It's been a month since I posted anything! Yikes!
Not that I don't have anything to say... in fact, I have three posts in progress.... but the last month has been unbelievably busy. I used to think that once I was finished college and had a "real" job my life would be a nice 9-5 routine of predictability. Not so much! Maybe people with Office-Space-esque existences have that sort of routine... but youth ministers sure don't.
Anyway, the last month has been frustrating. And beautiful. And encouraging, and full of trials.
But God is good. So, so good. He pours out on my when I least deserve it; he lifts me up when I am starting to get discouraged.
Looking at things critically, it's rather easy to see why the last few weeks have been so wonderful, and so hectic: my prayer life has rocked. I mean, really. This is due in part to the arrival of The Handbook of Prayers, which contains so much spiritual food-for-thought that I will be discovering new gems in there for months to come. Also, I've spent an insane amount of time in the car lately for both work and personal things, and long road trips provide lots of time for Rosaries, Divine Mercy Chaplets, and extemporaneous prayer. In addition, my charism for music in prayer has been fed by several new rockin' CDs: one with popular Psalms in nice choral arrangements, a Taize mix I've made, and the newly-finished demo album for The Garden (finally!).
Also, my eyes have been more "spiritually open" lately. I finally got my hands on Peter Kreeft's Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them? and can't recommend it highly enough. I think I've always been a tad sensitive to angelic presences; I am pretty astute at recognizing spiritual warfare and asking for angels to come fight for those under attack, but Kreeft's book helped to digest some of what the Church teaches about the many choirs of angels (and demons)- their natures, their existences, their goals. It's kind of a Cliff's Notes version of what St. Thomas Aquinas writes about in the Summa.
Anyway, Lent is almost upon us. My favorite liturgical season by far, Lent is going to (hopefully) rock this year. More on that later.
3 comments:
"This is due in part to the arrival of The Handbook of Prayers, which contains so much spiritual food-for-thought that I will be discovering new gems in there for months to come."
If I had known that you didn't have one, I'd have happily given you the copy I got at the SPK2 reunion, since I already had a copy before.
As it is, if you would like to give one to one of the kids you work with and you're coming to the reunion at SPK3, I'd be happy to give it to you then, since I don't need two of them.
Glad to hear from you again.
I just saw your new comic and thought it said "get your singing done."
Which was confusing, since you can still sing everything but "Hallelujah" during Lent.
By the way, don't you think the Hallelujah Chorus makes even more sense as an Easter song than a Christmas song?
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