since I last blogged. I wanted to inform you that I am still alive and doing well It was a busy week in the classroom and outside of the classroom. I am amazed at how fast the time goes. It feels like the year just began though I have 3 weeks of classes left before final exams. The last couple days I was able to reconnect with my old college roommate who was in town for a wedding and a Jesuit friend who is working at Georgetown in Washington for the summer. I would love to write more though I have a little more reading to do before bed.
I just received a phone call from my provincial. During the call he informed me that my request to make my solemn profession was approved! I will profess the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity and poverty on August 15th in Willimansett, Massachusetts. I am so excited! I called the friar who introduced me to the community and I asked him if he would pray about being my witness. I think he was honored!
Thanks to all who read this and pray for me. I am grateful to God for all of you.
I have never been very good when it comes to numbers, estimating or guessing. A worst nightmare for me would include having to teach Algebra because I always joke that I FINALLY learned to count to 20 when I became a friar and wore sandels everyday.
Anyway, after the mass last week I thought I was like 10 feet from the pope and I was being teased by another friar that my 10 feet would also be a quarter of a mile with my propensity for hyperbole.
However, I got an email today of some pictures that were accidentally taken of me. These photos prove that I was not a quarter mile away! But rather Pope Benedict was looking RIGHT AT ME ad smiling for my camera. Many thanks go out to Laura Quigley for sending me this picture! Laura and her family were some of my favorite people from my ministry last year!!
Edwin O’Brien, the archbishop of Baltimore, visited Curley High School yesterday and presided over liturgy for us! It was so nice to meet the archbishop and that he could join us. Before he came to Baltimore, he was the archbishop of the United States military.
I really liked his homily on freedom. He spoke of the Holy Father’s visit with the young people at Dunwoodie Seminary in New York. In the visit, the Holy Father spoke of not allowing the meaning of freedom to be corrupted in such a way that leads to death and despair.
Archbishop O’Brien shared the story of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, a Vietnamese bishop, who was in solitary confinement for 9 years by the Communist. During the time he came to the insight that he was to be preoccupied with God, rather than the things of God. I found that to be an awesome insight and a good examen for me this year. I can spend so much time talking about God and a reminder is the need to also maintain and cultivate my relationship with him!
It was a great visit and the kids were impressed by how personable and friendly he was.
I am guessing that most people who come across this blog don’t know what that word means, but anyway I had my scrutinium today. A month ago, I wrote to my Minister Provincial. In the letter, I asked to be received into solemn vows i.e. to be a friar for the rest of my life!
The scrutinium is a part of the process before a friar is approved. The provincial comes to his friary and interviews the other friars with whom he lives. Since I am on my apostolic year I got to have two!!! The first was in the formation house in DC and today was my second. I met with Fr. Michael afterwards and he gave me a copy of the vow formula and asked me to read it slowly aloud. Afterwards he told me to keep reading, praying with and meditating on it these next few months as I prepare for profession. He said he was going to recommend my approval. I will find out officially on Friday or Saturday please keep me and the other friars in your prayers.
20 minutes after I posted my last blog about not going to the Papal mass in Washington DC I received a phone call from one of my Franciscan brothers who asked me if I wanted to attend! I was exstatic, but I wasn;t sure if I could miss a day of school. I sent an email asking for a “papal personal day” and I received permission!
I was so excited when I drove down to Washington on Wednesday Night. I decided that I would leave the night before because we needed to get there early (the gates opened at 5 am for a 10 am mass!) The next morning 7 of us left at 6 am and we arrived at Nationals Stadium an hour later. There was so much life and excitement so early it was AWESOME in the truest sense of the word. Washington DC seems to be such a small Catholic city, because I kept bumping into friends, priests and religious, people I knew from college and former ministry sites. At times it felt like a Grand Homecoming or Super Reunion!
I was amazed by how awesome our seats were! I was able to get this close to the altar
and when Mass started this was our view!!!
At 9:40 the Holy Father arrived in his PopeMobile and as soon as it was spotted the stadium exploded! 45,000 of us as if in unison cheered, screamed and welcomed him as the video below which I took from my seat!
20 minutes later, he reappeared from the dugout and vested for mass. This time a reverent hush fell over the crowd as we prepared to sing a Hymn to the Holy Spirit to the tune of the Franciscan paean, All Creatures of Our God and King.
I was moved by his homily when he explained why he came to America, he told us “I have come to proclaim anew, as Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Messiah, risen from the dead.” It doesn’t get much more basic than that, as Peter was to confirm his brothers’ faith in Christ. He came to confirm ours and renew our hope! He challenged us to present our “contemporaries a convincing account of the hope which inspires us and to be renewed in missionary zeal for the extension of God’s Kingdom.” Because “the world needs this witness!” He spoke more of hope and our vocation as people of hope. He has so much to say that I thought my little mind could only grasp so much, which is why I printed out a copy to reread when I have a bit more time
I was amazed that communion for 45,000 people took less than 20 minutes and after the final blessing of religious articles. I made a beeline to where he would process by and I was within 25 feet of him (which is a wee bit more than the 10 feet I thought earlier.)
After mass, my brothers and I got a great group picture in front of the altar.
Afterwards, we met up with the group from Curley and when we left we were famished. We walked over to Union Station for a nice lunch at Pizzeria Uno’s.
Afterwards, I made my way back home VERY tired and a combination of being giggly and giddy. I felt like a 6 year old on Christmas morning!
A student- “So Friar Matt, if you aren’t going to be here with us the next couple days that’s ok with me.”
Me- “Why wouldn’t I be here?”
Another student “We assumed you would be going to meet the pope.”
Me- “Oh right, well I was offered the possibility of a private meeting. He wanted to know what it was like teaching a Curley but I told them no. I couldn’t bare not being with you for even a single day.”
A number of students “What? Are you serious?”
Me-”I told you never underestimate how crazy I can be!”
I am not EXACTLY sure what they were getting at, I am hoping that they desired me to have an experience of meeting the pope and sharing their love and admiration for him and his ministry rather than hoping for a chance to watch a movie and have a substitute teacher for the day. I am hoping it is the first and well I will keep hoping.
I have spent a bit of time the last few days reflecting, reading and praying about first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States. I was moved when I learned that the basic proclamation of the Holy Father is that Christ is our Hope. A theme so important that he wrote an brilliant encyclical about it.
I know that I will be trying to follow as much of the visit as I can via the internet and TV. I am excited that he will be visiting my old haunts: The Basilica of the National Shrine and CUA. Those are two places where I spent some very special times and moments of my life.
Getting in the spirit of the papal visit. There is a display case in the main foyer which will highlight parts of the visit. I hope to show some of speeches and homilies in class and 4 Curley students were lucky enough to be chosen to attend the Papal Mass at Washington Nationals Stadium. These will be some exciting day ahead of us!
We got yesterday off from school, not in honor of my 29th birthday, but because we had a faculty community service day. We volunteered at a Boy scout Camp in upper Maryland. We repaired a number of different things for them including lawnmowers, picnic tables and tents. It wasn’t the most exhilarating or glamorous day, but that isn’t what it was supposed to be about. I had a good day. I really like my colleagues at Curley and i was great to get to know in a different way outside of school. Afterwards, a bunch of us went out to celebrate the end of the week, the service day and my birthday.
Over the last 2 days, the sophomores at Curley went on their annual retreat. The goal of the Sophomore retreat is to work on teamwork and unifying the class. The retreat was held at River Valley Ranch. RVR is a Christian camp which bills declares itself as “western camping with Christian values.” We left Curley in the morning and headed to the site. After arrival, we split into 4 groups. each of the groups would participate in a challenge. These challenges included a rock wall, high ropes course, zip line and a giant swing.
These exercises helped teach trust in the camp instructors, their teammates and the equipment. After each challenge was finished the instructors unpacked this a bit more with the students and included discussion on how faith in God is someone we can trust even more than lanyards and wires. I thought each of the instructors were personable and had a great message!
We all had a great day and even I got involved with some of the activities. I loved the zipline and tried my best on the ropes course…
Which means…..I didn’t make it….
Although others did….
A couple other really good pictures…
I edited a movie about the retreat with videos and pictures I took.
Wow, 3/4 of the school year is done! The third quarter closed on Friday and the 4th began today. The weekend flew by, I went to the movies (21 was VERY good!) and we had the Curley Battle of the Bands. The Battle of the Band hosted 3 student bands, including 2 with my students! There was a fair bit of original lyrics which I appreciated. I DID love when a cover version of Guns and Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine was performed.
I had two classes today and I was really excited about my 6/7th period lesson. We have been working on the Eucharist. I began class by giving out pieces of cookies at random/based on who had the best computer, nicest tie etc. Later on in class, we looked at Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he critiques the Corinthians for their divisions in their community and the poor who were ignored at the early Agape meals. The kids got the message and I think really understood and appreciated the lesson.
While today after school, the faculty destroyed the National Honor Society in a rosuing match of full contact handball. The game was fun and I scored a couple points. All is well in the world!
It was a busy week in the classroom and outside of the classroom. I am amazed at how fast the time goes. It feels like the year just began though I have 3 weeks of classes left before final exams. The last couple days I was able to reconnect with my old college roommate who was in town for a wedding and a Jesuit friend who is working at Georgetown in Washington for the summer. I would love to write more though I have a little more reading to do before bed.
