Heroes

9 days ago I arrived at the airport in Milwaukee, and one of the first things I saw after getting off the plane was a little boy sitting on his dad’s shoulders wearing a cape. As they turned the corner and faced me I saw the boy was also wearing a mask. I couldn't help but smile and laugh a little and  I thought back to my cape wearing days. My grandma made my younger brother and I Batman capes, the Batman sign outlined in different colored paint so we could tell the two apart. Much like the little boy I saw at the airport, my brother and I had no shame in where we would wear those capes. I think there was a short amount of time I actually thought I was Batman.

If you really break it down, isn't our interest with super heroes kind of bizarre? Grown men dressed in tights, wearing masks and capes are adored… huh? Their stories compel us, motivate and inspire us. We idolize and hold these made up characters that run around in tights and capes in such high regard, kids dress up like them, heck even adults do sometimes. We remember “facts” about them, we talk about them as if they are real people, we talk as if we know them personally. We believe in these made up people. Don’t get me wrong I loved the Avengers and I've waited in line more than once to watch a superhero movie at the midnight showing, but isn't there more we can hope in and for? Obviously I would answer yes, Jesus gives us that hope, but what about men we can look to who are living today or who have lived in the last century? Who are the men whose character exemplifies that of Christ, who are truly heroic?

I believe there are many men who fit that description who are currently in Rome about to enter the Conclave, not to be confused with the Bat Cave. These men who are gathered from across the world will meet to play a huge role in the future of the Catholic Church and the world. These Cardinals are merely men who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ in an extraordinary way – as a Roman Catholic priest. The Cardinals have been called on in a special way because of their holiness – their love of the Lord. They assist the Pope in the governance of the Church. Their primary role is to come together as the College of Cardinals to elect the next Pope. Everything about the life of a holy priest is heroic. They sacrifice their wants and often their own good so that they may serve others, they live to serve, they exemplify and radiate Christ. Most of them have had incredible internal struggles of discernment – of whether or not to pursue the priesthood. The men that answer that call are heroic. Yet to a good part of our culture they’re useless, frowned upon, even hated. Those words I used to describe priests above are the same words that come to mind when we think of super heroes: sacrifice, service, struggle, adversity – but priests don’t get that credit. In the picture above I'm not trying to make a prediction here but I had to include Cardinal Dolan's self titled "Batman pose".

I came across this photo this past week on a Catholic Facebook page. He is a hero of mine and I would guess that people across the world are storming heaven asking for his prayers as the Cardinals begin to meet and select the next Pope. This man lived in a way that was an incredible example of Jesus Christ. His story is incredible and this meme captures the beauty and triumph of his life:

Batman went to the Bat Cave as Bruce Wayne and left as Batman, Clark Kent went into a phone booth and appeared as Superman. 115 Cardinals are entering the Sistine Chapel for the Conclave, one of them will emerge after white smoke pours out of the most watched chimney in the world with a new name and new garb and he will be introduced to the world. He will be the Vicar of Christ on this planet, the leader of the Catholic Church, Papa -  Pope. Our world, literally our WORLD, every news station- will stop to look and listen to this man as he makes his first remarks as Holy Father.  No, that’s not a movie or a fictional character I'm talking about, it is real life and it is absolutely heroic.

Let’s pray for the Cardinals and especially for that man whom who will soon represent Christ in a way that very well could affect the course of history. Let's be heroes, let's be Saints!

When in Rome

From October 21-28 I will have the blessing and opportunity to be in Rome, Italy during the Synod for the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinals, Bishops, and lay people from around the world have been meeting discussing the New Evangelization and the Catholic Church for almost 2 weeks. Next week, the last week the Synod is meeting I will be in Rome! I cannot express my excitement enough through blog! I'll be arriving in Rome 1 day after the canonization of 7 individuals, 2 of them American. I will arrive in Rome on the feast of Blessed Pope John Paul II- October 22nd and one of the sites we will visit that day is Blessed John Paul II's tomb!

I have this great opportunity to attend because the president and founder of FOCUS, the organization I work for was asked to serve as part of the Synod as a lay person. Less than 20 lay persons from around the world were invited and Curtis Martin, our president was one of them. When Curtis shared this with FOCUS staff earlier this year, he thanked us! It was very humbling to see a man selected for such an honor, to discuss the future path of our Church thank us campus missionaries and students for the work that we do day in and day out on a college campus.

The next 7 days will be a great opportunity for prayer, joy, fasting, and fellowship as nearly 100 FOCUS staff and family members will meet up in Rome for a time of pilgrimage and education. Each day we have trips or tours planned to several locations in Vatican City and Rome and conferences with Bishops and other members participating in the Synod to keep us up to date on what has been discussed during the Synod thus far. On Friday a Franciscan Friar is leading a number of us to Assisi to visit the grounds once walked by St. Francis and St. Clare. Fr. Conrad, the friar, will also be saying Mass for us while we're in Assisi.

I am very excited and equally excited to come back and share my experience. In the mean time please comment with any specific prayer requests you have or feel free to email them to me at aj.garcia@focus.org so that I may take them to the sites I visit while in Rome.

Ciao!

The Gift of Self is Worth the Wait

This semester I had the privilege of taking a Theology of the Body course at Seton Hall University. I had a great instructor that was very passionate about the material and made the content easy to understand. We read from Blessed John Paull II's work Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body. Since late January the book and the course have absolutely rocked my world. I wrote a paper at the end of the semester, I chose to write about pre-marital sex. Here it is....enjoy!

In a country that continues to grow further and further from the roots in which it was established, one of the most common questions amongst teenagers and young adults is, “Why should I wait until I get married to have sex?” Our culture strives to make things bigger, better, and faster and our culture loves giving gifts that we will be remembered for. What are the gifts that we fail to recognize, give, and receive? Our sexuality is a gift meant to be given and received after marriage.

Why were we created? Weren’t we created to be in relationship? We arrive in this world after we have developed a relationship with our mother while in the womb. Then we are raised by our parents, and we have siblings or go to school and make friends. Our entire life consists of relationships. We continue in life and begin our own family. The first step in that process is to meet someone of the opposite sex, get married, and begin a whole new set of relationships. Am I forgetting a relationship? What about the first relationship known to man? When man was first created he was created in the image and likeness of God Himself. What did the first relationship on earth look like? Man, Adam, was created to be in a relationship. There was a problem; Adam had no one with whom he could be in relationship. God gave Adam the duty of naming all the animals. Can you imagine the torture Adam must have gone through in naming the animals and looking for someone with whom he could be in relationship? Yet there was no one. Finally God realized Adam’s need to be in relationship, so God gave Adam Eve. God created both of them in His image and to be in relationship with Him! Today, being human, like Adam and Eve, we too are created for relationship with Someone beyond this earth. We were created for relationships beyond those that we have physically; we were created for relationship with our Father, the Creator and His Son – our Savior. Without a relationship with Them, who embody Love itself, how could we possibly love anyone on earth? Unless we truly experience the Love we were created for we cannot love another being on this earth. This is one gift we too often choose not to receive.

When we love someone, whether it’s a parent, sibling, relative or friend, we try to express that love by doing nice things for them and we serve them; we give of our very selves. We give and become a gift. Is there a greater meaning to giving of ourselves within marriage? Yes. God does nothing without purpose, he meant for sex to be used for much more than pleasure. Just like no person was created by God without purpose - anything or any action given to us by God is meant to be used for a specific purpose. Before Adam had Eve he realized that he was more than just a body, he knew that he also had a soul, he knew that he could not simply exist to serve himself physically, he longed to give himself to another in every way that he could and unite himself with her bodily and spiritually.

If a man is to give himself completely to a woman what does it mean, how does a couple give themselves to each other completely? There are several things that a couple can do to serve one another by giving of themselves. One could do chores for the other, buy something, compliment them, give up something so the other can have it, cook a meal, etc. Those are all wonderful things and most good spouses would jump at the opportunity to do one of them to please the other. But what if there was an experience spouses could share that would unite them body and soul, allowing them to experience a deep communion in which they freely give of themselves. That’s what marriage is about right? Uniting with another in a way that bonds and unites the couple in a deep and meaningful way?

The act of sex is that way that spouses can give of themselves completely!  Instead of viewing sex as merely a way of experiencing pleasure we need to think about the meaning of the act beyond the way that our culture portrays it. The act of sex is meant to be enjoyable, but it is also to be used as a means of giving ourselves completely to our spouse and to unite us to that person in a way that we are not united with anyone else! As explained in Theology of the Body by the late Great Blessed John Paul II; “The conjugal act, the marital act, “means” not only to love, but also potential fruitfulness, and thus it cannot be deprived of its full and adequate meaning by means of artificial interventions. In the conjugal act, it is not licit to separate artificially the unitive meaning from the procreative meaning, because the one as well as the other belong to the innermost truth of the conjugal act. The artificial separation of these two meanings of the conjugal act, a real bodily union is brought about, but it does not correspond to the inner truth and dignity of personal communion.”[1] The only way to become the person we were created to be – fully and truly, is through a sincere and complete gift of self. Many people think that using a form of contraception is heroic because they’re avoiding pregnancy. There is actually nothing less heroic than contracepting. It’s cowardly, immature, and irresponsible. The contracepted act, before or during marriage, is only about what one person can get from the other, “love” is basically eliminated, the contracepted act is one of mutual use. The consummating act on the night of marriage is a memoralizing or remembering of the covenant of marriage. In every marital act a couple is renewing this covenant. This reflects how we memorialize the consummating act of Jesus in the Church. By Christ giving Himself for the Church in the Eucharist at every Mass, we are remembering how Jesus freely and fully gave of Himself to us; we remember that consummation in every Eucharist.

Sex is worth the wait. As humans it takes a lot for us to exercise self-control. At times, we are good at it. Someone on a diet will exercise and change their diet. Someone shopping sees something they like but does not buy it. But sexually we choose not to exercise self-control, we lower the bar, we choose to use contraceptives, we choose to be a victim of our intuition, instead of using our intellect. Jesus Christ raised the bar for over 30 years while He was man on earth, He expects more of us. The only way we can avoid falling into sexual sin is by relying on His grace. If you want your wedding night to be memorable get on your knees and ask for the grace to be pure and chaste!

Earlier I talked about people today wanting to give the best gift imaginable to another. The greatest gift you can give someone is yourself. The greatest gift you can give on your wedding night and entire marriage is yourself. What gift do you want to bring to your wedding night? An un-opened, never been gifted, incredible gift? Or a re-gifted, used, and tired gift?

---

[1] Man and Woman He Created Them, p. 632

Blessed John Paul the Great, PRAY FOR US!!!!

Dear Owen

Last Saturday night ( 1 week ago) a 6 month old baby was rushed to the hospital when he stopped breathing, his name is Owen. Owen is a triplet and has one older brother. I joined in prayer with probably thousands of people last week for this little guy and his family. On Monday or Tuesday his family learned that Owen had about a 2% chance of recovery. During the week someone shared with Owen's mother that the name Owen means "Little warrior". And Owen sure was this last week. I had the chance to visit Owen this last Tuesday, it was one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed. It's sad to see anyone connected to all those machines in the hospital and tubes going into someones nose, but you never want to see that on a child. I prayed for Owen while I touched his fingers and then as visitor's hours ended all the visitor's in the room prayed together, it was beautiful and full of hope, we begged God for the life of this child.

It was Thursday evening that Owen finally did leave this world. During the week Owen's mother (whose blog can be found here: bissingfamily.wordpress.com) created an email address for Owen. I emailed him. I really believed there would be a miracle. As Owen's mother pointed out most of the week, there was just not for Owen. Owen donated his heart and kidneys amongst a few other organs. The following is what I wrote to Owen......

Dear Owen,

You probably don't remember me, I only met you once, I think I held you and fed you.....but that might have been one of your brothers ;) One thing is for sure you smiled at me, because I remember you and your brothers all smiled at me that day, you're all so cute.

I want to tell you a story Owen. Today I planned on going to a men's group at 6:30am and then mass at 8am, well, I slept until 9:20, so that didn't quite work out for me. So I decided to go to mass at 11am at Holy Hill, Our Lady Help of Christians Shrine. I got there early and I prayed for you in a side chapel. When I entered the main chapel just before 11 there were many more people there than there usually are for a daily mass. There was also a longer procession of priests than usual for daily mass, usually there is one, today there were 4. Then the priest told us that today was a special day. He said that today is the feast day of Our Lady Help of Chrisitans. I became very happy because I did not know it was today and what a perfect place to be on her feast day, the Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians!

The Gospel reading today was from John chapter 2, the Wedding at Cana where Mary goes to Jesus on behalf of the people and says "They have no wine" she didn't say we or us, but they. Owen, Mary is constantly helping us to follow Jesus. She goes to Jesus everyday with the little things that we need (things that we do not often recognize). Certainly Mary has been with you and asked her Son for your protection. And just like when Mary asked Jesus for a miracle at Cana, may she ask him for a miracle for you.

After the Gospel reading the preacher went on to tell about all the miracles that have happened at Holy Hill since it opened in 1863. He told of a boy that was blind receive his sight, another boy who was healed of being deaf, several instances of people being cured of cancer, and a woman with a lung disease who was cured by our Lord this last Christmas. He told us how the late Blessed Pope John Paul II used to pray the rosary as young boy at the foot of a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians. Today I did the same for you. Kneeling just outside of the altar and at the foot of a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians I prayed the rosary for you Owen, for a miracle. Take peace in knowing that Jesus nor His Mother has left your side since Saturday. I want to share a few prayers with you:

Stay with me Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. Stay with me Lord, because I am weak and I need all Your strength that I may not fall so often. Stay with me Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor. Stay with me Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness. Stay with me Lord, to show me Your will. Stay with me Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. Stay with me Lord, for I desire to love You very much and always be in Your company. Stay with me Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.

And

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protections, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to the do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.

Stay strong Owen, you are blessed. Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us. God Bless you.

AJ

Please join me in praying for Owen and strength for his family.

Owen, rest in peace, you are greatly missed.

In what could we find greater joy?

This past weekend on Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday I attended mass at Seton Hall University. At the 8pm mass we celebrated the Sacraments of initiation to the Church. 2 people were baptized, 4-6 were received into the Church, and 8-10 were Confirmed and received Eucharist or First Holy Communion for the first time.

As usual it was a beautiful celebration, but something struck me at this mass and celebration that I haven't noticed in awhile or that I may never have thought about before. As I watched the individuals receive Communion for the first time, I can remember 2 people especially whose faces lit up with absolute joy and excitement. It forced me to smile and my eyes filled with tears. And then I thought to myself, what is my reaction when I receive Eucharist, when I receive Jesus? The more I thought about it the more I realized that it was not the joy and excitement that I just witnessed others experiencing. Why shouldn't every time we receive be like the first time?

Not to say that I take receiving Communion for granted, because I don't, I celebrate each time that I receive Jesus. But I thought, could I, or should I receive Him with more joy? Compared to receiving Jesus is there a more peaceful or joyful thing that we could ever do!!?!? I've come to the conclusion of no.

In the past few weeks I have become more and more interested in the life of the late Great Blessed Pope John Paul II. So I looked to a few of his thoughts on the Eucharist.

"The Eucharist is also a great call to conversion. We know that it is an invitation to the banquet; that, by nourishing ourselves on the Eucharist, we receive in it the body and blood of Christ, under the appearances of bread and wine. Precisely because of this invitation, the Eucharist is and remains the call to conversion. If we receive it as such a call, such an invitation, it brings forth in us its proper fruits. It transforms our lives. It makes us a "new man", a "new creature" (Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). It helps us not to be "overcome by evil, but to overcome evil by good" (Rom. 12:21). The Eucharist helps love to triumph in us -- love over hatred, zeal over indifference." Homily in Dublin's Phoenix Park 9/29/1979

and




"From the Eucharist springs the Church's mission and capacity to offer her specific contribution to the human family. The Eucharist effectively transmits Christ's parting gift to the world: "Peace I give you, my peace I leave you" (John 14:27). The Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ's "peace" because it is the memorial of the salvific redemptive sacrifice of the cross. The Eucharist is the sacrament of victory over the divisions that flow from personal sin and collective selfishness. Therefore, the Eucharistic community is called to be a model and instrument of a reconciled humanity. In the Christian community there can be no division, no discrimination, no separation among those who break the bread of life around the one altar of sacrifice." Homily at Seoul, South Korea 10/18/1988

I know that the next several times that I receive the Eucharist I will be thinking more about what it means and how I receive it. Please join me in doing the same and may the experience of receiving the Eucharist be transformational and may we all truly experience Christ's peace. What could be more joyful?

VERSO L'ALTO

Great Week to be Catholic and a Different Reason to Wake up in the Middle of the Night

This week it seems like there are several reasons in the Church to rejoice. First, foremost, and obvious the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each year it seems that as a culture we celebrate less and less the true meaning of Easter. Yes, there actually is more to Easter than plastic and hard boiled eggs, jellybeans, chocolate bunnies, and annoying green tinsel. I was surprised to hear the symbolism of the eggs however.

But, my Easter week started with welcoming a good friend into full Communion of the Catholic faith. My friend was baptized a Christian and this last weekend he received his first Communion in the Holy Eucharist and was confirmed a member of the Catholic Church. The Easter Vigil celebration was beautiful and meaningful. Seeing a Church lit only by candles that each person was holding was so neat. Then each of us had our baptism renewed when the priest walked around the Church blessing us all sprinkling us with Holy Water. When I heard the Holy water hit me, it was refreshing and a renewal, just a unique experience of the water hitting me and a strange realization that went through my mind. I don’t know how to describe it other than that.

All week we have been in the Easter Octave, a reminder everyday that we should be rejoicing because not only did Jesus accept and willingly go through with His death on a cross but he rose from the dead! Alleluia!!


This last Thursday was the feast day of St. Gianna, the patron saint of doctors and of the unborn. Gianna was a loving wife and mother and stood boldly for her faith and pro-life beliefs. Gianna died after giving birth to her daughter, whom doctors suggested she abort if Gianna herself wanted to live. Gianna chose the life of her daughter. There is a beautiful painting of Gianna in La Crosse, Wisconsin at the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe. I learned an incredible story about her while I was there. The Shrine has gloves that belonged to Gianna and several women that have had difficulty conceiving have gone to pray with them hoping that through her intercession, God would give the gift of a child. As you can see in the painting there are several children in the picture. The children at each side and one she is holding are her own, the others are miracle children that have been born as result of her intercession. The tour guide in La Crosse told our group that he was in the gift shop when a little girl under the age of 5 came running into the shop yelling to her mother, “Look mama, look mama, it’s Gianna!” Our tour guide said that he approached the woman and began to tell her about Gianna. Not long after he started, the woman stopped the man and said, “I know, you see that child? (Pointing to one on the painting) That’s my daughter. This woman had asked Gianna to pray with Our Father in Heaven and through the grace of God this woman was blessed with a child!

The divine timing of this is amazing. Not only was St. Gianna an incredible human being and example for us all. She lived during the 1900’s and was canonized by the late (Blessed) Pope John Paul II. Now, why is he significant to mention. Well I said there was a “different” reason to wake up early and I meant different than waking up for the royal wedding. This Sunday morning in Rome, the late John Paul II will be beatified in the Roman Catholic Church, meaning he will from now on be called Blessed John Paul II. This means that he is one step closer to being a saint of the Church. And like the wedding yesterday, the beatification can be seen on tv at an odd hour in morning here in the States.


The significance and divinity does not stop there. This Sunday, the day of his beatification is Divine Mercy Sunday. Divine Mercy Sunday is celebrated the first Sunday after Easter each year. Divine Mercy Sunday is something that John Paul II established while he was Pope. He decided to have this day celebrated because of a holy woman, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska. She had visions of Jesus telling her to share prayers and ideas with the world. She did so in a book. John Paul II decided to go fourth with them and encouraged the entire Catholic Church to have a devotion to Divine Mercy through the Divine Mercy Chaplet and this image. Oh by the way, John Paul II canonized St. Faustina.

As the Easter season comes to a close please pray with special intentions and for the intercession of St. Gianna, (Blessed) Pope John Paul II, St. Faustina, and remember that it’s all possible because of what was celebrated a week ago…the greatest story in the history of the world, the death and resurrection of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Emily Pochinski, may you rest in peace.

VERSO L’ALTO