My Mom recently marked a milestone birthday. I made sure it was a very cherry birthday for her with lots of cherry-flavored gifts.
As I think about the relationship I've had with Mom throughout my life, I recall how my Mom has sought to be a cheerleader for my brother and me.
I think about how Mom has supported my various interests. For example, she would take turns with Dad to read to me in the evening before bedtime from a young age. At one point, when I was a little older, perhaps inspired by a book of William J. Bennett, I decided for bedtime reading that we would go through the Federalist Papers. It was challenging to understand the style of writing, but Mom made the effort to decipher the essays as we read them and then offer me an explanation.
And I think about how Mom has gone with me to historic sites and places, supporting my interest in going to them and engaging with what they offer. She indeed has taken interest in my interests.
In the midst of my pursuits in life, for education and career, Mom has sought to support me. It was especially helpful when my pursuits got challenging that Mom offered her support, even sometimes appearing more enthusiastic than me about what I was after. And she offers a listening ear when I need to talk about something on my mind.
Having gotten such support throughout my life has made me eager to help others, especially as I think about encouraging the students I teach in RE so they can strive for the greatness that comes when we live out our call to holiness.
So Happy Birthday, Mom. Thanks for being the cheerleader.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Post-College: 7 Years
I come once again to the anniversary of that event which inspired the launch of this blog, because today, it has been 7 years since my graduation from Valparaiso University on May 19, 2013.
A few months ago, I was thinking a lot about the impact that my years at ValpU have had on me in my post-college life, when I marked 10 years since starting there. Those initial days on campus were marked by a series of good decisions that positively impacted my life. And it started even before my first day of classes, when I joined the community of St. Teresa's. I encountered God through the vitality of the community there, and I continued to participate in what St. Teresa's had to offer me throughout my 4 years at ValpU. Truly, August 23 has annually become a day of celebration for me, one of those days that's nearly as important and celebratory as my own birthday, because it is the day I first attended Mass at St. Teresa's. What happened on August 23, 2009, speaks to what I celebrated on May 19, 2013, earning my degree and the personal growth I attained, especially in renewed zeal for faith.
And that's the spirit of celebration I felt within me when I went back to Valparaiso last year on August 25 to celebrate 10 years since my start at ValpU. I made sure to attend Mass at St. Teresa's. While Father Kevin has moved on to another parish in Northwest Indiana, the community is vibrant as ever, with Father Chris offering so much to the community as pastor.
And I was back at St. Teresa's 6 months later, in February. The student-focus Mass that used to be at 9 PM was moved earlier in the evening to 5 PM. When I heard about this in August, I realized it would be a great opportunity for me to go to St. Teresa's and help prepare and serve the meal for the students.
I made the arrangements, and I was there on Sunday, February 16 to do just that. It was a special time to be back in this community, paying it forward, and connecting with the students who are participating in the St. Teresa's community, just like I did. (It's also nice that I had at least one connection with the students because in my pilgrim group for World Youth Day 2019 was a current ValpU student.)
There's also no doubt that my Religious Education students have benefitted from the impact of St. Teresa's in my life, because leaving college with renewed zeal for faith has made me eager to do my part in handing on the gift of faith. I have made a point each year with each new group of students to share the story of my faith journey, and I make very clear how St. Teresa's influenced my life.
The impact is immense, especially when I think about how, upon the conclusion of yet another RE year, I can now say I've been the teacher of all the siblings in multiple families.
Back in December, one of my students gave me a photo greeting card her family created. As I looked at the photo with this student, and her older brother and sister, I became marvelously aware of the reach of the impact I've had by investing in the lives of my students.
That's my way of keeping that flame burning that appears in the ValpU Shield of Character. Because the flame stoked by others is something I keep burning so that I may do my part in God's work of enlightening the way for others.
Kathy took the above photo of me in the St. Teresa's kitchen as I scoop ice cream for the college students to enjoy.
Here are links to read the blog posts on my graduation, and my reflections for One Year, Two Years, Three Years, Four Years, Five Years, and Six Years.
A few months ago, I was thinking a lot about the impact that my years at ValpU have had on me in my post-college life, when I marked 10 years since starting there. Those initial days on campus were marked by a series of good decisions that positively impacted my life. And it started even before my first day of classes, when I joined the community of St. Teresa's. I encountered God through the vitality of the community there, and I continued to participate in what St. Teresa's had to offer me throughout my 4 years at ValpU. Truly, August 23 has annually become a day of celebration for me, one of those days that's nearly as important and celebratory as my own birthday, because it is the day I first attended Mass at St. Teresa's. What happened on August 23, 2009, speaks to what I celebrated on May 19, 2013, earning my degree and the personal growth I attained, especially in renewed zeal for faith.
And that's the spirit of celebration I felt within me when I went back to Valparaiso last year on August 25 to celebrate 10 years since my start at ValpU. I made sure to attend Mass at St. Teresa's. While Father Kevin has moved on to another parish in Northwest Indiana, the community is vibrant as ever, with Father Chris offering so much to the community as pastor.
And I was back at St. Teresa's 6 months later, in February. The student-focus Mass that used to be at 9 PM was moved earlier in the evening to 5 PM. When I heard about this in August, I realized it would be a great opportunity for me to go to St. Teresa's and help prepare and serve the meal for the students.
I made the arrangements, and I was there on Sunday, February 16 to do just that. It was a special time to be back in this community, paying it forward, and connecting with the students who are participating in the St. Teresa's community, just like I did. (It's also nice that I had at least one connection with the students because in my pilgrim group for World Youth Day 2019 was a current ValpU student.)
There's also no doubt that my Religious Education students have benefitted from the impact of St. Teresa's in my life, because leaving college with renewed zeal for faith has made me eager to do my part in handing on the gift of faith. I have made a point each year with each new group of students to share the story of my faith journey, and I make very clear how St. Teresa's influenced my life.
The impact is immense, especially when I think about how, upon the conclusion of yet another RE year, I can now say I've been the teacher of all the siblings in multiple families.
Back in December, one of my students gave me a photo greeting card her family created. As I looked at the photo with this student, and her older brother and sister, I became marvelously aware of the reach of the impact I've had by investing in the lives of my students.
That's my way of keeping that flame burning that appears in the ValpU Shield of Character. Because the flame stoked by others is something I keep burning so that I may do my part in God's work of enlightening the way for others.
Here are links to read the blog posts on my graduation, and my reflections for One Year, Two Years, Three Years, Four Years, Five Years, and Six Years.
Monday, May 18, 2020
100 Years of Impact: Pope St. John Paul II
The world was destined to undergo major change 100 years ago today when Karol Wojtyla was born in Wadowice, Poland.
And the impact he had on the world really took off when he became Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978.
His influence became even more special since April 27, 2014, when he was canonized Pope St. John Paul II.
I grew up hearing about him in various ways, certainly every time I went to Mass and the priest invoked his name in the Eucharistic prayer.
The first story I remember hearing about him was when I was in Religious Education in elementary school: I was reading some type of resource and it shared a brief article about how he almost died from an assassination attempt, and later went to prison to extend forgiveness to his would-be assassin. That was a pretty radical demonstration of Christian faith.
I learned more about him when he celebrated his 25th Jubilee as Pope on October 16, 2003. I was in middle school at the time, and I was growing in awareness of and appreciation of my Roman Catholic identity, and learning more about what he did in his life and papacy certainly fed into that sense of identity. Something similar happened a year and a half later when he reached the end of his life as I watched the rituals unfold to honor his life. In the coming months, multiple biographical films were released.
From all this, I became aware of the immense impact he had on the world.
Certainly his formative years poised him for this. Both of his parents had passed away by the time he was a young adult. He endured the oppressions of first the Nazi regime, and then the communist regime in Poland. He managed to study in secret for the priesthood when the Nazis forbade it. (In another example of how he embraced faith radically, in a scene in a movie I watched on his life, he powerfully acknowledged the humanity of a Nazi guard when his friend seriously injured the guard in an effort to avoid arrest.) In times of great difficulty, he built up the resilience that would allow him to have such a major effect influence on the world.
He took some stands against the communist regime as he rose through the ranks from priest to bishop to archbishop to Cardinal.
Then, as Pope, he helped launch a significant nonviolent movement that ended communism in Europe. There was a lot of power on display when he came back to Poland, and at Mass, the crowd chanted, "We want God!"
He also traveled around the world to meet with people, even reaching out to non-Roman Catholics. I've heard many stories from people about how they saw him during his visit to the United States in 1979, including my parents, who saw him pass by while he traveled along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.
He truly became so beloved, and people were deeply moved as they watched him endure deteriorating health as he reached the end of his life, and mourned deeply when he passed. It's incredible to think of how Rome was packed with people who came for his funeral, and the line to view his body ended up having a 24 hour-long wait, and could be seen from space satellites. And the masses recognized the great holiness he exhibited, chanting "Subito Sancto" at his funeral, urging that he be immediately canonized.
The world continues to feel his influence. I know that full well from attending World Youth Day in Panama in January 2019. He was committed to empowering young people to embrace their faith and put it into action. His presence certainly looms large at World Youth Day events, which he started in the 1980s. Both Popes Benedict and Francis have done so well in carrying on the intentions of Popeo St. John Paul II at World Youth Day. I feel the event also speaks to the entire generation of Roman Catholics who grew up during his papacy, so that when it reached its end, there was a sense of how much he influenced young people given that anyone under the age of 27, like me, would have known no other pope in their lifetimes.
Something else on which rests his mark that I've learned more about in recent years is Theology of the Body. The more I learn about it, the more I am floored by its empowering message of embracing who we are as a great gift by which we glorify God, and how we make God's presence known in special and specific ways through our God-given gender.
I also think back upon the day in RE class a little more than a year ago when one of the Mundelein seminarian students assisting at our parish, John Washington, came to speak to 8th graders. He described that he grew up Protestant in the Southeast US, and reading Witness to Hope, the biography of John Paul II, lead to his conversion to Roman Catholicism, and then sensing his call to the priesthood.
A couple of months later, in May 2019, my Mom and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. While planning for it, I found out about the National Shrine of St. John Paul II. I desired to visit this shrine, which was especially fitting since we went there the day after his 99-year birthday. During our short visit, we were there for the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer at 3 PM, and then lingered for a time during Eucharistic adoration. Last year, I came to really embrace the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer, and Pope St. John Paul II was instrumental in establishing Divine Mercy Sunday and canonizing St. Sister Faustina, so we would have a regular opportunity to meditate on the mercy flowing forth from the heart of Jesus. As part of my Lenten observance, I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day of Lent, and then continued it through the Divine Mercy Novena, which I thought was a fitting way to look ahead to the centennial of his birth.
Also during my visit, I went to visit the chapel that has a vial of his blood. And I carry with me some mementos from that visit: Since the Knights of Columbus furnished funds for the shrine, there is a special guest register at the welcome desk there that I signed as a Knight, and then I got some thank-you gifts, including a card holder that is still on the back of my smartphone device. (Please go to the link for Washington, DC, trip to see photos from the shrine, by scrolling down a bit.)
As we mark the centennial of his birth today, I acknowledge that the impact he had on the Roman Catholic Church and the world itself will persist for a long time. And I can say that I witnessed part of the impact he had in my own lifetime. I look forward to learning more about him and his legacy, especially reading Witness to Hope, as well as his writings, like Divine Mercy and Theology of the Body.
Surely he was able to make such a difference in the world because he was grounded in unshakable faith, staked upon the reality of the Paschal Mystery, the death and Resurrection of Christ. That is why is so well-known for the statement, "Be not afraid!"
His life offers us a great example of facing any challenges that come our way, powerfully aware of God's abiding presence with us in faith.
Happy Birthday Pope St. John Paul II!
Intercede for us, so we may go forth unafraid to live out our call to holiness.
And the impact he had on the world really took off when he became Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978.
His influence became even more special since April 27, 2014, when he was canonized Pope St. John Paul II.
I grew up hearing about him in various ways, certainly every time I went to Mass and the priest invoked his name in the Eucharistic prayer.
The first story I remember hearing about him was when I was in Religious Education in elementary school: I was reading some type of resource and it shared a brief article about how he almost died from an assassination attempt, and later went to prison to extend forgiveness to his would-be assassin. That was a pretty radical demonstration of Christian faith.
I learned more about him when he celebrated his 25th Jubilee as Pope on October 16, 2003. I was in middle school at the time, and I was growing in awareness of and appreciation of my Roman Catholic identity, and learning more about what he did in his life and papacy certainly fed into that sense of identity. Something similar happened a year and a half later when he reached the end of his life as I watched the rituals unfold to honor his life. In the coming months, multiple biographical films were released.
From all this, I became aware of the immense impact he had on the world.
Certainly his formative years poised him for this. Both of his parents had passed away by the time he was a young adult. He endured the oppressions of first the Nazi regime, and then the communist regime in Poland. He managed to study in secret for the priesthood when the Nazis forbade it. (In another example of how he embraced faith radically, in a scene in a movie I watched on his life, he powerfully acknowledged the humanity of a Nazi guard when his friend seriously injured the guard in an effort to avoid arrest.) In times of great difficulty, he built up the resilience that would allow him to have such a major effect influence on the world.
He took some stands against the communist regime as he rose through the ranks from priest to bishop to archbishop to Cardinal.
Then, as Pope, he helped launch a significant nonviolent movement that ended communism in Europe. There was a lot of power on display when he came back to Poland, and at Mass, the crowd chanted, "We want God!"
He also traveled around the world to meet with people, even reaching out to non-Roman Catholics. I've heard many stories from people about how they saw him during his visit to the United States in 1979, including my parents, who saw him pass by while he traveled along Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago.
He truly became so beloved, and people were deeply moved as they watched him endure deteriorating health as he reached the end of his life, and mourned deeply when he passed. It's incredible to think of how Rome was packed with people who came for his funeral, and the line to view his body ended up having a 24 hour-long wait, and could be seen from space satellites. And the masses recognized the great holiness he exhibited, chanting "Subito Sancto" at his funeral, urging that he be immediately canonized.
The world continues to feel his influence. I know that full well from attending World Youth Day in Panama in January 2019. He was committed to empowering young people to embrace their faith and put it into action. His presence certainly looms large at World Youth Day events, which he started in the 1980s. Both Popes Benedict and Francis have done so well in carrying on the intentions of Popeo St. John Paul II at World Youth Day. I feel the event also speaks to the entire generation of Roman Catholics who grew up during his papacy, so that when it reached its end, there was a sense of how much he influenced young people given that anyone under the age of 27, like me, would have known no other pope in their lifetimes.
Something else on which rests his mark that I've learned more about in recent years is Theology of the Body. The more I learn about it, the more I am floored by its empowering message of embracing who we are as a great gift by which we glorify God, and how we make God's presence known in special and specific ways through our God-given gender.
I also think back upon the day in RE class a little more than a year ago when one of the Mundelein seminarian students assisting at our parish, John Washington, came to speak to 8th graders. He described that he grew up Protestant in the Southeast US, and reading Witness to Hope, the biography of John Paul II, lead to his conversion to Roman Catholicism, and then sensing his call to the priesthood.
A couple of months later, in May 2019, my Mom and I took a trip to Washington, D.C. While planning for it, I found out about the National Shrine of St. John Paul II. I desired to visit this shrine, which was especially fitting since we went there the day after his 99-year birthday. During our short visit, we were there for the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer at 3 PM, and then lingered for a time during Eucharistic adoration. Last year, I came to really embrace the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayer, and Pope St. John Paul II was instrumental in establishing Divine Mercy Sunday and canonizing St. Sister Faustina, so we would have a regular opportunity to meditate on the mercy flowing forth from the heart of Jesus. As part of my Lenten observance, I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day of Lent, and then continued it through the Divine Mercy Novena, which I thought was a fitting way to look ahead to the centennial of his birth.
Also during my visit, I went to visit the chapel that has a vial of his blood. And I carry with me some mementos from that visit: Since the Knights of Columbus furnished funds for the shrine, there is a special guest register at the welcome desk there that I signed as a Knight, and then I got some thank-you gifts, including a card holder that is still on the back of my smartphone device. (Please go to the link for Washington, DC, trip to see photos from the shrine, by scrolling down a bit.)
As we mark the centennial of his birth today, I acknowledge that the impact he had on the Roman Catholic Church and the world itself will persist for a long time. And I can say that I witnessed part of the impact he had in my own lifetime. I look forward to learning more about him and his legacy, especially reading Witness to Hope, as well as his writings, like Divine Mercy and Theology of the Body.
Surely he was able to make such a difference in the world because he was grounded in unshakable faith, staked upon the reality of the Paschal Mystery, the death and Resurrection of Christ. That is why is so well-known for the statement, "Be not afraid!"
His life offers us a great example of facing any challenges that come our way, powerfully aware of God's abiding presence with us in faith.
Happy Birthday Pope St. John Paul II!
Intercede for us, so we may go forth unafraid to live out our call to holiness.
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The Lady with the Lamp at 200
It was 200 years ago today, on May 12, 1820, that Florence Nightingale was born, aptly enough, in Florence, Italy.
That was one of the first things I read as a child when I opened up A Picture Book of Florence Nightingale, a book I frequently checked out from the Maze Branch of the Oak Park Public Library. Perhaps my Mom's profession as a nurse made that particular biography book stand out among others, already having a sense of what nursing work is about.
It's incredible to think that Ms. Nightingale's parents were displeased with her desire to pursue nursing as her work, because there was an idea that it was low-down, dirty work.
We have hand Ms. Nightingale much credit for nursing's place as an important profession today. She demonstrated the important nature of nursing through her work caring for people during the Crimean War, and even in England. Eventually, her influence went all over the world as nurses she trained spread out. Patients came to know her as the "Lady with the Lamp", as she made her rounds checking on them.
It was interesting to see her make an appearance in the Victoria show during season 3, in a short conversation with Queen Victoria in which Ms. Nightingale talked about her work.
Certainly, today, nurses have a crucial role in our society. Even before the current pandemic situation, I was fully aware of that role. I think what stands out so greatly about nurses is the strong component of compassion in their work, enhancing it beyond just physical care for their patients. Maybe that's part of what inspired my Mom to do the work of nursing, for she once told me she wanted a job where she could make a difference.
And so there's much to celebrate as we mark the bicentennial of Florence Nightingale's birth, because for these past 200 years, the world has been made a better place by nurses who, like the SC Johnson commercial says, dare to care.
Ms. Nightingale certainly dared to care, and her mark is still upon the realm of modern nursing, including in the Nightingale Pledge that nurses recite upon entering their profession. Mom tells me she recited it upon graduating from nursing school.
Nurses reciting the pledge promise to provide the best care in exercising their profession, living "in purity", as well as to uphold high ethical standards in handling personal and family matters that come to their attention, and assisting the doctor with "loyalty".
For the past 200 years, it is in the noble work of upholding such high standards that those who need medical care receive the benefits of the nursing profession and Florence Nightingale's legacy.
That was one of the first things I read as a child when I opened up A Picture Book of Florence Nightingale, a book I frequently checked out from the Maze Branch of the Oak Park Public Library. Perhaps my Mom's profession as a nurse made that particular biography book stand out among others, already having a sense of what nursing work is about.
It's incredible to think that Ms. Nightingale's parents were displeased with her desire to pursue nursing as her work, because there was an idea that it was low-down, dirty work.
We have hand Ms. Nightingale much credit for nursing's place as an important profession today. She demonstrated the important nature of nursing through her work caring for people during the Crimean War, and even in England. Eventually, her influence went all over the world as nurses she trained spread out. Patients came to know her as the "Lady with the Lamp", as she made her rounds checking on them.
It was interesting to see her make an appearance in the Victoria show during season 3, in a short conversation with Queen Victoria in which Ms. Nightingale talked about her work.
Certainly, today, nurses have a crucial role in our society. Even before the current pandemic situation, I was fully aware of that role. I think what stands out so greatly about nurses is the strong component of compassion in their work, enhancing it beyond just physical care for their patients. Maybe that's part of what inspired my Mom to do the work of nursing, for she once told me she wanted a job where she could make a difference.
And so there's much to celebrate as we mark the bicentennial of Florence Nightingale's birth, because for these past 200 years, the world has been made a better place by nurses who, like the SC Johnson commercial says, dare to care.
Ms. Nightingale certainly dared to care, and her mark is still upon the realm of modern nursing, including in the Nightingale Pledge that nurses recite upon entering their profession. Mom tells me she recited it upon graduating from nursing school.
Nurses reciting the pledge promise to provide the best care in exercising their profession, living "in purity", as well as to uphold high ethical standards in handling personal and family matters that come to their attention, and assisting the doctor with "loyalty".
For the past 200 years, it is in the noble work of upholding such high standards that those who need medical care receive the benefits of the nursing profession and Florence Nightingale's legacy.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Lifelong Learning: 4 Years
Today I mark 4 years since my MLIS graduation from Dominican University.
Since librarian professionals are all about fostering lifelong learning, it's fitting on this occasion for me to think about what I've been learning since graduate school. I've thought a bit more about graduate school as this past January marked 5 years since I started my MLIS program, and so this time next year will mark the 5-year anniversary of my graduation.
Throughout my time studying for my MLIS, I gained new perspectives on the world through the lens of information, just as I have gained new insights in the time since graduation.
And I got a whole new perspective on what it means to be a librarian last summer.
On the evening of July 13, 2019, I pulled into the driveway of my cousins' home in Portage, MI, for a truly magical evening.
While my cousin Greg was preparing dinner, his wife Melissa instructed her young daughters Ava and Emma to give me a tour of their home.
This day was my first visit to their home, and I didn't know where anything was. But Ava and Emma, all of 6 and 3, respectively, readily showed me around the place where they live.
As I reflect on my visit that day, I realize that we all function like librarians in some respects. We all have opportunities to pass on our knowledge to those who need it, and help them use it for some purpose. Ava and Emma showed me around so I knew where to go in their house during my visit.
Following dinner, right before their bedtime, the two daughters asked me to read them a bedtime story, probably my first time ever doing so. It was an immense thrill to sit on the couch between them, and do something as simple as read them a story, part of fostering lifelong literacy skills in them.
A couple months later, I had another magical evening on Tuesday, September 17, when I started a new year of Religious Education with a new group of wonderful students. I shared about my magical July 13 evening with them. Then I connected it with my role as a catechist, how I help them encounter the God Who is so vast and mysterious like the ocean, yet tosses us floaties so we can swim in the ocean and encounter His presence through the various ways He reveals Himself to us.
It's wonderful work to help people access the information they need to live life meaningfully. And that's what has made it so special to be in this line of work.
Since librarian professionals are all about fostering lifelong learning, it's fitting on this occasion for me to think about what I've been learning since graduate school. I've thought a bit more about graduate school as this past January marked 5 years since I started my MLIS program, and so this time next year will mark the 5-year anniversary of my graduation.
Throughout my time studying for my MLIS, I gained new perspectives on the world through the lens of information, just as I have gained new insights in the time since graduation.
And I got a whole new perspective on what it means to be a librarian last summer.
On the evening of July 13, 2019, I pulled into the driveway of my cousins' home in Portage, MI, for a truly magical evening.
While my cousin Greg was preparing dinner, his wife Melissa instructed her young daughters Ava and Emma to give me a tour of their home.
This day was my first visit to their home, and I didn't know where anything was. But Ava and Emma, all of 6 and 3, respectively, readily showed me around the place where they live.
As I reflect on my visit that day, I realize that we all function like librarians in some respects. We all have opportunities to pass on our knowledge to those who need it, and help them use it for some purpose. Ava and Emma showed me around so I knew where to go in their house during my visit.
Following dinner, right before their bedtime, the two daughters asked me to read them a bedtime story, probably my first time ever doing so. It was an immense thrill to sit on the couch between them, and do something as simple as read them a story, part of fostering lifelong literacy skills in them.
A couple months later, I had another magical evening on Tuesday, September 17, when I started a new year of Religious Education with a new group of wonderful students. I shared about my magical July 13 evening with them. Then I connected it with my role as a catechist, how I help them encounter the God Who is so vast and mysterious like the ocean, yet tosses us floaties so we can swim in the ocean and encounter His presence through the various ways He reveals Himself to us.
It's wonderful work to help people access the information they need to live life meaningfully. And that's what has made it so special to be in this line of work.
 |
| Here we are, from left to right, Ava, me, and Emma, three librarians, enjoying a book. |
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