Congratulations!

Today my dear friend Dylan participated in and completed the 2011 New York City Marathon. Not only did he run down this unbelievable achievement, he raised over $5K for a an extremely worthy charity, Standing Tall:

For thousands of children with neuromotor disorders, “standing tall” is something that others do with ease. Yet motor-impaired children must work very hard to stand, walk, write, sit, and sometimes even to speak. “Standing tall” is something other children do frequently during their school day. Yet, children with serious motor disorders often spend their day strapped into wheelchairs or other passive seating. Many are bright, social, creative children who welcome the opportunity to combine active physical involvement with academic learning. Yet their opportunity to get out of their wheelchairs and practice physical skills while learning is limited.

Fortunately, for these children Standing Tall now has another meaning:

The name of a non-profit educational program offering a better alternative to motor-impaired children.

Standing Tall’s program is based on an approach called Conductive Education. Our daytime programs for pre-school and school age children combine a highly structured, intensive program of daily physical training with traditional academic studies. At Standing Tall, young students use their bodies actively throughout the day while learning reading, math, literature, music, science and art. They get out of their chairs - quite literally “standing tall” - to meet physical as well as academic goals. After-school programs for these ages and our programs for younger children combine Conductive Education with age-appropriate cognitive activities.

Standing Tall was founded in 1997 by a group of parents, medical professionals, and educators seeking a more powerful and integrated approach to educating young children with motor issues. Since then, Standing Tall has grown from a six-week program for a handful of children to a full-time center serving children from all over the Tri-State area. We continue to improve our current programs and to develop new ones for this generation and the next.

Dylan...I am humbled witnessing this awesome accomplishment. You have my undying admiration, as you always have.

Daily Mass Readings
Wisdom 6:12-16
Psalm 63:2-8
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 or 4:13-14
Matthew 25:1-13

Interesting changes

I made the decision to put "SFO" at the end of my name on Facebook, after my profession. What's happened since is amazing...and maybe a little unsettling at least at the start.

I've been getting messages from a number of FB friends asking what the abbreviation means. After I explain it, many of them have tentatively been asking questions about certain Church teachings, spirituality, where they themselves are on their own journey with the Divine. At first I was taken aback by this...who am I, and what the heck do I have to say about their spiritual path? As the conversations developed with these folks, I began to find my voice. And I've been thankful and humbled to share a just little piece their journey with them.

Maybe it's time for me to get into spiritual direction again. Not as a spiritual director myself; as one needing direction and to share that path with another. It is so rewarding to join with another seeker who can see my path from another perspective.

"For where there are two or three gathered in My name, I am there in their midst." - Matthew 18:20

Daily Mass Readings
Romans 14:7-12
Psalm 27:1,4,13-14
Luke 15:1-10

A political shift

I'm also experiencing a quantum shift in my political outlook. I'm
heading towards the ideology of the bleeding heart liberal, and I DON'T
LIKE IT. However, I'm finding the "every man for himself" type of philosophy more amd more diificult to reconcile with my faith, particularly in light of my recent profession. SO...

- I am renouncing my libertarian leanings and have left the
Libertarian Party. The unregulated, unfettered free market and the bungled attempt of our government to trust the mice with the cheese in the bailout has convinced me that there needs to be far more oversight, not less, of the financial markets.

- I'm still pro-life, but I take the seamless garment approach. Life is ALL life, not only pre-born life. Every person, from the unborn child to the convicted killer to 'collateral damage' in foreign wars, has inherent worth and dignity and right to life. These are HUMAN rights, not American rights.

- I continue tobelieve that the primary use of our Armed Forces is the defense of our country, not empire building or in pursuit of business interests. However, I believe it is proper to use our Armed Forces overseas to protect basic human rights, where human beings are dying of starvation, thirst, disease, and murder by corrupt governments.

- Every human person has the right to food and shelter.

- Every human person of age has the right to a living wage.

- I've become convinced that every person has a right to basic healthcare.

- I've become convinced that every child under the age of 18
has a basic right to a world-class education.

- I'veI continue to believe that the "War on Drugs" is a gross
failure. Our society incarcerates more non-violent criminals than any western nation. The land of the free? Regulate the sale of drugs in a similar fashion to alcohol, and watch the street gangs dry up as quickly as the Mafia did when Prohibition ended.

Now, I've ridiculed the policies of FDR in the past as vast overreaching of governmental power. But his "Economic Bill of Rights" is making more and more sense to me. And in my considered opinion, these ideals are far more in line with a just and fair society. See below:

"...In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all-regardless of station, race, or creed. Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security...America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens. For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."

Amen, Brother.

Again, I'm not happy to come to these realizations. Fire away, folks.

Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude
Daily Mass Readings
Ephesians 2:19-22
Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5
Luke 6:12-16

My Profession!

On Saturday, October 22, 2011, I made my solemn Profession as a Secular Franciscan. The ceremony went by in a whirlwind, my biological family and Franciscan family came together for the first time, and I am STILL floating on air!

Here is my actual profession, made in front of the altar of our Lord in the presence of my family, friends and fraternity, with my hands in the hands of our Minster, Pauline:

I, Thomas, by the grace of God, renew my baptismal promises and consecrate myself to the service of His Kingdom. Therefore, in my secular state, I promise to live all the days of my life the Gospeel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its Rule of Life.

May the grace of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and our holy father, St. Francis, and the fraternal bonds of community always be my help, so that I may reach the goal of perfect Christian love.

Thanks be to God.

Daily Mass Readings
Romans 8:31b-39
Psalm 109:21-22,26-27,30-31
Luke 13:31-35

Preparing...and an end to the hiatus

As I move closer to my profession as a Secular Franciscan(happening this Saturday, God willing), there is trepidation, anxiousness, a little fear, and a lot of excitement. It feels a lot like the week leading up to my wedding. But there are some differences, of course.

There will be a lot less people in attendence. There will be far fewer bells and whistles. At least outwardly, my life won't appear to change that much. No presents and no honeymoon (DANG!)

But the people who count will be there. My wife, who has been my daily strength, love and encouragement. My children, the two greatest accomplishments of my life, who've already taught me far more than I could ever teach them. Two VERY dear friends, kindred souls, who've shared a good portion of this journey with me (you know who you are). And most importantly for this day, my Franciscan Family.

Brother Jules, our formation director, said at our very first meeting 4 or so years ago that we all were already Franciscans and "we've got to go through some hullaballoo to make it official". Somehow, with plenty of bumps and bruises, I've come out on the other side of this thing.

Please pray for me and my fellow candidates - Eddie, Geri, and Joe - as we profess to live the Gospel life in the footsteps of Brother Francis. The journey of the rest of our lives now begins...as it does each and every day.

So as far as this blog goes, I guess I'm back. I won't go into the events of the last few months; suffice to say I'm a bit humbled, and perhaps a bit more grateful than I was at the beginning of the summer. If anyone's still reading...thank you for sticking around.

Memorial of St. John de Brébeuf and St. Isaac Jogues
Daily Mass Readings
Romans 6:12-18
Psalm 124:1-8
Luke 12:39-48

The man comes around...

I've discovered recently that ecumenism between multiple faiths is something that is piquing my interest. Am I being "called" there? Perhaps, and I plan on following it. Why do I feel such kinship and intrigue toward multiple faiths? Because of the people I've met and the way they live their lives; I feel the spark of Divinity in them all. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism, even the varying degrees of Agnosticism and Atheism. I'd like to do something within the forever unfinished work of bringing all these faiths just a little bit closer, a little bit further from the chaos (although there's something to be said for some chaos at times!) All of these lenses with which we view the Mystery are distorted, necessarily incomplete. We recognize that that Mystery through the culture and times through which we experience it, through the faiths (or lack thereof) which we are given and/or which we choose. There is a purposeful diversity that must always be cherished. But we focus on what divides us as a People far, far more than what unites us. I find this sad. I enjoy conversing with these people, and would love to solve the problems of the Universe working with such people. Or at least share a bit of fellowship.

I will be rebranding this blog, or possibily starting a new one from a completely different angle. This periodic trumpeting of where I am on my spiritual journey is all starting to taste like beans. I've been censoring myself and I am admittedly writing in part to scream "LOOK AT ME, HERE I AM, SEE HOW GOOD AND HOLY I'M BECOMING?" Now there's nothing wrong with that, per se. But for me, it's getting old, and there are other things in my faith and my life that merit more attention (the above-ecumenical thing is but one of them.)

I'll leave this blog up for any who'd care to peruse it in the future. To those who've actually been reading, thank you for honoring my writing with a glance or comment. I've learned a lot from this experience, but it's time to evolve. I've gone as far as I can here.

Thursday in the Seventh Week of Easter
Daily Mass Readings
Acts 22:30; 23:6-11
Psalm 16:1-2a+5,7-11
John 17:20-26

A quick chuckle

This is from Fr. Jim Martin SJ, writing at AMERICA magazine. He was addressing graduates at the University of Pennsylvania, and it's too much of a gem not to share.

There's an interfaith gathering at Penn and all the participants --
Catholics, Protestant, Jewish, Muslims, Buddhists, even agnostics andatheists --are on lunch break. They go to a local food truck (my favorite, which we called Ptomaine Tony's), and they all get food poisoning and die.

So they arrive at the gates of heaven, bummed out because, you know, they're dead, but happy because they're in heaven. And St. Peter comes out to take care of business. So he turns to the Protestants and says, "Hey, thanks for all that great work you did in helping people learn the Bible and all those great hymns. So welcome to heaven. Why don't you go to Room Five, but make sure not to look in Room One." Off they go. Then Peter says to the Jewish crowd, "Hey, thanks for keeping the Covenant faithfully, and following all the Commandments that God asked of you. So Mazel tov! Welcome to heaven. Go to Room ... Four, but don't look into Room One." Then he turns to the Muslims and says, "Thanks for all daily prayers and your devout observances of all that the Quran taught. Welcome to heaven! Go to Room Three, but make sure not to look into Room One."

Finally, one of the agnostics, who's surprised to be there at all, says to St. Peter, "What's in Room One?" And he says, "Oh, that's the Catholics. They think they're the only ones up here."

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Daily Mass Readings
Acts 12:24-13:5a
Psalm 67:2-3,5,6,8
John 12:44-50