Pizza and Praise

This past Friday, some members of the CYFM community celebrated National Catholic Sisters Week with the The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are a Roman Catholic Religious Congregation of Women who "carry out our mission of love and service through our many ministries with God’s people, especially poor women and children." 

The Sisters have a very interesting story that many don't know about:

"The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary were founded in Ireland in 1775 by Nano Nagle. She felt she was called by God to bring the light of faith to the poor children of Cork.  The Penal Laws of the time forbade any form of Catholic instruction in Ireland, but Nano Nagle was willing to risk imprisonment and disgrace for the sake of the Gospel. Visiting the sick and homebound by night along Cork’s cobbled streets, she became known as the “Lady With the Lantern”. In time she gathered other women to form a new society of women religious dedicated to the service of the poor. Nano Nagle’s small band of women, originally named the Society of Charitable Instruction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, later became known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary."

As many of you know, Sr. Mary and Sr. Mary Catherine are members of this community. So when CYFM was asked to partner in an event, we jumped at the opportunity! The event included Praise, Worship, and Adoration as well as Pizza and fellowship with the Sisters.

It's Who I Am

Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, Graymoor, at dusk.

Lately, I've been reflecting on that song by Chris Tomlin, "Good, good Father". It's a fairly popular song among Catholic and Christian circles right now. I first heard it at Catholic Underground in September, and it has been stalking me ever since. Since I'm doing a year of service, I see a spiritual director about once a month. And as we were talking about my past, and my struggle with a consistent prayer life, my love of this song came up. He asked me to reflect on this song and why it resonates with me.

As I've reflected, and listened, and prayed, I've realized something. And to be completely honest with you, I think it's because I have a hard time truly believing the lyrics. But I'm a sucker for repetitive prayer, this is something else I have learned about myself from SD. It makes me actually think about what I'm praying (taize or praise and worship), or think about what I'm meditating on (the rosary). This song is very repetitive and that's a big part of why I find myself wanting to sing it over and over again.

The chorus reads:

You're a good, good father, it's who you are, it's who you are. And I am loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am. God, you are perfect in all of your ways. Because you're a good, good father.

Now you may be asking yourself, but Mary these are basic Christian principles. You know, God so loved us (John 3:16). Why is this hard for you to believe?

Well, dear reader. Think about how radical this Love is!

I had a wonderful experience at DDA, or Day by Day Agape, (a student led encounter retreat that CYFM runs). One of the things that I realized about my relationship with God is that I am often reluctant to accept God's love and the love of others. Often enough. I'd rather remain closed off. I would rather be completely independent.

And I am loved by you. It's who I am, it's who i am. You're a good good father.

But we are so loved by Him.

Often enough, I am reminded of how the world sees Love. And I begin to believe it. That I can't be loved. That no one can truly love me that much. That love is based on merit. That it can't be unconditional because we live in a broken world.

but He is Love, and this has become my prayer.

I recently finished reading Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ. In the last chapter he reflects on that song "O' Holy Night". Everyone has heard it. It's a Christmas classic. Fr. Greg reflects on this phrase:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth

Fr. Greg talks a lot about how once the homies (the gang members he works with) realize their worth, they turn their lives around. Now, I won't spoil the book for you, because you need to go out and read it because it's incredible, but this part resonated with me. Just like the Chris Tomlin song.

He is love. He loves us with a perfect love. Even if it's hard to comprehend in such a broken world. He appears and the soul feels its worth.

As we move to the end of the liturgical year, it is darker, and we become more aware of the new beginning that will be here this upcoming Sunday. Advent begins. It's easy to commit to something for 30 days. So, will you commit to deepening your faith? I am. It's kind of like homework because my SD will expect to talk about it in December when we meet. But, it's good homework. And I'll be sure to try because I'm being held accountable.

I've already started in a way. I've reflected on this song. I've read a wonderful spiritual book. And I've been trying to read the gospel of the day and do an examen with The Jesuit Prayer App, which I love. (It reminds me to pray twice a day!) It's funny how God works because each day, the examen opens with this prayer:

God, I believe that at this moment I am in your presence and you are loving me.

And I am loved by you, it's who I am, it's who I am.

with love and gratitude,

Mary

*this post originally appeared on the blog a lovely little flower on November 25, 2015*

Ash Wednesday and Lent

It's that time of year again!  This Wednesday, Christians all over the world are reminded of their sinfulness and of their dependence on the Grace of God. The video above explains Lent and Ash Wednesday in two minutes... only two minutes! Take a couple of minutes, watch, and learn. Often enough, we as Catholics feel that we need to do some extraordinary acts during Lent to show that we are indeed, devout Catholics. 

Don't let your pride get in the way of letting yourself grow spiritually. The Church calls us to pray, fast, and to give alms. What is one thing that you can do to make your relationship with God better this Lent? What is one thing that is keeping you from God? Maybe its netflix, instagram, or checking your phone too much. Fast from it. How can you give of yourself? Whether it's monetarily, or a giving of your gifts to someone else. Think about it. What would you like to do to share yourself with the world during these 40 days. 

Fr. Mike Schmitz has some great advice for what we can do for Lent in this video:

Still not sure what you should do? Check out these resources:

102 Things You Should Really Give Up For Lent- Lifeteen

The Lenten Sacrifice: How It Can Save Your Life- Lifeteen

100 Things to do for Lent- Held By His Pierced Hands

Fast & Abstinence- USCCB

37 Things To Give Up For Lent- Simple & Sweet

Daily Lent Reflections- Bishop Robert Barron and Word on Fire Ministries

Best Lent Ever- Dynamic Catholic

Become a Missionary of Mercy this Lent. 

As you know, Pope Francis declared this year a year of Mercy. The Capuchin Franciscans have been made special Missionaries of Mercy for this Jubilee Year. The Mass was Monday. Each Province sent a Friar to be present. Check out the pictures here!

Want more information on how to be a Missionary of Mercy? Check out these links:

Jubilee Year Of Mercy- USCCB

Year of Mercy Website

Misericordiae Vultus BULL OF INDICTION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY

Make this your best Lent yet. Prepare your heart for Easter, for the risen Christ by dying to self with Him for 40 days.

With Love and Gratitude,

Your CYFM Family

Restless

So I wasn’t really exposed to Christian music, praise and worship music, or whatever you want to call it until last year, but it has definitely been an interesting time. See, I grew up listening to a lot of Rap and Hip-Hop music my whole life. So you could say that I have done a total reversal of music interests. I went from listening to Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, and Kanye West on a daily basis; to listening to Matt Maher, David Crowder Band, and Hillsong United almost all the time. I didn’t go through this whole grand transformation of who I am, I just found listening to “Jesus Music” a lot more enjoyable than I used to.

So a song that kind of sparked that music change was the song “Restless” by Audrey Assad. I was first introduced to this song by my friend, Ana, on her “Happy” playlist. It is a popular song in the Catholic and Christian circles. So this song has done a lot for me recently. It was a song that I listened to in times of sadness, frustration, and joy. It was the song that really helped me strengthen my prayer life.

The chorus of the song goes:

            And I'm restless, I'm restless 'Til I rest in You, 'til I rest in You.  I am restless, I'm restless 'Til I rest in You, 'til I rest in You. Oh God, I wanna rest in You.

My prayer life has been pretty scattered in the past few months. You would think doing a volunteer year where you do a lot of prayer I would have it down to an art by now, but no, I haven’t. My mind has been restless. My heart has been restless. In result my prayer life has been restless as well. All of this has been frustrating me, but I guess that’s what happens when you are trying to figure out your life.

I was having a conversation with one of my friends one night and they say “But Paul, you seem like you have everything figured out in your life!” I respond to them saying, “ha. Haha.hahaha. lol.”

Recently I have been in this restless state of mind. See, I want to become a Campus Minister at Providence College one day. That is my goal in life and that is what I am striving to do. I am restless because of the uncertainty in the way I am going to get there. I am in the waiting stage of my grad school application process. Waiting to hear if it is a yes or a no. Waiting to hear if it is a maybe later. It is a state of unknown. I don’t like this stage at all, and me being me, I am naturally an impatient person and want to know right this instant what my future will or will not entail. I am restless because I want this to happen so badly. I want to go to Grad School, learn all that I can, and then finally become a great Campus Minister for someone. But maybe that this isn’t what God wants of me. Maybe there is something else God wants me to do. Maybe God wants me to go back to wanting to become a teacher.

I am restless because I want happiness, and a lot of things make me happy. All of the possibilities make me so happy and I want to do all of them. Teaching, ministry, all of it brings me joy. You can see the happiness in my face when I do/ talk about something I love. It radiates from me.

The bridge of the song goes:

Still my heart, hold me close. Let me hear, a still small voice. Let it grow, let it rise. Into a shout, into a cry

I just want to know. I just want to be pushed in a certain direction so I can just focus. I want to hear something. To just have a little guidance. So I can let it grow, let it rise, into a shout, into a cry. But that is not up to me. I will continue to be restless, until I can have that rest in Him. I guess I am just going to be restless for a while, but sometimes restlessness is a good thing.

- Paul

"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise"

"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise." 

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

As I'm sure some of you know, the Cap Corps year of service is jam packed with retreats and ministry. Not only does CYFM provide retreats for encounter, and a deepening of faith, but we also provide retreats for confirmation programs and Catholic high schools.The Cap Corps Volunteers along with the Friars give close to 100 retreats each year to complete strangers. 

At the beginning of the year, the CCVs took the Myers Briggs test so that we may better know how to care for ourselves. And to our surprise, 4/5 of us are introverts. Meaning that we get our energy from alone time, rather than being around other people. Now, this doesn't mean that we are all shy people, or that we don't like to interact with other people, but it does mean that sometimes we need to just be by ourselves for five minutes or ten or two hours. 

Now, each of us came into this year of service with the same goal: to serve the youth of the Catholic Church through youth ministry and retreats. However, like anything in life, we were unsure of what this would actually mean. And for this CCV, it has meant learning a lot about myself, my relationship with God, and learning how to care for myself. My personality type, according to the Myers Briggs, is an INFJ. Basically, I get my energy from inside (alone time), I am intuitive, I'm a feeler, and I am judging (I prefer closure and having things planned out). Seeing how these things actually play out in my life, has helped me to better interact with my community, and also how to care for myself. 

Almost every day, I meet new people. And at the same time, I am expected to share my faith story, my witness of faith, with these strangers. I am expected to welcome them with true, authentic Christian love. These are some of the ways that a Cap Corps Volunteer serves God through serving others. 

For me, when we have multiple day retreats, I become physically drained rather easily, and begin to forget why I am here. I often allow myself to become discouraged. Luckily for me, I have people in my life who remind me of why I am here in the Hudson Valley, and what a blessing it is for me to be here.

One of the things that drew me and my heart to doing a year of service, was the opportunity to encounter Christ through each person I meet, and to help them encounter Christ through my loving actions. I had some incredible experiences on Mission trips in college, and those experiences helped me to see what a gift it is to love another person, even if that is the only encounter you'll have with that person. When I become discouraged, I often think about how I am never going to encounter this tenth grader again, so if I decide to stay inside of my comfort zone and not talk to him or her, that's okay. 

I have been reminded that the majority of the ministry that we do is with complete strangers. It's great when we have a group that we know; whether it's at a parish that we work at, or a weekend retreat at CYFM with "the regulars". However, that is not the norm. On a day to day basis, we are called to be loving and welcoming to people that we will probably never see again. 

I have been reminded of what a blessing that is. That although we may only see these students for six hours on a Tuesday, we still have the opportunity to be Christ to that person. And we should take advantage of that, to get over the awkwardness and talk to that tenth grader who doesn't want to be at CYFM for the day. 

Fr. Fred is constantly reminding us that a Christian is someone
in whom and through whom Christ lives. 

That's something that we as Cap Corps Volunteers, and more importantly as Catholics, are called to live each and every day. And although it is difficult. And although it is tiring. We may be the only authentic example of true Christian love that that student may ever encounter. You never know how God is planning to use you today. Even if it is in small, simple, loving ways. We are called to love each and every person we encounter as if they are Jesus himself. 

And I want to live that this year. Even if it means that I need to hide in the DDA closet for exactly three minutes during a retreat, so that I can better be present to my small group. Or if I need to spend some alone time in my bedroom at the end of the day, so that I can better be present to my community. These are things that I am slowly learning are okay to do. Because God made me the way I am for a reason. And as I learn more and more about myself and how to care for myself, I can see that my rest is just as important as my talk for that confirmation retreat. 

"Intense love does not measure, it just gives."

Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

With Love and Gratitude,

Mary

Advent Praise and Worship Night

Some of you may remember that back in December, CYFM held a Praise and Worship event. Amanda's friends from Scranton have a worship band called Countless Wonders. They helped to lead members of the CYFM community in worship of our Lord as we prepared for the Christmas season. 

Overall it was a lovely night. The band arrived around 5 pm and the CCVs hosted them to dinner. As the band set up, and warmed up, members of the greater CYFM community started to arrive. Everyone found a place in the chapel and Countless Wonders sang "O Come Let Us Adore Him" and "Lord I Need You". Soon after, Fr. Fred exposed the Blessed Sacrament, and we adored Him. 

Countless Wonders had a mix of songs that most people knew and songs that only a few knew. It made for a very prayerful atmosphere, with time for silence and time for praise. It was truly a great way to prepare for the Christmas Season at the end of Advent. 

You can find Countless Wonders on Facebook and Youtube

Also, if you're in the Hudson Valley, they will be at Catholic Underground North this 

Saturday, January 16, 2016