Katie’s Blog

I’ve always wanted to go to a World Youth Day.  The closest I ever got was being in Canada a few months before the Toronto WYD… which must have been back in 2002. In any case, I’ve spent the past week praying for all the pilgrims in Sydney–those I knew and those I didn’t. And, surprise, surprise, I’ve also been reading the blog-o-sphere for updates.

So when I came across this blog I naturally had to share. It’s called The Love and Life Site. It’s a series of reflections put together about WYD and the impact it’s had on young people. The women writing the entries are all members of the Sisters of Life. A dear friend of mine is feverishly trying to pass the bar exam and pay off her loans so she can join these sisters! Happy Reading!

EDIT: A friend of mine just drew my attention to the Dominican World Youth Day Blog.

Well here we are… the semester has ended (thankfully) and my hiking trip with my dad and sister was GREAT! I’m finishing my last few days working in the admissions office before I start my summer internship. (More on that on Jen’s blog.)

While I was blog-surfing today, I came across this wonderfully prayerful reflection on Pentecost that I wish to share with you all. Peace!

Pentecost is the day of love

Happy Summer to all!!!

I’m so excited for Pope Benedict’s visit to the US this week. I wish I was fortunate enough to get to see him, but alas I will be watching via tv and the blog-o-sphere. January of this year was the 10th anniversary of my first visit to St. Louis–to see Pope John Paul II when I was a freshman in high school. Not only have I looked back on that moment of my life fondly, but I have see the grace in my life as a result of it.

So here are a few websites of notes for those interested in things papally-related:

USCCB Website- Christ Our Hope

Amy Welborn’s blog- she has some good stuff up already, certainly with more to come.

Pope 2008- blog from the National Catholic Register

A Papal Discussion- from the NY Times

From the AI website- student brothers travel to New York

Please pray for safety for all traveling pilgrims and for all those heads of state with whom the Holy Father will be visiting!

Lord, source of eternal life and truth, give to your shepherd Benedict XVI a spirit of courage and right judgement, a spirit of knowledge and love.
By governing with fidelity those entrusted to his care, may he, as successor to the Apostle Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your Church into a sacrament of unity, love, and peace for all the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

SOURCE: EWTN

**The original post was lost when we had a server crash, but here’s a bit of it that I can remember.** (KJP- 3/18/08)

Joyce Rupp, a well-known spiritual writer, has a beautiful image for what we do during Lent. She calls it “tomb-watching.” I used this image in a preaching I gave in class earlier this week. Rupp’s imagery reminded me of the friends I’ve walked with through struggles and sorrows. And like angels who watched over the body of Jesus as he laid in the tomb, so often do we do the same with our friends in the midst of the “deaths” we each experience. Through the resurrection, these tomb-watches have great power as we remain confident in the new life that comes from death. Here is an excerpt of Rupp’s words:

Tomb-Watch:

It all began with a postcard tucked inside an envelope with a letter. I’m sure my friend never knew what that small print of the fourteenth station of the cross would generate in me. Neither did I. But I did know the instant I saw the print by the southwest artist, Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia, that something (or Someone) tugged at my Lenten spirit and asked me to look longer.

DeGrazia’a print shows the body of Jesus wrapped in a traditional mummy-like white shroud, lying on a stone slab. Ah, but the body is not alone. All around it are shawled sorrowing angels keeping vigil. Their soft rainbow colors are the darkness of the tomb. Slightly bowed as they sit, one knows immediately that their hearts are weary with sadness for their Beloved. They watch with a patient vigilance, attending the One who has given all. They trustfully wait for the piercing light of Resurrection to banish the gloom of death’s house….

I understood, then, the power of these angels surrounding the shrouded body of Jesus. I saw clearly how each of us needs “tomb watches” every now and then. Maybe we are keeping vigil for a part of ourselves that lies dormant and seemingly dead or lost or has fallen into a coffin of depression or despair. Maybe that shrouded figure in us is the loss of a way to pray, a deadening unforgiveness, or a body experiencing its physical limitations. Maybe our “tomb watch” is our becoming the angel of vigil, attending someone else in pain. Maybe the vigil we keep is for the people of our world as we weep for their woe or for the Earth herself as she continues to experience humanity’s reckless waste and the grime of greed…

Easter is about “tomb watches”. It is about love that keeps vigil and waits and believes in life, no matter how dark and empty and cold the inner space feels. Easter is about hope that is willing to sit in the tomb while it trusts in transformation. Easter is about faithful companions who keep watch with us and cheer us on as we wait for our inner resurrection”.

from - ‘Out of the Ordinary’

This semester I’m very excited to be taking Christology. I’ve waited nearly three years to take this class (fitting it into my schedule has been a bear!). And my homework gains even more meaning as we ponder the mystery of Jesus’ death (and resurrection) this Lenten season.

Earlier this semester we read historical descriptions and depictions of Jesus Christ. The following is an excerpt from a handout we received. My small discussion group was deeply moved by these words:

He ate and drank for our sakes, though himself without hunger or thirst, he bore and suffered reproaches for our sakes, he died and rose again because of us. He who defended me also when I sinned and strengthened me with his greatness, will also comfort you that you may love him, this God who is both great and little, beautiful and ugly, young and old, appearing in time and yet in eternity wholly visible; whom no human hand has grasped, yet is held by his servants, whom no flesh has seen, yet now he is seen; whom no hearing has found yet now he is known as the word that is heard; whom no suffering can reach, yet now is chastened as we are; who was never chastened, yet now is chastened; who is before the world, yet now is comprehended in time; the beginning greater than all princedom, yet now delivered to the princes; beauteous, yet appearing among us as poor and ugly; this Jesus you have, brethren, the door, the light, the way, the bread, the water, the life, the resurrection, the refreshment, the pearl, the treasure, the seed, the abundance, the mustard-seed, the vine, the plough, the grace, the faith, the word: He is all things, and there is no other greater than he. To him be praise forever and ever. Amen.

Acts of Peter, 20 (selections)- c. 2^nd C. AD

Further reading on the Acts of Peter.

Happy 2008 to everyone! In this new year, I offer a few thoughts/suggestions for ordering our prayer. I find the Holy Father’s intentions this month particularly necessary in light of the recent events in Kenya. A former Aquinas professor, Tom Esselman, CM, is now teaching at the Vincentian Seminary in Nairobi. He and the other Vincentians there are safe for the time, but they ask for your prayers.

Daily Offering
O Jesus, through the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers,
works, joys and sufferings of this day, in
union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world.

I offer them for all the intentions
of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls,
reparation for sin, the reunion of all
Christians.

I offer them for the intentions of our
Bishops, and all members of the Apostleship
of Prayer and in particular for the intentions
of the Holy Father for this month.

POPE BENEDICT XVI’S
MONTHLY PRAYER INTENTIONS – 2008

January:
• Christian Unity. That the Church work for full visible unity that better manifests a community of love which reflects the Blessed Trinity.

• Church in Africa. That the Church in Africa, preparing for a special Synod, may be an instrument of reconciliation and justice.

Source for the rest of the year’s intentions:
http://www.apostleshipofprayer.org/2008.html

The semester is nearly over (I have one take-home exam left)! However, brain cell function has dwindled. So as to revitalize and sustain us, here are some links for prayer during this Advent season. Can you believe we’re half-way through already?!
See you in 2008!
http://www.churchyear.net/adventprayers.html
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Advent/Daily-prayers.html
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/Advent/index.htm
http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/advent2007.htm
http://www.sacredspace.ie/advent/

So here we are, just past midterms, and already I’m thinking about what classes I’ll take next semester. This spring will be my sixth (and last) full-time semester of studies. (I’ll wrap up my remaining classes the following two semesters as a part-time student.) So here’s what’s on the docket for the spring:

- Lay Formation VI (a directed reading)
- Christology (which I’ve been waiting to take since last spring)
- Sacramental and Theological Foundations of Ministry (a mouthful)
- Foundations of Preaching II (an extension of the Preaching I course I’m in now)
- Theology and Spirituality of Marriage and Family (another mouthful)
- Theology and Ministry of Teaching (another exciting class!)

On a separate (though I promise related) note, I have a list in the back of my planner. It’s a list of all the people that I know who just got engaged, are about to be married, or are expecting children. People just sort of laugh when I tell them I have this list and say “You’re just at that time in your life.” And I guess I am. But when I signed up to take “Theology and Spirituality of Marriage and Family” I began to think about these people even more. So here’s part of my ever-growing list of friends and family who are beginning families of their own. Please join me in praying for them…

For the newly engaged and recently married…

Katie & Karl; Gill & Phil; Lisa & Chris; Kyle & Heather;
Holly & Mikey; Jennifer & Ryan; Teresa & Uriel; Mary Beth & Drew;
Katie & Jason; Jeff & Kathrine; Stephanie & Doug; Drew & Ashley;
Kyle & Heidi; Sarah & Chris; Dan & Amanda; Jack & Dana;
Abbie & Ken; Kathy & Josh; Lindsay & Jesse; Jackie & Joffrey; Cal & Shannon

For those awaiting new life…
Bethany & Jimmie; Chip & Sarah (and sister Grace); Wendy & Jeff (and brother Jack)

And newly arrived…
Baby Connor, parents John and Maureen and big sister Madeline.

“You O Lord, call me, and I come to you, not through my merits, but through your mercy alone, which I ask of you in virtue of your blood.”
~ St. Catherine of Siena
This quote is taken from a bookmark I received this past weekend at the Ordination to the Diaconate of two Dominican Brothers. I have had the pleasure of having classes with both Br. Simon and Br. Kevin. Their deep faith is worthy of great admiration. And I ask that you join with me in prayer for these two men who come with their whole hearts to serve the Body of Christ!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Waterloo, Ontario for the ordination of a classmate, (now Father) Toby Collins, C.R. Ten friends (mostly Aquinas employees, students, and/or graduates) and I road tripped to the north and were warmly welcomed by the Congregation of the Resurrection for the first ordination in their province in 11 years.
Toby, a 2007 M.Div. graduate, is a delightful man. I felt honored to be in attendance for this very important part of his life. On Saturday, June 2, the day of his ordination, the local paper (The Register) wrote a half page article on him. While the article is not available through their website, it has been posted on another blog. I wish to share this link with you so you have some insight into what a great priest we have in our church! Please pray for him and all members of the Congregation of the Resurrection, particularly those studying here at Aquinas Institute!
http://clericalwhispers.blogspot.com/2007/06/man-to-be-ordained-at-church-where-he.html
(Yes he really does like hippos, Spiderman, and kite flying!)