Imago Trinitatis

As we begin Advent, I'd like to share one of my favorite songs, "Zion" by My Epic.  May this show us how to desire Christ with our whole hearts! LYRICS: as a bride, blushing bides on the bed for the touch of her love to arrive other passions call and loom but she will wait for her groom just the same I am restless for You as the vagrant, dreams of vacant lands to plow, and a hearth to call home but each distance only fails him so he'll keep drifting through just the same I am restless for You You loved me first and fully when nothing lovely existed all before then grew dim in the light of desire awakened and all else be cursed I choose rather this thirst no man, no land, no task for my hand ever soothes I stay restless for You all I am, was made for You and no other will do so I stay restless for You You loved me first and fully when nothing lovely existed and gifted grace til my heart could awaken, embrace, and return it all I see now every goodness, each beaut...

Advent is nearly upon us; it is time to prepare the way of the Lord . . .   Yes, I did just start this post with a clip from Godspell, a musical/movie I’ve always enjoyed.   Though admittedly it may seem a cheesy by today’s standards, it still gets a strong point across, helping us to visualize how radical the Gospel call really is. Notice the disciples completely stopping whatever tasks at hand – working in stores, patrolling traffic, selling items on the street, auditioning for an acting role, practicing ballet – dropping everything when they hear the voice of John the Baptist singing out, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”   When they arrive at the fountain, there is so much joy!   They are now prepared to receive Jesus and follow Him. As we enter into Advent, we prepare again to receive Christ into our hearts, but the temptation is to be bored by this.   As Christians, we’ve done this again and again – haven’t we done it enough by now?   Don’...

(I recently entered FOCUS's Blog Contest for SEEK, and while my post wasn't chosen as a finalist [I do highly recommend looking at the great posts that were chosen here ], I still think it's worth sharing.  I look forward to attending SEEK in Nashville in January!) From St. John Paul II Chapel at Mundelein Seminary “It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently...

I was still praying to the Lord, my God, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, presenting my petition concerning the holy mountain of my God – I was still praying, when the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision before, came to me in flight at the time of the evening offering.   He instructed me in these words: “Daniel, I have now come to give you understanding.   When you began your petition, an answer was given which I have come to announce, because you are beloved ." -           Daniel 9:20-23 The above passage was part of the Office of Readings last Wednesday, and those four words, “because you are beloved,” hit my heart in a unique way.   That day, I left on our Rector’s Pilgrimage, in which my senior class travelled with our rector Fr. Samuel to St. Louis and Chicago.   Throughout this time, we visited seminaries, churches, landmarks, and Starbucks (nine times, to be precise), and we encountere...