one would think that the first week of classes would be really easy for
someone on sabbatical. afterall, no lectures to prepare, office hours to
keep, students to advise, papers to grade, or department meetings to
attend. well, this week i learned the truth of the saying, "work expands
to fill the time allocated". the principal work i was involved with this
week was preparing for the launch of the iu version of the software i've
been developing for nursing students. i was due in bloomington on thu
morning to train their faculty. of course, things weren't quite working
as the week began. and, unbelievably, i had to pull an all-nighter to
finish up! but all came out well in the end. sorry i didn't have time to
visit any of the frosh (or others who had already moved in) at iu while
i was on-campus. i did have time to stop in the union for a latte,
however!

when i came home i discovered that a white-paper preproposal had been
accepted by darpa (a fed agency), and now we've got four weeks to write
the BIG proposal. another notch up on the intensity meter!

anyway, i hope your first week has been a little less intense and a
little more fun than mine and that you are all settled in with your new
classes (and perhaps, roommates).

last week jp invited me, my son tim and fr. mark out to deer track. we
decided to play a little team event. jp and i against fr. mark and tim.
guess who won the match? and tim even beat fr. mark in stroke play. now,
if only i could do that my life would be complete!

the new lt year has begun. our kick-off had an olympics theme (hey,
didn't we do that four years ago?) and included several fun "events".
the final event was a dodgeball game between teens and core. though the
core played superbly (especially jeff m., nate s., and matt c.) we were
beaten by a couple of lucky tosses. during the fray, fr. mark slipped
out the find something to eat and did not have to share in our
humiliation. we have several new core members including nate, ben, des
and rachael, all of whom were on the college retreat. please pray for
all of us as we minister together to lead teens closer to Christ this
year.

we are working on the fall retreat. unlike the last six retreats, i am
not writing this one; matt c. is. i will be helping him. the theme
revolves around the concept of "family". we will also be checking out a
new venue--the oak hill campground across the street from pokagon. it's
a beautiful setting, and the sleeping accommodations are quite a bit
better. the chief cook, however, does not know how to make pizza
burgers. that will be a major loss!

so, what's new? been to any campus events yet? i personally can't wait
til the football season kicks off! go boilers!

God bless you. have a great semester. and remember, all of us at st.
v.'s love you!

your friend in Christ,
bob s.

don't you just love fridays? just about this time of the day i am ready
to log off my computer, spin down the left side of my brain and head
home for a little relaxation. and i feel pretty good about taking a few
days off; i had a very productive week. i made some good progress on
both my projects at raytheon and here at school. how about you? did you
have a good week--complete any projects, papers, or other interesting
academic tasks?

this past week i met with fr. mark, cindy, matt, jeff m. and nate s. to
begin planning for our first xlt of the year. it's going to be on a
Thursday night (sep 16) and the theme is " back to God night". kind of a
play on the whole back to school thing. we're hoping to have a teen give
a little witness on being open and anticipating what God may have in
store for him/her this year.

unlike us, God always has a plan for our lives. in jeremiah 29:11 God
says, "for I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." whenever i
reflect on that verse it gives me tingles because i know from experience
(cuz i'm so old now) the truth of His words. by seeking God's plan for
my life in prayer, in scripture, and in the counsel of others, i have
been led into many prosperous ministries and been blessed with many
accomplishments in my social, professional, and familial lives. these
words are especially comforting when enduring the more difficult times
in life, when things aren't going well. many of you are likely to
experience such times as the year progresses: the stress from your
classes may increase, old temptations may manifest themselves again, or
feelings of loneliness may overshadow you. you needn't become downcast
because all of this is temporary! consider that God spoke those words to
jeremiah at a difficult time--the israelites had been led into exile in
babylon and false prophets were filling the people's ears with deceitful
messages of hope. these words were God's promise to them, that His plans
were infinitely better than any promised by the false prophets. the
israelites need only be patient and God would return them from exile.
and He did fulfill that promise! so, too, will he fulfill these words to
you if you, like the israelites did, obey His command to "...call upon
me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me
and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer 29:12-13)

i attended a dinner for youth ministers in warsaw (with matt and cindy)
hosted by the bishop. he gave his perspective on the critical elements
of sound youth ministry and then answered questions. the elements he
cited were Christ-centered (sacramental), community, catechetical, and
service. he referred to the st. v.'s lifeteen program several times as
one that has been very successful. i felt very blessed by his comments
and also humbled by the realization that very few parishes in our
diocese have what we do. we should all give thanks to God for such a
gift--and i thank you all for contributing to the fundamental mission of
youth ministry, "leading teens closer to Christ".

i don't have a lot of plans for the weekend. if the rain holds off, i i
may go to the leo game tonight to see eddie gervais rumble through the
defense. i might also give my son, rob a call and see if he hasn't been
swept away by hurricane frances. and, of course, i will be taking the
spousal-unit on some sort of bonding experience!

keep those emails coming. i have really enjoyed reading them and
hearing about your experiences in and out of the classroom.

God bless you. have a great year. and remember, all of us at st. v.'s
love you!

your friend in Christ,
bob s.

the keyword for this week is "persistence". it's kind of interesting
how the several meanings of the word have applied in
my life this week. now, hang on while i explain some computer-geek
terms. in many computer applications there is a need
to create a persistence-layer. this code is responsible for allowing
data to be "remembered" between program executions.
for example, your word processor has a persistence layer that allows
you to create a document during one session and
come back repeatedly to edit it; your document lives long after you
have exited your word processor. this week i have
been helping to design a persistence layer for my project at raytheon.
the most interesting part of the design effort
is in exploring possible persistence mechanisms and evaluating their
complexity and performance. (for you real geeks: we
are heading toward utilizing container-managed EJBs and the Hypersonic
relational database.)

another definition of persistence is the act of persisting or
persevering. i had a little experience in that also this week. i had to
track down several errors in the nursing software and the task was
pretty difficult because the program has grown so large. it took many
hours of analyzing program behavior, making changes, and testing,
testing, testing. at times it was very discouraging because a change
would fix one thing but break another. i was determined, though, not to
become discouraged and slowly but surely the program stabilized. i am
actually pretty pleased with the results: there is no earthly joy quite
like getting a program to run correctly!

so, what kind of persistence mechanism have you put into place for your
faith? how effective has it been in persisting your desire to grow in
holiness, to serve the Lord, and to witness to others in word and deed
while you are away from the "program" (life teen). one of the most
common persistence mechanisms used in file systems in which files have
automatic deletion dates is a "tickle" utility. the purpose of this
little program is simply to refresh the last-edited date by simply
opening and closing the file. simple, but quite effective. in the same
way, a persistence mechanism for your faith may be simple. a prayer when
you wake up or turn in; a rosary as you walk to class; 5-10 minutes
reading the bible or other devotion. it's surprising how just a few
minutes a day spent with the Lord can refresh and renew your faith. of
course, the best persistence mechanisms are the sacraments. i am looking
forward to our first xlt and spending time with my
Lord in adoration this thursday. i hope as the year continues you will
"never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the
Lord. be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
(Rom 12:11-12)

i am enjoying the emails you send, but have grown a little behind in
responding personally. i promise to catch up by monday! i enjoyed
visiting briefly with d-port and suzy fech this past sunday. oh, be sure
to ask d-port about her "psycho" suite-mate. i also had nice
conversations on the cell with "big" holly and j.p. this afternoon dan
and justin dropped by and when chatted for about an hour. now if i could
just track down my daughter ness....

i had a meeting with the senior HOME GIRLS (alyssa, amanda, deanna,
christine, mel) along with major mindy, admiral anne, des and rachael. i
challenged them to consider two missions this year under the banner of
Heavenly-Oriented, Mightly Engaged: (1) to engage in outreach
activities, especially at school, to encourage their friends and
classmates to come to the lt mass, life nights, ministry hour, xlt,
etc.; and (2) to engage in an ongoing service activity to support
orphans in uganda through a foundation set up by a couple from plymouth.
mindy and anne will be taking over the HOME GIRLS at the end of sept
after we have our "rush".

if you are in ft wayne on the 19th for vincent fest (our annual parish
picnic) be sure to come to the lt band's concert. we will surely be
performing some of your favorite songs!

well, i should be heading home. it should be a restful weekend. timmy
and i are going to the bd game tonight, and tomorrow it's
spousal-unit-bonding time!

God bless you! Have a great year! and remember, all of us at st. v.'s
love you!

your friend in Christ,
bob s.

Many of you may feel 'out there' and dis-connected from your faith roots. I
KNOW how you feel. This is my first time not being on Core Team in three
years. I feel physical pain when I think about my loss. I know, though, it
is the will of God that I move on to other things. Now that you are adults I
don't mind letting you know that you saved my life while in life teen. Not
my earthly life but my spiritual life. Any time you think you can't make a
difference remember that you made a difference to me.

I love the messages from Bob. They are newsy and guiding. The punctuation
reminds of James Joyce. I have always looked to Bob to keep pushing me in my
faith. I think we all need someone to challenge us to improve our
scholarship in Christ.

I am still waiting for the offer of football tickets. Anyone who can get me
tickets so that I can watch my Ohio State Buckeyes, let me know.

I wonder how many of you want to call the parents that two months ago you
didn't want to speak to. I know that when I was in college I was so homesick
this time every year that all I wanted to do was call home.

Some news about my family. The girls are playing soccer and volleyball. I
think they are the best girls on the team but, to my amazement, so do all
the other fathers. They are both doing well in school. I especially like
that they are trying so hard. They want better grades, and that is good, but
I admire them for their effort. Erin is back to teaching computer science
and loves it. I am going to teach CCD for 8th graders. This truly scares me.
Anyone who wants to be a guess speaker let me know.

That is all for now. Hope to hear from all of you.

YIC,

Jeff Rahrig

It started out so innocuously. Every now and then my explorer screen would freeze. Occasionally I'd get some spyware that would hijack my browser. Sometimes pages would print at a snail's pace. And once in a while my spousal-unit couldn't access her email. Just little things. Annoying, yes, but nothing that a simple reboot didn't clear up. And then one day my pc didn't boot. It blinked at me a couple of times, but that was it. It's only signs of life were the whirring of the fan and the Cyclops-like green power light staring mournfully up at me. I now realized that my pc was sick, very sick. You might say it was in critical condition. Worse yet, I had ignored all the symptoms. Had I taken just a little time earlier to diagnose what was wrong I might have prevented what surely looked like a disaster. After some fruitless attempts to coax it back to life I finally took the action of last resort: I inserted the system restoration cd. After booting up from the cd my worst fears were realized*the hard drive was totally corrupted. I had no choice but to issue the dreaded "format c:" command. That command wiped everything off the hard drive and left a pristine surface on which to install a new copy of windows. Fortunately, that task went smoothly and a couple of hours later my pc was back from the dead. And it was incredible how its performance improved. Everything seemed to work better and faster. My spousal-unit was overjoyed at being able to read her email again. Peace once again returned to the household. I slept well that night.

Isn't our faith life sometimes like a pc? I mean, we go along day after day living it out as best we can often not realizing how or when we sin. A slip of the tongue here, a lustful thought there; each unholy action weakening our faith just a bit and moving us a wee farther from the Lord. And then one day we wake up and wonder where our faith has gone or feeling alienated from God. We may barely find the spiritual strength to go to mass, and we find ourselves uncomfortable in the midst of our seemingly more spiritual friends. In short, our soul has become so corrupted that we don't have the grace to boot up our spiritual life. But God in His goodness has supplied us with a "restoration cd"*the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It's guaranteed to restore our soul to its pristine condition, sin-free and full of grace. And afterwards, everything just seems to work better! I love this image from Isaiah 1:18:

Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD," Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

I'd encourage all of you*whether you are having trouble booting up your faith life or not*to take advantage of Reconciliation. Sure it's not the easiest thing to confess one's sins and admit falling short of God's glory, but is not the feeling of joy when exiting the confessional one of the best you've ever experienced? I know it is for me!

We enjoyed our first XLT of the year last night. Matt served as emcee and lead the p&w. As usual the music was inspiring (ok, maybe I'm expressing a little too much pride). Alyssa Wagner gave a brief witness on how she planned to get "back to God" during the year, and Cindy outlined many of the opportunities teens will have to grow in faith and service. Fr. Mark led us in Adoration. It was a very peaceful and comforting time being in the Lord's presence.

This Sunday is the St. V. picnic. If you are in town come on out for the food and festivities. There's going to be a mud volleyball tournament featuring teams of teens that should be a riot. Also, the lt band is performing at 3:30 pm.

I continue to enjoy reading your emails. I'd like to hear from everybody just to know you are alive. I'm also still a little behind in responding, so please be patient. You all continue to be in my prayers.

God bless you. Have a great year. And remember, all of us at St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll be fine." Those were the parting words from the A-Unit as she headed off for Purdue to visit some friends from BD. Clutched in her hand was a map that I had drawn containing a simple route from Fort Wayne to West Lafayette. I had also explained the directions several times. She seemed a little annoyed that I was so concerned about her, but she was traveling alone and had always been a passenger on her previous visits. With a breezy "good-bye" she headed out the door. As I heard the revving of her engine I said a silent prayer and then settled into the family-room couch to watch a football game.

About an hour later the phone rang. It was Ness. "Dad, I think I might be lost." Lost, I thought, now how could you get lost traveling down I-69? I asked her where she was. "I think I'm in Michigan." In Michigan? I must not have heard her correctly. "Did you pass Auburn?" I asked. "I think so," she replied. "And Angola?" I continued. "Yea." I could tell by the sound of her voice that she was a little nervous. She was driving through a construction zone and everything around her was unfamiliar. I was in shock myself. How could such a thing have happened? How could she have headed in the completely opposite direction from where I told her? Well, first things first. I instructed her to get off at the next exit and turn around, which she did without problem. She was now back on the right path, much to her and my relief.

She continued to call in about every half-hour until she made it to Purdue. We marked her progress together by ticking off the mile markers or cities displayed on the exit signs. About five hours after she left she arrived safely in West Lafayette. And believe it or not, she had no trouble finding her way back home!

When Ness got home I asked her how she got so confused. Her answer was very insightful. A few weeks before she had traveled to Mishawaka via I-69 North and the toll way. A friend had remarked that Purdue was only about 45 minutes away from where they were. So, despite what I had said, and despite having a really simple map to follow, that's what was stuck in her head, and that's how she lost her way. Good thing she had a cell phone or she might have ended up at Mackinac Island!

Of course we all had a good laugh over this misadventure, and I'm sure none of us will ever forget it. But something else struck me as I thought about it. Don't we often compare our faith life to a journey? Aren't we all hoping to travel the road to heaven? Even though we have a very detailed map,

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work." 2 Tim 3:15

and have been told how to get there

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Jn 14:6

we often stubbornly think we know a better way. Or sometimes we just lose our way due to sin, sloth, or despair. But sooner or later, by God's grace, we discover that we are on the wrong path. What then? Well, God doesn't have a cell phone, but we can always call upon Him! He is eager to listen to our pleas and direct us back onto the narrow path that leads to heaven. To stay on that path, to remain headed in the right direction, we should, like Ness did, constantly keep in touch with our Father. That way we will be sure to arrive safely into His waiting arms.

Vincentfest was an absolute blast! The LT band got to play for an hour and we performed about 14 songs. I did a pretty good job memorizing many of them, but did have to cheat on some of them. It was amazing though, to see how much those attending enjoyed the music. I don't know about you, but praising God in song always seems to lift my spirit!
For several of the songs we had teens and core members singing and doing hand motions near the stage. Special kudos to Nathan, Proulx, Ben, Brian and Chris for holding down the male part of "You Are Holy". About 40 teens also played mud volleyball and received shirts that said, "St. Vincent's Mud Volleyball: Where getting dirty is good clean fun!" Pretty clever, huh? A good time was had by all!

Tomorrow a group of 20 is headed to St. Louis for the Life Teen Inspiration. My freshman-unit, Tim, will be going along. His main fear, of course, was whether or not he would have to pray for 8 hours (the event goes from 2-10 pm). I assured him that he'd only have to pray 7 ½ hours and he could sing for the remaining 30 minutes ? Anyway, I'm sure everyone will have a great time enjoying the amusement park, singing, listening to the speakers, and yes, praying!

I'd really like to hear from those of you who haven't yet chimed in, especially anyone from ND.

I went to the Carroll Homecoming last Friday. It was a lot of fun as I met several of Tim's classmates. What was kinda scary to me was that most of them were XX-units! The good news is that they all answered the Life Teen Question of the Week. I have a feeling it's going to be a long four years, but, as my spousal-unit said, Tim just might be a great marketing tool for Life Teen. Hmmm. That sounds like a great idea to me!

I'm headed to Leo tonight to see Eddie Gervais run. He is one of the top running backs in the area. Probably also so out for coffee with the spousal-unit Saturday morning at Barnes and Noble. That's one of our favorite things to do.

God bless you. Have a great year. And remember, all of us at St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

this weekend the spousal-unit and i are headed for central ohio and
staying somewhere in the hocking hills area. i am sending you this
email from my uncle duke's home. he lives in hillsboro, oh. earlier this
evening he took us with a group of his friends to a restaurant
called "Restaurant" where we enjoyed a very nice fish dinner complete
with salad bar. we then returned to his house for calorie-laden snacks
and some very lively conversation. on our way down we stopped for a few
hours to visit the "dayton colony". we had a very enjoyable time
touring the campus and catching up (all too briefly) with zach, tink,
holly^2, brady, matt, kat, adam, and chris. we also met several of their
friends at lunch (thanks for the free lunch, matt!). i especially
enjoyed listening to them tell about their classes in christian
literature, the
history of christianity, and other subjects that are related to the
faith. they also expressed much enthusiasm for the faith- and
service-related
opportunities they have at UD. thanks alot, guys, for a great afternoon.

last saturday the spousal-unit and i headed to decatur for our
date-night. she had found a coupon for arnold's drive-in in her
entertainment
book and thought it might be fun to go somewhere different. it's about a
45 minute drive from where we live. when we arrived we were
greeted by a very nice server from south adams high school who skated
out to our car. after examining the menu, which was like reading
a "happy days" script, i decided to order a "route 66" burger basket and
the mother-unit ordered a "ponzi" (some kind of patty melt). we had
a nice, long conversation while our food was prepared. while eating, the
sun went down and the colorful neon lights that covered the
parking stalls and formed signage in the restaurant windows emerged. one
of them read, "life's uncertain so eat your ice cream first". that
really caught my attention. my left brain went to work immediately
trying to decipher those words. of course, they also made me immediately
salivate for ice cream! anyway, i couldn't help but ponder. the message
seemed to be that, if you want to enjoy your ice cream, you better
eat it first because you never know what might happen if you wait. maybe
you won't have time to eat it. maybe it will be all gone before you
get your share. maybe your spousal-unit will say you've already had
enough to eat :). whatever.

life is full of uncertainties, isn't it? and such uncertainties can
cause us to worry, and not just about getting our ice cream. did i pick
the
right major? will i find a job when i finish? will i find someone to
love? what should my vocation be? big questions. important questions.
questions that you may find yourselves dwelling upon day after day.
questions that you may find difficult to answer. but you need not
worry about whether or when the answers may come. for there is one thing
that you can count on as certain: Jesus knows the answers
and will provide them to you in due course. in the gospel of matthew
Jesus comforted his followers in this way:
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than
clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap
or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they? ...So do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.
the key to living without worry is keeping your focus on the One who
knows all of your needs. if you but live each day asking only to
do what He wants you to do all these other things will take care of
themselves. you will have whatever answers you need and all the
ice cream you can eat.
God bless you. have a great year. and remember, all of us at St. V.'s
love you!

your friend in Christ,
bob s.

I have had a very active week. Last Saturday I hosted an informal, cave-free, get together along with Cindy and Matt. It was good to see you all and I hope you enjoyed the conversation and treats as much as I did. One of the more serious questions we entertained was, "What have you learned about yourself this year?" I was particularly struck by two of your answers. To paraphrase, "I don't feel as confident in the direction of my life as I used to," and "I realized the truth of the statement, 'You don't know what you've got til it's gone'". Very honest and thoughtful answers. As to the first, I am confident that each of you, with God's help will use your time in college to seek out your true vocation, one that may be very different from your original inclinations. As to the second, it is a sign a maturity to recognize and value what you have, whether it be relationships, opportunities, or things, and to seek those things that have everlasting value. I look forward to our next get together, and please feel free to call or drop by anytime you are in the Fort!

I was in charge of the Life Night on Sunday. It addressed the topic of "moral voting". To add a little fun to the night we held an election for a Life Teen mascot. Chris Rice dressed as a bird and Kali Genos as a puppy. After a brief Q/A period all the teens got to cast their vote. The bird won and will be featured in upcoming weekly videos shot here, there and everywhere. We hope this will create a little bit of a buzz about Life Teen and attract some new teens.

On Wednesday I headed down to Indy to give a presentation at the 9th National Nurse Educators' Conference. I felt like a token; I think there were only three XY-units in the whole place! My presentation went smoothly and there was a lot of interest in the software whose development I have led over the past four years. Who knows, there may be a commercial opportunity here. After the conference I made a brief visit to Marian College where I saw Klink, Mego, Tim Barnes, Sam Difilippo, and Angela Yankowiak. Klink even bought me dinner! Klink and Mego are Sam Damiano Scholars. As part of their duties they are helping to organize a souped-up campus visit day that features a talk (and mini-performance?) by Steve Agrisano. They are also helping out a local youth minister. After fighting the rush hour traffic to deliver Klink to St. Matthew's and locate my hotel, I spent a very quiet and restful time at the AmeriSuites.

Thursday I drove back to Fort Wayne just in time to present some real technical stuff to the software development team I working with during my sabbatical. It was a 2 ½ meeting and I was pretty exhausted by the end. Yes, it was early to the cave that night!

Whenever we plan a family vacation my progeny-units always wanted to stay "where the action is". They liked being able to hook up with others their ages, especially when they became teenagers, and wanted to be as close to as many activities as possible. Miniature golf. Arcades. Swimming. Go karts. That kind of stuff. The more they could do the happier they were. Seems natural, doesn't it? The mother unit and I (well, mostly her since she is chief vacation planner) did our best to give them what they wanted. I was happy just being a beach or some mountains. Which reminds me: I just finished a book titled, "The Miracle Strain". It's about a genetic scientist's search for Christ's DNA in the hope that it may possess the healing power needed to save his daughter from brain cancer. An interesting but preposterous premise, don't you think? Anyway, early in the search he comes across claims of recent healing miracles at Lourdes. He is surprised when his fellow scientist, who was raised a Baptist, says that she'd like to go to a very Catholic place. She expresses her desire this way: "I might have been raised a Baptist, but I want to go where the action is."

To go where the action is: Isn't that an awesome description of our faith and our Church? We are truly a place where things happen. Just think of it. God's Spirit and His grace are constantly moving through His sacraments.. Where we are born into His family through Baptism; forgiven of sins through Reconciliation; nourished by His Body and Blood with Communion; given gifts to build His kingdom at Confirmation; made into one flesh through Matrimony; set apart for His service by Holy Orders; and made ready to greet Him with the Sacrament of the Sick. And that's just the beginning. We've got the incredible Tradition of teaching to guide us, the communion of saints to pray and be models for us, a rich set of devotions to draw us closer to Him, and most of all, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am so thankful that I was born into such "action," and it is not surprising that, for those who truly want to go where the action is, eventually come to the Catholic church. I encourage you all to take some time this week to reflect on the richness of your faith and express gratitude to God for placing you in His church.

The mother-unit and I always strived to find a vacation site that would bring the most joy to our children, to satisfy their desire to be where the action is. Likewise, God has brought you to a spiritual place where you can experience the most joy. Now, take advantage of it!

Scott Bryson supplied the best answer to last week's question. Hey, Scott, would you email me your campus address so I can send you your really cool prize? Here's this week's question: When the spousal-unit and I attended mass in Ohio, their was a curious symbol carved into the altar. It looked kind of like an 'I' overlaid with an 'S'. What the heck was that?

God bless you. Have a great semester. And remember, all of us at St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

Congratulations to Dan S. who correctly answered the
question-of-the-week. The "I" and "S" carved into the altar are
the first and last letters of the Latinized Greek spelling of
"Jesus". It is more common for us to see "IHS", the first
three letters, but it is very common in the Eastern churches for first
and last letters to be used as name abbreviations.

Here's the question for this week. After the Gospel reading, many
people make three small signs of the cross, one each on the forehead,
lips and heart. Why?

Could you all send me your campus addresses and birthdays? Ya never
know when some snail mail might come your way. Just ask D-port and Holly
(the smaller).

Thursday after supper I helped Tim with Geometry. It was triangles
here, triangles there, congruent triangles everywhere. It was slow and
difficult work to construct nine proofs using the SSS and SAS theorems,
but ultimately we prevailed. Later that night, and way past cave time, I
received a call from Vanessa. Seems that she had a paper due in the
morning and it was sitting somewhere on our computer. Of course, she
couldn't come home to do it 'cause that would take too much time
driving all the way from IPFW! Anyway, I dragged myself off the couch
and fired up Microsoft Word. Lucky for me, it was in the "most
recently used files" list so it was easy to find. What wasn't easy
to do was to email it to her. Seems that the IPFW email server had
already retired to its cave. We both waited and waited for the email to
appear but it never did. Well, tired and cranky as I was, I did what any
good father-unit would do: I implemented Plan B. I logged on to the
mother-unit's Comcast account and emailed the document from there. A
short time later it appeared in the A-unit's email.

After she happily downloaded the document she said, "Thanks, Dad."
Nothing fancy: just a simple and sincere expression of gratitude for the
good I had done for her. That's my girl!

That got me to thinking how much I have to be thankful for. A few years
ago we had a Life Night entitled, "Has anything good happened to me
lately?" During the small group sharing each teen was asked to make a
list of all the good things that God had done for him or her. It was an
easy question for me to answer. I have a great job. I am father to five
beautiful children. I am married to a loving wife who shares my faith. I
belong to a vibrant parish community. I know a priest whom I call
friend. I get to play guitar every Sunday night, and, on desperate
occasions, sing into a microphone. I have had the opportunity to mentor
many teens through serving as a core member.

It is a good life. It is a blessed life. I don't have everything money
can buy, but everything I have I owe to God. And I try to live a life
full of gratitude. The service I perform, the financial gifts I make,
and the prayers and worship I offer, are all a reflection of my
gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do for me. It's
how I say, "Thanks, Dad".

Scripture exhorts us to "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His
faithful love endures forever." (I Chronicles 16:34) I encourage you
all to take some time this weekend to recognize what blessings God has
given to you and thank Him for the good He has done for you. There is a
song whose refrain ends with, "Count your blessings / Name them one by
one / Count your many blessings see what God has done." I don't know
about you, but I'm not sure I can count that high!

God bless you. Have a great semester. And remember, all of us at St.
V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

i just returned from our life teen fall retreat, "you belong to me." as usual, it was an incredible experience for the teens and me. i learned some valuable lessons both before and during the retreat that i will share in some upcoming emails. i had the opportunity to give a teaching during the last session. i'd like to share that teaching with you. it briefly covers two aspects of living the life of faith: vocation and probation. i hope you enjoy reading it.

congratulations to des kammer for winning the question-of-the-week. the first controversy in the church is recorded in acts 15. it concerns whether or not you can become a christian without first becoming a jew and being circumsized. it was resolved by peter in this way, "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." acts 15:19-20.

here's this week's question: how does obedience lead to freedom? yes, this is a different kind of question. i want your thoughts on how the two are related, especially in the context of your experience.

i understand that some of you might not be receiving these emails because of spam filtering. i usually send one out every week. if you or someone you know is not receiving them then let me know; i can partition the mailing list more finely to squeeze through such filters.

now for that teaching:

You Belong To Me Now and Forever
St. Vincent's Life Teen Retreat
Fall 2004

"You Belong To Me" is the theme of our retreat. And "You Belong To Me Now and Forever" is the theme of this last session. Throughout this retreat we have explored different aspects of this theme through skits, teachings, witnesses, discussion, and sacraments. This afternoon I'd like to share a few additional thoughts on two questions: (1) How do we know that we belong to God; and (2) How should we show that God belongs to us? Though I have stated these questions in the plural form, you should replace the "we" with "I" as you ponder both the questions and answers today.

First, how do we know that we belong to God? How do we know we are part of God's family? The answer is very similar to the one Tim gave just a few minutes ago in our opening skit. We are know that we belong to God because we

* Are called by His name
* Call Him "Father"
* Sit at his table
* Share His flesh and blood
* Live in His house
* Refer to His bride (the Church) as our mother
* Celebrate together major events in our lives
* Receive instruction and discipline from Him

We all have family names that identify us. If we are in an organization, such as the Knights of Columbus or HOME GIRLS or a school, we identify ourselves by that name. We say "I'm an Knight," "I'm a HOME GIRL," "I'm a Bruin, a Lion, a Charger or a Saint". In Baptism, we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. From that point on we call ourselves "Christians," and so, identify with Christ. Disciples of Christ were first called "Christians" in Antioch as recorded in Acts 11:26. This term literally means "belonging to the party of Christ."
Names do mean something. They tell us who we are. They identify our allegiance, our loyalty. If we call ourselves "Christians" it implies that we belong to Christ, and our allegiance is with Him. How then, should we show that He belongs to us?

We show that we belong to Him by fulfilling our vocation, by enduring our probation, and by becoming an oblation. I'm going to briefly discuss the first two and a little later Matt will be sharing on the third.

What does "vocation" mean? I think it sounds a lot like "vacation". Consider this. A vacation is time spent away from work while experiencing fun. In contrast, a vocation is time spent experiencing joy while becoming God's work. In a talk to young people about the meaning of vocation, the Pope said this: "I would like to meet you one by one, call you by your name, talk to you heart to heart of things extremely important not only for yourself, but for the whole of humanity. I would like to ask each one of you: What will you do with your life? Have you ever thought of committing your existence totally to Christ? Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring Jesus to people and people to Jesus?" I'd like to repeat these questions, but rephrasing them as if Jesus were asking them. My child, what will you do with your life? Have you ever thought of committing your existence totally to me? Do you think that there can be anything greater than to bring me to your friends and family and your friends and family to me?"

So then, what is our vocation? By virtue of our Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist we have become part of the family of God. As adopted sons and daughters, as disciples of Christ, we therefore share a common vocation, and it is this: to be holy, to "be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect".

I know it sounds scary, or seems impossible, but Christian holiness does not mean being sinless; rather it means struggling not to give in and always getting up after every fall. It means that we strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to obey His commandments, to do His will every day, and to love others as He loves us. We should not be afraid of the demands of discipleship, because Jesus, Who loved us first, is prepared to give Himself to us, as well as asking of us. If He asks much from us, it is because He knows we can give much. Here's the key thing to remember: holiness does not result so much from the effort of our will, as from the willingness to cooperate with the action of His grace in our soul. It is not what we do that makes us holy but what He does in us. Of course, for Him to accomplish anything in us we must first say to Him, "Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes, yes Lord."

In carrying out our vocation to holiness we are called to more specific vocations. These include the priesthood or religious life, marriage, or the single life. There is not time to discuss each of these individually, but no matter what specific vocation we are called to we fulfill our vocation to be holy by sanctifying our work, sanctifying ourselves in our work, and sanctifying others through our work. No matter what we do, in all that we do our lives must testify to our faith, hope and love and make Christ manifest to those around us. That is our vocation.

It is not easy to live a life of holiness. Every day is a test of the commitment we made at our baptism to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Pope John-Paul II put it this way, "it is in and through the actions we freely choose to do every day of our lives that we make ourselves to be the persons we are. It is precisely through his acts that man attains perfection as man, as one who is called to seek his Creator of his own accord and freely to arrive at full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him." These words make me recall the movie, Renaissance Man. Danny DeVito plays a teacher who is charged with helping some very reluctant soldiers pass an English class in order to qualify for duty. In helping to explain to one soldier why his life is the way it is he says, "The decisions you make determine the kind of life you will lead."

Think of all the decisions you have made. Some are small and inconsequential, like what flavor of ice cream you choose for your cone. Others, however, shape the very person you have or will become. Will I spend more time on homework and less playing Halo II?
Will I choose to drink beer or soda at that next party? Will I overcome or give in to the next temptation to violate my sexual purity? Will I curse or praise the name of Jesus? Will I make fun of that "loser" whom everybody picks on or will I invite her to become my friend? Every choice you make orients your life for or against the Good, for or against the Truth, and, ultimately, for or against God. Let me give you a simple example.

The other night I was in the cave, perfectly content snuggled under a warm blanket and watching TV. My son Tim walked in and announced that he needed a ride over to a friend's house where he had been invited to a get-together.. Well, it was after cave-time, so I wasn't all that enthusiastic to respond to his need. But then I thought about it. He was a freshman. He was attending a school where he was a stranger to most of his classmates. Here was an opportunity for him to become more a part of his school community and perhaps make some new friends. Was it all that difficult for me to spend 10-15 minutes giving him a ride? And so I did. Now I know such a decision perhaps wasn't world-changing, but consider two things. First, I decided to do something good for another rather than satisfy my own selfish desires. And secondly, it demonstrated to my son that I was willing to be inconvenienced for his sake. It is seemingly small and insignificant decisions to love that allow us bit by bit to be made holy.

To fulfill our vocation, to successfully endure our probation, all the choices we make every day of our life must reflect our obedience to God's will. If we succeed in doing this that we can in truth become fully the being that God wants us to be: a saint. I have had three children graduate from Bishop Dwenger High School. When they all were freshman I drove them to school. Every day when I dropped them off I said goodbye to them this way, "God bless you. Have a great day. And remember, be a Saint." It was my way of reminding them who they are, who God desires them to be, and how they should act.
To become a saint, to fulfill our vocation, to pass our probation is quite a task! It means that we must not only avoid mortal sin but must root from our lives deliberate venial sin. But, unfortunately, each of us has his or her favorite venial sins. We know we ought not commit these sins if we are to be fully the persons God wants us to be*his faithful and loving children*but we nonetheless continue to commit them because we want to. But we need not despair. Though it is one impossible to do this on our own it possible in, with, and through Christ, our best and wisest friend, who will enable us to live truly as his disciples if we but ask for his help.

Remember the story I told you last night about my children running to embrace me when I came home from work? Well, I didn't tell you the whole story. Sometimes when I came home they were playing with Legos, or reading books, or coloring with markers. To reach up for me they first had to put down their toys. It is the same with us. To become holy, to fully embrace our vocation, we must first let go of our attachments to sin and selfishness, to anything that holds us back from doing God's will.

In Baptism, we were given the identity of children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus. By placing His indelible mark on our souls, He said to us, "You belong to me." Our vocation to be holy, to which we commit ourselves in choosing to be baptized, means that we are to become what we already are: God's faithful children, members of the divine family, alive with God's own life, and willing to do only what is pleasing to the Father. But with this commitment comes a long probation, a period of testing in our lives when it may be difficult to keep such a commitment. During this time, even though we may fail frequently, we must endeavor to express our faithfulness in every decision we make, seeking God's grace to say and do the loving thing and withstand every temptation. In that way we will show that we belong to God now and forever.

your friend in Christ,
bob s.

I hope today finds you well and looking forward to Thanksgiving break. If you are coming home (to Ft. Wayne, that is) tonight I'd like to invite you to XLT. Our theme tonight is "Stay With Us Lord," which also happens to be the letter JPII wrote to introduce the celebration of the Year of the Eucharist. Cindy will be giving a reflection on this theme. It promises to be a Spirit-filled evening, and yet another opportunity for spending time with our Lord and Savior.

I received some awesome responses to the question-of-the-week. They were so good, in fact, that I thought everyone should have an opportunity to read them. You will find responses from Kat, Klink, and Scott in the attached document. You will be edified!

I do hope you all will be able to attend Cindy's annual Thanksgiving get-together next Wednesday. It should be fun and a chance to catch up on what you all have been doing this year at school, church, and otherwise. I think we are planning to have a large group discussion time, so bring whatever's on your mind and let's talk!

Since next week is Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some thoughts about gratitude. First, the question of the week: What are you grateful for?

A few years ago I had an opportunity to write a column for a local newspaper on this topic. Here's what I said then about Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy it.

It was a Thanksgiving I will never forget. Not because the turkey and all the trimmings were so plentiful and delicious, nor because my mother survived a whole day with 11 energetic grandchildren on one Valium. No, what made Thanksgiving 1985 so memorable was this: I came to understand more deeply the wisdom of giving thanks in all circumstances.

It all began the day our twins, Valerie and Vanessa, were born. As usual, I had my camera pressed to my cheek ready to record every detail. And as usual, Cheryl reminded me that I was not on assignment for the New England Journal of Medicine. Labor and delivery were normal, but what happened afterward was not. Valerie stopped breathing, and a dozen doctors and nurses were soon fighting for her life. The flurry of activity made my head spin, and a kindly nurse suggested that I step outside for a breather. (During that time Vanessa was born, and to this day, I am still apologizing for not having pictures of her birth.)

Three days later we ended up in the emergency room at Riley Children's Hospital. We had been scheduled the next day to have Valerie examined by a heart specialist, but on the way down she had become gray and listless. The on-duty nurse whisked Valerie away, and the next time we saw her she looked more machine than baby. A frightening jumble of wires snaked from her frail body to banks of machinery. A tube forced air into her collapsing lungs. She was a heartbeat away from death.
Early the next morning an intern discovered the source of Valerie's distress, an AV-malformation. An AV-malformation is a congenital defect that results in a knot of blood vessels instead of an orderly array of arteries and veins. Her knot was in the middle of her head. There was nothing they could do for her.

With little more than a whisper of hope, Valerie was taken by air ambulance to New York University Hospital for experimental surgery. Four desperate and delicate operations later she lay clinging to life in the neo-natal intensive care unit. For 40 days and 40 nights I kept my vigil: Staring at the red-faced monitors; stealing peeks of the nurses' notes on her chart; peppering doctors for signs of progress; and praying Psalms at her bedside. Gradually, she improved and became well enough to return to Riley. After an additional three weeks there, she was ready to be released. When we went in for our exit conference with the neurologist, the prognosis was grim. "Everything from the ears up is
gone," he said. "I'd recommend that you place her into an institution." We took her home instead. It was just before Thanksgiving.

Valerie can't walk or talk. What she sees and hears remains a mystery. She is fed three times a day through a tube in her stomach. She requires medication to control her seizures and relax her always-tense muscles. She will never play the piano, fly a kite or go to the prom. She seems so powerless, but she has been the most powerful influence in my life. Because of her I have learned how to love without expecting love in return; how to give without expecting to receive and how to serve without expecting reward. She has made me a better husband and father.

Now each Thanksgiving, as the smell of basting turkey meanders throughout our house, I am reminded of Valerie's first homecoming and what she has given me. And no matter how salty the dressing is, how crabby my mom gets or how many days of leftovers follow, I always pause for a few extra moments to give thanks.

St. Paul exhorts us to "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (I Thes 5:16-18) After my many years and varied experiences, I have come to understand the truth and the wisdom of his words. Knowing that my life is in God's hands and that He cares for me has made all the difference. I am content with whatever I have (just ask my spousal-unit; she would say that I'd be happy living in a real cave!) and know that both the crowns and crosses in my life are gifts from God. In my human weakness it sometimes takes me a while to be thankful for some of those crosses, though!

I urge you to reflect upon the most difficult times of you life*it might be right now*and ask God to help you see His hand in such circumstances. I'm sure you'll set it reaching out to pull you up!

God bless you. Have a restful and happy Thanksgiving. And remember, all of us at St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob s.

You know the dream. It's finals week and you suddenly discover a class
on your schedule that you haven't attended all semester. Or you pick up
your final exam and notice that there is not one question you can
answer. Or you forget and miss your final altogether. Sound familiar?
Even after graduating, I frequently had such dreams. The desire to do
well mixed with the accompanying uncertainty can produce a powerful
anxiety that invades even our sleep during finals week (and beyond).

What is the purpose of a "final" anyway? As a college professor I have
had many opportunities over the years to construct such exams, and, sad
to say, bring unspeakable emotional trauma into the lives of many
students. Here's my view. It's pretty simple. I am fond of saying that
my purpose in every class is to mold you into my image. Above all, my
final determines how closely your mind reflects mine with respect to the
given subject matter. A final assesses how much you know about a subject
and how well you know it. Did you learn the essential facts? Did you
acquire the essential skills? Can you analyze a problem and formulate a
solution? Can you synthesize disparate knowledge into a coherent whole?
Your answers give me a black-and-white measure of your knowledge and
therefore your readiness to go on.

Most of the finals you take are like that, aren't they? They test what
you know and how well you know it. For some, particularly music and art
measures, a final may test what you can do and how well you do it. In
the life of a Christian, however, there is another kind of "final" that
tests this: What do you believe and how strongly do you believe it?

Jesus understood this test very well. The Gospels record how Satan
tested him. Three times Satan asked Him to turn His back on God the
Father and abandon His mission. Three times Jesus refused. Jesus' final
answer was 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' After His
final answer Satan left Jesus whereupon He began preaching about the
coming Kingdom of God. Later In Matthew's Gospel we find the people
asking Jesus how they should pray. He gives them the "Our Father." The
line "lead us not into temptation" is sometimes translated as "and put
us not to the test".

Jesus was fully aware that their (and our) lives as disciples are not
easy. Our faith is tested daily. Our hope confronted frequently. Our
love questioned often. Trials like sickness and failure can crush our
spirits. False values, easy promises, and worldly pleasures can attract
us and lead us into sin. And so Jesus teaches us in this prayer to ask
God to keep us from failing when we are tested, to help us to know the
right thing to do, to deliver us from the evil which awaits us in this
life, and to give us the strength we need to make our final answer
pleasing to Him.

Which brings me to my final illustration. After Jesus' resurrection, He
approached Peter and asked him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I do." Jesus asked him that
same question two more times, as if to say, "Is that your final answer."
Peter remained steadfast. He passed his final test. He was ready to go
on to feed God's sheep, to lead God's Church, and to be God's witness
unto the ends of the earth. May our final answer also be "Yes, my Lord"
to every word God speaks to us and in every situation into which He
leads us.

During your finals, may God give you a clear mind, a calm spirit, and a
confident attitude so that your professors may find you ready to go on.
God bless you. Have a great (finals) week. And remember, all of us at
St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

Is it my imagination or is the space-time continuum between Thanksgiving and Christmas significantly compressed? I mean, don’t you feel that time somehow speeds up after the last of the turkey and stuffing have been consumed? So much to do, seemingly so little time to do it. Papers to write, presentations to give, projects to finish, finals to take, travel plans to make, cards to mail, decorations to hang, parties to attend, gifts to buy, … whew! Kinda makes your head spin, doesn’t it? Mine is usually twirling at warp speed about now, but not this year since I’m on sabbatical. Don’t be jealous, but I have nothing to do between now and semester’s end related to the fulfillment of the educational imperative. Such is life for me in the “real” world of computer geekdom. Hey, even with the seasonal quantum time compression, I might get my shopping done before Christmas Eve!

Speaking of shopping, I joined the spousal-unit for an evening of gift inspection and selection at K’s Merchandise this week. I was pretty-much shopped out after an hour, but she was still going strong, hovering in the outerwear area looking for something for our son-in-law. While I was waiting (patiently of course!) I heard the song, “Anticipation,” playing on the in-store sound system. You may not be familiar with this song since it’s from the 70s, but it is one of my favorites. It’s sung by Carly Simon (“You’re So Vain”, “The Right Thing To Do”) whom I must confess I had a big crush on in high school and college. Anyway, the song describes both the anticipation and uncertainty felt about the future of a relationship. The song begins with “We can never know about the days to come / But we think about them anyway,” and the refrain is “Anticipation, anticipation /
Is making me late / Is keeping me waiting”.

Whenever I hear this song I am reminded of my senior year at Purdue. It was the first time I was away from the future spousal-unit. We had been apart since August and she was coming down for the October Homecoming. I was incredibly excited to see her again (had to be love!) and probably played that song a million times--at least enough that my whole dorm wing had it memorized. For weeks I imagined how great our time together was going to be and what fun we were going to have. Such anticipation really energized me: I really wanted her to find me even more attractive than ever so I redoubled my efforts in the classroom and gym. I was going to be so ready for her arrival!

Similar anticipation for the coming of the Messiah was expressed by the prophet, Isaiah. During Advent the first readings reflect how Isaiah imagined it would be. Here are just a few excerpts from the first three Sundays of Advent:

“He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." (Is 2:1)

“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Is 11:9)

“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” (Is 35:5-6)

What beautiful images of life in the Kingdom of God, and how much the hearts of the Israelites must have been filled with yearning for His arrival. In the same way we should be filled with eager anticipation for the celebration of the Incarnation, which fulfilled these words of Isaiah, and for the promise of Christ’s return. His Second Coming is as real as the end of the semester and as the spousal-unit’s Homecoming visit. Recall the words the angels spoke to the disciples at Jesus’ ascension:

"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

That’s what we’re waiting for in this age. That’s the promise we’ve been given. But there’s another aspect to Advent, I think, that can also be found in the question, “What are you waiting for?” You see, such a question often implies “Stop wasting time!” “Get going!” “Get to work!” I think that sentiment was also implied by the angels’ words to the disciples. Jesus had given them a job to do—to go out and evangelize all the world—so they had no time to stand and stare at the sky. We, too, have our roles to play in fulfilling our baptismal vows. While we wait for His certain return, when “every tear will be wiped away,” we must not only prepare ourselves by striving for personal holiness, we must joyfully participate in building His Church.

I hope you will take time during this Advent season to reflect on the reality of Christ’s coming—His Incarnation, His Sacramental Presence, His Second Coming—and redouble your efforts to prepare.

God bless you. Have a great week. And remember, all of us at St. V.’s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

My spousal-unit's nesting instinct has been on overdrive this year.
First it was installing central air. Ok, so I was really on-board with
that domicile modification. Then, in what seems to be a blur to me,
there was the ceiling repair in Val's room soon followed by room
repainting and window-blind replacement, the installation of new
decorative glass in the front entry, the modification of the back yard
light from gas to electricity, and, installed in time for Christmas, new
carpet throughout the house including the cave. Of course, the
spousal-unit is quite happy with all the improvements. It has also
renewed with a vengeance her interest in recycling, rearranging and
redecorating the entire interior spatial dimensions. But I have already
cautioned her to not even think of throwing out any life-teen stuff, no
matter how thick the layer of dust on it! Anyway, in spite of her warm
and fuzzy feelings, she asked me the other day, "Honey, how can we
make Christmas special this year?" Special? Did I mention we also
purchased that Honda van in accordance with the most earnest desires of
the spousal-unit? Doesn't being surrounded by all that new stuff make
this season special enough? Oh, I see, it's not just the getting of
things that makes Christmas special. So, then, how can we make Christmas
special this year? Well, I ran across an article by Rick Warren (the
same guy who wrote "The Purpose-Driven Life") that had some pretty
good suggestions. I'd like to share those with you.

Make Christmas a time for meaningful fellowship. During Christmas we
spend more time with family and friends than any other time of year. For
some, it is the only opportunity to see relatives who live far away.
Yet, our conversations often do not go beyond the superficial. We talk
about sports, TV, and the weather. We might also be tempted to spread
hurtful gossip. Real fellowship, however, starts with heart-to-heart
sharing, and that can help family and friends grow closer. Real
fellowship requires asking meaningful questions and taking time to
really listen. You might consider asking Grandpa what were the most
valuable lessons he has learned throughout his life. Or asking your Mom
what she was most thankful for this year. Or asking your brother or
sister how they would like to grow next year. Or asking your best friend
what his dream is for the future. You, too, must be willing to share
deeply and honestly with those around you. That will make Christmas
special for you.

Make Christmas a time for personal growth. Christmas is most often
portrayed as a happy time when families unite and everyone gets along.
Unfortunately, reality can be very different. Many people dread family
gatherings due to unresolved hurts, unsettled conflicts, uncomfortable
relationships, and painful memories. Nobody's perfect. We hurt one
another, often not even realizing it. When we fail to forgive, harboring
a grudge toward another family member, then the underlying tension will
rob us of experiencing some of the joy of such gatherings. Remember that
Jesus came first and foremost to reconcile us to the Father; should we
not also use this time of year to forgive and seek forgiveness, to bring
reconciliation to those around us, to heal broken relationships? The
most valuable and significant gift you can give this Christmas is your
forgiveness. That will make Christmas special for you.

Make Christmas a time for helpful service. The pervading spirit of
Christmas is giving. The best gifts you can offer are not wrapped in
shiny paper, but in sincere love: the gifts of your time, talent and
treasure to help those in need. Any act of kindness can go a long way
toward making the joy of the season a reality for another. Running an
errand. Offering to babysit for free. Helping bake cookies or wrap
presents. Donating a gift to the Giving Tree or other organization.
Collecting food for Miss Virginia or other food pantry. Dropping a few
dollars into a Salvation Army bucket. Taking someone Christmas shopping.
Visiting a home-bound neighbor. God gave us the greatest gift of all by
giving us Himself. Could you not do the same this Christmas. That will
make Christmas special for you.

Make Christmas a time of joyful worship. Rejoice. Praise. Celebrate.
Peace. Merry. Happy. Blessed. These are the words we most associate with
Christmas. Words that connote worship. I really love being Catholic this
time of year because we have so many beautiful services at which to
worship, especially on Christmas. Now that my children are older I look
forward to Midnight Mass with all the candles and carols. And I really
enjoy singing Christmas carols. This time of year you can hear them
everywhere: in stores, at gas stations, in restaurants, on the radio
24/7. If you are at my house, you can even hear them in the shower!
Christmas carols are really songs of worship. We may worship God
whenever and wherever we hear them if we but take a moment to let their
words sink in. As the song reminds us, "O come let us adore Him."
That will make Christmas special for you.

Make Christmas a time for cheerful sharing. The angels proclaimed at
the first Christmas, "We bring you good news of great joy for all
people". What was that good news? It was manifold. God loves you. God
has sent you a Savior. God created you for a purpose. God has a plan for
your life. God desires that you know, love and serve Him in this world
and live with Him forever in the next. If you never understood that,
there is no better time than now to seek such understanding. If you
already understand that, then there is no better time than now to share
it. Take time this Christmas to share you joy with family and friends,
to let them know the hope you hold in your heart, the faith that
quickens your spirit, and the love that binds your soul to Christ's.
It will be the best news they'll ever hear! That will make Christmas
special for you.

God bless you. Have a very special Christmas. And remember, all of us
at St. V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

May your Christmas be filled with joy, abundant in love, and perfect in
peace; and may all your celebrations with family and friends be blessed
with the Lord's presence.

Thank-you for the gift of your fellowship and faith; I am richly
blessed. I look forward to sharing more thoughts with you during 2005
and eagerly anticipate the continued work that God will be doing in and
through each of you this coming year.

God bless you. Have a great Christmas. And remember, all of us at St.
V.'s love you!

Your friend in Christ,
Bob S.

P.S. We all have our favorite Christmas memories. Below is an essay I
wrote some years ago about mine. Enjoy!

The other day my wife asked me to recall my favorite Christmas. Even
though I have experienced 39 (and holding) joyous Christmas mornings I
knew right away which one was my favorite: The year her water broke in
church.

We were expecting our fifth child in January, but on the 23rd of
December in the middle of Mass, Cheryl leaned over to me and whispered
that her water had broken. I wanted to jump up and shout the good news
to everyone; she wanted to melt into the pew from embarrassment. We
compromised. I smiled, waved, and discretely pointed at her fruitful
womb on the way out, and she bravely walked through a gauntlet of
well-wishers, occasionally stealing a glance behind her to see if
anything had leaked out.

Our children were quite puzzled by the swift departure. Only on rare
occasions, like the time Valerie emptied her breakfast into Mom's lap or
when Pamela and Robby had engaged in grounded-for-life misbehavior, had
they seen the parking lot so full after church. A wave of relief washed
away their worried expressions as we shared the good news with them in
the car. Excitedly they began to reel off all the important questions.
Will it be a boy or a girl? Can the baby sleep in my room? What are you
going to name him? her? Will Santa bring extra presents for the baby? Of
course, they were excited not so much because they would soon be
welcoming a new brother or sister, but because this surely meant a stop
at Burger King on the way home. Overcome with euphoria I abandoned my
normally frugal tendencies and ordered Adventure Meals for all.

We soon had them settled in their pajamas, munching on French fries and
watching the Grinch trying to steal Christmas again. We left for the
hospital shortly thereafter, leaving them in the care of their aunt and
uncle who had come from Colorado for Christmas. Unfortunately, we forgot
to tell them where we hid all the Christmas presents. In spite of
assurances from their Aunt Marilyn, the kids were convinced the next
morning that the Grinch had finally succeeded!

We arrived at the Parkview New Life Center in the early evening. Labor
was slow but steady, and continued all through the night. Between
contractions we watched "Miracle on 34th Street". On Christmas Eve
morning, a little before dawn, we were blessed with our own miracle, a
son. We named him Timothy John. Later that evening we celebrated with a
steak and lobster dinner. Timmy feasted on milk. The family gathered
around bringing presents and good cheer. Outside there was a gently
falling snow. I could have sworn I heard angels singing.

There is a mysterious bond that forms at birth, when the first breath
that a child draws is met with the exhalation of a parent's "It's a
boy!" or "It's a girl!" It is a bond that endures the forces of time,
distance, and circumstances. A bond that expresses itself in the kind of
love that no scientist can measure and no philosopher can explain. One
that greets each failure with faith, each disappointment with hope, and
each rejection with love. Within this bond we may find the true meaning
of Christmas. For on that day the bond between God and His children
became incarnate in Jesus Christ. God's ultimate expression of love was
to give Himself.

Timmy was a wonderful Christmas gift, but not merely because I received
a son. The far greater gift was this: His presence will forever remind
me of the morning long, long ago when the angels proclaimed "Joy to
world, the Lord is come!" That's why it's my favorite Christmas.