1.Tae-bo really does work if you do it consistently and eat right

2.You should already know to stretch before exercising and playing sports. Not only that but he does warm-ups at the beginning

3.If you can’t punch fast enough or bend down all the way or do the moves exactly like Billy YOU CAN MODIFY IT TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU AND STILL GET AN EFFECTIVE WORKOUT.

Our eye doctor is from IU, where John studied for his phD. My boss went to K-State and then lived in the country for awhile near the camels and I-70.

Madonna is definitely a chicken. I’m glad she wore arm warmers during the SuperBowl show so we didn’t have to see her Gollum arms.

John loved Game of Thrones.

I’ve heard Hunger Games are kinda violent for littler kids.

Anyway, here is what stood out to me the most:

“The responses being simplified trows me off. I used to wonder why some responses were different in content from Spanish to English, but again not a huge deal once I was used to it.”

- With the new translation, It’s taken me some time to get used to but I find so much more depth in it. When we were preparing for the change to the new translation I was talking with one of our priest friends of ours Fr. Flynn who talked about how beautiful the Spanish translation was as compared to the English. To illustrate he did the English, then the Spanish, then explained the Spanish, as I don’t speak Spanish at all. Wow, how beautiful.

“Now there are many reasons (or even call them excuses) why I don’t go to Mass in a consistent basis, but the real one is that I don’t feel at home at church. I know in the back of my head that until annulments and a proper Catholic marriage there is a hypocritical component to me being at church. The other one is confession… I really have some issues with it but that is a whole different discussion because it is a lengthy one (I will have to tell you about the whole weird, we don’t take confession it is a group affair… but again, way way off-topic.)”

I’d say that you shouldn’t have to worry about going to Mass, in fact I don’t think it would be hypocritical at all. I’m right there with you, the Church was built for all of us. But I can understand not feeling at home, and I wish there was something I could do for you there. I’d still encourage you to go, as there is Grace in the Mass. God calls us to be faithful, not successful.

In no way am I saying that I don’t think you are a good person, in fact I think you are an amazing man. We haven’t known each other that long, but when I first met you I have to say you are an incredibly genuine person. I felt like we had an instant friendship. I have to agree with what you said,

” I love in a very passionate way. I mean every hug to my friends, I cherish every phone call to the because God knows how much I hate phones. So my “Christian” walk, as I see it is pretty good.”

I would say you are very successful in that way, so I hope that you don’t take my encouragement in saying otherwise. But I believe, and will continue to share, talk, to whoever wants to, about the real power of Grace, the Mass, religion, God, and from out in left field Video games, to anyone, anywhere, as time permits.

Anyway, had best get back to work. Hope you have a fantastic day!

(Also, yes we should talk about confession as well when you have the time, perhaps in another format. Whatever works best. )

Anyway, what I wanted to really address was the poster who feels miserable about their sarcasm. I totally relate to how you feel regarding hearing yourself talk to your children. I felt the same way often and really thought that I couldn’t help it. I sounded like my father, whom i was afraid of. It was the last thing I wanted to be to my kids. I used to apologize to them for my bad behavior, but that only made me feel better. All I can say is I wish I knew then what I know now… which is that I had every ability to control my behavior. I realized, not too long ago either, that I really want to make a difference in the world and I read a poster in a bathroom that really changed me. It was from the Celestine Prophesy that I found insulting to my intelligence when I read it years ago. Here’s what it said:

“Clearing the Past
The more we stay connected, the more we are acutely aware of those times when we lose connection, usually when we are under stress. In these times, we can see our own particular way of stealing energy from others. Once our manipulations are brought to personal awareness, our connection becomes more constant and we can discover our growth path in life, and our spiritual mission, the personal way we can contribute to the world.”

It’s working for me… it made me realize just what i was doing with my anger, sarcasm and generally mean words that spewed forth and I claimed I couldn’t help it at the time… but I realize that I have a choice now… everytime I “feel” it coming on, and you can feel it if you tune into your body… it wells up right in the center of your chest… when I feel it, I stop, take a deep breath and realize that I can literally choose how to react.

That’s it. Thanks for the blog folks… I love it.

I’m thankful about my friends, you know that, I can’t complaint. Still, there are some of us that need to learn to live without that limb that used to be there… and try to fix something that we don’t know how broken it is.

Yes, it’s OK being single, but I’m extremely happy I share my life with you. I love you!

Growing up I went to 4 different churches down in Colombia. The one where I was baptized St Paul the Baptist which was not chosen because of that but because it was our local church, the one in my Grandparent’s neighborhood which translated literally would be the Divine infancy (using a little humor, Baby Jesus parish), one more in the center of the city very devoted to St Francis and therefore close to my heart being that I have basically been taught by Franciscans and last but not least the one I probably attended the most which was the one at my school. They were all the same in structure from the beginning to end with the exception of only one of them using bells and I am curious as to if you know when they would use them. (only seen that done a couple of times here in the U.S.)

I have also gone to other churches in Colombia, but those are the ones I frequented growing up.

Here in Chicago I have frequented St Francis Borgia in a mixed Italian and Polish neighborhood and actually famous for a bunch of reasons… but that is probably the one I have attended the most. I don’t live close to it anymore. St Charles Borromeo for most family functions (that is actually a full on Spanish church here.) and the one where I live now which I don’t frequent…. more on that later.

In Kansas City we went to the Holy Cross and a couple of times to the one we went with you… which to me suffered from the same issue that the one I live close to now. Now Holy Cross was probably the best church I have ever attended here in the US besides St Francis. It made me feel welcome and I felt at home… I also felt like it was a house of God… Ah this topic is so interesting in so many ways that I think me and you could just sit and talk for hours, no joke.

So back to differences and why I don’t feel at home at this church that is but steps away from my house.

Growing up singing was a big part of the Mass. Clapping and holding hands was really something I did not see until I went to a protestant church and then some catholic. And the raising of the hands… that was super foreign to me. The action itself inside of a church seemed like something only a priest should do… not that I was ever taught that, just something that when I first saw I am like WHAT? PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN… the Priest is so gonna kill you!

The other big difference was kids. I come from a culture where kids are part of everything in your life and they learn boundaries very early on… here is the US it does not seem that way. It is very apparent at church. We were all dragged to church and only understood some of it. The concept of Sunday School does not translate to Catechism to me. Kids being carted away was something that interrupted the flow to me, even though I do like blessing their future and their faith.

Music has been all over the place to. Not sure why but a drum set at church still kind of feels out of place. Organ or piano its cool, a guitar sometimes can be ok… but a good choir feels the most home like.

Now the structure of the Mass is for the most part intact… I do get take back when the kneeling is dialed back for whatever reason, that somehow feels like it should always be the same. If I had to learn to deal with kneeling I think everyone should. lol. The responses being simplified trows me off. I used to wonder why some responses were different in content from Spanish to English, but again not a huge deal once I was used to it.

Now there are many reasons (or even call them excuses) why I don’t go to Mass in a consistent basis, but the real one is that I don’t feel at home at church. I know in the back of my head that until annulments and a proper Catholic marriage there is a hypocritical component to me being at church. The other one is confession… I really have some issues with it but that is a whole different discussion because it is a lengthy one (I will have to tell you about the whole weird, we don’t take confession it is a group affair… but again, way way off-topic.)

I have remained Catholic in many ways because I have felt at home at most Catholic churches, but the moment they start to feel “mega church” like, or the signing is more American Idol than Choir to worship with it losses me. I am not in a religious journey. My communion with God is daily and fellowship with others has nothing to do with Christianity, but with being a friend to other human beings. I am told that I can be a good mentor by people I have given advice to. For the most part I think I am a good husband, but that is more of a question to my wife. I try to be a good son and brother and it seems I do ok… and now uncle and godfather. I think I affect most of my friends in a positive way and I do LOVE all the people that I have mentioned in the group above. I love in a very passionate way. I mean every hug to my friends, I cherish every phone call to the because God knows how much I hate phones. So my “Christian” walk, as I see it is pretty good. As to the rest of the world though, I am not a lover of all… there are plenty of people that I have not yet conquered the whole “turn the other cheek to.” I do think that the church does a good enough job letting us know that they don’t expect perfection, or that they are all inclusive. At least right now, I don’t think I need to be at Mass every Sunday to be a good person or drive my life forward… but, I would if I felt at home.

You can say that again! I think it was Gondi who said, he would be a Christian if he ever met one. It’s a hard practice to follow, and apart of that love is to forgive. I can’t say that I have met said Christian ether, or myself are that person, but thankfully God calls us to be faithful, not successful. However it is my goal, and thus I look to Mary, the saints, and Jesus to help me love others as he does.

“With the honesty that you have bestowed upon me I comment. I am really not on a journey to explore my religion at all. Honesty my spirituality is as strong as ever, my doctrine is still somewhat in hiatus…”

My mistake, I thought I saw the word journey in your post, but reviewing didn’t see it again. But more or less, my mind was thinking about how we are all on a journey.

As for the Mass being different, I can say that I don’t have a wide view of experiences when it comes to the Mass itself, as I have never left the country. However, I do know that I have attended different rites as well as different orders. I’d be interested to knowing some of the differences that you have seen when you have the time, as my curiosity has been peeked. But from my understanding of it is there are key parts that are the same. I can say here in North Texas, we are very blessed with the Mass, music, etc.

” Aren’t the rules suppose to apply all over?”

Yes, and no to the first question, there are rules, but they can very by degree based off the rite of the Mass. At my parish we celebrate the Roman rite, however in Louisville there is a Lebanese parish that celebrates in a different rite. While there are some principles that are the same, there can be different approaches. I don’t have all cases and examples before me, but I should really read up on that more. Another example would be Eastern Orthodox Catholic, and I would consider myself Roman Catholic. And while there are differences we are still united and in communion with one another. You can even look at some protestant churches (not in communion with the Catholic Church), and they will have a similar flow/feel to them. Lutheran, Anglican, do retain and can in some parts look very closely, or closer to the Catholic Church then in other protestant denominations. And the further down the line, the less, and less it reflects the Church.

” If we bend rules here and there aren’t we all become protestants ourselves in our own ways?”

That depends on how the rules are bent. An example would be: In your diocese perhaps people do not hold hands when they pray the Our Father, but in mine they do. However, if it was something like, In your parish they offer communion, while in mine they do not, that would be something that would not be in communion with the Church as a whole. Are there issues from parish to parish, yes, I’ve heard of some reported, and that would have to be handled by the Bishop. So, to answer your question, could we bend the rules enough yes. The other issue is looking at the Mass over time, some things have changed, but reviewing the writings of the early church fathers, the Mass has been relativity consistent, to the best of my knowledge at the time of this writing. I’ll have to look into that more, so that I can speak on some authority on the subject, but I would be interested in some examples from your lifetime, as I’ve been more or less located in Texas, and that time we all went to Mass in Kansas City.

First thing, to your questions, kinda. One is in process, the other one was promptly done because it was not done through a religious ceremony. That said it is like you said a somewhat sensitive and personal subject. I don’t hate religion because of it, I just find it very hypocritical that we as Catholics have to deal with so much red tape from such a big institution… but then at the same time we have changed and simplified so many aspects of the mass… I have so many issues with the institution and the disconnect part of it that I kind of just chose to be a part time Catholic lite than really worry about it.

With the honesty that you have bestowed upon me I comment. I am really not on a journey to explore my religion at all. Honesty my spirituality is as strong as ever, my doctrine is still somewhat in hiatus… that is with the exception of being a Godfather. I do take that seriously. If I am ever called to be a guide to any of the kids I would lead them in the best way I can and what I believe right at the time.

I appreciate both mass and praying. That said, they are not the same everywhere. Traveling has allowed me to see that even as Catholics we stretch the boundaries of mass and even have simplified a lot of it. What might have been Opera for me growing up looks a lot closer to a Britney Spears concert now. Not that I want Latin mass to make a comeback or anything, just that we all get used to what will feel familiar. So your mass is not the same as my local mass… and in some ways it should be. Aren’t the rules suppose to apply all over? If we bend rules here and there aren’t we all become protestants ourselves in our own ways?

Again, my spirituality, morals and ethics are well cemented. Religion though, has let me down over and over, both in delivery and consistency of the message… both Catholic and non-Catholic. Christianity is flexible and has a great message, and you touched in the most important part for me.

I also see Christianity as a freedom inducing experience. I also see the path of Jesus as an awesome one to follow. I simply have yet to find someone that follows it completely. One thing is to profess it, the other one is to follow it to their complete letter. Loving everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is a hard thing to do… and not many Christians adhere to that basic Christian principle in my eyes, that you have to love everyone, Gay, Muslim and prostitute, all the same.

Awesome response by the way, I appreciate the honesty, not just to me personally, but to the whole world as well. That’s one of the best things about your blog is your honesty.

When I was growing up, I had quite a different story. I grew up Catholic but in a very anti-Catholic culture. Adults, coaches, teachers, would inform me that I was wrong, that I was going to hell, that there was a “mansion” in the sky and I wasn’t invited. And all of this, thankfully, only helped me to grow in my faith, to dig deeper and find the answers to the questions that I was being asked. However, this for a while made me very cautious with issues about Mary, specifically. It wasn’t until College, that I heard (I wish I could remember his name) a cardinal talk about Mary, and her role. She said, that for Catholics who have issues, and struggles with Mary, I ask them to first go to Jesus, and pray that he helps to introduce them to his mother, and when you feel that you are more comfortable with that, then ask Mary to help teach them to fully love her son.

I think it was at that moment that all the walls fell down for me, all the barriers that I had up were removed and I could see just how much Mary was working in my life. First, I saw just how many prayers had been answered, as well as learning more about my conformation saint, and his role (St. Louis De ‘Montfort… Originally picked for his name, but came to find his many writings on our Mother). That being said, I think we can share the same passion for Mary, now, but coming from two different places and cultures. One thing, if you haven’t ever done so, I’d encourage you to pray the chaplet of divine Mercy. It’s said with the rosary, it can be sung, or prayed, and it’s quite beautiful.

Moving on, I understand where you are coming from as a man who has questions about God, as we all do. Like you said in your post, you are on a journey. If you want any information and perspective on a few topics like the Immaculate Conception (which refers to the conception of Mary), or other such topics that you might be struggling with please let me know. It’s easier to focus a thought and discussion when it’s about a topic, and that’s not to say we can’t cover all topics, as I’m more than willing to do, I just don’t know how many characters the database will accept for a comment .

Ok, now you’ve said some interesting things here that I would like to address with the best of my ability.

“The moment religion becomes exclusionary with ideas and principles it is the moment it start to lose me. My logic does not allow for heaven to be a place where only a finite number of people have entry to… I also have a hard time believing that what we do here only matter because of the ultimate reward. We live, we receive rewards now, and we are affected by our actions and those of others.”

And I want to say something really fast, before delving into this comment further. I think you and Bea are amazing people and I’m so happy you two are together. In no way am I judging you, and I hope anything I say doesn’t come across that way. So if I use terms that are offensive, it was not intentional, and thus I apologize in advance.

I do have one question, have you received an annulment from your first marriage? And was your first marriages made in the Church?

Moving along, back to your quote, I think you really hit on an issue that most people struggle with. Is religion, faith, God, some exclusive club that people are a part of, are there people who just aren’t invited to the party? And the answer to that is no, Jesus came for all, died for all, built his Church for all, loves all, etc… But that doesn’t mean that everyone will choose to live that life, be a part of the body of Christ, etc. And it shows how much we are loved, that God gave us free will to accept him, or reject him. It’s our choice in the matter. As regarding religion as exclusionary, I agree that it could seem that way, but I don’t believe that it is, and here is why.

People can see rules in one of two ways:
1. It limits me, says I can’t do
2. It sets me free, shows me how to be the best version of myself, a team player etc.

For example, if you played on a sports team, or where on any team. If you didn’t know the rules of the game, chances are you could hurt yourself, or another player. You might even hurt the team as a whole. Asides from risk from injury, it might not be that much fun to play.

Rules, guild lines they are in every party of life, from games, work, love, etc. We can view them as restrictive, or we can view them as freeing.

If a child wants nothing but to eat sand, or something that would both harm them, the parent would make a rule not to eat sand, the child might not like it, but it’s for his betterment, it will be better for him, as he develops to grow. I’ve spoken with some of the kids that I teach that we’ve been given the playbook for how to not only lead a good life, but to be the best versions of ourselves that we can be, and sometimes that requires us to make sacrifices to what we might want vs what we really need. I could draw more examples but I’ll move on to one last one before continuing.

Now with this same team, if we the player never showed up to practice would that make us a good player? And also, Archbishop Fulton Sheen said this about the Mass: “If you go to the opera without having an understanding of music you might find it boring, and it’s the same way about the Mass, if you don’t understand why you are there, only just that you are required to be there, you won’t see the beauty”. – I did a little paraphrasing.

Also, I do agree with you, as I don’t see heave as a place where only a finite number of people have entry. I think that logic is flawed, and goes against God. The truth that was twisted to be viewed that it was only for X number of people is that not everyone will choose God. Then sprinkle in some pre-destination and bam you have that idea. So I agree with you in regards to not accepting that idea. One thing I would like to point out is another way of thinking. A friend of mine, once was talking with a Jewish girl. Depending on how you were raised, some Jewish people don’t believe in an afterlife, and it wasn’t really until around 100 years before the time of Christ that it was even an idea. So my friend asked her, why be good if there is no heaven as a reward, and she responded.

“We were created to be good, we were created for God”. In other words, we shouldn’t love and follow God just to be rewarded, but we should love and follow him because that is what we are created for. God made you good, and to be anything else goes against your nature.

Now this also opens up other points to talk about, so we can get into those as needed. I hope you found something in my reply that is of use, and thanks for sharing so much with me.

I hope you and Bea have a wonderful day.

It is people like you Brian that make my life awesome. I love having intelligent eloquent people that help me shape my world view. While not many people have an effect on me, people like you do. So I am looking forward to your perspective.