“The bridegroom does take a long time to come, doesn’t he!” says Daniela (pictured above), one of my babies from the Missionaries of Charity said as we waited for Father Severino to arrive to the mountain for their first communion. The kids were definitely excited to receive their first communion… and so was I!

Here are some pictures from this beautiful blessed celebration.

Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:9

This Sunday, on the feast of Christ the King, the children from Sister Candelaria, MC and my Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Level 2 class will be receiving their first communion. Very, very, excited!

This last Tuesday was our last parents’ reflection day. It has been a long 5 weeks of Tuesday afternoon trips to the mountains to meet with them, but 5 weeks of amazing time to share faith and excitement for this great moment in their children’s faith journies.

For the last talk, sister asked me to talk about the verse “Dichosos los invitados a la cena del Cordero” or in English, “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” which comes from Revelation 19:9

I decided to focus on the following part, which talks of those who are in the Lambs presence.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches* in their hands.

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.

For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7: 9, 13-17

This really struck a chord with me because part of the First Communion retreat is a celebration in which the children receive a white tunic. Similar to the white tunics they received at baptism, they represent purity and living life without stain.

The verse that struck me the most is “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb”. Truly, as sinners we are unable to walk throughout our lives without sinning and staining our white tunic, or compromising our purity with our actions, thoughts, deeds, and omisions. BUT, praise God we are able to draw ourselves closer to the Lord and receive His everlasting mercy through the Sacrament of confession – to truly wash our robes and make them white through the blood of the Lamb who is Jesus, our Lord.

I mean, practically speaking, white is by nature not an easy color to keep clean! Last year on the first day of school we had to wear our white polos and I stained it and couldn’t wear it the rest of the year, lol. And that’s just a material piece of cloth!

I think its fitting that we constanly think about the state of our tunics that we received at baptism. How clean is my robe in this very moment? Have I gone to have my tunic washed and made white? Am I being CAREFUL and PRUDENT so as to not stain my tunic or am I careless in my actions? Does this tunic have value for me?

Let us continue to strive forward in our walks of holiness so as to be able to arrive at the banquest of the Lamb with our robes without stain!

The past two weekends I have been working with a group of young adults from Holy Cross parish in San Pedro Sula that are working toward starting a music ministry. A few of the members of their group attended a Pan de Vida retreat, and invited me to help them with the retreat, particularly with the music ministry.

Last weekend, I went up to San Pedro Sula to give them a mini-talk on music ministry and worship leading, and also to rehearse with them for an upcoming retreat, that took place this past weekend in Siguatepeque.

The retreat weekend was beautiful – there were over 100 youth from the parish that came to participate! The theme of the retreat was “Planted and built up in Christ, firm in the faith” the same as this past World Youth Day 2011.

This opportunity came up on such a whim, and I have realized that over the past few months that other opportunities have come up on “whims” such as this one – all of them amazing opportunities to serve the Lord in the way that I feel called to!

Last weekend at rehearsal with their band in San Pedro, they requested that I sing at the mass for World Mission Sunday. As Fr. Egar preached on life as a mission, I had to take a moment to reflect on my own life in that very instant.

He preached of mission as I myself was on a mission, and one that I knew God had truly put into my path and asked of me. “Is this really my life right now?” I thought to myself. And not in a bad way at all, but an amazed way. Reflecting on these past 3 years of mission and life abroad in central america, there have been many moments where I step back and look at my life and wonder – what the heck am I still doing here? But at the same time, everything inside of me is convinced that this is where God wants me to be right now.

There have been so many moments in this time where I’ve been in the middle of an intense situation, and in the midst of it all, I step out of myself and think – This is exactly where God wants me to be. When I lead worship for different youth groups and at retreats, I think to myself – wow… This is what I was made for.

And here I am. Three years later….here I am. Marvelling at God’s love for us and how he truly grants the desires of our hearts when we submit ourselves to His will. To think so many years I rebelled against Him for the sake of my own “happiness” and all of a sudden I realize that my happiness is all God ever had in mind.

To think that this particularly journey began by a leap of faith and trusting in God’s faithfulness and has now become not just an experience but my identify is beyond my understanding. It all seems so crazy.

This weekend we sang a song that truly spoke to my heart – It is called “Hasta La Locura” (Even in the Madness)

Here are the lyrics with the translation:
me puede faltar todo en la vida , (I could be lacking everything in life)
me puede faltar hasta la vida, (I could even lack life itself)
pero nunca quiero que me falte (But I never want to lack)
el deseo de amarte hasta el final (the desire to love you until the end)

Awesome video!

When preparing for the sacraments, there are 5 special meditations that are given on a day other than their normal catechesis day. Their parents also come for the meditations. Sister Candelaria gives the meditation to the children, and I am with their parents.

This past week, and every week for the next month, we traveled up to the aldea where our kids are from – El Paraíso. It is about 30-45 minutes away from the city, depending on the road’s condition. When one arrives, it becomes obvious as to why this village is named “Paradise”.

This week’s meditation was the true vine, based on John 15:1-11.
The Vine and the Branches.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.

Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

This meditation, combined with missions up to remote mountain villages to share the Gospel truly bring to mind the unity of Christ through His Church. Having recently gone to World Youth Day, I have experienced it in that way, as well, but it is a distinct experience to travel out to these places and know that even there, where sometimes priests are unable to celebrate mass regularly, where there is limited access to the sacraments…the faith is still ALIVE.

As a vine extensively stretches its branches out throughout the fields, as does the Bride of Christ. And how beautiful it is to know that as far as one may feel from their community, or as separated one may feel from their home, that we are all connected together by the vine, that is Christ Himself.

An excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI’s message for World Mission Sunday 2011

This is “the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize” (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 14). Consequently she can never be closed in on herself. She is rooted in specific places in order to go beyond them. Her action, in adherence to Christ’s word and under the influence of his grace and his charity, is fully and currently present to all people and all peoples, to lead them to faith in Christ, (cf.Ad Gentes, n. 5).

This task has lost none of its urgency. Indeed “The mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion… an overall view of the human race shows that this mission is still only beginning and that we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service” (John Paul II,Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, n. 1). We cannot reconcile ourselves to the thought that after 2,000 years there are still people who do not know Christ and have never heard his Message of salvation.

PRO-LIFE.

For more info check out: http://www.catholicismseries.com/

Here’s the link to my best friend JREM’s new video about St. Francis of Assisi – filmed on location IN Assisi!