Christ's Resurection is not a Theory

Benedict XVI says Christ's Resurrection is not a fairy tail. Many people need to experience Christ. As a deacon or as a lay Catholic, each of us are called to help.

It is only through the Holy Spirit that one can say: "Christ is Lord!". It is through the Holy Spirit that we encounter Christ in the flesh and come to know that he is not make believe. In encounter with Christ, in His true presence, we say "Alleluia! Give thanks to the Risen Lord!".

The Holy Spirit is working constantly. It is our call to work with Him. Lets invite someone, a friend, acquaintance, family, or stranger, into this encounter. Pentecost is coming for everyone.

God Bless.

The blind guy

Ok. So its been bothering me since Thursday night's class. I could not put it down, and this morning I finally came up with the words. I'm talking about the "Prisoners and the Hats" logic problem.

I'll quote it here for followers of this blog, but all my fellow aspirants know it too well:

Of three prisoners in a certain jail, one had normal vision, the second had only one eye, and the third was totally blind. The jailor told the prisoners that, from three white hats and two red hats, he would select three and put them on the prisoners' heads. None of the prisoners could see what color hat he wore. The jailor offered freedom to the prisoner with normal vision if he could tell what color hat he wore. To prevent a lucky guess, the jailor threatened ten additional years of incarceration for any incorrect answer. The prisoner with normal vision looked at the other prisoners and said that he could not tell what color hat he wore. The jailor made the same offer to the one-eyed prisoner. The second prisoner said he could not tell what hat he wore, either. The jailer did not bother making the offer to the blind prisoner, but he agreed to extend the same terms to that prisoner when he made the request. The blind prsoner answered the question correctly in the following way:

"Although I am devoid of sight, from what my friends have said, I know my hat is _______."

What color hat was the blind prisoner wearing, and how did he know?

So, we get this question in a class on Introductory Theology. What for? I think because the interesting part of this problem is not what color hat the blind guy was wearing, nor how did he know. The interesting part is the language and construct of the explanation. There are many aspects to the theologian's job, as we have learned. One aspect is to re-explain theology using contemporary language. Basically, to explain how we know what we know in a clearly and accessibly. So, can an explanation of how the blind guy knows the color of his hat be made simple, straight-forward and accessible? I had to try and now offer it to you, my fellow kindergarten theologians, for critique. So, here we go:

Before the first prisoner speaks, all three consider the different combinations of 3 white and 2 red hats on three heads. There are 6 different combinations. They all know the first prisoner would be 100% certain of the color of his hat only if both of the other prisoners are wearing red hats. Only in that case, would he be certain he is wearing white. So, when he could not tell which color hat he had on, both of the remaining prisoners knew for certain that at least one of them is wearing a white hat (both are not wearing red).

Now, with the knowledge that at least one of these last two prisoners are wearing a white hat, they realize together that the second prisoner would be certain of the color of his hat only if the third prisoner is wearing a red hat. The second prisoner is not certain, so the blind guy is not wearing a red hat. He is wearing white.


Is that any good?

Hey Paulus, What's with the beard?

First let me regress back to my young teenage years. During one lent I picked up the bible and said, "Whatever I open to is what I will read for Lent". The book opened to Job. Yup the book of Job. At that time in my life I knew Job was one of the books in the Bible, but for me I never read it. So the book of Job was it. That was my focus for that particular lent. After reading it I was disturbed and frighten by what I read. For the next two Lents I re-read Job, each time frustrated at trying to find the message in the Book. One day I asked my dad about the book. I told him I was confused about what kind of God we believe in. My father, wanting me to come to my own understanding of Job, recommended that I keep reading the book of Job sections at a time and always remember to trust in God and stay faithful. Over the next couple of years I came to an understanding of the story of Job. There are a few interesting sub stories such as Satan's important question, Does man have a free will to worship God? Job's faithfullness to God even in anguish and desolation, the three friends who in trying to defend God's actions actually misrepresented God, and the mystery of suffering. So into my young adult years as a tradition I read Job each lent. Somewhere along the way I shifted to Bishop Fulton Sheen's Lenten meditations and the little Black book as my traditional reading during lent. Then when I retired from the military I found myself being asked by my parish's men's group to play the part of Peter in the Local community's Living Last Supper dramatization. To keep focused on the Lenten season, and the walk Jesus was and is making, I decided to grow a beard and let my hair grow out for the play instead of wearing a fake beard. The whole experience of reciting the lines and focusing on the Apostles and what they could have been thinking during Jesus' last hours is very humbling. Each day during Lent I see and feel the beard and know something is different. The facial reminder keeps me focused on my daily Lenten journey. I've been a part of this production and very special group of men for five years now. The Dramatization takes place each year Monday through Wednesday of Holy Week 7pm at St. Dorothea Church in Eatontown, NJ

O Captain! My Captain!

O Captain! My Captain! - From this day forward, O Captain! My Captain! is the official title given our theology facilitator. The words come from a poem by Walt Whitman. The poem is below.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done.The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;But O heart! heart! heart!O the bleeding drops of read,Where on the deck my Captain lies,Fallen cold and dead.O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;Rise up – for you the flag is flung – for you the bugle trills,For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths – for you the shores a-crowding,For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;Here Captain! dear father!This arm beneath your head!It is some dream that on the deck,You’ve fallen cold and dead.My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;Exult O shores, and ring O bells!But I with mournful tread,Walk the deck my Captain lies,Fallen cold and dead.- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Tonight, my wife and three daughters are all participating in "Jack Frost," the annual middle school lock in at our parish. Please remember them in your prayers. My wife is an adult volunteer, my oldest daughter is the middle school youth minister, my middle daughter is part of the team, and my youngest is participating. This is how we keep the flame of the faith alive.

D6 Crew Blog Feed now available

Hey everybody - A new feature has been added so you can easily follow the activities of our blog. To the right are pull down menus for our feed that can be added to your Internet browser. The browser will keep track of our blog and notify you when a new postings have been made. ENJOY.

Chapel in the Mall reaches 1 year Anniversary

I was sitting down this evening relaxing for a moment before evening prayer and I started reading this Month's St. Anthony Messenger. In there was an article on a chapel located in an Erie Pennsylvania mall. The chapel has been there a year now and has flourished. After I read the article, I researched it a bit on the Internet. You can click on the link and hear a video by Bishop Donald W. Trautman. Very interesting especially in this year of St. Paul. St. Paul brought the Gospel to the market place and so it is with this Pennsylvania Diocese. Just click on the post's title and it will take you to the video webpage. The video is a year old but still good.

D6 Retreat ends...The group closes out the weekend

Well it was Sunday morning and there was ruffled acitivity. Eileen and I were up early about 5am to spend some time in the Blessed Sacrament room and to take in our last few hours of the retreat. Margaret was down early this morning and joined us for coffee. I should say I had coffee, Margaret had tea, and Eileen had soda. Everyone seemed to arrive around the table for breakfast a little early today. While at breakfast the hot topic was the upcoming snow storm. The kids in us were hoping to get snowed in. The adults in us were calculating how long we could stay before heading back home. After breakfast we had a special morning prayer in which we offered up intentions and prayers for our group and the special relationships we started to form this weekend. After the cars were packed, the group mulled around sensing that each of us did not want to end this lovely weekend. But in the end we couple by couple said our goodbyes to the retreat weekend with hugs and kisses. Looking forward to the next time we can all be together.

D6 Retreat continues

All the activity of friday evening was just unimaginable. The closeness of Evening Prayer, group sharing, movie night, and the rest was like we were all home and family was getting together for the weekend. We all slept with the Angels Friday night. In the morning Luan led us in a discussion of the Theology of Relaxation. You can tell he led the session since he was still in his bedroom attire. If you lclick on the picture to the left, making it larger, you can see the background of the laptop. We had this up throughout the weekend to remind us of Sean and Mary Kay and Jim and Debbie who were unable to make it up this weekend. We had a robust schedule set for Saturday, but like all plans (you know the saying we plan God laughs). The group went nowhere as we were all rivited around the table sharing stories about families, joys, sorrows, fears, dreams, etc. The stories ran the whole gambit of emotions. The group even called the Murphy's and the Neubauer's talking and singing (if you can call it that) old irish songs. We ended up doing exacting what God had intented. I am trying to post a photo album of the retreat. Also I believe I fixed the comment enabling feature. God bless

Luan is in.

Luan is old gaelic for "warrior".

D6 Crew Retreat - Movie Night

The crew arrived safely at Wing House late Friday afternoon. First let me say, Wing House was graciously offered to us for a weekend by the owners Skip and Mary Buckman. The house, other then being a wonderful second home for this special couple, holds retreats throughout the year. Mary runs a ministry called On Angel's Wings, which provides a special outreach to expectent mothers and children. Mary joined Fr. John Campoli of His Love Ministies and together they manage a multitude of outreach programs around the world. http://www.hisloveministries.com/ . The evening started out with group fellowship. As is the tradition with our group food was plenty. We moved to the library for evening prayer. We designated the library as our adoration room, which has a tabranacle and Eucharist for personal prayer and holy adoration. Paul Franklin led evening prayer. After prayer we again assembled around the table and polished off A FEW tomato pies (Friday you know). We finally moved to the living room for movie night. We watched Fireproof a movie dealing with marraige. After the movie we shared our thoughts on relationships and the sacrament of marriage. Most started retiring around midnight. More to follow

D6 Crew Weekend Retreat Starts

Eileen and I arrived up at Wing House in the Mt. Pocono area of Pennsylvania around 11:30 to prepare for the retreat. The early afternoon finds us relaxing in front of the fire waiting for the crew to arrive. We will have more later - blessings