THE HEART OF A SEMINARIAN

A Roman Catholic Seminarian opens up his Heart and shares the Faith he Loves.

SPIRITUAL RETREAT - (FATHER/CHILD RELATIONSHIP)

In my postings on prayer, I gave some different insights on ways to improve your prayer and strengthen your relationship with God.  (If you want to read those postings on prayer, then just go to the archive section and click on prayer).  In my future postings, I will share with you my personal experiences during my 8 day silent retreat.  Through these experiences, I hope you can learn more about prayer and even more about me.

 On each day of the retreat, they gave us scripture to pray over and a particular grace to ask for.  Within these days, we were to pray 4 Holy Hours, attend Mass, go to Spiritual Direction, and go to a conference, too.  On the first day, the grace that we were to ask for was “To be generous and to receive a new inner taste of Your love for me, Lord.”  During my first hour of prayer, I read this grace and my eyes just rolled as I said “Come on, this is stupid.”  I wanted to just do my own thing and skip this, but I decided to use the tips that were taught to us.  I acknowledged that my reaction to the words “Your love for me” was that of annoyance and that I thought it was stupid.  Before I would have ignored this feeling, but now I asked myself “Why” I felt that way.  The truth of the matter is that I felt this way, because I already know that God loves me and this is for those people who do not know that God loves them. What I did not realize is that there were deeper issues in myself.

On a side note, many people do not have a perception of God as a loving and forgiving God who desires the greatest happiness for you.  Many times they view God with characteristics like their real father.  Some see God as a father who is hard to please or never satisfied or judgmental or a tyrant, etc.  So if someone has this past experience with their father, then their view of God will reflect this.  How do you view your dad and do you see common characteristics with God.  For example, I often view God as one who jokes around with me a lot in my life like when my back window of my car was busted by a bowling ball.  The thing is that this characteristic is a reflection of what I see in my relationship with my father.  So be aware when talking others about a relationship with God, because their problems with God probably are a result of their relationship with their father.

 I will end it on that note, because there are a lot of things to write.  As a result, these reflections will continue in future posts and next time I will talk about how this feeling of annoyance became the biggest insight into the problem in my spiritual life.  As a review the rolling eyes and annoyance was level 1 (surface) and the view of God is at level 2 (psychological).

posted by: muniz at 23:33 | link | comments |
prayer

SAINT JOHN PAUL THE GREAT SOON? 

The cause for the canonization of the late pontiff began Tuesday, June 28.  This process takes many steps.  On Tuesday, all the officials involved take an oath to keep their proceedings secret and not accept "any type of gift" that might corrupt the process.  The investigation is headed by the Rev. Giuseppe D'Alonzo, the promoter of justice in the Diocese of Rome who is to investigate any possible doubts about the late pontiff's saintliness.  Previously, the promoter of justice was known as the “Devil’s Advocate”. From an article in the Dallas News:

D'Alonzo said the "promoter of justice" fulfills the same task as the devil's advocate, which is to raise objections and seek clarification about a candidate's virtues.  "My job is to try help the judge to find justice, help him dissipate any possible doubts on the person, any difficulties in the cause," he said. "I ask questions about weak points that I have to try to clarify for the cause so it can proceed."

Once the cause officially opens, two theological experts will gather all of John Paul's published works from before he was pope to determine if they are theologically sound. Meanwhile, a historical commission will gather all of John Paul's non-published works, including letters, manuscripts and personal notes he wrote, to document his life. They will also gather letters, articles, books and other documents written about him -- both pro and con -- including letters and e-mails sent to the diocese in recent weeks testifying about his saintliness.

D'Alonzo and the judge in the case, Monsignor Gianfranco Bella, will then begin interviewing witnesses.  If during this process a report of a miracle is deemed worthy of further investigation, officials will consult with doctors or scientists to determine if there is a medical explanation for the supposed miraculous cure.

Once all the material is gathered, the Diocese of Rome turns the case over to the Vatican 's Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which appoints other theological and religious commissions to study the case and make a final report to the pope, who must decide if John Paul has lived in a "heroic" way human and Christian virtues.

If the Vatican then confirms a miracle has occurred after John Paul's death thanks to his intercession, he can be beatified. A second miracle is needed for him to be made a saint.

posted by: muniz at 17:31 | link | comments |

NEWS AND NOTES  

·        The last two days of class were taught by Catholic Superstar “Christopher West”.  He is the best speakers on the late Pope’s “Theology of the Body.”  In this writing by JPII, he lays out the meaning of marriage, sex, and what it means to be male and female.  If you ever get a chance to listen to him speak, please do not pass up the opportunity.  Check him out at www.christopherwest.com.  I totally endorse him and the “Theology of the Body”, not because that is what we have to believe.  No, this is totally on the mark and Christopher West has a special gift to be able to speak about it on a normal person’s level.  Trust me about this, you will thank me later.

·        I have some very good news for myself.  I am flying home for the Fourth of July weekend.  It will be nice to go back and see my family again.  His will be especially nice because I am able to attend my Aunt and Uncle’s BBQ on Saturday.  This will be my first one in at least 5 years. 

·        In a side note, our family has a very intense Washers Tournament every year at the BBQ.  It is so intense that even my 85 year old Grandma gives evil looks and trash talks (no joke – Mom if you are reading this back me up on this claim).  Last time I attended in 2000, I won the tourney and coincidentally I found my tires slashed when I tried to leave by what looked like my Grandma’s cake knife.  Ok, I am joking about the tires, but not about winning and definitely not about Grandma.

·        Saturday, I went to Game 1 for the Championship of the College World Series between Texas and Florida .  What a great day that was!  It was a scorcher that day, but luckily I wore sunscreen and did not get burnt.  If you watched the game, then you might have seen me in the right field bleachers; I was the bright white body that the sun was glaring off of.  Anyway, it was pitched amazingly by Texas and they deserved the Championship.

·        This past week, I have played so much basketball, racquetball, soccer, and even ultimate Frisbee (it is ok even though you can’t hit anybody).  With lifting weights on top of that, my body is worn down, but sadly I still won’t stop.  I just love it.

·        I would like everyone to say a prayer for 6 youths from my parish that are spending 5 days at a retreat for Catholic Leadership Training.  These kids are awesome and they give me great hope for the future of our Church.   

·        Next Sunday’s scripture (Zechariah  9, Psalms 145, Romans 8, Matthew 11)

·        Question:  How do I get my picture to show up by my profile?

      What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 22:34 | link | comments |

A TRUE ORTHODOX CATHOLIC

In this blog, I try to give everyone a true sense of the Catholic Church and about true faith in Christ our Lord.  A lot of times, I use this forum to teach, because that is what I love to do, but there are other times that I need to just speak out.  And today is one of those days, because I am just feed up. 

 

PAST

What does it mean to be a true orthodox Catholic Christian?  When I was in high school, I would go to a protestant youth group, because there were none at our Catholic Church.  At this youth group, they would go to the local abortion clinic to protest, but I would refuse to go.  I would refuse to go, because every week I would hear boastful stories of clever insults that were yelled at the people walking into the clinic.  They thought they were so pious by their defense of life which contained the weapons of verbal assaults.  It still infuriates me to even think back about it.  THOSE HYPOCRITES! Where is the charity?  Those are real people walking in there with real problems.  Do they actually think that they are doing what Jesus would do?  No, they only view people as either “us or them”. 

 

ANALOGY

To them Christianity is like being in a boat at sea.  The non-Christians, non-saved, or enemies of the faith are drowning in the sea away from the boat.  They like many Christians (Catholics too), view evangelization as yelling at the drowning person saying “Hey, you need to be in the boat.”  But if they are truly a Christian, then they would be evangelizing by jumping out of the boat to save them.  Yes, they risk losing the security of the boat and they may drown, but there is no need for fear of such for Christ said that if you have faith then you can even walk on water.  Evangelization takes a lot of work and a lot of risks, but that is the only correct way to do it.

 

PRESENT

Now, those hypocrites have come back in a new form under the guise of Catholic Orthodoxy.  In the past year especially, I have seen this come in full force and to make it even worse they get praised for it.  You need not look any further than the last election where many blog postings and homilies took aim at John Kerry.  I have heard many priests and deacons speak of people getting so mad that they walked right out of the Mass.   They would acclaim “You should have seen them huffing and puffing as they walked out of the church.  Obviously, the truth hurts and they couldn’t stand it.”  They would brag about it like it was some badge of honor.  If they are all about the truth, then they should face the fact those people left not because they preached the truth, but because they were being jerks. Oh, then there were the Catholic postings on blogs, where they would demean and degrade John Kerry.  Again they would tell jokes and make insults about the man; if a person was offended by it, then they must not be able to handle the truth.  Again the badge of honor was the verbal barring of Kerry vs. Bush arguments.  And this is all in the name of the almighty Catholic Orthodoxy or I should say the misuse of it.

 

NO CHARITY

The problem is that even though the defense of the unborn should be our highest priority and John Kerry should follow his Catholic belief, it does not give right to act without charity.  Imagine spending your life fighting for a cause that is noble and backed by the Catholic Church and now being told that you are to not vote for the candidate who supports your cause, because he is pro-abortion.  Even though that person morally should do that, it does not make it any easier to obey.  There are life long Democrats that have to wrestle with this dilemma.  The bottom line is that good people went through a difficult time during the election and they deserved a little more compassion.  This was not a time for you to show off your tough hard line Orthodox preaching.  It was a time to teach with a sympathetic heart for those who it might be difficult for. 

 

In regards to John Kerry, even though he is wrong on the issues of life, it does not mean people have a right to insult him or his supporters in the name of Catholic Orthodoxy.  Even though the supporter’s intents or the views of priority are misguided on the life issue, the supporters are all people wanting to do what they think is best and right for the people too.  They should be respected for their passion for their country, not insulted for supporting John Kerry.  In regards to John Kerry, if you want to argue about the man, then stick to the issue of life.  Why in Catholic Orthodoxy are people degrading his whole campaign, when the problem is based largely on one issue?  The man has done a lot of good things for his country, which does not deserve orthodox Catholics treating him without charity.

 

THE PROBLEM

The bigger problem is that people cannot speak up against this without being labeled a “liberal”.  All of a sudden, I am either pro-choice or so weak that I cannot stand up to the opposition of the Catholic Church.  Because they question the faith of these Catholic faithful who oppose the tactics of these Orthodox Catholics, you find many of these people jumping on this bandwagon of uncharitable evangelization due to them not wanting to be criticized.  When I was in high school and when people would call those people hypocrites (which is the same attitude today), they would simply say “Well, Jesus said that they would hate us for preaching the gospel.” No, they hate you because you are a self-centered and egotistical person who cares more about image of the delivery of the message, than the reception of the message.  Evangelization to me is based on a quote by John Paul the Great which states “The heart of evangelization is charity.”  Now, that is an Orthodox Catholic.  The truth is that some have the ability to preach to the people and others can only preach to the choir.

 

THE FUTURE

More than a desire, I wish to be a voice that would hold these people accountable.  I wish to be a voice that people would trust to honest and fair.  I wish to be a voice that is never without charity.  I wish to show the world what it is to be a TRUE ORTHODOX CATHOLIC.

 

NOTE

What do you want to know more about or want my opinion on?  I love for your participation.  Most of all, I am open to your comments and feelings.  If you disagree, then that is fine.  I would love to hear your side of the argument.  We both have not reached the destination, but to do so we need each others help.  So if I ever am wrong or do something wrong, then let me know.  If I am, then you can expect me to correct it, admit it, and apologize for it.  I am not perfect and I am a sinner, so I ask you to hold me accountable too.  Thank you.

 

posted by: muniz at 09:56 | link | comments (1) |

A.R.R.R.

In the past posts, the key aspects of prayer have been discussed like the need to converse with God like a real person, to enter into prayer with a desire to pray and listen to Him, and to identify the areas of your thoughts, feelings, and desires (TFD).   By improving these aspects of prayer, the love between you and God will grow immensely.  Your love for God will grow and your realization of God’s love for you will grow too.   I just love this scripture from Hosea 11: 1-4; where you are his loved child that ran away, but he still cared for you and helped you although you never knew God was there.  In our lives, we sometimes think that God only loves us when we are at our high points, but God loves us through all the lows and the times that we abandoned Him.  In order to grow in love like any relationship, it must have mutual self-revelation.  

To help develop your relationship with God, your prayer can be aided with this simple formula A.R.R.R.

A. – ACKNOWLEDGE

R. – RELATE

R. – RECEIVE

R. – RESPOND 

 

ACKNOWLEDGE

·        Notice and admit the (TFD) or even the sensations in the body.

·        Identify what circumstances and levels of the heart are involved.

·        Pay attention to what “spirit” is at work. 

 

RELATE

·        Talk to God about the (TFD) or sensation in the body.

·        Be completely straightforward with God.  Don’t hide anything from God and tell God exactly how you feel.  If you are angry, even hurt, or any other emotion, then tell Him.  This is the only way you can find healing and growth in your relationship.

·        Tell God about the circumstances and ask God what “spirit” is at work.  Read 1 John 4: 1-6.  Talk to God like He was not there. Tell Him the details of what is happening and what you are feeling. 

 

RECEIVE

·        Let God love you in and around whatever it is you have acknowledged and related.

·        Realize that you are not alone in this experience.

·        Be patient with yourself.

·        Receiving is not passive. 

 

RESPOND

·        Having received God’s love around the (TFD), now choose how to respond to Him (not the feeling).

·        Are you going to respond:

-         in gratitude

-         by saying a new “Yes” like Mary

-         with a resolution

-         by renouncing lies (like I need to leave the seminary)

For example, if you go to bed mad at someone, do not occupy your thoughts on what you should have said.  Instead, take it to God and tell God what you are feeling.  After that be able to receive from God his gifts and answers and also make the changes necessary.  Also, just as it is important not to look back on situations with would of’s and should of’s, it is equally as important not get looking to the future in your fantasies (like me being interviewed on Oprah because they chose me as the best seminarian around).  Finally, this can be used for all types of prayer.  You can relate your (TFD) of your day or your (TFD) during the rosary or your (TFD) from reading about the saints or even your (TFD) from you reading the scriptures.  [You can use scriptures many different ways.  You can ask yourself the lesson in it, you can put yourself as a witness or character in the story, or you can meditate on the thoughts and feelings of God in those situations.]  I hope this helps you on your journey.  Just remember to try to let God be a part of every aspect of your life.  Don’t just try to do it on your own.  By the way, the pirate is me joking around with the sounds of the letters “ARRR”. 

posted by: muniz at 22:44 | link | comments |
prayer

NEWS AND NOTES

·        My brother made a visit to Omaha , Ne. to visit me on his way to Reno, Nv .  It was great to see him again as we had some great Omaha Steaks.

 ·        Classes were great again here at IPF.  Friday, we had couples speak on NFP.  This made me realize how well trained the guys from Kenrick Seminary really are in the area of sexuality.    

 ·        Friday night, I saw the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  It was very entertaining.  I just can’t believe that I went to the movies 2 weeks in a row.

 ·        Saturday, I made a failed attempt to go to the College World Series.  Maybe next week.

 ·        Next Sunday’s scripture (2 Kings 4, Psalms 89, Romans 6, Matthew 10)

 ·        What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 21:31 | link | comments (1) |

EXAMPLES OF THE LEVELS OF THE HEART

In prayer, it is important to be are of all your thoughts, feelings, and desires (TFD).  These can help you become more aware of the God’s direction for you.  In the future, I will go through my personal experiences in my retreat to give you further examples of the levels of the heart and real life changes in my life due to the awareness of (TFD). Until then, here are some other examples of situations that deal with multiple levels of the heart. 

In review of the levels:

Level I – (TFD) that are on the surface.

Level II – (TFD) that are more psychological based.

Level III – (TFD) that are more spiritual based.

 These examples can differ from person to person.

1) Volunteering at a hospital.

Level I – Some may go to the hospital feeling tired or feeling that they do not want to go (desolation – negative).

Level II – Some may feel happy, because they enjoy meeting new people and hopefully making them feel better.  When talking to older people, I am happy, because it reminds me of talking to my grandparents (consolation – positive).

Level III – Some may feel really good, because I feel like I am doing God’s work (consolation).

2) Becoming a stronger Christian.

Level I – Some may feel very happy (smiling more) or relieved like they have an extra bounce in their step (consolation).

Level II – Some may feel depressed or emotionally hurt, because family or friends do not support their new change in their life.  They may even lose close friends due to this change (desolation).

Level III – Some may feel great, because they are growing closer to God (consolation).

3) Having premarital sex

Level I – Some may feel great (you get the idea, consolation).

Level II – Some may feel great, powerful, and manly (consolation).

Level III – Some may feel empty inside and feeling farther away from God (desolation).

4) Breaking up with someone

Level I – Some may feel bad or even cry (desolation).

Level II – Some may feel depressed, because they are all alone again (desolation).

Level III – Some may feel angry at God, because they feel that God does not want them to be happy (desolation).

Important to remember is that consolation at Level III does not mean that you are doing God’s will.  A man blowing up an abortion clinic may feel consolation like he is doing God’s work, but actually going away from God.  It is important to know your (TFD) and the level that they are on.  Also, you need to examine if this action is in line with the work of God because the devil can take your consolation and desolations and twist them for his own plan.  Finally, when it comes to the voices, usually the Holy Spirit is patient and the evil spirit is quick.  For example, many at the seminary hear a voice telling them to leave in the middle or beginning of the semester.  This is 99% from the evil spirit.  If it was from the Holy Spirit, the voice in this example would not be pressing, but steady and the desire would grow from inside.

posted by: muniz at 20:51 | link | comments (2) |
prayer

First of all, I want to tell you that the next 2 weeks are very busy, but I do have a couple free hours available.  As a result, if something comes up, then the postings take a back seat.  The continuation on prayer will happen soon.  Today, I will share with you an article I read on Foxnews.com and WebMD.com on education of abstinence only vs. contraception to teens.

ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION FOR YOUTH   

A recent study shows that a student with one year of “abstinences only” education classes have a more negative view of sex outside marriage than other students that are taught contraception.  Here are two quotes in another article, which is also linked to the first one, about sex classes.  The highlight is done by me for emphasis.

“To advocates of the abstinence-only approach, these disturbing statistics make it abundantly clear that a simple message of "no sex outside of marriage" for teens is the only appropriate one for educators to take. "The responsibility of a public institution serving kids is risk avoidance, not harm reduction," says Peter Brandt, President of the National Coalition for Abstinence Education in Colorado Springs and the parent of two twenty-somethings. "Schools teach 'no smoking' and 'no drinking.' They don't say 'if you smoke, use a filter' or 'if you drink and drive, wear your safety belt.' Why should sex be treated differently?"”

 Amen to that!!!  I believe that if you set expectations for people, then they will achieve it.  We can not go on thinking that kids are bound to fail, so let’s just give them a way out.  If culture perception is to change about sex, then the way we teach and present sex needs to change, which is sex is for marriage only.  On the other side of the coin, Planned Parenthood says:

 “To advocates of an approach that includes contraception information, the answer to this question is easy. "Unlike smoking, which is always bad for you, sexual behavior is a basic human need which can be a positive experience -- although it requires maturity and responsibility," says Michael McGee, vice president for education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York City and the father of two teenagers. When it comes to prohibiting or limiting information about contraception, McGee says, "pregnancy and STDs are not something teens should be ignorant about preventing. I think it is morally irresponsible to deprive young people of information that can save their lives."”

 For one thing, sexual behavior is not a basic human need; it is a human desire, which can be controlled and directed.  I never heard of anyone dying due to lack of sex.  Also, they claim that abstinence teaching is depriving people of information that could save lives, but the truth is that contraception is not totally effective at saving lives unlike the 100% reliability of abstinence.  What do you think?

posted by: muniz at 22:44 | link | comments |

NEWS AND NOTES

·        In the prayer postings, I stated that scripture would be very helpful to use as an aid as you pray about how God wants you to live your life.  As I began reading the Bible, I only read a chapter a day and prayed over it.  So this is a little tip and assistance in that if you are interested.  Every Monday, I will post the next Sunday’s readings for Mass so you can either copy them down or just read it on the Web.  Let us say that you do decide to read a chapter a day, then you can use these for 4 days.  The other 3 days could be decided by just picking a book from the Bible that you would like to read.  How does that sound?

·        Also in the prayer postings, I stated that the lives of the saints would be very helpful to use as an aid as you pray.  So when I post something on the saints in the future, I will attempt to write a little reflection of my own for my own good and to share with you. Again, how does that sound?

·        I was on an 8 day silent retreat this past week.  It was great, which I will write more about in the future. 

·        I just want to encourage all of you to try to go on retreats of your own.  There are many weekend retreats that are offered like Cursillo for adults or TEC for teens.  Really pray about it, because it is a great way to get yourself centered back to Christ.

·        How else can I help with your prayer life?

·        I saw Star Wars III on Friday.  I am not a huge Star Wars guy, but that was an awesome movie.  It made me want to see the original 3 again.

·        Final news, I found out my assignment for my internship/pastoral year.  I will be in Nokomis, IL . 

• Mass Readings: Jeremiah 20, Psalms 69, Romans 5, and Matthew 10.

posted by: muniz at 20:19 | link | comments |

A CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE HEART

Previously in our discussions on prayer (PRAYER-A CONVERSATION WITH GOD), we talked about prayer not simply being a recitation of memorized prayers, petitions/requests, study, report of your day, or especially an item on your checklist of things to do for God, but a sharing of your whole self (thoughts, feelings, and desires) in a personal conversation with God to strengthen our relationship with Him.  Also (A PRAYER OF DESIRE), we talked about going into prayer with a desire to talk to God and especially to listen to Him.  It is amazing how much better a prayer can be with having an expectation that God will respond.

 Before my retreat, I suggested that in this week of prayer that you keep track of all your thoughts, feelings, and desires (for now on I will call it TFD) that arose in your prayer.  With the Christian Anthropology of the Heart, you can determine which level those thoughts, feelings, and desires (TFD) coming from.  By determining the level of your (TFD), you can properly discern the message God is giving you.  In every situation, you can find evidence of all three levels.

 The image is three hearts inside each other like a bulls eye but hearts.  The outer heart is level I, then level II, then level III, and finally a small circle in the middle which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

 LEVEL I 

 This is simply your surface (TFD).  For example, if someone cuts you off in traffic, then you might respond with a feeling of anger.  Or let us say that your computer crashes, then you might have the thought of throwing it out the window.  Or finally, if you step outside in the rain, then you feel wet.  These are all (TFD) that are only temporary and do not really say who you are.

 LEVEL II

  This is fundamentally psychological (TFD), which has psychological consolations (positives) and psychological (negatives).  This can be influenced by family relationships, ethnic temperaments, DNA, Sexual desires, deep moods, and cultural assumptions.  Overall, this will cause either pleasure or pain.  For example, I once ate at a restaurant with a kid who spilt his drink on the table.  His reaction was apologetic and fearful, but I told him not to worry and get a new one.  The key is that his reaction was based on his experience with his father who would have yelled at him.  Also, people who are German might feel that things have to be organized all the time and Italians might show anger very easily.  Finally in my life, every time I hear that dinner will be serving Chicken ‘n Dumplings or Rhubarb; I immediately smile, because I think about eating it at my grandma’s house.  I hope this is clear. There are so many more types of examples to give, but not enough time.

 LEVEL III

  This is fundamentally spiritual, which has spiritual consolations and spiritual desolations.  This is your experiences of God, which you can feel close to God or far away from God.  In our spiritual life, we hear different voices directing us, which is either from God or the Devil.  In prayer, we must be able to determine the guidance of God and the lies of the Devil. This is called the discernment of the spirits (Holy or Evil).  For example of level III, you might feel consolation by going to church or helping someone out or you could feel desolation when you are committing a sin.  In discerning the spirits, I personally face it in the seminary.  When I hear the voice saying “You should not be here or you need to leave now.”  I must determine where that is coming from.  Maybe you want to do more at church, but a voice keeps saying “You shouldn’t, because you are not holy or you are too busy.”  The tough times is when you here the voice saying “You should quit your job and do something else.”  That is difficult, because it could be either one.

 CONCLUSION

By distinguishing the level of your (TFD), you can better understand the direction God is pointing you too and better determine the source of the voice.  In prayer, keep track of the (TFD) that you have and work on determining which level they are on.  Tomorrow, I will continue the Christian Anthropology of the Heart with more examples that will intertwine the levels and the discernment.  Please, if there are any questions or confusions, just ask.  What I want most is for this to make sense. 

posted by: muniz at 12:20 | link | comments |
prayer

EXTREME MAKEOVER: SEMINARIAN EDITION

As a part of the IPF program, I am starting tonight on an 8 day silent retreat using St Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises.  As a rule for this retreat, they have asked everyone to refrain from any technology like computers, phones, and radio.  So my next post will be on Saturday, June 11.

 

This retreat for me will be like an Extreme Makeover for my spiritual life.  Actually, a good show to compare it to is Organized Living.  In many peoples’ lives, they are extremely busy and don’t have time to organize their stuff.  Due to this, so many homes have that room that people seem to throw things in.  It might be somewhat organized, but their busy life prohibits them from straightening it out.  In the show, you see an expert come in and spend a number of days with the people.  The expert helps them figure out what is the junk or not necessary, works through detachment issues or issues of the past, and develops a plan for the future.  In the same way, I will have my spiritual life reorganized with a help of a spiritual director that I will meet daily.  I will get rid of the junk, work on issues of my past that might inhibit my spiritual life or growth, and develop a plan for the future.  Please pray for me and the other seminarians and priests on this retreat.  

 

While I am gone, use these next 8 days to continue to work on your prayer.  As an assignment, I want you to keep track in your conversations with God all of your thoughts, feelings/emotions, sensations in your body, and desires.  In all that you talk to God about, can describe what is going on in your head or what you are feeling?  By doing this, it will be an easy transition into the next part of prayer that I will talk about.  Here is an example in regards to prayer about my retreat.  Thought:  I am looking forward to this retreat. Also, my spiritual life is not as strong as I want it to be.  Feeling:  I feel nervous and anxious about the retreat, but disappointed and aggravated at my own spiritual life.  Desire: I want to strengthen and improve my spiritual life. Plus, I want to be an imitation of Christ.  Feelings in the Body:  When thinking about the retreat, my body gets energized.  When thinking of my spiritual life, I hit my fists together (not hard) in aggravation.  I hope this helps.  Thank you.

posted by: muniz at 22:48 | link | comments |

DEATH OF BLAKE FISCHER

Back in December, a 15 year boy named Blake Fischer was found drowned to death in a creek in Collinsville, IL .  Blake was a member of my hometown parish and in Junior High he came to the Catholic youth group, which I help out with.  For the past six months, Police have been trying to determine the cause of his drowning.  Recently, news came out that the drowning was caused by the young man taking 15-16 antidepressants.  Since the news was announced, a comment was made posing this question: