The Journey of Life and the Abundant Life

I once again arrive at that day that is totally unlike the other days of the calendar year for me.

The amount of well-wishes and gifts tangible and otherwise that I receive in celebration of my birthday is plenty of reason for me to consider how much of a gift that life is, and how I come to that realization because of all the people who have been part of it.

From the start, many people have given of themselves to me.  And my life has taken on a whole new dimension because of the ways I've given to others, especially in recent years.  The relationships I have built with my 225 current and former Religious Education students, and their families, speak to the power of how I've discovered who I truly am through giving of myself to invest in them.

I have written often about the impact that teaching RE has had on me, and for good reason.  The experience brings together the most significant parts of my life.  As I spend time with these middle schoolers, I'm reminded of how my middle school years truly defined me, especially in forming my understanding of faith for myself.  This aspect of personal growth and development poised me to be truly impacted by the experience of my own Confirmation, even as it happened at the beginning of my time in high school.

Every Confirmation liturgy I've attended in my time as a RE catechist stirs something inside of me, and so, in some respects, makes it an emotional experience.  Over the past month, I attended Confirmation Masses on two different Saturdays for my students.  Most were confirmed at my home parish at Ascension on February 19, and some others at nearby St. Giles Parish on the north side of Oak Park on March 12.  Both days were cold, but I could feel the fire of the Holy Spirit at work.  It was similar to the cold day of February 6 for Confirmation last year.  This year, we were back to having a Mass with a Bishop present.

In fact, on February 19, I intended to get up around 7 AM, but my body aroused me at what felt like 5 AM from the sheer excitement of what was coming that day.

As typical with other Confirmation liturgies, I really felt a sense of celebration at the Mass at 10 AM on the morning of February 19, fully aware of how much I had invested in these students to accompany them to this Kairos moment in their lives.  And it was special to join them in company with family, and also family friends, some of whom were their parents' friends from years back, now serving as Confirmation sponsors.

Bishop Birmingham celebrated the Mass that day, and he spoke eloquently in his homily about how Confirmation is meant to equip us to go out to be more fully aware of the needs of the world around us and to do our part to meet them.

It was a touching moment when I approached each student after her/his turn with Bishop Birmingham for the sacrament and acknowledged them with words of blessing.

Once Mass concluded, I felt so energized as I made the rounds to visit with the students and literally cheer them on with pom-poms.  I lingered for a long time after Mass ended until the Church was empty.  Then I stayed to pray quietly.

I was truly filled with the energy of the Holy Spirit, all the way down to my Holy Spirit socks.  

I bought them at the gift shop of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on my way back from Florida in March 2021, and this day was the first time I wore them for a Confirmation Mass.  

I also wore the same suit and tie that my grandma gave me that I wore for the first time at my Valparaiso University graduation on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013.  It's fitting for me to wear that suit because teaching RE is an important part of how I've lived out my faith experiences from college, which were crowned on that Pentecost Sunday.

I wore it again, along with the Holy Spirit socks, 3 weeks later for the Confirmation Mass at 10:30 AM at St. Giles, with 13 students from Ascension, and 5 of mine among them.  All of those who were mentors in the Confirmation preparation process at St. Giles announced the names of their students at Mass, and I was granted the honor of announcing the names of the group from Ascension.  It reminded me of how humbling it was last year when I announced the names of the students in the 2021 group.

This day was a nice opportunity to connect with the students in the Sunday 8th grade RE class, in addition to mine.  And it was great to connect with the families of the students and their family friends, too, especially those families who have older children that are former students of mine.

There was a great opening hymn for the Mass, speaking about how we're a pilgrim people and the role of the Holy Spirit in our journey.

It was a special moment when I stood before the assembly and announced the names of the Ascension group.  I was fully aware of how much I have invested in them, and the tremendous blessing they have been in my life these past few months.  I also recognized that through other parts of the Confirmation process, I was able to be present to even the Sunday students.  Different from the Mass at Ascension, as I announced each student, I included her/his saint name, which was a special touch recognizing the new stage of life they enter as confirmed Roman Catholics.

Here I am, announcing the names of the Ascension students at the first St. Giles Confirmation Mass on March 12.  This photo is courtesy of the St. Giles YouTube channel.

The celebrant was Bishop Turley, the Bishop Emeritus of Chulucanas, Peru.  He spoke so insightfully about how the Holy Spirit truly transforms us to make God known in the world as His witnesses.

As the students came to Bishop Turley one by one, I had a great view from my seat up front.  Once the Ascension students had their turn, I made the rounds to acknowledge them with words of blessing.

And once again, when Mass was over, I reveled in the atmosphere as I went around to visit with the families.  Alex, the St. Giles sacraments coordinator, invited me to lunch at the rectory, served to staff and volunteers participating in the Masses, along with Bishop Turley, Bishop Casey (the celebrant for the next Mass in the afternoon), St. Giles pastor Father Carl, and Ascension resident priest Father Rex.  It was a merry atmosphere.

When it was time for me to leave, I bade farewell to Father Rex, who remarked that he was arranging an Uber ride.  I immediately offered to drive him back to Ascension, which was on my way.  As I drove, I continued to revel in the grand experience we just had.  I reflected on how impactful my own Confirmation was in my life.  As I drove past Percy Julian Middle School, I pointed to the building shared with Father Rex about how my years as a student there defined me, directing my journey of faith to where it has led me now.

I told Father Rex I wanted to get a selfie to remember our memorable car ride back from St. Giles, and he agreed to join in a pose.

In some respects, the car ride home was as amazing as attending the Confirmation Mass itself, and provided a wonderful way to cap off the experience by reflecting on what I felt the meaning was of what we had just experienced, which was stirring in my heart, reminding me of the marvelous work God has done in my life, adding one amazing thing on top of another.

In fact, just yesterday, I gathered with the students in my class at the Lenten weekly Tuesday evening Mass held at Ascension.  It was a great follow-up to the amazing day on Saturday, seeing my students participate in the worship life of the Church.  To cap it off, my class aide got a birthday card for me, and passed it around for the students to sign.  After Mass, a group of them handed it me.  I was truly touched by the gesture, because they are a significant reason why I am celebrating with great joy today.  And I was so glad to celebrate the eve of my birthday by being with them.

Certainly, we don't have mountaintop experiences all the time in life.  Yet, I acknowledge that I can draw from these mountaintops that God is truly at work all the time in life by the power of His Holy Spirit, and how He invites me to become aware of it every day.

Truly, in the spirit of what St. Catherine of Siena said, the journey to Heaven is Heaven itself.

So on this day, as I celebrate the gift of life, I rejoice in the Abundant Life to which God has invited me to enter more deeply day by day, and how I truly experienced it, and the joy of these foretastes of Heaven I had at these Confirmation Masses.

And I give thanks that I have encountered an important part of my identity by taking from the gifts I have been given and handing them in Religious Education class on to the awesome students who are a huge blessing in my life.

The Quarter Century of Arthur

I got quite nostalgic as the PBS show Arthur came to its final episode on February 21, 2022.

I watched it for years as a kid.  The episodes had wonderful content, and were so down-to-earth in portraying real life, at home with families, at school, and out in the community, like at the fine establishment of the Sugar Bowl.  Indeed, I learned lots, like the concept of a half-birthday.  That's what kept me constantly watching it.

And I'm sure that great quality is what kept it going on TV for so long.  To think that the characters stayed the same age through the entire run gave it, in what I read in one article, a sort of eternal quality.  It's almost surprising that it reached its end.  Nevertheless, it had a great run, a show with a high number of episodes because of high quality.

In fact, I think about the episode when the Mary Moo Cow Show reaches its end as I ponder the reality that Arthur has now reached its end.

And I have so many wonderful memories of show.  Here are 25:

1. I really enjoyed the song "Having Fun isn't Hard when you've got Library Card", in "Arthur's Almost Live Not Real Music Festival", and that whole episode was really cool.

2. It was fun watching "Arthur's Family Vacation", and connecting it with some of my own vacation experiences, like a family trip to the Outer Banks.

3. There was something quaint about the episode "Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm".

4. I enjoyed jamming with the Backstreet Boys on the hourlong episode of the same title.

5. I enjoyed "Arthur's Perfect Christmas", not only seeing Arthur's observance of Christmas, but also how his friends observed Christmas, and other holidays.

6. There was something wonderful about the appearance of Mr. Rogers on the show and his interactions with Arthur, his family, and his class.

7. It was exciting to see Arthur's family travel to Washington, D.C.

8. I'll avoid spoilers of specifics, but the episode "The Return of the King" had an exciting conclusion.

9. "The Blizzard" had a heartwarming conclusion, and an exciting build-up to when the weather situation got intense.

10. When I watched "My Music Rules", I liked seeing Yo-Yo Ma, who helped the characters appreciate music.

11. I enjoyed "The Shore Thing" and all the ways the characters attempted to reach the Ocean Zone, and what they enjoyed in the process.

12. It was amazing to see the efforts of the characters to set a World Record, and how they decided to engage in teamwork to do a world record together.

13. I like the explorations they had in "The Cave".

14. I liked the conclusion of "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?" and the circumstances that led to it as Binky struggled to express his musical desires.

15. There was excitement in "Muffy Goes Metropolitan" when she traveled to Crown City.

16. It was exciting to see Arthur and his classmates stage a play for "Elwood City Turns 100!", and to get a feel for Elwood City history.  That episode also featured an appearance of Larry King in his studio.

17. It was heartwarming to see Buster's enthusiasm to embrace the Amish way of life, and how he found a great way to channel it at the end.

18. Given my geographical interests, I enjoyed the story of "Dear Adil", when Arthur corresponded with Adil in Turkey as a pen pal.

19. I was intrigued that "Big Horns George" featured Koko Taylor as a guest star, and I got jamming to that music a bit.

20. I liked the episode "Postcards from Buster", seeing the travels of Buster, his dad, and the Read family in New York City, mixed with live footage.  This episode led to a spin-off show by the same title, and I enjoyed seeing the places Buster traveled.

21. "Arthur's Birthday" was an episode that had a great, celebratory ending.

22. I liked seeing all the effort that Arthur and D.W. spearheaded to throw an appreciation party for Grandma Thora, even ending up in a crazy situation of making cake late at night.

23. I liked hearing "A Word from Holly Holland", who won a contest with an idea for an Arthur episode.  In the span of just a couple of minutes or so, we viewers got to see glimpses of her life in Canadian, OK.

24. It was amazing to see "Arthur Bounces Back" with his cool moon boots and how he put them to good use.

25. Arthur and his friends discussed ideas to create a holiday to alleviate the dreariness of winter, and I found some of them to be rather humorous.

So there are plenty of memories that will stay with me and other fans for a long time beyond its conclusion on February 21, 2022, because of so many wonderful days in Elwood City.

Annual Government Speeches Round-up for 2022

Eyes turned their attention to the US House Chamber on March 1, 2022, for President Biden's first official State of the Union Address.  The first major topic of the speech was the current situation in Ukraine, and making a clear statement of solidarity with a country that Russia unjustly attacked.  Other major topics included the response to the ongoing pandemic and the economy.  Tied into the economy was infrastructure.  He also discussed addressing the providing of quality, affordable healthcare.

I see some validity to many of his proposals to enhance the quality of life in America.  I'm pleased that he proposes funding the police, which would help address some of the problems with crime that communities face.  I also see plenty of room for debate on the best ways to address his concerns and implement the proposals.

One thing that struck me about his discussion on the response to the pandemic was that it's time to get students back in school full-time and end the temporary closure of businesses.  I feel like there were suitable ways to do so a long time ago.  His statement that it should happen now doesn't seem to carry much weight.

I was greatly displeased to hear his insistence on protecting women's right to abortion.  I think it's very questionable to say it's a constitutionally-affirmed right.  I'm also concerned about his remark that there's an onslaught of laws against transgender individuals, because those laws are intended to bring us back from going off a cliff that will cause greater harm by allowing harmful procedures on those with gender dysphoria.

He ended his speech with an optimistic tone, declaring that we're strong as a people.  I would agree with that, and I hope that going forward, we take the right steps to tap into our strength as a people.

I enjoyed listening to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds's Republican Response to the State of the Union Address.  She indicated that the Biden administration has taken ineffective steps in implementing its foreign policy agenda that has exacerbated conflicts throughout the world.  I felt that her speech had a very down-to-earth touch to it when she addressed the problems people experienced with inflation decades ago.  She also discussed that people in the USA are getting frustrated with the level of control that the Biden administration is trying to exert on the people, and citing examples of how Republican governors are taking steps to allow people to flourish.

As an aside, I have to say, I liked the backdrop of the Iowa State Capitol as she gave her remarks.  It reminded me of how earnestly I wanted to visit the capitol there when I was a kid, and how excited I was when it happened on a family road trip to Colorado.

Back on a snowy February 2, Governor Pritzker delivered the 2022 Illinois State of the State Address.  I was intrigued by the metaphor he used at the start of his speech, saying that the first sign of civilization was caring for health needs.  His remarks focused on how he intends to direct state resources and balance the budget to ensure people's needs are met, especially with healthcare and other resources like childcare.  He also proposed helping people by slashing taxes on groceries that would help mitigate the effects of inflation.  Many of his proposals have merit, and again, I think there is room for debate on how to implement them.  I was pretty displeased when he insisted on upholding abortion rights as a way of empowering women, because I firmly believe abortion doesn't empower women, and all the bills he's signed into law expanding abortion access will do more harm than good, flying in the face of the metaphor he used to start his speech.

Here's to hoping that the talking leads to good action in service to the people of Illinois and the USA as we all do our part in response to these proposals and determine the best course of action.