We had a retreat at Our Lady of Angels in Allen for juniors and seniors in high school, and it was one of the coolest retreats I have ever seen. Matthew our newest TOBET intern, Hilary, Elizabeth, and I had a great time. Matthew and Hilary gave the intro talks about Theology of the Body, and Elizabeth and I gave the masculinity and femininity talk. The talks went really well, and it was great to see their faces when they realized what we were saying was true. They knew it was true, but they had never heard it expressed that way.
What made the retreat really cool was that the guys and girls split up for about four hours and the guys got to go play paintball, while the girls played laser tag and ate ice cream. I was so excited about paintball, and it really helped to get the guys to bond as men. Now, we meet with some of the students every Wednesday for a Theology of the Body study group. It is open to all high school juniors and seniors, but it is really exciting to see some of the students wanting to learn more, and even wanting to spread it to their peers. This is what it is all about.
If you are reading this please pray for these young men and women. They are our future.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Down to Old San Antone
This weekend TOBET led a middle school retreat in San Antonio. It was fantastic!!! There were about a hundred students from different youth groups around the San Antonio area. Lives were changed! It was great to see these kids come to the truth, and I could tell that they knew it was true.
Bishop Oscar Cantu of the San Antonio Diocese came by and spoke to the students for a little while, and then he stayed to watch Monica do her first talk. I think he was pleased with the program. My favorite part of his talk was when he pointed out that we had two ears and only one mouth. He went on to say that God probably did this to remind us that we should listen twice as much as we speak. I had never thought about that, and it went perfectly with our Theology of the Body Retreat.
After Monica, I gave my talk on holiness, and it went very well. Thank you Jesus! Then Hilary gave her talk on how the body reveals God. She also did great. My favorite part of the day was actually when we split the boys and the girls. I was obviously with the boys, and Monica wanted me to talk to them about how I had sometimes been in class, and I would sometimes think about what I would do if someone with a gun came into the room. I posted a blog about it a few weeks ago. I had not expected them to have started to think about situations like that, but to my surprise they all said that they had. I actually laughed when one said "All the time!" God continues to amaze me.
That was probably the safest room there.
Bishop Oscar Cantu of the San Antonio Diocese came by and spoke to the students for a little while, and then he stayed to watch Monica do her first talk. I think he was pleased with the program. My favorite part of his talk was when he pointed out that we had two ears and only one mouth. He went on to say that God probably did this to remind us that we should listen twice as much as we speak. I had never thought about that, and it went perfectly with our Theology of the Body Retreat.
After Monica, I gave my talk on holiness, and it went very well. Thank you Jesus! Then Hilary gave her talk on how the body reveals God. She also did great. My favorite part of the day was actually when we split the boys and the girls. I was obviously with the boys, and Monica wanted me to talk to them about how I had sometimes been in class, and I would sometimes think about what I would do if someone with a gun came into the room. I posted a blog about it a few weeks ago. I had not expected them to have started to think about situations like that, but to my surprise they all said that they had. I actually laughed when one said "All the time!" God continues to amaze me.
That was probably the safest room there.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Unveiling Reality
The Revolution is on its way. Thursday night we had Unveiling Reality at Stephen F. Austin University, and about 77 students came out for the event. It was AWESOME!!! Unveiling Reality is an introduction to Theology of the Body. We give a presentation and afterwards ask people to join the Theology of the Body study groups.
Everyone who prepared for Unveiling Reality did great. Jason and Amanda worked wonderfully together, and kept everything running smoothly. All of the speakers did great, and all of the volunteer students from SFA helped so much. What was really exciting was that after the event 51 students signed up for the study groups. That’s two-thirds of all the students there. I think that is the highest percentage of people who went to Unveiling Reality and signed up for the study groups. Also, I recently heard that 17 more students have signed up for the study groups. God is really opening people’s hearts. Thank you Lord!
Thanks for all of your prayers.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Fight or Flight
What would you do if a guy came into a room with a gun? Most men would say they would fight to defend everyone else. No offense to woman, but I think they would say they would be out of there in a hurry.
Ladies, did you know most guys think about this every once in a while? I remember being in class at Texas State and plan what I would do if a guy came in with a gun. I would hum the mission impossible song and decide which aisle of chairs I would sneak behind until I could tackle the imaginary gunner. If I happened to get shot in my rescue attempt then so be it. I would somehow save the day. Luckily I could easily reimagine another scenario where I did not get shot and still feel good about myself.
Trust me when I say that I am not the only guy that has done this. Men want to be the hero and risk their lives for others. We want adventure. This desire shows that we are meant to protect and provide for others. It is a part of who we are as men. Ladies, please let us be men. Men, don't forget who you are.
Ladies, did you know most guys think about this every once in a while? I remember being in class at Texas State and plan what I would do if a guy came in with a gun. I would hum the mission impossible song and decide which aisle of chairs I would sneak behind until I could tackle the imaginary gunner. If I happened to get shot in my rescue attempt then so be it. I would somehow save the day. Luckily I could easily reimagine another scenario where I did not get shot and still feel good about myself.
Trust me when I say that I am not the only guy that has done this. Men want to be the hero and risk their lives for others. We want adventure. This desire shows that we are meant to protect and provide for others. It is a part of who we are as men. Ladies, please let us be men. Men, don't forget who you are.
I didn’t really hum in class, but you know that was the safest classroom on campus.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Power of Prayer
This past weekend I witnessed a miracle. Can I prove it? Well...no I really can't, but I have this powerful feeling of peace that tells me it was more than a coincidence. In G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy he wrote, "For the more complicated seems the coincidence, the less it can be a coincidence. If snowflakes fell in the shape, say, of the heart of Midlothian, it might be an accident. But if snowflakes fell in the exact shape of the maze at Hampton Court, I think one might call it a miracle." Well, I know I didn't see any snowflakes in the shape of the maze at Hampton Court in central Texas. To see a snowflake in central Texas, during the hottest summer in recorded history, would be a miracle. But I know that prayer saved a man’s life, and this is what happened.
I went camping with the Fellowship of Catholic University Student or FOCUS group in Canyon Lake. We had a great time just hanging out as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we stayed up till about three in the morning. I had wanted to go back home, sleep in my bed and be with my family a little longer, because I had to come back to Dallas that same day. I told them I was leaving, and one of my friends asked if I could give him a ride to his house. I said "sure", and we left the campsite at about three in the morning.
There are two ways to get to San Marcos from Canyon Lake. You can go through New Braunfels and Interstate 35 which is safest, or you can go through the hill country on Ranch Road 12 which is dark, windy, full of deer, and has drop offs, but it is much faster. I asked my friend which way he wanted to go. He said he didn't care, so I am sure you can guess which way we went.
My friend asked if I wanted to pray a rosary, and I said "Yeah! But you lead it, because I want to concentrate on the road." He agreed, and we began the Joyful Mysteries. We began the fifth mystery, and we passed the turn that goes to Wimberley. We started entering a construction zone, and I saw a car about fifty yards away coming towards us. There were not many cars on Ranch Road 12 at 3:30 in the morning, so any car that passed seemed like they had there brights on, and I was preparing for the car to pass. Then I see the car turn to its left, and as we got closer my friend said "Hey, I think we should help that guy out." I looked at the car and realized there was not a turn there, and the car was off the road. I slowed down to pull off the road, and I ran over something. It turned out to be the guy’s right car door. We got out to see if he was okay, but we were so calm from praying the rosary, and deep down we knew he was fine. We got to his car, and the right side was totaled. The guy came out, and he only had a small cut on his nose.
He told us that he had been drinking; he looked down at his center console, and hit the side railing. His car had gone off the road into the construction area and was now facing the road again. Pieces of his car were scattered everywhere, and the railing was now blocking the entire lane. We were able to move the railing out of the way, and I told him we were praying a rosary right before. He knew he should have died, and he thanked God that he was still alive. I gave him my rosary, and he said he would pray it every day. The power of prayer is great!
I will never be able to prove it was a miracle, but try telling that guy it was just a coincidence.
Also, if you read this, please don't tell my parents what happened. They would freak out.
I went camping with the Fellowship of Catholic University Student or FOCUS group in Canyon Lake. We had a great time just hanging out as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we stayed up till about three in the morning. I had wanted to go back home, sleep in my bed and be with my family a little longer, because I had to come back to Dallas that same day. I told them I was leaving, and one of my friends asked if I could give him a ride to his house. I said "sure", and we left the campsite at about three in the morning.
There are two ways to get to San Marcos from Canyon Lake. You can go through New Braunfels and Interstate 35 which is safest, or you can go through the hill country on Ranch Road 12 which is dark, windy, full of deer, and has drop offs, but it is much faster. I asked my friend which way he wanted to go. He said he didn't care, so I am sure you can guess which way we went.
My friend asked if I wanted to pray a rosary, and I said "Yeah! But you lead it, because I want to concentrate on the road." He agreed, and we began the Joyful Mysteries. We began the fifth mystery, and we passed the turn that goes to Wimberley. We started entering a construction zone, and I saw a car about fifty yards away coming towards us. There were not many cars on Ranch Road 12 at 3:30 in the morning, so any car that passed seemed like they had there brights on, and I was preparing for the car to pass. Then I see the car turn to its left, and as we got closer my friend said "Hey, I think we should help that guy out." I looked at the car and realized there was not a turn there, and the car was off the road. I slowed down to pull off the road, and I ran over something. It turned out to be the guy’s right car door. We got out to see if he was okay, but we were so calm from praying the rosary, and deep down we knew he was fine. We got to his car, and the right side was totaled. The guy came out, and he only had a small cut on his nose.
He told us that he had been drinking; he looked down at his center console, and hit the side railing. His car had gone off the road into the construction area and was now facing the road again. Pieces of his car were scattered everywhere, and the railing was now blocking the entire lane. We were able to move the railing out of the way, and I told him we were praying a rosary right before. He knew he should have died, and he thanked God that he was still alive. I gave him my rosary, and he said he would pray it every day. The power of prayer is great!
I will never be able to prove it was a miracle, but try telling that guy it was just a coincidence.
Also, if you read this, please don't tell my parents what happened. They would freak out.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
The Things We Do For Love
The things we do for love... Maybe you love someone right now. I hope you do. I think most people have loved someone whether they knew it or not. Love constantly fascinates the world, because it is always new and surprising. Some search for love all their lives without ever knowing what it is. It is not an emotion, though emotions are felt. It is not a passion, yet we are often passionate. It is not forced, but how could we do anything else. I have come to know love as a decision to will the best for another. Love is a free choice, and when we continue to make the decision to love then it can last forever and constantly surprise us.
That is why I came to Dallas. I chose to love, and I wanted to be surprised. I have been here a month, and the Lord has not let me down. I have led a retreat in Louisiana, given talks to junior high students, high school students, and adults, and started to lead a Theology of the Body study group. I have been enriched with blessings and prayers, and I have made many new friends. Even when life gets difficult and all the good emotions go away, like when I got a speeding ticket, I still choose to love, and I am excited about what is to come.
By the way, there is not even a school there.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)