Put briefly: the ‘oblique rays of the setting sun.’

After quite the hiatus, I’ve finally returned.  So you, O lone reader, need not fret.  I have indeed come back.  Let’s give this thing a better shot.

Since I’ve last written on this site, I finished up my Junior year of college, and I’ve been recuperating back home in Georgia.  Within the next few days, I will be returning to that same school for a fabulous program entitled ND Vision.

From where I stand, I see some pretty astounding changes coming for me.  Even stranger, however, is that I’ve started to notice the old giving birth to the new.  As a friend of mine recently said of our responsibilities, “We’re Seniors now, that means we’re expected to be doing stuff!”  The strange thing is, we both already have been, or at least, we have already begun.  Just next week, I will be on the opposite end of a retreat than I am used to.  While I’m not entirely in charge of everything (thank God!), I am a leader, a ‘mentor-in-faith.’  Yeah, sure, there are about 60 others in the same position, but in the end, this is a significant thing for me.

I’m used to being led, to listening, and to receiving.  Now, that’s not to say I’m a terrific follower, by any means, but I’m at least more used to it.  Here, I’m the one who assists, I’m the companion for the journeys of these teens.  When thinking about that recently, I grew anxious, because frankly, I don’t feel ‘ready.’  I asked a youth minister last week, “How can I possibly be a leader to these teens if I, myself, don’t feel spiritually ready?”  What she said in response hit me in a strange way and somewhat calmed me.  I’m human; only God is perfect.  Naturally, I don’t have everything perfect in my life, and really, it’s ok that I don’t feel prepared to lead and whatnot.  The only way things can happen is if they happen through God.  When I’m weak, God makes me strong, and it is when I acknowledge that weakness that I can allow God to work.  Of course I can witness to them, because it’s not just me who’s at work!   The interesting thing is, though, that while my weakness is quite real, I’ve actually already realized all of this.

I have already begun to adjust, to grow, and to take on my new roles in life.  My mindset has changed, to the point that I look to the future in terms of the present.  I’ve neither become obsessed with the events of the past nor with my hopes for the future.  Although in general, I am unsure where my life is headed, I am embracing my path with hope.  As for how that relates to ND Vision, I think that this perspective will help me to not only open myself up more, but also understand the perspectives of the teens.  Yes, we are each on a journey, but they are far from alone or independent.  As Fr. John Dunne echoed to his class (many times) from Christian history, all of our hearts’ desire is in God.  We each have are own paths to reach that desire, but we all have a common goal.

Whatever my personality may be, I can help.  I may be rather introverted, I may not know what to say all the time, and I may not be able to remember names very well, but dang it, I can do something.  I can be a mentor-in-faith despite all of my weakness.  And I can do so because I am not alone.  God is with me.

So I say to God, along with Kierkegaard (I think…), for all that is past, “Thanks!” and for all that is in the future, “Yes!”

Ashes

“Then rise again from ashes,
let healing come to pain;
Though spring has turned to winter,
and sunshine turned to rain.
The rain we’ll use for growing,
and create the world anew,
From an offering of ashes,
an offering to You.”

I love the season of Lent.  It’s such a beautiful opportunity to experience renewal and resurrection.  It’s a time that really calls you to reflect on your life and to experience real growth.  The fasting, which a lot of people seem to view as either drudgery, has always seemed to me to be a means to an end.  When I was younger, I didn’t really understand that end, and now, I guess I don’t technically understand it, but I definitely have a little bit more insight about it than before.  Just like the prayer and almsgiving, it is, at a basic level, meant to turn our hearts to God.  In Lent, we once again allow him to be our focus in the world, both during and beyond these 40 days.

As for me, I simply hope that I will continually enter into this Lent with my whole heart, and I also hope that you, too, will grow in great ways.  And I know there’s probably a whole one (two?) of you reading this, but I hope that you have a blessed Lent.

Lots of love.

Beer and Burgundy

“We should thank God for beer and Burgundy by not drinking too much of them.” – G.K. Chesterton (Orthodoxy)

Chesterton had a tremendous love for all of Creation, and he loved his beer.  However, he found all sorts of limits to be beautiful and freeing rather than binding.  Thus the romance of such things as moderation, monogamy, and dogma.

Introductions

After a massive hiatus due to computer issues, let’s begin with some introductions:

I’m terrible at remembering names.  It can be somewhat of a source of anxiety for me, so when I meet someone, I always alert them to this memory problem.  Yet, I very much enjoy meeting people and learning about their lives.  And strangely enough, I can remember just about all of the facts of a person’s life EXCEPT his or her name.  Fortunately, I won’t have to remember anybody’s name in this introduction, just tell a little bit about myself.

It’s likely that if you’re reading this blog, you know me to some degree, but if you’re just stumbling across it while wandering aimlessly, here you go…

I go by Joey, but my name is Joseph.  I’m Roman Catholic.  I was born in Kentucky, lived in Georgia most of my life, and am now in Indiana as an undergraduate at the University of Notre Dame (go Irish).  I’m majoring in Theology.  I’m not completely sure what I’m going to do with my life, and I’m not really too concerned at this point.

And now, the random:

I love music.
I play piano and I’m learning to play guitar.
I play video games.
I’m growing in my love of reading.
For some reason, I really like allegory.
Also, I really enjoy discovering meaning in artistic works.
I’m a barista at Starbucks.
I have an absolutely beautiful view from the window of my dorm room
I get really excited about books with ribbons in them.
It’s extremely difficult for me to pick my favorite book, but I don’t think it has ribbons in it.
I also can’t pick my favorite movie.
I like giving people high fives (you’d be amazed how much joy that can give).
For very little reason, I know pi to almost 100 digits.
I have a beard that (I’m told) makes me look older than my brother (who is actually older by 4 years).
And lastly, I have a girlfriend of 3 years who is currently studying in Athens, Greece.

Ok, so, that’s my introduction.  Thanks for hanging with me there.  So, tell me something, anything, about your life now.  Whether I know you or not, how are you?  What do you enjoy about life?  Are you religious?  Why or why not?  Do you like to cook?  What music do you like?  If you could tell a person only one thing, what would it be?

Let the Askesis Begin

In the introduction to his Tremendous Trifles, G. K. Chesterton calls his readers to be ocular athletes.  Our eyes should never rest, he says, for this would allow life to become trite and uninteresting.  When our eyes rest, we don’t really allow ourselves to think much of anything.  What we have grown accustomed to, we often fail to grasp.  Indeed, we should rather be training our eyes to not only search for new things, but also to discover their joys and wonders.  The very nature of existence demonstrates God’s great care for detail, and if we observe all that is around us (even ourselves as human beings) surely we will be found new and glorious things at every turn.  As Chesterton says at the end of his first Trifle, “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”

So often, we are all (myself included) dragged down by boredom and apathy.  We should embrace this world, this life, that St. Augustine believed to be the greatest wonder of all.  Ideally, in every moment of our lives, we would be able to see the miracle that is our own existence and the goodness that exists in all creation, ultimately finding God behind and within it all.  For even in the briefest moment of wonder, we are drawn away from pride and selfishness, and we enter into the love of God.

This blog is an attempt to do precisely that.  Even the shortest of stories can hold great meanings, or at the very least, great insights.  My goal is thus to have a collection of short narratives and, with great luck, occasional reflections.  Naturally, not all of my entries will be so thought out, as that would not only be boring for anyone who reads this but also impractical with a college workload hanging over my head.  I intend for this to be a normal, day-to-day life kind of journal, but surely, every journal must have personal reflection.  Hopefully mine will provide me with real direction to start my journey.  If Chesterton is to be believed, everything in life can be wondrous for us, if we only learn to look for it.  Hopefully, the entertainment that I and (hopefully) any of my readers may get from this can lead to growth, or at the very least, a small amount of joy.

The word asceticism comes from the Greek word, askesis, which refers to athletic training.  With all of these things in mind, I must say, welcome to my personal askesis.  

Welcome to my Ocular Athletics.