Where were you when the world stopped turning?

September 11, 2001, started off just like any other day.  I was 15 years old, on my way out the door to go meet my carpool to go to Pius, when I hear on the TV that a plane had hit one of the twin towers.  I didn't think much of it, thinking it must have been cloudy in NYC, and some tiny prop plane must have gotten turned around, and hit one of the towers.  It wasn't until I got to school, and we heard on the radio that a second plane had hit tower two, that we realized that something bigger was going on.  Walking through the hallways, people were almost in a state of shock, wondering what was going on.  Rumors were flying, but when the school day started at 8 AM, and Fr. McKenna, our chaplain, came on the PA and told us that we were in the midst of a great tragedy in our nation, we knew that something big was happening.  I remember how hard it was to concentrate that day, seeing the images on TV in Mr. Torres' English Class, trying to concentrate in classes where teachers were still attempting to teach, but not being able to because of the fear that was setting in over what might happen next- the eerie quietness over the city because all air traffic was grounded, save for the fighters taking off from the Air Force Base.

What has happened that day changed our lives forever.  Looking back, it's hard to believe it's been 10 years since that day, and it's hard to believe how many lives have been changed- not just here, but in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It's interesting to me that the readings for Mass yesterday, the 10th Anniversary, speak of forgiveness.  This wasn't something that the Church cleverly designed, or planned for.  In the normal rotation of readings, This particular set for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, just happened to land on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.  I wonder if God is trying to tell us something?

The beginning of the school year, road trips, and retreats

School is off to a fine start. Hard to believe we're already in our fourth week of classes!  I've sure been busy these past few weeks, which is why I haven't written recently, but I finally have time to give you all an update as to what's been happening.

I'm settling into my job at the school pretty well.  It's different to not be teaching all day (I am co-teaching a drama class this semester, and I may teach one section by myself next semester, but that remains to be seen.) But I'm doing alright.  I find myself spending a lot of time looking over music and planning for upcoming school liturgies, which is great, because it gives me a chance to work on my piano playing.

I still haven't settled into a Parish yet, mainly because with the exception of the Sunday we went to Fr. Matthew's first Mass, I've had to sing at Mass for the school every weekend. every Sunday the football team has Mass at 8 AM at the school, before they practice, so I've been going to that Mass.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to be involved in a Parish a bit more at some point, but for now, I'm happy helping out where I'm needed.

Another part of my job is to go on all the class retreats.  I haven't done much in the way of leading any of the retreats just yet, but once I see how the retreats are structured, I will hopefully be able to jump in and help out!

Over Labor Day weekend, I took advantage of the fact that my Grandparents are only 4 hours away from Novi, and I drove down to visit them.  It was good to see them again, because it had  been FAR too long, and I enjoyed the time I spent with them.  I also got to go up to Chicago, and go to the Chicago Jazz Festival with a friend from NM who is now in Chicago for school.  It was a great time, and I was definitely glad the rain didn't spoil our fun.  We heard some great Jazz that day!

Fall is definitely in the air now.  Looking forward to seeing the trees change color, here in a few weeks!

Getting ready for the school year

It's that time again... and it always seems like when school starts, I hit the ground running!

This year is going to be a little different for me- because of my role as Assistant Campus Minister at Catholic Central, I won't really be in the classroom this year.  I'll be working with the drama class as time permits, but there is another teacher who is in charge of the class, so I won't really have any classes of my own.  If I can get a choir going, I will have that as well, but right now, my main job is to help with the planning of school liturgies, and there are three of them in the first 2 weeks of school! We have Mass for the staff tomorrow, Mass for the Freshmen on Monday, and our first school-wide Mass on August 25th.  It's going to be exciting, and hopefully a chance for me to jump in and discover a little more what the ministerial side of my role as a Priest will be like.  I'll also have the opportunity to help with retreats and reflection days, so that will be very nice as well!

Things have been going well since the move from Toronto to Novi.  I've been here for about a week and a half now, and I've mostly been spending my time getting settled in at the house, finding out where things are around town, and taking care of all the things you have to do when you move, such as getting a Michigan license, paperwork at the school, etc.  I also went out to Lansing, and visited a friend of mine who goes to Michigan State.  We were able to go see Casting Crowns in Concert, and it was great to be able to re-connect with someone from my College days!

I also had the opportunity to go to the Priestly Ordination of one of our Basilians.  The last time I had been to an Ordination, I was 12, so it was nice to be able to go to one, and have a greater understanding of what was happening.  It was a very powerful experience, and a very beautiful liturgy.  God willing, I will get to experience many more ordinations in my life, including my own!

That's about it for right now.  School officially starts Tuesday, so pray that all goes well!

Summer's coming to an end...

It's been a busy couple of weeks!  I've now finished up my internship at Salt and Light, and I am now heading to Novi, Michigan, to teach at Detroit Catholic Central High School.  I'm amazed at how fast the time flew by!  these past two months have been great, and I am really glad that I got the opportunity to come up here.

Salt and Light is a great organization, and I enjoyed my time there, not only because of the work that they do, but also because of the people I met.  People always talk about the lack of young adult involvement in the Church, but if those people could only see Salt and Light, I think they'd be truly amazed.  I've never seen an organization such as Salt and Light that is almost completely run by young adults.  Of course, you have Fr. Tom Rosica, and a couple of other "older" people, but it is truly great to see such a great youth involvement in the organization.  I sincerely hope I have the chance to go back there some day.  If you want to learn more about Salt and Light, check out their website at www.saltandlighttv.org

Last week, The three Basilian Associates who were living at Frasatti House welcomed three younger associates to Toronto, and then we all went on retreat in Niagara Falls for a week. It was a great experience, and a great chance to get to bond and connect with each other.  An added bonus was that the retreat center was within walking distance of the falls!  We got to go sightseeing at the falls, ride the Maid of the Mist, and walk by the falls at night.  I do have to admit that when we were doing our "walk and talks" as part of the retreat, it was great to be able to walk down to the falls!  Niagara Falls is truly a spectacular sight to see, and if you haven't been there, I highly recommend you go! (P.S., the Canadian side is the better side to view the falls from!)

Well, onward to the next adventure! I'm on my way to Michigan now (horray for free wi-fi on the train!)  Keep me in your prayers, and know that you'll be in mine.

Blessings,

Steven

It's been awhile!

It's been a while since I've posted here, mainly because things have been pretty mundane around here the past couple of weeks.  Aside from Canada Day celebrations, which were a lot like Independence Day Celebrations in the states (fireworks included) and excursions to different Basilian Houses for dinner, we haven't really done a whole lot of exploring recently, mainly because our days have been filled with work, and we've been relaxing on the weekends- either that or cleaning out the kitchen in the house, which proved to be quite the task!  It definitely looks much better now, and hopefully we'll be able to find things that we need after the reorganization.  Time has been flying, but there are certainly a lot of things to look forward to in the next few weeks, mainly:

-Going to Canada's Wonderland
-Going to a Toronto Blue Jays game
-The arrival of the other Associates
-our Retreat in Niagara Falls.

It's going to be a great couple of weeks! Then it's off to Michigan, to get ready for the school year at Detroit Catholic Central High School. I'm looking forward to it, and to the next step of this adventure!

Owen Sound, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

It has been a very interesting couple of days here in Canada! It all started Saturday, when we took a day trip up to Owen Sound, ON, which turned into driving up the entire Bruce Peninsula, all the way up to Tobermory, ON.  It was a great trip, and great to see the beauty of Ontario, including Lake Huron, and some of the former Basilian Missions.  It was also great to hear some of the history from Fr. George, who was our guide for the day.    It was a long day, but very nice.  The weather wasn't the greatest, but I want to go back on a nice day, and maybe enjoy Sauble Beach!

Today, however was the most interesting day of all, because I got to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in concert! When I was asked earlier today if I would like to go, I honestly think I was more shocked than anything else. Here is the one group that I have wanted to see perform live for a good majority of my life, and I’m being given the opportunity to hear them mere minutes before the concert is scheduled to start.

Allow me to explain how this transpired. Salt and Light CEO, Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, had been asked to conduct the choir’s encore at the afternoon concert, and it just so happened that when he got there, he had an
extra ticket. So he called back to the S+L studios, and asked if anyone else wanted to come hear the
choir. Being that my background is in music, and since I have conducted choirs for the past two years,
I naturally jumped at the opportunity. Knowing that I had mere minutes to get to Roy Thomson Hall
made the journey seem like an eternity, but thankfully, I arrived just as the choir was beginning their
first number.

I think there is only one word that can describe the Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Perfection. Absolute
Perfection. Here you have a 360 voice choir, and yet they sing so flawlessly that not one voice sticks out
over another. The mixture of repertoire that they sing is incredible, ranging from Sacred, to spirituals, to
folk hymns- even some Broadway tunes thrown in for good measure!

Of course the reason that we were all there was to see Fr. Rosica conduct the choir in their encore
piece: This Land is Your Land (with the Canadian words, of course.) I have to say that he did quite well,

and I am sure that it is an experience that he will not soon forget. Nor will I forget it, for that matter!

Top: Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, Conducts the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Bottom: The Choir performs in Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, ON.

Thoughts on Relationships

What exactly constitutes a relationship?  This is a question that has been on my mind a lot recently, especially as I continue my discernment of the Priesthood with the Basilians. 

In today’s society, we see relationships everywhere: on TV, in the movies, and even in the news.  But is this the model for relationship that we should be following?  In an age where sex has become so pervasive that it is mentioned in almost every TV show and movie without so much as a second thought, it is very easy for one to be lead to believe that they are not in a “successful” relationship unless they are exemplifying what they see on TV.

So often when we hear the term “relationship” our first thought is of a couple, and when people ask us about our relationships, we tend to talk in this narrow view, because that is how relationships are so often portrayed.  But a relationship is so much more than that.  In fact, the first definition given for the word relationship is “The way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected.”  It isn’t until definition number four that the concept of a sexual relationship is even mentioned.

What this means is that ALL our interactions with other people, whether they are family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, students, teachers, and so on, are all different types of relationships.  Of course, the context of the relationship varies depending on who is involved, but the very core of a relationship, which is a connection between people, is present in all of them.  It may be deeper in some instances than others, but that depends on how the relationship is nurtured, and if it is allowed to grow. 

Of course, one cannot mention relationships, without mentioning the most important relationship of all: the one between us and God.  This is the relationship that is often neglected, but is the basis for all of our other relationships.  If we nurture our relationship of God through prayer and reception of the Sacraments on a regular basis, we begin to see God in all the people that we meet.  We begin to strive not only to grow closer to God, but to also reach out to others, and let the Light of Christ shine through us.  And that leads us into an even deeper sense of relationship.

If we as Christians allow ourselves to be rooted in Christ, then we will find that our relationships with others will flourish and grow stronger, especially when we stop seeking for our own satisfaction out of our relationships, and instead seek for God’s will.    So often, our struggles with relationships persist because we try to mold our relationships into what we want them to be, which often leads to the relationship “falling apart.”  I’ve seen this happen many times in my own life, and it has been very frustrating, but recently, several of my relationships have grown very strong, because I have stopped worrying about what I want to get out of the relationship, and I’ve just let the relationship flow naturally, allowing God to take it in the direction that He would like to see it go.  How blessed we are to have a God who will never let us be alone, if only we put our trust in Him!

And so, let our prayer always be that God will draw us closer to the people in this life who will help us to draw closer to Him, so that all of our relationships may be strengthened, and rooted in Christ.  Amen.