Back at It!

Hello, everyone!

It has been a long time since I last wrote here, and a lot has happened since then! Let me try to bring you all up to speed with some of my life events of the last...year and a half? Something like that. Let's just say the "Itinerant Catechist" has been doing a lot of "itinerating" since then. (I think that's a word.)

From Florida to the Midwest

At the end of May 2018, I made the long drive from Jacksonville to Ohio after finishing my 2 years of service at a parish in Florida.

In June of 2018, I wrote and presented for my Masters in Theology through the University of Notre Dame's Echo program. Throughout that process, I continued to be amazed at the beauty of the faith as I was privileged to study it more and more deeply. It may sound weird, and it definitely sounds nerdy, but I enjoyed writing my capstone.

It was also a tremendous gift to see my classmates present on their capstones as well, to see their unique gifts and incredible wisdom shine through their being. To celebrate our graduation Mass, and singing out "O God Beyond All Praising" with tears of joy in my eyes...it's something I will always cherish.

From the Midwest to the Smoky Mountains

After finishing my capstone and a couple of weeks at home, I (and my amazing parents) moved myself and my belongings to Knoxville, TN, to begin a position as the Director of Youth and Young Adult ministry at a parish there. 

During my time in Knoxville, I encountered so many incredible people and made several new friends whose hearts and souls inspired me to grow in holiness and hospitality each day. I also had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing movement called the "St. Meinrad Young Adult Initiative". 

This initiative was another great blessing in my life, as it opened my mind and heart to new ideas and strategies for encountering the young Church. 

Like any (or at least the majority of) first year in youth and young adult ministry, there were a lot of challenges, mostly just in trying to set the ground work and get things going. I had my past formation in youth ministry at Franciscan University which had prepared me for this first-year struggle, and so I was not surprised by this hurdle. But circumstances beyond my control shifted pretty dramatically during Holy Week of 2019 - which became a real opportunity to unite myself to Christ's sufferings. Nevertheless, I was determined to keep trying...until it more or less became clear that I might not be given the opportunity to do so. *

But, to quote Scripture: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). This saying did indeed prove trustworthy, for in the middle of all the "What am I going to do?" and "Why did this happen?" there came a clarity - this was an opportunity, a door that I could choose to walk through. 

Through prayer and a number of heart-to-heart conversations with friends, family, and mentors alike, I found myself recognizing something of my own situation in the Gospel story of the Annunciation to Mary. Interestingly, earlier in the year when the feast of the Annunciation came around, I found myself mysteriously drawn into the feast more than I had ever felt before.... The connection would continue to grow as I had the opportunity to take a group to Camp Covecrest for a week, and the theme? "Fiat." 

During this week, again the moments of grace kept cropping up - conversations with complete strangers, the homilies at Mass, the talks themselves...it all kept re-echoing the message of surrender, trust, and a resounding "yes" to God's invitation, even though it meant leaving behind my own ideas of how my life was going to look. 

*As you might have guessed, there's a lot more to this story; but my goal in writing this post is to give glory to God for His goodness, not get into the details of the sufferings and challenges of the situation. 

The Lord Provides - back to the Midwest

So, through the gracious gift of God, I received the offer to become a middle school Religion teacher at a school in Indiana. Again, there are a lot of details where Divine Providence totally blew me away in this process and how good the Lord is. But that's a story better told face-to-face, so if you'd like to know more, we'll just have to sit down over a cup of coffee someday. 

I am now 7 months into teaching, and surprise, we now have to relearn how to teach because our students can't come to school due to COVID-19. But hey! The Lord provides again, and so far the transition has been surprisingly smooth. 

Why am I back in the blogosphere? 

I've had some thoughts on the goings-on of the last couple of weeks, the Mass readings to accompany, and just the rich history of our Catholic faith that I'd like to delve into with willing readers. These "smatterings" will bring in Deuteronomy, St. Joseph, Frozen II, Vienna's plague pillar, and who knows what other connections the Holy Spirit may make. But the above is just a little way of my saying "hello, again!" after a long hiatus, and hopefully an opportunity to invite you all back to reading some reflections on our Catholic faith again. 

Stay home, and stay healthy, friends. Keep making those Acts of Spiritual Communion - and may we come to yearn for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament like a bride longing for her husband. 

Happy Laetare Sunday! 

-The Itinerant Catechist