The View Up Here

Months have passed since I've written here. Been writing and working full time in youth ministry, but at least I've thought about blogging. I'll hit on a particularly moving topic in my car or shower and  think "gotta blog about it" but it's forgotten in fifteen minutes. But I actually thought of something this morning before starting the day.  The terrorist attacker in NYC, killing eight people riding their bikes, has left us with a renewed feeling of vulnerability. We've amped up security in airports, government buildings, concerts, and in virtual spaces. Yet something as innocuous as a rental truck can wipe out human lives in five minutes or less. I've seen commentaries and declarations about how "unsafe" we are and how "vulnerable" people feel. Well... yes. Nothing has changed in one sense; we've always been vulnerable. The evil one is ramping up his game and instilling fear. That's a powerful tool. Fear causes peo...

I'll start with this quote from Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P. (Dominican priest) from CatholicAnswers (website and radio). He's quoted as saying/writing: The Lord told us to ask for what we need—not because he doesn’t already know, but that we come to him in love, humbly acknowledging our complete dependence on him—and willingly accepting whatever and however he chooses to respond. The prayer of petition is a matter of loving trust and absolutely nothing else. To that I would add that God wants us to co-create with God. My charismatic community in L.A. taught me the phrase "agreeing in prayer," which means that we are agreeing with each other and with God's will (whatever that may be) for the best possible outcome - even if it's not the one we'd prefer. This acknowledges that God sees far more than we can in our limited scope, while offering ourselves as a community and individually to be God's presence to others in a difficult situation, as God longs ...