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Episode 10 of "Encourage Each Other" with Jason Angelette of the Wilwoods Community and Brian Butler of Dumb Ox Ministries.
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Episode 9 of "Encourage Each Other" with Jason Angelette of the Wilwoods Community and Brian Butler of Dumb Ox Ministries.
Episode 8 of "Encourage Each Other", a weekly encouragement from Willwoods Community and Dumb Ox Ministries.
 It seems to me that for some reason, our culture today is especially anxious about the future, often day-dreaming and dwelling in never-ending “what if” scenarios. I know I’ve been stuck in these loops. So how do we get out? Well, I think typical conventional wisdom would go something like “take it one day at a time,” which can certainly be a healthy way to slow down and process things. I think the Church would say, “pray about it.” As cliché as these answers are, I think they’re both right. Let’s consider some practical advice from Scripture and from some of our great saints.
Episode 6 of "Encourage Each Other", a weekly encouragement from Willwoods Community and Dumb Ox Ministries.
 “Man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.” Gaudium et Spes 24 One of the core truths of the Theology of the Body is that there is a “spousal” meaning of our bodies, that we are all called to make a gift of ourselves and in this act of giving we truly find ourselves. Gifts come in different shapes and sizes, just as people do. As a unique, unrepeatable human being, the gift I give to the world of my authentic self is completely unique to me and has a unique shape. But what is that shape?
You may have heard it said that there is a God-shaped hole in each one of us that we try and fill with other things but only God can truly satisfy and fill. Most of the cheesy Christian pictures show a heart with a hole in the shape of a cross or something similar. But what if there was a deeper truth to this sentiment? What if there was a unique God-shaped hole in each of us that also denoted the shape of the gift that God has called us to be for the world? The following is a companion blog post to T.J. Capaldi's Spoken Word piece, "The First and the Last," which was one of twelve semi-finalists in our Virtual Talent Show FUNdraiser. You can view the piece HERE. There's a thin line between comedy and reality. You know you're on that line when you're not sure if you're laughing because something is absurd or because it is true. Sometimes the laughter comes from recognition of the harmony between the absurd and the true. Just like the man described in the piece "didn't know the first thing," I didn't know that I would stumble on this kind of harmony when I set out to write something for the 2020 ECHO Virtual Talent Show FUNdraiser Extravaganza.  If you've watched/listened to the piece already, then you know the backstory. I have been reflecting on two new experiences: (1) using dating apps on my phone, and (2) extreme "social distancing."
Something about using a swipe-style dating app where you have to "check yes or no" so to speak on one person at a time is very exciting. It's also rather disconcerting, or at least it was to me. That's not to say these apps are immoral in and of themselves or that no one should use them. I definitely would NOT say that. To be honest, I see a lot of good in some of them, and quite a bit of redeemable value in the whole concept. Still, I couldn't shake this feeling. Was it the weight of the decisions? The possible implications? The missed opportunities? Yes, it was and is all of that and more. In the moments when I began to lose sight of the humanity behind the profile, fear came to the surface. I was afraid of myself and what I knew I could become. Episode 1 of "Encourage Each Other", a weekly encouragement from Willwoods Community and Dumb Ox Ministries.
A while back I wrote a blog about two rose bushes my fiance gave me for my birthday this past year. If you haven’t gotten a chance to read it, you can find it on the blog. If you remember, he told me when he gave it to me, ““Okay, so, I put them in pots for you, and I got you some rose food. Now it’s up to you to take care of them. …So if they die, it’s your fault.”
Ready for the update??? THEY’RE DEAD!  My boyfriend Jeremy got me two rose bushes this year for my birthday.
Anytime he gives me flowers, it’s really special because he always says, “I don’t understand the point of flowers. You spend money on something you know is going to die.” |