Second Sunday of Lent Evening Mass - Saint Vincent DePaul Parish and School - Salt Lake City, UT - March 16th, 2014

       My visit to Saint Vincent DePaul Parish and School was the perfect evening. The Parish and School are off the highway and are three buildings. The School, Holy Room and Chapel/Church where the services take place. It was a clear day and quick drive to get there.

         Outside the Holy Room is a statue of Vincent DePaul who was famous for the caring of orphans of children. It is because of this he's always seen holding a child. Next to the Holy Room is the Bell and Chapel. Outside the Chapel is a statue of Mary and a woman bowing to her.

    Saint Vincent DePaul is one of the simpler Catholic Churches I've been too outside of the UW Catholic Newman Center and some of the Churches in Romania and Peru, which I liked. It had a simple zen to it that was beautiful.

      The one thing that put me off from the experience was the prayer, which was mostly a call to bring people back to the fold. "Any sinners please consider rejoining the communion of Christ," and the prayers were very much targeted only at the Saint Vincent DePaul community, with the exception of a prayer to end wars. It was here that Ukraine, Venezuela, Syria and Sudan were in my thoughts and prayers.      

     As to why it was a perfect way to spend the day...it was a place that was peaceful and easy for reflection. When the Mass began there the readings, which were focused on the Transfiguration, in which Peter, James and John were present when Jesus was with Elijah and Moses and where God says, "This is my Son of whom I am well pleased." The priest spoke on this, and how Christians are pilgrims heading to that perfect place that the apostles experienced in that moment...that they are pilgrims being guided by God. He dealt briefly with the problem of evil (problems that happen aren't God's fault - free will), but that God can make possible growth in those times. He then described how the Eucharist is a part of that being both physical and spiritual food of God that can allow for a taste of that moment the apostles had with Jesus.

     After the sermon was a moment of silence, where I thought about the power of story. Whether the resurrection happened or not, it is pretty cool how a story inspired so much. The music was perfect too, the main singer reminded me of my mentor Lupe when I was in choir at the Catholic Newman Center at UW. I must say, I have not been to a Catholic Church that didn't have great music here in Utah. 

    After the sermon ended one of the women greeted me and gave me a calender and bulletin, since I was curious. I think I'll probably be visiting here again.

Meadow Creek Chapel - Issaquah, WA - March 20th, 2011

     Hey all. It's been a while since I've done a post. Given it's Lent I wish I would've caught at least a few visits last week, sadly it did not pan out.

    First off, how would I describe Meadow Creek Chapel? From the outside it's a quaint Chapel in the middle of Old Issaquah. The congregation is pretty small, and the style of music is christian rock. There is an element of closeness in the community, but at the time separation. Most people left as I did when the final song was playing. Meadow Creek also does Coffee Hour after worship music at the beginning so that people have a greater opportunity to socialize. After the sermon, the guest preacher asked how people had integrated the Word into their life. It reminded of the Quakers, the congregation was learning from the preacher, and vise versa. I really appreciated this dialogue. The visit was wonderful, the one con was though, the community seems to involved helping itself...all the ways to get involved were socializing...can't socializing be done while serving the community?

   The sermon was about, "Change your Thinking. Change your life." There was a women who was the guest preacher and she talked about how God and the Word of God was there to help find peace when she found out her son had cancer. They were able to treat it and she tied it to the verse of "The children who are good to their parents shall live long." I could think of a few exceptions to this rule (natural disasters, ect.) But it was what she needed from God at that point to know peace.

   She talked about the distractions like facebook, television and all the things that keep us from living life by the Gospel. She brought up how money, and outside attachments can't really bring peace (medication as a form of trying to find peace). That only God can bring true peace. Her sermon had a lot of Buddhist undertones which I don't believe were purposeful. For example, finding peace by focusing on the Good (the 8 fold path vs God's Word, outside world attachments not way to inner peace.) The congregation was pretty evangelical Christian, so I don't think this was purposeful.

    Regardless, this sermon touched me deeply. I've succeeded at giving up coffee this Lent, and mostly suceeded in other fasts...but still mostly. I think the reason why, is the reason that this sermon hit upon. I'm not giving myself the right information. I haven't read or thought enough upon what living virtue means, and what the great teachers have said on it. The teacher doesn't matter, the message does. Whenever I feel distracted, lonely, anxious or isolated (lonely has been the big one). I need to turn to that goodness, and from it do more good acts. I haven't researched ways to get involved in the community to serve, when I said I would this Lent. I did not meet the mark, and  think with giving more time to truly meditating on what virtue means and what others have said it is, will help me better live it.  It will become a more integrated part of my being, because of the work put into the study and action of it.

    May Easter bring transformation to greater good within and in my actions towards others always. Easter, the celebration of The Resurrection, the ultimate rebirth.

Ash Wednesday - Lentin Reflection - Saint Michael Parish - March 9th 2011

      This is my first time taking part in the 40 days of Lent. Lent it the Holiday celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Orthodox and Anglicans in honor of Jesus's fasting for 40 days. The 40 days of Lent are the lead-up to Easter Day and the resurrection. This is a time, when each moment should be done with awareness (if it wasn't before) and with the awareness of Christ in one's life. Ash symbolizes mortality. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust...in the end it's what our bodies become.

     Ash Wednesday was the largest Catholic Service I've ever attended. Saint Michael is a big parish, and every pew was filled. One of the readings was about not parading virtue in the streets (like the Pharisees did of old apparently) (which having an ash cross on ones forward kind of contradicts). But I think what the cross serves as, is a reminder of the community supporting you in your Lentin fasts. When the Priest was blessing the ashes he accidentally called them "Holy Asses," before he corrected himself. So that was moment of humor in one of the most beautiful services I've attended. (The music was old Latin sometimes and their was so much passion in the singing that day). I received the ash cross on my forehead that mass and the old woman told me what she told all of us, to "Return to the Gospel," which to me meant returning to the virtue within the Gospel (not the vice and evil within the Gospel).

     As you know, I'm not a Christian. So why am I taking part in Lent? Because I am aware of the ways I fall short. There is something to be said for days that are deemed significant, like Christmas, Easter, Ramadan, The New Year, Ash Wednesday, Rosh Hashanah, and others. When there is community support in act, like with AA (alcoholics anonymous) or NA (Narcotics anonymous) a person's will grows, because it is part of the communities will. I don't really want to publicize everything I'm giving up on a blog (though if you ask I will tell) except for some obvious ones like coffee (and giving up meat on Fridays, I failed on that on Wednesday), as I plan to better live with compassion, courage, temperance and humility in my speech and actions. These are things I CAN get better at.

    I am so lucky for all the support I have. I have never worried about going hungry, lack of transportation, being homeless, being unable to afford an education, been mortally sick or an unhealthy body. This month and beyond this month I want to be better at helping those who aren't as fortunate as me. I'm graduating in a week and I need to responsible for more then just myself. Who ME is, is a part of everyone else, and who I am is a part of others too...  

    So to those practicing Lent, know you have my support, and if you want to do anything to serve the community with me, let me know. I'll be looking for opportunities to volunteer and get involved and to help others wherever I am.