Summer musings

So after being bugged by people this past weekend to update my blog, thought i'd get around to that. Had a lot of thoughts going through my mind this summer, so try to cover some of those.

I'm not going to lie, the beginning of this summer, I was pretty disappointed. Disappointed I didn't land an internship and disappointed that I ended up back at Arby's, the place I told myself last summer I'd never set foot in again. But here I was, stuck in a job I didn't really want to be at. The worst part was I worked a lot of nights, so I  missed opportunities to see friends. But July came, and with it some different opportunities. Because of the hours I worked at arby's, and the times I had off, I was able to help a friend out with "Hero's camp", a similar summer program to Totus Tuus. Working with the younger kids has always set my heart on fire. To be able to see how far along they are already in their faith journey compared to where I was, to be able to see our church's future, to be able to experience the joy and energy of life through the eyes of these kids, it is such a blessing. And then I got the opportunity to work a TEC retreat with a man who has had such a positive impact in my life. Along with that I met some amazing new friends, friends I needed to make at this point in my life. And as I got to thinking, all of this would probably not have been possible if things had gone the way I had wanted them to. Once again, God's plan for my life was so much better than what I had planned. A verse I was reminded of was Philippians 4:6 "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, make your requests known to God."

And as my last post touched upon, I've been doing a lot of thinking about trials and suffering in our lives. I was reminded of this by the news, hearing of the thousands suffering the famine in Africa as well as the families in Norway mourning the loss of loved ones in the terrorist attacks. One of my candidates on my table at the TEC retreat and now dear friend of mine shared the following quote with me from St. Francis De Sales, "The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost heart. This cross he now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms, and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God." When looking at suffering and our daily crosses in this life, we must remember that we are in this world, and not of it. Our goal is to reach heaven and to live happily with our Lord in Heaven for eternity. To use an analogy, let's look at weightlifting. When lifting weights to gain muscle, the muscles are actually torn so that they can be rebuilt bigger and stronger. So it is with the trials and suffering in our lives. We are torn apart, allowed to feel pain now on Earth, that we might be built up stronger than before so that we might one day hopefully obtain our goal. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reads "No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength." 2 Corinthians  4:17 hits the nail on the head when it says, "For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Finally Romans 5:3-5 states "Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Let us grow to have the faith of the Kirishitan Martyrs, who ran and embraced their crosses on the hill. "
Five children ranging in age from 12 to 19 were among those killed on February 5.

Ibaragi Kun from Kyoto--at 12 years of age the youngest of the group--from Kyoto was admired until the end for his remarkable courage in the face of death.

Shortly after they were led to the place of their execution, an official came to him and begged him to recant his faith. Young Ibaragi Kun looked his tormentor squarely in the eye and replied, "Sir, it would be better if you yourself became a Christian and could go to heaven where I am going. Sir, which is my cross?"

The stunned official pointed to the smallest of the crosses on the hill. Ibaragi Kun ran forward, knelt in front of his cross and embraced it like a friend. Along with the others, he sang praises until he could sing no more

The last major theme I'd like to touch upon is marriage. It is no hidden fact that in today's society marriage has lost it's honor and is often held in low regard with the increasing number of divorces as well as increasing number of people living together without being married. One reason for this is the lack of commitment to anything by younger generations. Another reason is the loss of respect for women. But the biggest reason is that we have forgotten that marriage is more than the attraction between a man and a woman; marriage is a covenant. The Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church states in 1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a parternship of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." We know marriage to be meant for life because in Genesis 2:24 God says, "This is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." If we read further in the catechism on the effects of marriage, we read in 1640 "Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guarenteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom." One final Bible quote makes God's will on the subject known, Mark 10:9 "Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." So if all of this evidence is in the Bible, what has happend to the sacred bond of marriage. Well, as I said, we have forgotten that marriage is a sacrament, a bond, a covenant entered into by a man, a woman, and God. It is not just a civil union between two individuals. In order to begin to mend this serious wound we must begin with two key steps: restoring the dignity and respect of woman and by better discerning our vocations and who we marry. The fault lies in both genders. I feel many woman find a guy who they like, but whom they feel they can fix his faults or change those parts of him they don't like. Well, more than likely, you aren't going to change him. Yes, there are some bad habits you might get him to kick, and you might even get him to change his beliefs for you, but you aren't going to get him to change who he is. And if you do, he's not going to be happy. Which will only bring about tension and unhappiness. With the men, they often forget they are called to sacrifice; sacrifice for their wife and the good of the marriage. We are to love our wives as Christ loved the Church. In case you've forgotten, Christ died for the Church, the ultimate sacrifice. Brothers and sisters, we hold the future in our hands. The decisions we make and the things we take a stand for will determine what is accepted in the future. As G.K Chesterton states, "A dead thing goes against the stream, but a living thing can go against it." We must make a stand if we are to change what society has deemed acceptable.