Fred's Place

New Website for Catholic Campus Ministry/New Blog site

2010-02-17T14:20:00.002-05:00

It took awhile, but finally, we've got an updated site up and running...there is still a bit of work to do, but enough is done to share it with the world.

It's at the same address: www.raidercatholics.com

My blog will be hosted there as well! Just click the above link, and you'll see a link to the blog to the far right on the menu bar.

See you there!

A little article in the Catholic Telegraph

2010-01-11T16:45:00.003-05:00

David Eck of the Catholic Telegraph has been writing some profiles of Archdiocesan priests the past few months, and recently came to talk to me...Here is the result: share

A bit late...

2010-01-05T11:29:00.003-05:00

Found an interesting article today in the Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR for short...) on the date of Christmas. How did we get December 25th as the birthday of Christ? It's difficult to say, as those who lived in the time of Christ were not so much concerned with historical accuracy as we are; they also used a different means of counting the years than we do now. Let's not even get into the debate about what year Christ was actually born.

In my humble opinion, it is not so much the actual year nor the actual date that Jesus was born that is important, than it is that he was born. Here's a link to the article if you're interested.

Here we go again...

2010-01-04T15:34:00.002-05:00

Is it just me, or did our holiday break seem short? At the same time, it seems like forever since we've had a full house at Mass.

We've done a lot since we left before Thanksgiving...twenty of us spent two weeks at St. John Bosco home for boys in Jamaica (the rest of us are envious of their tans...)15 of us spent a week with the Glenmary Farm in Vanceburg, KY learning about Appalachia and the Church there (check out their fan page on Facebook...there is an album of pictures from our week to check out).

The folks in Jamaica had a great time from what I hear. There were some adventures as well...like not getting their checked luggage until the day after they arrived; or waiting in the Kingston airport for a few extra hours for the flight home. I'm just glad no one got left behind at the stopover in Atlanta! Sadly, there was to be no party at Mrs. Salmon's house this year.

Glenmary was great too. We helped build a new house, sorted clothing donations, helped stock the food pantry, heard some bluegrass music, visited a Pentecostal church, sorted Christmas gifts...and on and on. True, Whitney and Dan nearly got left behind at Wal-mart in Maysville, but I'll let them tell that story.

There will be many things happening right here on campus this Winter. There will be a Men's retreat (dates TBA)...bible Study...food...and more. Stay tuned.

So, stay warm and enjoy the new term!

Twitter

2009-12-28T15:09:00.002-05:00

Well, in my continuing effort to be up-to-date, I've signed up for a Twitter account. Want to follow me? ("Come, follow me...") My user name is emburns1. There's a feed on the right side of this page.

Coming soon...Catholic Campus Ministry on Twitter!

Another interesting article--do college students ask the big questions anymore?

2009-10-12T14:33:00.002-05:00

Found this on the Catholic News Service website on how much or how little college students ask the big questions of life, especially when it comes to faith. Here's the link. Do you agree or disagree?

A thought-provoking link...

2009-09-23T10:18:00.003-05:00

Found an interesting and thought provoking post on another blog that I thought some of you might like...here's the link. It's by a young Episcopal priest, and he says what many of us feel from time to time. Many of us think that to be a faithful person, we have to be perfect in our faith all the time; I don't think that's true--at least I hope it isn't. Faith is a day-by-day journey...well, read what he says...it's quite eloquent.

Passing of Bishop Moeddel

2009-08-27T10:46:00.002-05:00

Sadly, this past Tuesday the former Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati, Carl Moeddel, passed away after a lenghthy illness. He had suffered a stroke shortly after by-pass surgery in 2005, and complications from that illness coupled with his diabetes forced him to retire in 2007.

I did not know the bishop well, but only from my time as a seminarian in Cincinnati. Bishop Moeddel lived in a suite at the seminary, and was usually with us for Mass and lunch on Saturdays. So, on many occasions, I had the privilege of sharing a table with him for those lunches. He was always kind and down to earth; one learned a lot sharing a table with him. His homilies were always thought-provoking, and advanced our formation for ministry profoundly. One tidbit that I have always kept with me was his daily prayer to God that he shared with us: "Lord, don't let me get in your way today." Its a good and humble prayer for anyone who serves in the Church to avoid letting our own individual agendas (which we all have, as much as we try to keep them in check) or our own needs and wants get in the way of what we are supposed to proclaim: the Gospel of Christ.

He proclaimed that Gospel well and faithfully. I'm sure the Lord has proclaimed to him now: "Well done, good and faithful servant." It would be a good thing to say a prayer of thanksgiving for Bishop Moeddel's life, and for the consolation of his family...

More here from the Catholic Telegraph...

Health Care Debate

2009-08-17T14:39:00.002-05:00

Just a few musings...not in any necessarily coherent order...

The last few weeks have certainly seen a lot of anger and debate about health care in our country. I've been truly amazed at the veracity of the debate, the anger and distrust that has been shown for government in any form. Some of the video from these town halls has been troubling.

What really strikes me is that we seem to have forgotten about the 46 million people in our country who have no access to health care except for the ER. In the debate about whether or not we'll still get to choose our doctor, our taxes, a public option, etc, we've forgotten about those who have no insurance.

A faculty member at WSU posted a link to this article in the Christian Science Monitor...that's what got me thinking.

I've also been disappointed in the level of debate on the issue. While health care is an extremely complicated (not to mention emotional) issue, no one really seems all that interested in a dispassionate exploration of the issue. Rather, all we seem to get are ideological haranges, as in Sarah Palin's assertion of the creation of "death panels." Honestly, do we really think a US President is going to support this? If I understand correctly, the bill (which, by the way, is only one of several plans under consideration in Congress) simply provides for doctors and other health care workers offering information about end of life resources to help families at that type of difficult time. Is it necessary? I don't know...all I've heard is that, evidently, Obama wants to kill my grandmother.

The funny thing about government health care is that it already exists. Medicare has existed for several decades to help those over age 65 obtain good health care, and make sure no one over that age went without. Why can't that be extended to all Americans? Because it's too expensive? What is more important than a person's health? What other budget item is a priority over that?

One of the few bright spots in my high school career was my stint on the debate team. We did four-man debate, in which two teams with two members each took opposing sides to debate a proposition. What I enjoyed is that it taught me how to construct an argument, how to evaluate evidence, how to spot fallacies in logic. Sadly, it seems many Americans have lost these skills, or never had them.

So, here's my prescription: take the time to learn about the various proposals and what's in them. Ignore the sensationalistic arguments--they're probably blown out of proportion and/or told by a person with their own agenda. And when you see things on tv, find out who's saying them and what their agenda is. Places like MoveOn and the Heritage Foundation have agendas which may or may not match your own. And, most of all perhaps, look at this issue through the lens of your faith. What does the Gospel teach us?

I could go on and on...

Why are we sometimes called a Newman Center?

2009-07-15T21:34:00.003-05:00

So, have you ever wondered why Catholic Campus Ministry centers used to be called (and sometimes still are) Newman Centers? Back in the 1800s--yes, that long ago--John Henry Newman was an Anglican Priest who converted to Catholicism. He was a great thinker and quite the intellectual. He was also the first to recognize that Catholic college students might have a good reason to attend a public or non-Catholic University. Before then, those few Catholics who went to University were expected to go to a Catholic one. Because of his support in this area, and encouragement to form associations of Catholic students, those clubs and organizations which Catholics founded at secular schools were named for John Henry Newman, who had become a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church.

Well, Cardinal Newman's life has been examined the past few years with the idea of making him a saint--and he has taken a significant step. Next May, he will be declared "Blessed" which is the final step before one is canonized a saint. Here's a longer story on the process. Perhaps this is someone we could name our new chapel after???

Back from the Summer Hiatus

2009-07-13T15:05:00.002-05:00

Again, a long time between posts. Its a hazard of my ministry, I suppose. I'll try (again) to do better.

I wanted to publicize a bit a talk I'm giving next week for the new Theology on Tap that is forming in the North part of Dayton. Dayton South has been going for at least a couple of years; this is the first for the northern area.

The first gathering is for my talk (just a little pressure) on Wednesday July 22 at Boston's Bistro and Pub on North Main Street (if you're googing it, type in 7500 N Main, Dayton, OH 45415). The gathering will begin at 7:00pm, and my talk begins at 7:30. What's my topic, you ask? Well, its been titled "Life is a Highway: What direction are you going?" In other words, how do we make decisions about our lives, how do we discern where God might be inviting us to go? I hope you'll join in. There will be time for some Q & A as well.

Other than that, summer is nice and quiet. I got some down time the past couple weeks, and Joan is away part of this week. I enjoy the break, but at the same time I'm ready for folks to come back and breathe some life back in here! It's too quiet!

Well, that'll be it for now--a lot's been going on in the world, so I'll share a few thoughts on those events. Stay tuned.

brief time off vacation

2009-03-26T08:46:00.003-05:00

But that's ok...I'm off today to Lima, Ohio, to speak to the Serra Club there. Serra is an international Catholic organization dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, religious life, etc. They want to hear about our campus ministry--which obviously has a lot to do with vocations...how, you ask?

Well, one of the main reasons for the existence of campus ministry, at WSU or any college/university, is to be a Church presence for the students, who are at a time in their lives when their religion, their spirituality is becoming their own. Children, generally, take on the religion (or no religion) of their parents. In college, the decision, rightly, becomes their own. Unfortunately, many take what I've heard called the "Catholic sabbatical" and ignore their faith altogether.

Campus Ministry seeks to be a place where a student can learn more about their faith, celebrate their faith and the sacraments, and find a supportive atmosphere as they naturally question their own religious believes on the way to making them their own.

How does vocations fit in? Every Christian has a vocation...many to marriage, some to single life, and others to priesthood or religious life. Some men who are married or single also discern a vocation to the permanent diaconate. That's another of Campus Ministry's aims...to help students "find their place in this world" (to borrow a phrase from an old Michael W. Smith song...). And if some of these places happen to be in seminaries and novitiates, that's great. In my own experience, it was my campus minister at Heidelberg College who first said to me, "Have you ever thought of being a priest?" (Thanks, Sr. Margaret!)

As I like to say, Campus Ministry lives at the intersection of Young Adult Avenue and Vocation Boulevard! So, that's why I'm speaking to Serra!

Hope everyone's enjoying their break! See you Monday!

Spring Break

2009-03-23T11:39:00.002-05:00

I just want to tip my hat to that wonderful person who thought up the idea of a spring break! I should also give thanks that, at 36 years old, I still get to have them! So now perhaps you have an idea why things slowed down here a bit in the past week or so...the natural precursor to a break, the dreaded exams. It seems everyone did well enough, as I haven't heard any horror stories yet. A number of our students are travelling, and I hope they are doing well.

Campus Ministry will be taking a deserved rest as well...so don't expect anything here in the next week. But I promise to have something to say once we get rolling into spring quarter.

Happy Break!

Lenten Reconciliation

2009-03-09T15:29:00.002-05:00

In case you aren't able to make it to Reconciliation here at Campus Ministry (or would prefer to confess to someone other than me), here is some info from parishes nearby that you might be interested in:

Saturday schedules:
St. Luke: 4-5pm
St. Helen: 4-4:45pm
Mary, Help of Christians: 3:45-4:30pm

Reconciliation Services:
Tues, 3/10 (tomorrow) 8pm, University of Dayton, Imm. Conc. Chapel
Tues, 3/17 7:30pm, St. Anthony (off Rt. 35 at Steve Whalen)
Thurs, 3/26 7pm, St. Francis, Wilmington Pike, S of 675
Mon, 3/30 7pm, St. Luke
Wed, 4/1 7:30pm, Queen of Apostles (Bergamo)
Thur, 4/2 7:00pm, St. Helen

Each of these reconciliation services will have a time of scripture readings (like the beginning of Mass) and then time for individual confessions--a number of priests will be present.

Of course, you are always welcome to make an appointment with me for the celebration of Reconciliation here at Campus Ministry--just call or email! This sacrament is a great way to sacramentally celebrate God's great love for us, no matter what we've done. God is always, always ready to receive our remorse and intention to do better. As Pope John Paul used to say, "Be not afraid!"

What if Starbucks marketed like a Church?

2009-03-05T23:42:00.003-05:00

Found an interesting video on youtube...What if Starbucks marketed like a church?

A bit of a parody on some of the megachurches of today, but it says something to those of us in the Catholic Church too.

Monday...yawn

2009-03-02T16:11:00.002-05:00

I have never liked Mondays, as they just seem so daunting...for me, usually a full weekend (Sunday is a workday in my world!) followed by the regular work week. Today is no different.

Anyway, we're nearly at the end of the quarter, and I think everyone is glad. Winter term is always a hard one to get through...but we're nearly there.

Last night, our students who are journeying through the RCIA process accompanied me to Immaculate Conception Church in Dayton for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. This is a ceremony at which all those who are going to be baptized or received into the Church this Easter come before the entire Church (represented by the Archbishop) so that he may admit them to their final preparation in the name of the Church. We had front row seats to the ritual, and I think that our group enjoyed it--they were certainly amazed by the number of people there...according to the Archdiocese, over 11oo people are coming into the Church this Easter. Not all were at this one ceremony...there were three other ceremonies just like it, one earlier in the day here in Dayton, the other two at the Cathedral in Cincinnati.

Of course, I forgot to get a picture!

Well, we've got Bible Study tonight, along with our leadership meeting--so that's all for now. Hey, Monday's almost over!

Interesting Scientific and Ethical Breakthroungh

2009-03-01T17:06:00.002-05:00

Spotted this on a British news website...could be very promising:

Find it here.

The Church has been opposed to embryonic stem cell research because of the means of obtaining the stem cells: first, embryos had to be destroyed in order to be used--in other words, a potential life was ended--and, second, the embryos were obtained, I believe, from IVF facilities, in which the natural method of procreation was taken from its proper place between a man and a woman and instead conducted in a laboratory. (That, of course, is another debate for another time.)

The Church is not opposed to stem cell research per se--it simply ought to be done on adult stem cells, so that embryos need not be destroyed.

Ash Wednesday--Oh my!

2009-02-26T18:05:00.005-05:00

Ash Wednesday is a big day here at Campus Ministry--along with All Saints Day, its an important day in the life of the Church, and we're actually here for it. Christmas and Easter are great, but everyone's gone home to be with family...so we celebrate Ash Wednesday with gusto.

Yesterday was no exception. We held a noon-time Mass on Campus so that it would be easier for faculty and staff to attend on their lunch hour (and fit more people than we can at our place). We had a good turnout--about 110.

Then there was the 7pm here at Campus Ministry...what a crowd! We can fit 80 reasonably well (not great, but they fit). Ninety gets to be a real headache--not enough chairs, and nowhere to put them anyway. Well, we had 123 last night! Here are the pictures to prove it!

Found a part of the book of Isaiah that says something about what Lent is all about...from chapter 58, starting at verse 6:

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice,

to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke? ⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked,

to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall

spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the

Lord shall be your rear guard. ⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will

answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove

the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

¹⁰if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,

then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. ¹¹The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs

in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like

a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

¹²Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations

of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to live in."

Just a thought...

My, its been a long time...

2009-02-24T16:48:00.002-05:00

Well, this year really got away from me, blog-wise. Sorry 'bout that.

A lot of good things have been happening around campus ministry...our leadership team has been planning and executing some wonderful events. Recently, we held our first-ever men's retreat down at Cowan Lake State Park. We held a prayer service for Christian Unity a couple of weeks ago with the students in the United Methodist student ministry, which they call "Sharing the Light." And we've continued our Bible Study on Monday nights...we're now into the Book of Genesis.

Tonight is our second annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake dinner. A friend of mine has a great post today on the origins of some of the pre-Lenten traditions, including Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras...check it out here. We're hosting the dinner tonight starting at 5:30, running til 7:30. Hope you make it.

Of course, this is all in preparation for Lent. Many are confused about lenten practices like giving up meat, fasting and the like. Here's part of an email I sent to one student:

Basically, the way fasting and abstinence has been practiced for Catholics is this:

The days of fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
All the Fridays of Lent are days of abstaining from meat; the idea is to eat more simply. Taking Courtney out for Lobster probably misses the point!
The “law” binds those who are between ages 18 and 59.

The basic spiritual practices for lent have traditionally been prayer, fasting and almsgiving (giving to charity/doing volunteer work). This might take the form of going to Mass during the week in addition to Sunday, going to confession, fasting from meat or other foods/things, doing something kind for someone else or doing volunteer work (washing Fr. Ed’s car is but one example J ).

Here’s a good link on what fasting is, what it means to give up meat etc. http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Lent/faqle9902.asp

Pope Benedict is highlighting fasting especially this lent as a spiritual discipline worth reviving: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081211_lent-2009_en.html

So, anyway, if any of you are still around to read this blog (!) perhaps this will shed some light on what we do for Lent. Above all, may our practices this Lent help us to grow closer to God!

Homily for 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

2008-10-30T20:37:00.001-05:00

Well folks, I said I would try to be better at doing my podcasts. I tried, I really did...but now I've lost the microphone that plugged into my iPod. Don't worry, I'll find it eventually. But, if you've seen my office lately, you know it could take awhile. So, in the meantime, my notes from this weekend.

“you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind...you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

love God with all your heart...look at the things in our lives that we truly love...our families, special friends, memories that we hold dear...these are they ways in which we come to know God.

think about it...its most likely from these folks that we first heard of God, and the way that we lean how (and why) to love God.

and just as we love our families and friends, we should seek to love God.

we spend time with our families, we seek to know our friends better, do kind things for them...can be the same with God--spending time in simple prayer, seeking to do good things, to make ourselves into something good, make our family, friends, and God proud of us

love God with all your soul...in every human being, there is a part of us that each of us tries desperately to fill...we simply cannot let it go empty, nor should we...it is designed to be filled.

we try to fill this space with success, with material wealth, with the esteem of other people...none of these things are bad in themselves, but only if we recognize that these things are not all that we are seeking in our lives.

But what many people never figure out is that the only thing which can fill this space...is God.
God designed the human person so that he might be in relationship with us, that we would know God and God would know us.

God of course knows us better than we know ourselves...but how well do we know God...

love God with all your mind...I have a friend who is amazing at remember sports statistics (we all know someone like that, don’t we). He could tell you the line up of the 1976 Reds (who won the world series) without any recourse to Google or Wikipedia

how many of us though struggle through the creed at Sunday Mass? how many of us undertand what the creed means? how many of us stopped learning anything about our faith when we finished our confirmation classes?

what many probably don’t realize is that Christianity has a long tradition of seeking better understanding of God through study...study of the Scriptures, of the liturgy, of the early church fathers. And it is not study for study’s sake...in this study, we come to a better knowledge and love of God

In all of these things...we are seeking a closer relationship with God, the God who created us and redeemed us in Christ, and enlivens us with the Holy Spirit. the second commandment that Christ gives is the way in which we see this search for God bear fruit is loving our neighbor as ourself

Info from yesterday's homily

2008-10-20T09:38:00.002-05:00

As promised, here are the two internet links I talked about, with information on the issues on the Ohio ballot and the national Bishop's page:

www.ohiocathconf.org

www.faithfulcitizenship.org

And, below, my homily notes. Some of my background info I edited from Wikipedia, which, surprisingly, has a pretty good article on the principles of Catholic Social teaching. I only used it since I couldn't find my own notes (probably lost in one of my recent moves)...sorry that its not formatted as well as it could be...it was only a set of notes...

give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

image on the coin was Caesar Augustus, with the inscription “Divi Filius” or “son of god”, son of previous caesar..

we so often separate our faith and our life in our community. And in this election season, this becomes a particular problem/issue

seven key themes/principles of Catholic Social Teaching...

1. Life and dignity of every human person--each and every human person has the right to life...through all stages of life, the innate, God-given dignity of every person must always be respected and protected. Covers a variety of issues...begins with abortion, but continues to the death penalty, war, euthanasia, stem cell research (adult stem cells fine...destroying embryos for embryonic stem cells is not)

2. Call to family, community and participation
According to Genesis, immediately after forming Adam the "LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone." The Catholic Church teaches that man is now not only a sacred but also a social animal and that families are the first and most basic units of a society.

3. rights and responsibilities Every person has a fundamental right to life and to the necessities of life. In addition, every human has the right to what is required to live a full and decent life, things such as employment, health care, and education...Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. Rights should be understood and exercised in a moral framework rooted in the dignity of the human person.

4. option for and with the poor and vulnerable--teaching of Jesus...often with the poor, the marginalized...Matt. 25...whenever you do this for the least of these, you do them for me

5.dignity of work and the rights of workers--Society must pursue economic justice and the economy must serve people, not the other way around. Employers must not "look upon their work people as their bondsmen, but... respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character." Employers contribute to the common good through the services or products they provide and by creating jobs that uphold the dignity and rights of workers.
Workers have a right to work, to earn a living wage, and to form trade unions[ to protect their interests. All workers have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, and to safe working conditions.Workers also have responsibilities—to provide a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay, to treat employers and co-workers with respect, and to carry out their work in ways that contribute to the common good. Workers must "fully and faithfully" perform the work they have agreed to do. Payday lending issue falls under this rubric.

6. solidarity--remembering that we are our brother’s & sister’s keeper...can’t discount other people, try to make them as different from ourselves...Parable of the Good Samaritan. Immigration must be considered in this light.
7. care for God’s creation--recognizing that the world is not given to us to destroy, but rather to be stewards of creation

Sorry for slacking off; big announcement

2008-10-17T10:33:00.004-05:00

Things have been mighty busy around campus ministry since the beginning of school. We welcomed our freshmen, then had several activities...including our own golf outing. Shortly after that was a retreat with our student leaders. Everything was quite successful--now we're just catching our breath!

Tonight is our annual Italian dinner--lasagna this year. Stop by between 5-7pm...only $5 this year, proceeds going to sponsor one of our students at the St John Bosco home in Jamaica (see my posts from last December).

On another note--a very important one at that--the Holy Father has named a new Coadjutor Bishop for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, of which we are a part. Bishop Dennis Schnurr of Duluth, MN will be our Coadjutor. A Coadjutor bishop is an assistant bishop with right of succession. For us, that means that when Archbishop Pilarczyk retires next August (when he turns 75), Bishop Schnurr will become Archbishop of Cincinnati.

The Whispers in the Loggia website has more details. You may have to scroll down a few entries to see ours. The entry is entitled "Cinci's future, ten months early"

That's all I know for now.

ADDITION: Just found the press release on the Archdiocesan website: Here.

Need a TV?

2008-09-17T11:15:00.002-05:00

After moving into a new apartment this summer, I discovered that my HDTV doesn't fit in my living room...screen size is a bit too big, and the size of the entire unit is much too large...so, I have listed it on Craigs List for Dayton/Springfield. Here's the link to the listing...
Let me know if you have any questions. It's a great tv, just too big for me.

What a day...

2008-09-15T21:27:00.002-05:00

Well, the past day or so has been quite the experience here in the Miami Valley. We were hit with winds over 50 mph for several hours yesterday, and as a result many trees came down and many power lines came with them. In Dayton well over 200,000 customers were without power. The number down in Cincinnati was far worse--over 900,000. I was only out of power for about 16 hours, but my fellow campus minister is still without power tonight, as are my parents north of Cincinnati. They should be back on soon--we hope. Luckily, my parents can head over to my brother's house nearby--his power came back after 24 hours.

Wright State seemed to fare pretty well--only losing power for a few hours. Our campus ministry only suffered minor effects--a few limbs and twigs blown down. I'm glad we had a few dead trees removed a couple weeks ago--they could have been a true headache.

Classes are entering their second week, so things are ramping up for Campus Ministry as well: we'll have Masses during the week this term on Wednesdays at 6:30pm; students can hang out afterward and join our leadership team for its meeting--we almost always have food! Mass will also be celebrated on Thursdays at 12:15pm. Reconciliation will be Wednesdays at 5:45, til 6:15 (or anytime by appointment).

Bible Study will start next Monday at 7:30; we'll read the letters of St. Paul. RCIA for those interested in becoming Catholic (or just wanting more info on Catholicism, whether you're Catholic or not) begins this Thursday at 7:30.

All of these things can be found on the Calendar page of our website: www.raidercatholics.com Check us out!

I'm also podcasting my homilies again...though I couldn't find my iPod that I use for this week's Mass. But, I've found it, so I'll be back up and running next week.

Have a great term!

Back from Hiatus

2008-08-18T15:06:00.002-05:00

Well, it wasn't a planned hiatus, but that's how the summer turned out, blog-wise anyway. I recently moved from Ascension parish to a townhouse near WSU; this year, I'll be working not only at WSU, but will also have weekly responsibilities at Wittenberg in Springfield. Needless to say, moving and setting up the place took a bit of my time.

I also attended the regional convention in Cleveland for NPM; the main reason there was to witness Tony DiCello's reception of the Pastoral Ministry award. Tony is the Director of Music at our Cathedral and is also Director of Music at our seminary in Cincinnati. It's a very well deserved award--if nothing else, for putting up with all of us singing as seminarians!

Then, I was off to Colorado for a week's retreat with CCMA, the national campus ministry association. The scenery was wonderful, and the retreat was just what I needed. Before I left, I'd spent the weekend in Baltimore with Kevin Miklavcic and Alex Gutman, the highlight of which was a great dinner at Fogo de Chao, a Brazillian steakhouse; but that doesn't nearly describe the atmosphere. You've got to experience it for yourself.

I'll be back in a day or two with the latest plans for campus ministry!