Echoes and Moments

Pope Francis is a popular guy these days. Apart from being named Time's Person of the Year , he's led the charge on presenting a fresh face for the Catholic church in the twenty-first century. Unlike the mild-mannered theologian-turned-pontiff that preceded him, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis has made engaging the culture around him a priority. He's been caught washing the feet of women, embracing the sick, and addressing the priority of the church as "for the poor, to the poor." In a major interview published in the Jesuit magazine America, he likened the role of the church to a field hospital, unafraid to get its hands dirty in the struggle for truth and justice. His Jesuit roots show in his flair for simplicity and concern for issues of justice. His pastoral career shows in his efforts to reform what he calls a "self-referenced" Curia largely in need of change. Today, he embraces his role as Pope to unify the church further and heal rifts between man...

Composed on Good Friday, 2014. It's dark, so dark and My eyes grow heavy, lidded Like iron from shackles and fetters Those that you break to make men whole. Multiplying loaves, you asked us if we understood you and we stared ahead into the depth of the unknown And seeing, we did not perceive. Now tonight you ask of us Just to watch with you a little longer To utter prayers to the Father you call and we seem to have forgotten. Hark! They come in the night With clubs and chains to bind you Though we know you have power over wind and waves, not so now. No, a simple kiss, planted on lips That open the eyes of the blind, That speak to cast out demons, Now mute to the hatred of men. My sword I reach, and I see Your stare disarms me, the weapon Is of no use here, you must face The blows of hard hearts without it. Alone you go, for we turn Away and watch their arms wrap you up Forsaking years of following your lead And weeping nakedly, we run.

From "With Bound Hands," by Alfred Delp, SJ, a German Jesuit hanged by the Nazi regime in 1945. One thing is becoming gradually clear - I must surrender myself completely. This is seedtime, not harvest. God sows the seed and some time or other he will do the reaping. The one thing I must do is to make sure the seed falls on fertile ground. And I must arm myself against the pain and depression that sometimes almost defeat me. If this is the way God has chosen - and everything indicates that it is - then I must willingly and without rancor make it my way. May others at some future time find it possible to have a better and happier life because we died in this hour of trial.

The past two weeks held a flurry of ministry activity. They left me in such a state of exhaustion that I felt it necessary to hike through eight miles of secluded country under the shadow of the lofty Sierra Nevada. I did this to unwind; I did this to refocus. But I also did this to have a frank conversation with God. Specifically, I found myself asking him, "Was all that worth it?" You see, our two weeks of outreach had a twofold goal: one, increase the number of students actively participating in our fellowship, since we've noticed a significant decline in numbers from last semester. Two, we wanted to see students make decisions of faith, both fulfilling our original purpose to pursue mission on campus, as well as to grow our own faith as we stepped outside of our comfort zones to share the good news of Jesus with others. We thought up a wonderfully creative way to engage the campus in conversation. We allowed participants to write down their secrets, those close-ke...

Don't  Surrender  Your loneliness so quickly,  Let it cut more  Deep.  Let it ferment and season you  As few human  Or even divine ingredients can.  Something missing in my heart tonight  Has made my eyes so soft,  My voice so  Tender,  My need of God  Absolutely  Clear. -Sufi Master Hafiz

My Heart Breaks for you, Daughter of long sunsets I let so many of you down, Tears falling from eyes that I failed to tell Were so precious in sight not mine My heart Yearns for truth And lips with speech unleashed Passion to captivate a kindred near Our sight restored to horizons wide Unfailing in its courageous breadth My heart Streaked with spilled blood Poured out from crosses carried daily And lifted from night unto night Whispering words from the wounds I failed to let Love carry My heart Loves to love Heals each time you call And breaks each time we fall Bears new scars from ages gone by And dreams for a dawn's golden sky

This past week I turned 25. My distance from the joyous days of college can create some dissonance in me, especially given the fractured nature of community, the difficulty of finding new friends post college, and the tension I live in as a resident in a new city. Yet I find it helpful to reflect upon a few things that make simply being alive beautiful and worthwhile. I recently moved to the city of Fresno to pursue new ministry opportunities serving the students at Fresno City College, a large urban commuter campus with a demographic makeup as diverse and beautiful as the city it draws its student population from. The student community I've found is incredibly loving, supportive, and even helped provide transportation when my beloved pickup Guillermo was in the shop for repairs. Additionally, they are for the most part committed to the apostolic vision of InterVarsity, which means we seek God's transformation of students, faculty, and the campus. Although campus ministry...