Bible Study!

New Yorkers love to try to shock you.  The thing is, everyone has been shocked so much, nothing is shocking anymore.  What would be considered appalling, weird, wrong, backwards, inappropriate, or stupid in other places is just considered normal here.  In fact, if you give anything a second glance, then you are labeled as being judgmental.  Well, call me judgmental, but yesterday, on the Subway (aka Sway),I stood next to a man who looked like he had just had his head cut open with an axe.  Blood was running down his face and had stained his shirt, and he was just chatting with some lady who looked as if she had just been clobbered with a bat.  Of course, I realized they must have been actors coming home from a show, but you never know in this city.  Why didn't they clean up before they went home?  Were they trying to shock me and all the others whom they encountered?  Maybe.  I don't know.  I don't really care, either.  It was just weird, and I'm sticking to that.

Anyway, I had my first Bible Study on Wednesday!  I've never lead a Bible Study before.  I'm leading a group of freshman girls through a new FOCUS study called, The Crux.  The study presents the basic Gospel message in 5 short weeks, exploring how Scripture reveals to us the person of Jesus Christ and discussing why He is relevant to us today, with the purpose of inviting the students to make Christ at the center of their lives at the end.  We'll then continue on with another study of choice.  I'm pretty dern excited.  The girls seemed to click!  It was great!

On Thursday Team Columbia got to take a day of reflection with Father Gabriel of the CFRs.  We went upstate a couple hours (read: trees, grass, hills, lakes, peace and QUIET!!!!!!!!) to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving for a Sister that Father knows who recently made her final vows with the Monastic Family of Bethlehem.  She grew up in the Maronite rite, so the Maronite Bishop of the Eastern United States came and celebrated Mass.  It was so beautiful!  Most of the chants were in Aramaic or Arabic.  Then they gave us cake and wine.  Yes, please!

And then yesterday, I got to spend an hour with my sweet cousin, Lauren, in Central Park.  (Why her parents named her Lauren, I still don't know.  Talk about confusing when we have the same last name...)

That's all for now.  Ready for another week!