How can we know the dancer from the dance?

William Butler Yeats

In Tuesdays with Morrie, author Mitch Albom describes his teacher Morrie Schwartz. Morrie had loved to dance, regardless of what kind of music was being played. In his health, he would go to a church in Harvard Square each Wednesday night for an event called “Dance Free,” which catered mainly to students and other young people. Morrie, a distinguished doctor of sociology, would go in sweat pants and a T-shirt, and dance all night until he was soaked with sweat.

It is in acts of intimacy that we come to define ourselves. Our commitments to partners, community, work are pieces which contribute to the puzzles of our life. Morrie was defined by his connection with young people, his enthusiasm, and his dancing.

Faith, love, and dancing are all acts of great intimacy. Those of us of faith understand that there is no greater love than the life and love that is offered on the behalf of another. We will not gain in our faith by holding our own small portion closely. Faith is gained when we share it. There is no more risk of intimacy than to share your faith with another.

The Love Languages of Discipleship constantly arouse mission, sending all the disciples of Christ to proclaim the Gospel.

In Evangelization, we continuously recognize the adage that true ministry duplicates itself. We share the faith with others so that they might share the faith with others still. Our motivation is not as strongly related to perpetuation of the faith. Our enthusiasm sustains the motivation for others. The enthusiasm of others also is a motivation for us.

In Catechesis, we both encourage and equip the disciple to be able to share. Our faith is so good that we are compelled to share it and thus must prepare ourselves accordingly. Catechesis assists them in effectively responding in faith (apologetics) when challenged about their faith freely chosen and discerned.

What should we do, Lord? We know that You are near. We shout for joy, we sing joyfully, we are glad and exult with all our heart. We cry out with joy and gladness, You are the great and Holy One of Israel.

We shall sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement, We shall shout with exultation for great in our midst is the Holy One of Israel. The LORD, our God, is in our midst.  He is a mighty savior. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in our midst, we have no further misfortune to fear. We can remain confident and unafraid. Our strength and our courage is the LORD, and he has been our savior.

We are filled with expectation, and are asking in our hearts: Rejoice over us with gladness, renew us in your love, O Lord. Baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. so that we might share in the mission of preaching the good news to the people.

My youngest child, Meghan, turns 18 today.  It seems as if the family has now officially run out of kids.

(Beyond serving as the ingénue of this blog’s favorite viral video,)  Meghan is the sweetest kid that you ever wanted to know.  She is a good friend to her friends, the equally loving, admiring, and irritating baby sister to her siblings, and a great kid of whom any parent would be proud.

She has started her freshman year in college and all seems to be going well.  Updates are easy to come by via consistent phone calls and facebook postings and, from this week, a surprise visit while on vacation.

Meghan, I am so proud of who you have become and who you are still growing into who you will be.

Happy Birthday, Meghalegh!

Man, I needed that.

As reported last Friday, I departed a wonderful youth ministers’ retreat lead by Marilyn Santos and a snowstorm-y Baltimore and headed down to Daytona Beach for a few days.  My mom has a condo which is literally on the beach.

I had long nights of sleep, played some cards and was spoiled with some fine meals, read three books, sat and napped in the sun (last day… 87 degrees!), and, basically – - – totally vegged. (picture is the late afternoon view from “my chair.”)

On the last day, I gained a bonus day and took the opportunity to surprise the youngest daughter for a campus tour and a lunchtime run to Cold Stone Creamery which was one of those “rental car – some dollars, long drive – some hours, ice cream with daughter – - -  priceless” experiences.

Was back in the office yesterday with two out-of-office commutes (on a cloudy 41 degrees day) and one monstrous backlog of e-mail.

Vacation – - – Man, I needed that.

Most publications run a year-end series not unlike a “Top Posts of 2009.” Turns out that we are not above that sort of thing.  (Review #10-7 here.) 

The #6 posting of the year was published on May 11th.

I Dare You.

In spring, we find ourselves fully engaged in a time of beginnings. Confirmations invite young people to live their faith more fully within their relationship with the Church. Graduations send students outside their school halls towards their future in the world.    

They are many messages that can be offered at these times. Last year, Harry Potter author JK Rowling reminded Harvard graduates that “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” Oprah spoke at Duke’s graduation last weekend. In previous commencement speeches, she has said, “What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God’s way of pointing you in a new direction.”
Yet, the truest commencement speech I heard this year came from the recent movie release of Star Trek. Early in the story, Captain Christopher Pike encounters the son of a fallen comrade. Now a young man, James Tiberius Kirk is reckless civilian who has taken up harassing Starfleet recruits.

Pike confronts Kirk suggesting “You’ve always had a hard time finding your place in this world, haven’t you? Never knowing your true worth. You can settle for less in ordinary life, or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special.” Pike offers this final challenge: “Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including yours. I dare you to do better. Enlist in Starfleet.”

I dare you to do better.

As the older generation passing along the baton in what are clearly difficult times, it is easy to send the young generation forth with our apologies for the present challenges. This does not serve them well.

We should not only caution young people about the need to risk failure. They need to also hear of our anticipations of their successes.

I dare you to do better.

Pike is offering Kirk an opportunity, a choice. He is presenting a style of life, of moving between star systems rather than from moment to moment.

It is with this tone that Pope Benedict XVI, in March, encouraged the young people of Angola. “Do not be afraid to make definitive decisions. You do not lack generosity – that I know! But the idea of risking a lifelong commitment, whether in marriage or in a life of special consecration, can be daunting. You might think: ‘The world is in constant flux and life is full of possibilities… By making a definitive decision, would I not be risking my freedom and tying my own hands?’” The Pope responded that “These are the doubts you feel, and today’s individualistic and hedonist culture aggravates them.”

“I say to you: Take courage!” the Pope challenged, “Dare to make definitive decisions, because in reality these are the only decisions which do not destroy your freedom, but guide it in the right direction, enabling you to move forward and attain something worthwhile in life.”

This is a season of beginnings, of commencement. Beginnings, however, do not happen by looking nostalgically on the past. They occur when we commit with hope and love and prayer towards the future.

“Live long and prosper” has long been a salutation offered by Star Trek’s Mister Spock. As a commencement address, however, it takes on the nature of a direct challenge. I dare you to make definitive decisions. I dare you to do better.

Passion makes the world go round.
Love just makes it a safer place.

Ice T, The Ice Opinion

When our passion turns towards love, we have become transformed from our own personal motivations towards the self-less care for another. When we dance for love, we enter freely into the embrace- attempting to gage the rhythm, tempo, and needs of the partner – offering ourselves to the other.

While we remain motivated by our passions, our sense of love, charity, and compassion detach our zeal from zealotry. If we are to become fully the Body of Christ as church, we must continually understand and care for the whole body.

The Love Languages of Discipleship encourage the gift of communion amongst the faithful by continuous education for community life.

In Evangelization, we recognize that faith is a personal choice lived within a communal experience. We must celebrate the gift of each individual’s imprint and contribution to our shared dance. A faith unshared in selfless community is a faith on or of the self, not God. We most fully appreciate our experience of God when we share it, compare it, and contrast it against the experiences of others.

In Catechesis, we recognize that the challenges of living as church demand that always remain involved in expanding our knowledge. The faith to be shared in common includes two centuries’ worth of further revelation from God, the witness of the saints, and shared tradition. This includes awareness of the faith that both unites us as well as distinguishes us as Catholic Christian.

Most publications run a year-end series not unlike a “Top Posts of 2009.” Turns out that we are not above that sort of thing.  The #7 posting of the year was published on August 11th

How We Roll

Recently saw this Associated Press picture and it got me thinking…

There are just some things that we do to remind ourselves that we are youthful and just slightly disrespectful of the norms of the day.

When I was running the NCCYM in Birmingham in 2000, I packed along a scooter.  Of course, it was no good on hotel rugs, but in the exhibit halls and on the skywalk, I was able to really “scoot” around.

After a day of move-in and entering into pre-conferences, I was actually “pulled over” by the bike patrol of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center who has a ban on skateboards and scooters outside their property and decided that a forty-year-old was a potential risk inside their facilities.

But, back to the picture . . .

The skateboarder? Tony Hawk.

The hallway?  Inside the White House.

Hawk’s age, by the way, during his Father’s Day visit to DC was the same as mine while I scooted Alabama (His skill, in comparison to mine, was a different matter!)

No matter, what the age, we youth ministers can just do some silly things, every now and then, like dressing up in a super-hero costume, or volunteering to be a moon walking bear, or pulling an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke, because… well… that’s how we roll.

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

Martha Graham

When we dance, we find ourselves in a familiarity and rhythm with others. We touch, we hold, we embrace, we dip. Love songs are written for dancers to engage in a public prelude to more private intimacies. It is our passions that motivate us.

There should be very minimal disassociation regarding our life choices and our faith. Our very being, our choices, and our passions must be incorporated into our beliefs and faith as much as our faith and beliefs must inform our being, choices, and passions. The tag line for the movie The Passion of the Christ was “Dying was His Reason for Living.” Your passions are your reason for living. Your passions are in the depths of your soul, the dance of life is the language used to express those passions.

The Love Languages of Discipleship initiates the faith and the Christian life as well as equip one with the essential expression and relationship, found in prayer, for that life.

In Evangelization, we strive to invite people to moments where they might find themselves to be not unlike those disciples on the road to Emmaus. This passion can only be caught in the witness and presence of passionate people. There is no middle ground- people of faith are either passionate or dead. Evangelization is the expressed invitation to live a life changed by “hearts burning” with faith and passion.

In Catechesis, we understand that the heated embers of passions will cool and diminish if they are removed from the source flame. Life is hard and the dance can be tiring or seem tiresome. In teaching and encouraging prayer, we are inviting disciples to continuously rekindle themselves to the Source and Spirit of our passions and faith.

Most publications run a year-end series not unlike a “Top Posts of 2009.” Turns out that we are not above that sort of thing. 

The #2 posting of the year was published on July 18th and is part of a series of videos that we hope to pick back up for this year-long celebration is over.

Year for Priests – The Chalice

In week four of our celebration of the Year for Priests, Father Austin Murphy of the Newman Center at Towson University tells a story of his former pastor, Father Fortenbaugh. In this brief video, he reminds us of the continuity of the priesthood through the ages, from Christ to his apostles to our priests today.

In Acts 28: 20, the Apostle Paul spoke to the presbyters of the church at Ephesus encouraging them to “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of God that he acquired with his own blood.”  Father Austin speaks of the gift of a chalice and the many years of service of that cup in containing the Blood of Christ.

Are there others around you who might watch over the Good Shepherd’s flock, a church acquired with His own blood?  Please consider forwarding this e-mail to them and sharing your hopes for the future with them.

On some side notes: Fr. Austin is also a blogger, and you can read about his perspective on the video here. And, this concept is catching on…  Look here at what our neighbors in Arlington have done!  Sweet visual bumpers at the beginning (wish I had those skills) and good stories about our priests!

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears,
however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

Dancing is so often a communal activity – the high school prom, the wedding reception. While it seems easy to follow a flock mentality and just join along, dancing still also remains a solitary activity. We remain very conscious of our selves within the crowd.

The Lord of the Dance is the same Good Shepherd to which the bag boy referred in the story of the Young Woman of limited resources. He is a Good Shepherd who promises abundant life. When looking, however, at the context of the full passage, the disciple modifies his life to remain in the knowledge of the Lord as well as aware of the voice of the Lord.

The Love Languages of Discipleship sing out Jesus’ invitation to “Follow Me” as well as to “repent.” If we are to be followers of the Lord, we must atone and place our lives in conformity with that of the Messiah.

In Evangelization, we remain consistent in our summons to choose to respond to the song. We sing of our God who took upon our humanity to free us from our sinful nature. The new life that that is both the refrain of the Gospel song as well as the promise for the disciple must continually resonate from our lives. The song of our faith can become the soundtrack of our lives, offering direction and meaning to our life.

In Catechesis, we come to the recognition that disciples converted to the Gospel message will transform their lives and prosper in the richness of the life promised by the Good Shepherd. Education that challenges the disciple as well as informs decisions for a moral life is essential. The song of our faith is meant to influence the pace and intention of each and everyone of our steps.