The paradoxes of Christianity

Christianity is kind of crazy.

Don't believe me?  Just read the Beatitudes.  The meek shall inherit the earth.  Huh?  The meek?  Yeah, them.

Jesus tells us:
Become a slave to find freedom.
Die to be born anew.
Suffer to find deeper joy.
Give yourself away to be full.
Find joy in persecution.

Weird.

But really, it's not weird.  It's just greater than me and you and greater than human instinct and desire and wisdom.  It's beautiful, really, what the Lord does:

For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith. (1 Corinthians 1:21)

He makes worldly wisdom worthless, so that man should not boast.  He makes His wisdom (the cross) seem foolish so that faith is necessary to believe.

And St. Paul gets it.  He says, For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning (1 Corinthians 1:17).  The Cross of Christ speaks for itself.  No need for fancy rhetoric or eloquent wording.  It's quite easy to get caught up in that stuff, though, especially here in the Ivy Leagues.  Blah.


For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2: 2)

Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.  Nothing else matters if not for Him.  And because of Him, we can find joy in suffering, we can find freedom in conforming (to His will), we can find new life in death to ourselves.

Thank you, Jesus!

Happy Lent!

Why happy Lent?  Because, as St. Paul says: now is the day of salvation.  Woohoo!

So many Catholics come to Ash Wednesday Mass!  It's wonderful!  It's even more than usually come to Sunday Mass.  I'm not quite sure why it's that way.  But it's an amazing opportunity for us as missionaries to reach out to those who may not be practicing regularly.  Father Dan gave a killer homily in which he invited people to restore and rekindle their relationship with God.  He echoed the words of St. Paul in the second reading: We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Ash Wednesday is not even a Holy Day of Obligation, yet it seems like the chapel is overflowing with people.  And it's the only time of the year that, for the rest of day, you're walking around with a very obvious mark on your forehead.  You're basically waving a sign around that says, "I'm Catholic".

Ergo, we decided to take advantage of this opportunity.  The team, my disciple Rosie, and I made it a point to meet every ash-marked student on Columbia's campus we could find.  We got to introduce ourselves in a pretty natural way, let them know we are available to them as support, and even invite a few people to Bible study!  It was fun.

I pray that you really dive into this Lenten season and accept the forgiveness the Lord offers all those who call upon Him!

New Teammate!

Get excited, people.  I would like to introduce you all to my new teammate... *drum roll please*

Michael!  Ta daaaa.  Last semester, Michael worked in Denver at FOCUS headquarters in the International Missions department working on advertising stuff.  He was doing an internship to finish up his degree in advertising at South Dakota State University.  Now, I know what you're thinking- "Two people on the same team in NYC from South Dakota?  What!  Two?  I didn't even think there were people in South Dakota!"  It's okay and totally understandable, because I thought the same thing.

Michael has really been good for our team, bringing much joy and a renewed zeal.  He is hilarious and a very good and holy brother in Christ.  Please pray for him, as it is hard to start as an on-campus missionary mid-semester.

A bientot!