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.
