Look! So great!

Check out the extended quotation from Msgr. Conley's homily from this evening's vespers @ Christ the King. 

I don't recall ever hearing him talk about his time in France, when he first started discerning his call to the priesthood, so the story about the crucifix he found while traveling there was a new to me. 

If he's our auxiliary bishop, that means he won't get to stay in Denver for long right? Is it understood that he'll soon be moved to his own episcopal see? Such a sad thought on such a happy occasion...

All Souls' Summer VBS Program

I just saw what we'll be using for our elem. summer VBS program. It looks really fun!

It's published by Group, so I'm sure it will be a great resource.

The program is supposed to replicate first century Jerusalem and includes spunky cartoon illustrations, in which Jesus looks like a super cool dude.  Makes me want to invite him over for a round of dreidel spinning and a healthy snack of hard boiled eggs and parsley.  

Summer in the city...Saturday in the park!

Name those songs! (The 2 in the post title...)

Here's an upcoming event I'm really looking forward to:

WHO: All Youth (family and friends welcome!)
WHAT: Walk in a downtown park, go to lunch, see a movie
WHEN: Saturday, June 7th (8am until approximately 3pm)
WHERE: Drop off and pick up at All Souls Parish parking lot
WHY: Get out of the house and enjoy Denver in the summer!
HOW: RSVP to Haley by Thursday, June 5th (permission slip required)

Plus, Narnia movies are gorgeous...



Can you believe it's been 3 years since the last one was released?!

According to the USCCB review, Prince Caspian is a "less emotionally absorbing follow-up" to The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. Apparently, "[t]his is in keeping with the bellicose second volume in C.S. Lewis' seven-part series, which has a thinner plot and affords less opportunity for character and thematic development."

The reviewer at LifeTeen would blame this on puberty:

There's a story about growing up, keeping your faith, and trusting your friends in this movie, but it's a story that doesn't get going until the second half. The story, much like it's actors, has a kind of awkward puberty; the first half kind of stumbles around without any particular grace or flair before it gets to blossom. The Telmarine world is much like our own - no special effects any everyone is human. This land of men has no room for Aslan, and neither does this part of the story. We want armor and sword fighting! We want magic! We want Aslan! (Whew, got a little carried away). It's true. Everyone is waiting for Aslan, and when he shows up, we really get cooking. It's a good thing the movie's over 2 hours, because there's a whole lot of action packed into the second half of Prince Caspian...

Regardless, I'm really excited to see it for myself! Aslan has always been a favorite literary character of mine... (I wonder if perhaps I shouldn't be ok with an animalistic allegorical representation of our Heavenly Father, but it works so well, I can't find the heart to object!)

Song of the Week

I am completely smitten with the Shaun McDonald song that's been playing on 89.7 WAY-FM this month:

"Captivated"

as found on his latest album, "Roots".

You can listen here or here.

High School is Tough

Just like Chuck Norris.



Are you ready for it??

Join us for Freshmen Survival Nights - coming this summer!

Beginning Wednesday, June 4th
Continuing every other Wednesday
7:30pm-8:30pm in the youth house
RSVP to Haley (permission slip required)
Friends and classmates welcome!

Latest Jack Johnson Album

I haven't heard this yet, so I stopped to read a review.

Did you know he's a Hawaiian native? (Apparently, my sister has known this for ages and I've been living under a rock--or is that an 8-track?)

Blind Bowler Rolls Perfect Game

I saw this shortly after the 8th grade bowling party last week...made me smile!

Check out the full article here (www.stormlake.com/topstory.htm).

Have you laughed yet today?

Springtime of the Soul

Did you notice the beautiful spring blooms on many of the trees in the neighborhood last week?  There was an amazingly pink, fluffy looking tree right next to the youth house, but it was only pink and fluffy looking for a matter of days.  Then it was gone.  

Now I'm glad I appreciated the bloomy goodness while it lasted, because I can't help but wish the colors of spring would last just a few weeks longer.  But maybe that's like wishing a birthday cake would last a little longer.  Who would want to eat a crusty two-week old slice of cake?  And eat it again the next day.  And the next. 

This reminded me of a talk I recently heard about our spiritual lives.  One of the points that struck me was how to deal with dryness in your prayer life by remembering times of more fruitful prayer and spiritual sustenance.  In other words, when we don't feel close to God, we should find hope and promise in the memory of a time when we did, for if we experienced consolation in the past, there's reason to hope we'll have it again--at some point--in the future.  

So here's to anticipating next year's blooms and birthday cake...and whatever/whenever the next spiritual blessing will be.  For just as all good things do, they will come from the benevolent hand of our Heavenly Father, in whom we place our hope. 

A Slice of Abandon

by Steve Case

Abandonment is to give up that part of ourselves that is primarily concerned with ourselves. When the biblical David (the giant killer, poet, street musician, warrior, voyeur, adulterer, sage) returned to his city with the Ark of the Covenant, he danced at the front of the parade. He danced with joy and abandon and...pretty much naked. His wife berated him not for his exuberant dancing but for his exuberant dancing in front of the help. To her, his dancing was unseemly.
I admit I'd love to see who gets the freebie from the change I put back in the vending machine. Bit I take my cues from the mystery pie-buyer [mentioned earlier in the article] and leave. Abandonment is being able to live without acknowledgement, without the approval of the rest of the world. Jesus talked about those who prayed loudly in public simply so that others could see them pray. Jesus' suggestion? Pray in your closet.
So [we are encouraged] to...

• pray alone in [our] bedrooms,
• give without expectation,
• study the Bible only to get to know God--not to make life easier or happier,
• serve without thought of including it on [] college applications,
• praise a classmate for no reason, and
• make the coffee in the morning so Mom doesn't have to.

When we start to live without waiting for our thanks or acknowledgement, we free ourselves from the scratch-yours-scratch-mine mentality.

__________________
Group Magazine, vol. 34, no. 4, p. 58