I have been busy. In the last couple of weeks, I have been doing something interesting almost every day. Instead of trying for long posts that capture every nuance, I will throw everything at you.
Before this story starts, a few notable things happened at the end of June. I was in a three car auto accident that resulted in no damage to anything. People were merging because construction closed a lane, but there was only 100 feet between the first cone and the complete closure of the lane. Everyone stopped and exchanged information, but the bumpers did their job!
Eric locked his keys in his car. I used my AAA membership to get it opened for him. This was around midnight after we saw Now you see Me and had In-N-Out.
Then I went to Las Vegas for Frank's bachelor party. I saw all the same people again a few days later for Independence Day. Ryan had a BBQ at his new house.
Then this jumps to the 9th of July.
Tuesday: Beach Newman meeting, young adult meeting at Long Beach church
Wednesday: Board meeting of OC Cal Alumni Club
Thursday: Happy Hour with OC Cal Alumni in Corona del Mar
Friday: Nothing (worked on fundamentals of engineering test practice problems)
Saturday: Cleaned my room, saw friend in modern blues band perform in Dana Point
Sunday: Spent the day with Frank and the groomsmen; got fitted for a tuxedo, had lunch, saw Pacific Rim, saw Frank's new apartment, went to the OC Fair, enjoyed a Krispy Kream sloppy joe sandwich
Monday: Happy hour with Long Beach friend
Tuesday: Beach Newman meeting, saw Corpse Bride, had cake from friends' wedding (a year after the wedding)
Wednesday: Went hiking at Sturtevant Falls with Long Beach friend (from happy hour)
Thursday: Nothing (show of my musician friend was cancelled at last minute)
Friday: Baby shower for Long Beach friend (same one as wedding cake), saw Angels game with Dave (including an Angels win!)
Saturday: Beach Newman officer retreat, camping in someone's backyard, Twinkies!, spending the night in a tent without a rain fly, experiencing rain, gave a great talk
Sunday: Finished up retreat, syrup shots at Denny's, went to Slater's 50/50 with Ryan, Dave, and Daniel for my birthday
Monday: Went to Lucille's BBQ for my birthday
Tuesday: Responded to all my birthday messages, Theology on Tap with Beach Newman friends
Wednesday: Hike in Peter's Canyon with Dave and Long Beach friend, tested new hydration pack
All of the things I did above were awesome. I have been getting back into the habit of exercising. I bike almost every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, except for the days I am hiking. I have gotten back up to going 12 miles in a ride. I am watching Sons of Anarchy on Amazon Prime. I just finished season three. If you have not watched Sons of Anarchy, you are missing out on a great show.
Now what I have planned for the next few days.
Thursday: Pick up tuxedo for wedding, pack and get everything ready
Friday: Drive to Santa Barbara with Dave and Aden, rehearsal dinner
Saturday: Frank's wedding, me standing around in a tuxedo looking important
Tuesday: Theology on Tap with Beach Newman friends
Wednesday: Help friends move
Thursday: Hike somewhere, maybe Santiago peak
There are a lot of things around me I want to change. Living with family can still be horrible. However, I am doing a lot to make the best of my situation. I am happy about the way a lot of things are going.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
St. Therese of Lisieux and Vatican II
A few weeks ago I finished The Story of a Soul, the autobiography of Saint Therese of Lisieux.
It was not as good as I had hoped. There was a lot of stuff about Therese growing up. She would have been a handful to deal with. The littlest things set her off. She also does not take no for an answer. She knew she wanted to join the Carmel cloister when she was young. When she made her intention known at the age of 14, the priest-superior of the order said she was too young. Then she went to the bishop to ask his permission. When he said the same thing, she traveled to Rome and appealed to Pope Leo XIII. He told her to do what her superiors instructed, which was wait until she was older.
What I do like about St. Therese (which I knew about before reading this), was her idea on small acts of kindness. When we cannot do great things, we can do small things with great love. She is often called Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (the names she took as a religious) or the Little Flower of Jesus. She died in 1897 at the age of 24. However, she is a Doctor of the Church, which means she is really important (only 35 in 2,000 years). She is not to be confused with St. Teresa of Avila, another Doctor of the Church who reformed the Carmelite Order and wrote The Interior Castle in the 1500s.
Seeing posts online, some of my friends like St. Therese of Lisieux and her writings a lot. Mother Teresa of Calcutta took her name after Therese of Lisieux.
One remarkable thing is the piety of Therese's family. Both of her parents have been declared to be blessed. All four of her sisters that survived to adulthood became nuns.
Reading this was a continuation of the reading club/discussion group/salvation Skypes/Catholic conversations (we do not have a good name) I started with Amanda last year to read the Bible.
Vatican II
The other thing we read earlier this year was all of the documents from the Second Vatican Council. All the Vatican II documents are available online in a variety of languages, including Byelorussian and Swahili.
There were no great revelations in the documents for me. A lot of it was stuff I had heard before. I was disappointed in a few of the documents. They had a lot of general comments. Often they said a particular issue needed to be addressed and said bishops should appoint a group to study a problem and recommend changes. This was boring, because I wanted to read about the changes themselves. However, people say it was a really important council and a lot of stuff came out of it, like the mass being in local languages instead of Latin.
If you are interested in reading a few of the documents, I would recommend you read the constitutions. They were the best and most important.
Vatican II took place from 1962-1965, so last year was the 50th anniversary of when it started. To celebrate this, the Pope declared a celebration called the Year of Faith. People are encouraged to read the Vatican II documents as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and gain a deeper understanding of their faith.
It was not as good as I had hoped. There was a lot of stuff about Therese growing up. She would have been a handful to deal with. The littlest things set her off. She also does not take no for an answer. She knew she wanted to join the Carmel cloister when she was young. When she made her intention known at the age of 14, the priest-superior of the order said she was too young. Then she went to the bishop to ask his permission. When he said the same thing, she traveled to Rome and appealed to Pope Leo XIII. He told her to do what her superiors instructed, which was wait until she was older.
What I do like about St. Therese (which I knew about before reading this), was her idea on small acts of kindness. When we cannot do great things, we can do small things with great love. She is often called Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (the names she took as a religious) or the Little Flower of Jesus. She died in 1897 at the age of 24. However, she is a Doctor of the Church, which means she is really important (only 35 in 2,000 years). She is not to be confused with St. Teresa of Avila, another Doctor of the Church who reformed the Carmelite Order and wrote The Interior Castle in the 1500s.
Seeing posts online, some of my friends like St. Therese of Lisieux and her writings a lot. Mother Teresa of Calcutta took her name after Therese of Lisieux.
One remarkable thing is the piety of Therese's family. Both of her parents have been declared to be blessed. All four of her sisters that survived to adulthood became nuns.
Reading this was a continuation of the reading club/discussion group/salvation Skypes/Catholic conversations (we do not have a good name) I started with Amanda last year to read the Bible.
Vatican II
The other thing we read earlier this year was all of the documents from the Second Vatican Council. All the Vatican II documents are available online in a variety of languages, including Byelorussian and Swahili.
There were no great revelations in the documents for me. A lot of it was stuff I had heard before. I was disappointed in a few of the documents. They had a lot of general comments. Often they said a particular issue needed to be addressed and said bishops should appoint a group to study a problem and recommend changes. This was boring, because I wanted to read about the changes themselves. However, people say it was a really important council and a lot of stuff came out of it, like the mass being in local languages instead of Latin.
If you are interested in reading a few of the documents, I would recommend you read the constitutions. They were the best and most important.
Vatican II took place from 1962-1965, so last year was the 50th anniversary of when it started. To celebrate this, the Pope declared a celebration called the Year of Faith. People are encouraged to read the Vatican II documents as well as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and gain a deeper understanding of their faith.
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