So I found this news story on Yahoo today and it just made me so angry. If, as both sides say, the church is shared under a "status quo" relationship, why do they need to fight about who gets to use it? Can't they just make up a schedule that says "Armenians get the church from 8am to 10am and the Greeks get it from 11am to 1pm"?
I understand not wanting others to interfere with what you're doing, but this is just ridiculous. We need to find what similarities we have and cling to them rather than letting petty ethnic or political differences divide us. We all serve the same God and we need to honor that rather than living with our eyes fixed on our differences. We are here to bring others to Christ, not to tear each other down. We need to unite under the banner of Christ's love, not focus on differences.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
More on my health...
So this past Thursday after classes, my dear mother picked me up from my domicile and drove me home to Ann Arbor. Aside from spending some quality time with the Sneezes and Miss Jenny Pink, I made time in my busy social calender to visit the doctor. The visit revealed a few things. I do not have bronchitis and have not had it for several months. Instead, it would appear that I have allergies (seasonal as well as to things such as dust and mold) and these allergies are creating an asthmatic situation in my lungs. Thus, I am not nearly as close to death as was previously suspected. I am on more medications than ever...I think four is an all-time high for me although no where near as high as many people I know, especially those over the age of seventy.
This news is, in my opinion, pretty much fantastic and calls for a celebration. I think the best possible way to celebrate would be to study until my eyes fall out of their sockets and write as many papers about inane topics as possible all while preparing presentations on topics about which I don't give a darn. After this, I will take difficult tests about things that I may or may not care about, depending on the subject matter at hand. After these examinations, I will give myself ten days to relax and then I will go back to the old grindstone and take two classes for six weeks. And then I will rejoice in the coming of summer.
But for now...check out these pictures of a west Michigan spring that I took while wondering GV's campus last week.
This is the pond behind the library looking out towards the performing arts center.
Spring has sprung...
Have a lovely week!
This news is, in my opinion, pretty much fantastic and calls for a celebration. I think the best possible way to celebrate would be to study until my eyes fall out of their sockets and write as many papers about inane topics as possible all while preparing presentations on topics about which I don't give a darn. After this, I will take difficult tests about things that I may or may not care about, depending on the subject matter at hand. After these examinations, I will give myself ten days to relax and then I will go back to the old grindstone and take two classes for six weeks. And then I will rejoice in the coming of summer.
But for now...check out these pictures of a west Michigan spring that I took while wondering GV's campus last week.
This is the pond behind the library looking out towards the performing arts center.
Spring has sprung...Have a lovely week!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
My guardian angel has blue eyes
So I have a little tale to tell y'all...
Last Saturday night, I was hanging out with my friends Mark, Lauren, Nicole, Clarissa, Kyle, and Alex at Mark's apartment. Around midnight, I started feeling a little weird so Kyle decided to round up the troops and take me home. Once he had Alex (his twin brother), Clarissa, Nicole, and I settled in his mom's van, he starting driving. We'd made it about a minute or two from the apartment when my breathing became weird, gasping almost like a scream. It apparently sounded like I was hyperventilating. So, Kyle asked me if I wanted to go home or to the hospital. I very insistently (and stubbornly and stupidly) demanded to go home. So Kyle drove me home. Once home, Clarissa rushed me into the house where my roommates and that good-old-fashioned paper bag trick did us all a few favors. Then I went to bed...
Monday morning, I called my doctor back home who told me to come in as soon as possible. Thusly, I made arrangements for my mom (who is on spring break this week) to come pick me up today and take me home to see the doctor. The nurse also told me that if anything funky happened with my breathing between Monday and Friday to immediately get my butt to urgent care.
Then came yesterday. My breathing had been a little painful all week but yesterday afternoon, inhaling and exhaling had become a painful, burning process. So, after my 3:00 to 4:15 class, I made my way across campus to my 4:30-5:45 class. But while sitting there before class, I shot Kyle a text message telling him about the burning breaths thing. He responded that he could take me to the hospital if I wanted; just let him now. And he was leaving campus at 5:00. It was 4:34 then.
I considered my options and said a quick prayer before gathering my things up and running out of class while frantically dialing Kyle's number. We agreed to meet at Kirkhoff ASAP and I started walking while he started driving. He and Mark were waiting for me when I got there and they drove me to the hospital. As we drove, he called his wonderful mother who told us which hospital to go to and even offered to make the half hour drive down from her house to the hospital to help out.
As it happened, someone had alerted Noelle, my roommate, to the situation and she alerted my brother, Greg. They came to the hospital but then we decided just to have Greg stay with me and Kyle would take Mark and Noelle back to my house where they were all expected for dinner. Greg stayed with me through hours of questions and waiting and watching other people get checked. He waited while I had a chest x-ray taken and then while we waited for two hours for it to be read. Then came the verdict.....BRONCHITIS. So they gave me a prescription for an antibiotic or two and an inhaler. But of course, they discharged me at 9pm so we'll have to wait a bit on filling them. I'm still going home today to see the doc tomorrow, by the way.
But afterwards, Greg took me to the end of the UCO meeting. And that was great, seeing all these people who had been praying for me. Afterwards, we went to Applebee's to get me some dinner; it was 10pm and I hadn't eaten yet. Before we left, Kyle (who has blue eyes, by the by) gave me a hug and told me not to do anything stupid...
It was an amazing experience, realizing that while being sick sucks there are people around me who love me and care about me. They were such a sign of God's presence in my life yesterday. And it was one of those days where I felt like my guardian angel was inhabiting the body of someone near me. And yesterday, that person had blue eyes.
Last Saturday night, I was hanging out with my friends Mark, Lauren, Nicole, Clarissa, Kyle, and Alex at Mark's apartment. Around midnight, I started feeling a little weird so Kyle decided to round up the troops and take me home. Once he had Alex (his twin brother), Clarissa, Nicole, and I settled in his mom's van, he starting driving. We'd made it about a minute or two from the apartment when my breathing became weird, gasping almost like a scream. It apparently sounded like I was hyperventilating. So, Kyle asked me if I wanted to go home or to the hospital. I very insistently (and stubbornly and stupidly) demanded to go home. So Kyle drove me home. Once home, Clarissa rushed me into the house where my roommates and that good-old-fashioned paper bag trick did us all a few favors. Then I went to bed...
Monday morning, I called my doctor back home who told me to come in as soon as possible. Thusly, I made arrangements for my mom (who is on spring break this week) to come pick me up today and take me home to see the doctor. The nurse also told me that if anything funky happened with my breathing between Monday and Friday to immediately get my butt to urgent care.
Then came yesterday. My breathing had been a little painful all week but yesterday afternoon, inhaling and exhaling had become a painful, burning process. So, after my 3:00 to 4:15 class, I made my way across campus to my 4:30-5:45 class. But while sitting there before class, I shot Kyle a text message telling him about the burning breaths thing. He responded that he could take me to the hospital if I wanted; just let him now. And he was leaving campus at 5:00. It was 4:34 then.
I considered my options and said a quick prayer before gathering my things up and running out of class while frantically dialing Kyle's number. We agreed to meet at Kirkhoff ASAP and I started walking while he started driving. He and Mark were waiting for me when I got there and they drove me to the hospital. As we drove, he called his wonderful mother who told us which hospital to go to and even offered to make the half hour drive down from her house to the hospital to help out.
As it happened, someone had alerted Noelle, my roommate, to the situation and she alerted my brother, Greg. They came to the hospital but then we decided just to have Greg stay with me and Kyle would take Mark and Noelle back to my house where they were all expected for dinner. Greg stayed with me through hours of questions and waiting and watching other people get checked. He waited while I had a chest x-ray taken and then while we waited for two hours for it to be read. Then came the verdict.....BRONCHITIS. So they gave me a prescription for an antibiotic or two and an inhaler. But of course, they discharged me at 9pm so we'll have to wait a bit on filling them. I'm still going home today to see the doc tomorrow, by the way.
But afterwards, Greg took me to the end of the UCO meeting. And that was great, seeing all these people who had been praying for me. Afterwards, we went to Applebee's to get me some dinner; it was 10pm and I hadn't eaten yet. Before we left, Kyle (who has blue eyes, by the by) gave me a hug and told me not to do anything stupid...
It was an amazing experience, realizing that while being sick sucks there are people around me who love me and care about me. They were such a sign of God's presence in my life yesterday. And it was one of those days where I felt like my guardian angel was inhabiting the body of someone near me. And yesterday, that person had blue eyes.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A Tragic Wound
Last night, I finished reading Orientale Lumen, John Paul II's Apostolic Letter written in 1995 to make the centenary of Orientaliom Dignitas. Towards the end of the letter, John Paul II offers some thoughts that I found very interesting in light of recent discussions I've had about the future of the Eastern Catholic Churches. I think a lot of people think that Byzantine Catholics will eventually become part of the Roman Catholic Church, using the Roman Liturgy and accepting Rome's authority in all things.
I think, on the other hand, that is far more likely that if the Byzantine Catholic Churches are ever made part of another Church, it will make far more sense to join them to the Orthodox Churches. John Paul addressed this in Orientale Lumen when he wrote:
"It has been stressed several times that the full union of the Catholic Eastern Churches with the Church of Rome which has already been achieved must not imply a diminished awareness of their own authenticity and originality. Wherever this has occurred, the Second Vatican Council has urged them to rediscover their full identity...These Churches carry a tragic wound, for they are still kept from full communion with the Eastern Orthodox Churches despite sharing in the heritage of their fathers. A constant, shared conversion is indispensable for them to advance resolutely and energetically towards mutual understanding. And conversion is also required of the Latin Church, that she may respect and full appreciate the dignity of Eastern Christians, and accept gratefully the spiritual treasures of which the Eastern Catholic Churches are the bearers, to the benefit of the entire catholic communion; that she may show concretely, far more than in the past, how much she esteems and admire the Christian East and how essential she considers its contribution to the full realization of the Church's universality."
I think that a lot of people, at least of my acquaintance, are not aware of the history and traditions of the Byzantine Catholic Churches and our connections to the Orthodox Churches. I also think it is important to recognize the traditions of the other Churches. We all need to learn about each other and work together to help the cause of unity along.
I think, on the other hand, that is far more likely that if the Byzantine Catholic Churches are ever made part of another Church, it will make far more sense to join them to the Orthodox Churches. John Paul addressed this in Orientale Lumen when he wrote:
"It has been stressed several times that the full union of the Catholic Eastern Churches with the Church of Rome which has already been achieved must not imply a diminished awareness of their own authenticity and originality. Wherever this has occurred, the Second Vatican Council has urged them to rediscover their full identity...These Churches carry a tragic wound, for they are still kept from full communion with the Eastern Orthodox Churches despite sharing in the heritage of their fathers. A constant, shared conversion is indispensable for them to advance resolutely and energetically towards mutual understanding. And conversion is also required of the Latin Church, that she may respect and full appreciate the dignity of Eastern Christians, and accept gratefully the spiritual treasures of which the Eastern Catholic Churches are the bearers, to the benefit of the entire catholic communion; that she may show concretely, far more than in the past, how much she esteems and admire the Christian East and how essential she considers its contribution to the full realization of the Church's universality."
I think that a lot of people, at least of my acquaintance, are not aware of the history and traditions of the Byzantine Catholic Churches and our connections to the Orthodox Churches. I also think it is important to recognize the traditions of the other Churches. We all need to learn about each other and work together to help the cause of unity along.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
New Name, Same Girl
So I've changed the name of my blog from "Somewhere Only We Know" to "A Light of the East" a name that I took from John Paul the Great's 1994 Apostolic Letter "Orientale Lumen" which means "The Light of the East." I've decided that being a member of that East, with my desire to share my love of Eastern Christianity with others, I would change the name of my blog to suit my purpose.
I was raised Byzantine Catholic. My dad is an ordained deacon in that Church. And I love that Church deeply and passionately. It is my home and my heart. And I want to share this East, this frequently forgotten "lung" with the rest of the Church. JPII liked to refer to the Eastern Catholics as "the other lung of the Church."
And with life in the Church moving the way it is, I think it is really important for me to stand up for my church and share my faith with others. The church is hoping to move towards unity between East and West and I am hoping to be a voice of that unity. I think that being Eastern Catholic puts me in an interesting place in this world. I have many Roman Catholic and Protestant friends; I even have a few Orthodox Christian friends. But I have few Byzantine friends, especially my own age. And I have been exposed to both East and West, and yet my Church is a bridge between the two. This allows me a unique perspective on the Church. And it is this perspective that I want to share with the world.
I will continue to share my life with you, especially once I go to Spain in the fall. I will even continue to share my bizarre news stories with you. But I will also attempt to share a bit of my Orientale Lumen with you.
Christ is Risen!
I was raised Byzantine Catholic. My dad is an ordained deacon in that Church. And I love that Church deeply and passionately. It is my home and my heart. And I want to share this East, this frequently forgotten "lung" with the rest of the Church. JPII liked to refer to the Eastern Catholics as "the other lung of the Church."
And with life in the Church moving the way it is, I think it is really important for me to stand up for my church and share my faith with others. The church is hoping to move towards unity between East and West and I am hoping to be a voice of that unity. I think that being Eastern Catholic puts me in an interesting place in this world. I have many Roman Catholic and Protestant friends; I even have a few Orthodox Christian friends. But I have few Byzantine friends, especially my own age. And I have been exposed to both East and West, and yet my Church is a bridge between the two. This allows me a unique perspective on the Church. And it is this perspective that I want to share with the world.
I will continue to share my life with you, especially once I go to Spain in the fall. I will even continue to share my bizarre news stories with you. But I will also attempt to share a bit of my Orientale Lumen with you.
Christ is Risen!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
