Airplane!

I made an emergency trip home last week for my grandfather's funeral. I saw the plane rides as an opportunity to get some reading done. I had received a copy of Chaput's "Render Unto Caesar" at Christmas, but hadn't had a chance to crack it yet.

It was a great read, very accessible but uncompromising in its stance against lukewarm Catholicism in the public sphere. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who considers themselves Catholic citizens of the United States of America.

To enter on a brief tangent, my grandfather was a veteran of World War II. As such, the honor guard was present at his funeral and he had a veteran's burial. It was the first time I witnessed a veteran's burial. What a marvelous and wonderful rite! I, as a grandson, felt so honored by their presence, and so inspired by the service of my grandfather that I found myself contemplating joining up. Ha!



But back to the plane ride. I understand the opportunity to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ on a plane. You've got a captive audience right there next to you for anywhere from an hour to three or four hours. Usually, though, I'm a bit timid.


I sat in the plane reading about how I need to be a Catholic publicly and unswervingly. It spoke to me on an evangelical level. I, as an evangelical Catholic missionary, need to be more willing to be a prophet of the truth to the college campus. Just then I decided to ask my neighbor whether she lived in DC or was just visiting. She was in politics and social action organizations. She then asked what I do, and it became an evangelical encounter. Right away she posed many questions on social issues and how she couldn't understand why the Church remains archaic on certain things. She, a Catholic (if non-practicing), was in the buffet camp. It was just the situation the Chaput had just tutored me on. I had the opportunity to sympathize with her and reassure her that her point of view was understandable, or I could love her and call her to a more heroic, higher ground. I remained firm and we had a pleasant though conflicting conversation. In the end she at least seemed to acknowledge that it was good to hear someone ready and willing to stand up for morality who was a regular citizen.

There wasn't really much of a warming up to the Church's Word on her part, but I did at least make her promise me to go see the National Shrine (which she hadn't yet after living in DC for a year) just to look at the art. I, formed in art history, believe strongly in the evangelical power of art and I pray that when she does go the power of the Eucharistic presence will convert her heart.

In Great Appreciation

The past two weeks have been crazy. Events on campus (see below) preceded the great High Feast of Easter. Just a day after Easter Sunday, I received word that my paternal grandfather had died. I rushed home to be with my family. It was a good, if solemn, opportunity to be with my family during the Easter Season. The hour I got back to Maryland I dropped one bag at home and packed another to rush down to Upper Marlboro, MD to join our Catholic Student Center's Spring Retreat. Back on campus this week we've been looking forward to next fall, when we'll have our big outreach push for the year. That planning has been exhausting, as there is much to strategize and organize. This work is enjoyable for me though, so it's been fun work. We will have a retreat next weekend (may 1-3) with our student leaders in West Virginia to talk about what we'll be doing in the fall, vision casting for the systematic incarnational evangelization that we perform.

In the midst of all this, there have been lunches, phone meetings, emails, and much waiting while my placement for next year is determined. I still am unsure where I'll be. Needless to say, it has been a bit of an emotional strain to be unsure whether I'll be back at UMD or not next year this late in the game.

But despite all this, it is incredible to have such a devoted support team who blesses me with such heroic and loving generosity. I am struck with profound appreciation for you all who share with me of your hard-earned paycheck, just to be out here living a life trained on God and encouraging students to do likewise.

The spring semester is what FOCUS calls the "Build Season". It's when we put much energy into forming our disciples through scriptural study, discipline in virtues, and challenges to generosity. Now, as that season comes to a close, we begin to focus our energy outward again, looking ahead to the fall. My disciple, John, has been leading a study for a couple years and now has 2 disciples of his own. His mission for fall outreach will be to support his disciples as they start their own bible studies. Tony has a Bible study but no disciples yet. His mission will be to invest a majority of his energy on those guys in his study already, and hopefully ask a couple of them into discipleship. Chris will be starting a new Bible study. It will be my duty to support him in that and really show him how to do it. I am excited for all these men to step up and respond to these challenges. Please pray for them.

Scourges

As Holy Week drew close at the University of Maryland, a series of scourges began. At the end of last week, we received word that our campus would be screening a XXX full-length pornography film at a huge auditorium in our student union. Our chaplain and many of our students were solicited for interviews by media that went around the country, even into the whole world. By early this week, Australia had shown press on this event. Through government action, the film's screening was blocked. Students then made it a freedom of speech issue. Its showing is one thing, but the fact that students were willing to fight to have it shown is another very saddening thing altogether. The film was shown earlier this week.

On Monday of Holy Week, news reached us that a student with whom I had been meeting, and who was in Raul's Bible study, had committed suicide over the weekend. We also found out that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in the fall. None of us had known this. It was very difficult to hear this news, and we continue to pray for his soul and for his family.

The governing bodies of our university also decided this week to abolish a long-standing tradition of a short prayer at commencement. Our chaplain, Fr. Kyle Ingels has had a difficult time lobbying for its maintenance. Happily though, this senatorial decision was overriden by the school's president.

All these events considered, it has been a trying Holy Week. Through this we are growing closer to Jesus as we place ourselves beside Him on His road to Calvary.

I wish you all a very blessed Easter.

Though today is Good Friday and we await Saturday night to seasonally celebrate, we live in an Easter time, we are Easter people. Even now, Christ is Risen!

Oasis in the Desert

April 1st was John Junghans's 21st birthday. My bible study meets on Wednesdays, so awhile ago we realized that John's birthday fell on a Wednesday. We planned to go out that night as a study so for a long time we had looked forward to it. We all headed to a favorite site in Hyattsville, Franklin's. It is a small brewery pretty close to our house. I like the beer, not so much the tableclothes.

John is the youngun of our study, and the last to turn 21. It was a great joy for me to celebrate this momentous occasion with such fine men. It was an awesome opportunity to build fellowship, breaking the habitude of study together. Our bible studies are an important source of formation for young men. But an important part of that formation is fellowship; and especially, how to enjoy one another in a way that is truly loving and appropriate. The strengthening of the bonds of fellowship is an investment in character that will long outlast much of what students learn in lecture halls. What an honor to present and promote the gift of fellowship and fraternity that God blesses us with! The occasion provided us with a little extra feast in the midst of our journey through the desert toward Easter.