THE HEART OF A SEMINARIAN

A Roman Catholic Seminarian opens up his Heart and shares the Faith he Loves.

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMERCIAL (PART IV)

In these postings, I have taken a look at the problem with the commercial by the United Church of Christ (UCC), which does not just let people know that everyone is welcome there, but they imply that other churches do not welcome certain people. I respond to this problem using the 3 Keys to Problem Solving that I developed in high school.

 

1)      Almost every problem is caused by either a misunderstanding or miscommunication.

2)      No Matter who is to blame, there is always something you could have done better.

3)      Never Assume, only deal with the facts.

 

Check out Part II for the response using Key #1 and Part III for the response using Key #2. Today, I will use Key #3.

 

3)  Even though assumptions are what usually cause the majority of misunderstandings, it is the assumptions of other people’s intentions that cause the most destructive problems.  Many times, the people that we consider our competition or enemies are often view as ones that are cheaters, unreasonable, or even purely evil.  Just look at how people look at the teachings of the Church.  It is easy to have a misunderstand of the teaching, but all to often what is the most destructive to the relationship between the Church and people is the reasoning that people assume is behind the teaching.  Look at the reasons people think the Church teaches on celibacy or contraception or annulments or female priests.  It is viewed as if the Vatican is filled with a bunch mean old guys whose whole life purpose is to oppress women, become rich, and be bitter to those who are married since they can’t be.  Why can’t we just deal with the facts and search for the facts from legitimate sources. 

Also, look at how people view different priests.  The conservative priest is rigid and heartless, but the liberal priest is undermining and selfish.  Sadly, these assumptions greatly affect the unity of the priesthood and the people.  The majority of the priests out there truly do have a good heart.  Almost all of them have good intentions for their reasoning, but often we grab hold of the bad intentions due to the fact that they disagree with us.  They must have a bad intention, because they disagree with me who has a good intention. 

            All in all, these assumptions that we make builds walls to dialogue and unity.  If the UCC assumes that churches are mean people who don’t accept certain people, then how open will it be for them to listen and work with these other churches?  If people assumes the UCC is an evil community undermining the word of God, then how easy will it be for other churches to work with and listen to the UCC.  The bottom line is that assumptions especially of the intents can cause walls to be built to separate dialogue.

posted by: muniz at 14:58 | link | comments |
commentary

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Steubenville Conference: This weekend, I went for 3 days with a youth group to the Steubenville St. Louis Mid America Conference.  For many of these kids, they have never had the experience of choosing to live for Christ.  For many of these kids, this weekend was the time their lives were changed forever.  On a personal note, it wore me out.  They had us standing and raising our hands all the time; plus when you add that to the 3 hr drive, then you get one tired man who is recognizing that he is too old at 28. 

·        2 More Weeks: I have 2 weeks left until I am officially finished with my internship year.  It has been great here, but I am looking forward to the next steps ahead.  I am less than a year from the deaconate and 2 years from the priesthood.

·        Superman Returns: Has anyone seen it yet?  What do you think?

·        CLI-ACT: From Friday until next Wednesday, I will be helping at my diocese’s Advance Catholic Training for the youth.  There will be no postings during that time.

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 13:04 | link | comments (3) |
news and notes

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMERCIAL (PART III) - (12/08/06)

In these postings, I have taken a look at the problem with the commercial by the United Church of Christ (UCC), which does not just let people know that everyone is welcome there, but they imply that other churches do not welcome certain people. I respond to this problem using the 3 Keys to Problem Solving that I developed in high school.

 

1)      Almost every problem is caused by either a misunderstanding or miscommunication.

2)      No Matter who is to blame, there is always something you could have done better.

3)      Never Assume, only deal with the facts.

 

Check out Part II for the response using Key #1. Today, I will use Key #2.

 

2) Even though it can be easily said that the implications made in the commercial is totally the fault of the UCC, other churches must examine for the cause of this misunderstanding. In the last posting, I spent extensive time explaining and proving what the Church really teaches. The problem is that I had to take time to explain what the Church really teaches which means that there is an apparent confusion. This view is not just the view of the UCC, because the commercial is obviously targeting members of these other churches that feel this way. So if these churches teach one thing but the people are learning or hearing something different from these churches, then the other churches must look at how they are teaching the people. It can be easy to blame the people for not knowing their faith or not caring about their faith, but that also reflects on the church like the actions of a child reflects on the parents. The leaders of these churches must ask themselves some questions. How do they teach a message and do they show compassion and love to those who are offenders to this message?

 

Too many leaders in the churches think that it is effective to teach with an iron fist. This method works well with robbers with guns pointed at people, but it does not work with people who can make a free choice. Before one can teach, the teacher must set an environment to teach from. So for all the teachers, how do you come across to others? Some come across as pompous, others as idiots, others as unfocused, and some as compassionate and loving. People will follow a teacher who they believe has their best interest in mind and that is the environment a teacher must set. To be compassionate and loving does not mean that a teacher must compromise the truth.  A good teacher does both.

 

Imagine a boat floating in stormy waters. You are in the boat, but another person has fallen out. What would you do? Would you be like the pompous leader and just tell the person that they should be in the boat like you? Would you be an idiot and ask why they were going for a swim in stormy waters? Would you be unfocused and just eat a sandwich? I would hope that you would do all you can to reach out to bring them back to the safety and security of the boat.

 

In conclusion, although UCC might be more to blame, we must look at ourselves to see what we could have done better.

 

Scripture: Luke 15: 1 – 7

posted by: muniz at 07:15 | link | comments |
commentary

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Sesquicentennial/Homecoming: This past weekend was the 150^th birthday celebration of Nokomis, IL and its homecoming.  They had a food stand with fried fish, chicken strips, cheese sticks, ravioli, and nachos.  I worked there all weekend, so now I am tired and full of grease.  It was a great celebration with dedication of a new pagoda in their park, softball tournament, rides, and fireworks.  The great thing about this is that in Nokomis, it is really a homecoming.   Where other places are simply a reason for a beer tent; in Nokomis people actually travel back home for this.  It was great.

·        Steubenville Conference: This weekend, I am traveling for 3 days with a youth group to the Steubenville St. Louis Mid America Conference.  From the looks of things, it should be a great experience and I look forward to telling all about it. 

·        Photo Shoot: Back in December I was informed of the desire by Columbia magazine to do a profile on me for the vocation advertisement on their back cover.  Monday, I spent all afternoon with the photographer for a photo shoot for the magazine.  The pictures should be great and the issue will be coming out in September.

·        Superman Returns: Has anyone seen it yet?  What do you think?

·        All-Star Game: I am getting tired of hearing about how the all-star game counts now.  Here are my thoughts.  1) Players will play hard no matter what because they are competitors and they will easy up no matter what because they don’t want to get hurt in a game that really does not matter.  2) Home field advantage should go to the team with the best record in the majors.  This will keep the best team playing hard through the season.  3) The all-star game should only go 12 innings and then if still tied then go to a homerun derby. 4) There should be a DH in the all-star game.  I don’t care to see a pitcher bat and also everyone should be worked in like before, because there are little kids who really wanted to see their favorite players like Scott Rolen or Nomar.  These are just a few suggestions.

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 23:22 | link | comments |
news and notes

MY  COLUMN IN THE “CATHOLIC TIMES”

            In the diocesian newspaper “Catholic Times” for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, I write a column entitled “Heart of a Seminarian”.  Here is my latest column with all of my previous columns.

 

10        Challenge for families: Make prayer a priority (6/18/06)

9          What values and qualities characterize us to others (6/04/06)

8          Every child needs someone who thinks he’s special (4/02/06)

7              In faith as in life, we take things one step at a time (3/12/06)

6              Seminarians ask for support, not second guessing (2/12/06)

5              Order soda with long conversation on the side (1/08/06)

4              On anniversary, seminarian remembers how God called him (12/18/05)

3              When game is on the line, who’s willing to take the last shot? (11/27/05)

2              When life becomes too much to bear, who will listen? (11/06/05)

1              Seminarian considers giving high-fives to everyone he meets (10/23/05)

posted by: muniz at 09:09 | link | comments (1) |

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMERCIAL (PART II) – 12/05/04

In this commercial, the United Church of Christ (UCC), which is a very liberal church that support same sex marriages, contraception, and abortion rights (just for your information), does not just let people know that everyone is welcome, but they imply that other churches do not welcome certain people.

 

In high school, I developed 3 Keys to Problem Solving. They are:

1)      Almost every problem is caused by either a misunderstanding or miscommunication.

2)      No Matter who is to blame, there is always something you could have done better.

3)      Never Assume, only deal with the facts.

These 3 keys can help with disputes between people and especially friends. You will see me apply these keys often to different situations as well as this one.

 

1) Obviously, there is a misunderstanding on what it means to welcome someone. If you ask every church, they would tell you that they welcome everyone to become a member. So what does the UCC mean by welcoming everyone and how does other churches not welcome someone? Is it because the other churches teach against acts that are sinful, which means that they are harmful to your relationship to God?

In order for us to reach Heaven, we must be sinless (Colossians 1: 21-23). This means we must live our lives trying to live the Will of God. The Church is a teacher for us as we continue our journey, so we may learn the Will of God. Imagine yourself in a Math class learning Calculus. Right now, many of you just got depressed. As everyone might agree, Calculus is extremely difficult. That is why it is good to have a teacher. What if this teacher gave everyone an “A” no matter what answers you had? This teacher might be viewed as a very cool teacher, but what happens when the “ACT” comes around and you realize that you were not taught anything? What is the view of the teacher then? A teacher is not a good teacher, because they allow you to do anything. A good teacher is one that properly prepares you for when the test comes. If a church is suppose to be a teacher, then what should we expect from our church? If a teacher corrects you or points out a mistake, does that mean that teacher does not want you in the class? (Hebrews 12: 10-11) I believe that the UCC is teaching what they believe is correct. Although I may disagree with their teachings, this is not about what they teach. This is about implying that other churches do not welcome certain people, because other churches teach against acts that they do not teach as sinful. Also, the UCC commented that “Jesus never turned anyone away.” Well, neither does other churches. The churches teach the Truth, it is up to the person to accept it or turn away. Does Matthew 19:16-22 apply to this argument?

 

Question: Do you Agree or Disagree with my view?

Scripture: Colossians 1: 21-23 & Hebrews 12: 10-11

posted by: muniz at 11:44 | link | comments |
commentary

NEWS AND NOTES

·        Haiti: From June 17-24, I went to Haiti for a mission trip.  What a great experience!  When people ask, why do you spend the money to go there, when you can do more good by giving them money?  I reply with “you can say that they are poor, don’t have clean water, lack electricity, kids are starving, but until you see it for yourself, it won’t make any difference to you.  I know that I will gain from them more than I give to them.

·        CLI: From June 25-30, I helped lead a Catholic Leadership Institute for the youth of our diocese.  This was a great experience too and a great opportunity to meet the future of our Church.  These kids were great. 

·        Movies: Recently, I have seen 2 movies which are “Click” and “Superman Returns”.  They both were enjoyable, but I can’t believe what they put in it though.  In “Click”, it was a good message and it was cool to see them put an angel in the movie, but why did the angel have to make sexual comments?  This is a little thing, but the first time I see an angel in a movie for a while and he has to make these types of comments.  Secondly, “Superman Returns” was a good movie, but the story about Superman was wrong in my opinion.  I will keep from commenting on the story this week since most people might not have seen the movie.

·        CRS priest: This past weekend, a missionary priest who is actually a retired diocesan priest from Michigan, came to celebrate Mass and talk about CRS and Guatemala.  In his Masses, he skipped the “Gloria”, tried to hold hands with the servers during the “Our Father”, left the sanctuary during the “sign of peace” and most importantly he reworded, skipped, and paraphrased many of the prayers in Mass.  It begs me to wonder, why can’t priests just say what is in the black letters and do want is in the red letters.  Why do they think that they know better than the Church?

·        Washer tournament: Congratulations to Bob and Peggy for winning the annual family 4^th of July tournament.  This year I was unable to play, hence the lack of detail on the tourney.

·        Daily Readings: Look on the left side to see a new feature which shows the days readings.

·        Next Sunday’s scripture.  Just click it.

What else?  Any questions or comments?

posted by: muniz at 11:16 | link | comments |
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