For the Better: What I have learned so far in 2015

On the journey home from SEEK2015, my friend for life and I talked a lot about how to apply what we learned at the Conference to our lives this year. I boiled it down to the six topics you see below, and I wanted to share it with all of you! I hope it will edify you as much as it did me. 

Can I be comfortable with Christ in my life? Hey Christ!

Add Christ to your daily vocabulary. I don’t have to go around like a Jesus freak to share him in my life and affect others’. If we can be so comfortable with telling our friends where we went to lunch and the last movie we saw why can’t we just as easily mention that we went to mass earlier? Or share the funny joke we heard in the homily? Or tell people we are going to the circle tomorrow night? Do not be afraid to use casual Christian language even with people outside of our typical circles. Be Bold!

Make work fun. Make faith fun. How? Do it with others.

I once heard a story: There was a man dancing on the side of a busy street and everyone thought he was crazy. Another man came to dance with him and everyone thought they were weirdos. A third person, a woman, came to dance with the two men. Everyone thought “Awesome! They are having so much fun!” Yes, they were a little bit strange, but how much fun is it to be different with real, authentic people who accept who you are? Now take that to heart on the matter of faith. Share your faith life with others and you’ll never be lonely or bored.

Pandas are flagship species, name an actual endangered species.

Pandas get all of the attention in the conservation world - and your heart - but in fact hold little to no essential value to the environment. They rarely even move. Yes they are cute, but other species like the Proboscis Monkey (look it up) hold a higher value to the environment and are actually critically endangered, but ignored. Transition! Choose a passion to follow in life where the market is not already flooded. Everyone jumps on the fads and cultural buzz words for about five minutes. Right now let’s jump on the (insert current cool thing to support) band wagon. Everyone wants to save pandas but are they the most important thing in the world? What about intrinsic truth? How are you working now for the truth and how do you plan on sharing the truth in the future and a lifetime? Have you considered mission work, working for a church diocese, and a vocation either to the religious life, priesthood or sacred marriage? Just think - you could work both for the church and important current issues!

Are you investing properly? Who is in your 401(k)?

Friends come into and leave our lives often, and what a blessing it is to have and have had them in our lives when we do. But are you investing as much time and energy with your own family members. Sometimes I offer too much to my friends (and Hulu) neglecting to call my brother, texting my sister hello in the morning and sending a letter to my grandmother. Family is forever, don’t forget it. Relationships aren’t easy but are you giving fair time to them. Maybe if you invest they will improve.

You are who you… eat?

Surround yourself around people that are positive. Make real decisions to determine who you want to be in your life. At the same time remember that you are the person that other people surround themselves with. Are you a good example for them?

Don’t pick up the phone it’s yo Mama! (I learned this a long time ago, but needed to share it due to immediate insistent need. So just do it already)

People of today are digitally addicted; fact. TV, Phones, (un)social media, Netflix, Hulu, texting, video games, candy crush, et cetera. Please, for the sake of humanity consciously take a minute to consider how much digital intake you are consuming. Could you be using your tech too much? Do you look at it unceasingly? Can you go an hour during class time without checking Facebook? Do you sleep with your phone? Could you spend your time doing something else? What would you do without your phone glued to your face you ask. What about studying, praying, serving others, spending time with others, working a hobby, visiting friends,and having a face to face conversation, antiquing, going star gazing... good heavens entertain yourself! Challenge yourself to cut the amount of attachment you have with a technology toxic relationship; you will be happier without him.

Good Luck!

BONUS SECTION! Choose 5! It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. 

Last year I used this method to help me find tangible ways to grow spiritually, and I've decided to continue it each year. 

1.      Pick a virtue to focus on for the year; e.g. year of humility- Think as often as you can about your virtue and how you can apply it to your daily life.

2.      Then pick two- Pick two things to add to your daily life. Think outside the box, but here are some ideas: daily mass, daily devotional, rosary, smiling at everyone you pass, saying a short prayer while you wash your hands, et cetera

3.      Then pick two- Pick two things to eliminate from your daily life. You know what they should be... but here are some examples: cracking your knuckles, cursing, slothfulness, complaining, et cetera.

My best tip is for you to be simple, be genuine, but be serious.

Happy New Year! My prayer is that we will all grow closer to Christ this year. 

Andrew Wayne Lusk (known to Campus Minister Jodi Phillips as A-Dubs, A-Dub-a-Bub, A-Dubalicious, and so on and so forth) is a Senior at Stephen F Austin State University studying Art History. He is passionate about his faith, and loves to share it with others. His other passions, aside from Proboscis Monkeys, include making crazy exclamations ("What the hey-ho?!"), winning at Nerts (it's a crazy card game), and inviting people to fun parties at St. Mary's. Oh, and he has great hair. That's real. 

Dancing and Dating

Men, God gave Adam the simple task to protect and cultivate the garden of Eden, to shamar.  In that same way, we are called to shamar in our own lives.  We fail to do this so many times because the world we live in has a very misguided idea of what it means to be a man, in particular in the area of dating.

Living out in East Texas, one of my favorite pastimes is dancing.  I think there are several lessons men can learn from the dance floor that can be easily translated to dating.

Leading.  On the dance floor, the men are the leaders.  It is our job to make sure our dance partner doesn't bump into anyone and to gracefully lead her around the floor.  How many of you have tried to learn how to dance from a woman?  It usually doesn't work! Why is this? No, its not because women don't know how to dance or women make  bad leaders.  But rather, we have different roles on the dance floor.  The steps are mirrored! Sounds easy enough to know both sides, but it takes leaders to show others how to lead and it takes followers to show other how to follow.

So, men, if we don't know how to dance we must learn from a man how to lead.  

Yes, a woman can show us the basic step, but to understand the subtleties and intricacies of leading on the dance floor it must be from someone who knows them themselves.

In this same way, if we don't know how to be manly men, and society's view of what it means to be a man is backwards, how can we learn to be a man of God and pursue good and holy relationships?  Through fellowship with other men.  There are good, holy, men all around us in our churches and communities.  We must learn from the good examples around us on how to be men and pass those along to our brothers in Christ.  It is very hard to learn how to be a man of God from those who aren't men of God themselves.  Because of this, men we can't learn what it means to be men of God from women.  They can give us the desire to be better men, but without the knowledge of what it means to be a man it is misguided.

Also, ladies we can't teach you to be women of Christ - because of that all I will say is to grow in fellowship with other women to know what that means.

Another lesson on the dance floor - be bold but not bossy.  I'm as guilty of this as anybody, but men do not be afraid of rejection.  In dating or dancing, it is important to have confidence in what you're doing.  No one is "out of your league."  Even if you get rejected, you've taken a huge step out of your comfort zone and you've flattered her in asking her to dance.  

Ladies, too often I've heard the complaint that "there aren't enough guys that ask me to dance."  Remember, you are God's crowning jewel of creation.  Bluntly, step away from the table with your 4 friends.  Show gentleman you want to dance without being desperate.  Be creative! Stand by the dance floor swinging with the music.  Strike up a conversation in line for drinks.  Make eye contact from across the room.  Smile. But do something!

Now the third lesson from the dance floor.  Don't take it too seriously! Its fun!  You're going to mess up.  A dance is just that.. a dance.  It doesn't mean that as soon as you say yes to a dance you have to go on a date and start a relationship and family and STOP!  It lasts 4 minutes.  You meet the person.  Have a small conversation.  Spin around a little. Its over.  What happens next is a complete toss up.  You may never talk again.  You might decide to exchange phone numbers.  No commitment has been made.  Similarly, a date doesn't automatically mean a relationship.  A date could just be going to get ice cream or the cliche coffee date.  Especially the first date is just to get to know the person better.  

On that same line make your intentions clear.  On the dance floor give the proper signals to show a spin or change in direction.  In that same way, be clear about whether or not you want to continue going on dates or to just be friends.

So, build relationships with other strong men and women of God to learn and fully understand what it means.  Men, be bold but not bossy when asking women to dance or on a date.  Women, show guys your interested without throwing yourself at him.  And lastly, make sure its fun!  Dancing and dating are supposed to be fun activities to meet people and to learn more about each other.  Remember, its just a dance!

David Jarzynka is a sophomore Computer Science major at Stephen F. Austin State University. Between his active membership in the Knights of Columbus, leading a Bible Study, and serving on the Leadership Team at St. Mary's, David is quite busy. But he still finds time to dance!

Why "The Glory Days": Behind St. Mary's Welcome Week

Why "The Glory Days"?

Here at St. Mary's, we really searched our hearts long and hard for this welcome week and semester's theme.  We went through a lot of silly moments as we racked our brains, but in the end God spoke through our crazy thoughts and gave us "The Glory Days."

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A Definition:
We have always heard the phrase that high school consists of your glory days, but what about college?  It's the first time you're really out on your own without your parent's supervision.  It basically means (in a captive's free terms): eating whatever you want, staying out as late as you want, and doing whatever you want.  We all figured college was a little more in the light than high school.

But what does that mean for us at St. Mary's?  We're always talking about freedom, but does itreally mean doing whatever we want, whenever we want?  Yes, college is the taste of freedom for any young adult, but the full grasp of it is in Christ alone.  So our theme is "The Glory Days" for the Glory that we are seeking.  For those days that we can taste here on earth, but knowing the banquet is in Heaven.

Behind the Words:
If you notice, in the banner is an asterix that goes to Matt. 10:6-7 which says, "Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, make this proclaimation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"  There were about a million verses similar to this one we could have chosen, but this one felt right.  It's under the great commissioning of the apostles and it tells us, basically, we must take up the glory that God has given each of us and seek more lost souls.

To some Catholics, this can seem a little intense, especially if it's taken the wrong way; we seem to like staying behind our own walls sometimes.  But if we really dive into scripture, we see it is a message of hope and Love.  Jesus tells us constantly "Do not be afraid," and we think it's time to finally take that advice.  If we claim to know truth, then why aren't we spreading it?

Which brings up JPII's quote: Do not be afraid to go out into the streets...like the first apostles.  If that's not GLORY, we don't know what is!  We must respond the call, we don't have to succeed.  But we MUST respond.

The Great College-Mission:
So, this welcome week, this semesters, this year, this ministry is fully responding to the Call, and we're calling it the "Great College-Mission."  We know it'll be hard, we're promised that (Matt. 10:16), but we know we must try.  We will go out into the sidewalks and onto our college campus to find God.  Keep us in your prayers.  We need them!

God bless and Mary keep,
St. Mary's Interns

If you would like to help us in our mission, please consider becoming a donor at St. Mary's Catholic Campus Ministry! Thank you so much. Every little bit helps!

Running with Purpose: Finding God on the Beaten Path

I run. Well, we all run at one point.  We run to the grocery story, we run to our classes we just can’t seem to wake up for on time, and we run away from things when we’re scared (especially during a good game of tag).  But I run for a living.  Running is not a particularly popular way of life; though it suffers from fads and potential takers, it’s rarely as loved as it should be.  But I run.  And I love it.  I love that moment when my Nikes touch the concrete, and it’s as if all is right in the world.  Like I can do anything as long as I keep running.

Running Out of Options

Since I started cross-country for SFA, my running hasn’t exactly gone as planned.  I haven’t seen the improvement I want or should be having. My training last fall especially seemed to be going backward instead of forward, and nothing was right.  A lot of times, I was close to up and quitting.  I kept telling myself just to hang on a little longer, that it would get better. I told myself to keep working, to keep trying, but when my first indoor meet came in January, it wasn’t any better. I ran worse than I had the year before, and I didn’t get another chance to race again that season. I was upset and so tired of working for, what seemed like, nothing.

Finally, it got to the point where I was just sick of being upset and stressed. So, I turned to prayer. I prayed about what I should do: quitting the SFA team or sticking it out. And I did what all of us do (again, at one point in our lives): I asked God to send me a sign, preferably one that was clear - ha. I told myself I would keep trying my hardest, and if my workouts didn’t start showing even a slight improvement in the next month, then I would consider not running anymore.

Fighting the Good Fight

On one of the days following, a teammate and I were cooling down after a workout, and I ended up telling her about my situation.  She responded with something I completely forgot (believe it or not), but I know its impact was huge.  I knew God was telling me to keep trying for just a little bit longer.  Sign received.

My running started improving bit by bit each day, as did my praying. Each workout was a little better than the last, and for once, I was excited with what my body could do. My outdoor track season didn’t end exactly the way I wanted it to, but I was blessed with one great race, where I ran a personal record faster than I ever thought I could. Things don’t always come easy, RUNNING doesn’t ever come easy, but trials are a part of life, and in the end, it will be worth it.

Learning the ABC’s of Faith

 I’ve wondered a lot why God didn’t just make things get better right away. I’ve realized that if He had, I wouldn’t have learned that His timing is perfect. I wouldn’t have learned to trust Him. In Romans 5: 3-4, Paul tells us we should rejoice during hard times and troubles; that “we can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us - they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.” I couldn’t just leave everything up to God. He gave me the talent of running and blessed me with the opportunity to be on the team at SFA, but it is my responsibility to use all He has given and glorify Him with what I do.  As long as I trust in God, I know I can trust myself.

I could have given up.  On running, myself, even God.  But I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.  I learned during hard times to find comfort in God. That in the end everything will be ok. It’s easy to be mad at God when things aren’t going my way. It’s hard to thank Him for everything that is going on in my life, especially the bad things, but that is what I have to do. Everything that has happened in my life has made me who I am and everything happens for a reason, so each day I really try to thank God for everything, good and bad, that helped me get to where I am now. Through all my ups and downs with running, I have learned so much more about myself and grown stronger in my faith.

Why I Run

This summer, I’ve been getting up to run around 6 AM before it gets too hot.  I don’t like the getting up.  I don’t like leaving the warmth of my bed and stepping onto the cold floor.  I think it’s ridiculous that it’s still dark as I brush my teeth while the rest of the world gets to sleep on.  It even takes a few steps into the run sometimes to make the grumbling in my brain cease.  To remind myself why I run.  It isn’t until I feel the light from the sky hit my skin that I remember.  Every morning, I get to watch the sunrise.  I get to see it spill over the rooftops of houses and color the trees into life.  I get to feel it’s first rays before anyone else.  Like it was meant for me all along.  That’s why I run.

I don’t do it to feel better about myself or my body (though it helps).  I don’t do it it because it’s my "me" time.  Or because I feel free.  I don’t do it for the time to think. I don’t do it for the hurt, the good kind, the kind your body thrives on.  I don’t do it because it’s exhilarating, especially on a good run.  I do it because it makes me happy.  I do it because on those days when runs don't feel good at all, God is especially present in the beauty around me: in the birds’ morning songs and the blossom of a flower and the flutter of a butterfly.  Not everyday is going to be easy or the best.  But that’s why He gave us a million beautiful gifts to enjoy, or to take for granted in a lot of my cases.

I have had lots of tough times in running, but I love it – running, not the tough times.  I couldn’t live without it.  I was made to run.  God blessed me with these running legs, so I’ll try my best to glorify Him through it. Yeah, it will suck sometimes, but, as C.S. Lewis says, “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.” I know running isn’t for everyone, but it is for me.

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will RUN and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

Amanda Walters I have a hard time choosing favorites out of the things I love, but God and the Love He shows me every day is my number one.  I love spending time with my family and friends, and I habitually look on the bright side of life, trying to see the best in everyone.  I believe music, running and laughing give you a good long life, and that books can take you to another world.  I'm an Elementary Education major who can't wait to see what God has planned for my future. If you would like to contact Amanda, you can email her at: kiwiw_2012@yahoo.com

Our Bodies: A Gift Worth More

How many times have I been sitting in church, listening to the homily, and felt like there was a burning spotlight right above me? If I had a nickel for every time, I could buy St. Mary's Chapel new carpet…I'll say that much.  It's as if our soul and body were fighting a war, our soul all along knowing that we would only be hurt in the end, writhing in our own guilt and self-degradation. However, our body won, and the Devil proved that the apple is still being eaten, that the fall of man happens every day.

There's the trick. We have been convinced that the flesh is evil, that our bodies don't want God. Our souls are separate entities that thirst for the fresh springs of God, while our bodies thirst for the polluted waters of the world.

The truth is that our bodies want God, too.  We’re reminded in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 when Paul says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

The Price and Our Priceless Gift

Okay, I get really super duper excited talking about the Theology of the Body!  Usually, what makes sense in my head comes out of my mouth sounding like utter nonsense. I hardly know where to start, but I'm giving it a shot. Here goes...

One of the turning points in my understanding of Theology of the Body was when I was on the TOBET (Theology of the Body Evangelization Team) retreat.  We were having a discussion about Christ's marriage with His church.  While hanging upon the cross, naked and His arms outstretched, He proclaimed, "It is finished."  What was finished?

The consummation of His marriage with His bride, the Church. In that moment, when Christ was in the vulnerable state of nakedness without shame, He gave His body for us, just as a husband and wife give their bodies to each other in marriage. This was the first in a string of theological parallels between Church doctrine and sexuality.  Woah!  Mind BLOWN, right?!

Just to name a few of my favorites...at Easter, the priest dips the Easter candle into the baptismal fount. You know the part I’m talking about.  The one where you thought you got a great seat until the priest moved to the back of the church, and you can barely see over the heads of people around you? Yeah, that’s the one. In this celebration of His marriage vows with His Church, Christ is the priest holding the candle that plunges into the fount, which symbolizes the Church, and those that are baptized are reborn into the faith.

Another moment I love is more of an everyday experience. Prior to celebrating the Eucharist, the priest prepares the Body and Blood of Christ. The chalice has always been a symbol of female sexuality throughout all of literature, and it's in this chalice, a symbol of Christ's female counterpart, the Church, that the priest pours the wine that will later turn into Christ's blood, mixing with it water that symbolizes us, the people of his Church, and finally a piece of the bread that is now Christ's body. When we take the Body and Blood of Christ, it is the ultimate one flesh union. Does this mean that every time we partake in the Eucharist, Christ is renewing His marriage vows with us, just as a husband and wife renew their marriage vows in their sexual union? Absolutely.

Am I crazy for thinking that is utterly profound and beautiful? There's nothing sick or disturbing about it. In fact, it is only because of the lies the world has told us about sex (that it's dirty and sinful) that we think those theological sexual references seem out of place, while in reality, there's nowhere else they could belong!

Paul tells the Corinthians their bodies are temples; every church is a temple, too. Through our sexuality, our bodies, our temples, we have the ability to bring new life into the world. Likewise, the Church, the temple where we all come together as brothers and sisters, gives birth to new believers constantly.

If more of us could have such a view that sex is not sinful at all, but profound and sacred, there would be the utmost respect for the sanctity of sex in our culture. Say goodbye to promiscuity, pornography, sex jokes, overly sexualized entertainment, etc. We would hold ourselves, as well as everyone else, in highest esteem, truly seeing our sexuality for the gift it is.

Unwrapping the Gift

Society says chastity stifles us, and we “free” ourselves when we embrace our sexuality.  But society’s version of "embracing our sexuality" really means experiment and sleep around as long as it's "safe." What that world is failing to see is that we, as Christians, do free ourselves in embracing our sexuality, through finding joy in ourselves and others, celebrating our bodies for the temples they are, and "doing everything for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:33). Think of how much guilt and self-reproach we could avoid if we did everything for the glory of God!

JPII calls us all to be modern day saints "who are in the world and know how to taste the pure and nice things of the world, but who aren't of the world.

Escaping the world is not the solution.

We must realize that it is our duty to teach the world purity.  This all begins by realizing that our bodies are not prisons, but temples, and purity is the greatest glorification of, not only God, but ourselves.  Theology of the Body is not suppressing the flesh, but setting it free through purity from the world's desires.  And I believe it is the true understanding to the ultimate liberation of our bodies.

Mia Sampietro  I love every kind of cat, and I have about a million hobbies (singing, painting, piano, etc.), but I love sharing the Love of God.  I'm a dreamer that could talk forever, and there are two things in the world I'm absolutely positive about: 1) God is amazing and 2) Laughter is THE best medicine.  I am double majoring in Art History and Spanish, but my life is totally in God's hands. If you would like to contact Mia, you can email her at: sampietrme@titan.sfasu.edu