can my sister send you mail?

Hi all.  My sister, Martha, is awesome and recently graduated from Ave Maria University.  I'm super-proud of her because she's making a two year commitment to FOCUS.  I'll let her explain why:


For the next two years, I'll be working with an organization called FOCUS, or Fellowship of Catholic University Students. This ministry sends missionaries to colleges in the United States to aid young people in their drawing closer to God and in their battle against the negative elements of today's culture. FOCUS specifically seeks to meet these students where they're at by having its missionaries strive to come to know the personal needs of the students they encounter and to share Christ's love with them. What was instrumental in my decision to become a FOCUS missionary was a realization of what an awesome gift the Catholic faith is through spending four years an Ave Maria University, drawing closer to God during this time through the spiritual and academic opportunities that the school made possible for me. Basically, Catholicism is way too awesome not to share, and I know that the hope it offers is much needed in the lives of my peers! -Martha Griswold



If you know Martha, you know that she's going to be absolutely amazing at this-- I've been blessed to encounter many people who tangibly represent Christ to me, but no one is quite like Martha and I know she's going to make a huge difference in the lives of the students she'll encounter.  However, here's the thing.  She's off to FOCUS training and is supposed to have something like 200 addresses of people she can mail her newsletter updates to and ask for prayers and financial support.  Giving her your address in NO way means you have to pray for or financially support her (although clearly she would not be opposed to either cause she prays for ALL of you...  Yes, even you...) it would just get her off to a strong start.  You don't need to be rich, Catholic or even able to read.  You just need a mailbox.  So, if you're willing to get updates in the mail from Martha, please e-mail (or Facebook) her your address: mgriswold@focusonline.org




****also. I'm late to the game here, but apparently my Christendom alumni sister Emily has already collected about 25 addresses from the Front Royal/ Christendom crowd. I'm BEGGING my Franuniv friends to not let them out-do us.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us.

“He helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty…”  (Pope Benedict XVI's Beatification Homily).  This is what we learned from Blessed John Paul II, as a generation formed by the Church he led while the world sank deeper into moral relativism.

Standing in the middle of St. Peter’s Square in August of 2000, jet-lagged, overwhelmed by the crowds of European teens who seemed to have different standards of hygiene than we did, watching the sun set behind the obelisk we chanted, “John Paul II, We love you!” as he entered on the Popemobile and then greeted us in what must have been dozens of languages.  I remember weeping with my friends when we heard him welcome pilgrims from the United States with, “The Pope loves you too!” and realizing—not just knowing from a guide book but realizing in the marrow of my bones, as I stood just feet away from the tomb of St. Peter, in a city where Christians had been fed to lions and celebrated mass in Catacombs—that I was part of a faith that wasn’t something my parents, a self-help book or charismatic personality had invented.  It had been handed down to me, through the apostles, from Christ.  And He was visible in this man’s leadership.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explained, “the whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends.  Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love”.  When Blessed Pope John Paul II took office, people feared that the younger generations had come to see the Church as irrelevant, old fashioned and not worth the time we could spend reading the Wall Street Journal, drinking Mimosas on Sunday mornings. 

So what does Blessed Pope John Paul II do?  Spends the first six years of his Pontificate clarifying God's plan for sex.  Gathers millions of young people for World Youth Days.   As Pope Benedict XVI explained, “What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan – a strength which came to him from God – a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel.”  He taught doctrine in love, out of a tangible concern for our health and happiness.  Recognizing, like a loving parent, the importance of challenging us with the truth.  He showed us that the Church was truly our “travelling companion”.  That we belong to, and are called to heaven.
 
As I read my friend’s statuses and chat about the beatification today I see a generation whose lives are deeply affected by the witness this man gave us, calling us to holiness when many in the world were content to let self-destruct. Blessed Pope John Paul II… Continue to pray for us.

Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. You often blessed us in this Square from the Apostolic Palace: Bless us, Holy Father! Amen. -Pope Benedict XVI.

  

look, mom... an index!

I share the Pastor's Corner in the The Bluffton Packet with Dan Griswold, who despite having an awesome last name is not related to me.  In case you are fortunate enough to not live in Bluffton (ha.  I couldn't resist) or recycle too quickly, they've made an index of the columns.  I feel so official.

locked up for life...

I’ve mentioned that when I die, I want to be the one with the questions.  In the centuries of static between our present day and the words "What you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me…" (Matthew 25:45) I fear that I’ve re-interpreted that to mean “tithe, be nice to people who are nice to you and do what you can to help out”.  

I fear this has worsened as I get older and realize just how challenging it is to keep up with bills and carve out free time.  I love my life, I’m often smug about it.  I think to myself, “I made good choices.  If others didn’t and find themselves in a bad spot, this is not my problem”.  Then I wonder if I’ll be so confident saying that when I meet God face to face.  

So that's why I let myself get "locked up for life" to support Room at the Inn.  I've mentioned them before.  They are assisting mothers in need in the Lowcountry, giving homeless girls shelter and the assistance they need to choose life for their unborn children.  I've got to collect $1,000 in bail…  or apparently I go to jail.

When they asked me, I assured them that I was not friends with folks who could write checks for $500, $100 or even $20 (Lord knows on most days I sure can’t)…  But I thought to myself, I have plenty of friends who would give up a coffee or sacrifice a movie and could give $5 or $10 in support…  

Click here to donate on-line through pay-pal.  

Or, mail checks (put Room at the Inn of the Lowcountry in the Memo)to:

Room at the Inn of the Carolinas
PO Box 484
Colfax, NC 27235  

You don’t need to tell me what you give, but if you can let Monica, their director of development, know at mjenks@roominn.org so that, well, she doesn’t have me arrested…  That’d be great.

I'll have questions...

Originally published in the Bluffton Packet, March 28, 2011.

When I die and I meet God face to face, I want to be the one with the questions."

I heard this statement over the summer and I think about it constantly. The speaker explained that there were lots of moments in life that she planned to ask God, "What exactly where you thinking, allowing that to happen?" But, she said, she hoped God wouldn't have the same questions for her.

Obviously, God has his reasons for why things happen. But standing before the almighty, our reasons might seem a little weak.

This question was rolling through my mind a lot this January when I had the opportunity to tour the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., with the teens in my youth group. As an adult, I was the one getting their questions. And, let me tell you, it is a lot easier to answer questions about drugs, sex and rock'n'roll than why God allows bad things to happen.

Standing in the train that carted people to their deaths in Auschwitz, I was impressed that the teens asked not "Why did God allow this to happen?" but the more practical question, "Miss Alison, didn't people know this was going on? Well, why didn't they DO something?"

There are many inspiring examples of people who did "do something." However, there are many more who looked the other way. The hundreds of shoes collected from Auschwitz on display at the museum are a slap in the face reminding us that it was fellow human beings who allowed this to happen. Only God knows why.

It is a powerful examination of conscience for us to ask what we might be overlooking in our time.

Christ doesn't mince words. When people asked him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison and not minister to your needs?" (Matthew 25:44) he answered, "What you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment..." (Matthew 25:45-46).

Uncomfortable yet? I am. How many times have I ignored Christ in my neighbor? We're halfway through Lent and our sacrificing should be encouraging us to focus not just on our relationship with God but with those around us who are in need.

Opportunities abound, but if you're looking for some specifics in the next couple weeks, consider the following:

Invisible Children will be screening a film about victims of terrorism in East Africa at 7 p.m. April 7 at Park Plaza Cinemas on Hilton Head Island. The screening is free, there will be information presented about ways you can get involved. Contact Chris Rosenberry, 843-422-5848 for more details.

Room at the Inn, a local shelter for unwed mothers is in need of assistance in many ways. Learn more at www.roominn.org.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection works to provide assistance and encouragement to local families in need. Learn more at www.noc-sc.org

There are many ways to love Christ in our neighbors both locally and at an international level. When you die, be sure you're the one with the questions.

Catholic Icing

When I read this in the Miscellany I was reminded that team Catholic SC has a native who's doing some really great stuff when it comes to craft projects and catechetical ideas for younger children.  Actually, truth be told, I find some of her ideas helpful for bulletin board and middle school craft projects as well.  Follow Lacy on Twitter to get tips like when you can find Stations of the Cross stickers at the Dollar Tree and where to order rosary eggs from.

why I'll eat meat today...

Today I’ll eat meat.  And drink beer.  And it's not "cheating".

I remember the first time I learned about solemnities during Lent.  It occurred, conveniently, during my freshman year of college when I had given up chocolate.  A box of fresh-baked cookies arrived in my mailbox from a well-intentioned friend.  As I sat in mass that evening, mourning the tragedy of allowing them to go to waste, the priest celebrating explained that it was the solemnity of the Feast of St. Joseph—that we were “allowed” and even encouraged to celebrate the feast day by partaking in whatever we had given up.

This caused a small existential crisis.  As a child I had always scoffed at those who “give up Lent on Sundays”.  I was homeschooled, after all.  A hardcore Catholic who knew prayers in Latin, not one of those slackers who gave up something random like blue starburst for Lent so that it’d be so easy they didn’t even remember what it was by Palm Sunday.  I did not “take Sundays off”.  However, in my short time at Franciscan I was realizing that perhaps my approach to faith had been a bit too regimented-- A lot about my will power and not so much about God acting.

Franciscan was the first time I really tried to incorporate the liturgy into life, realizing if the Church had lived this “schedule” for 2000 years there must be something to it.  I began to get into morning and evening prayer, celebrate special feast days, Lord’s Days and tried to reserve the Sabbath for God.  There’s a real benefit to taking advantage of earthly reminders to remember eternal realities. 

I ate the chocolate chip cookies that day, in honor of St. Joseph.  And ever since then, I have celebrated Sundays and solemnities in Lent.  Everyone's heard that Sundays don’t count as the forty days and all the theological reasons, but I’ve found that personally, it just allows me to experience the whole liturgical cycle better.  For example, if I go without chocolate or a glass of wine with dinner all week and then partake to celebrate on Sunday, it’s a physical reminder of an intangible reality.  Refocused in that way, the sacrifices of the week are more meaningful.

When it comes to the Sunday debate about Lenten sacrifices, I don’t judge either way.  
But I'm not cheating, I'm celebrating.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Except on Sundays and Solemnities.