Moving

Not that I have a great many readers, but I am moving my blog to Word Press.com

Here is the link: http://rootofjesse2.wordpress.com/

I hope to see you there.

Steve Ray in the Bay Area

For those that don't know "Jerusalem Jones" (I don't claim to know him, but have met him this weekend, and had brief correspondence with him), Steve Ray is a Catholic Convert, leader of pilgrimages to the Holy Land (more than just a leader-he makes the Bible and biblical figures come alive on site), and producer and "star" of the Footprints of God documentary series. (www.catholicconvert.com) Anyway, I got word less than two weeks ago that he would be in the Bay Area doing several talks-Sacramento, Napa, Concord and San Francisco-about St. Paul, and one on the Eucharist.

I talked my wife into going to two of the talks, even though she's not a night person. Weekdays are hectic for us with 5 AM wakeup, daily Mass, work, etc. and due to my wife recovering from cancer surgery 14 months ago, I'm very sensitive to her energy level. She hits a wall about 6:00 PM and the energy just drains from her. Weekends are hectic with always some agenda of to-do's around the house.

On Friday night we drove in the rain about 45 minutes to an unknown area of Napa, and found the site. The venue was small and intimate, I think there were about 100 people or so. After a prayer, Steve came out, talked about his background (Baptist) and conversion, and wove this story with his love for St. Paul, then to the life of St. Paul. He didn't analyze St. Paul's writings, he spoke as a man who's walked in Paul's footsteps (because he did!), talking about his early life, his trade of tent making, his rise in the Pharasee ranks, his participation in the stoning of St. Stephen, the scene outside of Damascus where Christ converted him, and some about the journeys, trials and tribulations he suffered for Christ. It was so MUCH to pack in to an hour and a half, but I know Steve could have spoken for days on the subject. Before the trek to Napa, my wife asked me why I wanted to hear a talk about St. Paul, but afterwards, we both wanted to learn more. I knew some, but learned at least as much as I knew, and we came away glad for the experience, especially in the intimate setting.

Saturday, we spent the day doing a project in the house, and frankly we were both tired by about 4:00. We had invited our daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids, 15 and 9, and they called and asked if we'd have dinner with them before the talk. Dinner at a chinese restaurant was good, and I was raving about Steve's talk the night before. Again in the dark to another unknown church (even though it's in our diocese!). St. Agnes in Concord, CA is a church that has started having perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and Steve was asked to give a talk about the Eucharist, sort of to 'bless' the implementation. He took us on a ride through the Bible, refreshing memories about the types of the Eucharist in the Old Covenant and leading into the New Covenant and how the Early Church Fathers spoke of and understood the Eucharist. There was so much, I'm glad I recorded the talk, because I plan to watch it over and over.

We bought three of Steve's Footprints DVD's, simply because there's so much depth in them, I know that I'll watch them over and over and over, and then use them in Catechetical sessions.

I would like to thank Steve Ray for his work, his words, and his zeal.

Week of special events

While he was not perfect (who of us is??), I respect the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. I don't get overly emotional about it, but how far have we come since he fought for equal rights for all races? I do not like how we've corrupted Dr. King's message, with quotas in hiring, the welfare state, etc. But this effect is true of anything that Government gets its hands on...

Of course, Tuesday was the inauguration of the first (semi) black president. Let's all realize that we're not to focus on race, but let's be clear. Obama and Tiger Woods are equally African American. Actually, Tiger is more African American. President Obama is half African and half Caucasian. I don't agree with most of what he campaigned on, but as a Catholic, I will pray for him. I will also pray for the restoration of the right to life for all human beings-the unborn, the newly born, and the aged especially.

Last night was the kickoff mass for life at our National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Well attended, very solemn, and much appreciated. Today is the Walk for Life rally and march in DC, also growing in attendance. I hope Congress hears them loud and clear!

Tomorrow night and Saturday night I'm going to hear Steve Ray speak about St. Paul and the Holy Eucharist respectively.

And lets not forget the West Coast Walk for Life-many friends and I will be there, either in person or in spirit.

Holidays, bad back, housework

It's been about two weeks since I've written, due to the holidays, recovering from a bout of sciatic nerve pain, and doing household projects. Well, the holidays are over, the back is improving, thanks be to God, and the household projects never end. Our home is small, a townhome, and though small, we like doing things ourselves. We're going to be re-flooring our downstairs due to water damage from a pipe leak under the slab, we have to paint the rooms before that, and we've decided to remove the popcorn ceiling. We did do this in our dining room this past weekend-what a mess! Dust flying everywhere. Well, another project (mind you, all of this is because we need to replace the floors!) is to move our 100 gallon reef aquarium-three inches. But to move a loaded aquarium three inches, you may as well need to move it across the room. I will need to remove all the rocks, living things and water, move the aquarium, then reset it up. All of these projects require meticulous planning, for if you overlook one thing, the project doubles in size. For example, we've always seen that, when removing a pop-corn ceiling, you should wet it before you scrape it. We thought this was to make it easier to remove, but we found out that, even though it's easy to remove, wetting it is really to keep the dust down...


Well, this post is not about the faith, it's just about what I do when I'm not at work, or at church. Home is the third leg of my three-legged stool. I'm a database administrator for a living, and at Church I'm a lector, but I have participated generously prior to leaving my old parish. I also hope to be attending a three-year program of our diocese's School for Pastoral Ministry starting this month.