeting tonight. We had an apologetics speaker. Dr Dwight Longnecker. He was just awesome. A very funny and very intelligent man. I enjoyed his entire speech and he had lots of good words of wisdom. He was always willing to answer questions and really was very insightful. I truly enjoyed his talk.

Afterwards, as normal we went to the Nut. It was a little crazy as we had 8 ppl and somehow I sat on the end of the side with 5 ppl? I don't get it, but it was cool anyways. I just shared some Terriaki wings, but it was good fellowship. I fortunately got a little space, but had a good night. It was just so darn cold outside. That is funny because anywhere else, this would be summer weather. (I like my warm air :-) Thank you!)

Finally chez moi, I finally got to Evening prayer (around 10) a little late, but oh well, I still did it. It was neat in that one of the psalms dealt with creation, which I had just read a good summary of in Frank Sheed's "Theology for Beginners." The crazy thing about creation is not "How it was done, commenting on evolution," but instead why? Evolution is not creation. Creation is truly the creation of something from nothing. If that is true, then it is impossible to create anything, unless you are God. One may say a carpenter creates a chair, but he doesn't. He uses wood and reforms it into a chair. A poet doesn't create a poem, instead they use words already formed.

How amazing is it that God took nothing and made something? That is the big deal about creation. In that same light, without God, then there is nothing. God could suddenly (hopefully not) say "ForeverSearching77 no longer exists, and I would be gone. I wouldn't be dead, because I wouldn't exist!?!

Without God, one can not exist, as all things were made by Him, thus everything must be held in existence by Him. We were made of nothing, so without God's intercession, we would be nothing?!? A little crazy but it makes sense, doesn't it?

God is an infinite, and as a friend told me, "In studying an infinite, you will just come up with infinitely more questions." That by far is reassuring and yet very puzzling. I can come up with a million more questions, and I will never be able to answer them as I am only finite. I will die someday and I can't stop that. Nothing I can do will.

I have definitely been blessed in my life. I have been given much more than one can really ask for. To simply live and have food is a true blessing. I just pray that I remember my blessings each and every day, so that once I am forced to carry my cross, I will be able to. On that note, may God bless you and grant you peace every day of your life. I must be off to sleep. As another friend told me. "Sleep with the angels." How amazing angels are. I will write about them another day, but now they must get to work and guard me in my sleep.

Good night

PORN Sunday

2006-01-29T19:39:00.000-08:00

Well, hey, I didn't think I would ever talk about Porn... It doesn't interest me and I have always been against it, but tonight was very interesting. I went to Porn Sunday which was sponsored by the Shack which is a non-denominational Christian group here on campus. Newman was in charge of getting refreshments for a movie screening.

NO this was not a porno movie... It was a movie against pornography. We watched a documentary on a cool website entitled www.xxxchurch.com. They call themselves the #1 Christian Porn site, and that just sparks a little interest. XXXchurch is a group that speaks against the evils of Porn and helps people to fight their addiction. With the help of an accountability partner, one can work to fight their addiction using free software on the website. It was pretty sweet. I was rather impressed and it is clearly the work of the Lord.

Chastity has just seemed to be today's topic. From Andrew's e-mail to a discussion with a friend in France, I have had multiple discussions on it today. Chastity is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit. One must strive to "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5-48. This is one of the ways we can strive for perfection. Obviously noone is perfect and everyone does struggle. I know that I do, but Christ died for all of us sinners.

Chastity is a life-style. It isn't just being a virgin, while that may be good. We are all called to be chaste. It is one thing to love a person, but do you not love a person even more when you respect their body instead of your personal pleasure? Looking at porn may give pleasure, but what do you really gain. You instead are saying that someone's body is not the Lord's temple, but simply a pleasure toy.

We must all strive to fix this problem and I am happy to share www.xxxchurch.com What an amazing ministry. They seem to really understand Christ's message. I will end with one other verse tonight, that I find fitting. "The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' He heard this and said, 'Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.'" Matthew 9:11-13

Thoughts on chastity

2006-01-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the e-mail I received earlier, well I decided that I would just post it here for everyone to enjoy. It has some cool thoughts in it, so here it goes:

Last summer, my sister Lindsay worked as a pizza delivery girl for Domino's. She tells the story of how one day she was sent to deliver pizza to a nearby Red Lobster, whose workers must have been sick of seafood! The employee waiting for her noticed the bright yellow bumper sticker on her car that says, "Chastity: The Choice of the Next Generation." With a look of confusion, he pointed to the sticker and asked in all seriousness, "Chastity" is that some kind of dance club or something?"

If I were in her place I don't think I could have kept a straight face, but Lindsay managed to stay cool and respond with something like, "No, um, actually chastity means sexual purity. And your total is $23.57."

As her story shows, many young people have never heard of chastity. We might occasionally hear something about abstinence, the saving of sex for marriage, but chastity is about much more than merely avoiding non-marital sex. It is about purity of heart and body, purity both inside and out. Take as an example a young guy who is still a virgin (good!), but who is thinking lustfully about a girl, or viewing pornography, or using his girlfriend as a means of selfish pleasure (not so good!). He might technically be practicing abstinence, but he is not practicing chastity.

Chastity is the virtue that allows one to appreciate sex as a beautiful gift from God, meant to be the ultimate sign of the total self-gift and union of husband and wife in marriage. Chaste persons use their sexuality in a way that reflects true and honest love.

For those who are married, chastity is a call to be faithful in both mind and heart, and to make sex a gift of self that is total and freely given. For example, chaste spouses do not use sex as a means of control, or use the other as an object for selfish pleasure. For those who are unmarried, chastity is a call to express affection and love in pure, non-sexual ways, such as through flowers, holding hands, romantic walks, kisses, and ski-diving. (That last one I just threw in for fun.) God is inviting you to learn how to master your sexual desires and to protect your sexuality as His precious gift, so that on your wedding night you can give that gift to your beloved with freedom and without any regrets.

Even between two people who are in a committed relationship and truly love one other, sex before marriage would be a lie. With their bodies, they would be saying, "I give myself to you totally, holding nothing back, for the rest of my life!" But they have not in fact given themselves totally to each other for the rest of their lives. They have not yet been joined irrevocably by the sacrament of marriage. Both are still holding much back from one another, and both can get up and walk away at any time.

Maybe you might be thinking, "This chastity thing, I dunno" I don't think I am strong enough to do that." And you are right--you definitely are not strong enough without Christ! But by meeting the Lord in prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments, you will receive the strength to grow in holiness and purity. It won't happen overnight, but you will find that chastity becomes easier with time. Slowly, with God's grace, you will grow in self-mastery. The temptations that chained you will no longer have such a hold on you. Chastity will become part of who you are.

And you will find that chastity brings freedom and joy! It brings the freedom to love our loved ones and those around us with authentic, self-giving love, instead of hurting those around us with selfish love. It gives the joy of loving others for their own sake and of being loved for your own sake.

That sure beats a dance club!

* 1/26/06, by seminarian Andrew Trapp*
Please feel free to share this with whoever might like it!*
Past reflections online at: www.catholicheart.com*

I thought it was pretty cool!!!!

Thoughts on today's readings

2006-01-29T12:42:00.000-08:00

I just recieved a really cool email about chastity from my friend in seminary. It told of how chastity is neglected in today's society and how often many youth don't even know what it means. I personally liked his reflection, especially after today's second reading. We heard that an unmarried person is anxious about God, while a married person is anxious about a spouse and God, and thus are split. (1 Cor 7:32-35) So it seems that an unmarried person would be better able to serve God. I find that this relates to the reason why priests are not allowed to marry. This is probably one of the major reasons why.

The homily today was mostly on how Jesus taught in the synagogue. Not particularly what he taught, but more so on how important it is that he taught. We don't know what he said, but it was clearly very powerful for the people to be astonished. How much more powerful must it be then that Mark doesn't comment on what he said. (See Mark 1:21-28) I truly enjoyed the homily, even if it was a little lengthy. One can't always be perfect.

After Mass, we went out for lunch and then to go buy groceries for a Church function tonight on the evils of pornography. We bought a ton of drinks and it is amazing that we still have to go back later this week to buy more stuff for a SuperBowl Party. We are currently planning on just making pizzas for the game and having people bring chips and drinks. That should work out well. Well anyways, I have a ton of work still to do. Please check out my friend's website at www.catholicheart.com It is pretty cool. Well have a good day and smile, because you are God's!!!

Friends, Confession, and Apologetics

2006-01-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

After a semi-crazy day of meetings and Frisbee golf, I went over to a friend's place for dinner. It was absolutely awesome. His mother cooked a great roast with green beans, roasted apples, rice, and rolls to complete the meal. In the meantime we watched some basketball as the Vols unfortunately defeated us. The game was sad but the food was great. Maybe next time.

In the meanwhile, I said evening prayer tonight, it was a little odd as it seemed to be the same psalms that I have been reading all week. Some about mourning. Unfortunately, my friend just lost her mother, not six months since her father passed away. It was terrible, and these psalms dealt with loss, esp Psalm 130, which is more a prayer for pardon and mercy. Truly if the Lord marks our iniquities, then we are all in trouble. It has been almost six weeks since I last went to confession and I truly miss it. I haven't been able to go mostly due to a lack of an open time on Saturday. It doesn't help that the priest at my parish has been out of town. Many people do not recognize the importance of confession. It is a realization of our sins and then the humbleness of telling it to God directly through another person. How amazing is that. I wouldn't want to be the priest having to listen to it. But it is just an immediate way that God listens to us. If He could not listen to us through someone, how real could He be? He would only be an omnipotent, infinite being that does nothing... What do you think about that?

I had also read another blog tonight on the "evils" of Roman Catholicism. For a second you almost buy into it. He sites many passages from the Gospels against praying repeatedly (The rosary) and then some about idols. I found this to be crazy as the Rosary is a method of reflection on God's sufferings. Further he cited Matthew 6:7 dealing with babbling during prayer. He used the word repeated instead of babbling. I found it quite funny though, as instead Jesus is rather warning his apostles against listing items and names just to make themselves look good. The final thing that made me laugh was his comment on the Tradition of the Church and how "evil" this was and that nothing in Roman Catholicism was based on the Scriptures. My only comment is, "Where do you think that the scriptures came from." Certainly God did not just say "Voila" and 'poof' a bible fell from the sky. No, the scriptures themselves came out of the tradition of the Church and anyone arguing Sola Scriptora must first deal with this argument. How does one know what the word of God is? I certainly couldn't tell you. For example, I could write a book and say, "This book is infallible and everything in it is from God." Would that make the book valid and true? Of course not, so we must think... How did we get the Holy Scriptures. I believe that the Church has truly dealt with this and truly is God's holy nation here on earth.

Well I guess that will be it for tonight... Quite a couple things to think and chew on, but it is all in God's name.

God Bless You.

A beginning

2006-01-28T18:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been meaning to create a blog for a while to share my daily search for God. Christ has always been a major impact on my life and sometimes I fail to see Him active in my life. Today, I had a meeting to start the Evangelic Catholic bible studies here on campus and it went rather well. I was very pleased and optimistic about it starting up afterwards. It comes to show how Christ will act in the things done for Him. I hope that in this blog, I can share some of my thoughts and prayers. Also, I hope to include my many thoughts of each day. I am still in search of a meaning and purpose in my life and I hope to share my journey. Whether it be a monastic life, or a married one, I hope my tale will inspire others who read it. For if you "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7-7.
May God bless you this day and everyday,
ForeverSearching7-7