Still Coming Together at the Olympics of 2020-2021

Ever since I was a kid, and read lots of books about the states of the USA and countries around the world, I developed a certain fascination with Japan.  I engaged my interest further when I was in Arts and Culture class during 6th grade and learned lots more, even doing activities like calligraphy.

My interest in Japanese culture came to mind with the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo this summer.  The Olympics are an event that I find inspirational and that resonates with me a deep level, as the world comes together for something positive like sports.

I was concerned the Olympics wouldn't be held at all because of the ongoing pandemic, similar to how World Wars I and II prevented the Olympics from happening in 1916, 1940, and 1944.  I was glad that they were postponed and were still held, a year later in 2021, the year notable for the 125th anniversary of the First Modern Olympic Games in Athens.

I especially enjoy watching the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic games, since the programming is an opportunity for the host nation to showcase its identity and culture.

There was something very poetic about the Japanese national anthem.  I looked at the song's lyrics, and basically, it's an ode to the emperor, that he may have a long reign, using nature metaphors in tribute to wishes for longevity.

I was fascinated to hear the story about how the organizers of the 1964 Summer Tokyo Olympics devised a collection of symbols for all of the Olympic sporting events to help visitors unfamiliar with the Japanese language navigate.  It was fascinating to see the figures displayed as part of the opening ceremony.

I also liked seeing the artistic design representative of the iconic Mount Fuji in the Olympic stadium.  It was a marvel to see it open in a flower-like fashion to be the cauldron for the Olympic flame.

The scene was intriguing when the man at the switches turned on the lights of Tokyo, highlighting the various notable sites in the city.

During the closing ceremony, it was cool to see the musicians perform for the athletes, in the spirit of what happens in Tokyo on the streets.  One part of it was a fascinating combination of modern rhythms and the classical Beethoven melody.

And I was rather mesmerized by the video shown to promote the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.  The vocals of the choristers were spellbinding that accompanied the footage of the crowd at the Eiffel Tower and the three planes flying in unison over Paris ejecting the French tricolors.

In his remarks before those gathered in Tokyo, IOC President Thomas Bach commended the athletes for the effort they exerted to qualify for and participate in the Tokyo Olympics and he also spoke about hope.  I think there was a great sense of hope that the Olympics could still happen in spite of the challenging circumstances of hosting and running the Olympics in the midst of a pandemic.  The athletes strove greatly to be part of the Olympics, each of them embarking on their own journey.

It was truly an inspiration to see the world come together as these athletes participated in spirited competition, striving to be "Faster, higher, stronger, together"--the word "together" added to the Olympic motto this year in light of the recent circumstances.

It's a beautiful reality, indeed, when we can come together and aspire together for greatness that builds up the people of the world as a whole, just like in "I Believe", performed so marvelously by Nikki Yanofsky for the 2010 Winter Olympics.  

I hope that the Olympics can continue to inspire us to come together with purpose.

Musing on Mexico

¡Viva México! ¡Viva!

Today is the bicentennial of the Treaty of Cordoba, by which Spain recognized Mexico's sovereignty, signaling an end to the independence movement that started in 1810.

While I have never been to Mexico, I strongly sense the country is part of who I am.

Its history stretches far back to ancient cultures, like the Olmecs, known for their giant head statues, one of which is at Chicago's Field Museum, and the Maya.

The Aztecs contributed significantly to Mexico's identity, as the eagle perched on the cactus with a serpent in its mouth at Lake Texcoco persists as an important symbol, especially on the Mexican flag.  Lake Texcoco became the site of Tenochtitlan.

Then the Spanish came and colonized Mexico, building a new capital for the colony, Mexico City, over Tenochtitlan. Spanish became prevalent in Mexico, even as the country today has numerous indigenous groups.  It was especially awesome to see on live TV the Mass that Pope Francis celebrated in Chiapas during his February 2016 trip to Mexico.

Then on September 16, 1810, came the cry, "El Grito de Dolores" from Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla that launched the independence movement, which is recalled late in the night of September 15 in the Zocalo of Mexico City.

Years of conflict led to Mexico's independence in 1821.  A century later brought the Mexican Revolution that changed the government to give greater attention to working class people.  

The sense of striving in these various movements is apparent in the lyrics of the Mexican national hymn, which speaks about the people of Mexico committing to fight, and even die, for the country and to uphold its honor.

The reforms of the Mexican Revolution sought to curb the force of powerful institutions like the Roman Catholic Church.  Yet they also led to the oppression of the Roman Catholic Church and the faithful who only seeking to live out their faith peaceably.  Their resistance efforts led to the Cristero War, which led to multiple martyrs, some of whom have been canonized.

Roman Catholicism persists as an important part of Mexican identity, ever since the day in December 1531 when San Juan Diego saw La Virgen de Guadalupe on Tepeyac near Mexico City.  She came in the appearance of an indigenous Aztec woman, desiring to led the indigenous Mexicans to God.  I have heard the story that a BIshop in Mexico was concerned Christianity wouldn't take hold in the land unless God intervened mightily, and He certainly did, resulting in mass conversions.

For me, being Mexican and being Roman Catholic are tied very closely as part of my identity.  And that's why I make a point to attend a festive Mass annually on December 12, to celebrate la Virgen de Guadalupe and the impact she had on the Mexican people.  It's truly an occasion to celebrate and feast.

There's so much of Mexican cuisine that I enjoy, as I recall fond memories of the Mexican food my Abuela made when I was growing up and went to visit her and my Abuelo.  It's been a family custom for many years to gather and make tamales as an Advent/Christmas tradition, just as my Abuela did with her family in the years of her youth.  I've also enjoyed dishes such as sopes, tacos, and posole.

Mexican culture has a strong presence through the United States in major cities and even in more rural areas.  One place I enjoy visiting is Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, to savor the feel of Mexico in the businesses along 18th Street and also at the National Museum of Mexican Art.  The museum has a wonderful gallery showcasing Mexican history and culture.  They also do a great job with their annual exhibit for Dia de los Muertos.

So while I have yet to travel to Mexico, and I hope to do so some day, I have had so many ways that I've connected with Mexico.  And as Mexico reaches a milestone, the bicentennial of the treaty that marked a critical moment in its history, I celebrate.

¡Viva México! ¡Viva!

The Commitment

Once again, in celebration of a very important day in my life, I cross-post a reflection from my Scripture Reading Reflection blog to my Paul Ponders blog.

God, now in this age, through Jesus Christ, has made Himself known in our world.

Now, we have a choice: to follow the ways of the world, or to live committed to God.

Joshua presents this choice to the people of Israel at an assembly following their conquest of the Promised Land, and states that He will not serve the gods of the nations around them, but serve the Lord God.  The people, fully aware of all that God has done for them, declare their commitment to God.

In the Gospel reading, many people are unable to accept Christ's teaching and the idea they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood.  It's very likely the Spirit is not at work in them to embrace what Christ offers them beyond food to satisfy their physical hunger.  So they turn from following Christ and resume their former way of life.

Jesus Christ then asks the 12 apostles if they also want to leave.

St. Peter declares that they acknowledge He has the words of Eternal Life, and so they will follow Him.

Christ indeed has done so much for us, like in the spirit of what the 2nd reading says, pouring Himself out to sanctify us.

God's love for us in Christ is a great mystery, and we recognize it in the marriage commitment of husband and wife to love each other, a sign of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

As people of faith, we are all called to similarly make a commitment.

It is a decision of whether or not we'll be obedient to the One Who has the words of Eternal Life and has sacrificed Himself for us.

And we must decide to affirm our relationship with God day after day.

I remember being presented with this choice 12 years ago on Sunday, August 23, 2009, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time that year.  I heard these readings proclaimed at the first Mass I attended at the St. Teresa of Avila Roman Catholic Student Center the day after moving to Valparaiso University.  In a new setting, I was invited to commit myself to follow the ways of faith even in circumstances unlike anything I knew before in my life.

Yet I saw God's goodness fully revealed in the community of St. Teresa's that was ready to support me in my pursuits as a student and in my walk of faith.  So I gladly committed myself to living out faith, and to continue growing in it, which has led me on quite a journey to this very day, as we cycle back in the 3-year cycle to these readings and they speak to us anew.

Cradling Aviation

I noticed on a calendar that August 19 is Aviation Day.  Upon looking it up, I discovered this occasion celebrates the birth of Orville Wright, born on August 19, 1871, 150 years ago today, who, along with his brother, were pioneers of flight.  (Notably, August 19 is also the birthday of their younger sister Katharine, who was born 3 years after Orville in 1874.)

It's fitting that I had selected the audiobook version of David McCullough's book on the Wright Brothers, and listened to it during my recent Missouri road trip.

He did a great job sharing the story of their lives, and all their efforts to make a manned flight.  They worked their brains intensely, especially early on when they attempted to follow certain mathematical principles.  It was also incredible to hear about how arduous the journey was to the Outer Banks in North Carolina where they first tested their flying machines.  The Wright Brothers executed a true team effort with their flying machines, and even their sister Katharine offered much assistance.

But the story of their flying efforts doesn't stop with their first flights on December 17, 1903.  They built upon that first effort to create more advanced flying machines.  They eventually moved their testing efforts much closer to home at the Huffman Prairie in the Dayton area.

Government officials in the US were slow at first to embrace the Wright Brothers' early planes.  They ended up in Europe, and collaborated with foreign governments to market their planes.  Eventually, more and more people took note of their accomplishments and came to embrace the flying machines they built.

My one principal visual of the Wright Brothers is the site of their first flights.  In July 2003, while on a summer family vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I had the opportunity to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills during the Centennial Year Celebration.  We went on a ranger-guided tour who showed us the spots where the Wright Brothers made their first flights, and illuminated us with other details about how the brothers made their flyer fly.  Back in 1903, the land was mostly sand, but now, it's covered with grasses and other vegetation.  We walked up a hill where there's a tall monument to the Wright Brothers' achievement.  As part of the centennial celebration, there was a special structure in place with exhibits about flight.

They had selected the Outer Banks for their early flying test efforts because it was one of the windiest spots in the country, based on information from the Weather Bureau.  And that spot ended up as the setting for history, and all it took was 12 seconds for that flyer's first flight to lead to a revolution in our movements in the world by going above it.

Missouri at 200

As I start today in the St. Louis Metro Area, I am eager to celebrate Missouri, which has now been a state for 200 years, since August 10, 1821.

I got to know Missouri fairly well early on in my life by visiting one of its major cities, St. Louis, a few times as a child.  My Dad would often go there for business trips.  When I got older, my family planned a vacation whereby we visited St. Louis along with some other locations in central and southern Illinois.

So at an early age, I had the chance to visit the top of the Gateway Arch, which was a pretty big deal for me as a child.  I also remember visiting the Old Courthouse nearby, and I'm pretty certain we went to get sweet treats at Ted Drewes, before I was aware how much of a landmark it is.  It was also fun going to the St. Louis Science Center where you could go to an overlook and watch the cars on I-64.

I've passed through St. Louis on other trips, too, like coming back north from Kaskaskia.  It's interesting that access to Illinois's first capital city involves crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri, and then reentering Illinois onto a piece of land declared to be part of Illinois per a court case.

I've also passed through St. Louis on my way to Texas onboard the Amtrak Texas Eagle route, which travels from St. Louis through southeastern Missouri.

I've traveled through the northern part of Missouri onboard the Southwest Chief, and also while on the 2011 storm chase trip.  Earlier in that storm chase trip, we traveled through southern Missouri.  Back in late December 2003, my family went on a road trip to Branson.

And on my way from West Branch, IA, to Quincy, IL, I passed through northeast Missouri, right along the Mississippi River corridor.  That was back 2 years ago, on August 10, 2019, Missouri's Birthday.  I was in Missouri 1 year ago today, after traveling Route 66 through Illinois to the Chain of Rocks Bridge.  It's an amazing experience to walk over the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri.

And here I am today, in Missouri once again, to celebrate its bicentennial, having traveled through the state on a road trip for the past couple of days.  I'll share more in a later post.

Missouri is notable as the first state west of the Mississippi River, and the Gateway Arch is an iconic landmark that underscores that city's role as a significant launch point for the growth of the US, not to mention the whole state.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition started by sailing into the mouth of the Missouri River.  Thousands more followed westward in coming years along the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, which both started in Missouri.

The state is filled with wide-open farm fields like is found throughout the Midwest/Great Plains Region, yet there's a sense of how those fields give way to the wide open Plains that lie to the west.  There are also rolling hills of the Ozark Region.

While Missouri became a slave state upon its entry as part of the Missouri Compromise, two people fled from enslaved life to distinguish themselves in the story of the USA.  Father Tolton became the first African-American ordained a priest in the US.  George Washington Carver contributed significantly to the field of agricultural science, creating, among other food items, peanut butter.

So just as Missouri played a significant role in opening the way to the western United States, so have its people blazed new trails.

Indeed, the Show Me State has shown us a lot through its contributions to the USA.

So Happy Birthday, Missouri, and congratulations on your Bicentennial.

The Missouri River near Treloar, MO

What Comes After the Foundation

It's amazing to be present for something in formation, and then to follow it to see what it becomes.

I've been blessed with the opportunity over the past few years to interact with seminarians on their way to the priesthood.  And it's exciting when they are ordained and then exercise the functions of their priesthood, as I can think I knew them way back when they were in formation.

A few years ago, Ascension Parish started participation in the Augustus Tolton Teaching Parish Program for which Mundelein seminarians would be assigned to assist with various parish functions.  One of the seminarians who came to Ascension as part of this program was Kevin Ripley, originally from Wisconsin, near Oshkosh.

His involvement with functions increased in 2019 after his ordination as a deacon, so that, among other duties, he would proclaim the Gospel and offer homilies at Mass.  It was a great day, in the midst of the pandemic, when he was ordained as a priest, on July 10, 2020,  at the Cathedral in Green Bay.  I caught glimpses of the ordination Mass live.  Certainly, that ordination was one of many examples of what made 2020 a memorable year.

I was so pleased to see him following a Mass he celebrated at Ascension a few weeks after his ordination.

And then I invited him to my RE class back in October to share about his vocational journey.

All the while, I had been thinking about going up to Wisconsin to visit him at some point at his current parish, St. Raphael in Oshkosh.

St. Raphael statue at St. Raphael Parish.

I felt it was a fitting time to visit him on the first anniversary of his ordination, back on July 10, 2021.  So I got in Avila in the midday hour that day and headed north, as Cook County gave way to Lake County, and then into Wisconsin.

When I reached Fond Du Lac, I headed in a westerly direction through fields to Ripon. There, I visited the Little White School House, noted as the location of a meeting on March 20, 1854, that was instrumental in creating the Republican Party.

It's a neat place, a type of off-the-beaten-path site, in a fine little city, with a significant story to tell.  It's a one-room schoolhouse originally built for the school children in the town, but also offering space for a public meeting such as the one that birthed the Republican Party.  The exhibits offer lots of information on the context of Ripon, and the national-level politics of the day that compelled slavery opponents to gather and form a new political party, along with the major players in the Ripon area.  It was interesting to note how this meeting in a small town gave rise to a new political movement, which soon took its place as a major player in the political scene.

Above is me, posing outside the school house, photographed by a fellow visitor.  Below is a view of the inside.

After about an hour there, I walked around Ripon.  Then, I headed out of town and northeast toward Oshkosh, for 5 PM Mass at St. Raphael.

I arrived there with plenty of time before Mass started, and I took note of the splendid architectural details, inside and outside of the church.

I took my place in the sanctuary, and soon enough, Father Kevin spotted me as he got ready for Mass, and came over to my seat to greet me.  He was clearly surprised to see me there.

This day was the first time I ever saw Father Kevin celebrate Mass since his ordination, and it was marvelous to see him at this point in his vocational journey, living out his call to lead the faithful to encounter God through the sacraments.  And I heartily joined the applause when the Deacon announced Father Kevin's first ordination anniversary toward the conclusion of Mass.

Father Kevin and I chatted for a few minutes after Mass, and then I headed back south to Oak Park, delighted by this opportunity to reconnect with Father Kevin.  

A parishioner took this photo of Father Kevin and me.

As I headed home, I drove for a few miles along the shores of Lake Winnebago, with scenic views.  I had some nice views of downtown Milwaukee as I drove through on I-94.  Right before entering Illinois, I pulled off I-94 to eat at the very Wisconsin restaurant of Culver's.

A couple of weekends later, I had the chance to reconnect with another priest, Father Hurlbert, who served as Ascension's pastor until summer 2020, and then went to a new assignment as pastor of Nativity/St. Gabriel Parish in Bridgeport/Canaryville on the south side of Chicago.  I was glad to have him around at Ascension, and I'm pleased to see him at the next parish in his priestly ministry.  The sanctuary of Nativity Parish was painted in light colors, which gave the whole space an uplifting feel.  And, as would befit its name, there were paintings in panels in the sanctuary by the altar depicting scenes from the birth of Christ.

Turning my attention back to St. Raphael, the first piece of artwork there that really jumped out at me there was a table in a landscaped area at the entrance of the church.  There was one figure at the table, Jesus, holding out bread and wine.  The table was surrounded by unoccupied seats.  

That particular artwork looked so inviting, as God welcoming us to be present to Him Who has come to be with us in Jesus.  Time after time, God does amazing works in our lives, inviting us to open ourselves to each new marvelous work.  I marveled at Kevin as he journeyed to the priesthood, and I marvel to see where he is now, just as I do Father Hurlbert.  And as we each do our part, we join together to build up the One Church.