Learn to Fly

This is a homily given by Father Bob Vallee today:

"There is an old story that Fr Paul Edwards, a deceased priest of the Archdiocese, used to like to tell. Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a country far, far away, probably Slovakia, there lived a great eagle with a whole nest full of eagle eggs. One day, one of the eggs fell out of the nest and into the chicken yard. The little eagle hatched, looked around and, presuming the hen was his own mother, began to live and act like a chicken. He scratched the dirt and clucked and dug for worms. The little eagle was happy enough as a chicken until one day, high over ahead, soaring on the first breath of the dawn, he saw an extraordinary sight. He saw a great bird flying on the edges of heaven, not the little leap and jump flying of a chicken but soaring on great beautiful wings without hardly a motion. He asked one of the other chickens what the bird was. The other chicken said: 'That is an eagle, the great king of all birds.' The eagle said, 'Yes, but why can’t we fly like that?' The other chicken said, 'Don’t be stupid! We are only chickens.' The eagle folded up his great wings, bowed his head, and began to scratch the dust for worms, never imagining that he himself was an eagle, that he himself could fly. He bowed his head and his spirit and never again thought of flying or eagles again.

"I like this story very much, especially on the feast of Christ the King. You see the whole point of religion is to affirm the goodness, truth and beauty in us. The whole point of being a Christian is to learn to recognize and see Christ the King, in all his glory and majesty, in ourselves and in one another. As Jesus himself said, 'The kingdom of God is within you.' Look up! If you are really seeing Christ, then you are also seeing a tremendous possibility within yourself.

"There is a good and a bad form of religion. The bad form of religion tells us we are bad and need to be afraid. The bad form of religion is always on the lookout for sin and disgrace. The bad form of religion is critical, mean and judgmental. The bad form of religion tells us that we are just chickens. The good form of religion tells us that we are good, beautiful and holy, and do not need to be afraid. The good form of religion is always on the lookout for grace and goodness. The good form of religion reminds that we are eagles and share in the kingship of Christ.

"We see this explained in a different way in the Gospel. Jesus is having a talk with Pilate. They are discussing whether or not Jesus is a king. Jesus says that he is, indeed, a king but not the sort of king that Pilate imagines. When Pilate thinks king, he imagines power, authority and obedience. Jesus has to explain that his kingdom is not like a earthly kingdom. It is not about power, money and prestige. The kingdom of God is about love, justice and truth.

"The story of the little eagle is very sad. But I fear it is the story of a great many people, even a great many Christians. Every one of us, myself included, needs to hear these words because they come from the Lord: 'You are more than you think you are. There is greatness and godhead within you. You are good, wise and beautiful. You do not have to be afraid, not of anything, not ever again. You were not made to scratch the dirt for worms; you were made to fly on the breath of the dawn.' It is the work of Satan and his demons to tear down, criticize and tell you why you are so bad; It is the work of Jesus Christ and his angels to build up, affirm and help you find your goodness. Often times we waste our lives living as chickens. But we are not chickens, not really. We are eagles who have not yet learned to fly. Wake up! Pay attention! You are more and better than you can possibly imagine."

How Great Thou Art

How Great Thou Art? is one of my favorite hymns that popular musicians have sang for a while now - most notable Carrie Underwood and Elvis Presley. The words, I think, are some of the finest lyrics of any Christian song and everytime I hear it, I really can feel my spirit singing out to the Lord (note that the above links aren't really the greatest performances of the songs but you get the idea). In case you never heard the song or ever took the time to understand the lyrics, here they are:

Oh Lord, my God,
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!

And when I think, that God, His son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart?
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, How Great Thou Art!"

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to thee
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!

Apology...

My sincere apologies to all my readers for the lack of gab coming from this blog. My last semester here at FIU is upon me and the workload has taken control of any free time I have.

Hopefully I can blog again soon...I'll keep you posted! :)

Cell Phones & Scripture

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we
couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it
to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it
when we traveled?

What if we used it
in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go.....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our
cell phone, we don't have
to worry about our Bible being
disconnected because
Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think,
where are my priorities?
And no dropped calls!

Pipo & Memories

Pipo - that's what I, my siblings, and my mother have called my grandfather since as long as I can remember. It has always been second nature to call him "Pipo" instead of by his given name. When someone asks me what my grandfather's name is, I simply answer with that simple, yet endearing name instead of "Juan Jimenez."

Pipo is the kind of man that I want to be when (and if) I reach his age: a hard-working, blue-collar, kind-hearted man with a sense of humor and whose greatest joy comes from being surrounded by his family. My grandfather has always been a carpenter/handyman. He has great knowledge of the way things are put together and how to fix the same things.

My earliest memories of him are flashes from 1992, which is the year I turned five and the year my grandmother passed away at the early age of 58. I remember him building a treehouse with my brothers on an enormous tree in our backyard. I remember him spending a few days with us as we hid in my parents' closet as Hurricane Andrew tore through our treehouse, house, and the rest of South Florida. I remember that Christmas when he slept over the house and helped unwrap the gifts that Santa had brought us.

St. Francis of Assisi once said that Christians should "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." I believe that my grandfather summarizes that line in his life. From what I remember, I don't recall him going to church all that often, but I do know that he has a close and personal relationship with the Lord. He has led the family in prayer just about every year at Thanksgiving. I once asked Pipo how he knew how to pray God. He didn't really answer my question directly. Instead, he informed as to the reasoning behind his praying. He told me (in Spanish) "Every night when I go to sleep, I thank God for letting me live to finish another day. Every morning when I wake up, I thank God for letting me live to start another day."

Through that one declaration, I was truly introduced into what the love of God truly was. It was that God continues to bless us with gifts despite the unworthiness of all that we do. It seems to me that those who keep that in their minds - like Pipo - are the truly happy ones.

This past week, Pipo has been helping us move into our new house, which by coincidence is the same house I grew up in. Let me tell you, he worked his butt off. He definitely has lost a step or two since he has had multiple hip surgeries. But that did not stop him from sweating and toiling under the sun with the rest of us to get us all moved in. I was inspired to write this entry when I saw him - after we had finished bringing in all the heavy furniture, sitting next to my dog on the couch, ice-cold beer in hand, silently, and enjoying the simple pleasure of peace in life.

There are a few changes in the house. For instance, the treehouse is gone as the previous owner had torn the large tree down. Secondly, Pipo had started converting the garage into a bedroom for my little sister. That room is now finished and is being used as an office. However, one of the days we were there, we managed to come across a "footprint," if you will, of our previous stay at that house. Carved into one of the cement stones we use as a pathway in our backyard were my brothers' names. One stone said:

DANNY
6/25/88

The other said:

LUISI
6/25/88

When Pipo saw this, he smiled and let out a sigh before he returned to work. That memory kept him going, as do all his memories. And I'm sure at that moment, in his heart, he praised the Lord for letting him live through these moments etched in his memories.


(Below are some pictures of Pipo at my brother's wedding back in May 2008. He's the dude with the 'stache.)

Random Evidence of a Cluttered Mind

Hello followers! I know it's been a while since I've blogged, so this entry will be a quick touch and go about things on my mind since the last time I've blogged. But before I get started, let me just say that the title of this post is nowhere near original, it was borrowed from Greg Cote's blog in the Miami Herald website. Disclaimers aside, let's get this started!

-------------------------------

About a month ago, I saw God. He didn't shine a light upon me. He did not speak to me with a booming voice from beyond the clouds. He didn't even pull a miracle out for me. He showed Himself in a spot when I least expected it.

I was driving home from work, and as I was driving on the turnpike, I noticed that my car was overheating a bit. As soon as I braked at the off-ramp, my car completely broke down. I got out of the car, opened the hood, and awaited my father to bring some coolant, when I see an SUV pull over on the road ahead of me. A woman and man stepped out of the car, headed towards me, and offered to help move my car off to the side of the road. I was really shocked. I never thought a pair of Miamians would help a stranger with his car. I was having a horrible day up to that point. But God showed Himself to me at that moment - through the kindness of these strangers. He reminded me that He was there for me, no matter how crappy I was feeling.

------------------------------

Last night, I realized that I have been missing a crucial aspect to my life. I realized that I hadn't been to mass in about a month. I know that to you, the reader, this may not seem like such a big deal. But it is to me. It was not that I feel pressured to go because it's something I have to do. I miss going to mass because it's something that I want to do. I miss it because it is a refresher for me. Whenever I go to mass, I leave it feeling as if I have been re-baptized - born again, if you will. It helps to remind me that whatever I do in life, it is done with a higher purpose in mind.

I haven't been able to go because of so many things going on in my life right now. And most of these things are actually positive things. Regardless, being away from the mass for such a long time feels as if I moved away and grew homesick. I need to go back "home" again so that I feel a little closer to being complete.

--------------------------------

So, Gator quarterback Tim Tebow admitted that he's a virgin. Whether he's telling the truth or not is not what this entry is about. It's the uproar that happened throughout the nation in the news, blogs, radio shows, etc. There is a double standard in this country (duh). We constantly like to bash and ridicule people who do not fit the mainstream. That is evident in the people making fun of Tebow's virginity, or calling him a liar, because people in college "just cannot really be that popular and virgins." It is evident in our movies, where we poke fun of virginity, as is the case with The 40-Year Old Virgin and the American Pie series.

I am of the belief system that says it actually takes strength to be a virgin. Take away the loser image for a second. Just think about it. Let's say Tebow is not lying. You don't think that he's been tempted? You don't think that he's had to rise above all the women who throw themselves at him. I guarantee that if he wanted to, he would be able to sleep with any woman in the Gainesville area. But he chooses not to, because he believes in something better. Tim Tebow is strong-willed, strong-hearted, abd courageous.

By the way, just because I think these great things about Tim Tebow, I still hate the Gators. Thank you

Grace Above Weakness

My priest, Father Bob Vallee, sometimes emails the church his thoughts about the passages we will read. He reads what he emails us and expands on it. I thought this week's homily was so great I decided to post it. For a little context, the passage he refers to is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. Enjoy!


"One of the most amazing passages of Scripture, in my view at least, is today’s second reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. Paul writes: “In order that I might not become inflated and arrogant, I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan, to beat me and keep me from becoming proud. Three times I begged the Lord to take this from me. But he said, ‘My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.’” This is a very beautiful and yet somewhat enigmatic passage. Notice that Paul does not tell us what exactly this “thorn in the flesh” might be. We can be pretty sure as to what it is not. It is not pain or persecution, trials or tribulations. Why? Because Paul just told us that he willingly boasts of what he suffers for the sake of the Gospel. So what is it that so torments Paul? One thing is sure, it something that Paul sees as a weakness and something not to boast of but to be ashamed of.

There are many possibilities as to the nature of this “angel of Satan.” Let’s look at three.

First, Paul could be referring to some sort of a character flaw on his part. He had several to deal with. His worst problem was that he had a terrible temper and an acidic tongue. When Barnabas, in Acts, asks him to take back John Mark, Paul says he is a baby and should go back home to his mommy. In Galatians, he writes, with a somewhat poisonous pen, “how stupid can you be!” Later in Galatians, Paul writes, “Henceforth, let no man bother me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord’s passion.” One thing is certain, Paul was not so good at playing nice with the other children.

The second possibility is that Paul could have been talking about some sort of physical problem which may have gotten in the way of his preaching the Gospel. For example, it is believed that Paul stuttered. This, of course would have affected his ability to preach the Gospel. In the 20th chapter of Acts we read that Paul was preaching, “on and on” and a young man got so bored that he fell from a third story window and died. Paul had to go down and raise him from the dead. My homilies are not always great but I have never killed anyone. Which is all for the best, being that I am not at all confident about the raising from the dead part afterwards. Also, when Paul describes his fits and seizures, some modern doctors have surmised that he was perhaps an epileptic. Of course, is always a bit dangerous to perform such anachronistic diagnoses.

The third and, I think, the most interesting possibility is that Paul is alluding to some sort of moral flaw, some sort of sin he struggles with. We have already seen that he has a bit of trouble with wrath and pride and envy. But maybe it is something else. A French psychologist wrote a book in the 1980s which analyzed all of Paul’s comments about women and suggests that Paul does not like them very much. Not to put too fine a point on it but that Paul perhaps struggled with desires which ran contrary to nature. Of course, there is no way to know being that Paul doesn’t say.


The point is that it does not matter what Paul’s “weakness” is. We all have weaknesses and stuff about ourselves we are ashamed of. The point is God’s response to Paul’s weakness. Because God addresses our weaknesses with the same words. God tells Paul: “My grace is enough for you, for in human weakness the power of God reaches perfection.” We don’t have to be perfect. In fact, the fact that we are not perfect is precisely what forces us to realize our need for God’s grace. Ignatius of Loyola wrote: Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will, all I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace; that is enough for me.

Amazing Letter from Arizononian Janet Contreras to the Federal Government

"I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration.....

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us who will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming."

Now What?

My graduation is coming up this December, and when a milestone is approaching in your life, you can't help but think about your future. I'm at a point where I'm thinking about what to do with my life come 2010. I was so sure up to about a month ago what I wanted to do. I was going to leave Miami to attend graduate school and then move back to teach.
However, about a month ago, the leaders (a couple) of the youth group at my church approached me and told me that they would like for me to become the new youth group leader at St. Kevin's within the next couple of years. I have always wanted to go into youth/young adult ministry. However, that would be in conflict with my plans for graduate school outside of South Florida.
I really don't know what to do right now. I want to do so many things. I want to do something that will extend God's mission to proclaim the Gospel - not necessarily with words, as I reflect on the words of St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."
Do I lead my youth group, and try to help teenagers find Christ in their troubling lives?
Do I focus on academics (i.e. grad school) and be Christ to my peers?
I pray that God helps me find the first step towards what, ultimately, is my purpose. Here are some things that I have been praying and reflecting about:

1) I would love to go away from Miami for graduate school, because:
a) The experience should be very rewarding.
b) It looks good on a resume to have different degrees from different
schools.
2) I would love to continue my research, and become a scholar in History.
3) I would love to get some certification/training in ministry, preferable
youth/young adult ministry.
4) I would love to be a writer by trade, one day.
5) I would love to work in media (print or radio) to express my views and have
discussion about politics, because I love politics, though I have no desire to
join the political arena.

I don't know which one of these things, or which ones, or if any of them is where God will lead me. Whatever I do, I really want to make an impact on people's lives. I want to be an example of Christ to the world. Does it mean that you will ever see me giving a sermon at a church? Probably not. I am not one who is that fond of speaking to immense crowds at this point. But wherever the LORD leads me, I hope I can reach heaven one day, stand before Him, and say "I have used every gift that you bestowed upon me. Nothing has been wasted."

Belated Greetings...

Happy Pentecost Sunday!

This past Sunday, we celebrated the birth of the Church's life and mission and the indwelling of the LIFE and POWER of God's Spirit in every Christian. The Holy Spirit is the soul of the body of Christ, our guide, the unifying force, the life-giver and sanctifier. The Father revealed the Son, and the Son came to give us the Holy Spirit! Let us pray for unity and renewal for all.

Amen

Certain of Uncertainty

"In these matters, the only certainty is that nothing is certain."

Spoken by the Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder nearly two millenniums ago, those words have echoed in my head throughout the day as I began to ponder more and more about the effect that Father Alberto Cutié has had on the Christian community the past month or so. Ever since the news first came out that photographs were taken of him with his, now, fiance I have had a conflicted mind, heart, and feelings. I just have not been able to make any sense of the situation as far as what I think is the right course of action.

At first, I felt like what he did was insane. I was a supporter of clerical celibacy, as I still am as I read what St. Augustine once said about it:

"As for the proud minister, he is to be ranked with the devil. Christ's gift is not thereby profaned: what flows through him keeps its purity, and what passes through him remains clear and reaches the fertile earth...The spiritual power of the sacrament is indeed comparable to light: those to be enlightened receive its purity, and if it should pass through defiled beings, it is not itself defiled."

However, I realized soon afterwards that though I believe it is true, it should not necessarily be a requirement. You can read my thoughts about that here.

My new found feelings went into an extreme this weekend when Archbishop John Favarola issued a press release. There were certain phrases he used that really rubbed me the wrong way - so much that my status on Facebook read: "Gabriel Medina thinks John Favarola should step down. How's that for controversy?" Some of those phrases included that Father Cutié was now "professing an erroneous faith." No authentic Christian denomination, in my opinion (and I'm sure in God's opinion) is erroneous. There definitely may be erroneous elements to all of them, but that includes some erroneous aspects that lay within the Catholic Church as well.

Another phrase that irked me was that Father Cutié "may have abandoned [the parishioners of his former church]...but the Catholic Church will never abandon" them. Excuse me? You are telling me that the Catholic Church will never abandon me? This Catholic Church that has strayed from God's teachings so many times in the past? This Catholic Church that supported the Spanish Inquisition? This Catholic Church that supported the Crusades? This Catholic Church that felt it should lay its hands in all political matters and allow corruption from the fall of the Roman Empire through the end of the 18th century? This same Catholic Church that continues the awful act of excommunication?

While I am a Catholic, the term Catholic does not mean that I will not make the mistake of believing a man will not abandon me, be he Father Alberto Cutié or Pope Benedict XVI himself. I'm a Catholic because it is my best tool to maintain a strong relationship with the one who truly will not abandon me - the LORD.

However, when I got home from FIU this evening, I finally had a chance to read this article from the Miami Herald about Father Cutié's first mass with the Episcopal Church, and did not like what I read. Apparently, Father Cutié has been thinking about leaving the Catholic Church for a long time, but still continued on as usual. The fact that he had doubts is not what troubles me, it's the fact that he was having pre-marital relations with this woman, and it was for that reason alone that he knew things had to change, and that's what irks me about his decision. So many people leave different denominations for one small thing or the other.

"I don't agree with my church's view on abortion, so I'll join the United Methodists."

"I don't agree with my church's view on female ordination, so I'll join the Episcopal Church."

When you are switching denominations so frequently, it almost seems as if you are looking for a God who conforms to your views, rather than conforming to the views of your God. Which one of those do you think makes more sense in the greater scheme of things?

I brought up Pliny the Elder's quote at the beginning of this blog because I do not know how to feel about the Father Cutié situation anymore. There are so many conflicting feelings in my heart and mind. But, perhaps it's best to leave it alone, just like I hope the Catholic Church will. Just let him go. Stop talking about him. Stop continuing this distraction that leads the discussion away from the LORD and towards a man who is merely...well...a man.

Father Cutié has made his decision. Let's forget about this mess already.

The Different Breeds of Catholicism

I have been meaning to write this blog for a while, now. It's amazing how group-oriented human beings are, and human beings of faith are no different. People of faith are grouped into different religions, and each of those religions are grouped into different denominations. I thought that it would be interesting (and humorous) to take a look at the denomination I know the most - Catholicism. There are so many different types of Catholics out there - one that I think they should all fall into and that the Church intends they fall into, and other types that I feel should not be considered Christianity, let alone Catholicism, at all. I also know that a lot of different Christian denominations contain some of these "breeds" as well.

So, without further ado, here is a bird's eye view of the species of Catholicism. Please keep in mind that I do not mean to offend anyone. I simply am expressing my opinion based on my experiences and what I've seen.


Catholic Christians

Catholic Christianity is the "true" branch of the Catholicism. Catholic Christians identify themselves as Christians who follow the Catholic denomination. Yes, they believe that Catholicism is the denomination that has most Christian truth, but they also see truth in all Christian denominations. While they believe there are some denominations that are more "true" than others, the important thing is that they all have truth in them. I sincerely believe that the current pope falls into this category, though I was once skeptical about it.

Santeria Catholics

A lot of Hispanic Catholics fall into this category. And when I say a lot - I mean the overwhelming majority. Santeria Catholics are those who put emphasis on Saints and the Virgin Mary more than they do on Christ. You can identify these people easily whenever you see God working in their lives. However, instead of thanking God for His grace, they thank San Lazaro, or St. Teresa of Little Flower, or Mary for their work. They believe the saints to be like the League of Justice. Whenever someone prays, they answer the call to save the day. There is a historical reasoning for Hispanic culture's saint-emphasized culture. When the Spaniards first introduced the faith to the Native Americans, they helped the natives understand this new religion by comparing it to their gods. Unfortunately, over time, Christianity got intertwined with spirits, ghosts, and ancestors, leading to this Santeria Catholicism.

I only pray that they learn that to pray to a saint, or to pray to Mary for that matter, is heretical. They are simply twisting what the Catholic Church teaches to fit a cultural need, which leads to the next group of Catholics.


Cultural Catholics

A cultural Catholic is someone who observes the Catholic practices as a cultural tradition rather than a spiritual exercise. Cultural Catholics may not fully understand the theology that informs the religion's rituals, or may reject part or most of the theology as outdated or irrelevant to modern life. Cultural Catholics may attend Mass less than several times a year, or may not practice their religion at all, but still regard their association with the Catholic Church as a defining aspect of their identity, much like how non-practicing Jews still consider themselves Jewish. It becomes more of a racial, rather than spiritual, aspect of society. Cultural Catholics regard the sacraments of the Catholic Church (such as baptism, first communion, confirmation and a wedding in a Catholic Church) as important milestones in life, without necessarily attaching much spiritual significance to the events. A lot of American and European Catholics fall into this category. Dane Cook is a famous example of this kind of Catholic, not necessarily because of what he says about the Catholic mass (I actually find it hilarious), but mainly because some of his other jokes in regards to sexual promiscuity.

These are also the same people who may say things like "I'm a Catholic, but I'm not a good Catholic." Since when are there different levels of Christianity? Isn't it that you are a Christian, or you aren't? They also say things like "I'm a good person. I haven't killed anyone or stole anything." Their assumption is right. They may be a good person. That's how God created them to be - good. The problem is that God calls us to be more than good. He calls us to be holy.

Cultural Catholic is a term generally synonymous with Cafeteria Catholic.


Cafeteria Catholics

The term "cafeteria Catholic" (also CINO = "Catholic In Name Only") is applied to those who pick and choose which doctrines and dogmas they want to believe in. Sometimes they may be theological (for example, they may believe that Jesus was the Messiah but that he was not free from sin) or political/social issues (like dissenting from Roman Catholic moral teaching on issues such as abortion, contraception, premarital sex, masturbation, and homosexuality). The term has no status in official Catholic teachings.

On April 18, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI preached about this in a homily:
"Being an adult means having a faith which does not follow the waves of today's fashions or the latest novelties. A faith which is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ is adult and mature."

In a similar vein, Pope John Paul II stated in his talk to the Bishops in Los Angeles in 1987:
"It is sometimes reported that a large number of Catholics today do not adhere to the teaching of the Catholic Church on a number of questions, notably sexual and conjugal morality, divorce and remarriage. Some are reported as not accepting the clear position on abortion. It has to be noted that there is a tendency on the part of some Catholics to be selective in their adherence to the Church's moral teaching. It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the Magisterium is totally compatible with being a "good Catholic," and poses no obstacle to the reception of the Sacraments. This is a grave error."


Traditionalist Catholics

Traditionalist Catholics believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Vatican II (1962-1965). They are usually angry with the current Church in regards to many of their new teachings, such as the following:

1) They believe that the Catholic Church is the only true Church devoted to Christ and that all non-Catholic churches that are not in full communion with the Vatican are not true Christian churches. The Catholic Church now teaches what I wrote before in the "Catholic Christian" section - that all Christian churches have truth to them. The Catholic Church also teaches that one not need to convert to Catholicism to gain salvation while Traditionalists believe that one must be Catholic.

2) They believe that the Catholic mass should always be in Latin. Why? I'm not so sure. I mean, Latin is great, but I think that each parish should decide what they want to do.

3) They believe that the Church has enemies and disagree with the modern Church's efforts to seek peace with people of all faiths, including the secular world.

Mel Gibson and Pat Buchanan are prime examples of Traditionalist Catholics.


Anti-Protestant Catholics

Anti-Protestant Catholics are the exact inverse of Anti-Catholic Protestants. They believe in all the spiritual Christian truths, but feel that Protestant groups of Christians are not really Christians (just like those Protestants who believe Catholics to not be Christians). These kinds of Catholics, regardless of how devotedly they believe in Jesus, cannot be 100% Christian in my book - just like the Anti-Catholic Protestants. I feel that in order to be 100% Christian, one has to look past all the doctrinal differences between denominations and realize that as one church, they could get a lot more done. Instead of preaching the gospel to the secular worlds, they thrive on fighting amongst themselves.

Sunday Morning Catholic

A Sunday Catholic or Sunday morning Catholic (also Once-a-weeker) is someone who typically goes to church on Sundays but does not strictly adhere to the doctrines or rules of Catholic Christianity.

The term is most often used to describe someone who is lukewarm in the Christian faith. From some people's perspective, a "Sunday Christian" is attempting to cheat God by taking only those parts of the religion which are appealing or convenient without having to commit to anything. They believe the "Sunday Christian" is attempting to buy his/her way into heaven with a minimal amount of effort.

From another perspective, the person being labeled a Sunday Catholic may simply adhere to another interpretation of Christianity, one which may include greater emphasis on actions, attitudes and good will rather than dogma. The person might also being simply paying lip service, attending church for familial or reputation purposes while otherwise not carrying the beliefs of the church as their own.

The term may also be used to describe people who apply double-standards to non-Christians, such as a person who justifies their political beliefs through the Bible but only attends church so that their hypocrisies are not noticed. This also ties into the idea of lip service.

It is also worth noting that there is a large number of people who only attend Christian church service on Christmas and Easter. They are sometimes called Twice-a-years or C & E Christians, or Submarine Christians (so-named because they surface in Church only twice a year).


While there are many, many more breeds of Catholics, that's all I can muster up for now. Hope you had a good chuckle when you read this and thought to yourself: "I know someone like that."

"Sins of the Father"

That title is yet another of the countless examples that proves Channel 7 (WSVN) News are not really a news station; rather they are just another entertainment show. That title was used to introduce their lead story earlier this week about Father Alberto Cutié caught at Miami Beach with some woman. Since when was that sin? What he did was break a Church law - a man-made law. He did not sin.

Anyways, I feel that while one needs to stand his/her ground in order to be taken seriously, it is just as important to confess when a person feels that he/she has been proven to think and believe in a different way. The other day I blogged about Father Alberto's situation, and how I believe that clerical celibacy should remain a requirement. I have been convinced, through the comments people left on that blog, the things I was told at my small group last night (May 8th), and the front page story of the Miami Herald on May 9th that perhaps the Church should reconsider its position.

I finally found out why the celibacy requirement was instituted back in the Middle Ages (or perhaps even earlier as I have read recently). It has a lot to do with the corruption that was going on back then. A lot of priests and bishops who had sons were smuggling money out of the church's hands in order to give it to their sons. It's a little more complicated than that, but the Church decided to impose the restriction on families. While the church tried to do right, there times, such as with Father Alberto, where the ecclesiastic law - not doctrine - fails.

I realized that perhaps Father Alberto is not an idiot after all (like I mentioned on my last blog) because it would really be crazy to go to Miami Beach in public like that unless... ...you actually wanted to get caught and open up this can of worms. Here comes the gossip that I've heard! One of my small group leader's cousins knows the family of Father Alberto. And apparently, he had asked to be relieved of his clerical duties months ago (because he fell in love), but Archbishop John Favarola did not grant him that for reasons unknown (probably public perception).

But perhaps our Protestant brothers and sister have it right...in fact, it's probably not even a "perhaps" situation. Maybe clerical celibacy needs to be a choice, rather than a requirement. We would have a lot more EFFECTIVE priests if this ban was lifted, simply because many devout and charismatic Christians are frightened off from the priesthood simply because of the ban on marriage and family. While I am still under the belief that it's better to remain celibate when ordained, it should be a choice.

Now, all these people protesting at the steps of St. Francis Catholic Church are doing good by showing their support for Father Alberto. However, they must remember that he is just a man. You cannot follow a man, because when you die, you will not be facing Alberto Cutié. You will be facing the LORD.

Father Alberto has simply brought this question to light. Is the Catholic Church going to take a step back and try to re-examine itself, or is it going to allow itself to become easily distracted when a case like this happens instead of focusing on growing in faith and being of service to others?

I feel Pope Benedict XVI has done a really good job so far...hopefully that trend continues.

For the sake of the kingdom...

Clerical celibacy has long been a polarizing topic for those within, and even outside, the Catholic Church. The Catholic Sex Abuse Cases and the recent photographs of Father Alberto Cutié with a woman on the beach have brought the question back into the limelight: Should the Catholic Church continue its doctrine of clerical celibacy?

First of all, let me delve into a little history. The teaching of clerical celibacy was nothing official in the Church before the 12th century. While it was not official, it certainly was a tradition that was taught and practiced. Why did it become official, afterwards? Good question. I haven't got a clue. But it's a doctrine that I do agree with. I'll explain later.

Some people used (and still use) the Church Sex Abuse Cases as their reasoning to argue against the Church's doctrines. "If the priests were able to get married, they never would have molested those boys." First of all, I think it's ridiculous to claim that just because a man is unmarried, he all of a sudden will become a gay pedophile. The problem here never was relevant to clerical celibacy, it was merely a problem with men who obviously did not have what it took to become priests becoming ordained. So, if we're going to paint all, or most Catholic priests, as pedophiles, does that mean it's okay to label any devout Muslim as a terrorist? I think not. If clerical celibacy were really the reason for a man to dishonor his vow, a man would naturally find a woman to engage in relations with.

This leads to the newly-found situation with Father Alberto Cutié. I think that this priest was an absolute fool to do what he did. If you are as popular and recognizable as this guy is, why would you go to a public beach where anyone can see you with a woman, when it is known that you have taken a vow of celibacy? While I disagree with the course of actions he has taken, he has asked for forgiveness, and I grant him that. He is merely a human being who has made a mistake, and almost all sin is forgivable. If God has forgiven everything that I have done, who am I to not grant that to someone else who is in need of forgiveness.

So why do I agree with clerical celibacy?

As Jesus and St. Paul have hinted, or plainly have said, celibacy amongst clergymen and women is to be celebrated. While marriage is a beautiful thing, one has to realize that when a man decides to take the step to lead a church, he is married to that church. If a married man decides to lead a church, to which will he devote his full attention. Hopefully, it would be to his family, but then the church gets neglected. If he devotes most of his attention to the church, then the family will be neglected. If he devotes equal attention to both, then he will not be leading his family nor the church community with his fullest.

I know that most of my readers are not Catholic, and clerical celibacy is probably at least one of those things on their lists of "I Disagree with the Catholic Church about..." Experiencing both sides of the issue, I long felt that clerical celibacy was fine, but shouldn't be made a requirement. But hearing a story from a former Catholic-turned-Protestant-Christian, I have come to change my mind. This was a summary of that story:

An older Cuban gentleman that I know once told me that a friend of his was shot in the middle of the street in Cuba. While this man wanted to fetch a doctor for his friend, his dying friend pleaded that he find a priest for him, instead. So, the man went to the nearest church and knocked on the door until the parish priest answered the door. He told the priest what had happened, but the priest wouldn't budge, annoyed that this man had woken him up in the middle of the night. No matter how hard the man pleaded, the priest did not leave the church. By the time the man returned to see his friend, his friend had passed.

This is an example of a lousy priest. A priest is married to his church for a reason, so that if someone comes knocking in the middle of the night, he is there for them, since there is no family to leave alone. Now, if a priest was allowed to marry, and he took advantage of that, what would happen if someone came knocking on his door in the middle of the night with this plea to anoint someone who is dying? Do they leave their family behind, and possibly defenseless in the face of danger, in order to help their fellow man? Or do they decide to neglect their vow to serve others to make sure their family does not get left defenseless? While this would be the most extreme of cases, extremities must be taken into account when looking at something that is, to this blogger, something of the utmost importance.

The 12th Commandment - By Craig Dixon (on Facebook)

The Twelfth Commandment: Forget the Eleventh Commandment
By
CRAIG DIXON
April 13, 2009


When I was a wee little Craiglet at the tender age of 15, I was the stuff of Al Franken’s nightmares.

I was as hardcore Republican as they come. I was glued to the party line. I stuck to Reagan’s ‘Eleventh Commandment’ like red mud on a boot: “Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”

I loved guns, beer, and pretty southern girls. My favorite book was “Conscience of a Conservative” by Barry Goldwater. I thought of “Red Dawn” as an educational film. I made PETA cry and tree huggers cringe in disgust as I carnivorously consumed rare steaks and chugged along in my parent’s Ford Explorer.

Life was good.

Then President ‘Dubya’ came along. I gave this guy a chance in 2000, honestly, I did. He was, after all, a Republican. He was on my team. He had to be one of the good guys… right?

President Reagan, you were wrong sir. Your Eleventh Commandment be damned. Bush sucked.

Bush isn’t a fiscal conservative, he's a big spender. He ran up one hell of a credit card bill on the American people and then finished us off with a “bailout.” His administration massively increased the size of the federal government. The security apparatus grew into a mushroom cloud after 9/11.

Under Bush, America saw the emergence of no-fly lists, DHS, the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. act, wire tapping programs devoid of judicial oversight (and of highly questionable legality), “enhanced interrogation techniques” (also known as water boarding, a technique many organizations and authorities classify as torture), and the suspension of Habeas Corpus for any American citizen deemed an ‘enemy combatant’.

Suddenly, being mud stuck on the boot wasn’t so cool; Bush’s foot was in it he was stomping all over conservative ideals.

Is anyone having fun at the airport these days?

America initiated two wars under Bush (after he’d already run on a platform in 2000 of ‘not policing the world’), one under decidedly false pretenses (Remember those WMDs that still haven’t been found?). Both wars are still ongoing (with costs both monetary and human).

Reagan may have held his tongue, but Benjamin Franklin wouldn’t. Franklin didn't suffer from the constraints of any such commandment; he was unaffiliated with any parties. “He who would trade his liberty for temporary security deserves neither liberty nor security,” he once said.

Can someone explain to me how we didn’t do just that by allowing Bush to make all these crazy changes?

Just before America said sayonara to Bush in January, he passed his “bailout”... quite similar to Obama’s. We now have 1.175 trillion dollars in planned “bailout” spending for 2009 alone.

The end result? Your grand kids will owe quite a bit of money to some private bank in New York for the duration of their lives. Oh and maybe hyperinflation, but we’ll see.

We just “bailed” out a bunch of companies on Wall Street with money that we don't actually have. Is using a fiat currency that is issued by a privately owned institution (the so-called "Federal" Reserve, which is not actually federal.) helping things? Should the GOP be supporting this?

Let me get this straight, we are letting Wall Street keep what they make, but paying for their losses? Privatizing gains and socializing losses? The GOP is supporting this?

That’s certainly not free market-capitalism. It is one thing though, it’s dangerous.

Jefferson agreed with me at least, when he said, “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

Jackson didn't like these guys too much either, central bankers. His exact words were, "Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God, I will rout you out.”

Scary, but perhaps he’s right. Tent cities are springing up all over the nation, and foreclosures are soaring. USA Today reported in February that the foreclosure numbers for 2008 were over 3 million. Sure sounds like a lot of ruined families to me.

Something isn't right.

The GOP betrayed the free-market.

“Why did we lose?” I keep hearing GOP members ask.

The GOP lost because it has failed to represent the type of conservatism that most people actually want. It pushed neoconservatives to the front and tried to silence the rest, it pushed a security state that nobody likes, and jumped into bed with authoritarians, banksters, and big-government.

During the election, a popular term, “Rudy McRomneyson” (An amalgamation of Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson) caught on amongst circles of voters. That’s just the result of the GOP peddling more of the same.

The last thing people want are more big-government Bush clones like McCain.

GOP Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford, touched upon this in a recent commentary for CNN, “Conservatives didn’t lose the election, the GOP did.”

“Republicans have campaigned on the conservative themes of lower taxes, less government and more freedom -- they just haven't governed that way. America didn't turn away from conservatism, they turned away from many who faked it,” he said.

Congressman Ron Paul tried to point out the inconsistencies of the current Republican policies during the primaries. McCain and Guiliani, both ganged up on him for a laugh fest in what was supposedly a series of official presidential debates.

When the moderators of these so-called debates are putting words into the candidates’ mouths and the GOP leadership isn’t outraged, something seems very wrong.

I’d recommend checking out the Fox News debate from September 5, 2007, for Chris Wallace’s smarmy assertion that Paul takes his “marching orders” from Al Qaeda.

The GOP should have called for Wallace’s head, and condemned him for a lack of journalistic integrity. Instead the front liners all giggled like little school girls.

They then proceeded to lose the both houses of Congress and the White House. Nice work.

Is the GOP still laughing?

I thought Republicans advocated smaller government, insuring my privacy, promoting free market capitalism, avoiding wars, and letting people speak their minds.

At least, that’s what I was told throughout my young-adulthood while the Republicans endured their 90s exile from Washington. With the exception of Paul, Sanford, and a few others, I’ve yet to see the GOP really practice what they preach.


Dear GOP, want to win in 2012? Want disillusioned people like me to rejoin your party?

I have a new commandment for you then… The Twelfth Commandment: Thou shall forget the Eleventh Commandment (A repeal of a prohibition if you will. Why not? It worked out once before back with the booze ban didn’t it?).

Kick the neoconservatives to the curb. Libertarian ideals made the GOP revered. Neoconservatives have made the GOP hated.

Political Activist Celeste Craig coined a term I’ve heard catching on: ‘RINO’. It means Republican-in-name-only. I think it's time for the GOP to call in Animal Control. It was supposed to be an elephant party and RINOs weren’t invited, but they barged their way in and now we have nothing short of a circus.

I didn’t leave the GOP until the GOP left me. I’m still the same kid I was all those years ago.
I still give Al Franken nightmares. I strike fear into the hearts of socialists. The Soviet Union fell in ‘91 because it was scared of what I might do to it when I grew up.

I just don’t like being taxed. I don’t like being watched by people I don't know. I don’t like having my rights to self-defense reduced. I don’t like having my children and their children living in perpetual debt. If that makes me un-Republican, so be it. I'm a conservative first.

Finally, I don’t like being told what to do, and I don’t think other Americans do either.

If the Republicans want to win, they need to have the same attitude. If Republicans want to win, they must disassociate themselves with ideas of a 'security' state. They must disassociate with ideas of amnesty for illegal aliens, tax-payer “bailouts”, and bigger government. If Republicans want to win, they’d better start remembering the ‘republic’ part of their name and work to restore the republic. If Republicans want to win, they need to re-inject a little ‘Don’t tread on me’ back into their mainline.

America started out as a nation of independent rebels who hated authoritarians. Now we have the largest civil government in history and we're taxed left and right. There's something wrong with that picture and the GOP should take notice.

Cut spending. Protect property. Condemn torture. Fight invasions of privacy. Speak out against run-away spending, banking scams, and theft. Work to shrink government size. Hold government accountable (that includes GOP members) to the public. Defend the second amendment. Respect the sovereignty of states. Exhaust diplomacy before starting more wars—they’re too damn expensive.

A few years back, a couple of guys mapped out a game-winning plan for you guys to follow in 2012. They called it the United States Constitution.

Thoughts on Christian Life

From Pope Benedict XVI's interview with E. von Gemmingen, the head of the German section of Vatican Radio on August 15, 2005:

“I want them to understand that it is beautiful to be a Christian! The generally prevailing idea is that Christians have to observe an immense number of commandments, prohibitions, precepts, and other such restrictions, so that Christianity is a heavy and oppressive way of living, and it would therefore be more liberating to live without all these burdens.

But I would like to make it clear that to be sustained by this great Love and God’s sublime revelation is not a burden, but rather a set of wings – that it is truly beautiful to be a Christian. It is an experience that gives us room to breathe and move, but most of all, it places us within a community since, as Christians, we are never alone: first of all, there is God, who is always with us; secondly, we are always forming a great community among ourselves: a community of people together on a journey, a community with a project for the future. All of this means that we are empowered to live a life worth living. This is the joy of being a Christian; that it is beautiful and right to believe!"


Pope Benedict XVI, From a Homily given on April 24th, 2005:

"And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution.

Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him."

Good

I've had some things running through my head lately, and this blog is the first of those thoughts I have decided to put into writing.

Have you ever somebody make the outrageous claim that they are a good person? Have they ever used reasoning like: "I'm a good person, I've never killed anyone." or "I'm a good person, I don't steal things."?
Perhaps that claim isn't so outrageous. After all, it is good if you haven't killed anyone (but does this mean that soldiers are bad people?), or don't steal things. However, there are a couple of problems with the claims. First off, by whose standards are we living a "good" life? Good according to society? According to the laws of the United States?
What is God's standard? I used to believe that human beings were inherently evil. I used to believe that society taught man to be good (Keep in mind that I do mean man/woman, he/she, and his/her throughout this blog). However, the more I read the Bible, and the more I learn about the world in general, is that mankind, by his very nature, is good. When God created man, in fact, when he finished his creating, he saw that all that he had made was good! So, if this is the case, that all mankind, although sinful, is good.
God does not call man to be just good, though. He calls them to be Holy. And if you're standard is holiness, then "good" does not seem to impressive on the totem pole. He calls us to be like Jesus - the perfect HUMAN! When Christ died, he achieved perfect humanity.
This idea springs into my head whenever I hear someone claim they are a good person. While I am far from holy (that's why the term is "practicing Christian"), I hope my life is a countinuous process of achieving holiness.

Mixed Marriage

This is an Irish comedian named Dara O'Briain. This particular set really hit close to home. I found it hilarious. Hope you enjoy:

Office Fun Part Deux

This particular event happened about a month ago. It's not only to gripe about a student, but about how people work (or don't work) at FIU:

A man walked into the office and walked straight through to the back (where the Writing Center is located). I figured he knew where he was going. He comes back to the front and yells, in a very heavy Hispanic accent:

Man with Accent (MwA): LEGAL STUDIES?!?!?!

Me: Excuse Me?

MwA: LEGAL STUDIES INSTITUTE?!?!

Me: Are you looking for Legal Studies?

MwA: Ya.

Me: Well this is the Testing Center and Learning Center.

MwA: No, they're here.

Me: Actually, we've been here since December 2007. They must have been here before, but had to change location.

MwA: Well, I remember that they were here.

Me: Well, I think they moved down the hall (point with my finger) and then turn right. I don't remember which room number exactly, though. Let me check (I check the phonebook online and I confirm the room number). Yeah they are in GL 153.

MwA: Okay. Thank you.

Me: Have a nice day.

About 6 minutes later, he comes in the office again.

MwA: They have to be in here.

Me: They're not in GL 153?

MwA: No. They're here.

Me: The person in 153 told you that?

MwA: No. Nobody is there. They're here.

Me: Why don't I call them for you, because they may not have updated their location on the phonebook.

MwA: They have to be here.

Me: Just hold on...

I call the Legal Studies number.

Legal Studies Receptionist (LSR): Legal Studies, how can I help you?

Me: Hi. I have a student at GL 120 looking for your office. Where are you located?

LSR: We're at MARC 130.

Me: Oh, okay. It's just that online it said you were located in GL 153.

LSR: Yes, I know.

(Awkward silence...I feel like saying 'are you going to do anything about it?')

Me: Okay. Well, thank you.
to MwA
Well, apparently they are located in MARC 130.

I show him a campus map and he goes on his merry way. Not only do I have to deal with troublesome students, but the employees at this bureaucracy they call FIU are not much help either...

Gabby's Office Fun I

Due to continuous inspiration from my friend, Merari, I've decided to start posting some office stories, whether they be current or happened at some point during my 3 year, 9-month employment at FIU. This particular story happened yesterday. I know a lot of people hate their bosses, but this is the first time I can hear the disgust and hate in a man's voice. I've blocked out his name for my office's security protocols. And please pardon the profanity, I thought it best to leave it in so you get the sense of the anger in his heart LOL. Enjoy!



Me: Good morning, FIU Testing. How can help you?

Man on Phone (MoP): Hello, Cesar?!

Me: Cesar is not in at the moment. Is there anything I can help you with?

MoP: Cesar?

Me: No, this is not Cesar. He won't be in until 11:30.

MoP: Listen I spoke to Cesar yesterday about possibly coming in earlier than 8am for an individual exam.

Me: Are you !@#^^&(#)(^!#?

MoP: Yeah.

Me: Well, what I can do is take your name and number down and give this message to Cesar when he comes in. I know he's proctoring an exam at that time, but I might be able to give him this message right before.

MoP: That's fine, buddy. But I really need to speak with him. There's no way my boss is gonna let me come to work late. She's new, but she's a cold ass bitch. She's the kind of woman who would say "no" just for the sake of saying "no." You get me?

Me: (trying to hold in laughter) Yeah, I understand. So, I'll have him give you a call back.

MoP: Please, buddy.


Apparently, this exchange between Cesar and MoP happened the day before.


MoP: Is there any way I can test earlier than 8am?

Cesar: Our office opens at 8, though.

MoP: Listen, I would pay you fifty bucks if you could proctor my exam at 8. The thing is that I have this new boss. She's one of those lesbian bitches who gets off on controlling a man. She loves to say "no." It pleases her...

Cesar: Well, I'll tell you what. I'll ask my director what we can do and I'll give you a call back tomorrow.

MoP: Thanks, Cesar. You have no idea what it's like to work with that woman.

Party or Church

People in the United States have a problem. They have a confusion of beliefs. Perhaps you can call them dualist or pluralist, but I think it's just that they are inconsistent with their beliefs. People, particularly people of faith, seem more comfortable siding with their political party in most cases than with the doctrine of their beliefs. I have seen myself tackling with this issue as well, but I have realized what I have been doing. Although I see the problem, it's hard for me to change it, because I am just so comfortable with what I believe, that I do not budge from it in order to believe what Christianity will tell me what is right.

Let's take the Christians who are part of the Republican party (like me). Most of us would say that we are pro-life. We believe abortion is wrong and according to our belief system, that would be accurate. However, why is life only restricted to abortion? What about the prisoner of war who we support getting tortured? How Christian is torture? What about the death penalty? I understand that these are criminals getting the penalty, but as Christians, shouldn't we forgive? Isn't that the answer to the WWJD bracelets?

Continuing on the life issue, why are most Christians supportive of an unjust war? By unjust war, I mean one where the USA are the aggressors. Many supporters claim that Iraq is linked to 9/11, but there is no proof of that unless Saddam Hussein actually sat down and conspired with Osama bin Laden.

What about universal health care and welfare? As a fiscal conservative, myself, it is extremely hard for me to support these programs. But as a Christian, those are two programs that I feel guilty not supporting. Wouldn't God be pleased with everyone getting health care? Wouldn't God want us to help our fellow humans whenever they cannot afford the basic necessities of life?


There are countless other doctrines that come into conflict when the political party is easier to be in line with than the faith. And those conflicts are on both the left and the right of the political spectrum. If that's the case, can either party truthfully claim to be the "party of God"? I just think some dialogue needs to be started.

A Movie that Touched my Heart

This afternoon, I relunctantly went to watch a movie called "Marley and Me." I didn't expect to do much except laugh a little bit and come out of the theater thinking it was a good holiday movie, but one I should have waited to rent, instead. I was mistaken, and I am glad I went to see this movie. It was one of my favorite movies of the year (I know it's 2009 now, but I consider this a 2008 movie). There may be a spolier or two, but it will not ruin the ultimate ending of the movie.





A lot of ideas and emotions ran through me as I watched this film, and afterwards when I thought about it. When I came home, my dog greeted me at the door, and although she is old, lazy, and grouchy, this dog is a part of my family. I picked her up and petted her as she eagerly sniffed me and wagged her tail. It is true what was said in the movie about dogs - what's great about dogs is that no matter if you are rich, poor, clever, dull, smart, or dumb, a dog is going to love you as long as you give it your heart.

This movie also renewed my interest in journalism. The couple were a pair of journalists for the Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. When I was studying journalism, before, my goal was to become a columnist. Something about putting what's on your mind on paper always appealed to me. Who knows where God will take me. If teaching does not pan out, maybe that could be something I pursue. It takes a while to climb up that ladder, though. And a lot of sacrifice.

Last but not least, this movie made me think of the next phase of my life. I'll be graduating from FIU soon, and there are important decisions I will need to make, including some major committments (I'm sure that last statement is going to garner a bunch of comments itself, or at least solicit some deep thought).

If you have not seen Marley & Me, and you own a dog, or are perhaps just a lover of animals, you really should see the movie. If those categories do not apply to you, it's a good movie, nonetheless.