Post-College 11 Years: In the Spirit

I fully feel that I've come full circle as I party like it's 2013 and celebrate the 11th anniversary of my Valparaiso University graduation.

May 19 this year is not only on a Sunday, it is also Pentecost Sunday, like it was in 2013.  I've always thought of my graduation in the lens of Pentecost and the working of the Holy Spirit leading me to that day, and what has happened since.

After attending a Lutheran preschool, I went to public schools for grades K-12. Then I circled back to a Lutheran institution for college.  While even public schools have mission statements, I found a greater sense of purpose being at a church-based institution that draws from Christian principles for its mission.

In that atmosphere, I had a greater awareness of faith, and I could see the Gifts of the Holy Spirit at work.  I used right judgment in making important decisions as I poised myself for "the real world"--whatever that really means--not to mention courage in facing life's challenges.  Knowledge led to understanding, wisdom, and definitely wonder and awe.  As I studied meteorology and learned more about what happens in the skies above us that drives weather, I could look up with more wonder at what was happening before me.  Studying texts in Christ College helped me probe life with a more philosophical lens, and, in a way, encouraged me to ponder more deeply what brings purpose to life, and, as I came to see, how faith informs that sense of purpose.  I enjoyed the opportunity to cap off my Spanish studies throughout my K-12 years with a minor, as a way to more deeply appreciate the language that I exerted effort in studying, which was a way to connect with my heritage.

Besides the atmosphere informed by the university's Christian principles, St. Teresa's also did much to enliven my faith and my sense of purpose in life.  I grew up close to church and considered faith important.  Certainly, the physical proximity of St. Teresa's right next to campus spoke to the deepening sense of faith awareness in my life that I experienced, that I could connect even more closely with faith, bringing it into my life beyond time specifically spent in liturgical gatherings.  Attending Chapel liturgies contributed, too.  I developed a greater sense of reverence for God's presence around me.

I was back at St. Teresa's two weeks ago to help prepare and serve the meal following the student-focused Sunday evening Mass, the final time for that liturgy of the school year.  Once people were seated and had eaten, there was a time for recognizing the graduates, with each getting an accolade from a fellow student.  It was heartwarming and inspirational to see the powerful sense of community that is present at St. Teresa's, much like it was when I was there.  Connecting with people who had a strong sense of faith, at St. Teresa's and elsewhere, including my close friends, made an impact on me.  I'm glad to still have a close group of friends to keep up with from those college days, testifying to the wonderful power of relationships forged in those days on the fields of Valparaiso as we support each other while following our life's pursuits, responding to our own challenges, sharing interesting tidbits, or sharing a joke, like through our group text message.

When I was in the transition to college, the primary conception I had was that it was another level of schooling, with a major difference that I would be away from home, and it was something that everyone talks about, whether their own college experiences or the latest research study done at a university.  Once at ValpU, I discovered that my life would be enhanced in so many ways, especially in the convergence of faith and other aspects, including academics and social life.  The Holy Spirit has been at work to help us do our work with purpose, as God intended for it.  Indeed, my time at ValpU helped enrich my life in many ways, and it's been a delight to be back in Oak Park to make much of what I gained on the fields of Valparaiso to make an impact.

I remember that President Heckler at the Baccalaureate Service in the Chapel remarked that we were at a nexus point upon our graduation, much like the apostles were on Pentecost.  Reflecting on that remark, I recall instances when I built up a sense of mission in college that would send me forth.  In the final two years, I volunteered with the Compass Educational Program, tutoring elementary school students with their schoolwork, especially those in Hispanic families.  I started it as a way to keep connected with Hispanic culture while I had a break in my Spanish studies.  I ended up embracing it with a sense of passion in how I was serving the larger community.  The trip to St. Augustine Mission was an extraordinary way I served, and also connected with others, those in my group, and the people in the community by St. Augustine in northeast Nebraska.

Graduating from college enlivened by faith capped off the blooming of faith I experienced in middle school, and that made me eager to channel it.  I found my outlet in Religious Education, which I have done every year since my ValpU graduation, and I just finished my 11th year.  It was so fitting that today, I celebrated my graduation anniversary by attending the catechist appreciation brunch, and marveling at what we've experience in Religious Education this year as a community.

It's clear that college impacted me in many ways, both in my sense of knowledge and most especially in faith.  These 11 years since have been a great opportunity to put into action what I gained, keeping in tune with the Holy Spirit who keeps me fresh in what matters most in life.  This blog has been a great way for me to reflect on life in the spirit of the notes I wrote each week sharing about what was happening with me at college and then reflecting on the significance.  I'm glad to have reached another year of blogging here.

There was so much to celebrate 11 years ago, and I remember the excitement that surrounded the occasion, and of my professors, and the family who came to be present for the ceremony.  As I reflect back 11 years later, I still have so much to celebrate.

I have a sign, which I believe was a graduation gift, which says, "What you are is God's gift to you...What you make of yourself is your gift to God."  Truly I can sense that my years at ValpU solidified a sense of the great gift of myself God has given me, enhanced by faith, and made me more ready than ever to offer myself back to Him as a blessing to others, enlivened by the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Here I am, back at St. Teresa's, getting ready to serve the meal after the student-focused evening Mass.  A fellow volunteer helping with the meal photographed me here in the kitchen.

I proclaimed the account of the descent of the Holy Spirit from Acts 2 at a special Mass held for graduates and their families at St. Teresa's the evening before my graduation.  I took this photo when I was back at St. Teresa's yesterday to celebrate my graduation anniversary weekend.  I proclaimed that passage at Mass this morning at Ascension as I celebrated this special occasion.

Paschal Mystery Version of 2024

As people baptized into Christ, we live in the Paschal Mystery:  In the midst of our sufferings, God works His power of redemption, which is constantly unfolding.  And the yearly observance of the Paschal Triduum is a way for us to be renewed in its deeper meaning.

I took a slightly different approach to Lent 2024, continuing my focus in recent years not so much on doing extra spiritual activities for Lent, but seeking to become more.  I sought to open myself up to God's grace pouring into my life, and then discerning how to respond.  This approach helped me to embrace the Paschal Triduum ready to enter into the mystery we commemorate during these days.

Maundy Thursday Mass is an extraordinary experience as we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist.  One idea that stood out to me was that Christ established an everlasting covenant. So we continue to re-present the Eucharist that was first presented 2000 years ago, and it leads us to Eternal Life in Heaven.

Furthermore, Jesus Christ, Who was once dead and now is alive, continues to be present to us, to guide us in the way of salvation He made for us.  So we continue to honor Him.  This year, at Maundy Thursday Mass, we were back to using the opening hymn "We Should Glory in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ" because through the power of redemption, we honor the Cross and glory in it as the means of our salvation.  The end of the Mass is always stirring when we praise Christ for offering His Body and Blood to us as we sing "Pange Lingua".  The hymn is profound, and most especially during the verses sung in Latin.  When the liturgy ended in silence, I turned to someone sitting next to me, who I met in the young adult group for the Oak Park parishes, remarking, "And the story continues."

Cross Friday always has a heavy feel to it.  Yet this year, I was reminded that there's good reason to lean into the heaviness and discomfort associated with the day, because it's part of the process that leads us to the glorious celebration of the Resurrection.  Indeed, it's a continuation of the story.

I was assigned the 2nd reading at the liturgy commemorating the Crucifixion.  It has rather lofty language speaking about Christ, our Great High Priest, Who passed through the Heavens.  Because of all that He suffered for us on the Cross, we can count on Him to help us in our struggles.

So as people of faith, we can join ourselves to the Cross, with all our struggles, troubles, and challenges, opening ourselves up to God's redemptive power in our lives.  Bearing this idea in mind, venerating the Cross is always a profound ritual.  It furthermore points to what will emerge as a result of the Crucifixion.  Adding to my sense of anticipation was welcoming my parents on Friday evening, who were present from their retirement spot hundreds of miles away to be present for the great celebration to come.

On Holy Saturday morning, Dad and I went to Morning Prayer at St. Edmund's.  We had the opportunity to bless those who would be initiated into the Church that evening. It's a meaningful gesture to be in a spirit of prayer with those who have spent months preparing for the important moment of the initiation sacraments.  A little later in the morning, I went to Ascension to help decorate the Church, which builds a sense of anticipation for the glorious celebration to come.

Later that day, for the first time ever, I left Oak Park to attend the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass elsewhere, at Holy Family Parish in Inverness.  My Uncle Bernie was sponsoring Zidan for Confirmation that evening and invited me to attend.  I decided to attend the Mass there as a way to support Zidan and Uncle Bernie, and it was the first time I can recall having a personal connection with someone initiated on Holy Saturday night.

The Church building surrounds an outdoor courtyard where we gathered before the fire from which the Paschal Candle was lit.  Being outside connects us to the elements of the natural world, which is fitting because we hear the story of Creation for the first reading, and that lays the groundwork for celebrating our recreation in the Resurrection of Christ.  This Easter Vigil Mass had a different feel, since Holy Family uses more contemporary music.  Yet there was much to appreciate in the same words of the Exultet that are proclaimed year after year on Holy Saturday night.

The first reading of Creation in Genesis was proclaimed in more of a storyteller format, and the Psalms had a quicker pace in between the readings.  There's so much richness in the Old Testament readings that point to the culmination of God's plan of salvation in the events of this night.  Then came the Alleluia, the moment we've been anticipating throughout Lent as we open ourselves up to celebrating the Resurrection, not just as a historical event, but a reality that lives in us.  Father Terry put it well in his homily when he referred to the words of the angels in Mark 16, that we should not be amazed that Christ is Risen, but embrace it as our new reality.

Holy Family is a modern church building, and there's a baptismal pool in the central part of the sanctuary.  So those who were baptized this night stepped into the pool, as did Father Terry, and then he submersed them completely, hearkening back to the days of the early Church.  There was great power in seeing the baptisms, the complete immersion, as the sacramental reality of entering into the Newness of Life in Christ.

Then came the Confirmations, including Zidan's.  There's great power in the words in the rite, that we have been freed from sin and are now being brought alive through the power of the Holy Spirit and His sevenfold gift.  Once again, natural elements, in the form of blessed olive oil, lead us deeper into a powerful spiritual reality.  We can rejoice that God is alive and active in our midst through the many people who have committed themselves to joining the Church and living out the call to holiness in their lives.  Indeed, we have much reason to rejoice in the freshness of those experiencing newness of Life in the sacraments.  At Holy Family, many people received sacraments, and it was special to watch it unfold.  I was glad that I did something different this year as a way to support Zidan and Uncle Bernie, and they were both appreciative of my presence there.  Once Mass ended, I returned to Oak Park and stopped by St. Edmund's, where the Mass had already ended and there was a jovial spirit of celebration abounding.

That same joyful spirit was present the following morning at the Masses at Ascension Church.  So much inside the Church sets the tone for what we celebrate, with the throngs of people, the colorful banners, the wonderful flowers that abound throughout the Church, and all the music.  One song that stood out to me was the recessional hymn, beginning with the words "Earth, earth, awake, rejoice and sing..."  Indeed, all the earth has come alive in a new way because Christ has Risen.  We share in that rising.  As it happened, I was unable to follow along in the hymnal because there was a server spot open, and so Jane Anne, the liturgy coordinator, asked me to step in and carry the Cross out in the recessional.  It's a cross with lots of metallic features, even a gold look in spots, and it fits well in the context of celebrating this wondrous day of the Resurrection.  I raised it up in a sense of triumph because all that we've experienced in life and liturgy has led us to the point of this triumph.  While I'm well aware of the effort to spend so much time at Church, especially during the Triduum, I wouldn't consider doing it any other way, because Easter Sunday, and the Easter Season that follows, are so much richer 

Celebrating the Resurrection is something magnificent, and while at Resurrection Sunday Mass, it dawned on me in a new way that there's something to draw from this awesome event.  I could feel the joy palpably in the celebration, and I knew that this joy was mine to have in all the circumstances of my life.  Aware of some difficulties before me in my life, including some work matters, I realized I didn't have to get dragged down by them, but could face them with an inner reality set deep inside me.

It's clear that given what's going on in our lives and our world, we need Easter.  And it's God's great gift to us, that our Lord, once dead, is now alive forever and ever.  It's our new reality, that Christ has risen, Christ has conquered death, and Christ reigns.  We can live differently now, even in the face of the troubling circumstances of the world.  Thanks be to God that we have this opportunity to be reinvigorated in the Easter Paschal reality with the Triduum each year.  It then flows forth to give that sense of joy to each Sunday, as we relive in each week the reality of Christ's Paschal Mystery and His ultimate victory that lives in us.  There's great power in the image of the Paschal Candle, especially as its light shines brilliantly in the dark of Holy Saturday night, because we know that God has won, and the light becomes more powerful as it it shared by all in the congregation.

In the middle of March each year, I celebrate my birthday, the day I began my life upon this Earth.  Just like happened 33 years ago, Resurrection Sunday was on March 31 in both 1991 and 2024.  The timing of these two special occasions was great, and my birthday celebration flowed into the final weekend of the month:  I took up my Dad's offer and the three of us had a special dinner together on Holy Saturday.  The next day, it was wonderful to cap off this special month by celebrating the life I have and how it is made abundant and rich in the glorious light spilling out of the Empty Tomb, and the New Life we have in Christ by faith, together as One Church.

Note: To read previous reflections on the Triduum I wrote in past years, please visit these links: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.  The 2014 reflection has a list of my favorite moments during the Triduum liturgies.

After the conclusion of the Holy Saturday Easter Vigil Mass at Holy Family Parish

The Paschal Candle shines brightly on Resurrection Sunday morning in the sanctuary of Ascension Church.

One evening later in April, after choir rehearsal was over, I was in church and photographed the Paschal Candle shining brightly in the darkened sanctuary.

Lifelong Learning at 8 Years

As I mark the 8th anniversary of my MLIS graduation from Dominican University, it's a good time to party like it's 2016 and to once again think how I've been learning even beyond school.

Recently, at work, I've had the opportunity to share what I do.  Two employees from children's services have come to the Materials Management workroom to shadow us.  They go around to the different employees in our workroom.  At my desk, I show the steps for how a book get copy cataloging and then get its codes so that it's ready to be processed and to go on the shelves.   One of the employees remarked that she didn't realize how much could be done in the back end of our library's computer system.  With another employee, I ended up showing her about the books' call numbers for biographies, and from there explained a little bit about authority files.  She definitely got interested in what I was showing her and we chatted for a little bit after I finished showing her the steps.  These shadowing days remind me of the adage that the best way to learn something is to teach it.

I've also participated in some interesting webinars at work, hosted by RAILS, the organization that oversees library in northern Illinois.  A couple of weeks ago was a webinar on different generational  dynamics.  The presenter was super engaging.  He discussed the different generations, Baby Boomer, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z, and how the events and circumstances of their times influenced them in their formative years and shape their attitudes.  One example he used is that more recent generations are more energized when someone leads with the "why" of doing something.  Toward the end of the presentation, he noted that there's a cycle where crisis events and tough times produce good people who want to do good and change the world.  Eventually, people feel settled, and then tough times arise again.  He said these cycles happen in 80 year periods.  There were so many fascinating insights and I could sense that many people found the time well worth spent.  Hearing this presenter's commentary on generation dynamics gave me some new perspectives on how events of the past few decades has shaped attitudes and experiences of people.

Indeed, there's so much out there to learn and ponder.  During the Easter Season, the Eucharistic Revival has been hosting weekly Mystagogy presentations about the Eucharist.  These presentations are a great way to keep building upon the knowledge of faith I have gained throughout my life to gain better insight into what happens at Mass.  Fortunately, they've arranged for several bishops to carve out time in their full schedules to teach about faith, which is one of their primary roles.

And on the subject of teaching, just yesterday, another Religious Education year concluded as students, parents, and catechists gathered for Mass in the evening.  It was a chance for us to think about what we've learned, how we've encountered God in our learning, and what we can draw from it as we go forth.  My own Religious Education experience set me up to an awareness of how much there is to learn, and how to act on faith by leading others in learning and encounters with God.  So it has been a blessing to bring it full circle by accompanying the next generation in their own faith journey, which is a matter of lifelong learning that leads us deeper into Truth.

A Silvery Anniversary at the Table

It was a glorious morning 25 years ago when I made another important step in my journey of entering more deeply into the mystery of God revealed in the Church.

Inside the gym of the St. Giles Parish School, gathered with the Family Mass Community, I received my First Holy Communion on May 2, 1999--so today is really a good reason to party like it's 1999 all over again.

Just in time for this milestone, I discovered a photo album with pictures from that special day.  (From what I recall, there was a photographer specially designated who took these photos during the Mass of all those in my class, which I think was about 12 students.)

Here I am at Mass, seated in the front row, with my parents behind me, Mom to the left and Dad to the right.

It's my turn to go up for communion.

I feel like this photo was near the end of Mass.  My parents are both standing prayerfully behind me, as are my grandparents.  Appearing between my Mom and Dad is my Grandma Vel and to the right of my Dad is my Grandpa Jose.

 

From what I can tell, this photo is from the end of Mass, as Mom embraces me.

There was so much formation in preparation for this moment, so I knew it was an important day when I encountered Jesus for the first time in the Eucharist, and I am grateful for all those people in the St. Giles Family Mass community who served as catechists in preparing us.  I had gone to Mass week after week in that gym, and now I enhanced my participation at Mass.

Similar to the question I posed for the anniversary of my baptism, this occasion calls me to consider what I have done with my first communion, the great gift.

In response, I recall our discussion of the parable of the True Vine in our preparation process, and fittingly, that story was the Gospel reading this past Sunday.  Partaking of the Eucharist is a way that I connect with Christ and His Body, the Church. I have come to realize that I'm part of something much greater than myself.  God offers Himself to Me in the Body and Blood of Christ so that I can edify His Body and serve the needs of the world.

Furthermore, I have come to appreciate the Mass as a particularly special way to encounter God.  We transcend time in the re-presentation of the Paschal Mystery so we can continue to experience its life-giving power.  That power compels us to go forth and make God known in the world.  Indeed, the sacraments are meant to transform us to go forth and act on our encounters with God.  The Mass commissions us, and I seek to discern what I can draw from each Mass and how it is sending me forth.

One great example of someone who acted on what happens at Mass is Blessed Carlo Acutis, and in the past few years, I have become aware of his amazing story.  The day after my first communion anniversary, May 3, is his birthday, and he was born in the same year as me.

Carlo developed a strong devotion to Mass and the Eucharist, going daily from a young age.  He was saddened to realize that people weren't coming to Mass in droves, like they would to stadiums for sports games, and appreciating the gift of the Eucharist.  He yearned to help kindle faith in the Eucharist.  As would befit a millennial, he created a website documenting Eucharistic miracles, which is still available.  He passed from this life in his teens, and his cause for canonization is active.

I'm inspired to think that someone my age had such strong faith, and I have a similar yearning to help people embrace the faith, which I have experienced in my life as a great gift from God shaped by so many.  Over the past 11 years, I've had the extraordinary opportunity to pass on this gift as I accompany my Religious Education students in encountering God through our learning in class.

This special anniversary is on a Thursday this year, which is the day of the week when Christ instituted the Eucharist.  One of my favorite Masses is on Maundy Thursday, when we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist, which was accompanied by the mandatum, the command of Christ to love others as He loves us.  My First Holy Communion continues to live on as I seek to enter more deeply into the Mystery that I encountered that day 25 years ago and open myself to transformation in acting on it.

Last month, I attended the St. Giles Family Mass Community Mass to kickstart the 25th anniversary celebration of my First Communion. Alex Ryan, on staff at St. Giles, took this photo of me.

Remembering Thoughtful Bishops

It's time for Confirmation in the local Oak Park Roman Catholic Parishes, which is an opportunity for episcopal presence.  A bishop comes to bestow the sacrament of Confirmation on the young people, connecting his role to the apostles who lay hands on the faithful to call down upon them the Holy Spirit.

I think particularly of two bishops who have come for Confirmations at Ascension who have since passed from this life to the next.

Bishop Manz demonstrated a strong pastoral heart, not just for the people in Vicariate IV of the Archdiocese of Chicago, but elsewhere in seeking to serve the needs of laborers.  And among his vestments, he wore a special medal of Our Lady of Guadalupe, reflecting his heritage.  At Confirmation Masses, he took time to show his care for the young people when they came before him for the individual anointing.

Bishop Birmingham didn't serve long as an auxiliary bishop before his passing.  He came to Ascension for Confirmation twice.  The first time, in February 2022, I recall that in his homily, he remarked that he made a visit to Ascension and was impressed by the ambo, wondering if anyone used it.  He was thrilled to ascend it at the Confirmation Mass.

The second time at Ascension, he gave such a thoughtful homily, using the metaphor of a kite.  The string may seem to hold us back, but really, it's what allows us to soar.  I pray that Bishop Birmingham is soaring high as his reward for faithfully serving God's people.

Not too far in the distant past is the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  The one aspect about him that stands out to me is his gifted, scholarly mind.  His knowledge of God truly led him to be in a closer relationship with God.

A while back on The Cale Clarke Show on Relevant Radio, Cale shared portions of the homily he gave on his final birthday as Pope, back in 2012.  He noted that he was born on Holy Saturday in 1927 and baptized that very same day.  In his homily on April 16, 1927, he reflected on how life is a great gift, yet it finds even greater purpose when we enter into the divine life that we receive from God through baptism.

Perhaps that idea gives power to the words he spoke in his homily at his installation Mass.  "Each of is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary."  Indeed, we all have a purpose because God created us for it, and has loved us into creation so that we can all contribute our part to the world.

We give thanks to God for what these three Church leaders gave to us.

Circling Back into the Waters

April 28 is a day that takes me back to the start of my life as I celebrate the anniversary of my baptism.  It's special this year because April 28 is on a Sunday just like it was 33 years ago.  (I am furthermore reminded that today is also the ordination anniversary of Father Pacocha, who baptized me.)

At my baptism

At the same font in 2013

That spiritually significant number of 33 gives me further reason to ponder the nature of this occasion.

While I don't remember anything about my baptism, I fully acknowledge that it was the start of something important in my life.  I was chosen by God and set on a path to walk in His way.

I think about the question that Pope St. John Paul II posed to the French people during his 1980 visit to France, a question that he posed on other trips: "What have you done with your baptism?"

Since baptism is an initiation sacrament, it is certainly important for us to consider what it started and what has become of it.

My mind goes to the recent past as I recall the Confirmation Masses in Oak Park parishes during this month of April.  I spent a chunk of time at Ascension Church on April 13, a splendid spring day, to be present and support the Confirmation candidates, which represents how I had been present to them during the formation process at the monthly meetings, in addition to teaching those who were in my Religious Education (RE) classes this year and last year.  Additionally, it is an opportunity for me to rejoice in the connections I've made in the church community with my students and their families, particularly as I circle back to reconnect with former students whose younger siblings were confirmed this month.  I even think about how I reconnected with Kelly Good, who I taught with several years ago in RE, and whose son and nephew, both in my class last year, were confirmed this month.  As a sign of our good working relationship, she spontaneously invited me to join their family celebration after the Mass.

Bishop Casey celebrated both Masses at Ascension, and he used a story I heard him share the lats time he was at Ascension for Confirmation.  He described a time he went on a canoeing trip in Quetico Provincial Park and got to a cliff.  After much hesitation, he convinced himself to jump off it, which was an amazing experience.  He encouraged the young people to take the leap.  (One of my former students motioned to me when she started hearing this story and then asked if she was having a dej vu moment, and I confirmed it was the same story at her confirmation.)  For the rest of of us gathered there, he encouraged us to see each individual Confirmation as an encounter with God.

And that gave me an important idea, that as I see God encountering each candidate in the individual anointing, I consider how I have lived out my faith in teh world at large, even as I have brought it full circle by supporting those young people in Confirmation.

Father Carl, the pastor of the Oak Park parishes, has certainly caught wind of my high level of involvement, as evident a little more than a week ago when I was at St. Giles for the Confirmation Mass, which included a few students from Ascension.  A few days prior, the Archdiocese contacted the parish to say that Cardinal Cupich would celebrate the afternoon Mass.  When Cardinal Cupich was in the back of the church waiting for the opening procession, Father Carl insistently motioned to me, and then when I approached them, Father Carl introduced me to Cardinal Cupich as someone heavily involved in the formation of the young people.  I've seen it as a calling, an extraordinary opportunity to keep my faith fresh by handing it to the next generation, as I see faith as a great gift that I'm meant to put into action.

A fellow member of the congregation who's good with a digital camera got this photo of me with Bishop Casey following the afternoon Confirmation Mass at Ascension on April 13.

Here I am with Cardinal Cupich following teh afternoon Confirmation Mass at St. Giles.  The Master of Ceremonies, Devon Hezy, photographed me.

Father Rex photographed me following Mass today, April 28, as I mark the anniversary of my baptism.

Dear 1036: Lilies of the field

Dearly Beloved 1036 Clarence,

One experience I enjoyed with my family over and over again was the movie Lilies of the Field.  60 years ago this month was the 1964 Academy Awards when Sidney Poitier became the first African-American awardee.

As a sign of the times of our family's years in you, we had that movie on a VHS tape.

Even though it was in black-and-white, I appreciated watching it as a kid.  It had a great story steeped in faith.  And the "Amen" song is so spirited, and demonstrates how Homer was able to connect with the nuns, including the strict Mother nun.  I like playing that song on YouTube, especially around the celebrations of the Nativity and the Resurrection.  It never gets old because the stories of Christ's life speak to our own experience of living by faith.

I watched the movie over and over with my family, and each time I had a sense that it drew us together as we appreciated the power of faith at work in the construction of the chapel.  Through the bumps in the road, the characters realized that returning to the power of faith helped them keep going until the chapel was complete.  It's a timeless message that speaks to us as we strive to live by faith in our own circumstances.

And this movie one of many timeless memories that will keep me connected with you, who are a great gift of God in my life.

With much gladness and gratitude for you, I declare that you shall never fade into the background, but remain deep in my heart, as we remain connected.

All my relations.

God's blessings,

Paul