So Run!

"As long as we are pilgrim travelers in this life we have only desire and hunger: desire to follow the right path, and hunger to reach our final destination.  This desire makes us run along the way, the road cemented by Christ crucified.  For if we had no love for God as our destination, we would have no concern for wanting to know the way...So run!"

~Saint Catherine of Siena

Evangelical Catholics on Campus

Evangelical Catholic Summer Camp 2008

August 11-15

Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center

Madison, Wisconsin

Long runs, endless drills and wind sprints sound appealing to you? What about five days of intense training in Catholic evangelization? This is exactly what students from Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois Universities signed up for when they came to Madison in May for EC Summer Training Camp. From the most basic skills in faith sharing to the big picture campus ministry strategies for intentional discipleship, students pushed themselves not for gold medals or individual glory, but to reach others on their campuses with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to previous training camps, the EC is running two such camps this summer, the next to be held in Madison, August 11-15. The goal: Equipping college campus ministries for the New Evangelization. Students and staff learn 1) how to nurture their own spiritual lives for ministry, 2) skills needed for fruitful ministry, and 3) how to form an effective strategy for evangelization. As we lean into summer, let us all heed the exhortation of St. Paul to “Run in such a way as to receive the prize” of Christ Jesus (1 Cor 9:24). For more information about the Summer Training Camp, please visit www.evangelicalcatholic.com.

Beatitude

I am excited that we have come to the time of the year when the daily Mass gospel readings take us through the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5-7. This is the best "examination of conscience" that I know for seeing if we are really living the Christian life. Yesterday we started with the Beatitudes. These tell us what makes life blessed. To me, they don't really make much sense as a rational ethical system. They seem kind of random to me. I don't see a structure, plan, or pattern. But what finally struck me about the Beatitudes is that they describe Jesus and what we hope for in imitating Jesus. It's all about Jesus. How easily I forget, and somehow make it about me instead. So let's take begin a journey through the Sermon on the Mount, and see what God is calling us to.

Morning Offering

Pope Benedict is pulling out all the treasures of the Church's warehouses! Just look at his liturgies -- love 'em! Even more deeply, he is pointing us to the spiritual tradition often expressed so simply. To deepen our friendship with Jesus, the Holy Father is encouraging us to unite our hearts to His Sacred Heart each morning through the traditional practice of the morning offering. In case you have never learned or have forgotten a formula for the Morning Offering, here's one:

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

The Pope Nails It!

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is:

"That all Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ, in order to be able to communicate the strength of His love to every person they meet."

The First Commandment

"Love the Lord your God with all you heart ..." First things first! Is God first for me? Oh, that must be the problem. Thanks.

Father!

The gospel today calls us to do the will of the Father. The Father! That's the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And He is our Father by adoption in baptism. Wowza! Start there, and you will have a house built on solid rock.