Musings of a Catholic Convert

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So my father-in-law was odained into the Permanent Diaconate on Saturday.  Isn't that awesome?  Sacrament of Holy Orders!  I'm real excited for him as I know he's been preparing for this day for the past five years.  So much prayer, study, and preparation went into this weekend for 22 men.  Now, God has opened the door for ministry even wider in their lives and in the lives of their parishes.  I had to miss most of the ordination because my youngest wanted to talk.  What did I expect?  She's a one-year-old, and we were on the first pew.  Hey, but you know what?  Ordination still went on, even without me.  Amazing, I know, but totally true.  I'm glad I got to celebration this ordination with my family and I look forward to seeing what this latest group of Deacons is going to do.  

Think I'll ever become a Deacon?  Not up to me of course, but if God were to call, I'd sure like to think I'd say yes.  Time will have to tell I suppose.  

I also want to say that riverboat rides are a lot of fun when you have friends and family with you. I learned that Friday night when we took a - wait for it - riverboat ride on the Mississippi River.  Loads of fun to celebrate our new Deacon.               

I'm looking forward to a semi quiet day at work.  Several people are taking long weekends so things are a bit less noisy than usual.  I love days like this.  I can get so much more done when there are few interruptions. 

And while I'm thinking of quiet, let me encourage all of you to watch "The Quiet Man", starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  I don't care if you're Irish or a fan of The Duke.  You'll love this movie on its own merits.  I watch it at least once every month or so.

I have a lot of writing to do this weekend.  Still trying to get my first book done and I'm way behind where I want to be at this point in time.  I'm hoping for some time this weekend, but we'll see what happens.  Catholic convert book or not, the reality of being a husband and daddy takes priority over my own pursuits.  I must constantly remind myself of this.

Well, I guess you'll be watching the basketball this weekend.  Maybe I will join you at some point. I really don't have a dog in this NCAA Men's Tournament anymore so I'm not as interested as I was a few days ago.  The Lady Vols are doing just fine though.  Perhaps I will watch them play.

Have a good one, dudes.  I'm off to work.         

Back from vacation and, as expected, I'm swamped with work.  The workday hasn't even started yet and I already feel the weight of what is about to fall on me.  Oh well.  I had a good vacation and I enjoyed seeing my grandmother.  I'm even a bit relaxed.  

NOW ARE YOU READY?

Dudes, we are in EASTER!  I would love to hear about your parish's Easter Vigil celebrations, especially from those of you who have recently been brought into the Church.  DETAILS PLEASE. I would love to hear from any "Catholic convert" out there.  What is your story?  Seriously, people, join this Catholic blog community and share your story with us.  If you know people who have just come into the Church, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ask them to consider creating a free Catholic blog on this site.  Not only will it be encouraging for us to read their conversion stories, but it will be great for us to be able to minister to their families through our prayers and encouragement.

This is going to be fun!

I love good food.  I love grilled or roasted food.  I love good grilled food that is grilled good.  Mmmmm.  So last night we had dinner with the RCIA team, candidates, and all their respective families.  We gathered to look at the traditional Seder meal that our Jewish friends celebrate each year.  Now, our meal was not an actual Seder, but we did take time to look at the elements of the Seder and their significance both with regard to Passover, and with regard to the Christian life.  

I would very much like one of these days to be invited to a real live Seder.  It would be good to hear from the source what the Seder means and the role Passover plays in their life of faith.  Maybe one day this will happen. 

For now, this was our dinner.  And you know what?  I didn't spaz out.  My kids were their normal young selves, but I didn't get agitated with their antics.  I did not sit nervously waiting on it to be over so I could escort them to the car feeling embarrassed at their behavior.  I enjoyed my dinner, and I watched them enjoy theirs.  Did they stay in their seats the whole time?  Nope.  Did they attempt to throw food?  Oh, yes.  But I did good.  Hooray for Andy this time.  Not being nervous was HUGE!  I can control my temper almost always.  There are only a couple of people in this world who can push my buttons.  But I get nervous with my children in public.  Last night though, no nervous.  No, I was not high.  I was able to keep it together, and I'm pretty happy about that.  

Now, let's see if I can keep that streak going.  We're leaving for a brief vacation tonight.  Let the test begin. 

One more thing:  Murray, you are the GRILL MASTER!  Hats off to you, good man!!!!   !!!!!!!!

Did you watch the new American Gladiators?  Of course you did.  We all did.  Who wouldn't want to watch such an awesome show?  Wolf told you to watch, and you said, "Yes, sir!"

These men and women who call themselves gladiators are super mega strong.  And they could talk smack when the situation called for it.  

Now maybe you are one of the 5 people in the world who did not watch the new American Gladiators.  Maybe you were catching up on your recorded episodes of Rob & Big.  Maybe you decided to watch both movie versions of Dune to see which you liked best (dude, is there anyway to beat having Sting in a movie?).  Maybe you were in a coma and couldn't watch television.  Well let me tell you somethin', brother, you need to catch the new season when it starts in a few weeks.

Did you watch the original series?    

Of course you did.  The people who did not watch the original American Gladiators were secretly removed from their homes by the Awesomeness Police.  Don't say, "Well, I never watched Gladiators and I'm still in my home."  Don't say it.  Don't let what happened to the last group happen to you.  Don't believe me?  I'm going to show you this picture one time, and if it does not convince you then you are beyond help.  Keep in mind that though the picture is the epitome of awesomeness, it is nontheless only the initial scene in what would within seconds become a horrible horrible mess.  Are you ready?  Have you taken your medication for the day already?  Are you seated?

How often do you see awesomeness of that magnitude?  You see it and it's like "BOOM!"  Well, let me tell you, it gets pretty ugly after that, with the explosion and the gorilla, and the shark, and the awesome.  But you wanted to see it.

Have a good one.  There's work to be done.

Some people might say I need therapy.  They are probably thinking of therapy for my brain.  I hate to disappoint, but I had a different type of therapy yesterday.  I, for the first time in my life, got a therapeutic massage.  Let me tell you something, brother, my back, neck, and shoulders feel awesome now!  Having never gotten a massage before, I did not know what to expect.  It was really neat, and there was nothing weird.  I even got a tour of the place, which also trains men and women for professional work.  They know muscles, bones, nerves, even blood stuff.  I was quite impressed.  The massage itself was awesome.  I must thank my sis again for the gift certificate that got me in the door.

This information from the “readme” might help.

The CRE will automatically convert most typical forms of Scripture references.
You can refer to the book by its full name, or by an abbreviation.

To refer to a Catechism paragraph, use “CCC” before the paragraph number(s).
For example: CCC 1210-1212.

To quote a passage and have it appear right in your blog post (instead of in
a popup), use the ` character (the key to the left of the number 1 on most
keyboards). For example:

Matthew 28:18-20

18And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth.

19Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Wanna try some?

John 6:53-55

CCC 2370

Hey, we got a new plugin for the community, courtesy of our good friend, Pistos. CRE is available through your plugins menu. I’m learning how to use it myself so we’ll see how it goes.

I’m seeing new “faces” on our catholic blogging community. The word is spreading!

While I’m thinking about it, please take some time to browse the content at CatholicDestination.com, particularly the Life Issues and Politics sections of “News & Culture”. With Super Tuesday coming up we all need to be as informed as possible.

We have a moral obligation to vote. It is one way we inform the conscience of the state. It is also an opportunity for us to stand up for the lives of the innocent and against abortion. Don’t vote for pro-abortion candidates! Do not support the abortion industry of this country. Put abortion mills out of business and save the lives of THOUSANDS of babies. Support adoption and counseling programs. Teach your children about chastity and the dignity of the human person.