Hello friends,
In an effort to keep this week leading up to Easter simple yet reflective, I leave you with four words and a quote for you to reflect upon. Ask yourself, "To what depth do I believe in each of these, and how readily do I live them out?" God bless you all.
Emmanuel (meaning God-with-us)
Love
Forgiveness
Compassion
"Into your hands I commend my spirit."
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Friday, March 22, 2013
Reflection on March Madness
Well, here we are once again engulfed in "March Madness." Whether or not you are a sports fan, it can be hard to move through the month of March without hearing someone somewhere mention the March Madness NCAA Basketball Tournaments. All of the attention is certainly exhilarating if we choose to invest ourselves inside the madness. With this in mind, let me pose several questions for reflection:
1. How invested are you in March Madness? (If you are not invested much at all, skip to question 4.)
2. What might people say about your investment in this sports madness?
3. What do you think of people who seem to be more invested in it than you?
4. What are other aspects of your life that seem to carry their own madness?
5. How do you tend to handle this madness?
6. Are your modes of handling this madness genuinely productive for your physical, emotional, and spiritual welfare?
7. If your answer to #6 is "Yes," than the challenge for you is to share those modes with someone else going through his or her own madness.
8. If your answer to #7 is "No," than the challenge for you is ask someone you admire for help in handling your madness.
We should not have to undergo our madness alone. The world sends us a lot of madness sometimes and not just in the month of March, so remember, we are all in this together. There is no madness too great for the Spirit to subdue if we allow the Spirit to transform us.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
1. How invested are you in March Madness? (If you are not invested much at all, skip to question 4.)
2. What might people say about your investment in this sports madness?
3. What do you think of people who seem to be more invested in it than you?
4. What are other aspects of your life that seem to carry their own madness?
5. How do you tend to handle this madness?
6. Are your modes of handling this madness genuinely productive for your physical, emotional, and spiritual welfare?
7. If your answer to #6 is "Yes," than the challenge for you is to share those modes with someone else going through his or her own madness.
8. If your answer to #7 is "No," than the challenge for you is ask someone you admire for help in handling your madness.
We should not have to undergo our madness alone. The world sends us a lot of madness sometimes and not just in the month of March, so remember, we are all in this together. There is no madness too great for the Spirit to subdue if we allow the Spirit to transform us.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
A Spirit of Service and Protection
For those of you have been following my blog, you know that I am a Catholic Christian who often writes about things in light of the Catholic tradition. However, I hope that my tone is always one of love and openness to any and all people. We, as humans, all long for joy and meaning in our lives, and I try to focus my posts on this in some way for the benefit of all of us. I believe we are all brothers and sisters regardless of our affiliations. This being said, I've been very intrigued so far by the comments of the new elected Pope Francis. I recommend this article based on his homily (or sermon) from his inauguration mass today. I know we all can appreciate his call "to serve and protect."
http://catholicmoraltheology.com/to-serve-and-protect/
Also, given how I feel about our universality as a human community, I thought this quote from Pope Francis fits quite well. As he was leaving a group of people, he was apt to leave them with a blessing, so this is what he said:
I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!
I hope you all have a blessed day, and remember to follow me on Twitter @DrewHaro, on Facebook, or through Feedfinder.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
http://catholicmoraltheology.com/to-serve-and-protect/
Also, given how I feel about our universality as a human community, I thought this quote from Pope Francis fits quite well. As he was leaving a group of people, he was apt to leave them with a blessing, so this is what he said:
I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!
I hope you all have a blessed day, and remember to follow me on Twitter @DrewHaro, on Facebook, or through Feedfinder.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A New Papal Spirit
Hey Yall,
As you may know by now, the Catholic Church has a new pope. The college of cardinals has elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina as the new Bishop of Rome. Cardinal Bergoglio has chosen the name Francis in honor of St. Francis Assisi. This time is a great opportunity for us to renew ourselves in our commitment to faith just as the new pope will likely renew his own faith as he takes the next step in his and our own faith lives.
What I like best about this papal election is that it seems to bring the church a much needed balance. Being a bishop and cardinal, Bergoglio represents the hierarchical element of the church. As a Jesuit priest, he represents the many religious communities in constant pursuit of God through lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience. And through his humble living and strong care for the poor, he has a very direct relationship with those of us who sit in the pews each week looking for guidance amid the harsh realities our world shows us sometimes. I look forward to seeing where his leadership brings the church, but let's also remember that we are just as important and necessary contributors to the development of the church as our new pope is. We may have a new Vicar of Christ (representative of Christ) in Rome, but we are also called to be our vicars of Christ to our own communities.
We are the Body of Christ so let us also be the church! In light of today, let us cherish the understanding that the Spirit moves where it will but is always guiding us toward the love of God through joy and peace.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
As you may know by now, the Catholic Church has a new pope. The college of cardinals has elected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina as the new Bishop of Rome. Cardinal Bergoglio has chosen the name Francis in honor of St. Francis Assisi. This time is a great opportunity for us to renew ourselves in our commitment to faith just as the new pope will likely renew his own faith as he takes the next step in his and our own faith lives.
What I like best about this papal election is that it seems to bring the church a much needed balance. Being a bishop and cardinal, Bergoglio represents the hierarchical element of the church. As a Jesuit priest, he represents the many religious communities in constant pursuit of God through lives of poverty, chastity, and obedience. And through his humble living and strong care for the poor, he has a very direct relationship with those of us who sit in the pews each week looking for guidance amid the harsh realities our world shows us sometimes. I look forward to seeing where his leadership brings the church, but let's also remember that we are just as important and necessary contributors to the development of the church as our new pope is. We may have a new Vicar of Christ (representative of Christ) in Rome, but we are also called to be our vicars of Christ to our own communities.
We are the Body of Christ so let us also be the church! In light of today, let us cherish the understanding that the Spirit moves where it will but is always guiding us toward the love of God through joy and peace.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Hope from the Rough
Over the last couple of days, I have been reminded of a very important fact of life: It can be messy! We might even go as far as to say that sometimes life just sucks. I know we all have faced rough patches in our lives that leave us wondering, "Why me?" Well, while I wish I could say that this post would provide the right answer to this question, I can not. However, what I can say is that in the midst of all of our "mess" we can always find a glimmer of something that points us toward hope. A story:
The other day, I ventured out to play a round of golf. The day was beautiful! While I would not claim to be a good golfer by any means, I enjoy being out on the course and experiencing the rhythm of the game. Well after finishing the round, I took some time to look back over my score card. Upon doing this, I recalled the all too numerous "rough patches" I faced throughout the 18-hole round (multiple bunker shots, errant drives, slices, dribblers, hunting for lost balls in thick woods and grass, etc). One hole in particular, though, was about as bad as it gets in golf -- I shot a 9 on a par 4. I did not think I would ever find the hole the way I was hitting the ball. Feeling terribly dejected at this point, I moved on to the next hole trying to shake off what was in the past with the hope that things might turn around. Well, in this case, they did. I wound up having the best hole of the day with a birdie on one of the toughest holes of the course! My confidence was back. This glimmer of hope reminded me why I keep coming back to this sport. Over the rest of the round I settle back into a state of normalcy, but at least now I had regained my hope that better things would come in the future if I just kept playing.
Now, I know this golf story is simply a metaphor for life. However, I believe metaphors and anecdotes like this one can be just what we need when looking for strength amid the seriousness of real life. As a Christian, I can use the glimmer of hope from Jesus' example of sacrificial love on the cross to help me along. Wherever you find your glimmer of hope there, too, you will find the Spirit.
"All shall be well and all shall be well. In every manner of things, all shall be well." - St. Julian of Norwich
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
The other day, I ventured out to play a round of golf. The day was beautiful! While I would not claim to be a good golfer by any means, I enjoy being out on the course and experiencing the rhythm of the game. Well after finishing the round, I took some time to look back over my score card. Upon doing this, I recalled the all too numerous "rough patches" I faced throughout the 18-hole round (multiple bunker shots, errant drives, slices, dribblers, hunting for lost balls in thick woods and grass, etc). One hole in particular, though, was about as bad as it gets in golf -- I shot a 9 on a par 4. I did not think I would ever find the hole the way I was hitting the ball. Feeling terribly dejected at this point, I moved on to the next hole trying to shake off what was in the past with the hope that things might turn around. Well, in this case, they did. I wound up having the best hole of the day with a birdie on one of the toughest holes of the course! My confidence was back. This glimmer of hope reminded me why I keep coming back to this sport. Over the rest of the round I settle back into a state of normalcy, but at least now I had regained my hope that better things would come in the future if I just kept playing.
Now, I know this golf story is simply a metaphor for life. However, I believe metaphors and anecdotes like this one can be just what we need when looking for strength amid the seriousness of real life. As a Christian, I can use the glimmer of hope from Jesus' example of sacrificial love on the cross to help me along. Wherever you find your glimmer of hope there, too, you will find the Spirit.
"All shall be well and all shall be well. In every manner of things, all shall be well." - St. Julian of Norwich
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A Glass of the Spirit
Hello everyone,
Let me take a moment to thank all of you for reading and supporting my blog over that past ten months. I have come to really enjoy using this forum as a way to reflect on my life in the midst of others' lives. This process of reflecting, writing, and sharing has truly encouraged me on my own spiritual journey, and I hope that perhaps I've been able to encourage you even a little bit. After all, while we are individuals, we are nothing without each other.
Now, as you can see, I have made some aesthetic changes to my blog that I hope you like. Over the next couple of months, I may begin to widen my scope of "stories that help us sense the Spirit." I may explore the use of separate pages, which would act kind of like newspaper sections, to better organize my writings into categories such as spiritual and physical exercise (since I enjoy running so much!) and perhaps a "classified" page for other miscellaneous resources. As always, I am open to your suggestions! This being said, I want to encourage you to use the social media toolbar on the right side of the page to follow me through FeedFinder (which allows you to receive direct communication when I update the blog), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Also, I'd love to make this blog more interactive, so I encourage you to comment directly on the posts so that others can share in our conversations about things. Don't forget to share this information with others. Thanks!
I'll leave you with this for today:
My mom, who has a great heart for service, sent me this quote below, and I challenge all of us to reflect on the how this quote can motivate us daily.
"A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. However, a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty." - G. Thomas Gale
For your enjoyment, check out how this man shares the joy of how he sees that same glass (or glasses) of water.
Street Performer
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Let me take a moment to thank all of you for reading and supporting my blog over that past ten months. I have come to really enjoy using this forum as a way to reflect on my life in the midst of others' lives. This process of reflecting, writing, and sharing has truly encouraged me on my own spiritual journey, and I hope that perhaps I've been able to encourage you even a little bit. After all, while we are individuals, we are nothing without each other.
Now, as you can see, I have made some aesthetic changes to my blog that I hope you like. Over the next couple of months, I may begin to widen my scope of "stories that help us sense the Spirit." I may explore the use of separate pages, which would act kind of like newspaper sections, to better organize my writings into categories such as spiritual and physical exercise (since I enjoy running so much!) and perhaps a "classified" page for other miscellaneous resources. As always, I am open to your suggestions! This being said, I want to encourage you to use the social media toolbar on the right side of the page to follow me through FeedFinder (which allows you to receive direct communication when I update the blog), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Also, I'd love to make this blog more interactive, so I encourage you to comment directly on the posts so that others can share in our conversations about things. Don't forget to share this information with others. Thanks!
I'll leave you with this for today:
My mom, who has a great heart for service, sent me this quote below, and I challenge all of us to reflect on the how this quote can motivate us daily.
"A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. However, a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty." - G. Thomas Gale
For your enjoyment, check out how this man shares the joy of how he sees that same glass (or glasses) of water.
Street Performer
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Be Awesome!
This morning as I was reflecting on the day's scripture readings (Leviticus 19: 1-2, 11-18 and Matthew 25: 31-46), several phrases emerged for me from my thoughts and readings: be somebody, be holy, be authentic, and be awesome. The more I thought about these phrases the more I realized that these have been some recurring themes for me over the past month or so. I'd like to share some of the most recent experiences with you.
The first experience goes back to a "Pep Talk" video from Kid President around the time of the Super Bowl (if you still have not met him, go find him on YouTube him right now!). I shared this video in a previous post called "Super Spirit." In this pep talk as well as in his other videos, Kid President reminds all of us that if we truly want the world to be a better place then we must first commit ourselves to "being awesome." This simple message could not be more true. Kid President's simple, charming, and light-hearted wisdom speaks volumes to an idealism that we seem to forget as we get older. I believe that if we really try to "be awesome," then we will inspire others to find their own awesomeness. Oh, and he would say that we can't forget to dance, too!
The second experience is actually a combination of two things: a book and a conversation. The book is Dating God by Fr. Dan Horan, ofm. In this book, Fr. Dan references Thomas Merton and other spiritual thinkers and the idea of becoming our "true selves." The idea is that since God created us, God knows who we are at our best. When we stray from being as God created us, we have trouble knowing God who similarly may have trouble knowing us. So, when we are our most true selves, we are closest to God. The conversation part of this experience was with a friend with whom I reconnected recently. This friend, fairly recently out of a long relationship, recognized that part of the process of moving forward must be based on rediscovering true identity. The fact that this friend recognized this need to be true to self makes me confident that all shall be well here.
The third and final experience comes as recently as yesterday. At the Catholic Center at UGA we had our annual Black History Month Celebration. This wonderful celebration consisted of fifteen or so performers. The performers were folks from several different backgrounds. There were African Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Brazilian Americans. These folks provided wonderful glimpses of the history of Africa and African Americans through instrumental music, vocal music, poetry readings, folktale sharing, and personal revelations. Our closing speaker, Dr. Deryl Bailey from the University of Georgia provided a wonderful conclusion to our program. He shared with us great yet simple lessons on life that he learned from his grandmother some time ago. These lessons listed here have continued to shape his mission in life: 1. Do things right or don't do them at all. 2. Treat other people's children the way you would treat your own children. 3. Leave the world better than you found it. This last lesson speaks volumes in our current day and age. Not only do we live in a world that continues to waste material goods and resources, but we also seem to waste our own potential. We should all be striving to "be authentic" as Dr. Bailey also told us. For if we are authentic to ourselves and to others, then we should find that we have influenced someone's life in a positive way that makes them better than they were before we met that person. Leave a legacy worth following.
To conclude, I go back to today's scripture readings and, in particular, to a devotional by Fr. Thomas J. Connery. The readings challenge us to "be holy" and to do for the least of our brothers and sisters. In light of these readings, Fr. Connery reminds us that our drive in life should be to "be holy." This does not mean to be overly pious or religious or anything like that. Rather, I think, this means that we should aim to try to be like God. How do we do this? That's simple: love one another as we would love ourselves. The beautiful part about this is that it is not specific to Christianity. It is something that all people of all faiths from all parts of the world can subscribe to. In doing this, I'm confident that we will become somebody, we will become holy, we will become authentic, and we will become awesome!
Thank you to all who have inspired me to be true to myself.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
The first experience goes back to a "Pep Talk" video from Kid President around the time of the Super Bowl (if you still have not met him, go find him on YouTube him right now!). I shared this video in a previous post called "Super Spirit." In this pep talk as well as in his other videos, Kid President reminds all of us that if we truly want the world to be a better place then we must first commit ourselves to "being awesome." This simple message could not be more true. Kid President's simple, charming, and light-hearted wisdom speaks volumes to an idealism that we seem to forget as we get older. I believe that if we really try to "be awesome," then we will inspire others to find their own awesomeness. Oh, and he would say that we can't forget to dance, too!
The second experience is actually a combination of two things: a book and a conversation. The book is Dating God by Fr. Dan Horan, ofm. In this book, Fr. Dan references Thomas Merton and other spiritual thinkers and the idea of becoming our "true selves." The idea is that since God created us, God knows who we are at our best. When we stray from being as God created us, we have trouble knowing God who similarly may have trouble knowing us. So, when we are our most true selves, we are closest to God. The conversation part of this experience was with a friend with whom I reconnected recently. This friend, fairly recently out of a long relationship, recognized that part of the process of moving forward must be based on rediscovering true identity. The fact that this friend recognized this need to be true to self makes me confident that all shall be well here.
The third and final experience comes as recently as yesterday. At the Catholic Center at UGA we had our annual Black History Month Celebration. This wonderful celebration consisted of fifteen or so performers. The performers were folks from several different backgrounds. There were African Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Brazilian Americans. These folks provided wonderful glimpses of the history of Africa and African Americans through instrumental music, vocal music, poetry readings, folktale sharing, and personal revelations. Our closing speaker, Dr. Deryl Bailey from the University of Georgia provided a wonderful conclusion to our program. He shared with us great yet simple lessons on life that he learned from his grandmother some time ago. These lessons listed here have continued to shape his mission in life: 1. Do things right or don't do them at all. 2. Treat other people's children the way you would treat your own children. 3. Leave the world better than you found it. This last lesson speaks volumes in our current day and age. Not only do we live in a world that continues to waste material goods and resources, but we also seem to waste our own potential. We should all be striving to "be authentic" as Dr. Bailey also told us. For if we are authentic to ourselves and to others, then we should find that we have influenced someone's life in a positive way that makes them better than they were before we met that person. Leave a legacy worth following.
To conclude, I go back to today's scripture readings and, in particular, to a devotional by Fr. Thomas J. Connery. The readings challenge us to "be holy" and to do for the least of our brothers and sisters. In light of these readings, Fr. Connery reminds us that our drive in life should be to "be holy." This does not mean to be overly pious or religious or anything like that. Rather, I think, this means that we should aim to try to be like God. How do we do this? That's simple: love one another as we would love ourselves. The beautiful part about this is that it is not specific to Christianity. It is something that all people of all faiths from all parts of the world can subscribe to. In doing this, I'm confident that we will become somebody, we will become holy, we will become authentic, and we will become awesome!
Thank you to all who have inspired me to be true to myself.
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
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