Another piece I wrote for my class. This is our opening prayer on the last day of class - each student composes a Creed of their own, modeled (if wanted) on one of the Catholic-Christian creeds (the Apostle's Creed or the Nicene-Constantinople Creed).
I believe in God our creator
in his undying and steadfast love
in her ready forgiveness
abounding generosity
and boundless mercy
in the goodness of a creation shaped and molded by his hands
in the vigilance and protection she has for us
I believe in Yeshua ben Joseph,
the Christ of God,
the sacrament of God
Redeemer of the Cosmos
I believe we can look to him as the center of our Church
as the model for our faith
as the bearer of the Good News of salvation
as the bridge between heaven and earth
I believe in the brotherhood and sisterhood of all humanity and all creation
one in Christ
brothers and sisters all
I believe in the goodness and holiness of all humanity
symbolized in Mary our Mother and Joseph her husband
I believe in the sanctity and holiness of the family
heaven's presence here on Earth
I believe in the power and ever-presentness of the Great and Sacred spirit
our Sanctifier
God's own life breathed into us at the moment of our conception
I believe in the animating and transforming power of this Spirit
and in the gentle and stormy ways it leads us closer to our Father and Creator
I believe in the inherent goodness of each and every person
I believe that Grace - God's own life - is part and parcel of our Church
I believe in the sacramental reality of our faith and our lives
I believe God speaks and works through us . . . and that we are still very much connected to our loved ones that have passed away . . . and that God's work is greater than any one of us
I believe because it's akin to breathing - without my faith, I would surely die.
11.29.2004
Why I Am Catholic
I wrote this for a class I teach on the Catholic-Christian Creed. My students are supposed to compose this for the last day of the class, and this is the one I wrote. Thought I'd share with everyone else! :-)
Here are some thoughts, grace notes, musings, meanderings, and intimations as to why I am Catholic . . .
- I like belonging to a church that can encompass both sides of the political & theological spectrum.
- I like belonging to a church that affirms the goodness of all creation, that affirms the sacramentality of all that is, that realizes that all of creation (including us!) is handcrafted by God and wonderfully and beautifully made.
- I like belonging to a church that can express the same gift of God – the Eucharist, celebrated in sacred liturgy – in a variety of forms, with different languages, different cultures, and different actions.
- I like belonging to a church that has fed me throughout my life, at the different stages I was at, in different ways that spoke to me, nurtured me, and healed me.
- I like belonging to a church that can take the best of other Christian denominations and the best of other world religions, that can see the hand of God and the breath of God in all people of good will.
- I like belonging to a church that uses created objects to help us draw closer to the divine.
- I like belonging to a church that is not perfect - a church where I can fit in, seeing as I am not perfect, either.
- I like belonging to a church that officially loves all people – not discriminating by ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or economic status - a church where we are all considered equal in the eyes of God.
- I like belonging to a church that accepted me even before I was sure if I still wanted to be a part of it.
- I like belonging to a church that has mysteries that we cannot fully explain, because all of life is mysterious!
- I like belonging to a church that encourages us to live out our spirituality with other people, whether in our churches, or with our sacraments, or in the countless prayer groups, youth ministry activities, CCD settings, and what have you that make up our church – I like knowing that my faith is shared, not something I made up on my own!
- I like the length of history of our faith, which gives us a groundwork to stand on, and our Sacred Tradition, which complements our Scripture well. We know that we are grounded in the living word and in the living faith of our ancestors and our contemporaries.
- Finally, I like the people that are part of my faith, both at home, in my family, and in my workplace – they are the ones that challenge me, encourage me, and love me, and they are the way God’s presence is most powerfully in my life.
11.27.2004
One Spirit, Many Wells - Chapter 9
The Divine "I Am": Humanity's Share in Divinity
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me.
- The Deer Cry
- St. Patrick's Breastplate
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams and eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
- St. Patrick, Another Link
The incarnation accomplished the following: that God became human and that human beings became God and sharers in the divine nature. The only-begotten Son of God intended to make us "partakers of his divine nature." For this reason the Godhead did take our nature on itself and became human in order to make humans gods.
- St. Thomas Aquinas
Wherever two or three gather
in my name and light,
in my experience of
the vibrating, shining cosmos -
then the "I Am" is already there
around, among and inside them.
- Matthew 18:20, translated directly from Aramaic
Short selection of quotes from the book for this chapter, though I really like the theme it explicates.
Jesus tells his followers that we will do equal or greater things then he did if we but trust in our own power and in God's power flowing through us. St. Paul reminds us constantly that we are already saints - we have only to act like it so that we can match the reality that God sees.
As we get ready to celebrate the season of Advent (which the Catholic & Orthodox denominations celebrate, and which some mainline Protestant denominations celebrate), we prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus, for the breaking in of divinity into time and space. We remind ourselves that divinity entered completely into our experience, being born a naked, vulnerable, trusting child; growing through early childhood and adolescence; moving into his full humanity, and finally suffering and dying for a cause and sake greater than anyone would realize at the time.
We are reminded that God has infused us with his own life and spirit, his own breath and energy. We are filled to overflowing with the Great and Sacred Spirit that moves us, animates us and in which we live and have our being. We are living temples built of love and trust that house the ineffable mystery of Divinity.
We are earth, fire, air and water - soul and spirit, body and mind - and God has told us we are made in his image. All of us - the countless billions of people who have lived, who are living, and who will live - are the Image of God.
I can only hope that we will realize - soon - this common bond, and stop looking at the petty things that separate us - culture, societal standing, religion, politics . . . Only when we are courageous enough to face that which is unknown and attempt to recognize it within us, then will we truly be able to say that we have fully helped realize the Reign of God among and within us.
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me.
- The Deer Cry
- St. Patrick's Breastplate
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams and eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
- St. Patrick, Another Link
The incarnation accomplished the following: that God became human and that human beings became God and sharers in the divine nature. The only-begotten Son of God intended to make us "partakers of his divine nature." For this reason the Godhead did take our nature on itself and became human in order to make humans gods.
- St. Thomas Aquinas
Wherever two or three gather
in my name and light,
in my experience of
the vibrating, shining cosmos -
then the "I Am" is already there
around, among and inside them.
- Matthew 18:20, translated directly from Aramaic
Short selection of quotes from the book for this chapter, though I really like the theme it explicates.
Jesus tells his followers that we will do equal or greater things then he did if we but trust in our own power and in God's power flowing through us. St. Paul reminds us constantly that we are already saints - we have only to act like it so that we can match the reality that God sees.
As we get ready to celebrate the season of Advent (which the Catholic & Orthodox denominations celebrate, and which some mainline Protestant denominations celebrate), we prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus, for the breaking in of divinity into time and space. We remind ourselves that divinity entered completely into our experience, being born a naked, vulnerable, trusting child; growing through early childhood and adolescence; moving into his full humanity, and finally suffering and dying for a cause and sake greater than anyone would realize at the time.
We are reminded that God has infused us with his own life and spirit, his own breath and energy. We are filled to overflowing with the Great and Sacred Spirit that moves us, animates us and in which we live and have our being. We are living temples built of love and trust that house the ineffable mystery of Divinity.
We are earth, fire, air and water - soul and spirit, body and mind - and God has told us we are made in his image. All of us - the countless billions of people who have lived, who are living, and who will live - are the Image of God.
I can only hope that we will realize - soon - this common bond, and stop looking at the petty things that separate us - culture, societal standing, religion, politics . . . Only when we are courageous enough to face that which is unknown and attempt to recognize it within us, then will we truly be able to say that we have fully helped realize the Reign of God among and within us.
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo
11.26.2004
And now for something completely different . . .
Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone! :-)
I couldn't find the book I had been blogging about, and I couldn't find the time to blog, so my blog had pretty much died . . .
Now I finally found the book (in our spare bedroom, otherwise know as The Library, of all places!), but I thought I'd post 2 essays I wrote while in college. Notice how they both end the same way - I guess I wasn't above re-using material for different assignments / classes!
This first one is from the World Youth Day event in Colorado.
I like this one more than the second one. :-)
Pilgrimage: a journey to a sacred place for reasons of cultic celebration, penance, and/or devotion (definition mine).
Have you ever had a hierophonic experience? One in which your total biorhythmic, ectotheric, psycho-spiritual, holistic mode of being was in some way transformed, transmogrified (to quote Calvin), and/or cosmogenized? Such an experience was offered to a lowly grasshopper as myself when I serendipitously discovered that I would be one of many to make the long pilgrimage to bask in the Presence of the Sacred One, as mediated through the Servant of Servants, the Pope. After much financial difficulty, much praying, much agonizing (both individual and communal) and certainly much anticipating, we were off.
We were a small band of eight, representing several universities individually and the NCSC team collectively. The drive over there was pilgrimage enough (22 hours!), but being led as the Israelites were in the desert, we made it.
Once there we were gifted with our sanctum sanctorum, the apartment of friend and Lake alumni Dee Messersmith. From this center we daily went out to do battle with the (gasp!) thousands of other pilgrims and natives who were also on the road.
However, all our difficulties were as nothing compared to the fun we experienced! There was music (Michael W. Smith, John Michael Talbot, DC Talk, The Newsboys, Wynona Judd, and more!), speakers from all over the world, people from all over the world, and, of course, the main man himself, Pope John Paul II, live and in the Spirit.
While John Paul was never larger than my thumb, huge video screens gave us a closer look at him. His messages were clear and to the point, leveling the harshest criticism at the materialistic attitude of the West. Still, it wasn't so much his speeches that got to you: it was his presence. Even at the distance I was at, it was apparent that here was a man of great personal holiness and spirituality. His love for us all was clearly evident, and the Presence of the Spirit made the camp grounds where we were at burn with the life of God: we were on holy ground.
I came back from that trip refreshed, renewed, and inspired to greater depths of spirituality. St. Paul, in one of his letters, challenged us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. In the person of John Paul we hear intimations of that same challenge: follow me as I follow Christ; imitate me as I imitate Christ; live a life of simplicity, of trust, of compassion, of intimacy, of integrity, even as I do, even as Christ did; take up your cross; lay down your life; forgive those who have hurt you; love those who you despise or who despise you; transcend yourself, and in so doing become one with the Infinite.
His challenge calls out to all people everywhere . . .
This one was written after a week-long trip to Rome.
A few things stand out from the Rome pilgrimage to pass on the World Youth Day cross to the young people from the Philippines. Come to think of it, pilgrimage definitely sums up the heart of the experience that I was a part of during this past week. Now, Pilgrimage can be defined as a journey towards a particular sacred time/space for reasons of dramaturgical celebration, penance, and/or devotion.
The sacred space was, of course, Rome. Seat of the head of the Latin Rite, Western Roman Catholic church. We had three separate encounters with Pope John Paul II, each one giving us an insight into the kind of person he is. Our first encounter with him was at an audience he was holding with young people from Italy which we attended. He gave an extemporaneous homily which garnered enthusiastic responses from the audience. He came across as someone genuinely concerned with the fate of the young people in Italy and in the whole world.
A more intimate encounter happened Saturday morning, when we were invited to John Paul's personal chapel for a private Mass. He was the primary celebrant, and the whole liturgy was done in English (a concession, no doubt, to us as American delegates and to the Filipino delegates). He gave no homily, but his presence spoke eloquently of his dedication to prayer; it was apparent to all that we were in the presence of a man of great personal holiness and spirituality. His love for us all was clearly evident, and the Presence of the Spirit made the chapel where we were at burn with the life of God: we were on holy ground.
Finally, there was the Palm Sunday Mass, which would definitely constitute the sacred time we went to go experience. Here were 200,000 people all celebrating the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, even as we were celebrating the fact that the WYD experience would now be triumphantly entering another phase of its life. At the same time, however, the majority of us felt saddened; we felt, inexplicably, a loss. This emotion was incarnated when we handed over the WYD cross to the Filipino young people. All of the work put into this, all of the experiences shared: it was almost as of we were losing them. The tours, the preparation, the food, the whole Rome experience: it all paled before this testament of faith, hope, and love that we were passing, as it were, from one community to another. Many of the feelings that coalesced at that moment, and upon seeing the Holy Father walk up to us and speak with us a moment, are indescribable.
I came back from that trip refreshed, renewed, and inspired to greater depths of spirituality. St. Paul, in one of his letters, challenged us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. In the person of John Paul we hear intimations of that same challenge: follow me as I follow Christ; imitate me as I imitate Christ; live a life of simplicity, of trust, of compassion, of intimacy, of integrity, even as I do, even as Christ did; take up your cross; lay down your life; forgive those who have hurt you; love those who you despise or who despise you; transcend yourself, and in so doing become one with the Infinite.
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo
I couldn't find the book I had been blogging about, and I couldn't find the time to blog, so my blog had pretty much died . . .
Now I finally found the book (in our spare bedroom, otherwise know as The Library, of all places!), but I thought I'd post 2 essays I wrote while in college. Notice how they both end the same way - I guess I wasn't above re-using material for different assignments / classes!
This first one is from the World Youth Day event in Colorado.
I like this one more than the second one. :-)
Pilgrimage: a journey to a sacred place for reasons of cultic celebration, penance, and/or devotion (definition mine).
Have you ever had a hierophonic experience? One in which your total biorhythmic, ectotheric, psycho-spiritual, holistic mode of being was in some way transformed, transmogrified (to quote Calvin), and/or cosmogenized? Such an experience was offered to a lowly grasshopper as myself when I serendipitously discovered that I would be one of many to make the long pilgrimage to bask in the Presence of the Sacred One, as mediated through the Servant of Servants, the Pope. After much financial difficulty, much praying, much agonizing (both individual and communal) and certainly much anticipating, we were off.
We were a small band of eight, representing several universities individually and the NCSC team collectively. The drive over there was pilgrimage enough (22 hours!), but being led as the Israelites were in the desert, we made it.
Once there we were gifted with our sanctum sanctorum, the apartment of friend and Lake alumni Dee Messersmith. From this center we daily went out to do battle with the (gasp!) thousands of other pilgrims and natives who were also on the road.
However, all our difficulties were as nothing compared to the fun we experienced! There was music (Michael W. Smith, John Michael Talbot, DC Talk, The Newsboys, Wynona Judd, and more!), speakers from all over the world, people from all over the world, and, of course, the main man himself, Pope John Paul II, live and in the Spirit.
While John Paul was never larger than my thumb, huge video screens gave us a closer look at him. His messages were clear and to the point, leveling the harshest criticism at the materialistic attitude of the West. Still, it wasn't so much his speeches that got to you: it was his presence. Even at the distance I was at, it was apparent that here was a man of great personal holiness and spirituality. His love for us all was clearly evident, and the Presence of the Spirit made the camp grounds where we were at burn with the life of God: we were on holy ground.
I came back from that trip refreshed, renewed, and inspired to greater depths of spirituality. St. Paul, in one of his letters, challenged us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. In the person of John Paul we hear intimations of that same challenge: follow me as I follow Christ; imitate me as I imitate Christ; live a life of simplicity, of trust, of compassion, of intimacy, of integrity, even as I do, even as Christ did; take up your cross; lay down your life; forgive those who have hurt you; love those who you despise or who despise you; transcend yourself, and in so doing become one with the Infinite.
His challenge calls out to all people everywhere . . .
This one was written after a week-long trip to Rome.
A few things stand out from the Rome pilgrimage to pass on the World Youth Day cross to the young people from the Philippines. Come to think of it, pilgrimage definitely sums up the heart of the experience that I was a part of during this past week. Now, Pilgrimage can be defined as a journey towards a particular sacred time/space for reasons of dramaturgical celebration, penance, and/or devotion.
The sacred space was, of course, Rome. Seat of the head of the Latin Rite, Western Roman Catholic church. We had three separate encounters with Pope John Paul II, each one giving us an insight into the kind of person he is. Our first encounter with him was at an audience he was holding with young people from Italy which we attended. He gave an extemporaneous homily which garnered enthusiastic responses from the audience. He came across as someone genuinely concerned with the fate of the young people in Italy and in the whole world.
A more intimate encounter happened Saturday morning, when we were invited to John Paul's personal chapel for a private Mass. He was the primary celebrant, and the whole liturgy was done in English (a concession, no doubt, to us as American delegates and to the Filipino delegates). He gave no homily, but his presence spoke eloquently of his dedication to prayer; it was apparent to all that we were in the presence of a man of great personal holiness and spirituality. His love for us all was clearly evident, and the Presence of the Spirit made the chapel where we were at burn with the life of God: we were on holy ground.
Finally, there was the Palm Sunday Mass, which would definitely constitute the sacred time we went to go experience. Here were 200,000 people all celebrating the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, even as we were celebrating the fact that the WYD experience would now be triumphantly entering another phase of its life. At the same time, however, the majority of us felt saddened; we felt, inexplicably, a loss. This emotion was incarnated when we handed over the WYD cross to the Filipino young people. All of the work put into this, all of the experiences shared: it was almost as of we were losing them. The tours, the preparation, the food, the whole Rome experience: it all paled before this testament of faith, hope, and love that we were passing, as it were, from one community to another. Many of the feelings that coalesced at that moment, and upon seeing the Holy Father walk up to us and speak with us a moment, are indescribable.
I came back from that trip refreshed, renewed, and inspired to greater depths of spirituality. St. Paul, in one of his letters, challenged us to imitate him as he imitated Christ. In the person of John Paul we hear intimations of that same challenge: follow me as I follow Christ; imitate me as I imitate Christ; live a life of simplicity, of trust, of compassion, of intimacy, of integrity, even as I do, even as Christ did; take up your cross; lay down your life; forgive those who have hurt you; love those who you despise or who despise you; transcend yourself, and in so doing become one with the Infinite.
Blessings & Peace,
Hugo
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