Changing Servant

What can we do with people that seem pious and live a different life, so they seem hyprocritical? Like people that say yes to purity and such, but end up in situations that arent?

To be honest I keep getting stuck with situations people find themselves in, and I want to get angry sometimes, cause it just doesnt help that people dont live the lifestyle they proclaim they want to (or do).. and I know the feeling isnt right... cause it is in many ways passing judgement on people.. people I love..

Then I am reminded about Like 10:11

About the man on the side of the road

and I think.. you know.. we cant judge.. cause then we are just like the priest and levite who pass the dying man..

We have to be the samaritan.. because otherwise, we have fallen into this trap.. or a confusion.. what I mean is:

We want to love and be Christian, but when we see a Christian fall, we want to disown and judge them, but by doing so, we too loose our right to be truly called followers of Christ,

Jesus said the neighbor was the one who treated him with mercy.. a hard lesson to swallow, cause it sounds right, but really really hard to always do..

Like knowing friends engaging in premarital sex, or drunkedness, or other inpure actions..you want to just slap them and say.. why.. did you not go to the same teachings, hear the same things, see the same words in the Bible.. yet here you are.. on the side of the road, robbed of your dignity and honor..?

Yet Jesus said, and as the commandment "Love they neighbor" ..to be merciful..

I pray by God's grace we can all achieve such a pure thing..

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Lost Sheep

Service, it is voluntary

I don't think it should be assigned
But I believe the fire in ones heart should be burning for service and therefore should be a desire stronger than the pressure of the deepest ocean.

However, if the eye does not see what the Lord has asked of us to go out and the many that can harvest to the lost sheep, than it is easy to see the service as works, and not as service

so.. perhaps our strategy as lay persons is incorrect in the sense we expect and believe to empower people by assigning, but in that defense, do you not also see that a loving leader would serve to the ends of the earth, and seek only happiness in your heart before theirs?

Perhaps its a matter of perspective

For example
you go to church on Sunday
the priest greets you with a homily that we must strive to be holy..as it is said in the Gospel of Matthew, strive to be perfect like your father.. but people then disagree because , in the end its their life, so who is to tell them what is holy and what is not..

In this case the mentality is merely a presentation of relativism
Its only relative to the truth you subscribe

I think forcing it upon someone is an issue if that person does not realize the honor it could be..

Just like a baby would not appreciate the $100 bill you give them, but a young man would realize its worth and potential

In that case, we as leaders, entrusted to serve, have been arrogant in assuming all would appreciate the same things as perhaps it has been presented as light in our eyes

I think this therefore can be a extension of seeing a piece of wood in the ye of a brother and not the log in our own.

Growth is Growth, and not in any way is it possible to be imposed onto others..
not every flower grows and blooms together, some are faster, others take their time, yet in the end.. every flower is just as worthy as the next
does it make it wrong to want people to see that?

Maybe we are impatient about that.. but is the intent not honorable?
It makes you wonder doesn't it?
What would make people step up,.. obviously not because of obligation or pity, nor should it be cause of guilt or repayment, nor kinship or friendship.

What lacks in the approach is the ability to pass on a flame.

We all have it.. no doubt
We all made some sort of commitment to follow God's latest covenant to love him and serve him.

Yet many Catholics sit back and don't participate

"Catholicism is not a spectators sport"

But how can people see that?
Personally.. I at times throw my hands in the air and say.. God.. your turn..

Like a farmer, who carefully tills the soil and prepares the seeds, plants them then looks up to heaven and says, God if you want them to grow, you have to provide the rain and sun.

He knows that he can only do so much, and the Lord will take over the things he cannot do

Perhaps, even the simplest act of seeking people to step up, we need to surrender it to the Lord even more.

At the end of the day, if you follow God's word, you will bloom into a more perfect flower, your salvation is there if your faith and works show the desire of your heart

My enthusiasm..comes from the same thing in MT 9:36-38
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a Shepard. Then he said to his disciples, " the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest""

To me, the most striking word there is compassion

He was saying to them that help is needed, not cause he pitied the lost sheep, but because it was his duty, or his job or cause he wanted bonus points with his father, but out of Love

Even if they didn't understand the bigger plan, it was because of love he did it..
later He would be put to death for shepherding the lost sheep, all of us, and it was because of Love..

If we are to witness to that, than even our leadership and service to others..should give us zeal enough to pass it on..
That is my enthusiasm

There are many out there, and cause I love them all, as I have been asked by God my father and as compelled in my heart, I wish to help Jesus reclaim His people

I am just sharing with you where my zeal comes from, and why I consider my day job as just that, cause there is something greater for us to do, and the only way I know how to do some of that, is through my service to others..

even this weblog, is service. Is it not? allowing us to speak of our faith in truth and understand our motivation? is it not a tool of witnessing?

Amen
May God Be Praised.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Understanding Culture of Life

In Matthew 5:15, we are told that we are to not put a candle under a basket, but to raise it up for the whole world to see. In 1Peter 3:15 we are asked to be prepared always to explain the hope in our hearts.

What does this have to with the Culture of Life and the upcoming March For life?
For starters, why is it that we say the truth is twisted in our world today?

Lets take a look at the past 90 years of human history.
In the early twenties, thinkers and ambitious people that were on a mission to change the world thought it would be best to impose on society a new concept of living our lives. They embraced self pleasure and wanted to create a freedom for women to receive pleasures and take on any issue of equality to their male counterparts. Birth Control was born and then some 50 years later was widespread during the sexual revolution, as a freedom from authority and rules.

Little did society realize it was actually putting itself further in chains.
Freedom comes from the ability to choose no to a desire, not to be owned by it.
This explains plenty why shows, media, schools and even our own Catholic families tend to portray real sexuality and real freedom in a twisted message.

As the thought of sexual pleasure without pregnancy became a norm in this world, many subscribed to the concept of artificial contraception even more, it seemed like the risk of pregnancy had gone away or at least lowered. Woman believed they were building themselves up in equality cause they could work without a pregnancy leave, but a lot of parents didn't realize this contraceptive theory also entered their families, their very homes. Teen pregnancy rose to new heights and many people started having "unexpected" pregnancies.

Of course the only reason it was unexpected was because they had thought they could control what only God controls. This has lead to an increase in a new phenomenon which became legal in the early 1970's: Abortion.

Either due to an inconvenience, an ignorance, guilt, shame or some other unworthy feeling, woman started adding abortion to their vocabulary. Many young woman found the unexpected suddenly intruding on their life which they had not planned completely.

From that historical Jan 22nd Court decision sprung out a new movement, Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit started raising a grand army of followers, an army that has every year grown in size and passion. They gather because they believe in the real truth of life, in the real sanctity and honor that life brings. They have realized that woman were in fact not free, but enslaved in a selfish desire, that only turned most of them into sexual objects, not real women as God intended. They realized that Men were enslaved as well, and their dignity had been stripped from them. They could not control their lustful desires, the selfish living and constant use of women not for companionship but as objects. The real man should have complete control and freedom from such things, and should be able to be strong and courageous, to stand up for what is good and right and to offer respect and support to women.

This was a call for an army to stand up and witness Life. And in order to that, they learned they had to witness Christ. It is the divine love that we find in Christ that truly saves us and frees us from bondage. So here we are, today in 2008, with all these things in our society that have pulled us down and twisted the truthful desires of our hearts. It is here that we must heed the words found in Matthew and 1 Peter, we must shine Christ's light to others to show them the truth, to take away the darkness and bondage. But we must know the truth, we must know Christ and be able to tell people the hope in our hearts, for it is this hope that we will witness during our walk on Tuesday at the March for Life.

With over 50,000 in attendance at the annual rally for life mass at the Verizon center, and with over 300,000 pro lifers marching on the mall alone, isn't it time we all join the army of truth, the army of light, the army of God.

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8

"7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."

Thursday, December 27, 2007

What we can learn can make us better

I am unworthy by myself, but I can be great with God.

Its amazing how the two major themes keep coming back to me over and over.
The light of Christ and the foundation of Love for the world.

In one hand, a concept so pure and simple, to Love as Jesus Loves and then to go out and show the world this Love.

Very simple indeed, until we include the twisted heap of secular concepts to our children and dying culture. But instead of focusing solely on the destruction of those that surround us, let us focus on building up the strength of those near us.

Its one thing to know the problems, its another to share that vision of a new world with all you can. By doing the best you can do, you make it happen, not because you are good, but because with God you can be great.

Lets look at what Sanger did in her systematic breakdown of society to the Culture of Death. She didn't say anything wrong about the people, she actually built them up. People, being inherently selfish, found their way to more and more "truths" that could make them feel good. They liked what she said. They liked the fact that they didn't have to worry, that they could be all they could be. (but the sacrifice was it was all they could be without the image of God)

She told the woman they can be equal with men, if they didn't get pregnant, they would be able to be successful and continue to climb the ladders of success without stopping to give birth, and enjoy all of life's little pleasures. She told the men, that this was how to help their wives, they were worth more than how they were treated. She was right, they were and are worth more than how they were ever treated. But her concepts crossed over into a hedonistic lifestyle that focused on the self more than others.

So looking at the human condition, looking at the human need, what is it that we need in our lives to build us up? Its not just rallies and marches, or just posters and buttons. Its dignity and understanding.

For Men, you want to be truly manly? Is that not what you are seeking?
The Eucharist, taking it in and letting it transform you is manly.
Being Holy, which means, being pure, being outside the box of society, being respectful to women and others, being selfless, giving up yourself for others, this is how to be manly. By being lazy, by cheating, by giving into temptation and lust, by mistreating others cause you can, this is a trap, you are nothing but a coward, unwilling to face the world as a true man.

For Women, you want to be worth something? Is this what you seek? Equality and respect? Start with the Eucharist, let it transform you, be the bride you are meant to be. Let your heart of Love shine in the darkness. You are being treated like garbage now, being tossed aside for pleasure, being used as a sex toy and seeking the powers of equality through workplace, but what about the things you really are about, the truth of your holy body, the truth about how precious you are, the only one that can give life in this world, the only one that receives a miracle within your womb, your equality may come at the workplace, but the real equality is being treated the same way with respect and dignity, living a pure life, avoiding temptations, being a strong woman in a society of darkness. You want to be equal, then be as manly in your courage to take up this call. Transform your current self into something greater than an object.

Is this harsh? Is this honesty hard to hear? Yet it sinks into the your very being, into your heart and rests there waiting to be acknowledged. Think about it, what if it was true, that you just give yourself to others, give yourself as a person, your love, not just your body. This transformation can occur in you, and you can gain much dignity and respect, you will walk amongst the giants with no shame, with true freedom, no chains tied upon your feet or shackles on your hands, you will be successful in all you do because there will be something different about you. With God, you can be great and YOU can make a difference. The money isn't the happiness that you seek, it feels good, the pleasures of the skin feels good, the instant gratification feels good, but the feelings quickly fade. The true and ultimate happiness is found within us where Jesus touches our hearts.

When we are selfless in our actions we will feel no anxiety for our wants, but feel only anxious for the Lord, and all the twisted concepts of this world will return to their true shapes, and you will see that all things God has made is good, for in the beginning, this is how it was made, and this is how it should stay.

Please keep me in your prayers and I will certainly keep you in mine.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

And now, the time is here...

Yesterday was Christmas.
The night before was Christmas Eve.
The celebrations went on and on, the kids tearing at paper, the families gathered, the food served.
And amongst it all, not once was there a desire to receive anything else but our Lord Jesus Christ.

Even with todays struggles and challenges, the downs are merely just less than the ups, but they are in no way hopeless.
In fact, Because Jesus was born to us, because He came down to Earth to become Man, to be the Word made flesh,
once can always have hope.

God is hope, and all we fear is nothing. All we see and touch, taste and hear, all that we smell, is only part of the sensations we will soon experience. We will be in the bosom of Heaven, and all that has been invisible to us, will be made visible.

If only today, the day following Christmas, people would seek these invisible things with the wisdom provided to them. And not to act out and butcher the pureness and beauty of the event and ways. We have twisted Christmas, we have twisted the idea of love, but in the end, hope shows us these things can return back to the way they were, slightly heavier, with more creases and more wrinkles, but these lines are new lines of wisdom, as now our palette holds more than a blank canvas, but a canvas that has seen a horrible past that can be used to create a most beautiful future.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Modeling Faith Formation

*NOTE WORKING DOCUMENT*

I know, a sensitive topic, But I figured, if we are to understand and go out and offer the new evangelization to people, we need to also speak their language.
Not sure why this all came to me but here it goes.

We start with the definition of success.
Most say it has to do with money, but let us expand that out further.
I believe we can identify three factors that indicate success in a materialistic and non materialistic way. They are:
1.Accomplishment
2.Belonging
3.Happiness

Once these three things are identified, we can start to apply some conditions that influence each of these.

Now we apply techniques and studies based on social emotional intelligence. This usually is applied to educational programs in schools, but can apply to adult learning and in fact any learning. This includes Faith formation since it is a form of learning to trust, grow in faith, etc...

Social Emotional Intelligence has several conditions and criteria that make it effective more in one case or the other. The main things that S-E demonstrates is a higher aptitude to learning with a more supportive and safe environment. This environment can be as small as a classroom or as large as a country.

This allows us to work on the needs of the learner both at an emotional-social level and at a mental/pedagogy level.So they can be nurtured in order to achieve better results.

When we apply this to a country situation in order to understand faith formation, we see very similar effects in community life, family life and faith life.

In most 1st world western countries, the definition of success is often skewed and twisted to that of a material desire. The three factors are only 2/3 fulfilled. The person has accomplished something by increasing wealth, has a feeling of belonging to another level in the social hierarchy, but fails to maintain a happiness that is eternal, since the material objects and desires can only provide an instant gratification and pleasure, and seeking more doesn't mean long lasting, in fact can result in loss of happiness as one becomes bored with the feeling of instant happiness.

In most developing countries we see accomplishments of smaller scale, mostly of a survival nature, a belonging to a family, a nuclear trustworthy and safe environment, and happiness in the small blessings they receive. I am sure there are sceptics out there, but be my guest and explain to me why we see rather happy poor people and the only thing they have in their suffering is faith and family?

In the western world case, we find more cases of depression, suicides, agnostic and atheist behaviors (caused from replacing God with material idols. What could cause such a thing? I think this is a direct confirmation that the family is an important unit of society, it is the functional and needed unit in order for success. Faith is also a needed item, because success cannot be achieved if there is no eternal happiness available or achievable. We find many church goers strictly there for Sunday service, but the warmth is not there to form a strong supportive, and safe community. (safety from the devil and the temptations of sin). Because the western world focuses on Independence and everyone being the leader of the pack, the more western society takes apart the family unit. Add concepts of population control, hedonistic urges for self pleasure and self service, and once can easily see the demise of such a culture.

The poor on the other hand are lacking in material wealth, but strong in family, community and faith. The potential level of success per each member of such a culture is much higher than that of the western culture, as long as they are able to be challenged. There must be a balance in our growth and formation; our learning as it would be.

In the diagram, This is a similar concept to the wheel diagram of God to the world, demonstrating the need for God (the Hub) to power the individual through growth formation (spokes) in order to succeed in the outside world (the wheel).
But each spoke represents instead a triangle growth model. The very tip starts with self, and as one grows, they should be growing outward towards selflessness through service to the world. The four spokes are:

1. Faith Formation
2. Secular Standards Formation
3. Personal Formation
4. Sexuality Formation

When one of these are unbalanced, we lose potential for success as defined above.

If we are too focused on secular standards for instance (material wants) then we start to take away from our faith, personal and sexuality growth.

If too little, the same thing happens but the individuals ability to grow equally amongst the spokes is hindered. Usually a person will find another area to fill in gap and vice versa.

If Faith is strong, but no understanding (learning) of Secular society/personal/sexuality - once may not blend well in society and be less capable to evangelize beyond the inner circle this person has created.

If Personal formation is too strong, then too much is focused on self instead of others, potentially loosing faith, or understanding of one's true self.

If Sexuality is too little, one may seek the selfish pleasures instead of the true understanding of our sexuality as a part of our being. If too strong, one may lose potential to evangelize outside their inner circle as well.

I think the overall pattern is this,
If too high, then the capacity of outreach is less,
If too low, another area is gaining and capacity of outreach is less.

I suppose it best to describe the capacity of outreach as a function of serving others in a servant leadership manner.

Being unbalanced in one area or another I don't think can be described as a bad thing, but just less potential to live a balanced full life. We can look at examples of saints that were cloistered and yet lived fulfilling lives.
I believe this model can help individuals in determining areas of their lives they can work on to balance better and be able to more easily become more selfless.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Strategies in Our World To Bring Love and Life

Society is basically selfish these days, that is what we have been taught

Have pleasure for yourself,
Have things instantly for yourself

Less and less people watch out for others..

This has been the outcome of what is being taught in the schools, teachers have books the schools want to use, these books tell a different story, a rather unchristian themed story of life.

Taught to be independent , but also fend for yourself, competition is good for everyone, markets etc...

so in the solution, the focus on the educational books cannot be visibly Christian (meaning no labeled as Christian, but all Christian teachings/values), otherwise many business and schools will not buy books at first.

But the values can be values like selflessness.

This is 360 deg affirmation.

If we produce material that is focused on serving others first, through activities and concepts..business models, etc...

And Media that reinforces the idea of sharing and accountability as oppose to more money, more honey , more power, more happiness

Then even the non believers, that cannot fathom God as the source of happiness, will see a greater calling to a better happiness.

We will use Christian values translated into secular concepts, very very basic concepts..

But will reinforce them in this way.

Slowly, we can overturn the tide of selfishness.
This will allow other teachings like TOB concepts of chastity and true sexuality to be taught.

You know that a true understanding of sexuality showing how the two come together in union is beautiful.
Symmetry in nature is beautiful
Creation is beautiful

These will be the foundational pieces
Slow but consistent, and massive, very massive..

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Reflecting on Pope's Encyclicals

God is Love,

We must transform from ethos to agape.. bring our lust into Divine Love.. Holy Love...

This defines what God is fro us, this is what defines for us the love in which Jesus Loves us, that we must follow
But.. that defines the Love only.. not how to get closer to God to experience this LOVE..

that is where HOPE comes in..
For, within HOPE, we can grow closer to God, in order to feel and then express to everyone we meet God's Love

It is in HOPE that we can see the change in our hearts actually happen
the transformation is not a silly story.. but a reality.. cause Jesus.. when we see Him as HOPE.. allows us to drop our riches in this world in order to follow Christ
Next, after we are able to create in us the HOPE and fill ourselves with Divine Love, then we can move mountains with....

.........FAITH
for our faith then leads us to salvation
we now can love as Jesus loves, and Hope for a new future, and Hope with certainty because our Love in Christ , the Word made flesh, the FAITH of our souls then allows us to do anything in God's name
and we can heal
and then serve others..

LOVE, HOPE, FAITH

TOB in a nutshell..

TOB in a nutshell..

Sexuality is a way we need to show God's greatness.

When we enter into marriage, either as a vocation as a celebate or the sacrament, we must commit faithfully, freely, totaly and fruitful

For in the end, The greatest thing we must remember is to love one another as Jesus loves us.

The confusion of society and sexuality would be gone, no need for laws to control, if we only followed Jesus' teachings, and our body's should show us that..
in all we do, in private and with others.

Are you ready to do this?

Responding to the Golden Compass

This was in response to a friend of mine who was writing about the Golden Compass:

Here's the deal with pullman, he's a confused atheist..
His concepts of no God are muttled and confused.
His concepts of sexuality, even more perverted.
His understanding of the church's terachings on sexuality... uneducated.
He should read TOB.. :) (had to squeeze that in there)

His heart is filled with hatred and his view of the world and CS Lewis is most certainly twisted. If only he read CS Lewis' Great Divorce, would he understand I think the journey his own life must take before he can be truly happy.

There is no happiness greater than that of Heaven, but I guess for someone who is twisted about the existence of Heaven and God, he tries to find the worldly happiness, how unfortunate that he wont find what he seeks, at least not in the everlasting form. Perhaps he will find it in a quick counterfeit, but in the meantime, I pray for him and others like him to step out of the darkness. After all the darkness is only the lack of light, and this serves as more of a reminder that the only way we can find these lost souls that hide in darkness, is to bring the light of Christ to them.

Rather affirming message for me in this season of advent, that we must cleanse ourselves through God's grace, so that we may climb higher mountains and shine the light further.

As for watching the movie, even the regular critics had issues.
Too much for kids, too silly for adults, yet it did make a box office hit.
Perhaps we are only spreading the news to our own, and not taking our lights to the streets. Is it bad to watch this?

Well, I don't think its good to watch it without talking about it to the kids, so it does serve that opportunity, and I don't think boycotting it without explanation is good either, for the more we boycott, the less marketable we are to the industry. Perhaps if we not just exposed the darkness here but also explained the truth of God's message and CS Lewis' message, we could claim yet another victory for Christ.

Will I watch it? I don't think so, at least not until its in the $9.99 DVD sale box at walmart or a friend has one to watch, I did however go to the bookstore to read the ending of the third book, and yes.. Pullman needs our prayers, he is twisted and hateful and only Christ can transform him into something more. It was done with scrooge, and so perhaps this is our modern day example of scrooge-like souls we can pray for.

God Bless
Shaun

Monday, December 10, 2007

Some Good Zenit Articles on HOPE

Just wanted to share some good articles on HOPE, youth, and true Love.

Young People Losing Hope, Says Pope

Hope, an Encounter With Love

How affirming?

God Bless