We come and gather, in solidarity for the world
Please hear this poem, and keep it furled.
As you walk, make deliberate steps
Yes, I will walk wherever God wants me kept.

The rocks, so vast–like stars in the sky
Crunch, crash, squish–my feet comply.
I feel like a GIANT! crushing towns underfoot
Thinking of the those on the West Bank, where trouble is put.

See, I walk here at Capo, where everything is fine
Half-way across the world, there is no wine.
Explosions, explosions–a wave crashes or two
Over in Gaza–the non-stop fighting of two.

Over there, there are lots and lots of ashes
Over here, I dig deep for them in my own caches.
It is Lent–Lo!–time to be repentant
If only peace talks were followed–and they meant it.

For there is no wine, way off in the desert
All I can think of, are those that are hurt.
Maybe we should all do as He tells us
Then, maybe some day, there won’t be a crisis.

Salvavidas–is one that saves life
I am ardently praying, for far less strife.
Lord, you are my Lifeguard–always watching out for me
Lord, please help those–who are adrift at sea.

We are so blessed! To walk in such peace and beauty!
If only soldiers could walk, instead of performing their duty.
I stretch out my hand, smoothing out the glassy sea
And pray for those in the Desert, never-endingly.

How can this change? Or become renewed?
All it takes, is to start with a few.
I walk by a person, and they say “God-morning!”
Another gives a heart-rock, and I adoring.

It makes me think, that we in “prayer union”
Can make a difference, if not “prayer minion”.
Like the refulgence found in tiny sea glass
Its light can carry far to create Paz.

Lord, thank you for walking with us this day
To help us send our prayers, Your way.
So many things, and so much to thank
A wonderful morning walk, on my West bank.

This is a great passage from Justin’s first apology letter explaining very succinctly what is the Eucharist, why we gather for it, why we consume it, what it represents, and why the frequency is what it is.

The mass hasn’t really changed too much since the early church, has it.

By St. Justin Martyr

No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.

We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Saviour became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me. This is my body. In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give assent by saying, “Amen”. The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need.

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our saviour Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your consideration.

Self-service sacraments, starting with… confession!

Good luck Mr. President; you have many trials and tribulations in front of you. May God bless you in your judgement to be more perfect in Christ.

Amen.

“The core message which Jesus tried to teach us is that God is love. Unless we know of God’s love in the core of our own being, we will not be able to image this love for others

– Margaret N. Ralph, PhD (via Images of Jesus
class at Univerity of Dayton)

“A weakness of an overemphasis on high Christology lies in the smug certainty and lethargy that it can breed as a result of interpreting beliefs as facts. Faith can deteriorate into a mere intellectual assent to the propositions of salvation. Also it promotes a narrow and privatistic view of salvation as simply getting to heaven after death.”

– Elizabeth Johnson (via Images of Jesus
class at Univerity of Dayton)

Truly an athem for raising children!

Last June, I was asked by a good friend of mine and founder of the Catholic Business Journal to be some “content” for a regular spot they do on Gus Lloyd’s “Seize the Day” show on Sirius Radio’s The Catholic Channel.

Feel free to listen if you like; I mostly talk about my conversion and the inspiration St. Paul provides me. However, I would like to develop a broader thesis at some point drawing the similarities of building the early Church relative to building a brand new (online) business.

Also be sure to check out CatholicBusinessJournal.biz. There’s a lot of good content on there directed at the Catholic business community, including articles by Fr. Chris Heath, Tom Loarie, and others!