My Thoughts On 'The New Normal'

Have you seen the trailer for one of NBC's upcoming shows? Voila (and take care not to facepalm too much. You have a nice face):

Obviously, I am a practicing Roman Catholic. I'm assuming that most of the readers of this blog are also practicing their faith and don't mind reading my thoughts on the faith. As a Catholic (and I'm hoping I speak for all practicing Catholics), I believe that there are sacrifices we make for our love for God, and that we need to live a Christ-like life above and beyond what society thinks is "good" or "cool", or - my personal favourite - "tolerant." Let me tell you, one of those tiny sacrifices should be to not watch this show.

Why I Want to Study At The John Paul II Institute

I just found out that I've been accepted to the (*takes big breath*) Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., for a 2 year program to obtain a Masters in Theological Studies (M.T.S.). Last night, I told my friends that I was darn sure I would receive mail from the institute today, since Mar. 26th is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Mary got an announcement, and so would I. I didn't take myself too seriously when I said that to my friends - but I prayed a rosary for it anyways. And ka-ching! Thanks Mama Mary.

One of the things I had to do as part of the painstaking application process was an essay, describing why I want to study at the institute. It actually covers a lot of ground, and delves a bit into what I think is missing from today's culture. Here it is:

Raising the Roof

Over this past Christmas break, I attended CCO's annual Conference entitled Rise Up, which took place this year in Vancouver, BC. From Dec. 28th to Jan. 1st, almost 600 young adults from across Canada listened to inspirational talks, took part in powerful prayer, and learned how to be better witnesses to the world. All this was done with the intercession of Blessed Pope John Paul II, whose legacy gave the theme for this year's conference.

How fitting though, that the conference was themed after the writings and pontificate of Blessed JP II. Because one of the late pope's most influential pieces of writing for young adults today is his Theology of the Body, and it seems like I have been constantly reminded of the truths that Blessed JP II reminds us of in that work (especially in the last few months). One of those basic truths - one that the Church has defended since her conception - is that only by the union of soul and body are we given the single nature of human being. And so it pains me when Catholics think otherwise. It pains me when they throw truth, faith, and common sense to the wind, and instead irrationally use their emotions to justify a position. Because at Rise Up this year, there was one thing I heard about from many people that just did not sit right with them: people raising their hands during praise & worship.

WWJW: What Would Jesus Wear?

One of the many benefits of getting a brand-spanking-new translation of the Mass is that there will be an opportunity for everyone at the liturgy to gain a deeper sense of appreciation and reverence for everything that is happening around them. The Mass - being what it is - should already hold captive all of the appreciation and reverence that we can muster, but with the universal Church now saying things like "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault," our dependence on God should hit even harder and faster. What we say, especially when new and foreign, should cause us to think, reflect, pray, and enable us to praise God more through our words.

Love Part II

Over the weekend, I attended a day-long conference called 'Freedom to Love," featuring renowned Speaker Christopher West. The conference was about John Paul II's teachings on the Theology of the Body, which, in an EXTREMELY small nutshell, details how God created the bodies of Man and Woman to make "visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. [They] have been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it" (TOB 19:4). The mystery spoken of is God's Love, and how that love applies to our human love and to our ultimate destiny of happiness with God in heaven.

Love

A lot of my friends and I admire Matt Maher. A lot. Over the years, the Vancouver Archdiocese has been so blessed to have had Matt be the musical guest at events such as Youth Day and Spirit Day. His music is awesome - no one rocks out the God music like he does.

Along with our admiration comes a lot of us keeping friendly tabs on him. As it turns out, Matt has been engaged for a while, and actually got married earlier today (Congrats to him and his wife!). I was mentioning this to a couple of friends, and we all brought up the fact that one of the (obvious) joys of marriage is that you are able to be intimate with your spouse.

Something to Enter Into

The other night, I was hanging out with a couple of friends, and we started talking about our Catholic Faith. Somehow, we began to talk about the doctrine of The Resurrection of the Body - how at the Second Coming of Christ, the souls of all people will be reunited with their physical bodies. I've always felt that this one doctrine, which Christ Himself spoke of ("He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" [Jn 6:54]) is often one that is misunderstood. Why would we get our bodies back?