Homeboy Border Crossing Prayer

Brothers and Sisters: God commands us through Jesus Christ to love one another. In baptism, we promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves and to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being.” Let us now honor those vows and pray that our hearts be opened so that we can experience the love that is present in all we meet today.


We pray for continued blessings on all peacemakers, on leaders who value peace, and on everyone who promotes nonviolent solutions to conflict. We pray for a speedy end to all violence and warfare here and around the world.

God of peace and gentleness,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for the strength of heart and mind to look beyond ourselves and address the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world; for the rural and urban poor; for the rebuilding of our communities; and for an end to the cycles of violence that threaten our future.

God of generosity and compassion,
Hear our prayer.

We pray that the Holy Spirit may embrace the most vulnerable members of our society; we pray also for an end to the growing disparity between the rich and poor; and for the grace and courage to strive for economic justice.

God of all gifts and blessings,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for an end to prejudice throughout our country and the world; that we will respect all people as precious children of God; and that racism, sexism, and all other forms of discrimination will be forever banished from our hearts, our society, and our laws.

God of fellowship and equality,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for all prisoners and captives; that a spirit of forgiveness may replace vengeance and retribution; and that we, with all the destitute, lonely, and oppressed, may be restored to the fullness of God’s grace.

God of absolution and mercy,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for all children and families, and particularly for the orphaned, neglected, abused, and those who live in fear of violence or disease; that they may be relieved and protected.

God of children and families,
Hear our prayer.

We pray for the reconciliation of all people, and for the Church throughout the world, that it may be an instrument of your healing love.

God of outreach and restoration,
Hear our prayer.

Almighty God, you have promised to hear what we ask in the name of your Son. Watch over your people now, guide us in the way of peace and make your ways known among all people. With the intercession of our Most Blessed Mother Mary, all the Saints, and through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

AMEN.

Eagar Grandpa

A big welcome to the newest member of the Joyful Servants family, and congratulations to the proud grandparents Deacon Henry & Donna!

Deacon Henry Eagar with his grandson Max... so precious!

It's a Power Sherg!

October 26, 2013 will be a day I will never forget.
The journey to ordination has been filled with so many gifts, new experiences, challenges and a bond with brothers and sisters in Christ that can never be broken. People have said to us that the formation process just flew by…….ah, no it didn’t. It was a long and tedious 5 years and sometimes we both really felt like giving up. However, these moments gave us a chance to truly rely on the power of prayer and the gifts of the Holy Spirit and helped form us in to the Diaconate couple that we have become!!
So ordination day was one of the best days of our lives next to our marriage and the birth of our children.
For us the day started early…….5:30 am. Our excitement just could not be contained. We felt like we were floating……..coffee, showers, make up, hair stylist arriving at 7am, getting the kids up and ready, basically 5 adults all dressing to the nines in new suits, dresses and shoes and piling into 3 cars and off we went to St. Columban’s……I will never forget the feeling of coming into the back of the church and the trumpets welcoming us …….both Nick and I looked at each other, eyes filled with tears, thanking God and overwhelmed we were really here!! The mass was glorious……the music, the tradition, the men humbling themselves prostrate to the Bishop, flower and certificate presentation to the wives……awe…the God moments….how blessed were we that our St Martin’s friends sat in the section where at communion they could receive from our former Pastor and friend, Fr. Joe Knerr and Deacon Nick!! Our day was complete at our reception. The room was filled with so much love and friendship……our cup runnith over…….exchanging our Deacon and Deacon wife rings and receiving the blessing from our Pastor Fr. Sy, relishing in the toast and blessing from Deacon Nick and honoring the people we love and who love us the most, truly made this a day we will never forget. God has truly blessed us and for this we will be eternally grateful and will spend the rest of our lives serving Him who has blessed us beyond our dreams!! God is so good…….

- Taken from Lisa Sherg's facebook post

First Things

It's been more than a couple of weeks since the ordination, and I still have this surreal feeling of "I can't believe I'm a Deacon!"  So, to convince myself that I am now an ordained minister of God, I am recording a list of firsts for posterity:

1st Mass - 10/26/2013 at 5 p.m. at St. Anne with my spiritual father, Fr. Bob.  Fr. Bob knew that I'd get choked up with emotion and so, he was kind enough to take over the homily, but I ended up shedding tears anyway.

Fr. Bob looks on as I deliver my first penitential rite

1st Mass with Bishop Vann - 10/27/2013 10 a.m. -  No major blunder.  Bishop Vann gave me this advice:  "Yes, dear", "Yes, Monsignor", and "Yes, Bishop", I'll do just fine if I say those words to the right people.
...and I can't believe I don't have any picture from this mass!

1st Homily - 10/28/2013 9 a.m. -  I told Fr. Bob that since it was the feast day of Sts. Simon and Jude, I thought it was appropriate that I should lay my life down after I preach and teach, just like Sts. Simon and Jude.  No such luck, as you can see, I'm still alive to write the events down.

1st Exposition and Benediction of Blessed Sacrament - 11/1/2013 8 a.m. - I have no words to describe the experience of lifting up the Blessed Sacrament and showing it to the congregation.  Just Awesome.

1st Baptism - 11/2/2013 11 a.m. - Perhaps I've found my true calling?  It was so amazing to be the one to welcome little Davis into the community of believers.  God is good, I know, all the time, yes, God is good.

Let the Children come to Me... and watch in amazement!

With The Help of God

Joyful Servants

Joyful Servant Deacons and Wives with Bishop Vann and Bishop Brown

Oregon excursion

No, I haven't stop the novena.  I just got back from a quick trip to Portland, Oregon with Loni visiting some old friends.  My quick trip mentality somehow did not include a cord to power my laptop!  So, with divine providence, I was taken away from my "internet world" and was blessed with an amazing time out with God's creations.

I will be posting Day 3, 4, and 5, as soon as I can get my self reoriented with the "always connected" world. It's a strange feeling to be gone for just a few days and finding myself with a new perspective on life.  I hope to share thoughts on this in a near future post.

Novena to Deacon Saints, Day 2: St. Francis of Asissi

Since we visited Catholic Charities of Orange County last night, and Joe S. made the suggestion, I thought our Day 2 should focus on the deacon saint most exemplified the spirit of love for all creations, St. Francis of Assisi.  Much have been written on St. Francis, and it would be a disservice for me to try and duplicate those efforts.  Having noted that, I hope that you will join with me in lifting up our intention for a most blessed ordination and a lifetime of service to all, by the intercession of St. Francis, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.  Amen.

St. Francis of Assisi, by Deacon Lawrence Klimecki
The Book of Saints

A PRAYER FOR PEACE

Lord, make me an instrument of peace
Where there is hatred,Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,
As to understand;
For it is in giving that we
Receive, it is in pardoning that
We are pardoned.
And it is in Dying that we are
Born to Eternal life.

Novena to Deacon Saints, Day 1: St. Stephen

As ordination draws nearer, I want to offer a novena to all of my brothers and sisters that are in the Joyful Servants diaconate formation class.  Each day I will post an intentional prayer to a Deacon saint, and I hope you will join me in offering the novena for all of us being ordained.  Joe G. sent me a novena prayer to Saint Stephen, deacon and first martyr.  I think it's appropriate that we begin Day 1 with a prayer to the first deacon and martyr.

St. Stephen, by Deacon Lawrence Klimecki
(used without permission, forgive us our trespasses)

O glorious St. Stephen, first Martyr for the Faith, filled with compassion for those who invoke you, with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles. I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present need under your special protection the Joyful Servants, that they may serve faithfully in your love to all. Vouchsafe to recommend it to our Lord Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to one day meet God face to face, and with you and Mary and all the angels and saints praise Him through all eternity.


O most powerful Saint Stephen, Deacon and martyr, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of entering heaven, forever and ever.

Oh, most holy Saint Stephen,
Pray for us, so that we may be worthy of Christ.

Here is a little history of him.
St. Stephen was a deacon and the first martyr of the Church.  We read about him in Chapters Six and Seven of the Acts of the Apostles.  As a deacon, he was one of the seven chosen by the apostles for the specific ministry of distribution of food to widows and the poor.  The scriptures refer to him as a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, Acts 6:5.  Stephen was well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures.  He used them to try to convince others that Jesus was the Messiah but his efforts were rejected.  The result was the stoning of Stephen by an angry crowd.

About Deacon Lawrence Klimecki

I was searching for deacon saints when I came across this website The Books of Saints.  What got me hooked was that the first volume was on Deacon Saints!  I'm definitely getting the first volume.  I wanted to know more about the artist/writer, but there was no bio about him on the website.  So I went and google for "Lawrence Klimecki" and found that he has another blog devoted to religious and liturgical arts called Gryphon Rampant.  Beautiful artworks!  I'm more intrigued as well as inspired.  Again, there was no "about" page that I could find.  This is like searching for Waldo--mystery man.  I went back to the Google results page, and near the bottom, I almost exclaimed "No Way!"  Lawrence Klimecki turns out to be a Deacon for Presentation of Blessed Mary Parish in Sacramento, CA.  I'm thinking a road trip to Sacramento is in the near future for me.

This is how you do it

Yes, I will have to pledge my obedience to the guy in the cowboy hat in a few weeks.  That's my Bishop Kevin W. Vann on the piano, ladies and gentlemen.
Speaking for myself, I really have a big problem with this "obedience" thing.  It was a real obstacle to my discernment toward diaconate ordination.  I still have my reservation, but I chose to push forward since I vowed to go on this path as far as I could and not quit on my own.  The Church have to kick me out before I give up my diaconate calling.  Having said this, I now see that my obedience issue is link to lack of respect, lack of trust.  It's understandable, to me at least, that I can't respect or trust someone whom I do not have a relationship with.  Although I am pledging my obedience to the office of the Bishop, it's still difficult for me to separate the office from the person.  I am not a robot where I can distinguish between the Holy Office of the Bishop of Orange, and Kevin W. Vann.  To me, they are one and the same.  I would hope that Kevin W. Vann sees himself as Bishop all the time and not just some of the time.  And to that end, I need to develop a relationship with Kevin W. Vann before I can give him my respect, trust, and ultimately, my obedience.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of Kevin W. Vann to be our shepherd, our Bishop.  Please grant him the wisdom to guide your children, courage to defend your flock, and compassion to do all in love for your people.  In all this, we ask through the intercession of Mary, Mother of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reign with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus Loves You

But I'm His favorite

When we were down in Cabo San Jose back in July, I spotted this article about human trafficking in a secular "Gringo" newspaper.  Note the caption in the lower right corner.  When was the last time you saw something like this in a newspaper?

Be still?

These folks played a big part in making this a great retreat!

Lennie, Del, and our retreat master Br. Charlie

Silent conversion or conversation?

One with God

Peaceful

Enjoying the cool breeze after signing our lives over to the Church
(we still have time to reconsider!)

Be still and know that I am God...

Come away and rest a while...

I have loved you with an everlasting love...

These are some of the verses playing through my mind for the past few days as I and my companions struggled through our diaconate ordination silent retreat.

I've been on silent retreat before, and so perhaps I was a little bit more prepared for the unstructured nature of focusing on my relationship with God.  Even so, I was frustrated by the lack of "space" as the hot weather all but forced me to stay mostly indoors.  I wanted to venture into nature, into that sacred space that God created.  Sad to say, though, I got a barren field of dirt and a few shady spot that wasn't exactly inspiring.  Oh, boy, God is going to have a tough time getting through, or so I thought. 

Commitment Ahead

I can't put a finger on it, but I do believe I am having commitment issue. I went through a similar life experience a couple of months before marrying the love of my life. I don't want the date to come, and at the same time, I can't wait to begin. I supposed I should warn the reader that this post may not make sense since I am just typing what is pouring out of my head. I will not edit this post. I want to be able to come back and see how unstable my mind state was before ordination. By the way, take a look to the right. That's how many days are left. It's getting closer, and scarier. Well, I am not scare of the day. I am apprehensive, however, of the hours and days after. There's the homily to prepare, movements and lines to memorized, and worst of all, trying to say the right thing at the right time, especially personal blessings. Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Help me.

The 13th Apostle

Today is the feast day of St. Matthias.  Little is known about this so called "13th Apostle."  Now, some of you may argue that St. Paul is the real 13th Apostle, and I would agree to that position as well.  This could be confusing to some since there can only be one 13th apostle.  According to today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Matthias were among those unnamed follower of Christ, and thus he had first hand experience of Christ's teaching, and so he was chosen to be an apostle by the 11.

Paul, on the other hand, was chosen by the risen Christ to be his messenger, and so by default, Paul is also an apostle.

Here's the kicker, which one do you think is the more "productive" of the two?  Matthias, picked by men, or Paul, picked by Jesus?  This is not to downplay the contribution of St. Matthias to the Church, but it does shows us that God's selection is infinitely better than Man's choice.

"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, ..." John 15:16

Dear Jesus, as we are discerning the call to serve, please let your will be done and let us be example of your love to all those we meet.  Amen.

Humble Servant

Pope Francis sitting in the back row praying with the faithful before mass.  Photo courtesy of L'Osservatore Romano, March 22, 2013.

Joyful Servants logo/image/icon?

First off, neither Loni or I come close to being an artist or even have any sense of art appreciation.  I am, however, a "doodler".  Loni, on the other hand, have the "vision".  And so, when Loni shared with me her vision of a "Joyful Servants" logo, and started to draw some figures on the whiteboard, I basically "doodled" and Loni came up with this:

Loni wanted to capture the "Diaconate Couple" theme that she believed is lacking in most, if not all, diaconate images.  Currently, most images emphasized the ordained deacon and his "visible" ministry (Word and Altar), such that little is recognized in the way of the "invisible" ministry of his partner, and in most cases, the better half of the diaconate couple.  The "Joyful Servants Diaconate Couple" is seen as pouring "love" out  in the service of their ministry. Loni described it beautifully to me, but I'm like a dense person, managed only to retain bits and pieces and I'm not relating it back as well.  So, hopefully, you can ask her to go deeper when you see her.

Here's a bit of my doodling and our whiteboard:

I hope readers of this blog will let us know of what they think of our doodles.  Even more hopeful is that you all will contribute your doodles so that we can have a logo/image/icon that truly represent our "Joyful Servants" diaconate couples!

Post Election Prayer

As I am writing this, the election numbers are still rolling in.  Polls are about to close in California, and there's uncertainty in both camps.  Both candidates have done their best in convincing the American people of their qualifications to lead these great United States.  I pray that both will do their best, win or lose, in working for a brighter future where justice and peace is the rule of the land.  And so, with these thoughts in mind, I'd like to offer this prayer for our country.
Dear Heavenly Father, in your infinite love for humanity, you have given us your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the loving model for all leaders.  Bless our leaders with wisdom and love for all, especially those most vulnerable and weakest in our society.  Give all of us the strength and courage to work through our differences with understanding and care for the common good.  Most of all, help us to live out our mandate of always placing you first in our life and give us the heart to love all of your children, especially those that challenges our beliefs and lifestyle.  In all this, we ask our dear Blessed Mother Mary, and all the Saints, to intercede for us in these time of needs, through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, in the unity of one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

R220 Final Reflection

I now view the Sacraments with new insights and perspective after being in this “Liturgy and Sacraments” class.  Coming into the class, I accepted the Catholic Church teachings of the Sacraments without giving it any real thoughts.  As I read through Joseph Martos’ “Doors to the Sacred”, the text book for the class, I was floored by all the historical actions that went into the formulation of the seven sacraments that we know today.  Although there were many intriguing and sometimes scandalous events throughout Church’s history that Martos presented involving the creation of the sacraments, I was constantly asking myself “What’s the point of all this?”

The Catechism defined sacraments as “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” (CCC 1131)  In short, sacraments are signs of grace through which we gain the abundant life that Jesus promised.  As such, sacraments are supernatural events beyond human recognition or comprehension.  So, why then, did the Church’s Fathers and many theologians after them, find it necessary to define and analyze something that for all intents and purposes, can never be adequately defined or understood.  It’s like trying to access the internet using only paper and pencil, or flying off into space using a bicycle (hmm…).  In any case, it’s impossible to approach the supernatural using natural languages.  It seemed that many of these attempts to define the sacraments were necessitated by societal demands (marriage), fear of the unknown (infant baptism), and ultimately power and control (ordination).  In the end, as Martos pointed out, only the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist were instituted by Christ.  One can argue that Christ also institute the sacrament of Reconciliation (John 20:19-23), Holy Orders (Matt. 16:18), and Annointing of the Sick (laying on of hands) (Mark 6:12-13).  So that leaves us with Confirmation and Matrimony as “created” sacraments.  Marriage as a sacrament, as Martos pointed out did not exist before the 12^th century.  Confirmation, on the other hand, was sneaked in by less than scrupulous monks.

So, what’s a deacon-candidate like me do with all these eye-popping information?  Do I go out and try to teach others the “historically correct” view of sacraments, or do I push for a more spiritual understanding of the sacraments.  Of course, I can present both side.  However, I believe that many Catholics are not ready for the raw version as Martos presented in his book.  I was personally forced to reexamine my own understanding of the sacraments and reevaluate my view of Protestantism.  It sadden me to think that so much of the current divisiveness in the Christian Churches were caused mainly by righteous attitude held by one party or the other in the way we worship and not in what we ultimately believe.  Jesus left us with these words, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15)  He didn’t say that those who do believe but worship in the wrong way will be condemned.  The more I meditate on this verse, the more I believe that my mission, as commissioned by Christ, is to tell the world of God’s love for humanity, show the world through my actions what I believe, and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit.

At What Cost?

In a few more weeks, we will be selecting the persons/administration who will lead our country for the next four years.  This election would not mean anything if we were just selecting people best qualified for the job. However, you and I know that's not the case for this election.
We are, in my opinion, voting for ideals in this election.  For some people, ideals are the cornerstone of their life, for others, ideals are good but not worth fighting for.  Take freedom of religions, for example.  I would fight with my life to be able to practice my faith.  However, my neighbor down the street sees that as a good idea to uphold, but not worth fighting for.
So where does that leave me?  I can see clearly that my religious liberty is being attacked, while my friend sees it as equal access for all.  What is the loving thing to do here?  Do I argue my position in the hope that my friend will agree and we walk down the street singing kumbayah?  Or do I agree to disagree on this matter knowing that I can't change anyone's mind.
What am I willing to risk here?  At what cost am I willing to fight for my beliefs?

On the feast of St. Teresa of Avila.
"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough."

4 th Paper

Hey Joyful Sevants,
Peter had a great idea about sharing our papers for Theology and Sacraments class. I'll try to download some past papers. Hope you'll be able to share yours as well.
Peace,
Christopher

Christopher Ciraulo

R 220 Paper #4

Marywood

10/08/2012

·       “During the course of the Christian centuries the ritual of baptism has varied.” “For the theology of baptism is always a variation on the theme of salvation played in different modes and in different keys in different ages.” Joseph Martos: Doors to the Sacred. Pg. 147

·       Pelagius believed that people were born in a state of ‘original grace’ which was the reason for their natural goodness, and that what was lost by Adam was not this grace but a further grace…Children of course were born innocent and so they had no need of baptism.” The New Testament and the early fathers agreed that faith, not just baptism, was needed for salvation.” Joseph Martos: Doors to the Sacred. Pg. 157-158

·       “The introduction to the text as well as the prayers and symbolism of the rite puts less emphasis on washing away original sin and much more on incorporation into the body of Christ…” “Thus the meaning of baptism in contemporary Catholic theology is still salvation, but the meaning of salvation is becoming more experiential and less metaphysical.” Joseph Martos: Doors to the Sacred. Pg. 177, 180

 

The practice of baptism and even to an extent some of its meaning has changed over the course of the centuries. The post Vatican II Church seems to be heading in the direction of incorporating the best of  past meanings and practices and also reexamining the early Church’s and the New Testament’s perspective of baptism.

The Church’s emphasis on being brought into the Body of Christ and less on original sin has, I believe, rediscovered the sacraments intended meaning. The question must be asked: If the Church’s meaning has progressed, can it progress further into a deeper understanding of the truth? Once we have come to embrace the deeper sacramental meaning of baptism could this also eliminate some problems or complications that have developed due to some patristic and medieval interpretations? If the foundation for the meaning of baptism was placed back on incorporating one into the Kingdom of God, (Body of Christ), I think the Church’s celebration of Baptism would be elevated and enlivened and it would also be a substantial expression of those seeking baptism as to their commitment to Christ and the Christian life.

Pelagius may have been right to an extent in promoting original grace. If his view was reexamined by the Church and it was determined that baptism should be reserved for adults who make a conscious decision we may have a more dedicated laity instead of the phenomena of jumping through the hoops to acquire the sacraments and salvation with no apparent commitment or life changing dedication to Christ.

Today, we in the Latin rite have separated the baptismal rite from anointing, (Confirmation). If we reexamined the rite we could again combine baptism with anointing but instead prolong the catechumenate phase. For example, the Rite of Acceptance could be administered to infants bringing them into the Body of Christ and their childhood would be spent receiving instruction in the faith, much like they do for First Communion and Confirmation. Once they near the age when they want to make an informed and committed decision they would go through the Rite of Candidacy then, baptism-anointing and mystagogy. Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation are then celebrated in their proper context as a “beginning” and not as a “graduation” which unfortunately, many believe today.

First Friday Reflection

Here at St. Anne in Seal Beach, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed after the 9 a.m. Mass and ends at 5 p.m. with Benediction.  This "Day of Adoration" occurs every first Friday.

I look forward to this day of adoration because that's my personal retreat day.  I spend my day in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  Granted, I am still working (telecommuting), but I'm blessed that my main office is closed on Fridays (but as anyone in IT will tell you, when the main office is closed, that's when IT people go to work).  In fact, I am writing this blog entry in front of the Blessed Sacrament now.

In between checking on the computers and meditating on the Sacrament of Baptism (that's chapter 6 of Doors to the Sacred, for those of you in R220), I am challenged by the concept of infant baptism.  Before I go any further, disclaimer:  this is my musings only, not what the Catholic Church teaches, and as such I am totally open for discussions for or against.  Also, I haven't read the whole chapter, yet (it's so looong!), and so what I present here may be moot.

I was taught the concept of original sin, as I'm sure all of you also were taught.  I didn't really think much about it at the time.  I was maybe 7 or 8 and the thinking was:  Sister said it, it must be true.  That's basically the reason I was offered when I asked about infant baptism a few years later.  Since I've never challenged the concept of original sin, I haven't questioned why we baptize babies, either.  Until now.

As I understand it now, the only real reason why we want to baptize babies is to clean their soul of original sin.  So, if I accept the concept of original sin, then I shouldn't have any problem with infant baptism.  This is where it gets muddy.  Jesus died for our sins.  All of our sins.  That's all sins in the past, present, and future.  Where does it say that original sin is not part of that deal?