And now for Chris...

So...hopefully you've heard about this YouthStock thing already. But here is one more plug for this awesome event:

I wanted to give you a taste of Chris Padgett...the keynote speaker/musician for YouthStock 2010. He is an amazing speaker and musician, and along with causing you to crack up laughing, he has the ability to talk about faith in a way that is awesome, personal, and meaningful to those who listen.

Check out Chris's latest Music Video, "I'm in Love," and then watch his video reflection on what the song and video are all about.

See more about Chris here: http://www.chris-padgett.com/

Below is one of my favorite videos that shows the funny side of Chris. He and fellow Catholic speaker/musician, Bob Rice, perform their song (a story of conversion from "hand motion sickness") for a room full of Youth Directors.

Filioque

"Filioque" is a Latin word meaning, "and (from) the Son," and is part of our Nicene Creed. It refers to the part where we say the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son - emphasizing the equal divinity of all 3 persons of the Trinity. This word is somewhat famous as a contributing factor to the Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity.

Right here in Tulsa, there is a band that has named themselves after this famous word, and this band is who will be providing some of the music, along with Keynote speaker Chris Padgett (http://www.chris-padgett.com/), at YouthStock 2010, coming up on April 9th.

Here is a short video of them having fun playing an acoustic version of one of their new songs, "Victorious."

"I don't have any food."

These were the words I heard today, said in a voice slightly shaky from trying to hold back tears.

They were said by a man coming into the Office Annex to ask for help today, but this was no unique situation. Every single day, at least a few, if not many, women, men, and children come here to St. Mary's to ask for help...whether it's for food, or bus tokens so that they can get to a doctor's appointment, or help with paying a few bills so that they can continue to live in their apartment.

And these people ARE helped. Hilary Elias, our Justice and Peace coordinator, meets and talks with them, and if we have the resources to help them, we do. Some receive assistance to pay an overdue bill, or receive bus tokens to get where they need to go, or some go home with a bag full of groceries to get them by for just a little bit.

The groceries come from donations of our parish community. Have you noticed the barrels in the Vestibule of the Church? They are an opportunity for you to respond to our brothers and sisters in Christ that come to our door at St. Mary's and say simply..."I don't have any food."

Great Scot!

Alex and Carl take their heritage seriously. They came to ROCKsolid on Wednesday in Kilts of their official clan Tartans. Lookin' good guys. It's too bad Mazzio's doesn't make Haggis pizza.

I think their appreciation for their cultural heritage is beautiful. And for me, the kilts called to mind a quote (attributed to Scotsman William Wallace) that I think is a great one for Lent:

"Every man dies, but not every man really lives."

Let us ask Christ to live within us today, so that we might REALLY live in him.

The Pizza Tax

So I heard on the radio this morning that researchers suggested that a tax on foods like pizza and soda could help cut down obesity in the US. The research shows that when people have to pay more, they eat less, and therefore, will gain less weight.

"What?!, everyone yells....tax our pizza! How dare you! We should be able to eat whatever we want without anyone telling us otherwise!"

While I don't know how I really feel about a "pizza tax," I think that this can help us think about our faith. No seriously, stick with me...

The researchers aren't saying that pizza and soda are inherently BAD. If you eat a piece of pizza for lunch, you're probably not going to keel over right then. But unhealthy foods eaten in excess can lead to obesity - which causes a whole host of problems that are REALLY bad for our bodies...and can even kill us.

In order to keep people from going down this road, we try to teach about the food pyramid, and healthy eating, and have nutrition facts on our labels...but when we're really hungry, the average joe still might have trouble reaching for what is actually healthy.

So, since we pizza-lovers out there have such a hard time making that decision for ourselves, the researchers are suggesting that maybe having rules that make us pay more for the junky foods could help us make healthier decisions.

This is where I see our faith! It goes right along with the whole idea of CONVERSION. The fact is...a higher tax MIGHT help some people eat less of the bad foods...but if the tax were ever lifted, a lot of those folks might go right back to eating too much of the junk. Until we really decide for ourselves that we DESIRE to be healthy...we will go right on eating pizza and soda unless something stops us...like a tax, or rules, or even laws.

In the Old Testament, you can read about a lot of Rules and Laws set down for the Jewish People. The laws were for how to live, how to worship, how to marry, how to eat! Why were these laws there? To help keep the Jewish People from sinning, so that they could live out their calling as the People of God. I mean....Moses goes up the mountain for like 5 minutes and they are already constucting an idol of gold! Obviously...they had a hard time always making the decisions that kept them spiritually healthy. So in order to help them be God's Chosen People, they were given the law. If they just followed the laws, then they would be much less likely to sin.

Jesus, though, calls us to something even more. He calls us not just to follow the rules because they are rules...but he calls us to true CONVERSION. He challenges us to change our very hearts, and to make them hearts that belong to God. In doing this...Christ's own desires become OUR desires. We become "spiritually healthy" people...who no longer need to be told to love others, love God, be faithful, and not to sin, as we will desire to do so!

When we lack those desires, we need rules to help us make the right decisions...but we will be at our best, whether it's our physical body, or spiritual life, when our hearts are converted to desire a healthy existence...more than that 2nd slice of pizza.