Jesus, Andrew, Peter, and Peyton Manning

Today’s Gospel reading is Mark 1:14-20, here it is from the USCCB website:

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

I’m always amazed at the instant response of these men. They knew very little about the man calling them and they seem to be in the middle of their work day, yet they immediately follow Jesus. During the homily today the priest asked, “What is our response? Are we quick to obey?” My immediate thought was that I never respond with quite the urgency of the disciples, but most of the time I am striving to obey – though not always. The priest then asked about our response to obstacles in life – which led me to a thought explosion for most of the remainder of mass – although not as distracted as that sounds.

Mass ended and I sat and prayed for a bit and thought more about my response and response in general to obstacles. I thanked the Lord for the attitude I’ve been given to respond to obstacles, I wouldn’t say I embrace them, but I endure them, attack them, take them head on. As I’m driving home I hear the news about Peyton Manning’s injury – that’s he’s played through a torn quad muscle for nearly a month. I’m still not sure if I think it was courageous or stupid of him, but he does deserve credit. I pulled my hamstring a few years ago, very slight pull, but I didn’t want to walk to the fridge, let alone get chased by dudes trying to take my head off! (So I guess Peyton was courageous). Man’s response to obstacles in our culture, largely sports, is called “heroic”, “unbelievable”, “amazing”, “unforgettable” and the list goes on. But when it comes to the spiritual, virtuous or moral life – all which require a serious amount of sacrifice, self-denial, service, and above all love – people are laughed at, mocked, and called weak. Self-denial, service and love although laughed at today are the best words we could use to describe the most heroic, unbelievable, amazing and unforgettable person that ever lived, died, rose and lived again.

Nothing in life is easy. College: both socially and intellectually challenging, marriage/vocation: beautiful, joy-filled yet faced with many trials, work: worth it, at times enjoyable yet demanding. Why would the spiritual life and a relationship with Jesus Christ be different? There are amazing highs and painful lows just like anything else in life – yet in the spiritual life why is man’s (myself included) response to obstacles often lazy, lack luster, slothful? Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Tony Romo (along with many others I’m sure) were willing to risk further, maybe even career threatening injuries for 60 minutes on Sunday. And for what?

I was sad and upset because this puzzles me. In every aspect of life I can think of man’s response is to face obstacles with confidence, toughness, a bit stubborn, some might even say defiant – every aspect of life but the spiritual aspect. Is a Super Bowl ring or another $100,000 really going to deliver something that lasts? That is truly life giving? That is eternal? Without a Google search, who won the Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXVI? 100 years from now that will mean even less than it does now. Who were the first men to follow Jesus? 2,000 years come and gone and those guys are still being talked about!

Those men in today’s Gospel followed Jesus because they were attracted to Him. Those men saw something in Jesus that promised more than anything they would ever pull into their boat or that they could ever do on their own. It was not always smooth sailing for those 1^st men to run after Jesus, but I guarantee you they’re happy they did.

The priest ended his homily with the following questions, something I will continue to think about, “…the obstacle, is it a stepping stone towards or away from Jesus? Jesus meets us in our daily lives, how will we respond?”

Ready for Holy Week

This last week during a homily I heard Holy Week referred to as "the greatest week in the history of the world", that is quite a claim, but I think it's hard to argue with. No matter how much time a person spends each week or day, I don't know if we could actually be prepared to enter this week of mystery, wonder, and absolute awe.

To try and prepare for this week I've done a couple of things. One of the things I've done is something I may do leading into Holy Week for the rest of my life. That is to study the Jewish roots of the Eucharist, the Last Supper, and the 4th Cup. I came across this website, 4th Cup. It summarizes the first Passover and Moses leading the people out of Egypt and shows how the time in the desert points to the Last Supper, Jesus, and the Eucharist. I know that before last year, during 25 years as a Catholic, I heard that Jesus establishes a new covenant and fulfills Judaism, but I don't know if I've ever fully understood or realized how He did that in the events leading to His crucifixion. This website as well as books and articles written by Scott Hahn and Brant Pitre show how literally and specifically Jesus leaves no doubt that by His words and actions He establishes something new and gives to us for the rest of time.

One other thing I've done this last week is to try and live more simply and silently. There were a few reasons other than Holy Week I decided to do this. One reason was some information that a friend shared with me, statistics about our obsession/addiction with social media and smart phones. I started using an I Phone this past July and I know since then I have been more active on Facebook and Twitter. I would hate to know the number of hours I've spent scrolling on Twitter or Facebook on my phone or computer. So much time that I could have spent differently and won't get back. Another reason was thinking about Pope Francis and St. Joseph whose feast day was the 19th last week. Both of these men are incredible examples of simplicity and silence. Joseph, who is very highly respected throughout the history of Christianity does not speak 1 word in the Bible, yet we admire him greatly. Pope Francis who most of the world has only known of for a few weeks has captured our curiosity and our hearts... mostly because of his simple living and how he has embraced poverty in so many ways. Since this past Wednesday I've decided to go without social media and using my phone other than text messages or phone calls until next Sunday so that I may try to emulate the simplicity and silence of St. Joseph and Pope Francis as I enter the greatest week in the history of the world.

May we all have a deep and radical encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ this week and choose to embrace His simple and profound love in a way that propels us to love others in the same way.

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!

Lenten Reflection: Being the Rich Soil

Earlier this week, I came across the parable of the sower in the Gospel of Matthew.

“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. 8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty fold. 9 Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

I love how Jesus describes things and how the parables make it easy to visualize what is being said. What I love most about these parables is when Jesus explains the reason for the parable, which He did a few verses later…

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. 21 But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. 23 But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty fold.”

After reading this I thought about how my faith has grown and also how it is so often put to the test. I thought about a time in the past - a time when I was at each of the stages that Jesus talks about. I've been in a place where I did not understand at all, a place where I got very excited but that excitement would quickly fade. I've also been in a place where worldly anxiety and other distractions have kept me from growing deeper and fortunately I've had the grace of understanding the Word of God and even experienced spiritual fruit.

I shared this passage at Bible study this week with 6 young men. We talked about what it would look like for an athlete trying to live out their faith through their sport at each of these stages. We discovered that for an athlete – like anyone else -the Christian life is not easy. We talked about how often one may start out a season very encouraged to live out the faith through sport but how difficult it can become when one faces adversity, how difficult it is to persevere in the faith and how quick one is likely to abandon Christ maybe because He failed to live up to our expectations. We talked about that if one really wants to commit to Christ and be that fourth type of soil it take a lot of perseverance in those times of difficulties that we must put God first and make time for him every day. Athletes who want live for Christ have no problem working out or getting extra work in before or after a long practice, yet they struggle to make even a little time for the Lord. 

Our conversation came down to a few questions we had to ask ourselves, what do we say our priorities are? And what do our actions actually indicate what our priorities are? Does the line get crossed - when athletics interfere with your spiritual foundation and response to God’s Word? The guys struggled with this, a few asked questions like, “does this mean we shouldn't work out as hard?” It absolutely does not, but the time spent working out should not interfere or be more than the time we spend in God’s Word or in prayer with the Lord. That is hard to hear when athletes are pushed so hard by their coaches, teammates, and family members to be the best and do the best you possibly can, it seems that the best way to do that might be to abandon the Lord and take matters into your own hands.

It’s not easy to be that fourth type of soil, but we’re not called to do easy things, it is difficult to follow Christ – that’s why everyone isn't doing it. This message of perseverance and overcoming difficulty is perfect for the season of Lent. It would be easy to give up on that Lenten fast – in a sense abandoning the Lord’s call to die to ourselves and seek Him. But what type of soil do you want to be? You know what, let’s forget what we want, a better question would be what type of soil is the Lord calling us to be? I’m pretty sure He wants us to be that rich soil, being fruitful, right?

Let’s persevere this Lenten season, continue to pick up our crosses, seeking Him, loving Him more and following Him closely, so that He might be made known to others.

February Catholic Bloggers Link Up Blitz

Here are two posts from this month about my Lenten journey and hopefully at the same time will provide some Lenten encouragement to all!!

Lenten Reflection 1: Picking up our Crosses

Your faith has saved you...

Link to Catholic Bloggers Network: 2013 Monthly Link-Up Blitz for February

"Your faith has saved you"

Since January I've decided to commit in a deeper way to studying and reading Scripture more frequently and thoroughly. I've started by reading through the Gospel of Matthew very slowly. I've used a few different resources to supplement my reading. One is an app on my phone; iPieta. It is an absolute must have for any Catholic with a droid, iphone, tablet, or ipad, it is amazing what you can find on there!! Specifically I have been using a few items under the section "Bible Commentaries" on the app: the Haydock Bible Commentary and the Catena Aurea. This has really allowed me to dig into Scripture and have a better understanding of what is said and what is happening.

I've been amazed at the ministry of Jesus as I've been reading, especially the times Jesus heals people. One thing that really caught my attention while I've been reading is what He says to them after they have been healed; "Go; be it done for you as  you have believed." (Mt 8:13)... "take heart daughter; your faith has made you well." (Mt 9:22)... "According to your faith be it done to you." (Mt. 9:29) ...

I read this and am amazed that just their faith has made them well. What I've read has just been perfect for where I am. We're kind of at an in between point of the semester. The excitement on campus from our students following a National Conference in Florida which 6,000 people attended has worn off in many ways, we begin spring break at the end of the coming week, and there are just over 2 months left of the semester. Lately, I've found that I feel like my faith is being put to the test a bit. Not that I'm doubting anything, just that I feel like I really have to persevere. Which is one of several reasons why I am so glad I've been reading the Bible.

After reading these miracles I found myself thinking about my own faith, not in a comparing type of why, just in a wondering way. It's the same sort of feeling I had while I was in Rome in the fall, where every corner you turned (it seemed) someone had been martyred for the faith. I wondered then and for weeks that followed...would I have that great of faith? To look death in the face and stand up for what I believe knowing that if I did so I would die... I like to think I would, but that takes a lot of faith! I thought the same as I've been reading through Matthew, would I have the courage, strength and faith to approach Jesus and ask Him for something so great? Again, I like to think I would but in the situation I just don't know.

This past Tuesday I went to confession, thank the Lord for this gift! I confessed my sins, the priest gave me some feedback and encouragement, I was given a penance, I stated an act of contrition, and was given absolution - all the key components to receiving grace we don't deserve from God. Before I left the confessional, the priest said, "Go your faith has saved you." I laughed and thought to myself, THANK YOU LORD! It really was a neat moment, a God moment. I returned to the pew and thought how truly blessed I am to not only know and love God, but to accept and seek His love.

Thursday I had another reminder of how small my faith often is when I heard the Gospel proclaimed during Mass from Matthew chapter 7 verses 7-12...

"Jesus said to His disciples: '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. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you them, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.'"

May we increase our faith this Lenten season and continue to grow closer to Christ as we pick up our crosses and unite our sufferings with His.

Lenten Reflection 1: Time to pick IT up!

It has been several months since I have posted anything here. An awful lot has happened. One,  I got engaged and now am only 110 days from being married!!  Two, I had the honor and privilege of going on a pilgrimage to Rome with 100 friends and co-workers – I still sit back and think about what incredible places we visited and people we had the privilege of listening to. Three, there is the never ending, always exciting, constantly learning happening in my role as FOCUS Team Director at Seton Hall. This position has allowed me to learn so much about myself and how to serve others well. Four, about a million more things in between!! During this Lenten season, among a few other things I am committing to do (or not do) I will be posting at least weekly during this Lenten season about my journey through Lent as a missionary, fiancé and disciple and lover of Jesus Christ.

Our Church is beautiful, I am constantly reminded about the goodness of God through one of the greatest things he’s given us; the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. Those words alone: “one, holy, Catholic and apostolic” should amaze us and always leave us stunned at the incredible gift we have been given. There is no better time to remind ourselves of this gift than during a few very important periods in the Liturgical year, the season of Advent, the Christmas season, the season of Lent, and the Easter season.  Each season stands out to us in different ways; not only by which color the church may be decorated in or which color our priests wear, but during each of these seasons we are asked to change our attitude – to prepare ourselves with expectant anticipation or penance to call something to mind that we normally may not. We are invited to in a greater way consider the acts of Christ Jesus.

Which act of Christ is more important? His birth? Or his death and resurrection? I was asked this about a year ago; I was caught off guard by the question and was unsure how to respond to be honest. Since I’ve been asked I have considered this several times throughout the year. One reason I think the answer is simple because you can simply look at the lengths of time of the Liturgical seasons. Advent is only 4 weeks, Christmas a little over a week, Lent is well over 40 days and the Easter season can be as many as 50 days! Based on that alone isn’t it clear which act might be seen as more important? Anyways, yes, Jesus Christ was born not just to live and perform miracles but to die…to die for us. Jesus Christ was born to die on the Cross to save us from our sin…so that everyone in the world might have a chance at salvation. And of course He died so that He could rise. What a reason to celebrate!!

This year, like always, Lent began on Ash Wednesday and the Gospel reading from that day has been stuck in my mind all week long. Part of the Gospel reading on Wednesday was from Matthew chapter 6 and addresses fasting. Here is Matthew 6:16-18:

“And when you fast, do not look dismal like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Each Lent I have to remind myself often why I have chosen to fast from something or to do some additional act of prayer or service… it is not and cannot be to draw attention to myself or to somehow benefit my own physical good – no, but rather it is to more completely align my will with the will of God the Father’s and to unite what little suffering I endure to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the Cross. I need to remind myself that every small act of self-denial should only be directing my thoughts, energy, and actions to the Cross and the Man on it. So this Lenten season there are a few things I want to do, but one of the things I want to do especially well is summed up in Mark 8:34-36.

“And He called to Him the multitude with His disciples, and said to them ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?’”

Let’s follow Him well during this season of Lent. God bless you.

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!

To Live on Purpose

It's been quite awhile since I've posted, but a lot has happened, I'm excited to start posting regularly again! This week I had a very incredible, grace filled, and mercy filled moment during a Bible study, here is my best attempt to share it.....

Thursday night was the first Bible study of the new school year I had with the baseball team. The guys have eagerly been asking when we would start for over a week so I was happy to finally get things rolling. It’s always exciting and nerve wracking thinking about who will show up, I was hopeful that the usual crowd of guys would come and even more hopeful that there would be some new faces. I was happy to see most of the regulars and happy to welcome 1 new face and a few guys who were occasional attendees last year. Just before we were about to begin one of the guys answered a phone call, I figured it was someone checking on where we were meeting as just before he hung up he told him where we were and what time we would finish. He hung up the phone and said that Walter will call him and ask him to hang out and most of the time he’s happy to do so and willing to do so, but this evening after a long day of class, practice, more class, and Bible study, it was going to be a little too much.


Walter is a guy that is fairly well known… or at least he stands out and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Walter is vision impaired and uses a guide cane to assist him and he’s also not shy. More than once I’ve seen him approach strangers and ask for something or introduce himself. Walter is also a manager/coach for the baseball team at Seton Hall, so everyone in our Bible study knows Walter at some level.

We began the night considering a few questions; what does it mean to live on purpose? And at the end of the school year how will you know if you lived life on purpose. We discussed questions that caused the guys to reflect and look ahead to life after college. We talked about goals, dreams, success and how it is defined, is there a plan for your life or do you create your own…..very thought provoking questions. We talked about happiness and if that’s what defines success, it was pointed out that 11 years ago, there were men that thought they were successful when they flew planes into towers. The question was then posed is there more to life than happiness?

As we were getting ready to end the night in prayer someone knocked at the door, Walter walked in. I was surprised and so were the guys as many of them started to laugh quietly. Walter is a guy some may think comes off as rude, he isn’t afraid to speak his mind or tell it like it is, for some people that’s hard to take. I enjoy being around Walter, he’s always quick to remind me, a Packer fan, how last football season ended since he is a Giant fan. I asked Walter, “We were just talking about what the purpose of life is, what do you think man?” “The purpose of life….” He began. “The purpose of life is to be happy…..win a lot of baseball games…..and live for the Lord.” I think we were all surprised by his last remark. Since we had nearly been there for an hour and we were about to close in prayer I asked Walter if he would join us and some of the other guys encouraged him to sit down with them, which he did. We prayed and as some of us got up to leave ( I was in sort of a rush since the Packer game started about an hour ago) Walter asked me if I would read something to the guys. He said it was an article in the Daily News about him. I couldn’t say no to him, so I sat back down and began to read the story. Walter explained “this is why I haven’t been around the last few days.” I only read the headline of the story in my head…”Greif goes on, but so does spirit” and saw Walter’s picture in the lower right hand corner. The article by Denis Hamill begins…. “It was the best of New York, inside and out. At the 9/11 commemoration, which was exclusively for families of the fallen this year, FDNY Lt. Gerard Chipura spoke about his brother John, whose life he thinks should be an inspirational and action-packed book”. The article had some touching stories, but none more real than 3rd featured in this article. “Inside Walter Matuza, tapped his guide cane through the crowd of mournful family members and spoke of the day 11 years ago when he still had eyesight but learned he’d lost his father. “I was 10 and living in Staten Island and I knew the attacks had happened here at the towers,” he says. “But it was my father’s day off. He wasn’t supposed to work. But there was an awards ceremony at school and he needed a projector that was at work here on the 92nd floor of the North Tower. So he went in just to get the projector. He didn’t make it out. I don’t remember the exact words they said to me that day, but I remember that my mother and my grandmother took me into my parents’ bedroom and I sat on the bed and they told me that my father was never coming home. I was a star baseball player. My dad came to all my games. My favorite time with him was fishing. We’d never do that again. Five months later, I also lost my eyesight.” And 11 years later, he is a baseball coach at Seton Hall University; where he is also studying business. And so the next time I hear people telling me how hard they have it, I’ll tell him to go touch the name of Walter Matuza Sr., engraved for history in the wall around the pool in the footprint of the North Tower. I’ll tell them to think about the blind, 10 year old son he left behind who lifted himself from the darkest of imaginable despair, just like his city, and made himself a promising new life. Like the tower rising beside the memorial.”

Silence. What do you say? Finally I thanked Walter for sharing that story, so did some of the others. Walter said that he just wanted to share more about himself with everyone. No one had any idea that Walter had lost his father or how he had lost him, nor anything about his vision impairment. We were shocked and speechless, but it certainly put things into perspective. I felt guilty that I wanted to rush home to watch a game that essentially does not matter. I went to an event on campus where they were showing “October Baby”, the film is about a young woman who learns that her mother tried to abort her, but it was a failed attempt. I know the story is based on actual events, but don’t know what or how much is true. I had seen the movie in theatre earlier this year, I walked in at a very emotional part where the young woman had tracked down the nurse who assisted at the abortion. The nurse was apologizing for believing what she had been told, that the operation was on “just tissue”. The nurse told the woman that when her mother returned after the failed attempt the nurse took her to the hospital because she was in labor. 1st the young woman’s twin brother was born, who had taken the brunt of the “operation”, the nurse went on to say how beautiful the woman was as she was born and how the girl was adopted and how great those parents were. I thought how this brother gave his life for this woman, his twin sister yes it’s a story, but is it really a stretch to believe something like this could happen? Her brother did not choose to but he did give his life for his sister. I then thought about Jesus Christ who did indeed CHOOSE to die for each one of us. Yet so many people choose not to acknowledge or believe that. What will it take? For people to see the truth!?!? That abortion is murder, brutal murder! And that Jesus Christ is Lord and He loves us all for exactly who we are, just as we are?!!?!? All this and part of me still wanted to get home to watch a game.

Reflecting even more, the experience was very emotional, it was sad, it was surreal. I'm glad Walter chose to come by, I hope he joins us again. Being from Wisconsin I've never known anyone so closely connected with 9/11, but now every 9/11 I'll think of Walter and his father and I'll check myself with the question, am I living on purpose?

There is a lot more to life than we often realize. To live on purpose is hard, but who doesn’t want to? In order to live in such a way I think it’s actually pretty simple: be willing to recognize the need to and actively choose to live for someOne other than ourselves, I believe that only then can one truly live on purpose.

FOCUS is Legit




New and Veteran FOCUS Staff for 2012-2013



Since May 21^st I have been in Champaign, IL at FOCUS New Staff Training. I have been amazed and encouraged at the growth of FOCUS and the energy from all of the new and veteran staff in the past three weeks. It has been so interesting to learn about new missionaries and to hear about the path they have taken to becoming a missionary.

 I am very excited to be returning for my 3^rd as a FOCUS missionary and excited for the opportunity to serve Seton Hall University as the Team Director. During my first two New Staff Trainings the new staff here was, I guess you could say, “traditional”. Meaning that most of the new staff being hired were less than a month removed from their college graduation and were single at the time they joined staff.  But this year there are more new missionaries than just the “traditional” missionaries, although there are plenty of those as well.

Seton Hall FOCUS team for 2012-2013, new team members are in their brand new SHU shirts! Welcome Caitlyn, Tim, Megan, and Terry!!

I’m sure there are more stories than 3 I will mention but these are 3 that I think are pretty interesting. 1 man has decided to become a FOCUS missionary along with his wife and 2 children after spending a few years working in Colorado. He and his wife were involved with FOCUS as students at Colorado State. I asked him why he didn’t join staff out of college and he just said “we were scared” to fundraise their salary. Obviously that fear has faded as he will now be serving as a missionary this fall.

The 2^nd story I want to share is another married man who has 2 children and 1 on the way. This guy previously served on FOCUS staff 4 years ago. After spending a few years at “real” job, he decided that he wanted to return to ministry and that he wanted to return to FOCUS. He, his wife, and children will be on a college campus this fall where he will be a missionary.

Finally, a neat story about a man who went to college with someone who has served as a missionary for the past several years and has financially supported his friend’s missionary work. I asked him about why he joined FOCUS staff and he said “the newsletters got me”. At least 4 times a year FOCUS missionaries send out a newsletter highlighting some stories with pictures from their work on campus to share with our mission partners (those financially or prayerfully supporting us). This guy went on to say that he went to a FOCUS Conference as a donor and the Lord was continually asking him to give more, so he did. He said finally that the Lord made it clear to him that He was asking for even more. This man too, who is leaving a teaching job, will be serving next fall on campus as a FOCUS missionary.

A powerful and neat moment I experienced this last Thursday night, it was just such an odd scene as far as the secular world is concerned. The St. John’s Newman Center at the University of Illinois hosts all summer. We live in a dorm and use different rooms and spaces around campus for our training. Last Thursday was the first day that the new missionaries made phone calls asking to meet with people in a few weeks. They’re calling to ask to meet with them to share the mission and vision of FOCUS and to invite them to become a mission partner, a financial supporter of our work on campus. Last Thursday everywhere I went I saw several missionaries all making phone calls, some sitting, some pacing, some praying, some laughing, but it was beautiful to see. I thought, how bad do these people want to serve our Lord and be missionaries! Again and again I have been encouraged in the work FOCUS is doing for the Church in the name of our Lord and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in this way. God bless you.

Check out #focusislegit on Twitter for daily updates on the FOCUS world at New Staff Training.

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!!!!

Sunday Snippets

Happy Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday!!

Here is a post from my own blog and then two blogs I wrote for Varsity Catholic's national website, enjoy!!

From my blog:
Holy Week Bible Study Story

From the Varsity Catholic blog:

Big East Swimmer now CFR

Embrace the Easter Season

Holy Week Bible Study Story

12 men from the Seton Hall baseball team and soccer team were at our weekly Bible study and to celebrate Holy Week we watched The Passion. An incredible movie that captures the emotion and suffering of Jesus so well. After the movie there were 2-3 minutes of complete silence. The silence was broken with a few questions and thoughts from the guys. One of the guys who recently started attending Bible study shared a great thought with us. He spoke about when the guards are nailing Jesus to the Cross. He said, "I felt it, I just thought, He did that for me, He did that for us."

I ended the Bible study encouraging the men, I told them that if Jesus really did all of what we just saw then we can't live the same way. I challenged them to pray and ask God to make that change they need in their lives. I invited them to the Chapel to pray. 7-8 of the guys walked over to the Chapel, it was a little after 10 and the Chapel was locked. I invited them to another Chapel across campus and I said, or...we could pray here on the steps. I started talking to one of the guys, when another guy said, "All right, I'm gonna pray here, you guys gonna join me?" So there we were, 7-8 Seton Hall athletes kneeling on the cement steps praying in front of the Chapel- it was a very powerful 5 minutes united in prayer begging the Lord to change our lives.

Please don't go through the motions this week, enter the Passion, experience it as if you are at the foot of the Cross. Blessed Triduum. God bless you.

My Team

On Sunday February 19th my Varsity Catholic teammate Melissa and I along with 2 female student athletes had the opportunity to speak to the youth group at St. Cecilia's in Rockaway, New Jersey.

I was very inspired by what the athlete's had to say about their experience of faith in their sports and about the impact that FOCUS and Varsity Catholic has had during their short college careers.

Melissa and I got to share about our own testimonies and our path to being a missionary. We talked about the mission and vision of FOCUS, quoted Tony Dungy and Vince Lombardi. We also talked about the impact of Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin. We read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and talked about what it means to compete as a Christian.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
²⁴ Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; ²⁷ but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

We talked about how different our Christian lives would be if we exercised the discipline we do towards sports towards our faith. Meaning that we are so willing to commit to daily practice and many sacrifices to improve ourselves as athletes and to improve the team that we're on. We're willing to do almost anything to win a championship or trophy! How re-prioritize our schedules to compete in a sport but when it comes to making a sacrifice for Jesus and our faith, we're often hesitant.

Earlier on Sunday I was thinking about our lack of commitment to our faith and I wrote this and then I read it to the kids tonight......

Our team, the Catholic Church, spans the globe and is the greatest team you'll ever be a part of. The goal or "trophy" of this team is Heaven, the goal is eternal life with Jesus Christ. What if we worked as hard for heaven as we did to win a championship on earth? What if we showed up once a week for our team or sport? Would the NY Giants have won the Super Bowl if they only showed up on Sundays? For too long I thought 1 hour a week (going to mass) was enough. An hour week is not enough for you or your team here. The Catholic Church and Heaven are not places for spectators, they are places for Saints and for champions of the faith in Jesus Christ!"

Then we showed the this video, which I absolutely love!!
More than a Game

We hung out for awhile after the event to talk and have pizza with the kids. It was pleasure to meet them and really appreciated a few of them coming up to shake hands and thank us for coming. So great to see kids excited about being a part of the New Evangelization!

Banica 2

In addition to all of the physical help we provided and were given in Banica, there was also an incredible spiritual experience. Before the trip it was very interesting to hear about the variety of people going on the trip; 8 missionaries and 20 students all at different places in their desire and understanding of their faith and trust in God. At the end of the week one thing was certain, not a single one of us was lacking in faith or trust. Several things attributed to this and I hope to capture some of those moments here.

One factor was simply that we were visiting amidst the season of Christmas. What better way to meditate on the birth of Jesus than being consumed in poverty ourselves? I remember several times throughout the week that I would stop and just think about the humble birth of Jesus. Especially compared to what we consider the “ideal birth” today; doctors, nurses, medical equipment, medicines, procedures. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph didn’t have any of that; it’s crazy for me to think about that. I realized that at the small hospital in Banica, they probably don’t have the same resources we have in the States either, this was one of the many things I witnessed during the week that was an example of poverty. I think that poverty usually has a negative perception, I’m not using the word here to insult or to pity the people that live with it each day, I think that poverty actually is rather beautiful and the Dominican people were a witness to that.

The Dominican people live with appreciation for all that they have; they live with great joy, simplicity, humility, and tranquility- which we referred to throughout the week as “tranquillo”. I saw on a shirt in the airport: “Dominican Republic, Laid back since way back” this statement is so true!! It was wonderful to see people living so freely not being slaves to their schedules and extra-curriculars. Granted, we did visit between Christmas and New Year’s so it may not have been a completely typical experience of their life, but I think what we saw is what you get in the Dominican culture. The idea or “Dominican virtue” (as Fr. O’Hare half jokingly referred to it as) of tranquillo was one thing us Americans really took a liking too, it really helped us to put things in perspective, to slow down, appreciate and to experience more fully just what we were a part of.

Throughout the week our group was blown away by the generosity and hospitality of the Dominican people. Being removed from the DR and having reflected on the two traits I listed, I think that we were so captivated by their generosity because in our eyes (as people that have so many often unnecessary material goods)they have so little, so how could these people possibly give so much or even want to give so much when they have so little? I don’t think a Dominican person would ever tell you that they were poor or that they don’t have a lot. I think that hospitality and appreciation for what we have are two major things that our group have brought back to the States and really hope to emulate, I know that I have (and will try to!).

Fr. O’Hare the priest for the parish in Banica, Pedro Santana, and Sabana Cruz is from Virginia. The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia has sent priests to this area for close to 20 years if my memory serves me correct. Fr. O’Hare is an incredible and inspiring servant to the Dominican people. It seems that the focus of his ministry is with the youth, but he does a great job of serving all people- and they really appreciate him. As one of my fellow missionaries pointed out to our group Fr. O’Hare is such a great example of Christ in how he serves the people. Not only is he living among the poor but he visits them, he feeds them, he clothes them.

Fr. was only recently assigned to the parish in Pedro Santana where he met an incredibly talented young man named Juan. Fr. soon learned that Juan could sing and play the guitar. So each Sunday as Fr. celebrates mass at two different places in the morning he drives out of the way to pick up Juan so that he can play the mass parts to allow the people to worship and praise God through song. The Sunday that we got to listen to Juan even the Dominican people were touched by his talent. He played songs that he had only just learned, Fr. encouraged him to do this so the people would be more apt to listen rather than just sing along subconsciously. At the end of one of the masses Fr. told us that Juan said that when he plays during mass that Juan feels as if he “is of the mass.”

A few of our students got to ride with Fr. when he gave Juan a ride home. Juan told them that he learned to play the guitar in his dreams, he simply had a desire to play, he dreamed about it, and then he picked up a guitar and taught himself. He really was talented. One thing I didn’t mention about Juan, he’s blind and crippled. I’m not sure what it’s diagnosed with, but his gait is not normal. I listened to a few people speak with Juan after mass and he had nothing but joy, he just seemed so happy, pure, and loving.

There a few of Fr. O’Hare’s homilies that I remember pretty well – even though they were in Spanish. Our first mass with him was in Pedro Santana on 12/29. I don’t remember the readings, like I said my Spanish is not that great. But his homily was about Belen y la casa de pan, which translated is Bethlehem and the house of bread. This really struck me on that night, I know I’ve heard it before, that Bethlehem means “house of bread” but it just hit me. Especially when Fr. went on to say something close to this, “from the manger Jesus announces He is the Living Bread and here in this Church the manger is below the altar where the bread will become His body, this truly is a Christmas sacrament.” I thought about this homily each time we went to mass there and each time that I received Holy Communion.

At another homily Fr. O’Hare reminded us of how unworthy we all are of God’s love, but nonetheless and for no reason at all He loves us. After hearing this I spent some time praying and giving thanks for how great God is. I also prayed that I would be able to love others the same way. I was thinking about some of the kids that we had worked with that week, how frustrated they had made us, and how we showed our frustration towards them by getting angry and impatient. Then I thought about how these kids all week long, for no reason admired us and just loved us. They’d high five us, jump on us, throw the ball when we weren’t looking at them, and they’d hug us, they were Jesus, we were serving and playing baseball with Jesus. This picture really captures that. A fellow missionaries snapped this photo and the text that follows the picture is what he wrote about it.



"On New Year’s Day we were at church in an impoverished community along the border of Haiti. Before Mass the church was hot, crowed, and a bit chaotic. In the midst of this noisy scene a little boy snuck through the mess of disorganized chairs and sat on the lap of the missionary student next to me. As he sat there I tried to engage him in a little conversation but his timid answers were almost muted by his intense gaze. I just happened to have my camera so I snapped a quick picture of this little guy and our student. As soon as I saw how it turned out I had an immediate recognition of His face… that is… Jesus’ face. The look this child exuded was that of complete innocence.  Simultaneously his look expressed joy, longing and an overall profoundness.  I was captivated by this image. Another stark feature of the scene… in the picture on the wall behind this little boy, Jesus’ face is covered up… perhaps a coincidence… or perhaps a deeper message from the Lord. All I know is that for me this was an encounter with Christ himself… and I was in Nazareth. When we got back to Miami last week to do our mission debriefing there was a notable change in each and every one of the 22 students that went on this trip.  A spirit of peace, docility, joy and overall zeal for the Faith that I assure you did not exist before they left for this trip.  These students were notably different from who they were one week earlier. This merely reiterated for me the fact that an encounter with Christ changes lives!"

There were so many incredible things that we experienced during our time in the DR. I will be forever grateful for having been able to experience it and to experience it with all the people that I did. It was very refreshing and a blessing to be traveling with almost 30 young adults with similar interests and passions (sports and faith). There were some wonderful friendships that began and some people that I am thankful to have reconnected with after a long time apart.

The people of Banica, Pedro Santana, Sabana Cruz, and Iguarrito, my fellow missionaries, and student missionaries will always be in my prayers.

Our Lady of Altagracia, Pray for us.

Please see this video for a better look at the mission happening in Banica. Along the Border Documentary

Bánica 1

As I wrote about in my last blog post from December 28th through January 4th I had the privilege of serving on a mission trip in Banica, Dominican Republic. The trip was an incredible experience that I will never forget. I hope to share in this post how the trip meant to me and the others that I was able to serve with.

The trip began in Miami, where our group met after traveling in from across the country. There were students and FOCUS staff from all over. The schools and places represented were: Benedictine College, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Creighton University, Minnesota State University, University of Wisconsin, Seton Hall University, FOCUS National Headquarters, and a few guys that play for major league organizations.

We left for the Dominican on Wednesday December 28th and arrived in Santo Domingo around 3pm Atlantic time. I was expecting a 2 hour drive to our destination, but it was actually close to a 6 hour drive. Our destination, Banica, is along the Haitian border.

Welcome to Banica!

We arrived in Banica very late, I think it was close to 11. We settled into our home for the week, the San Francisco of Asis Parish Center. All 28 of us stayed under one roof and shared a room with 1-3 others. It was close quarters, but the only time we spent there was to sleep and to shower, the accommodations were perfect.

Our mission began the next morning. The first town that we got to work with the kids was about 15 minutes from Banica called Pedro Santana. Friday we were in Banica, Saturday we were in a small town that I don't know how to spell (sorry!!), and we ended camp on Monday in Sabana Cruz. Each day was split into two camp sessions, a morning session usually from 9-12 and an afternoon session from 2-4:30.

We were blessed to spend the time in between camps each day with a family that prepared lunch for us. Lunch time each day was very enjoyable for all of us although most of us spoke basically no Spanish. It was beautiful to see the generosity of the families and how hard they worked to prepare and serve us a meal with how little they appeared to have. Most of the women spent their entire mornings preparing lunch for us. We split into 5-6 groups and despite most of the groups having a few male student athletes there was always plenty of food left over after each meal. In addition to their generosity they were also very appreciative and so thankful that we were there to serve their children and grandchildren.

Going to camp each day we really didn't know what to expect. Last year the camp was at Banica for all four days and this year as I explained above we were in a different town each day. So although there were 5 guys on the trip that also attended last year, each day was somewhat of a surprise. The first 2 days we held camps at fields that were very nice. The last 3 days of camp were much different. The "baseball fields" were just fields, wide open mostly dirt fields that appeared to also be serving as pastures for various donkeys, horses, and cows. But the playing field did not keep us or the kids from having a great time.

The boys chalking the field

At those 2 other fields, I think what stood out most to me was the 1st on that we saw. We were all very surprised to arrive and learn that this open field with little grass and lots of "gifts" from the animals roaming around was the town's baseball field. After we took it in for awhile we again were surprised to see some of the older kids walk up with what appeared to be a bag of chalk. Sure enough the kids started to chalk foul lines and on deck circles. They took a string from home plate and pulled it tight to a tree in right field and another in left and poured the chalk on the string all the way out. It was really neat to see the pride they took in their field. The on deck circles were complete with half semi circles to create what looked like a baseball.

At our camp in Banica we were split into 3 groups, high school, middle school, and elementary. I was with the middle school kids and somehow ended up being the only coach in that group that could speak Spanish...and saying that I can speak Spanish is a stretch! But I was able to communicate with them well enough to organize a home run derby, it took me a few times to get across what I wanted to and the boys all laughed at me, but we eventually had a home run derby!

After the derby, our group got the baseball gloves. There were only a limited amount of gloves for camp and very few of the kids had their own. I could not believe how excited the kids were to play catch. They were so excited and so content to just play catch, it made their days to be using those gloves. Originally we planned to have the kids play catch for maybe 10 minutes, but since they enjoyed it so much we just let them keep playing.


There was one boy that day I don't think I will ever forge and I don't even know his name. He was about 15 or 16 and I believe he has downs syndrome. In the morning a lot of the kids were laughing at him and making fun of him when he couldn't do some of the stretches. When we played a game with our group it was his turn to bat. His teammates were complaining, but the boy grabbed the bat, made the sign of the cross, kissed his hand, and pointed to the sky, just like Sammy Sosa used to do after a home run. Sammy is Dominican by the way! The boy whiffed 4-5 times before I asked him if I could help him. We whiffed the first one, but the second was right up the middle into center field. The guy pitching told me that he wished he would have had a camera to take a picture of the boys face when he hit it. He was shocked he hit too because he froze, his teammates were yelling to run so he did. To first and then to second...even though his teammate was on the base. After second base he ran back to home plate where he again made the sign of the cross, kissed his hand, pointed to the sky and gave me a high five. The coolest part though was that all the kids were cheering and clapping for him, it was a really neat moment.


There are so many moments from the week that I will never forget. I was so impressed with the reverence that the children had during mass, especially the boys that were altar servers. Those boys did everything but celebrate mass!! They arrived early to set up, did everything at the right time during mass and often in unison, they stayed late to clean up and the priest almost never had to remind them to do something. I was even more impressed with their knowledge of the faith. During camp we would read scripture with the boys and give a brief version of our testimony to them with the help of a translator. One morning, our translator asked the kids a question. He asked them how to pray, how to express gratitude towards God and how to respect god. I wasn't expecting much from their answers, but their answers blew me away. The group that was asked was made up of 5-19 year old boys. Boys of all ages raised their hands to answer and shouted things out like: la Santa Misa, Eucharista, oracion, adoracion, and respetar otros. I was surprised to hear the younger kids say things like Eucharist and adoration mostly because I was mostly unfamiliar with those things into my 20's! And as confirmed at mass with their reverence, the kids were not merely just saying these things, but they understood what they said.


Christ was truly present in those that we served and those that served us and all of us from the States fell more deeply in love with our faith and our Savior.


There is still a lot more that I want to share about this trip, so I'll be writing another post soon!


Dios le bendiga!

Varsity Catholic Mission Trip to the Dominican Republic

Tomorrow I will leave for a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. In some ways it feels like it's been a long time coming and in other ways it feels like it really snuck up on me!

I signed up for the trip back in October and have been anticipating the trip to come ever since. I am going with FOCUS and more specifically the division of FOCUS that I work for, Varsity Catholic. Here is how the trip is described from the FOCUS Missions website:

The Varsity Catholic Mission Camp Experience

When the sport of Baseball was introduced to Dominicans in the mid 1860’s the game was embraced with a passion for which the Dominican culture is known. The passion for baseball still burns in the hearts of all Dominicans and as a result, there are actually more Dominican players in the minor and major American leagues than there are of all other players of Caribbean nationally combined.

Merging the Dominican’s passion for baseball with a passion for Christ and His Church, FOCUS Missions together with Varsity Catholic is hosting a Catholic Baseball Mission Camp in a rural Dominican town called Banica (which is situated on Dominican Republic’s Haitian border). In this impoverished community, we will run a baseball camp for local children with the aim of channeling their passion for the sport to a passion for the Catholic Faith. Our time in the Dominican Republic will climax with a New Year’s Day baseball tournament with local teams.

With the great success of our Baseball Mission Camp last year, we are excited to add a component for the women this year with the sport of volleyball. In most developing countries, involvement in athletics among the girls is infrequent and less supported. Our hope in adding a Volleyball Mission Camp this year is to provide a tremendous opportunity for the young women of Banica to reap the benefits of sport and to see the witness of faith in the athletes we bring.

This trip will allow collegiate (professional) athletes a chance to serve the poor in a radical way through mutual love of a sport. As we work to demonstrate the benefit of bringing Faith to these two games, all trip participants will get a great opportunity to coach local youth, experience daily prayer, enter into the celebration of the Mass, and take in some beauty of the tropical Dominican Republic.

And here is a video from the trip last year.

I'm glad the trip is right after Christmas day and after the season of Advent. As I was expectantly awaiting the birth of our Lord, I also have been waiting for an encounter with the Lord, which I'm sure will happen for all of us going on the trip this next week. 

It's very interesting yet beautiful how the season of Advent and the Christmas season plays out each year. On the calendar it is always the same, at least the duration, we always think we know what to expect; the liturgy, the presents, the parties, the Birth of Jesus Christ! Yet every year there is something different. This year very literally in the liturgy! Haha, but maybe it's how we prepare during the season of Advent or how we receive Jesus once He is born. I guess what I'm saying is I'm very excited to go and meet Jesus in the places and in the faces of the people that I will be serving with and in those that I will have the opportunity to serve.

Please pray for myself and the 25 other young adults from across the country as we celebrate the Christmas season by serving through sport in Banica, Dominican Republic.

God bless you and Merry Christmas.