Going to the Frontiers

I have been in Catholic schools my entire life, and the majority of those schools have been Jesuit institutions. I, like many of my friends, am incredibly blessed and grateful to have been taught and formed by the Company founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

This evening I was able to attend the celebration of St. Ignatius' feast day in the Jesuit mother church, the Gesu in Rome. It was pretty cool. In his homily, the Superior General of the Jesuits, Adolfo Nicolas, spoke about the Holy Father's vision for the New Evangelization and how this is so incredibly necessary in the world today-- especially for the young.

Not too long ago in an official meeting with the Jesuits, Pope Benedict charged the order with the mission to go to the frontiers-- to take the Gospel to the borders of society today. To engage the ever changing world with an evolving theology and a spiritually grounded way of proceeding.

In his homily this evening, Fr. Adolfo talked about how necessary this is in our world today. He talked about how empty and meaningless our lives can be today. How it seems to be ever harder to find beauty in the world-- in society, in art, in music, in thought, etc. And he talked about young people today, who lack above all else patience. He says that they lack patience because they are tired of hearing empty words. Empty promises. Empty lyrics in repeating songs. And he said that we as the teachers, we as the priests, we as the parents, we as the adults must be patient with them! We must be patient with the young. He said that their conversion happens in conversation. In the New Evangelization we must listen and engage people at the level of conversation.

Fr. Adolfo used the example of the spiritual director, the guide during the Spiritual Exercises, written by St. Ignatius. The director searches for and identifies the workings of the Holy Spirit in a person's prayer and then guides that person to accepting the invitation and following the will of God. This process happens in conversation. So too must our evangelization.

It was a good homily. And it was inspiring to hear these words alongside hundreds and hundreds of people who were packed into the Gesu-- teachers, parents, people from the streets, religious sisters, students, priests, tourists, etc.

After the homily we professed our faith in the form of the Creed used at Baptism and Confirmation liturgies... giving our full consent and proclaiming our belief by saying, "I Believe." And I realized as I prayed this Creed, that I can believe more fully because of the great teachers that I have had. I realized that there have been many men and women who have in a very real way collaborated in the process of forming me in the faith. And during the rest of the Mass I thanked God for those people. I thanked God for my parents, role models, and friends that I have had around me my whole life. I thanked God for the teachers and coaches who have helped form me. And I thanked God for the many Jesuits who have done the same as teachers, spiritual directors, and friends-- who have taught me to search for God in all things, in all people, in all situations; and to truly celebrate that. To celebrate every occasion of finding God in the ordinaries of everyday life.

The Jesuits and their partners in mission have a saying for after you've been a student in a Jesuit school or had a Jesuit spiritual director, ruined for life. I guess its true.

Tomorrow I head out to Dublin, Ireland for a couple of weeks. I will be working in a homeless shelter run by the St. Vincent DePaul Society, getting involved with a program that ministers to men who are addicted to alcohol and do not have a home. Through volunteering in this program I hope to get some ideas and resources to, like everything else that I learn and experience over here, bring back to Baltimore. Should be awesome. And like most experiences with reality, it might even ruin me a little bit.

A Memorable Celebration

This 4th of July was definitely one to remember. There were burgers and ribs. There was a party of over a thousand. There were plenty of American flags and red-white-and blue everywhere. And of course, there were fireworks.

But this celebration was different. It was sobering. As the last song of the celebration, Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood, blared in the German night sky I looked around and the mood of the party had shifted from light-hearted celebration to a rather serious and sober presence. All of these people, soldiers and families of soldiers, stood together. They stood together, some singing softly, some just standing silently. But they all knew something. They know, both from their own personal experiences and from their shared life in the military, that freedom is not free and it certainly is not cheap. They know that being in the military requires a counter-culturally sacrificial way of life.

Some of these Americans have family members-- husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers-- who are "down range." Some are preparing to be deployed. And some, many, are coping with the experiences that they encountered while down range. The sacrifices that these men, women, and children make are real and they are costly. And for many the effects of these sacrifices last a life time.

But yet we all came together that night. We all stood together out on that field. We all took part in the ribs and the burgers and most, those who would not be "set-off" by the loud explosions of fireworks, stood under the colorfully lit sky looking up in awe at the different shapes and formations and colors and varieties of fireworks.

Though it was sobering, this was most definitely a celebration. It was a celebration of freedom, of our country, of the relationships and deep fraternal bonds that we share. It was a celebration of the values that this community lives by.

For four weeks this summer I am working with a US Army Chaplain. In the past two weeks, from meeting and listening to soldiers and their families, I have been absolutely floored time and time again. I have been floored by the depth of sacrifice that these men and women and children offer. In this short amount of time it is clear that two major issues for military families are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and marriage. For some it seems like a constant struggle. Deployment means 365 days. That is 365 days that a husband and wife do not see each other, except through a computer screen. That is 365 days that a father/mother does not see his children. That is 365 days that a child does not see a parent. Additionally, it is 365 days of stress and fear and life-changing events.

My prayers for peace and an end to all violence as well as the safe return of all soldiers has increased in both volume and intensity.

What floors me even more, though, is the resiliency. The resiliency of these men and women who live bold lives. I met a woman who is married to a soldier. She and her husband have three sons-- one of whom was born while her husband was down range. Luckily he was able to come home for a short time after his son's birth to be with his family. But now he has returned and his wife is courageously raising their sons.

I also met a soldier who has been down range three times. He suffers from PTSD and fights many battles daily-- some days more successful than others. But in the midst of this struggle he is turning to God and recognizes an inner hunger for a deeper relationship with God.

I have also met many young people on post-- childern of soldiers-- who are some of the most un-assuming teenagers that I know. They go through the same struggles that most adolescents do, but gradually with an advantage, I think, because of their knowledge that true commitment costs. Not only are they well acquainted with the costs of commitment, but they are eager to give. They look forward to the future as an opportunity to see what the world has to offer and in the same spirit to see where they can contribute. Some of them have aspirations to be professional athletes, some to work in business, and many hope to follow in the proud tradition of their parents and become soldiers themselves, enrolling in various ROTC programs.

As has been the case since entering the seminary, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have met and gotten to know these bold men, women, and children who stand together for our country and for freedom. Although they do not decide exactly where they go and what they are to do, these people give of themselves and seek the best possible outcome of every situation.

They are heroes and deserve prayer and support.

So let us stand together and pray for them as we continue to pray and to work for an end to all war and violence.