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

God's Path in the World

    As three of us (Carrie, John Paul and I) walked up the trail to Anna Ruby Falls I could not help but think of my son Kevin.  Almost every time we are out in the woods he says,"God made nature, and I like it."  Kevin, at the tender age of nine, recognizes God imprinted his law on us through natural law.  He "gets it" better than most of us much older folks.  I just wish the politicians would go back and read the Declaration of Independence, and learn the founders state all laws must conform to natural law (or nature's God) to be just.

    Many people today, afraid to be labeled religious or tied to a group, call themselves "spiritual."  They find their way on their own through the forrest of life.  If they are attentive to natural law, and heed it, they have great potential to make good choices in their moral lives.  The problem with just finding your "own way" though the forrest, is your experiences are very narrow.  So the chance for misinterpreting a sign is higher than if you had advice on reading the signs as you approach a rattlesnake habitat.  If you stumble and the snake strikes, no one will be there to hear your cry.  There is also nothing supernatural to sustain your body and soul in this earthly journey if you go it alone.

    In this photo I purposefully left the trail in the shot.  I did this because as I thought of Kevin's statement, I was also thinking of the peace which comes from growing ever more into a Catholic life.  The trail stood out in my viewfinder.  With each glance I found a reminder of how God also gave us so much more than natural law.  He gave us a path of safety through the dangerous forrest of life, and a means to walk it.  All we need to do is use the path and his grace to avoid the greatest dangers of the forrest.

    I revel in the knowledge I do not have to be Solomon, Thomas Aquinas, Teresa of Avila or John Paul II to survive in the forrest.  I just have to turn to the collective wisdom imparted over almost 6,000 years through revelation and illumination of God's laws to my church and the world!   Being the thinker I am, I fall more in love with the Catholic magisterium as each new lesson clicks into place like custom made Lego blocks in a slick design.  I know this magisterium is stronger than the efforts of fallible men who may try to twist it to their own political designs.

    Not only do we Catholics have the lessons, but we can receive supernatural graces pouring forth from sacraments.  God cleanses in baptism, restores with mercy in confession, nourishes at communion, sanctifies matrimony and holy orders, and comforts in anointing of the sick.  So not only do I get a path to follow, but a complete pit crew as well for my life journey using supernatural grace.  This allows God to be with me in every place, in my body, and in my most important earthly relationships.

    So God's path through the forrest is the one I chose.  I pray after reflection, you may chose to investigate the strongest and safest path through the woods to heaven.

The First Steps towards understanding Mercy

        Today our youngest, John Paul, got serious about crawling.  A few little steps and lunges at a time, but it is the beginning of his journey towards independence.  The troubles and joys this will bring will arise in the minds of each and every parent who survived it at least once.

    One of the interesting things about our John Paul, compared to his four siblings, is his very delayed desire to crawl.  The fact is the boy loves his standing bouncy toy.  He bounces in that thing for hours each day.  He also realizes if you walk, your hands can play with toys when you go places.  So the reality is, crawling is not a very efficient or fun use of time.  So after some coaching, the boy finally realized all the pieces for walking are not in place yet...so crawling is not such a step down.

    Today I decided to join the nine day consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary being directed by Father Heilman of the website The Roman Catholic Man (Nine Day Consecration) using the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe.  I'm already glad I did the reading and lesson...because like John Paul I found myself wanting to walk faster in faith, but I found myself without all the necessary tools.

   The one lesson I gained the most from today is the need for mercy in the grand plan for creation.  I recently came to understand grace as the extension of kindness to the unworthy, and mercy as the withholding of a justified punishment.  This made sense, but how does that relate to our salvation.

   St. Maximillian Kolbe explains the role of mercy in salvation history in the form of a math problem we all once faced in middle school.  Remember the problem where the teacher says:"To win this game you must obtain 100 apples.  I will start you with 33.  How long will it take you to obtain 100 apples if I give you 1/3 of difference you are missing each day?"  At first you say two days!  1/3 each day!  Then reality sets in.  

    You realize each day you would get only 1/3 of the way to the objective each day no matter how hard you try.  Even when you are down to one apple, the teacher will only give you a third of the remaining apple needed to reach victory.   Therefore you will NEVER reach 100 apples because I will keep giving you smaller and smaller slices for ever!

  Having the sun shine on us as we collect those apple parts would be a whole lot of grace.  But to reach 100 apples you need a game changer.  That game changer would be mercy from someone who will bridge the gap by giving you some of his apples, I will not provide, to reach 100.

  This is the mercy we need from God everyday.  We are imperfect creatures, and no matter how hard we try will always be imperfect.  God took care of this imperfection problem by providing a game changing assist. God the creator of our souls, worked through the Holy Spirit to place Jesus in our physical world as the son of Mary.  

    God became one of us, spoke to us, broke open the gates of hell, and offered each of us a spot in his family through his offer of adoption.  These acts provide us the missing "apples" to put 100 in in our basket if we but stay on track to be in his family.  This offer of mercy still must be earned, but it sits on the table for all to take advantage of if we are smart enough to grasp it.

    Quite a lesson, and there was so much more...what a wonderful journey to start crawling on.

-ehw

Was this a test of Faith?

     Yesterday as I ate lunch I overheard two men discussing faiths other than their own Evangelical beliefs.  One gent was a little louder than the other, and I could clearly hear someone in his past incorrectly explained a number of Catholic beliefs to him.  He then said, I am willing to,listen to what they (Catholics) have to say, but from what I know they are going to hell.

     I was nervous, because inside me I was hearing a call to simply explain the errors he heard.  To let him know if what he said was true (for example that we worship Mary like a God) I could not be That type of "Catholic" either.  So I finished my lunch and made a decision...I would offer to both men my services to understand the Catholic faith from a Catholic who really wants to know truth as well.

     With my mind made up, I walked right up and made the offer.  What followed was one of the most respectful ten minute discussions I've ever had.  We discussed Mary, sin, Saints, intersession, problems with language translations, how God's plans for us all vary in time and process, baptism, reconciliation and our goals in life.  Near the end, one of the men looked at me and said "Why do you know scripture?  Most Catholics don't."

     I told him I was embarrassed I don't know more, but it was a lesson I took from the Evangelicals I met.  One had to have faith, keep learning as an adult, and be willing to share it in evangelization.  So I learn something, learn how much I still don't know, and then adore how the tenets of my faith interlock into something more beautiful with each lesson. 

      When I left I was shaking a bit.  Did I do justice in my explanations?  Did I honor the teachings of the Lord with my deeds?  Did I show my sincere respect for fellow seekers of the Lord's timeless Wisdom?  Did I do what God wanted me to in this test of my faith?

    I've been praying God would discern to me what my future should be...maybe this was part of the process.  Until then I will have to keep praying my Faith grows in the Wisdom of the Lord and I do him honor and Justice in word and deed.   I also will be praying for those two nice men, that they continue to honestly seek the Lord's Wisdom themselves.  The Lord wants nothing less than for us all to come home to Heaven.

Praying for Divine Mercy

   Today Lord you make the perfect sacrifice for me a sinner.  I know you offer grace freely if I but ask. I know I must accept justice for my sins against my fellow man and your creation.  I know my sacrifices here can never be as perfect as your was in antonement for my sins.  So I humbly beg for your Devine Mercy, to which I am not entitled but can only receive through your devine will. 

  I also ask you provide this final gift to the all souls in purgatory...so they can participate in glory of the eternal mass in heaven today.  

St. Faustina pray for us! 

-ehw

And so it begins...the Triduum

    The commisioning of priests and institution of the Eucharist...two great gifts

    The beauty of Holy Thursday never escapes me  Last night as even more beautiful because of the lessons taught to me by so many God seeking people over the last year. Lessons from people who past over 1800 years ago, and lessons from those living amongst us now filled my mind, heart and warmed my soul as we heard the liturgy of the word and celebrated the liturgy of the Eucharist

   Father Tri, of St Brigid Catholic Church, reminded us the story of each life is what makes the church breathe the world. The story each life brings to the church helps pass on its's lessons and beauty from generation to generation  These stories allow the priesthood of the family to connect with the priesthood of the Church.  To make this occur we all must listen, observe and react to the wisdom of God as it works its way into our lives throug everyone around us. 

   The Holy Eurcharist is the foretaste of heaven, the perfect mana, needed to nourish our souls with the grace to navigate e challenges of a fallen world.  When taken in concert with reconciliation it enables us to stay on the path to heaven.  It keeps Christ within our very blood...commingling a bit of heaven with our life here on earth..as we go about our day.  So when we say take Christ with you wherever you go, if we partake of this holy nurishment we can do exactly that.  No other God before or since offered such a gift to mortals.  In fact no other God offered to make lowly man part of himself, and join in perfect communion in heaven, for all eternity if we choose to do so.

   Pray for our priests that they may lead all souls to heaven.  Pray for our priesthood in the family, that each man will be willing to lead their family to the best of their ability to the altar of God.  Pray each mother makes their home a place where the stories of old, new and the future will enable The word of God to reach fertile ears and move those souls to Christ.  Pray for the religious, that by their concerted life they make offerings the rest of us cannot for the salvation of the world.

   So let us begin our Triduum journey, and honor the sacrifices made to bring us all the way to heaven.

-ehw

Kalen helping bring the gifts forward with our Decon in formation Randy Ortiz

A Family Day To Grow in Faith

A day to contemplate our domestic churches

    Today we're taking a family day out to grow in faith at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.  It is also the shrine Mother Angelia led the development of for the Sisters of Poor Saint Claire.  We are blessed to have three priests from our diocease lead the retreat for the Regina Caeli Academy community.

     The domestic church is a central link between God and Man for salvation.  Throughout the entire Old Testament God builds his plan though families.  When Adam and Eve fall, God proclaims there will always be enmity between the offspring of Eve and the devil.  It prefigures the birth of Christ through a new Eve, we now know as Mary.  The creation and nurturing of the covenant relationship between Abraham, Moses, and David reaches its fullfillment in Christ the son of Joseph of Nazareth.

    Joseph was an heir of the of the covenant, and a decendent of King David.  He lived the law handed down for thousands of years.  When Joseph adopted Jesus, he did so under Jewish law.  In Jewish law there was no step-father status,  You were a father, or just another man to a child.  Jesus became entitled to everything Joseph had through adoption, to include his birthright as an heir of the King.  It also bound Jesus, our savior, to the same covenant relationship that each of his earthly forefathers lived under.  Joseph taught Jesus the ways of Jewish life to make aliving and as spiritual as head of family.

    Mary, was the daughter of a temple priest.  Ancient legends also say she also played her part in the temple sewing the sanctuary veil.  As a child, Mary possibly worked on maintaining the physical  barrier between God and the people of Isreal.  As a young woman, Mary broke the barrier by nurturing the Son of God from conception to death.  Through Mary, Jesus Christ inherited the bloodline of a priest of Isreal.  

    In Jesus final moments of life on the cross he also used his role as head of family to make this circle of family ties complete.  As the family high priest he offered himself as the sacrifice for our salvation.  As the head of household, put his earthly affairs in order by ensuring his mother was cared for.  Christ turned to the disciple he loved, and told him Mary was his mother.  Jesus then told Mary the disciple was her son.  Jesus adopted the disciple, and as such Mary was the disciple's mother too.  In this act, Jesus passes the new covenant he set forth and the Queen Mother on to his church family for all eternity.  

    Through the language of family, Christ completes the circle the covenant relationship.  From the family cornerstone our parishes, diocese and universal chruch obtain their form.  It will be a day well spent to contemplate means to strengthen and nurture this critical institution ordained by God himself through natural law at the dawn of the world.  I hope you can find time in your day to do the same!

-ehw

Magical Moment

    Last night we attended a birthday party for one of the teachers at our school.  It was a wonderful night.  What struck me the most about the evening was how deceivingly simple it was.   The teacher's family organized an iPad based karaoke machine, a sign, dessert, music, balloons, the teacher's brother said mass (yes he is a priest), and each family brought food for themselves plus some.  Children vastly outnumbered adults, and even managed the entertainment all night long.  Many teens also assisted us parents by holding (and chasing) infants and toddlers efficiently across the school gymnasium for an hour or two.  

    Above you see my seven year old swing dancing with a wonderful spirited four year old.  Later he was swing dancing with a lovely fifth grader!     I am glad my children will have these memories, and lessons on good social graces.  I will never be able to take them to fancy amusement parks, exotic locations, and even movies are a strain on the budget.  But this type of night was both precious and priceless.  You could even say it was magical.

-ehw

P.S.  Yes the lights were out in the gym.  You can really say it was one of the few times I really wished I had a costly full frame DSLR rig with see in the night capability!

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The simple things...like a sweet dance

-ehw

Minor miracle of Divine Mercy

Stained glass window above the altar of St Pope St John XIII in Miramar, Florida

    As I continue to grow in my faith I strive for constant learning of new devotions and receiving apologetics.  Just before Easter, Catholic Digest arrived at the House. I read it on Palm Sunday.  During my readings I saw a few in depth articles about the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena.  I found myself impressed, and desired to say the novena starting on Holy Thursday.  I was doing other missions over the Tridium and started late...so instead of culminating my novena sunday I finished my novena yesterday.

    Yesterday I left on a trip.  I was not enthused about this trip, too much to do both at home and the office.  As is my custom, I took my camera to see what I could capture for his glory.  As my stomach growled, and light started to wane I quickly searched the map for the keyword Catholic.  Right down the street was St. John XIII Catholic Church.  I set off to visit.  I asked the office if I could take some pictures of the church, and they said yes but to please not bother people in the Adoration Chapel...of course I agreed.  I am sure the lady thought I was crazy, but most people do!

     The photo above was what I first saw when I entered the church.  It is a stained glass version of the Divine Mercy image commissioned by St. Faustina.  I went into the Adoration Chapel to complete my novena for the day.  Around the chapel I found great comfort.  I saw images and traditions from Mexico, Poland, Italy, and Western Europe.  I was at home away from home in the arms of my Catholic faith.

     I know many may not think much of my little reported miracle.  I recently read a set of comments by people about how they could never give themselves over to belief in God.  They said the science just was not there.   I will pray for them to receive the grace of Divine Mercy, so they too can see the little gifts of God's love all around them .  The hug of a child, the kindness of a passer by, the sacrifice needed to preserve true freedom in this world all are things I want and will capture here on this blog. I hope through these little miracles I see and record using the science of light others may come to accept the Grace of God and live in his glory.

-ehw

The hour is almost here!

The hour is almost here! 

Are you ready?  Easter is. Day on the calendar, but the challenge to your faith in the one true God could come at any time.  Are you ready to carry your cross? 

I can only hope and pray I will not fail my Lord when my time comes.  That cross looks heavy to me!

-ehw

A Day of Ashes

    Today starts the longest 40 days of the year: Lent.  I kept up a small tradition of getting a photograph on the way to work at the church I attend for Ash Wednesday mass.  Today it was All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody, Georgia.

    One thing struck me in the morning mass, and it was the fact that Catholics on this day are called to put a sign of repentance on our foreheads.  A mark that we have sinned and now must begin to the repentance and change needed to draw closer to God.  God's mercy is boundless, but it is not available unless we make the internal and external corrections changing our live's to match God's law.  

    This evening (I unexpectedly had to take the big kids since the pregnant momma was feeling ill at noon) the priest specifically cited challenges of our times.  He reminded us of how easy the internet puts threats to marriage, sanctity, chastity, integrity and life in God in front of us.  In many ways, instead of making our lives easier it makes resisting the challenges of evil harder.  He reminded all of us, our guard cannot drop.  The reality is though, we are human and our guard will drop.  

    As a result, this season of reflection and penance is more necessary than ever for us.  It is our chance to refocus our lives towards God.  It is our chance to review where new threats from evil enter our lives, how they hurt our community here on earth.

    I think most people know this.  My wife reminded me tonight Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States.  Despite this fact, she said more people will attend service today on any Holy Day of Obligation on the calendar outside of Easter and Christmas! 

     So in a world which filled the headlines with wicked spiritual warfare from ISIS, a mayor fired a respected and honorable fire chief for the sin of speaking his faith like Pilgrims did, and people steal identities like a monsoon brings rain...we have a sign of hope from the Holy Spirit.  Today more Catholics (and the Anglicans I saw waving on the street for people to come in and visit) went to church to start righting themselves with God's law just because they KNOW THEY NEED GOD to achieve the potential greatness he laid in their souls at conception.  

    Pretty nice thought if you ask me.

-ehw

P.S.  Fujifilm XT-1 with 35mm.  Liking the camera more everyday.  It just works without getting in my way.

Missing my Kiddos →

What does a Daddy miss on a trip?

How about the youngest playing in sand by the lake?

Or the lovely, thoughtful girl writing up her dreams in her special spot?

Or the good son who always tries to please and grow into a responsible young man way to fast?

Or how about the funny boy who always provides us wisdom in words as sharp as diamonds?

And of course the Momma who builds a warm home where love can grow.  (If I posted her photo without permission she'd kick my butt)

Funny how some time away always makes you long for home...and you forget about potty training, the work of cooking for six, someone's sniffles, and the lost this or that...

Well time to head off to work...I bet my feelings are the same as those shared by every good Dad on the way to work...

-ehw

P.S.  Three taken with the new X-E1 and various lenses...and one taken by a six year old Pentax K200D..yep it still takes good pictures if treated nicely! 

Rose of the Americas

St. Rose of Lima...in 31 years of life did everything she could to honor the Lord.

The stories we hear of her life, describe her as a child and woman so beautiful that people would just stop, stare and lose all sense of time.  She hated this adoration, and instead wanted people to honor God.  When told to marry she disobeyed her parents for the first time and said no...she'd already given her heart to Jesus.  She faced many trials created by the devil in her short life, including one described by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, that of losing the ability to feel God's presence.  Instead she often felt alone, and this caused her great sadness.  In the midst of all of this, she cheerfully offered up her suffering as another offering to God.

I am in awe of people such as her.  I'm in awe of my lovely Rose as well, as she kneels to say her prayers in the hallway without prompting at this very moment.  She does not want to disturb her baby sister, who is partying in her crib a few feet away.

St. Rose...and saints in training like my Rose...make me realize how much harder I have to work to be a good servant of Christ example in the lives of those around me.

I hope on this Sunday, you too can think about examples you can following for spreading God's love around the world to make it just that much better.  I know will!

-ehw

P.S.  Mr X-E1 with the 35 F1.4 mounted up.

Two years of Joy!

How fast can two years go?  For child number four, my precious Kellie Marie it is like a stroke of lightening across the sky.  Here are just a few highlights....

Thank you God for every minute I have with each of these incredible people you graced my family with, and charged me to care for.  I can only pray I am doing right by them, and get to do it for a lot longer before you call me home.

-ehw

A child's eye silent night

A great photographer I met once, and listened to often, Scott Bourne once said to explore the world creatively you need to see the world from the mind of a five year old.  Well I've been doing that with my now six year old. Today I reviewed photos he took over the last four months on my old Canon P&S.  My wife mentioned several times he imitates me when he shoots...he was actually doing quite well!  He does video much better than I do!  Well in his photos I did see the sense of wonder I often miss as I get older.

So tonight I set the tripod up and looked at the tree from the level of my two year old.  I just fell into the wonderful world of bliss.  I saw the lights, the shiny ornaments, the dark spots, the smiles on faces, the tassels and beads.  It was fun.  It was like my first memories of Christmas growing up...and when I made up the HDR images I just had to capture the feeling of the moment of when I can remember looking at my family Christmas tree a the age of four or five at Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1974 or 75.

Then I thought about the most important part of the evening...the arrival of Jesus.  A hundred thoughts started running through my mind.  I can see so much of the story rushing together, and my mind is just too slow to understand or explain it right now.  I turned my lens on the family nativity scene, and turned of the lights.  I felt a peace come over me as I worked the light and tried a few different angles.  I began to reflect, that on a night like tonight I don't think Jesus wants us to think too deeply.  He wants us to look at his arrival like a child who can feel something special in the air, and now that in the darkness of the night a child was born who gives peace to our souls if we but choose to listen for the sound of his voice.

-ehw

P.S. Fujifilm X-E1.  These are HDR processed in HDR Efex Pro 2..the second one got a touch up in Perfect Suite 8.

Just the way it clicks

Coming to the water?  Can you imagine how John felt when Jesus asked him to baptise him?  Here was the man sent to lead us to heaven asking one of us fallen ones to lead him by example!

The good people of Victoria, Kansas have this lovely statue giving us a look into that moment of service.  What I enjoy the most about these statues is the ability to walk around, below and above a scene.  When I remember or read the story of John the Baptist and then view this statue, I feel that I am starting to live the moment.  I find it easier to put myself in the scene, watching the interplay of these two great men...the great prophet and the one he was to announce at the River Jordan.

As with all things spiritual and artistic, the moment it clicks comes not from reading the story but rather from the moment it touches your personal soul.  Maybe your mind can grasp it from the words, maybe a picture might make it stick...or just maybe this three dimensional image puts these two men into our lives with the same power those people at the river bank received.  As fellow Christians we must all help each generation find the path that will connect them to Christ.  There is no right or wrong way...there is just the way it clicks.

-ehw

P.S.  I forgot the Holy Spirit dropped down and added an audio dimension to the story the statue does not..but hey we can add that today when join the chorus to sing our praises to God on high!

Treasures in plain sight

As we drove across Kansas both east and west I saw beautiful churches rising from the plains.  I found myself intrigued, and driving home my daughter gave me a chance to see one of them.  When given a choice of Eisenhower's Presidential Library or the "Cathedral of the Plains" she said try this...and we made it a pilgrimage.

This is all you would see from the interstate...

St. Fidelis Catholic Church is one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas.  It nickname, Cathedral of the Plains came from William Jennings Bryant after a campaign stop here in 1912.  What is really is though is a testimony of the faith and dedication of Volga German immigrants to build a faith inspired community on the harsh landscape of the high plains from the 1880's to the turn of the century.  What makes it even more remarkable, is that the current parish continues to care for and restore the church to keep up to the standards of their ancestors.

So come on in, and see the testimony of faith built by farmers at the great personal cost because they believed their house of worship needed to be a grand home that tells their story of faith through form, function, and art.  In all ways it is a pleasure in plain sight.

Welcome to St. Fidelis!

Sunday Glory..for my best friend

Just a quick image for my wife captured at church last night...

At the foot of the altar

Stunning artwork and symbols even at the foot of the altar in Grand Lake......one aspect of churches I truly enjoy are those which teach the faith through art...

I'll have a treat in a few days when I show you the Cathedral of the Plains.  The parishioners there really made art and faith sing...

Since this was a circle the square frame seemed to be the best choice for the selection.

-ehw