Open Wide the Doors for Christ!

The family (including myself) is currently en-rout to Yosemite National Park.  We left Saint Louis early this morning, and have completed our first leg of the flight, landing in Dallas.  I was praying morning prayer during the flight, and I thought that one of the intercessions was particularly applicable.

"Open our eyes and the eyes of our brothers - to see your wonders this day."

The good, the true, and the beautiful - called the transcendentals - are things that all humans desire, but so often we look for them outside of God.  Here's the deal; ultimate good, absolute truth, and infinite beauty, are found in God.  However, when we find things that are good, when we advance in knowledge towards truth, when we see something beautiful - we can use these moments to bring ourselves closer to the true source of those things - God.  Obviously, there is a lot more to this topic, but our flight is boarding in half an hour and I gotta get my stuff packed up...  Just remember that goodness, truth, and beauty, wherever they are found, can always be applied towards our growth and relationship with God.  At the very least they can be moments where we thank God.  I'm sure that this phrase will be very applicable throughout this entire vacation - it will be awesome!

Happy Memorial Day everybody!  To all veterans and current serving armed forces: thank you so much!  

Well, here is another weekly recap for you (actually, it will focus mostly on today since that is what I remember best).  This week has been pretty good; below is a quick rundown of what went on in my life (I hope it's not incredibly boring).:

School: I finished several of the essays due next week done (or at least in a state where I could turn them in if I needed to).  I have a few bits of homework left, two different class presentations left, neither of which should be terribly hard, and the Shakespeare paper (yes, I keep pushing it off).  All that will definitively be done by next Friday (whether I want it to or not), so that is the point when I will start studying for most of my finals.  I have 2 on Monday (Theology and Shakespeare), 1 on Tuesday (Sociology), 1 on Wednesday (Asian Philosophies), and two take-homes (Ethics and Music in Catholic worship).  Most are comprehensive, so they will be long and worth quite a bit.  Ah, well, it won't be that bad...

Music: This week I just about forgot that I was cantor on Tuesday (and I'm the guy in charge of the schedule...).  About 5 till Mass, when I typically make sure that whoever is scheduled is there and getting prepared, it hit me that it was my day.  Thankfully, there are plenty of easy Easter hymns, so I just picked one out quickly and went with it.  Actually, most daily Masses are pretty easy unless there is a feast or something, just an entrance hymn and the psalm before the Gospel.  Since this Thursday was St. Mark's feast day, the schola sang for Mass (which was over at Marian because it was Thursday).  It turned out wonderful, no big mistakes and some great songs (and here is my post with videos of them).

Athletics:  This week I played soccer twice (Tuesday and today), for the first times this year; both times were a blast!  Soccer is so much fun primarily because I am pretty good at it.  I don't mean to brag, but while I am pretty fast, my height isn't anything to write home about.  This means that it's harder to play basketball period and it's harder to get open or block in football or frisbee.  In soccer, on the other hand, height doesn't matter as much.  Most of the time the ball is on the ground, and speed is (for me at least) the biggest part of the game - outrunning or maneuvering other people.  Tuesday was rainy and in the 50s, so it wasn't ideal, but we still had fun.  Today, though, was glorious.  It was at least 60 and sunny, and I was playing great - several long shots that actually went in, several good moves, it was a blast!  Running is petering off for the run coming up next Saturday.  This means the runs are shorter, but unfortunately, this means that we go at a faster pace (so they take less time, but aren't necessarily easier).  I ran 3 miles in a bit under 21 minutes right before playing soccer.  It was a pretty fast pace, and I still had something left for soccer - great, fun afternoon!

Mass at Holy Rosary:  This afternoon, after running, playing soccer, and doing Evening Prayer + Benediction, I went to Holy Rosary Parish (In Indy) to attend their Extraordinary Form Mass.  Unfortunately, I have been rather bad at getting over there - there always seems to be something going on (or I just forget).  Anyway, today I went over there for Mass with two other guys (1 of whom goes almost every week, and the other, who had never been to the Extraordinary Form).  Mass was great (as expected), and I think that Adam will be trying it again (I told him that it takes a few times before you pick up on how everything goes).  Every time I go to this church I am struck by how beautiful it is.  Just gorgeous!  The coolest part of Holy Rosary is the sliding altar.  You may notice that there is no free-standing altar, as would typically be used for an Ordinary-Form Mass in which the priest faces the people.  The Extraordinary-Form is always done with the priest facing the same direction as the congregation (ad orientem), but almost all Ordinary-Form Masses are done with the priest facing the people (ad populorum ? - that's a guess).  Anyway, at Holy Rosary the altar against the wall (in the pictures) slides out, away from the wall, for the Ordinary Form Masses.  Unfortunately, it wasn't transformed while we were there, so I can't show it, but when I saw it last time, it was such a "wow" moment.   Ingenuity at its best!