Thirsty

The issue of justification, simply put, what Christians must do to get to Heaven -- was the central dispute in the Reformation that split western Christianity and plunged Europe into the Thirty Years' War. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict played a key role in drawing up the Catholic-Lutheran declaration that revoked heresy charges against reformer Martin Luther and said disputes that led to the Reformation over four centuries ago were null and void. Luther, a German monk who posted his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg in 1517, held people could be saved not by faith and good works, but by faith alone. Luther was angered by the Catholic Church's teaching that good works could also lead to salvation, a view that was corrupted into the practice of selling indulgences to those seeking absolution for their sins. The 1999 statement satisfied both Lutherans and Catholics, saying that salvation is achieved through God's grace and this i...

True development cannot consist in the simple accumulation of wealth and in the greater availability of goods and services, if this is gained at the expense of the development of the masses, and without due consideration for the social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the human being. and As the Letter of Saint James pointedly reminds us: 'What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and you do not have' (James 4:1-2) On the contrary, in a different world, ruled by concern for the common good of all humanity, or by concern for the 'spiritual and human development of all' instead of by the quest for individual profit, peace would be possible as the result of a 'more perfect justice among people'. - Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern), 1987

One of many true stories from this book... Ah Kei telephoned me urgently one night begging me to look for Tony who was in desparate trouble. It was around Chinese New Year and the coldest time of year so I buttoned up tightly in order to pay a nocturnal visit to Diamond Village, the headquarters of his territory. He was sitting in a tea house with his coat collar turned up against the cold and he was shivering. Flanking him were two henchmen, obviously addicts too judging from their gaunt bodies. But as I looked at Tony's face it was not its drug-induced degeneration which shocked me but another expression altogether. He was going to die. He was resigned to it. I did not know then how he intended it to occur, but it was appalling to realize that he had it planned. He began to tell me what was going on and as I listened I looked around at the congealed spittons in the tea house. The scene was a reflection of the sordid kingdom he was preparing to relinquish. He told a st...

Just returned from the Charis retreat titled " Choosing to be Catholic ". It was structured around a book by Avery Cardinal Dulles titled "Models of the Church". I may post my talk on here at some point. I felt pretty cool because I have a couple other connections to Dulles already. We had to read some of his book in college, so I still had the book, and he was also the speaker & honorary degree recipient from my alma mater the year that I graduated, detailed here . My Dad went on retreat with 19 other men pretty early after he'd finished college and was beginning the Muncie People of Praise branch. The retreat master? Fr. Avery Dulles, before he had been upgraded directly to Cardinal by John Paul II.

New Monastics continually ponder the question of "what Jesus would look for if he came back," he said. "We cultivate a habit of expecting Jesus, of believing he is among us. Every time there's a knock at the door, he is there, because we are all part of the body of Christ." - New Monastics: Being the church A small community in Minneapolis that bears some resemblance to the People of Praise.

Last night I got to talk to my brother in Thailand on the phone for a half an hour at 3 cents per minute. He had internet access and was using a headset connected to his computer, dialing through Skype , and rang the house phone where I'm staying with the Havard's here in Mishawaka. The audio quality was no worse than any landline call you would make across the street, not choppy, no lag, no echo. Wow! He has also been using his account on Flickr to post a ton of awesome pictures from the trip. Check out the nice feature of how Flickr organizes by date the picture was taken. If you click on a particular month you even get a thumbnail for each day.

A week in the life of a PoP Community [cult] member: Sunday: The Havards were going to a later Mass but I decided to join Peter at the 9am, which meant that the homily was given by Deacon Kevin Ranaghan at St. Bavo's. Among other things, he got to share about his recent trip to Rome from an ecumenical perspective. Monday: Stayed late at work. Each day is fractionally more recognizable as a normal job concerning material that I have a slightly remote clue about. That evening I did some reading from a chapter in "Models of the Church" in preparation for a retreat in a couple weeks. Tuesday: Caught a 5:30pm Mass at a small church kinda near work, unfortunately they only have it twice a week. Home in time for a casual dinner with a couple of the kids... dinners have been very sporadic lately, arriving at the end of the baseball and softball seasons for Mark-Allen and Christine. Drove to the community men's meeting with Peter, which was half praise & worship,...

... this is what you call "vaporware": Microsoft kills WinFS project . (ps - yes, this stuff is all I have to post, despite the ups, downs, and loop de doo's of "my" life. Maybe someday soon you'll get more. Maybe not.)

From the article... : More than 1,000 people now play on dozens of different teams in this city of 185,000. When people aren't playing, they come out with barbeques and ice chests to watch those who do. It has become the closest thing the city has to a community water cooler, a town hearth, drawing different social classes and racial groups together in a place where most people stick to their respective ZIP codes and political cliques. Community! (PS- I'm now glancing at CSMonitor.com occasionally due to a comment read at, of all places, Slashdot.org. Though it's owned and managed by a Christian church, they do solid, balanced, unbiased reporting, the journalists are not Church members. In exchange for an article that is a day or two later than the initial coverage, you get a well-researched, thought-provoking article. Not just emotion-provoking. Not that the above article is an example of such, as much as it is a great idea for community-building.)

Priest to spend 10 'nights on the tiles'

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Well I been thinking about how I got here I been counting my blessings I been counting the cost and I been counting the times that you my brothers and sisters have carried my sins on your backs like a cross  - excerpt from lyrics of The Cost , by J.T. Kelly

I share a bedroom with Peter Gaffney, who graduated from ND last year. We live in the Havard household with their awesome family of six. Robert-Michael was adopted from an orphanage in Russia when he was 2; he was non-verbal at the time and he now, two years later, spouts off question after question after question, also exhibiting an incredible memory. Mark-Allen has a poker face that can burst into a goofy smile and goofier laugh with just the right amount of provocation. He's turning 10 pretty soon, and is pretty intimidating from the little league pitching mound. Christen-Marie will surrender their new puppy, Coconut, to absolutely nobody for more than a few minutes. She's at that ackward 12ish age where the tomboy gets her in the pool before everyone else, and the mother in her is beginning to make some clumsy attempts to direct her younger brothers. Katie-Ann is a soft-spoken piano player who just completed her first non-homeschool year, an 8th grader at Trinity Sch...

And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. ( Shakespeare ) People of Praise Community Underway Agreements A person who comes underway agrees to live the life of the community and to be formed in its ways. An underway member makes the following commitments: To attend regularly the weekly meeting of the community. To attend the basic teaching courses of the community: CFS I, CFS II, Authority and Obediance Talks, Servant School, Covenant Talks and others as may be added. To contribute at least 5% of your gross income to support the life and work of the community. To participate in a men's or women's group. If you are single and have not made a good state in life decision, to pray through your state in life, with the community's guidance, and to refrain from dating until you do so. To participate in a community service -- normally four hours a week. To have your children participate in youth activities. To be headed, at least in the a...

While I'm figuring out what planet I'm on, go visit my brother in his study abroad program. He is sharing photos of the experience of it here . I'm jealous! Then maybe sometime in the next week or so I'll be able to share my own experiences. Perhaps not quite as exciting at first glance, it is an understatement for me to say I'm excited.

So, this week. I really should do this month, not this week, but that would take a lot longer. Saturday 5/6 Left Muncie @ 5:15AM after 2 hours of sleep, heading towards Indianapolis with my Dad and brother-in-law , picking up a few other guys on the way, and braving the Indy Mini! A half marathon, 13.1 miles, which my Dad still beat me like he did 2 years ago, but this time by only 2 minutes instead of 10 minutes (his time: 1:46, mine: 1:48). And here are the pics of me and my 'fro. The three of us spent the rest of the day patting ourselves on the back and enjoying the family back home. ( Kugel with dinner!) Greg left for his study abroad program this upcoming Tuesday morning, a semester in various Asian countries. Sunday 5/7 Slept in, Mass w/ the fam, eventually headed up to South Bend to have dinner with the Havard's who I'll start living with in a few days, so good to get a bit more face time with them. Four kids plus another guy a bit younger than me also l...

.. I wrote this. Magnify everything (except for the emptiness) by ten times. It was my last commute by train from Chicago towards my apartment in Indiana. Now I'm at the last week or so as a Chicago local, and this week will be entirely insufficient. slightly burning ripping tearing a subtle sensation i've not recently felt i sit now in emptiness with few other passengers already missing them already yearning the ache sure affirms my slight aspiration to forge real connections to seek that close union not with simply one girl not with a best man but with fellow wanderers of whom there are so many no qualifications no set of suggestions if only i see you then know you i want to

In a little over a week, I enter into household life in the People of Praise, living with a family of six plus another guy near my age who I'll be rooming with. In a little over a week, I begin a high-skilled job consisting of a skill I studied fractionally in college and not since then. That's it, in a nutshell. These past few weeks have been a flurry interviews, trying to stay out of jail, abetting my patient landlord, falling out of contact with some, falling into contact with others... Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – And that it may take a very long time. And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually – let them grow, let them shape themselves, witho...

Change is upon me. Here for this , soon. Man always travels along precipices. His truest obligation is to keep his balance. - JP2