Beauty and Goodness

Beauty and Goodness.

The last two weeks have been busy.   It is my fault that it has been 15 days since our last post.  I apologize for my slowness in posting!  Here are a few happenings from the last few days.

Last weekend, Jen and I were able to share Marianist Mid-LIFE together with other moderators around the country.  Marianist Mid-LIFE is designed to bring moderators from the various Marianist LIFE (Living In Faith Experience) Programs together to share prayer and best practices (amongst other things). Before I forget, Marianist LIFE is a Province sponsored leadership retreat that attempts to form students from our Marianist schools and parishes in the Marianist charism.  It is a powerful program that provides an experience of community for our younger Marianists.  This retreat/conference brought teachers and youth ministers who work with the program together.  The time we were able to share with the other moderators was indeed a gift.  The whole fact that we were able to make the trip was a gift. 

During the conference/retreat, we were asked to consider the role that Marianist Lay Communities play in our lives.  After hearing our keynote speaker, Pati Kresensky, speak about the history of the Marianist Lay Communities, I couldn’t help but think how MLC’s, specifically Sobremesa, push me to overcome individualism in a very personal way.  I was reminded how Chaminade wanted to transform the society he lived in.  He did this by working in a grassroots way to offer formation for people from all kinds of backgrounds.

 The spirit of Chaminade has touched me deeply and has led me to Sobremesa.  Here I sit, over the table (an incorrect yet made-up translation of our community name), so to speak, acknowledging that this community is the stabilizing force in my life.  This stabilizing force is continually reminding me, through prayer and work, to accept and live the life placed before me.   This stabilizing force is pushing me to offer that formation.  Jen and I often wonder and debate how best to provide that Spirit of Chaminade (transformation and justice) for other young adults here in SA, TX.

Indeed the time was gift and too bad we couldn’t stay in California (we were just outside of San Francisco in a city called Burlingame) longer but it was time to come home and back to the craziness of this life here in SA, TX.

After returning from California, life has returned to business as usual.  Track and Field season opened up and that takes up a good amount of time.  Jen is fighting a sinus infection.  We have, though, experienced a rare thing these last couple of days, naps!  Thank God for naps.  They seem to come at the right time and for all kinds of reasons that I’m not about to explain, I’m glad they are rare occurrences.

What I’d like to make less of a rare occurrence is the fact that living life in the Sobremesa Community allows me to become more of the man I was created to be.  Thank you Sobremesa!  Living life in this community is constantly allowing me to see the giftedness around me.   Jen sent me a great Henri Nouwen quote that I’d like to share.  It goes like this, “We don't have to go far to find the treasure we are seeking. There is beauty and goodness right where we are. And only when we can see the beauty and goodness that are close by can we recognize beauty and goodness on our travels far and wide.

Beauty and goodness are all around us, do you have the vision to see it?  Thank God, in community, we can see that beauty and goodness together.  If you are interested in joining our community or would like to talk about Marianist Lay Communities (or community in general) in San Antonio, TX or beyond please email sobremesamlc@gmail.com.