"Its a book every parent should read."
Blessed
are you who give your lives to serve young people, especially when your efforts
don’t seem to bear fruit, for you possess the generous spirit of Christ.
Blessed are you who
recognize and call forth the gifts in youth often buried beneath layers of
anger, distrust and abandonment, for you possess the mouth of Christ.
Blessed
are you who see and affirm the goodness in every kid, especially those who are
entitled, apathetic and abrasive--for you possess the eyes of Christ.
Blessed are you who are a
safe place for young people, especially those who have experienced abuse,
neglect and violence, for you possess the healing presence of Christ.
Blessed
are you who pray for young people, especially those who don’t know God, who do
not want to know God and don't want anything to do with anyone who has anything
to do with God, for you possess the soul of Christ.
Blessed are you who risk
loving young people, knowing that they will sometimes disappoint you and hurt
you, for you possess the heart of Christ.
Blessed
are you when you feel patronized by those insisting that you just “play with
kids”, “Only work from 8-3 and get three months of summer vacation” for you do have A REAL JOB and yours is the humility of Christ.
Blessed are you who feel unvalued, unappreciated and unsupported by pastors, boards, councils and administrators for you possess the enduring spirit of Christ.
Blessed
are you who persevere in your ministry, especially in the months of March,
April and May when you think “I don’t get paid enough to do this” for yours is
the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when parents doubt you, and talk about you at soccer practice and utter every sort of evil into your voicemail—Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven--'cause its sure won't be in your paycheck!.
(My friend and mentor Mike Patin, recently posted this on his blog. Mike will be emceeing the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry this December in New Orleans.)
My latest diversion is doing Sudoku puzzles. I’ve seen the puzzles often but I’ve never picked them up. Three weeks ago I tried my first one on a long plane ride home. I didn’t finish. I was getting frustrated at my inability to get it...and get it quickly. Even more frustrating was the fact that I put down the Sudoku and picked up a crossword puzzle—and finished it in 9 minutes!
I took the unfinished Sudoku with me and found myself drawn back to it in the next few weeks. I would get really close to the solution and then catch a big mistake. That first puzzle took me over 2 weeks to finish. It’s ragged from the eraser marks and wear and tear (who does these things in INK???).
I asked my daughter and one of my nephews, both of whom are good in math, to show me some tricks or clues because I knew it shouldn’t take me THAT long. Both patiently tried to explain what they looked for and how they “reasoned.” The looked at the puzzle in a completely different way than I did. It was almost like there was another dimension I wasn’t considering.
Life, for me, is a lot like Sudoku. I don’t like a lot of blank spots. Often I am arrogant, thinking I have a great strategy but I limit, confuse or sabotage my success when focusing on speed rather than letting answers show themselves. I’m not patient when answers don’t come quickly. Life is filled with struggle (frustration and eraser marks). Sometimes starting over from the beginning and the basics are a good way to patiently work at the puzzle.
My family has quite a year ahead. My daughter is facing choices about college, her major, and the future in general. My wife and I are looking ahead to our future—where we’ll work and live. I wish the answers were laid out clearly like a recipe (Step 1....then Step 2).
Life is more like Sudoku than a recipe. I do Sudoku 2-3 times a week; it’s become a spiritual exercise of sorts for me. It reminds me that life’s struggles and answers are more about PROCESS, PERSPECTIVE and REASONING. I have to slow down and take a good look around. Mistakes are likely. I also remember there is another dimension—FAITH—to consider.
I won’t give up. Answers will come.
Mike Patin has over 25 years of professional ministry experience. As a "faith horticulturist" he travels the US and Canada affirming, challenging and encouraging adults and youth in schools, parishes and at regional and national conferences. Contact him at mikepatin@yahoo.com.
I was recently tagged by Scott Miller of the Catholic Youth Ministry Blog, and asked to list my three favorite prayers. These prayers have, and continue to draw me into a spirit of prayer:
1. The Peace Prayer (of St. Francis)
2. The Fragrance Prayer (by St. John Neuman)
3. The Angelus
So, Mike Patin (who has compiled a great book of prayers entitled A Standing Invitation), Lisa Beidenbach (St. Anthony Messenger Press), Frank Mercadante (Cultivation Ministries), Becky Elderedge (Everything is Holy Now Blog), Jim Beckman (Impact Center), Jeff Young (The "Catholic Foodie") and Brian Butler (Dumb Ox Productions) lets hear it. What's your three favorite or "go to" prayers?
And so, my dear friends who honor me by reading this blog, what are your three favorite prayers? Please comment below, Facebook it (tag me) or blog it away!
The night after Christmas I
brought my 4-month-old son Benjamin crying to the ER
after enduring hours of
uncontrollable crying, and a myriad of futile attempts to soothe him. As
pediatrician examined him, he applied eye drops, and asked the nurse turn off
the light. Holding a black light over his face he said, “Aha” and pointing to
Ben’s left eye “He has a corneal abrasion.”
I would have never guessed that something was wrong
with his eye. I was certain he was having digestive problems. The veteran doc
sensed our bewilderment. He explained, “When babies flail their arms they sometimes
inadvertently scratch their eyes. Because of their lack of language and motor
skills, they cannot point to what hurts
nor can they tell us what hurts. In other words, they cannot localize their pain.”
Like infants, there are times when we are hurting and cannot detect the source of our pain. Times when a little “Tylenol” will not do the trick. Times when we’ve run up against something less obvious and treating it means first identifying its source.
The prospect of exploring wounds is scary. We’re afraid of uncovering painful stuff
we’ve gladly left behind. I know because for the last fifteen years I’ve done
just that. With the help of amazing counselors, spiritual directors and the
support of my wife and friends I’ve looked beneath the dark blanket of
depression, over the cliffs of fear and anxiety and walked into the raging
waters of grief—again, and again, and again.
Each time I’ve sought to
“localize” my pain I’ve discovered the Lord in a new way. Each journey to the
source of hurt has led me to an even more powerful source of life—God, who had
beat me to the scene. Every single time God meets me to shine light into my
darkness, hold me as I peered over the edge the abyss of abandonment and fear
and walks with me into the roaring waters of sadness and loss.
Localizing our pain will
always lead us to localize the power of God’s healing grace, already at work in
our lives.
When I was a kid I loved watching Tarzan. There was
something mesmerizing about watching Johnny Weizmuller swing from a vine while
belting out that trademark yodel (aside: treat yourself and go to www.youtube.com and type “Tarzan Yell” in
the search box. Johnny’s original is there along with a bunch of “would be”
Tarzans. Funny stuff!)
Needless to say, for most of my life whenever I heard
the word “vine” I thought of Tarzan. Gradually my little world opened up and
began to include Kudzu and Muscadine as other legitimate options. None of these
images helped me when it came to understanding this weekend’s gospel where
Jesus says:
None of those vines, at least to me, had branches. Offshoots maybe, but branches? No.
It wasn’t until I traveled to California that I began
to understand this passage. Driving North from San Francisco up Highway 1 leads
you into the heart of Wine Country. I was in awe of the literally thousands of
acres lined with rows of bush like vines, laden with grapes. Being nosy, I
stopped and got out to go take a closer look (trespass).
To my surprise, there
was nothing supporting these huge vines other than a mere wire extending the
length of the row.
It wasn’t the wire that supported those heavy branches—it was all of the branches
supporting each other.
These are important spiritual disciplines. But a
closer look into Jesus’ metaphor reveals that our most obvious support for
staying attached to the Christ-Vine is one
another.
I know that for me, when times are tough, when things
aren’t going right, when I’m down or discouraged I retreat into myself,
believing that I can “go it alone.”
We are not offshoots from a pesky weed. Offshoots can
stand alone and are not fruitful.
Remaining awake is central to our spiritual journey. Praying, Fasting, abstaining and alms giving are like spiritual alarm clocks that help keep us from drifting into apathy and remain spiritually alert. God has gifts (grace) he wishes to give us. Lets not be sleeping when he's doling them out.
When helping couples prepare for marriage or young newly married couples we need to use a language they understand and approach them in a less "churchy" way if we wish to be effective. This always happens in the contexts of real relationships. It happens when we care more about those to whom we minister than we do about them learning what we hope to teach them.
Go Deeper--Buy the book here.
