And all I can taste is this moment...

Years ago, before I even knew of the college I work for now, someone decided it would be a great idea to plant irises right outside my building. Every spring, I am thankful for this decision.

They smell divine and have a tendency to almost appear out of nowhere if you're not paying close attention. Most of the time, that area just looks sad. I actually wonder if we shouldn't plant something else there, but I'm reminded every spring that it's fine. It's beautiful the way it is, even if it is only for a week or two. Enjoy it while it lasts. The plants are left uncared for throughout the year, but they always bloom every spring without fail.

I think that one of my favorite things about winter (though, I do love it for what it is) is the anticipation and the appreciation one has for spring. I'm not sure if you can truly appreciate spring unless you lived through the gray-ness and dull-ness of winter. These flowers to me are a reminder to appreciate things as they come since they may not last very long.

PS, 100 points if you get the title.

Life and Death

It's April. I have a hard time believing it myself. In the time since I last wrote, so much has happened. A celebration of life and death.

I spent Spring Break in the Philippines doing mission work. We were serving those who were affected by Typhoon Sendong in the city of Cagayan de Oro, which hit the city on December 17, just a few days before Christmas. The typhoon affected over 100,000 people. Over 2000 people have died or are still missing. We arrived in the Philippines on March 5 and so many people were still living in evacuation sites. Tragic if you could see their living situation. So many more were living in the tent cities, which were set up as a better temporary home base for the families.

While Filipinos are generally warm and happy people, but it still came as a bit of a surprise to hear and see them celebrate life with such joy and vigor. They were so thankful to be alive despite the tragedy they had just experienced. Not a single person that I spoke with was ever in despair about the situation they were in. So many of them lost loved ones, some in the most tragic ways, but there was a sense of peace about them. They were alive and were so thankful about it.

I wish we had more than a week to spend with them. Their joy and love was very contagious. It was one of the most blessed weeks of my life.

(Some of the women I met who were affected by the typhoon.)

~*~

Then, on March 20, just 9 days after we returned from the Spring Break, I received a phone call for an emergency meeting. Our boss informed us that our Administrative Assistant, and a friend to all, had passed away in her sleep the day before. It was a shock. Sandi was a healthy, vibrant, and joyful woman. She worked hard in our office and was well respected and liked. Her death was difficult to accept, but as it says in Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write this: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' said the Spirit. 'Let them find rest from their labors for their works accompany them.'



I take comfort in the will of our Lord and that of His Word. Sandi spent the last 12 years in service of the students at the college and her life in service of her family. She was the warm welcome you needed in the busy-ness of life. I miss her, but I find comfort in missing her knowing that her work accompanies her as she meets our ever merciful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:6

Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

-1 Corinthians 13:6

 

Daily Reflection:

Jesus’ message applies to all the areas of life. He reveals to us the truth of our lives and all aspects of this truth. Jesus tells us that the purpose of our freedom is to say yes to God’s plan for our lives. What makes our yes so important is that we say it freely; we are able to say no. Jesus teaches us that we are accountable to God, that we must follow our consciences, but that our consciences must be formed according to God’s plan for our lives. In all our relationships to other people and to the world, Jesus teaches us what we must do, how we must live in order not to be deceived, in order to walk in truth.

-Blessed John Paul II

Prayer:

O Lord, bestow on your faithful the Spirit of truth and peace, that they may know you with all their soul, and generously carrying out what pleases you, may always enjoy your benefits.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

-Blessed John Paul II

Daily Challenge:

Apologize to someone whom you have wronged in any way and truly forgive those who have wronged you.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:5

Love is not rude or self-seeking

-1 Corinthians 13:5

Daily Reflection:

The words of Christ, “Love one another as I have loved you,” must be not only a light for us but a flame that consumes the self in us. Love, in order to survive, must be nourished by sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of self. We must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that we be willing to give until it hurts.

–Mother Teresa

Prayer:

Father, provide me with the grace this day to love others through my own sacrifice. Help me to place the needs of others above my own and to give everything that I have to them. The world admires spectacular sacrifices, but help me to see the beauty of the hidden sacrifices I can make for others today. I humbly ask all of this by Your grace. O Lord for I can do nothing without You. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Today in your conversations with others try to spend less time talking about yourself and more time focused on them and their lives.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:4

Love is never jealous, boastful, or conceited

1 Corinthians 13:4

 

Daily Reflection:

A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. Joy is not simply a matter of temperament, it is always hard to remain joyful – all the more reason why we should try to acquire it and make it grow in our hearts. Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. He gives the most who gives with joy.

To all those who quietly suffer or are lonely, give them always a happy smile; give them not only your care but also your heart. We may not be able to give much, but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart that is filled with joy.

–Blessed Mother Teresa

Prayer:

Lord, please bless me with an ever present joy that comes from knowing You. May this joy spill over to all those I cross paths with today. Help me to remain joyful and positive, even if things don’t go the way I would like. Help me to see you in every person I meet, and love them as You do. Please fill my heart with Your love, O Lord for Yours is a love that is true and everlasting. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Reach out to someone who you have never met before today. Take some time getting to know them.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind.

-1 Corinthians 13:4

Daily Reflection:

The appropriate word you left unsaid; the joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who bother you; that silence when you’re unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in those who live with you…this, with perseverance is loving as Christ loves. Don’t say, “That person bothers me.” Think: “That person is making me holy.”

–St. Josemaria Escriva

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You are continuously patient and loving toward all your children even when we turn away from You.  May I know your love today more deeply.  Please make me a living example of your kindness and patience so that I may love others as You continually love me. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Spend 5-10 minutes today talking with someone that will help you practice patience. Offer this conversation up for your own holiness and their happiness.

Real Love Week

Each hall director at the college we work for is required to organize two of our many yearly events. Nicole and I chose a very easy one for our first event. We put welcome bags together for our Resident Assistants. I think it took us a total of 2 whole hours. Maybe. I think it was more like an hour.

For our other annual event, we chose Real Love week, which is the week of Valentine's day. I don't really know why we chose what we did and why we did it together. There were some events I had absolutely no interest in and the other ones I wanted were already taken. So Real Love it is.

During my first year here, I was in charge of Real Love week. It consisted of me calling a pro-life group in Minnesota and ordering an insert for our school's newspaper. While it was informative in regards to abortion and chastity, I'm not sure how effective and memorable it was. They had ordered the same insert in the past, so I guess it only made sense that we continued it.

Last year, with all the changes that were happening in our department, we didn't do anything for Real Love week. This year, while talking about it, we decided against the insert and create something else instead.

While driving to visit my family last semester, I had the idea of using the passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as the theme of the week. I threw this idea out to Nicole and she agreed. I thought it would be great to create a booklet and have a short passage from a saint or someone worthwhile to reflect on and a prayer following the passage.

We broke the passage up into 6 sections, with each day dedicated to one section. I think we had more time, more help, and more stamina, we would be doing so much more for this week. Alas, we don't, so we ended up with making a booklet for each student and printing Daily Challenges that will be posted in the residence halls throughout the week.

This is one of my proudest projects since working here. I loved working on it. I especially loved it because it goes to the heart of what real love is. I am anti-sap. The only reason why I like Valentine's day is because chocolate is half off on Feb. 15, and it's also a sign that my birthday is less than 10 days away. This was a great project for me to work on, and I pray that each and every single person who reads the booklet will get the one message we are trying to send: God loves you.

Real Love week starts tomorrow, so I thought it would be great to post the passages, prayers, and challenges we put together on this blog.