March 25th, 2011: The Newman Center at New Mexico Highlands University Engaging Catholic Charities and the local Albuquerque Community

(This article was written for the People of God, the Archdiocesan Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. It will possibly be published in May.)

When one is an undergraduate in college, sometimes, the world one lives in is similar to living in a “bubble”. College students tend to focus on their school work, outside work to pay the bills, their social lives, and maybe their families and religion. Thinking about issues of social injustice in our world is something that is merely beyond their view. I know these are generalizations and there are always exceptions to these generalizations. However, for the students that this does characterize exposure to social injustices both locally and globally are essential to broadening their minds and hearts.

From Sunday, March 13th to Wednesday, March 16th, two students from Highlands University’s Newman Center in Las Vegas, New Mexico, their campus minister and staff advisor came to learn about and volunteer with Catholic Charities and other Catholic organizations around the city of Albuquerque. This was Highlands Newman Center’s first time engaging in a spring break trip. It was four full days filled with learning, praying, and engaging the Albuquerque community. One of the young women on the trip indicated that by Wednesday, “her eyes have now been opened”.

The four days were bookended with the students engaging in the Catholic community in Albuquerque. On Sunday, they volunteered at Immaculate Conception's meal for people who are homeless. Beatrice, from Catholic Charities’ housing center, then came out and spoke to the group about housing and homelessness in Albuquerque. This was followed by a guided reflection on the experience. Later that evening, after a young adult mass, they listened to two guest speakers’ talk about Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a national volunteer program for post-graduate students wanting to engage their desire in social justice. On Wednesday, they volunteered and observed projects such as feeding people who are homeless at the Good Shepherd Center and visiting both Catholic Worker homes in Albuquerque, Trinity House and Casa de las Communidades.

On Monday and Tuesday the group learned and spent the entire day at Catholic Charities. Monday they were at the Bridge Street location, Southwest Albuquerque, where they learned about Catholic Charities’ Centers for Immigration and Education. During the presentation from the Center for Education, children from the early childcare center came and sang a few songs to the group in English and Spanish. After the presentation the group planted flowers at Hibernian House, a housing unit for low-income seniors. This brightened the day for the seniors. Following the planting they went back to the bridge location where they cleaned around the entire building, picking up over six bags of trash and debris. On Tuesday the group was at the Marble Ave. location, Northeast Albuquerque, where they learned about Catholic Charities’ Centers for Refugees, Housing, and Community Involvement. After these presentations they worked with refugee youth on starting to paint a mural of a world map in the youth classroom.

Jesus’ calls us to take this scripture passage to heart in both thought and action: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (Matthew 25: 35-36). By the end of the trip the groups’ hearts were open to compassion towards the people and programs they encountered; this compassion has empowered them to look into issues of social injustices that are occurring in their own backyards in Las Vegas, NM. With the strength and vision of the Holy Spirit I hope that this group uses their experience with Catholic Charities and the Albuquerque Catholic community to engage their community so that peoples basic needs are met and that the dignity of all peoples is preserved.

March 22nd, 2011: Sofia's Arrival & Trusting God

Rosie & Sofia (36 weeks)

The last few weeks have been life changing. On Thursday, March 10th, I received a phone call from a doctor asking for me and my husband to go Lovelace Woman's Hospital for a follow up appointment (following up on an appointment I had on Tues. March 8th) as soon as possible. Because my fluid levels in the amniotic sac have been consistently in the normal-low range they wanted to do another follow up ultrasound. The day I received the phone call I was thrown for a loop. Just two days before my midwife had told me not to worry. She said the fluid was in the normal-low range but that we would just wait things out. I was in a total panic when I received the phone call. I felt a rush of anxiety and stress. I cried and I apologized to Sofia for not producing what she needed. What I do naturally in a time of distress is turn to God, I went to mass with my husband. We prayed. We asked God to watch over our little Sofia. After mass I felt somewhat relieved. At that moment I knew I needed to just trust God. I had done all that I could do. I watched what I ate, I have been drinking about 10-14 liters of water a day, I am walking every day...and the list goes on. The day after I received that jarring phone call from the doctor at Lovelace Woman's Hospital, my midwife called to reassure me that this was for mere monitoring purposes.

The following week I went in for my appointment at Lovelace Woman's Hospital. The water level was again in the normal-low range. The reason there is concern about the water level being so low is because towards the end of pregnancy the water level in the sac does lower due to her growing. The fluid level (AFI) is measured with ultrasounds. Attempting to not be naive, I have been doing some reading and I have come to learn there is some controversy as to if ultrasounds are the "best" way to check the fluids...but at this point...it's the only way to check the fluids. One of the other major arguments against this method of measuring the water fluids is that we have had about 5 different technicians look at the fluid levels on different machines. One technician read that we had a significantly higher fluid level than the other four. There is human error and variance, especially if there is more than one technician. Anyway, besides the fluid level being in the normal-low range, our little Sofia is measuring a little bit small (but not dangerously so). Again, the measurements are not 100% accurate. Ultrasounds are good technology but when our little Sofia is curled up in a ball, how truly accurate can they weigh her in utero? Anyway, due to the water level being low and her lower than average birth weight, the doctors have concluded that there could be a potential placenta issue. The placenta is the lifeline for Sofia from me. If Sofia stays in me and the water levels get too low then her lifeline will not work effectively and she may not receive the oxygen or food that she needs. That being said, to err on the safe side, Mike and I have decided to agree with the doctors and midwives and we will be induced on Wednesday, March 30th, week 37.

We also have had 2 non-stress tests done (monitoring her heart beat externally for 20 minutes) and she passed those with flying colors. Also when they look at her movements on the ultrasound she is moving a lot and she passes those exams with perfect scores. All of her organs look great. Sofia overall is doing fine. I just ask for your prayers as Mike and I make the final preparations for her arrival into this world. Please pray for a good labor and delivery and a healthy baby Sofia.

Yesterday I was driving on the freeway. In front of me was a huge pile of big white boxes on the ground taking up the whole lane I was driving in. It seemed as if a truck had accidently dropped them on the freeway, creating a hazard on the freeway. I didn't know what to do. There was a car behind me at the distance of about 5 car lengths away. There was a car to my left and my right. I could not swerve. I pushed the brake. I took my foot off of the brake. I pushed the brake again. I did this oscillation of the brake to signal to the car behind me that there was something in front of me. The car to my right finally passed me. I swerved to the right and hit the boxes with the front left side of my car. Nothing happened. I was safe. The car did not have a scratch on it when I got off of the freeway. God was watching over Sofia and myself. This is what I need to hold on to...God is watching over and protecting us through the bumps on the road. God will help Mike and I prepare to become the parents Sofia needs, even three weeks earlier than her anticipated due date. God will be with us when I am in labor. God will be with Sofia as she comes out into the world and as she grows and learns throughout the years. God loves us so much that God is continuously watching, loving, and caring for all of us.

March 4th, 2011: Lenten Calendar 2011

A few months ago, Mike and I, took a drive to Las Vegas, NM. I had an appointment with the campus minister at Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM for my job at Catholic Charities. I had decided to ask Mike to join me because at that point I knew I was already pregnant with baby Sofia, it was the first trimester, and there were times during that trimester where I was feeling nauseated. Anyway, during this trip there were two goals for me when meeting with the campus minister: 1) to listen to their, the college students and the local communities, needs, 2) to tell them what Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe already does. In the end I was eagerly surprised that there were many things that came from the brief one hour meeting.

In Albuquerque, from my experience of living in Albuquerque (five years), there are several social justice issues that are prominent: poor school system that translates into poorly educated people, immigrant rights, lack of housing for low income individuals which then leads to homelessness, and working with people who are homeless to get them the services they need to get them into a home. (Homelessness occurs because of a variety of different reasons; lack of affordable housing being one of them.) In Las Vegas, the needs, from the people I spoke to sounded similar yet different. According to the people I spoke with the city does a good job of providing people housing, so much so that, they rarely see someone who is homeless. Even though people are not "homeless" many people in Las Vegas don't have money for utilities and for food. When I came back to Albuquerque after that trip I did some research and found some local Las Vegas, NM, food pantries. I gave this resource to the campus minister to share with her college students so that they can distribute this information to those struggling to feed themselves and their families.

The campus minister was wanting to integrate social justice and Catholic Social Teaching with Lent and the students she works for and with. Together her and I came up with a Lenten journey that students and others can partake in that includes the pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As you can see from the image on the left hand corner of this blog, the idea was formulated in Las Vegas, NM to come up with a resource for people to use on their Lenten journeys to bring them closer to God. When I came back from Las Vegas, NM, I created a the Lenten Calendar resource that can be found on the Catholic Charities website: http://www.ccasfnm.org/ Besides fasting and praying, what the students and community members that are involved at the Newman Center in Las Vegas are going to do is use these calendars to collect cans of food for a local food bank (almsgiving). Each time the person uses the calendar they will fast and give a can of food to a box they have laid aside for the food bank. By the end of Lent each person participating on this Lenten journey will have gathered at least 13 cans to give to their local food bank, directly impacting their communities.

After the creation of this calendar the Executive Director of Catholic Charities, Jim, loved the resource so much he made sure they were inserted in all of our Lenten appeals. Also I have distributed over 600 copies to local parishes.

If you would like a copy of this Lenten Calendar please feel free to contact me and I can either mail you a copy of it and/or I can email you a copy (I still have about 1,400 copies sitting in my office). I hope that this resource can be used by many so that everyone has a fruitful Lenten season.

Feb. 27th, 2011: 40

Last night as I was laying in bed the number 40 struck me. As many people know women are pregnant for 40 weeks. In the Bible the number 40 is repeated several times; it rained 40 days and 40 nights when God wanted to cleanse the world and start over (Gen. 7:13), the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness (Ex. 16:35), Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before starting his public ministry (Matt. 4:1-2), and Jesus' ascension to heaven occurs 40 days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3). These are only some of the examples in the Bible where the number 40 is referred to. While our Catholic faith teaches us that numbers in the Bible should not be taken literally but symbolically, it's an interesting comparison, for me, that the number 40 in the Bible could have some connection to the number of weeks a woman is pregnant.

In the Bible the number 40 denotes a time period when God made major changes so that transformation could occur. Usually it's a time period of testing, probation or trial in preparation for a period of restoration, revival, or renewal; essentially the 40 days/weeks/years is a period of time in preparation for a special action of God. For a pregnant women, naturally, the special action of God is the birth of a new life, a creation of God. In my opinion, the time period which the number 40 denotes, while can be perceived and feel like a time of trial and tribulation, is a time of grace. It is a time of grace because we are able to reflect upon our lives as God's beloved and we are given the opportunity to change our ways so that who we are as God's beloved can more clearly be reflected in our actions, hearts, and words. Those 40 days/weeks/years prepare us to see and feel God more "nearly, clearly, and dearly" (St. Ignatius, Godspell, and Richard of Chichester in the 1200s).

As we approach Lent, a period of 40 days, we are to recall the traditional pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These pillars, if practiced, renew our baptismal promises, bring us closer to Christ, and help us to grow into the people that God called us to become. The number one way to get closer to God is to pray. If we cut off our communication with God and we don't pray there cannot be a two-way relationship. During this season it is of utmost importance that prayer is central. Fasting is a practice of self-discipline and self-control. It is often an aid to prayer, in that pangs of hunger help us to recall our pangs for God. The fasting that we observe during Lent should call us towards transformation. If we fast, merely because we have to, and the fasting does not cause any internal or external changes in our lives, then this is not the type of fast that God is asking of us. Fasting also helps us to recall those in our world who do not have food at their tables. It brings us closer in solidarity with them. Almsgiving, in the form of money and/or time, is a sign of our care for those who are in need. It is also an expression of thanks to God for all that we have been given in our lives. As we all know, Lent is a time of preparation for Jesus' resurrection. If we are proactive in our faith lives, these forty days can be very grace-filled. Ultimately, this preparation helps us to become more present and alert to God and Easter when it comes.

What about the 40 weeks of pregnancy? The connections one can draw between the Biblical notion of 40 and the 40 weeks of pregnancy are many. Pregnancy is a time of trial in that your body is pushed to many limits, one gets little sleep, feels nauseated, swollen, bigger in size, has less energy, gets leg cramps, has bloody noses...and the list goes on. Beyond the physical aliments there are also the emotional and spiritual struggles one experiences: Am I ready to be a mother? Why is God asking me to be a mother now? How am I going to raise a good Catholic child in a world that is full of evil and sin? Yet, while all of this is going on during these 40 weeks my husband and I are preparing for what is to come (similar to Lent). We are preparing by asking God daily for the grace and the strength to be good parents, researching what we can in preparation for her arrival, and setting up a home where she can grow and mature into the wonderful young woman we hope she becomes. These 32 weeks and 6 days, while there have been some challenges, have been so grace-filled. This time period has brought me closer to God, my husband, my family, friends, community, and myself. I enjoy every movement I feel within me. Each kick is a sign of health and vitality. Every ultrasound has brought me either to tears or close to tears in recognition of the grace of God's creation within me. God is very present and it is awesome to know that this child within me is also God's beloved.

In some sense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, for me, started to occur more intensely the day I found out I was pregnant. I began to pray for God's graces during and after the pregnancy. I began fasting from coffee, certain cheeses, deli meat, other foods, and other things such as my more intense workout schedule (due to my body being so tired). And I am giving of my time, all of the time, to a life, within me, that is in need of nourishment and love. I have also grown even more passionate about the anti-abortion movement. I have always truly believed that life begins the moment the egg and sperm meet. After seeing my first ultrasound I feel that every woman who is about to have an abortion should be required to see the life that is within her in an ultrasound before any procedure takes place. After seeing their child I bet their minds and hearts will be challenged. Our first ultrasound was at 12 weeks...and our little Sofia was fully formed...arms, legs, head...everything! My husband and I heard her heartbeat and we both cried. Anyway, in the sense of almsgiving, I know that this period of pregnancy has brought me closer to those who are vulnerable, the unborn.

I think our mindset has a lot to do with the way one experiences pregnancy and Lent. I have chosen to relish these 40 weeks of pregnancy as a time period that is grace-filled. I have chosen to enjoy this pregnancy, at every stage, no matter how challenging it may seem to be. How often in one's life is one pregnant? How often in one's life does one feel the pitter patter of little feet tapping the inside of one's belly? How blessed are Mike and I, that we are fertile and we can have children? We are abundantly blessed and even though pregnancy is not easy it is a time of relishing God within and around.

As can be sensed from what I have written, Lent is a period of time that, in my opinion, is very similar to pregnancy. One can dread Lent as a time of mourning, pain, and giving things up. However for me Lent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons, in that it is a time that God has given us to grow closer to God while also growing closer to whom God has called us to become. Lent is a time of preparation and anticipation, struggle and grace. As the season of Lent approaches, Wed. March 9th, how will you prepare for Easter? How will you use the opportunity God has given you, during the season of Lent, to grow closer to God?

Feb. 24th, 2011: The Unsung Heroes and Heroines of Our Parishes

(This article was written for the People of God, the Archdiocesan Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. It will be published in April.) Parish secretaries and receptionists, in my opinion, are the unsung heroes and heroines of our Catholic parishes. First, they greet all people who walk into our parish doors. They are the first face that all people meet and are the first impression of our parishes. Second, they tend to have many projects, atypical of a regular secretary or receptionist, which the parish needs to function. For example, many secretaries/receptionists put together the weekly bulletin, others schedule liturgical ministers, one particular secretary I just met does all the behind the scenes work for baptisms, weddings, and quinceañeras. Third, they interact with a population that is in desperate need of social services. Many times secretaries/receptionists receive walk-ins or phone calls from people in need of assistance for rent, utilities, food, clothing, and/or shelter. They attempt to connect people to services throughout our cities and towns.

On Wednesday, February 16th, at the Hotel Albuquerque, to better equip our church secretaries/receptionists with the knowledge of what social services exist in our counties, Catholic Charities, offered a free lunch and presentation to 60 church secretaries/receptionists; 28 parishes from Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Belen, Rio Rancho, and Corrales, were represented.

The afternoon started with a wonderful New Mexican meal catered by Hotel Albuquerque complimented by classical guitar playing by a local musician, Ben Chinisci. Following this we had a presentation given by myself, Rosie Chinea Shawver, and a representative from each of our five different centers (Center for Self-Sufficiency and Housing Assistance; Center for Community Involvement; Center for Educational Opportunity; Center for Immigration and Citizenship Legal Assistance; and Center for Refugee Settlement and Support) describing the services that Catholic Charities provides in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The afternoon reception ended with providing additional information on additional places, outside of Catholic Charities, where secretaries/receptionists can refer people to for social services in their counties.

In the afternoons final prayer we asked God to surround us and fill us His Spirit. We asked that we be a light for God’s people and to be salt for a community who is caught in the struggles of everyday life. In this brief encounter I had with the secretaries/receptionists from our parishes I am in awe of the ministry that they do and feel called to. They are the light in our parishes leading and caring for those who are drained by societal woes. Our secretaries/receptionists are the salt that helps us and others preserve their inherent, God-given, dignity and grow closer to whom Christ has called them to be. Next time you see your parish secretary/receptionist I urge you to thank them for their ministry.

Feb. 20th, 2011: Valentine's Day

I know this blog is about a week late but I still have a desire to write about Valentine's Day. In Catholic history, there is discrepancy on who St. Valentine's was. Some say he was a martyr of the Christian faith because he would not renounce the faith. Others say he was a priest whom was jailed for defiance of marrying Christian couples and aiding Christians whom were being persecuted during the reign of Claudius in Rome; both of these things were considered a crime. Then once in jail Valentinus (true name of St. Valentine's) attempted to convert the emperor leading to Valentinus' death. While another account states that he was a bishop in Terni where he was beheaded in a purge of priests in an effort to eradicate the faith. Since there are no clear details on who St. Valentine's was the Catholic Church in 1969 decided to drop him out of the Roman calendar and we therefore do not celebrate his feast day. However, he is known as the patron saint of love, lovers, couples, engaged couples, and happy marriages, amongst other things.

The roots of Valentine's Day are supposedly rooted in a Roman festival called Lupercalia that was celebrated on February 15th. On this day a young single man would draw a lady's name in a lottery style fashion and for one year he would have her as a sexual companion [sounds a little scandalous and sexist to me]. Pope Gelasius I decided that this custom was not of virtue so he changed the custom so that both men and women had to choose a name in a similar lottery system, however, the name was now to be that of a saint. The name they choose represented the saint they had to emulate for an entire year. St. Valentine's became the patron of this new feast (instead of Lupercus, the God whom the Romans celebrated on the festival of Lupercalia). Roman men, obviously upset that essentially they did not have a promised sexual partner for a year, still sought the affections of women on this date and would write women messages of love that included the name St. Valentine's.

This Valentine's day was the first one where I am married; and the only one Mike and I will have as a married couple without children. I should have been excited and overjoyed that I didn't have to look for a "valentine" on this day of love...I have one for as long as we both shall live. Yet, this Valentine's Day I was perturbed. For over a month before the day I began hearing about jewelry, chocolate, and flowers. I heard the whisperings of young people looking for dates [substantive or not] for this one night. Honestly, for the first time, I was annoyed with the consumerism following this supposed day of love and the pressure that it created for people around the country to "find a date" or "find a significant other to celebrate this holiday with." How can society put such pressure on everyone to purchase junk that will either spoil, get rotten, or in the case of jewelry, be bought when it's not truly needed; in my opinion expensive jewelry is an over-indulgence, I rather see people fed, housed, and given their most basic necessities than have another ring or necklace.

On the day itself there was one facebook status that caught my attention. It was from a student I worked with while I was the campus minister at the Newman Center in Albuquerque. Lily wrote, "today is not just for couples, it's a celebration of relationships, that being of whomever you wish to share it with - a friend, an animal or even cherishing your relationship with God. We all love something in our lives so cherish it today." Isn't this what we should focus on?!?! It's a day to celebrate all loving relationships! One of my most memorable Valentine's days in college was just hanging out with my girlfriends, and one guy friend, at a Panda Express for dinner. This Valentine's day Mike and I stayed home, ate left over pulled pork sandwiches, and spent time with one another. We didn't go crazy spending money, rather, we spent quality time conversing and enveloping ourselves in the love that we share.

I also think that reflecting upon our relationship with God on this day, and every day, is of utmost importance. Without God there would not be the possibility to feel the love of others. We must thank God daily for the love that we have with our family, friends, and acquaintances, while also simultaneously asking God to help us love others better.

Beyond Valentine's Day, as Christians, don't the Gospels tell us to love our neighbor, love our enemy, love everyone all of the time? Why does our love have to be contained only one day a year on a consumerist, pressured, holiday? Love all of the time. Don't take advantage of the love you have in your life. Tell the people you love that you love them as often as you can, both in actions and words. And lastly don't allow Valentine's Day to "get you down" if you don't have a date with a significant other. This is just society's way of attempting to place labels on people and to have people spend more money on junk they don't need. Cherish and relish the relationships you do have on Valentine's Day; sulking relationships you do not have, on this, in my opinion, secular holiday, does not help you cherish and value the graces that God has already placed in front of you on a daily basis.

Feb. 6th, 2011: "The Power of Boundless Compassion"

A few days ago I finished reading Fr. Greg Boyle SJ's book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. I was inspired to read this book following Fr. Boyle's visit and presentation to a group of us in Albuquerque. The book is set in Boyle Heights, inner city Los Angeles. Fr. Boyle, a native of a more affluent part of Los Angeles, has been working in the Boyle Heights neighborhood for over 20 years. In Los Angeles county, according to Fr. Boyle's book, there are approximately 1,100 gangs and 86,000 gang members. In Fr. Boyle's time in Boyle Heights he has buried over 170 young people whom were connected to gangs. One of the poorest, high drug dealing, and most gang inhabited areas in Los Angeles is Boyle Heights. From my reading of his book, Fr. Boyle knew from the start of his placement in Boyle Heights that something needed to change. In 1986 Fr. Boyle created what is now known as Homeboy Industries (http://www.homeboy-industries.org/). Homeboy Industries is a multi-structred rehabilitation and gang intervention center for people who were part of a gang. There are free counseling services, tattoo removal, employment opportunities, legal services, and much more at Homeboy Industries. The book and Fr. Boyle's presentation goes beyond describing the services provided by Homeboy Industries, it breaks down exterior boundaries of tattoos and guns and provides a glimpse of the deep, hurt souls of those whom are bound in lives of turmoil, despair, and feeling unloved. These, for the most part children and young adults, through their encounter with Christ, in one another - including rival gangs, in Fr. Boyle, and in the trust of Homeboy Industries, go from harm and despair to hope and feeling loved.

One of the main themes I gathered from the book and Fr. Boyle's presentation is one that we learned in kindergarten, never judge a book by it's cover. There is always a story behind how and why someone ends up where they end up. And just because someones history is spotty, from our standards, God loves them and they still have a chance for success. To fully appreciate God we must allow ourselves to open our eyes and hearts to everyone, including those who have tattoos and dress like a homey. We must not feel pity for people rather we must be in kinship. When Jesus walked into a room full of people he usually went to the outcasts and sat with them. He ate with them. He didn't act superior to them. Rather, he was one of them...he, himself, was shunned, on the outskirts of society, and seen as different. Jesus was in kinship with the most vulnerable in his time. This is what Fr. Boyle describes, how we must all move towards kinship with those who are most vulnerable in our time. I don't think Fr. Boyle's intention is for all of his readers to work and be with people in gangs; I think Fr. Boyle's intention is much more broad, "Do the thing that is in front of you," spoken by Mother Theresa. This is what I believe is what Fr. Boyle is attempting to get his readers to understand, be in kinship with the most vulnerable in your neighborhoods, cities, and towns. In Albuquerque, in my opinion, the most vulnerable are children - due to the high poverty levels and poor education system we have in the state of New Mexico, immigrants and refugees, people who are homeless, and the incarcerated. We must open our eyes and our hearts to those in front of us. We cannot continue to hide behind our white picket fences and only pray that God will change the unjust structures in our societies; prayer and action are two components of faith that are intertwined so tightly that to have one and not the other will not challenge us to become fully whom Christ created us to become. Kinship, knowing the other, being in solidarity with the other, so that the word "other" one day does not exist, this is what Fr. Boyle and Jesus both challenge us to do.

On Friday night, for our two year anniversary of our proposal, Mike, took me to see the musical, Wicked. The plot to this musical, naturally, is very different from Fr. Boyle's book, yet, there are common threads that I think are important for us to digest. Essentially Wicked is a musical about how the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz become who they become. It gives us a glimpse of their histories, how they were treated when they were children, and how this influenced choices they made while they were adults. It's a story about betrayal, romance, and friendship. Ultimately I believe it is also about "not judging a book by its cover." There is a reason the Wicked Witch becomes the Wicked Witch (a story I will not tell on my blog, this is a must see musical). Again, we are called to look past the exterior of a person and look into the heart and soul of the person God created him or her to be. We must not allow the media and society to tell us how to look at people, rather, we must meet people face to face, listen to them and respond with care, love, and compassion. We must be in kinship.

I know that the message of this blog is quite simplistic, and some might think trite, yet, I think that we can use the reminder to not judge people, the homeless, gang members, people of different ethnicities, different sexual preferences, etc., and allow God who is within them and whom loves them without boundaries to shine through. We must be vessels of compassion always to everyone. This will allow us to grow closer to Christ. Also it will allow those whom we are showing compassion to, to see and feel Christ. We must also remember it's not about superiority its about kinship. And who knows where kinship and love might take you; you might be the first person to show those living on the margins that they are loved by God. Or, rather, you might recognize the deep love that God has for you.