THE HEART OF A SEMINARIAN

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

GOD AS THE ULTIMATE COACH – PART I 

In the past couple of weeks, it just seems that so many people are talking about “Mother Teresa and how she lost her faith.”  As said in the new book about her which contains her letters, she often never felt the presence of God with her.  Some have taken this to mean that she lost faith in God, but it actually tells us some valuable information about how God works in our lives.

            I often describe God as the ultimate coach who constantly strives to help us to develop into the best person that we can be in our lives.  When I was a Baseball coach before my seminarian days, I realized that the way that I threw batting practice to my players was very similar to the way God coaches us. 

I had players of many different abilities and skill levels, but my approach was always the same - Help them reach their potential.  With my lesser players, I would throw a lot of fastballs (slower than normal) down the middle of the plate.  I would do this so that I can build there confidence, get them in good hitting habits, and motivate them to keep working on their swing.

God works in the same way with us too.  There are Christians of many different abilities and levels, but still works to help each of us reach our potential.  How many times have you heard of someone that has had a conversion experience and goes around for a while on a spiritual high?  Well, with the lesser or inexperienced Christian, God throws a lot of fastballs down the middle in order for us to build our confidence in Him, get in good faithful habits, and motivate us to keep working on own lives.

These great feelings or consolations do not last though, because God has something more planned for you.  You have not yet reached your potential.  As for Mother Teresa, it is safe to say that on God’s team, she was one of His most talented players and God has a different approach for those types of players.  In my future posts, I will continue to share the workings of God in our lives as the ultimate coach who is trying to get us to reach our potential.

posted by: muniz at 09:25 | link | comments |
commentary

THOUGHTS ON THE USAGE OF THE “TRIDENTINE MASS”

            On September 14, 2007, the usage of the “Tridentine Mass” was officially widened to allow this form of the Mass without needing permission from the bishop.  As I attended a Low Mass and a High Mass for the first time in my life last week, I began to see the benefits and difficulties that this would entail.

            First of all, I found these Masses to be very prayerful and formal.  Sometimes, it seems that Mass now a days are treated more casually.  Mass is where Christ is made present on the altar and where Christ is offered as a sacrifice for us to our Heavenly Father.  It deserves so much more reverence than what we often show towards it.

            Secondly, I like to think of how 50 years ago, people could travel anywhere in the whole world and hear the same Mass as if they were home.  Now, the structure of the Mass is the same, but the language makes you feel like an outsider.  The “Tridentine Mass” is great way to show uniformity. 

            As for the difficulties, I have 3 concerns.  One is that it is a totally different Mass than what we have now.  Not only will a priest have to learn the proper usage of Latin, but also the many motions and actions that go with each of these Masses.  This would not be a problem if one could do this frequently and a keep fresh in it, but I see that being difficult.  It is difficult because there is a limit on the number of Masses that a priest can say in a day and he can’t spend all day saying Masses.  With the way that the priests are stretched today and the amount of Masses that they offer already for the people, it is viewed by me to be impossible to be able to say the Tridentine Mass frequently enough to do it justice.  Remember, I said these are difficulties that I see with it.  I am not dismissing its usage.

            Secondly, I noticed that unlike the modern Mass, the Tridentine Mass is very dependant on the servers.  Now, a Mass can be said without a server, but the server in the old Mass has an important role as he also says prayers and performs certain actions too.  So it takes more than a priest to be able to offer a Tridentine Mass; he also needs to be able train a server also.  If one would offer a Latin or a Spanish Mass, then an English speaking server could do fine, but this is not so with a Tridentine Mass.

            Thirdly, the Tridentine Mass also requires different actions from the people too.  As a result, they need to be informed too.  This would not be bad if it was offered more frequently, but as I said before that could be difficult.

            In the end, I think when the novelty wears off, it will interesting to see the demand that the Tridentine Mass will have by the people.  Also, it will be interesting to see the interest of priest in the Tridentine Mass even those trained in it.

Are my concerns valid?  What are your thoughts?

posted by: muniz at 10:36 | link | comments (14) |
commentary

EXTRAORDINARY FEATS: THE STORY OF JON BLAIS
As mentioned in my column, the story of Jon Blais overcoming ALS to complete the Ironman Triathlon is one of great inspiration. Watch this video and see for yourself.

He completed the Triathlon in October of 2005, but sadly he died in May of 2007.

posted by: muniz at 16:15 | link | comments |
general

EXTRAORDINARY FEATS: THE STORY OF DICK AND RICK HOYT
As mentioned in my column, the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt is one of the most inspiring stories that you will ever hear in your life. Watch this video and see for yourself.

If you want more of their story, then watch this video.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed this as much as me.

posted by: muniz at 12:14 | link | comments |
general

EXTRAORDINARY FEATS:

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO BE IMITATORS OF CHRIST

While watching television on a recent Sunday afternoon, I was flipping through the channels and came across the Ironman Triathlon.

For those who do not know, a triathlon consists of three combined events. One begins the race by swimming 2.4 miles followed by 112 miles of biking. To cap it all off, the athlete finishes the triathlon by running a marathon. As I watched these professionals and a number of average everyday people attempting to complete this grueling race, I began to think to myself "I can do this." Even though my swimming trunks are now approaching 12 years old and I also do not actually own a bike, that still did not stop me from looking up a training program on-line to see what it would entail for me.

What really inspired me to even check out the possibility of competing in this race was listening to the stories of some of these athletes.

First, there was a man named Jon Blais. He was living a normal life until he found at the age of 34 that he was diagnosed with a progressive disorder of the nervous system called ALS or commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Once he was diagnosed, he wanted to bring attention to this disease in order to find a cure. As a result, he decided to train and thus completed this torturous competition even though the disease was already taking its toll on him.

The other story was about a father in his 60s and his son who is suffering from cerebral palsy. After a benefit run where the father, Dick Hoyt, ran five miles while pushing his son Rick in a wheelchair, his son told him that when they were running, he did not feel like he had a disability. As a result, his father decided to participate in more races including the Ironman Triathlon. Since his son could not actually swim, bike, or run, this father completed the triathlon by swimming the 2.4 miles with a harness around him, which pulled a raft carrying his son, followed by riding his bike with his son sitting in the front seat, and then finished the feat by running a marathon while pushing a stroller carrying his son.

The fact of the matter is that we are all capable of doing extraordinary things with our lives. We can attain achievements far greater than we could ever imagine for ourselves. Sadly, it seems that all of us wait until tragedy hits before we realize what we are capable of accomplishing in our lives.

Why is it that the young man had to wait until he was diagnosed with ALS to do the extraordinary and finish a triathlon? Or why does it take having a son with cerebral palsy in order for him to do the unthinkable and complete the Ironman for two?

The same can be asked of us, too. Why does it take a loved one to be bedridden to find out that one is capable of giving an abundance of time in order to help another person? Or why does it take mounting hospital bills for a sick child to realize that one is capable of giving an extraordinary amount of their money to help people have a chance at life?

God has called all of us to something more: He has called us to be an imitation of Christ and do the extraordinary. In the world today, there are people everywhere who are in need of a hero; they are in need of someone to do what seems to be impossible; they are in need of some glimmer of hope.

Who are we not to at least put ourselves totally out there willing to try to make a difference in the world and in the life of another person?

Always remember that all things are possible with God. Maybe someday you can do the extraordinary like Jon Blais or Dick and Rick Hoyt and inspire others to live their life extraordinarily for another and be an imitation of Christ.

posted by: muniz at 11:41 | link | comments |
catholic times

THE SETTING OF NEW GOALS

With every new year of school, I like to create new goals for myself.  With every goal that I set, I strive to strengthen myself in the areas that I want to improve on in my life.  As for me, I organize my goals from 5 basic categories: Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Social, and in Evangelization.

            For the Spiritual area, it is always important to look for ways to improve your spiritual life.  So what kind of prayer life do you want?  Do you want to challenge yourself to make time for prayer in your daily life?  What about going to confession more frequently or start fasting every week or month?  You may want to start a new devotion such as a Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet or even go to Daily Mass more.  Whatever it is, if it helps you grow closer to God, then it is a good spiritual goal.

For the Physical area, it is always good to challenge yourself to live a healthier lifestyle.  So how do you want to improve your health?  Maybe you want to challenge yourself with a new workout schedule or diet according to the physical goals that you set up for yourself.  This could even include a challenge to receive more sleep.

For the Intellectual area, I feel that it is always important to challenge oneself to constantly learn something new.  Whether that be something brand new, an area that is already familiar to you, or, my favorite, grow in knowledge of your Catholic faith, one should not find themselves not striving for an increase in knowledge in some area.

For the Social area, I like to challenge myself to be in more frequent contact with certain people.  This is not so much for my social life, but for people in my life that my busy schedule tends to push away.  Who is it in your life that you want to spend more time with if you could?

Lastly, for the area of Evangelization, how are you challenging yourself to witness the Gospel to others?  How can you share your faith with others?  How can you speak up or defend what our faith holds true?

Overall, these are all very important areas that I look at for myself in my life and these are the areas that I feel we all should look at closer in our lives.  What are some goals that you set for yourself?  Is there another area that I am missing besides those 5 areas?  Let me know.

posted by: muniz at 10:10 | link | comments |
goals

Template by motime.com  |  header image credit: Markus Gann © www.begann.de