The Catechumenate

5/4

When I first came upon the term catechumenate, I thought that it was some fancy term for some specific and confusing teaching of the Church or position or something like that. Then I actually looked it up and it is not like that at all. The Catechumenate is simply another term for the process of an adult being initiated into the Catholic Church. Another term for this is RCIA, which means The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. This process of initiation usually takes about a year. During that process each catechumen goes to special classes where they learn about the teachings and practices of the Church. They usually go to three hour classes one night of the week. During this time catechumens can decide to not undergo the classes and just leave and not be initiated in the Church. After all of this rigorous study and understanding of the Church, the catechumens are initiated in the Easter Vigil mass. For those who have never been baptised then they can get baptized, and also receive communion and do their confirmation. For those that have already been baptized in a Christian Church, then the Church acknowledges that baptism as valid and they no longer need another baptism, so they can go straight to communion and confirmation. When the catechumens are given the Sacrament of Confirmation, they are addressed by another name that they have chosen, usually one of a saint, that is most like them.

Personally, I really look forward to attending the Easter Vigil mass every year because not only is it really special and heartwarming to see the people being instituted into the Church, but also because my brother-in-law went through the RCIA process and converted to Catholicism.

Carpe Diem

5/2/13

Carpe Diem

For those of you who haven't heard of this phrase before, you're wrong. Because you have. If you have ever heard of "YOLO" or "#yolo2k13noregretzzzzz." then in a way you have heard of Carpe Diem. Carpe Diem is Latin (with a big l) for "Seize the day." So you see, yolo is actually a pretty bad cliche. But I mean did you expect much from Drake (zing). So it's time to go into detail in the more original, and much more classy way to try to act like an idiot.

Point 1: Don't try to act like an idiot. It is true, there's some stuff you want to do before you die that are pretty idiotic, so CADI (Carpe Diem) right? No. It is true that you only live once, but you alone decide how long it is you live. I'm not saying go full out everything around me is going to kill me, no I want you to still have fun. But how fun are dumpster babies? I don't know how about you ask June Shannon (if you're counting that's zing #2). So the point is have fun, but don't do anything that will probably kill you in the moments after or anything that will land you a show on TLC.

Point 2: When deciding on whether to use CADI or YOLO, it shouldn't be that hard. First, the term yolo was created by a guy named AUBREY GRAHAM (Drake). CADI was first coined by a fella named Quintus Horatius Flaccus. Look me straight in the computer screen and tell me you would choose Aubrey over Quintus (My apologies to anybody named Aubrey reading this). Second, if you read both literary pieces where the terms came from, "The Motto" for yolo and "Odes 1.11" for cadi, it's pretty easy to pick a winner:

 "I mean maybe she won’t, Then again maybe she will,"or "I’m in the building and I’m feeling myself" are examples of why you shouldn't choose yolo. 

Now lets look at cadi:
"-be wise, be truthful, strain the wine, and scale back your long hopes to a short period," and "While we speak, envious time will have fled: seize the day, trusting as little as possible." 

But I mean hey Drake got to rhyme "wrist blang" and "Biscayne" together...

Point 3: To be honest that's all I had to say, but it doesn't sound cool just have three points and three is a holy number in the bible so its a no-brainer.

In conclusion, the next time you're thinking about going to a party or just having fun, use cadi. You can still use yolo, just save it for the trashy things like MTV and TLC shows.

Since, it would be inappropriate to post the video to "The Motto," the best I can do is post the Lonely Island Parody to it:

S/O to Kendrick Lamar in this one.

Service Paper

4/28

Just like my blog partner, I too wrote a paper about my experience of service during this year:

My Sophomore Service

This year for my sophomore service hours I had the privilege of going to two great organizations working for great causes. The first organization that I went to was Open Door Mission. Open Door Mission is located in the second ward area and works to help alcoholics get rid of their problem and be normal citizens in society. They also have a school at their facilities to teach the children of these recovering alcoholics. At this mission I did not directly work with the patients, but I did work in the kitchen. The first time I went, I was assigned to make sandwiches for a group of patients going on a field trip. The second day everyone was on the field trip so I cleaned the kitchen and helped organize plates and other items. The second organization I went to was the Houston Food Bank. At the Food Bank I was able to work with a large group, including many of my classmates, to package boxes filled with food. These specific packages were to go out to pregnant women that need food.

I found the most fulfilling time during my service when I was making sandwiches, the conclave was going on and they had just chosen the pope. It was very special that they had chosen a Jesuit pope who took on the name of St. Francis, while I was serving others. This motivated me to work even harder while representing Jesuit, and continue being on my path toward becoming a Man For Others. Not only was the service fulfilling but I think that it truly brought me closer to God by thinking of Jesus, our God, and remembering that he himself was a servant to the people and we must follow his example. Even though the jobs that I was doing were not dealing with the recipients directly, I envisioned those benefiting from my service and got a real sense of satisfaction thinking about the joy that my work will give to them. The service then became something that I truly enjoyed and looked forward to rather than something that was required and had to be done. One of my other favorite moments from the service experience was working alongside my dad, an SJ alum, and my brother, doing the service as a family. Neither of them got any service credit or reward from doing this, but they showed me that we have to stick together and help others as a family. Ultimately working together to serve others helps build our relationships between each other and the family itself. My dad, by his eagerness to help, showed that the SJ motto and attitude of serving others truly sticks for your whole life, and it inspired me to do the same come time I have kids of my own.

At the end of the day, while I was doing service in order to help others, my family and I also got something invaluable form this experience which is the gift of unity, and the gift of gratitude.



Perseverance

4/28

Its the end of April, almost the beginning of May. Most of you know what that means. IT IS ALMOST SUMMER. For those of you in school, myself included, you know that summer is the most coveted and highly anticipated time of the year. 3 straight months of no worries, hanging out with friends, going on a vacation, being lazy, or maybe making some money with a summer job. We have been going through a long, grueling, and tiring school year and we cannot wait until it is over. We are on a marathon, and have reached the last mile. These last few weeks of school can sometimes seem longer than usually and we might get lazier than usually and just kind of give up since the school year is almost over. For many students, grades start to fall a little bit because of this laziness. This is where the importance of being perseverance comes in. Perseverance is key. The official definition of perseverance is a "steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, as state, etc., especially in spite of of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement." The key to perseverance is the difficulties one faces. In this case it is the anticipation of summer. If we are perseverant during these last few weeks and sustain our grades or even bump our grades up, even though it might be painful, I guarantee that when the school year end you will be satisfied even more and grateful that you were perseverant, and the summer experience will be even better knowing that you truly did your best during the school year and now you have a much deserved break. Perseverance is not only important in school, but in jobs and in life in general. In terms of theolgy and everday life, perseverance is key in order to be focuse on being virtuous and not being led astray from the ultimate goal of being with God. In the way to this goal there are many temptations in life, like being lazy, and we must fight these temptations in order to succeed. By practicing perseverance now, it will be a habit later and will help you succeed in all facets of life.

Making Time For God

4/28

In this day and age, we live in a world where there is a lot going on. We have school, sports, homework, band, choir, and other activities throughout the week. At many times our schedules can be hectic, at least for me, and sometimes we find ourselves consumed with our daily lives that we do not stop and think about God. It is extremely important to sustain a consistent and meaningful relationship with God throughout our daily lives. Many times we are blessed with certain things in our lives and we do not give God thanks for these blessings. Many times we forgot about God in our thoughts and in our deeds during the week and only remember the give God thanks on Sundays. While going to Church is not only extremely fulfilling but the best way to grow in relationship with God, if do not sustain that growth throughout our ordinary daily lives, that growth decreases and is ultimately irrelevant. It is important to set a specific time of the day to reflect and communicate with God. Whether it be prayer, reading of scripture, or just calm silence and meditation, those exercises will bring you closer to God and closer to peace from the busy ambiance of life. This lesson ties perfectly with the title of this blog "A Teenager's Answer to the Call of Holiness". Our call is to be great people of God and to grow closer to Him as that is our ultimate goal in life. Therfore we must answer this call by thinking of God first and regard Him as our utmost importance in daily life.