The Lights are on...and my Girl is coming Lord

A glorious vigil here tonight. Kellie Marie, our fourth child prepares to receive Christ tomorrow for the first time. I hope soon the whole church reopens fully so we can get back to receiving the food which nourishes our eternal souls. The Lord is lonely for far to long. He calls for us, he searches for us, he nourishes us. We should have never left him so alone. I am so proud to go with our Kellie Marie and take her to meet the Lord.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Pray for us.

-ehw

The Hope of Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Lady of Sorrows your heart pierced seven times yet never flinching in your hope, faith and love for God the Father, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit which rested on you bringing Jesus into the world. Pray for us, and intercede for our needs today when your greatest pains only further united you with God. Teach us how to use our suffering to do the same on this Good Friday.

-ehw

Sharing a Passion - Fatherhood

My my first child sketches with pen and paper. My second child is a woodworker and nerf gunsmith. My third child, is the first child of mine to want to make images and videos. It is his second most favorite thing after fishing. It is quite fun to have someone who gets excited if I say we could get up early (like before sunrise) to leave the house to take pictures. (I’m still seeing what #4-6 like to do besides eat donuts).

I’m going to take the moments while I can with him…and savor them. I enjoy talking with him about something, instead of telling him how it is. On cold mornings, I like sharing coffee with him and talking about how Jesus wants us to live. I enjoy seeing his pride as he moves from photo to video…and works proudly in manual mode (which I rarely use….aperture or shutter for me). I love being able to share lenses with him! I love seeing the boy try to become the young man God is calling him to be.

A challenging part of fatherhood is the finding the thing which connects you to your kids. It is hard work to find the connection, but when you find it I think it is the absolute best moments you ever have in the job.

-ehw

Visual Brutalism and its Effect on Society

While out and about I meet a lady deeply embedded in the fight against mental illness, drug abuses, and depression. She had the unique mix of book smarts, real world experience, people savy, and deep Catholic faith to offer great insights to me. One lesson she put out there was how many of the people she works with just have nothing to cling to or look up to.

She said many people have faith in God, but they cannot articulate a form to their faith in the divine. People lose trust in instututional faith groups as guides, but also cannot find their own way in this world through the clutter. People are drawn to some universal good, but without spiritual form or guides cannot move effectivey towards this good they desire. She is really worried about the huge pain being suffered by law enforcement. People willing to save others, but falling into despair themselves.

Last month I learned more about the concept of Brutalism, and how it manifests itself visually. Churches once pointed high, were structured to be symbols of theology, and were adorned in art glorifying the struggle to obtain sainthood and God’s word. This concept of beauty, leading to higher enlightment, also existed in the non-church culture. This sadly is no more.

Today we see huge walls, devoid of art. Art we see in many churches, hotels and public buildings are nothing but shapes with no higher meaning. The hallway in my photo above has lines which run you into a solid, blank wall if you follow them. Running into a blank wall, and knowing the collision only harms the runner seems to be a great symbollic interputation of Brutalism. There is something intriging in the photo, but the subject of the photo raising me to a higher purpose is not going to happen.

So this brought me all the way back to what I wanted to do with this blog. I wanted my images to collectively point to something greater than me…I desparately want them to point to God. I could not help but think what effect it would have if we surrounded ourselves with symbols of God’s higher purpose. If we learned their meanings, and used them to guide us in forming our lives towards the good would it help? What if instead of leaving public walls blank, what if we made them ornate with imagery pointing towards compliance with Natural Law?

We live in a world of complex problems. Part of the solution is to replace Brutalism with Beauty. We need to stop running into walls. We need to know we were made to cling to greatness in our spirit which comes from God, and find the form to get there. Through Beauty guided with purpose from above, maybe we can learn to save others and ourselves for the final gift of heaven.

-ehw

Christmas, Good Friday and Easter

On the Epiphany my thoughts came together on the intertwining of Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. In our world we often try to focus on the “hopeful” story. The reality is we cannot get to Easter without the first two, and our God wrote it all into the bible’s imagery for us to know this. I spent all season looking for a photo to capture this, and I finally did last weekend.

On Christmas Mary gave birth to the Jesus, the son of God, second person of the Trinity, in a manger. The infinite became finite The all power powerful became vulnerable. In order to atone for the sins of man, God became both humanities’ High Priest and sacrifice. His first clothes were swaddling clothes. These clothes normally wrapped the dead. His first manger was a feeding trough where animals feed. What grain put in a feeding trough to feed the flock is not already dead? This all foreshadows Jesus’ sacrificial death, and feeding us with his own body in the Eucharist.

On Good Friday Jesus would hang from a man crafted tree called a cross. A tree devoid of life, on which should hang condemned criminals. People who no longer get to live in society. On this dead tree Christ, would complete the ultimate sacrifice foreshadowed at Christmas, and break open the doors to heaven. His body forever broken of its finite bonds, it shatters death, and opens the doors of heaven. From heaven he continues to feed us as the High Priest with the bread of life at every mass, absolve our sins in confession, and await us as our judge at the end of time.

So Christmas supports the total victory of Easter. You cannot have Easter without Christmas. You cannot have the meaning of Easter without the context of Christmas.

Driving on a back road here in Loudoun County, I saw this manger before a cross, graveyard and church. I immediately saw the trough, the cross and its victory it can offer over death and sin if we embrace the full truth of the Gospel in our lives. I hope you do too.

God Bless You!

-ehw

(You can see cross much faster in the black and white, which focuses us on shapes and leading lines. Also a quick thanks to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who taught me this in the Life of Christ!)

Little Color in a Dreary Day

    I heard much sad news, was stuck indoors, and saw the constant clouds out the window today.  So I looked for a moment of solace.  To find one I went into "view my memories mode"...and found a bit of color to share.  It helped me think of the glory of God, and crack at smile to end the day.

The Cowgirl

    My Cowgirl...

    The title suits my baby Big Girl.  Took this after a hot day, late summer birthday party with her friends riding ponies.  I swear you can see her independence, sweetness, and sass all in one shot.  

    Some people say a good portrait is supposed to let you see more than the image of a person...it is supposed capture the essence of the person.  I can use some more practice, but this captures Kelley....

Joyful Fatherly Moment on the Range

     Time is in very short around here.  It is a constant race against time to get up, feed, cloth, clean, teach, maintain, and then get back to bed before it starts all over again.  It seems at least half of the eight of us are always out of sync with the others....Too often our weekends are merely Groundhog Days.  

    Well in the midst of all this I was able to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity provided by the Cherokee Gun Club.  I was able to spend over four hours with the two big boys on the range learning safety, good habits, and showing them what a fun lifetime hobby looks like under the guidance of an incredibly patient guide and trainer from the club.  Look them up, and if you have kids who want to learn the same...contact them.  You will not regret it, in fact you'll be trying to schedule another visit!  The boys will not let me forget to...and Momma liked the confidence the boys came home with.

    The key to the day was the tutelage of Mr. Richard.  You will not find a calmer and nicer man to enforce safety while displaying the joys of shooting.  He listens, coaches, and keeps the focus of boys in a way I wish I could emulate.  He made my job of being an extra safety and assistant coach a joyous one. In fact he made it easy for me to come home and say I helped my boys grow up a bit today.  So I got as much a gift from today as they did.

    One message I always find myself returning to in this blog is why my photography is important to me...and it so much relates to life.  You have to find the good moments and appreciate them.  Today was one of those good moments to be a Dad.  Thanks God and the Cherokee Gun Club.

-ehw

Gone Fishing- Photo Essay

Just a few shots from going out and about with Kevin after dinner tonight. This boy may have a hard time concentrating on finishing his dinner, but he focuses pretty hard out here with his rod and reel.

Walking his line down to lure the fish in...

Dad I had a steong nibble

The Tin Fish which got away today

My little fisherman

Carry Your Cross

     Carry your cross today.  The Saints remind us, the only way to heaven is through the cross.  We must suffer, and learn to rejoice in that suffering.  This is such a hard concept if we are of this world and not Christ's.  (I struggle with this debate daily myself!)  So let us not be like the masses and flee our Lord in his time of need.  Let us take up our personal cross, and follow Christ in his way of the Cross.

PS  Please pray for the boys...we start carrying our cross today at 1155, St Brigid to Regina Caeli, Academy.

-ehw

Happiness Comes From....

    St John Paul the Great says: "No one apart from God can give you true happiness."  He calls us to follow the example of Mary, in complete unconditional "yes" with no compromise or laziness. "Humanity is in urgent need of the witness of free courageous people who dare go against the tide and proclaim with vigor and enthusiasm their personal faith in God, Lord and Savior."  This mission is never easy...and is impossible if we rely on the power of man alone.  He quotes Luke to remind us "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

    I am starting to get "it" in the long line of repentant sinners knowing I just need to do what we should.  Tonight I'll pray we can all embrace the power of the supernatural God to be what we are truly called to be in our eternal home.

(Quotes and Lesson courtesy of Lent and Easter, Wisdom from Pope John Paul II, Compiled by John V. Kruse and published by Liguori Publications page 54)

Faith, Hope, Charitas- A Photo Essay

In the darkest of times...where people keep faith in God they will find hope he placed in our hearts by the same God to do the works of charitas needed to build a foothold of his kingdom on earth, and earn entrance to his kingdom in eternal life.

If we loose the faith...the darkest of times becomes a very dark eternity without hope, and a complete isolation of self from others and our creator.

-ehw

When Times are Crazy - Pray for one moment of peace

    The last two weeks were crazy: Long work days, family fighting off various rounds of the December virus, robotics competition, about two cords or more of fallen tree branches in the yard, family challenges that come with six kiddos, we lost a great American soldier I once was proud to call my own, trying to discern God's will for my family, and a dozen other crazy moments and challenges.

    All this made me  have a hard time focusing today.  Very hard!  All that stuff was running around in my head.  Luckily I was able get a good rosary in at church, and then work on that yard doing physical labor for a few hours.  In the rhythm of prayer and breaking down branches I centered myself for a while.  So when Kalen and I came in from the rain, I was able to appreciate this one moment of two boys of mine playing.  

    In that moment of personal peace I was able to catch a photo of two boys secure in a warm house, loving each other, two boys who know they are loved by their parents, and safe from so much evil in the world...for just a moment.  Now at the end of my day a friend lost his son-in-law in an accident, and I know I need to pray for him and his family.  The sorrows and confusion of the world is back on.  They, and so many others, need a moment of peace to begin to work towards healing.

   I'll pray for all those who need their moment, because in my moment of peace I realized again how blessed I am.  Blessings however cannot stay still, they must move on to help others.  So I will do what I can in prayer tonight.  I'll also pray someone who reads this, may just be inspired to join me in looking for moments of peace to share with the world.

-ehw

Amidst the Chaos - Pray

    The world outside is frightful.  The agents of chaos are legion right now.  Mass destruction warfare is now more possible than ever before, because courageous men did not act when the opportunity was present.  In our country, agents of anarchy want to use their evil to deliver tyranny on the masses through imposed Marxism.  In our church, the evil theology of modernism is encased in prelates unfaithful to the unchanging magisterium of Christ's bride on earth.  Inside family life we also have the chaos of too much noise competing for the attention of us parents and our children.

    Now is the time to pray.  Pray for a moment of silent reflection amidst the storms, war, noise and chaos.  Find your moment and ask to be the instrument God needs you to be to bring the world back to him one soul at a time.  Now is the time to become the missionary of his word, to create safe havens for our families to make the new missionaries, and to remember this struggle is an eternal one on God's timeline not ours.

    Like everything else the Lord teaches...what seems hopeless by the world's terms is actually the situation where we can use his power working through us for miracles in our time to flow.  It all starts with a prayer to beat back the chaos.  The call is now out there...what do you say>

-ehw

What We Can Miss

    I was able to enjoy a slightly different dinner Wedensday night....excellent sushi.  The little Ichiban Sushi restaurant was done up just like many a sushi joint I remembered as a child in Japan. In this age of cell phones I found most of us miss out on the little things in our environment.  I this case a traditional Japanese fishing boat right over my head on the window called me to photograph it.  Rather than just photograph it, I took the time to compose and make some art of the image.  It is just something I would miss i i hac not forced myself to enjoy the environment for a minute or two.

Place of Refuge

   Amidst the hustle bustle of Northern Virginia sits little St John the Beloved Catholic Church.  From the outside it appears to be a typical 1950's design of a church, lacking the traditional calling cards.  Walking inside was a surprise.  During adoration Gregorian chants filled the church, the altar was made the centerpiece, and based on the appearance of the cushions all around the sanctuary it it had an altar rail in use at mass for communion.  It was wonderful, and adoration was full of people coming, praying and heading back out into the world.  On my way out I found a wonderful board filled with men and women entering religious life, heading the call of the Lord.  What a way to go forth.

    Sometimes the wrapper just does not tell you what you are really looking at!   Thank you St. John the Beloved.

-ehw

Lessons From the Road to Josiah Anthony

    Yesterday we welcomed our newest family member, Josiah Anthony to the family.  He is a wonderful little boy, and the family gallery moments are full of rich loving emotion.  People viewing these photos would think we live in a wonderful version of wonderful TVLand where all is right in the world.  In reality though, the photos reflect a grace filled moment resulting from a gutwrenching year of enrichment leading to it.

    Over the last year as a family we faced many challenges.  Our adventures extended not far from the house.  Daddy led only minimalist excursions, Momma struggled with health issue after issue, kids got sick, we faced challenges at school, in discipline, and we all lost our marbles from a problem or issue more than once.  NONE of those moments were the type of Rockwell images I relish to build in either my personal or photographic life.  I certainly never captured those moments outside of own cranium. 

    Friends can't come over, Daddy is at work, and Momma is too sick to drive?  Hope for tomorrow and play with your siblings.  Tired of groundhog Saturdays with no adventure...shut up and finish a job you had not finished in the house.  Tired of having to do more and more chores, lacking Mom's presence in your life because she is perineally sick, or the thought you now have bigger bills to pay?  Pray on why your giving into vices, and hit confession to seek forgiveness. 

   In the valleys of life we always have a choice to help ourselves go lower, hold the course or begin to climb to the ridgeline again.  I know the only way we reached this glorious moment yesterday though, was because of our collective responses to those low points.  We only occasionally failed to stay at or gain altitude, and never went into a terminal decent.  The key to our family response was our collective final decision always kept hope alive through acts of faith and charity.  We also paid up lots of pennace to each other for our internal transgressions.

   We had a moment in some glorious graces, and now we are back to reality.  A huge tree fell in the yard, feedings every three hours around the clock, littles now need to re-establish the household order, health needs restoration, there will be more chores to do, and needs to meet.  The reward though will be more lessons leading us to greater heights of love, and good photographic moments.

  So off to work we go! 

-ehw

Living Memories of a Good Priest

    God blesses us from time to time with people in our lives who call us out and inspire us to new heights of growth.  My son, and family, were blessed to know Father Austin Fogarty at St. Thomas Aquinas Church from 2012 until his death.  My Kevin would never allow Father Austin to leave the church without a high five during the procession.  In 2016, two years after Father passed, my son went to cry some more at his graveside.

   It was therefore a great deal of happiness yesterday, we were able to enjoy a good bit of Father Austin's handiwork at St. George Parish in Newnan, Georgia.  Based on what Father did at St. Thomas Aquinas to repair and beautify the sanctuary, we could feel his handiwork all over the church.  We even found notes to the parish sacristan with reminders for care of chalices with his name on it.

    It made me ponder how our material works can still help the living after our passing.  I realize we cannot take anything material with us beyond the grave.  However, if what we build with our hands and hearts is rooted in God's Law we can leave a living memorial capable of inspiration far beyond our death to generations beyond.  I know this was true here, because my Kevin shed no tears yesterday.  He instead marveled at the works of this fatherly priest, and how he urged him to live a life for Christ.

   So today we will pray for our beloved friend and priest, Father Austin Fogarty.  I pray he finds himself wrapped in the love of Jesus, at rest from his pains endured here on earth.  While we miss you, we will not let that selfishness keep us from living as you asked us to here on earth with the people of God.

Vocations Prayers Please!

    This weekend the 9AM needed a volunteer family to take home an older chalice, called the Elijah Cup, and put it in a prominent place in the home.  Every time we see it, we should be praying for an increase in responses to vocation calls from Christ. 

   Well the kids asked and jumped into the isle...as another family further up and on the side also went up.  To make it even more interesting a family up front, good friends of ours, also started to leap up and then stopped.  We did not see the Deacon motion to the family to our right so we kept charging down the isle...so the six of us kept walking to the delight and laughter of the parish on collision course with the other family!

   As we saw the other family come into view ahead of us, we sheepishly turned about.  We were headed back to our pew for the dismissal rite when we heard a booming voice...."Wait we have another one!"  from Father John Bosco Tri.  So we went on up and accepted the cup he held!

   I don't think Father Tri was going to let us go.  See Father Tri and my John Paul already had a little talk.  Father Tri offered John Paul use of his vestments two weeks ago....he seems pretty sure my JP will join him soon.  (JP is only 22 months old right now so they are a little big on him.)

   The serious side of all this is however, we need everyone to respond deeply to their vocation call.  God does not stop issuing vocation calls.  The problem is we just don't respond as we should primarily due to fear. Fear of giving ourselves away totally to God's design, fear of the reaction to our family, fear of the ridicule the world will put on us for being "old fashioned", or even fear of not knowing a safe place to begin the journey.

   The result is a horrible vacuum.  One priest for thousands of families, and the loss of nuns to build social networks of schools and services all mean the Body of Christ does not get the care it needs.  A loss of religious vocations means families suffer as well, because trained religious are not there to nourish with sacraments, knowledge of sacramentals, and caring hands.  The carnage does not end there though with the failure to heed our vocations. 

    How many fathers are afraid to lead their domestic church towards God? How many mothers are not bringing the heart of Christ into the daily routines of family life with courage?  Without true fatherhood and maternal care, the fires of vocation will merely smolder in our souls.  Never will the vocation fire burn bright for either task God could give us.  All this leads to greater pain for the body of Christ as marriages suffer, sacraments go under offered and utilized, and churches close. 

    Recently I read how Mother Teresa understood her spiritual darkness to be her participation in the pain Christ has when we reject his cry of thirst to add our soul to his.  Imagine how we could soothe Jesus suffering if we all began to encourage children to become religious if they receive the call?  On their journey to discernment, we parents would need to grow in our faith as well since we are their first teachers.  A testament to this growth of faith, would be the rejection of the contraceptive movement, and the growth of larger families once again in Catholic households.   From larger families historically come greater the number of vocations.  This occurs since boys and girls do not feel the subconscious need to ensure there is an heir for the family name, or someone to care for parents in old age.

   So pray for a great response to the vocations God sends us at any time in our lives! 

Here is a short prayer for vocations I found:

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of wisdom and divine love, impart Your knowledge, understanding, and counsel to youth that they may know the vocation wherein they can best serve God. Give them courage and strength to follow God's holy will. Guide their uncertain steps, strengthen their resolutions, shield their chastity, fashion their minds, conquer their hearts, and lead them to the vineyards where they will labor in God's holy service.
Amen.

From EWTN: Click here to see the original

Faces from Today in the Past and Freedom

    As a college student I really enjoyed my history assignments.  Being a photo guy, I of course dug deeply into my pictures, maps and diagrams.  In my senior year at West Point I watched my company pass in review on parade on my first personally acquired camera.  When I printed the photos I found myself looking at a present day image, which could be from the relatively distant past if were not for some modern building in the background. 

   I was soon looking at every historical image differently.  Every image of a battle, congressional debate, city street, factory or farm had me replacing the face of yesteryear with one of ours.  We could be those past people,  if it was not for an accident of historical timing.  This made me appreciate photography even more, and my own place in history.

    The event also made me remember a quote I heard from President Ronald Reagan a few years earlier:

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."

(From the Quotations Page)

    While our DNA will allow us to recreate moments as actors from the past with ease, certain important lessons such as the American concept of freedom only will be passed on and lived with through deliberate efforts.  Putting myself into the shoes of soldiers, statesmen, explorers, industrialists, farmers and my forefathers getting off the boat only made this lesson easier to understand.

-ehw