Goodbye, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu

Over the past few years I have thoroughly enjoyed posting on this blog, however the time has come to bring my blogging to an end. The experience of blogging and reading other Catholic blogs has helped me to grow in knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Faith, provided me with a forum to seek answers to many questions, and helped me come to a deeper realization and appreciation of the universality of the Catholic Church.

In many ways, the blogs I have been reading have inspired me to seek Christ more fervently and given me wonderful examples of what it means to be a faithful Catholic in this world, whether as a stay at home mom, a student, a doctor, a priest, or a religious sister. . . the list could go on. . .

To all those whom I have come in contact with over the past couple of years through blogging, I thank-you for your encouragement, your friendship, and example. Most of all, thank-you for being instruments of God's grace in my life.

May God bless you and protect you from all evil. May our Blessed Mother watch over you and lead you always nearer to her son, Jesus Christ. Led by the Holy Spirit, may you always seek Christ with sincerity of heart. Place all your confidence in His love for you and always trust in His infinite mercy.

As I leave the world of St. Blog's I will continue to be united with you in prayer and the Eucharist. If you are able, and remember, please keep me in your prayer intentions as well.

I will leave this blog up for the next few weeks, although I will be disabling comments. You can still reach me for the time being, at dilexitprior@gmail.com, although comments made via e-mail will not be published either.

Back from Holidays

I've just returned to work after a week of holidays in my hometown. I fit in a wonderful backpacking trip with my dad. Blogging has been a little slow. No wireless access up in the mountains. No cell phone reception either. For that matter, our hand held radio wouldn't even pick up the coast guard station. But there sure were a lot of mosquitos.

I learned a few important lessons on this trip.

1. No matter how ridiculous the mosquito hood looks, keep it on at all times unless you want to be inhalling the cloud of black flies and mosquitos that is swarming around your head. It may look silly, but the mosquito hood is your new best friend.

2. Continuing to eat food, even after you're stuffed full, is not gluttony but rather an act of charity when on a backpacking trip. Remember in moral theology that it's always a pretty safe bet to go with the most charitable course of action (although, discerning what is the most charitable course of action is the hard part). When backpacking, it's clear that the most charitable thing to do is to consume the excess food that is being carried no matter how full you may feel.

3. The tree stump that from 200 meters away looks like a cougar (mountain lion) is not necessarily a cougar. It's a tree stump.

4. If there's thunder and lightening in the sky chances are it's going to pour down rain. Head for the base camp. Preferably before you're soaking wet.

Bless the Lord

Let the earth bless the Lord.
Praise and exalt him above all forever.
Mountains and hills, bless the Lord.
Seas and rivers, bless the Lord.

Home, sweet home...

The Simple Things

Sometimes it's the simple things. . . those little miracles of every day life, that can really reaffirm your trust and confidence in God and seem to be neon signs indicating his real presence in the midst of the chaos of life. For instance, today I was travelling home to visit my family for a week of holidays. It's a long weekend here, with Monday being a statutory holiday, and so the ferry line-ups were very busy. To get to my hometown requires travelling by ferry. In fact two ferries.

Despite arriving at 5:45am for a 7:20am sailing, I almost did not make it on the first ferry because it was so busy. I was among the last dozen cars let on the ferry and they left almost a full ferry load behind sitting in the parking lot. Relieved to have made this ferry, I knew the next one would also be busy.

When I arrived at the second ferry at 9:45am for a 10:30am sailing the person directing the cars at the terminal told me that I would not be making the sailing. That would mean waiting in the parking lot (in literally, the middle of nowhere) until the next sailing which would be leaving around 1:00pm. Sitting in a parking lot for over three hours didn't sound like my idea of fun, but there wasn't much I could do about it. As they began to load for the 10:30am ferry again I was told I wouldn't make it on. Then they directed my lane down into the lower portion of the lot. Again I was told I wouldn't make it on. Then I started praying.

I was tired, and just wanted to get home. I didn't want to waste my whole day "travelling" (actually, sitting in a parking lot at a ferry terminal). If I made it on I would be able to have lunch with my family and get to a Mass that was being celebrated in the early afternoon at the parish. I really wanted to make it on the ferry. But I was told that I wouldn't. So I figured, the only way the ferry people's insistance that I wouldn't be making the ferry could be overturned, is by divine providence. And so I prayed, "Jesus, if it is your will, please get me on this ferry. You know I really just want to get home, don't want to be sitting in the parking lot, and I would love to be able to get to Mass today."

Guess what? I got on. I was the last car on a ferry that holds probably around two hundred cars. They stuck me on somehow at the back of the ferry. It was just one of those simple things, an obvious answer to a sincere prayer, that reassured me once again of God's active presence in my life.

Anyways, I'm home for the week.

Cathedral Under Siege

The media always seems to do a fine job of catching our attention with the headlines. This time, apparently Holy Rosary Cathedral is under siege. Well, it's not quite under siege, but this is actually quite a sad story.

An elderly parishoner was mugged by a panhandler as he was leaving Holy Rosary Cathedral, after he had already given the panhandler money (and had been giving him money on a regular basis for quite some time).

I went to Mass at the Cathedral earlier this week. I didn't get mugged, but there were indeed panhandlers around.

Rather than giving money to the panhandlers, I would encourage people to support those Catholic charities operating downtown who specifically work with the poor. There is Covenant House, which takes in youth off the street and provides them with a home, counseling, job skills, education, and tries to help them get back on their feet. There is the Door is Open which is a soup kitchen run by the Archdiocese. There is also the Catholic Charities Men's Shelter located in the same building as the chancery offices. Supporting this organizations you'll be sure that your financial resources support those most in need (and if it matters to you, you can also receive a tax-deductible receipt for your donations to these organizations).

Beautiful

Ora pro nobis!