Author: esteban

When a house becomes a home

/ esteban

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Most of the time my house feels like just a house.  It’s where I work, sleep and eat.

Occasionally though, someone will show up and breathe a new sense of life into the old place.  Such was last weekend when my very good friends John and Nadine White came into town for our diocese’s priestly ordinations.

One of my former students and their classmate John Grant was ordained for our diocese by Bishop Edward Slattery.  If I can find some good photos of that, I’ll share my thoughts in another post.

With John and Nadine came their daughter Sophie (4yrs old and my goddaughter), and Dominic (2 1/2 yrs old).

Suddenly my house became a home, with all that comes with having small children.  Poopy diapers, pee puddles on the hardwood floor, broomsticks that became horsies, late night struggles to get the kids “down”, toast with the crust cut off, reverse psychology, and general pandemonium.

The photos above are just a small sample of the energy and excitement that now makes my house seem so quiet now that they’ve gone home.

Most of the above are photos the kids made themselves when they found out that my iPad has Photobooth on it.

Art from Chaos and Frivolity.

Thank God for children and good friends who share theirs with me.

Update: Sainthood Cause of Fr. Stanley Rother Advances

/ esteban / 2 Comments

I just learned of this recent post on the website for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City:

June 27, 2012

Today we received the news that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has named an official Relator for the Cause of Father Stanley Rother.  The Relator together with our collaborator from outside the Congregation will prepare the Position Paper (Positio) on martyrdom. Please continue to pray for the Cause of Father Rother.   – Archbishop Paul S. Coakley

This is very hopeful news!  What a joy it would be for Oklahoma and the people of Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala to have their own saint.

Learn more about Fr. Rother in this post from last year.

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 12 – The New Anti-Catholicism

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A few months ago when the dreaded HHS Mandate was announced, my pastor stood before our parish congregation one Sunday morning and lamented that for the first time in his life his Americanism and his Catholicism were in conflict.  I still feel that way.

It is sad to see the end of the time when religious liberty was a cherished part of our national ideal.  I constantly ask myself, “Who are we becoming that these coercions are acceptable?”

In the article referenced below, written by Francis J. Beckwith, we see how strong the new Anti-Catholicism has become and how lethargic and apathetic the general public is in defending its freedoms.

If these trends continue, I’m afraid our nation is going to get what it wants, not what it needs, and will thus become a faint whisper of the vision it was designed to be.

http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2012/the-new-anti-catholicism-occupy-the-vatican.html

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 11 – George Washington, Defender of Catholic Liberty

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If you do much reading about the general public’s opinion about Catholicism during the years of the American Revolution, you will soon note how anti-Catholic many people were and how close our new nation came to outlawing the Church all together.

George Washington, who not only saved our nation during the fight for freedom, but was also instrumental in securing religious liberty for everyone.

You can find many such articles about this online, but here’s one that gives you an example of President Washington’s open-mindedness in this particular area:

http://the-american-catholic.com/2009/11/05/george-washington-and-catholics/

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 10 – “We didn’t pick the time, nor did we pick the fight”

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I had the pleasure to meet Archbishop Joseph Naumann briefly during the 2011 Catholic New Media Conference in Kansas City, KS.

This interview with him, published in the Catholic World Report, has some very interesting comments about the fight for religious liberty, social justice, the principle of subsidiarity and personal virtue.

Social justice doesn’t mean the state taking care of everybody, but empowering people so they can take care of themselves and their families. That’s the real dignity we want to help people achieve.

 

I so agree with this.  We have so many problems to address in our society, but in my belief, very very few of them must be solved by the government, the least effective means of solving any problem.

Does the state have some role to play with the poor? Absolutely, I think, in terms of a safety net. But that doesn’t mean that we keep increasing the number of people who are dependent on the state in some way. That, to me, is the direction we’ve been going for the last 50 years.

When the government purposely strives to have the majority of its people dependent on it for food, health care, etc., it is subverting the true meaning of that wonderful phrase from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

 

 

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 5 – Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati

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We, who by the grace of God are Catholics… must steel ourselves for the battle we shall certainly have to fight to fulfill our program and give our country, in the not too distant future, happier days and a morally healthy society, but to achieve this we need constant prayer to obtain from God that grace without which all our efforts are useless; organization and discipline to be ready for action at the right time; and finally, the sacrifice of our passion and of ourselves, because without that we cannot achieve our aim.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Turin, Italy, 1922
(1901-1925)

 

Learn more about Blessed Pier Giorgio here.

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 4 – Bill of Rights

/ esteban

Americans are great at arguing about what they think the United States Constitution says or means.  That’s an important part of being a free people, and it’s a freedom enumerated in the Constitution itself.

The Fortnight for Freedom has as one of its purposes (as I understand it) to stand up and demand that the rights listed in the First Amendment are not only understood as they were meant to be understood, but to be respected as they were meant to be respected.

Preamble to the Bill of Rights

Most Americans are familiar with the Preamble to the United States Constitution, “We the People …”  Did you know that the Bill of Rights has a preamble as well?

It’s not as eloquent as the previous one, but it is critical in understanding the intent that Congress had in passing the Bill of Rights – the first 10 Amendments of the Constitution.

 

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution. […]

I added the emphasis, but think about it.  These articles were designed to limit the power of the Government expressly to prevent those in power from twisting the meaning of the freedoms guaranteed, and to give confidence to the people that the Government would be beneficent toward the people.

Many times over the past two centuries we have strayed from this intent.  I have no doubts that the Framers of the Constitution would be livid at how it has been used and abused. What would they think of those currently in power?

I saw a comment online from someone, probably the ACLU, saying that the Catholic Church was being bigoted by promoting the Fortnight for Freedom.  Really???

First, I don’t think this person really knows what the word bigotry means.  If this fight was really about contraception as the media would have you believe, perhaps.  But the educated really know this about defending the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans.

Second, all Americans, not just Catholics, not just religious believers, but all of us have a duty to defend the Constitution when it is being misconstrued, abused and non-beneficent.  Our rights will not defend themselves in the face of ignorance, apathy and despotism.

WE must know our rights, fight for them, and use the most powerful weapons we have in our arsenal:  the power of prayer and the power of the ballot box.

 

 

 

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 3

/ esteban

Set your DVRs for a special program to be broadcast on ETWN:

Life is Worth Living: The Glory of Being an American

Sat., Jun. 23 at 6 PM ET

Archbishop Fulton Sheen discusses the origin of our rights and liberties, the great value that Americans put upon the human person and then thirdly, what America’s done for the world.

Fortnight for Freedom: Day 2

/ esteban

Last Wednesday, on the eve of the beginning of the Fortnight for Freedom, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., delivered a speech to attendees of the Catholic Press Association conference, meeting in Indianapolis.

It is a very sobering assessment of the war being raged against religious freedom in our country, and how perilous the situation in the Church is today and its ability to confront it.

I urge you to take the time to read his speech, which can be found at First Things.

Baseball & Aliens

/ esteban / 3 Comments

I spent two days last week in Dallas working on arrangements for the upcoming Catholic New Media Conference.    

While there, I had the opportunity to attend a Texas Rangers baseball game at the stadium next door.  I’m not the most knowledgeable baseball fan, but I do look forward to at least one professional baseball game each summer.

It was a nice evening and an enjoyable start to the game.  Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks.  Neither are my team, but this is baseball, so who cares?

A few innings into the game, this storm showed up.  It was a bit angry at not being invited to play.  It decided to rain off and on for awhile, dropping some lightning and hail just to concern the stadium folks.

This crazy tarp showed up all of a sudden, so it was a sign to go in search of dollar hot dogs.  You see, it was Dollar Hot Dog Night.  Five was the limit, which was five too many when it comes to dollar hot dogs.

Play resumed after the angry storm moved off.  Everyone was glad, except for the grounds crew which had to spread all that fresh dirt in the infield so it wasn’t muddy for the players.

That was when the alien ship from “Independence Day” showed up.  They had the best seat in the house and were much talked about by the fans.

The aliens stuck around for awhile but when the Air Force didn’t come and attack, they got bored.  From what I hear, they moved over to Grapevine, Texas and dropped big chunks of ice on people’s houses.  Not what I call fun, but I’m not an alien.

The game continued, the Rangers eventually won the game in the last 2 innings, which was nice.  If you look closely, though, you can see that the pitcher was a little bit sad that the aliens left.

Eventually, all the people wearing red, white or blue shirts were told to go home.  The bright yellow people didn’t know quite what they were supposed to do, so they walked up stream just to be different.

Simon’s Cat

/ esteban

A new Simon’s Cat is out!  I really enjoy these and I hope you do to.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z6YUGGlwtA]

Where did the week go?

/ esteban / 1 Comment

Does this happen to you?  Do you get to the end of the week and wonder where it went?

I’m not much of a blogger obviously, so I’m going to resist the shame of having two consecutive posts called “7 Quick Takes.”  So, pretend that this is something else.  (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

A.

I have a boarder.  My “godson” Alex is staying with me for a few months as he transitions into the next phase of his life.  He’s not technically my godson, but I did sponsor him when he joined the Church five years ago.   It’s fun having him here and he’s promised to do all the mowing.  Deal!

B.

The mail just arrived with an invitation to the priestly ordination of one of my former students from the Univ. of Tulsa Newman Center.   Rev. Mr. John Grant will be ordained on June 30th by Bishop Edward Slattery at Tulsa’s Holy Family Cathedral.  You should check out his website:  frjohngrant.com.  His “wishlist” on Amazon.com is also interesting!  Just what do you get a newly ordained priest?

This is very exciting and I hope to go. He’s going to be such a blessed asset for our diocese.  Unfortunately, it’s also the wedding day in Denver for a very close friend.  I’m conflicted.

C.

I recently re-committed to an hour each week at our perpetual adoration chapel.  Tuesday morning at 1am.  I’m finding it difficult to adjust to this new timeslot.   A few years ago, I  had a 4am Thursday morning slot, which I found much easier to manage from a sleep perspective.

This week, rather than taking a nap beforehand, I just stayed up for it.  It worked out much better and I was more focused and alert.

I like having this commitment and would encourage anyone to give it some consideration.

D.

I’ve signed up for a retreat.  I’ve worked many, many retreats for college students, but this is the first personal one for so long that I can’t remember the last one.   It’s a two day drive to get there, but I’ve never been one to turn down a roadtrip.  Besides, I’m a proponent of having time before and after retreats as transition periods.

E.

I had the best time last Sunday afternoon.  For Mother’s Day, another “godson”, if I can still use that term, asked me to take some photos of his wife and kids at Tulsa’s Woodward Park.  The kids were great, so darn cute, and I really like spending time with them.   I’m definitely not a professional photographer, but I do think some of the shots came out well.  I really need to practice more with my camera.

F.

Most of the week’s work was focused on the upcoming Catholic New Media Conference.  We announced the speakers for the International Catholic Bloggers’ Summit, which is the theme for the final day of the 3-day conference.  It’s going to be great fun and so many good things are happening with it.  Another big announcement is coming, so keep an eye out for it.

G.

I rediscovered the blog of another former Newman Center student.  Her name is Sarah and she’s got a great sense of humor and a quick wit.  If you like perusing other people’s blogs, check out Just a Brown-Eyed Girl.

That’s it!  I’ll really try to find something interesting to write about next week.  Heaven forbid that I have to resort to politics.  We both really don’t want that to happen!

 

7 Quick Takes Friday

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Uno – Sunsets & Super Moon

I spent last Saturday evening on the east side of Grand Lake in NE Oklahoma.  For 60 years my family has had a cabin on the west side of the same lake, and for some unknown reason, I’ve never spent much time on the east side.   Grand Lake is a very large lake (~65 miles long and 1-2 miles wide), so getting from one side to the other is quite a drive since there are no convenient bridges.

So this was a treat!  No only did I get to spend time with some old and dear friends, but I got to see a sunset on the lake (hard to do on the west side, but you get awesome sunrises).  It was also the night of the “super moon”, which was cool.  Here are some shots:

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Dos – Closing Down McNellie’s Pub House

Sunday evening was a bit of a first.  I attended Mass at the Univ. of Tulsa Newman Center, where I was campus minister for more than 8 years.  As often happens, I ran into several of my former students.  It was decided that we would go out to Tulsa’s McNellie’s Pub House for a late night dinner.    We ended up with two tables of people, including two priests, various alumni and students.  It was a very nice time, but we ended up being the last group to leave, a bit past closing time and the staff ready to flee.    Felt like college again!

Tres – Hazing

I saw this story on ESPN.com this morning which concerns the terrible hazing incidents within the band at Florida A&M University.  I spent many years as a member of the Kappa Kappa Psi band fraternity and worked as an officer of their national leadership.  Hazing has always been a big topic of concern and many resources have been focused on it to do all that can be done to stamp it out.  Even after so many years, I still have trouble understanding why it seems so pervasive and so hard to eradicate.

I agree wholeheartedly with the suggestion that the band remain off the field for the foreseeable future.  I think the only remedy is to completely start from scratch – no current members allowed to participate, all new staff, no revived traditions, and never ever any involvement with former members and alumni.   That’s the only hope I see for having a clean organization in the future and preventing any other deaths.   Those who are musicians and truly love music and performing music know that hazing has no beneficial part of that.  (I know these are supposed to be quick takes, but the soapbox jumped up and bit me.)

Cuatro – Attic

Yesterday I was changing lightbulbs at my aunt’s house.  I apparently got a bit overzealous with one of her recessed kitchen lights and managed to push the fixture out of it’s bracket and into the ceiling.  This required a trip up into her scary attic – not an easy space for someone as tall as me.  I managed to fix things up pretty quickly, but even on a cool overcast day, it was 100+ degrees up there and I came down dripping with sweat.    The things we have to do sometimes.

Cinco – Tulsa Drillers

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a Tulsa Drillers baseball game at Oneok Field in downtown Tulsa.  This is a gem of a park and I was with a good friend that I hadn’t spent any time with for quite awhile.  Perfect night for a game!

Seis – Serenbe

HGTV is giving away a “green” home in Serenbe – a little community outside of Atlanta.  I’m not suggesting you join the contest, because I’m going to win it.  No, really.

I’ve been to Serenbe a couple of times.  There’s a great little cafe/coffeeshop there that has the best cheesy grits.  I’m not a fan of grits in general, but these are mighty tasty!  I want to win the house just so I’ll have ready access.

Siete – Mowing

I mentioned our cabin on Grand Lake.  This weekend I’m faced with one of my most dreaded summer tasks – mowing the lake property.    This includes not only the lawn around the cabin, but the 75 yards of steeply pitched unpaved road leading to it.    I would dearly love a riding mower for this, but I don’t have one, so this chore becomes a royal CHORE.  Another chance to get all sweaty, but with the added benefits of ticks and chiggers.

 

Hey!  If you’re a blogger, podcaster, webmaster, etc. and involved with Catholic media, you should check out this summer’s Catholic New Media Conference.  Hope to see you there!

Check out other “7 Quick Takes Friday” posts here.

Cease the pulling, then!

/ esteban / 1 Comment

“It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it. But when that affection has passed a certain point it begins to take on the tragic and menacing grandeur of a great love affair.” – G. K. Chesterton