My awesome wife Karen nominated me for the ALS ice bucket challenge. This blog post is going to serve as one third of my response (I will of course douse myself in ice water, but being a nerd, I feel as though I need to add a little sciencey pizazz to it and it may take a short period of time to prepare!)
I'm responding via blog because of two others' words. The first widely read criticism of the challenge written by Scott Gilmore for Maclean's Magazine. I'm responding to Scott because of his three considerations when donating to charity. Scott says that we must consider the following:
1) Where is the greatest need?
2) Where will my dollars have the greatest influence?
3) What is the most urgent problem?
Aside from the fact that 1 and 3 are basically the same question, I think Scott misses a point. Not that the considerations aren't important, but they are purely from a pragmatic and statistical point of view. Here's the problem... charity is a human system. Human systems can't be isolated into one or two variables. It doesn't work that way. For example, how do you define greatest need? For a family struggling to make sense of ALS as it slowly takes away a loved one, there is likely no greater need. If my friend or loved one is suffering from a rare disease should I not support their cause with my whole heart simply because it's not the greatest need? Last I checked we weren't Vulcans.
To illustrate my point in a different way without rambling too much, I'm going to highlight a charity that by Scott's limited analyses, would not serve any need. My wife used to be a wish granter for the Make a Wish Foundation. By all medical and scientific accounts, they are a useless charity. There is no link between wishes granted and kids getting better, they don't cure diseases, they don't extend lives. They simply give a bit of joy to a child and a family who is having more than anyone should ever experience in terms of heartache and challenges. I had the honor of attending a celebration put on by the Hyatt hotel chain for a wish recipient that they were sending to a special village that Disney built just for such kids and their families. What I witnessed was a community coming together to support, uplift, and bring joy to others for no other reason than to share joy with them. The witness of that event and the work Karen did opened my heart to them as well and we used our wedding as a venue to raise a donation to them, which by Mr. Gilmore's criteria, didn't do anything that was necessary.
The problem with taking a human system like charity and trying to reduce it so much is that it dehumanizes it. Not that looking at massive epidemics like HIV/AIDS, or working on diseases like cancer or heart disease which claim so many lives, isn't necessary. Not even that things like that shouldn't be our focus. What the armchair social critics are missing though, is that we give more when we have a human connection. Charity is about human connections. That's why we give to causes that harm us more closely, or that our firends are connected to.
Mr. Gilmore also used the terms narcissism and slacktivism. Quite frankly he's looking at the whole viral movement and missing the best part of it. The acts of charity that our friends, loved ones etc. are challenging us to by getting us to pay attention to them for 30 seconds while we get to revel in their momentary discomfort are inspiring our own acts of charity. In his own blog, Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame points out that 50% - 70% of the money that goes into something like this is typically money that would have already been donated to another cause. But hold on... that means that up to 50% of the $94 million (reported 11 hours ago by the Boston Globe) is new charity money. That's going to be in the neighbourhood of $50 million charity dollars generated by this so called narcissistic slacktivism. We witnessed the same at our wedding. One guest making a show of a large donation in return for forcing us to kiss (we did that instead of clinking glasses) inspired others among our family and friends, and some of the money that would have been spent at the bar went to bring a child a little piece of a wish that brought them joy amidst their suffering. If 50 million new charity dollars is what a few small acts inspiring a few other small acts cascading around the world can do over a couple of weeks in the age of social media, imagine what would happen if we looked at every act of charity, whether it fits our personal connections and charitable inklings or not, and let it inspire us to our own act of charity, and let it inspire others too. I don't care how cynical or critical you are (and I'm right up there with the best of them) that's an amazing thought.
To show what this can look like, I'm inspired by my life long friend Jennifer, who posted a much more succinct message on Facebook highlighting the need for regular, planned giving, to a charity that is personal to her in response to her ALS challenge. Jenn, your message inspired me. I will be earmarking a portion of my budget that would normally go to non-charitable things like shiny pieces for my motorcycle, and donating it to charities monthly for the next year. My first in the spirit of medical research which is what started all of this, will be to the JPII Medical Research Institute, which is a secular organization dedicated to ethical and cost effective research for treatments and cures of various diseases. That's the second third of my response to the challenge (The third will be when I figure out how to science up dumping ice water on my head)
My three nominations for the challenge are
1) Writer Scott Gilmore to find some charitable cause that he cares about and meets his criteria, and donate something to them that he otherwise would not have spent on charity
2) Col. Chris Hadfiled because he's awesome and I want to see him doused in cold water
3) Anyone who has responded in any way to the challenge, positively or negatively, to find an extra act of charity, a gift of time, talent, or treasure, that will take any accusations of slacktivism and kick them out the window, and inspire more generosity.
Thoughts on matters of faith, education, and whatever else sparks my interest.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Short post, dorky topic
So, I was on the way home from Mass last Sunday, talking to Karen about Lent coming up. It's been a bit of a topic of conversation because I'm doing a modification of the beer fast that some Benedictines used to do, so I actually had to start preparing about 2 months ago to get the beer ready (Dopplebock based on the Part Time Monk's recipe. Look him up... he did a full beer fast for all of Lent, and wrote some interesting stuff about it. I can't quite go that far... I don't think beer for breakfast or lunch would go over so well when you combine it with teaching.
In any case, the conversation was about preparing for the season where we prepare for Easter, and that was kind of funny. It turned in the direction of Mardi Gras, and then Shrove Tuesday. I'm a bit of an etymology geek, so I wondered out loud what 'shrove' meant. I just assumed it was an old word for some form of fat or fatty food.
The conversation with Google Now to find out was kind of funny.
'OK Google: What is the definition of shrove'
'Drove, the past tense of drive'
'No Google, what is the definition of SHHHROVE'
'Shrove, the past tense of shrive'
'Thanks for nothing Google'
Turns out to be 'shriven' is to receive absolution. Shrive would be to hear confession and give absolution. A little more research and we found out that tradition was to go to confession before Lent started, so the prayer and fasting could happen with a clean slate to work with. Shrove Tuesday was the end of the season of Shrovetide (I'm not making this up... ask Wikipedia!). You'd go to confession, then have a celebration before the fasting begins.
Turns out my preparing for the season of preparation wasn't so crazy.
There's no other point to this post, I'm just a bit of a geek about things like this. Now I'm done nerding out. Bon Mardi Gras tout le monde!
Also, for some Ash Wednesday fun (is that a thing?) head on over and sign up for Back That Ash Up!
In any case, the conversation was about preparing for the season where we prepare for Easter, and that was kind of funny. It turned in the direction of Mardi Gras, and then Shrove Tuesday. I'm a bit of an etymology geek, so I wondered out loud what 'shrove' meant. I just assumed it was an old word for some form of fat or fatty food.
The conversation with Google Now to find out was kind of funny.
'OK Google: What is the definition of shrove'
'Drove, the past tense of drive'
'No Google, what is the definition of SHHHROVE'
'Shrove, the past tense of shrive'
'Thanks for nothing Google'
Turns out to be 'shriven' is to receive absolution. Shrive would be to hear confession and give absolution. A little more research and we found out that tradition was to go to confession before Lent started, so the prayer and fasting could happen with a clean slate to work with. Shrove Tuesday was the end of the season of Shrovetide (I'm not making this up... ask Wikipedia!). You'd go to confession, then have a celebration before the fasting begins.
Turns out my preparing for the season of preparation wasn't so crazy.
There's no other point to this post, I'm just a bit of a geek about things like this. Now I'm done nerding out. Bon Mardi Gras tout le monde!
Also, for some Ash Wednesday fun (is that a thing?) head on over and sign up for Back That Ash Up!
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
The ages of Popes, get with the times (part I)
No, I don't mean how old they are... actually, I kind of do. The title is in reference to the Rolling Stone article comparing Pope Benedict to Pope Francis. I'm not going to comment directly on it, but it spurred me to want to write about something I've been thinking about for a while.
When I look back at how different Popes were covered by the media and perceived by the public, I notice a trend. When JPII was young, he was described using terms like 'strapping'. He received a lot of attention for being a globetrotter who visited his people where they lived, for celebrating youth culture and inviting it into the church, and for being kind of a rockstar Pope. Now, fastforward to the point where JPII's health is fading. If you look at what he did in his older years, it's pretty astonishing in a lot of ways. Despite his physical difficulties, he still travelled far and often to see Catholics around the world, he still celebrated youth culture, and he lived with tremendous courage and dignity to the natural end of his life. Of course, the media attention at that point was more likely to mock his appearance and comment on how old he was, questioning his worth.
Now look at the media coverage Pope Benedict XVI got, and is still getting. He was portrayed more or less from day one as a Nazi, compared through various memes to an evil Star wars villain, and mocked for wearing red shoes (which weren't Prada for anyone with half a brain, they were made by an Italian cobbler who has been providing shoes for people in the Vatican for a long time... besides the fact that red shoes look odd if you ignore the symbolic meaning of the colour, which is what Benedict wore them for, there was nothing remarkable about them).
Of course I don't need to summarize the media attention for Pope Benedict, you'd have to be blind to have missed it, but I do wonder, if he looked different, a little older, a little physically frail, a little too academic, would he be getting the same attention, or would the media be presenting him as a scary, dour, cranky old man, like they did Benedict. I think what the media has proven more than anything isn't a bias towards any end of the political spectrum, but rather that it is unashamedly prejudiced. All three Popes have been openly judged (both in subtext and openly) for their physical appearance, their dress (most notably Pope Benedict who favoured a more traditional style of dress), and for their value based on their age. If you took comments people made about the three of them, and applied them to just any random group, it would be disgusting. Look, here is this nice looking guy, he must be way better a person than that old grandpa who has less of a round face, and yeah sure, buddy over there was amazing in his youth, but he has Parkinsons and arthritis now, so he must be worthless... he's better off dead, even though he's so passionate he's trying to talk to us even though they just cut a hole in his windpipe so he can breath. It's disgusting and offensive to judge anyone like that, and all the media has done is perpetuate and facilitate this culture of ageism.
I pray that we as Christians, and all people, come to see the dignity inherent in the human person, regardless of age, ability, or appearance much sooner than later, but as long as yellow journalists like the ones at Rolling Stone are around, we have an uphill battle.
When I look back at how different Popes were covered by the media and perceived by the public, I notice a trend. When JPII was young, he was described using terms like 'strapping'. He received a lot of attention for being a globetrotter who visited his people where they lived, for celebrating youth culture and inviting it into the church, and for being kind of a rockstar Pope. Now, fastforward to the point where JPII's health is fading. If you look at what he did in his older years, it's pretty astonishing in a lot of ways. Despite his physical difficulties, he still travelled far and often to see Catholics around the world, he still celebrated youth culture, and he lived with tremendous courage and dignity to the natural end of his life. Of course, the media attention at that point was more likely to mock his appearance and comment on how old he was, questioning his worth.
Now look at the media coverage Pope Benedict XVI got, and is still getting. He was portrayed more or less from day one as a Nazi, compared through various memes to an evil Star wars villain, and mocked for wearing red shoes (which weren't Prada for anyone with half a brain, they were made by an Italian cobbler who has been providing shoes for people in the Vatican for a long time... besides the fact that red shoes look odd if you ignore the symbolic meaning of the colour, which is what Benedict wore them for, there was nothing remarkable about them).
Of course I don't need to summarize the media attention for Pope Benedict, you'd have to be blind to have missed it, but I do wonder, if he looked different, a little older, a little physically frail, a little too academic, would he be getting the same attention, or would the media be presenting him as a scary, dour, cranky old man, like they did Benedict. I think what the media has proven more than anything isn't a bias towards any end of the political spectrum, but rather that it is unashamedly prejudiced. All three Popes have been openly judged (both in subtext and openly) for their physical appearance, their dress (most notably Pope Benedict who favoured a more traditional style of dress), and for their value based on their age. If you took comments people made about the three of them, and applied them to just any random group, it would be disgusting. Look, here is this nice looking guy, he must be way better a person than that old grandpa who has less of a round face, and yeah sure, buddy over there was amazing in his youth, but he has Parkinsons and arthritis now, so he must be worthless... he's better off dead, even though he's so passionate he's trying to talk to us even though they just cut a hole in his windpipe so he can breath. It's disgusting and offensive to judge anyone like that, and all the media has done is perpetuate and facilitate this culture of ageism.
I pray that we as Christians, and all people, come to see the dignity inherent in the human person, regardless of age, ability, or appearance much sooner than later, but as long as yellow journalists like the ones at Rolling Stone are around, we have an uphill battle.
Friday, 10 January 2014
You're shining that right in my eyes you jerk!
Last year, Pope Francis created a pretty huge buzz by telling the world that Catholics had become too obsessed with various issues, and that the Church needed to be a home for all. Lots of the media ran with it in one direction, speculating on the Pope being a liberal reformer, lots of other folks ran the other direction with posts, articles, etc. outlining 'what the Pope really meant'. This won't be either, because I don't think the Pope has any plans to change the foundation of the Church, nor do I think he said anything except what he actually meant, and I'm nowhere near qualified to speak for him. This post is just a little idea that came to me today in a PD session about evangelization in the Church.
At the beginning of Fr. Baron's series on the New Evangelization, there is a little bit about Christ being the light unto the nations, and the Church being the carrier of that light... a torchbearer if you will. We also explored a little bit of evangelization being about sharing our own light with the world as a way of inviting and building bridges, spreading joy through our faith. To paraphrase, we are called to share our light to guide others along the path to Christ.
My little idea was this: As Catholics, in a world that doesn't see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and where there are a lot of things we disagree with and fight against as evil, we want to shine our light directly onto that darkness. I think the idea is to illuminate it and try to fix it. I'm going to compare that to getting obsessed with issues. In good conscience, with the compassionate goal of protecting the innocent, speaking for the voiceless, etc, we focus a beam into a dark corner. The problem that Pope Francis is pointing out, is that anyone in that corner is gonna be kind of cranky because someone is shining a light in their eyes. It's annoying, and probably not helpful most of the time. You know the feeling, it's not a good one. I worked in an underground mine on a contract, and knew a foreman who got so ticked at a worker constantly shining his lamp in people's eyes, that the foreman smashed it with a wrench while it was still on the guy's head. It's that obnoxious.
What Pope Francis is asking Catholics to do is take the light out of the dark corner for a little bit, shine it on the road that leads to Christ. In the real world this looks like building relationships with people and being contagiously joyful. As a very wise nun told me once, if we are happy about being Catholic, we need to tell it to our faces and smile a lot more about it. Without shining our lights on joy, love, and how awesome our faith is, then all we are doing is blinding the people looking at us from the other end of the beam, so they can't see the awesome stuff we have to share.
Pope Francis wasn't telling us to ignore the things we disagree with, he was telling us to turn our light around and point it at the love of God and the joy of faith, so everyone can actually see.
At the beginning of Fr. Baron's series on the New Evangelization, there is a little bit about Christ being the light unto the nations, and the Church being the carrier of that light... a torchbearer if you will. We also explored a little bit of evangelization being about sharing our own light with the world as a way of inviting and building bridges, spreading joy through our faith. To paraphrase, we are called to share our light to guide others along the path to Christ.
My little idea was this: As Catholics, in a world that doesn't see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and where there are a lot of things we disagree with and fight against as evil, we want to shine our light directly onto that darkness. I think the idea is to illuminate it and try to fix it. I'm going to compare that to getting obsessed with issues. In good conscience, with the compassionate goal of protecting the innocent, speaking for the voiceless, etc, we focus a beam into a dark corner. The problem that Pope Francis is pointing out, is that anyone in that corner is gonna be kind of cranky because someone is shining a light in their eyes. It's annoying, and probably not helpful most of the time. You know the feeling, it's not a good one. I worked in an underground mine on a contract, and knew a foreman who got so ticked at a worker constantly shining his lamp in people's eyes, that the foreman smashed it with a wrench while it was still on the guy's head. It's that obnoxious.
What Pope Francis is asking Catholics to do is take the light out of the dark corner for a little bit, shine it on the road that leads to Christ. In the real world this looks like building relationships with people and being contagiously joyful. As a very wise nun told me once, if we are happy about being Catholic, we need to tell it to our faces and smile a lot more about it. Without shining our lights on joy, love, and how awesome our faith is, then all we are doing is blinding the people looking at us from the other end of the beam, so they can't see the awesome stuff we have to share.
Pope Francis wasn't telling us to ignore the things we disagree with, he was telling us to turn our light around and point it at the love of God and the joy of faith, so everyone can actually see.
Tuesday, 17 December 2013
In joyful waiting
Okay, week three of Advent - the time of year when all the priests man up and wear pink!
So, the spot in the garage is clean and empty, I'm making sure it stays that way, the sale is advertised, it's Wednesday, and Canadian Tire opens Thursday at nine. I have to work, so I can't go until lunch. I'm excited to finally fill this space in the garage with the most manly of toys... er, I mean tools, it's almost here... I can smell the oil of the compressor pump, and hear it roar when I plug it. The sale is almost here. I feel like... well like a kid on Christmas morning, who knows he's getting a Nintendo (Christmas, 1989). That's the joy of Advent... Christmas is almost here, and we are about to celebrate the greatest gift, the amazing moment, and the incredible sacrifices. Even if we aren't believers, we are celebrating love, which is the greatest thing we have, and most of us take the time to show it through charity, which is so much an expression of love the two are practically synonyms. The joy of waiting is so awesome it makes you wanna dance around like you have to pee.
That feeling is Gaudete Sunday.
*NB - the brevity of today's post is in response to my friend Aibert, who as far as I know may be the only reader, and mentioned that he wished there was a summary of my posts so he had time to read them. Here ya go Aib! Thanks for the feedback.
So, the spot in the garage is clean and empty, I'm making sure it stays that way, the sale is advertised, it's Wednesday, and Canadian Tire opens Thursday at nine. I have to work, so I can't go until lunch. I'm excited to finally fill this space in the garage with the most manly of toys... er, I mean tools, it's almost here... I can smell the oil of the compressor pump, and hear it roar when I plug it. The sale is almost here. I feel like... well like a kid on Christmas morning, who knows he's getting a Nintendo (Christmas, 1989). That's the joy of Advent... Christmas is almost here, and we are about to celebrate the greatest gift, the amazing moment, and the incredible sacrifices. Even if we aren't believers, we are celebrating love, which is the greatest thing we have, and most of us take the time to show it through charity, which is so much an expression of love the two are practically synonyms. The joy of waiting is so awesome it makes you wanna dance around like you have to pee.
That feeling is Gaudete Sunday.
*NB - the brevity of today's post is in response to my friend Aibert, who as far as I know may be the only reader, and mentioned that he wished there was a summary of my posts so he had time to read them. Here ya go Aib! Thanks for the feedback.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Advent week 2
Alright, so last week I committed myself to an awkward (embrace the awkward!) comparison of advent to the purchase of the manliest of garage tools, an air compressor. So, here we are, week 2, and it's time to continue milking this one for all it's worth.
Last week I wrote about needing to do a little purge of the junk in the garage to make room for the compressor, and compared it to purging our conscience through reconciliation at the beginning of advent (I'm not gonna lie, I kept the pickaxe... WHO WOULDN'T!). Now I have this beautiful space in my workshop, ready for the compressor to come in and fill it. Here's the problem, empty space gets filled fast. I'll give you an example. I cleaned off the workbench to be able to tune some skis. It was so nice and clean, and empty. Within 20 minutes, I swear it was messier than before. Tools, clothes, food, an old sink I found in the alley, some empty brass from my rifle... you name it, it was on the bench, cluttering my formerly, and gloriously clean space.
I can't speak for everyone, but that is kind of a theme for my life, space is never left empty. Free time? New hobby. Clean shelf? New toy. Clean space in the garage? New clutter! I think it's common enough that we fill our empty space.
This is a bit of a problem, but an even bigger opportunity after receiving the sacrament of reconciliation. After we purge all the garbage from our hearts, we have an empty space. The challenge is that there is no shortage of stuff that we can fill it with. The opportunity is that we can fill it with something awesome. It's not good enough to just clear that space out, we need to make sure it stays that way, as best we can. We need to fill the space with something that will hold it open for us, to allow God's grace to fully occupy it, and prevent the clutter of sin. I know for me, that thing is prayer. Advent is a time for increased prayer, to invite God into our lives. It's something I'm admittedly bad at doing regularly. My relationship with prayer is a lot like my relationship with the gym. I want to go, I want the benefits, I have good intentions, I feel good when I do it, but for some reason I don't make it as often as I should. Advent has a nice reminder built in though. The advent wreath is a daily reminder of the season, and a call to fill that empty space with prayer, in preparation for the celebration of Christmas.
So, what are you filling your nice, clean, empty space with?
Last week I wrote about needing to do a little purge of the junk in the garage to make room for the compressor, and compared it to purging our conscience through reconciliation at the beginning of advent (I'm not gonna lie, I kept the pickaxe... WHO WOULDN'T!). Now I have this beautiful space in my workshop, ready for the compressor to come in and fill it. Here's the problem, empty space gets filled fast. I'll give you an example. I cleaned off the workbench to be able to tune some skis. It was so nice and clean, and empty. Within 20 minutes, I swear it was messier than before. Tools, clothes, food, an old sink I found in the alley, some empty brass from my rifle... you name it, it was on the bench, cluttering my formerly, and gloriously clean space.
I can't speak for everyone, but that is kind of a theme for my life, space is never left empty. Free time? New hobby. Clean shelf? New toy. Clean space in the garage? New clutter! I think it's common enough that we fill our empty space.
This is a bit of a problem, but an even bigger opportunity after receiving the sacrament of reconciliation. After we purge all the garbage from our hearts, we have an empty space. The challenge is that there is no shortage of stuff that we can fill it with. The opportunity is that we can fill it with something awesome. It's not good enough to just clear that space out, we need to make sure it stays that way, as best we can. We need to fill the space with something that will hold it open for us, to allow God's grace to fully occupy it, and prevent the clutter of sin. I know for me, that thing is prayer. Advent is a time for increased prayer, to invite God into our lives. It's something I'm admittedly bad at doing regularly. My relationship with prayer is a lot like my relationship with the gym. I want to go, I want the benefits, I have good intentions, I feel good when I do it, but for some reason I don't make it as often as I should. Advent has a nice reminder built in though. The advent wreath is a daily reminder of the season, and a call to fill that empty space with prayer, in preparation for the celebration of Christmas.
So, what are you filling your nice, clean, empty space with?
Monday, 2 December 2013
The advent compressor
Okay, it seems kind of wrong to have a Catholic blog, and not have some advent postings. The trouble is, what else does someone say? Colm has a good one up:
http://projectym.com/blog/dinosaurs-tinkerbell-jesus/
Swords of truth has a Homily on the First week of advent:
http://swordsoftruth.com/2013/11/30/joy-in-everyday-apocalypses-homily-by-fr-nathan/
Let's face it, most blogs will cover it, and it's hard to say things that aren't already said. I mean, Advent, get ready for Christmas, go to confession, prepare your heart, be charitable... check, check, check, and check.
So, in that light, I am making what has to be one of the most contrived literary stretches in modern history: How advent is like buying an air compressor.
I recently bought an air compressor. I don't know why, it was on sale and I got a great deal... there is something about an air compressor that makes every guy with a garage want one, maybe it's the tools that make that cool sound, maybe it's goofing around with it, maybe it's the satisfaction of using it to blow the dust off the work bench, maybe it's feeling like a badass with a nail gun. Who knows.
Now, in this analogy, the arrival of the compressor will represent the coming of Christ. No seriously, stop laughing. See the thing is, I have no room in the garage for one (it's an 8 gallon puppy, so it takes up some space). Between motorcycle jacks (I don't have a motorcycle anymore), old boat hulls, a bag of almost kind of dirt you can imagine (they make a lot of kinds of dirt) flower pots, a sink I found in the alley, and a lot of other strange and wonderful things, there just isn't room.
Our lives are like that, we pick up 'junk' (I swear honey, it's not junk, I use that stuff all the time!), and fill the empty spaces in our lives with it. If we don't prepare for an important arrival, there isn't a place for it to fit. So for the first week of advent, it's time to 'purge' the garage. In getting ready to buy the compressor (okay, so I got it and it was living in the back of the car), I had to do some purging. It involved going through all the 'junk', and finding the things I didn't use, didn't need, had too much of, or were plain old garbage. It's an amazingly refreshing experience sorting through old stuff, and purging the crap. It really does feel great. I get to look at old hardware store purchases and leftover packaging, feel embarrassed that I spent money on something totally unnecessary (At the time the pickaxe seemed really useful), then get rid of it either by throwing away/recycling the garbage, or passing it on to someone who can actually use it.
For the first week of advent we need to do a personal purge. I'm stoked that our diocese is offering reconciliation every Wednesday for advent. An examination of conscience and good confession, as tough as they are, are so refreshing and liberating... they make new room within us to fill with more important things.
There you go, week one nicely wrapped up. Stay tuned for week 2, and dealing with the empty space!
http://projectym.com/blog/dinosaurs-tinkerbell-jesus/
Swords of truth has a Homily on the First week of advent:
http://swordsoftruth.com/2013/11/30/joy-in-everyday-apocalypses-homily-by-fr-nathan/
Let's face it, most blogs will cover it, and it's hard to say things that aren't already said. I mean, Advent, get ready for Christmas, go to confession, prepare your heart, be charitable... check, check, check, and check.
So, in that light, I am making what has to be one of the most contrived literary stretches in modern history: How advent is like buying an air compressor.
I recently bought an air compressor. I don't know why, it was on sale and I got a great deal... there is something about an air compressor that makes every guy with a garage want one, maybe it's the tools that make that cool sound, maybe it's goofing around with it, maybe it's the satisfaction of using it to blow the dust off the work bench, maybe it's feeling like a badass with a nail gun. Who knows.
Now, in this analogy, the arrival of the compressor will represent the coming of Christ. No seriously, stop laughing. See the thing is, I have no room in the garage for one (it's an 8 gallon puppy, so it takes up some space). Between motorcycle jacks (I don't have a motorcycle anymore), old boat hulls, a bag of almost kind of dirt you can imagine (they make a lot of kinds of dirt) flower pots, a sink I found in the alley, and a lot of other strange and wonderful things, there just isn't room.
Our lives are like that, we pick up 'junk' (I swear honey, it's not junk, I use that stuff all the time!), and fill the empty spaces in our lives with it. If we don't prepare for an important arrival, there isn't a place for it to fit. So for the first week of advent, it's time to 'purge' the garage. In getting ready to buy the compressor (okay, so I got it and it was living in the back of the car), I had to do some purging. It involved going through all the 'junk', and finding the things I didn't use, didn't need, had too much of, or were plain old garbage. It's an amazingly refreshing experience sorting through old stuff, and purging the crap. It really does feel great. I get to look at old hardware store purchases and leftover packaging, feel embarrassed that I spent money on something totally unnecessary (At the time the pickaxe seemed really useful), then get rid of it either by throwing away/recycling the garbage, or passing it on to someone who can actually use it.
For the first week of advent we need to do a personal purge. I'm stoked that our diocese is offering reconciliation every Wednesday for advent. An examination of conscience and good confession, as tough as they are, are so refreshing and liberating... they make new room within us to fill with more important things.
There you go, week one nicely wrapped up. Stay tuned for week 2, and dealing with the empty space!
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