Our Lady of Guadalupe

Feliz Dia de
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe!

Advent Conspiracy

Check out this video! It has an incredible, and absolutely right, message for this time of year! It's the message that I try to send in my mission and social ministry work throughout the entire year.

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

Or check out the Advent Conspiracy website for more information.

There are plenty of other organizations like this out there, and I encourage folks to consider the message they all share. Whether it's water, or food, health care, an end to HIV/AIDS, restoration of the earth, human rights, peace, etc. - there are much better gifts we could be giving! And at this time especially, let us truly remember and believe that Christmas can still change the world!

Thank you Opat & CM TEC!

I had a great weekend! It started out with watching Jesi in a play on Friday night - it was a great show - lots of fun, and she's wonderfully talented! And it ended with going to see the play "Madeline's Christmas" with my Goddaughter Lucy on Sunday - the show was adorable, but not nearly as adorable as Lucy is!


But in between the two plays, was a wonderful celebration for Central Minnesota's Together Encountering Christ (TEC) program. The weekend marked the 30th anniversary of TEC in the St. Cloud Diocese. It was also the retirement party for Fr. Ken Opat, OSC, CM TEC's founder and coordinator. To celebrate we had a beautiful Mass with Bishop Kinney of St. Cloud; it was the most beautiful, heart-felt liturgy with the strongest sense of community that I've experienced since Mike and I's wedding! We also had a wonderful dinner, and ended the evening with a beautiful and fun program highlighting TEC's history these last 30 years, recognition from the National TEC Conference, and the achievments and blessings of Fr. Ken.

On a personal note, my TEC experience, and its on-going place in my life, has been probably THE single most foundational pieces of my life! Along with my graduate theological education, it has been one of the most important things in developing my faith and prayer life. Along with my mission experiences, it has been the most important factor in helping me realize my vocational call to ministry. Along with the house I grew up in, it is the only place where I feel at home as soon as I enter. And of all the people I've met in my 28 years, and all the places I've met them, the relationships I have through the TEC program are by far the most incredible. All of my best friends aside from my husband I either met through TEC, or were family and friends whose relationships have strengthened by leaps and bounds because we've since worked on TEC weekends or the TEC board together. Either way, I wouldn't be who I am without TEC, and would not have made it through some of the most difficult times in my life without these friendships. Thank you to my friends and family, and thank you to Central MN TEC, for continuously changing my life for the better and helping me encounter Christ in new and beautiful ways!!

And thank you Fr. Ken, without whom there would be no CM TEC, nor a great deal of other wonderful gifts. You have been a wonderful part of my life, as you have so many others. While sometimes I think you're completely nuts and other times you scare the heck out of me :) it's still hard to imagine TEC, and my life, without you. Thank you for all you've done, and will continue to do, to serve GOD and others through this great ministry! I pray for you constantly, and once again on this special occasion, I ask GOD to bless you abundantly. All my love and prayers Ken!

If anyone is looking for the greatest 3 days of your life, or at least a very fun and helpful time meeting GOD in a unique and wonderful new way, check out CM TEC: www.cmtec.org You can't argue with 30 years of experience, and National TEC Conference directors, both of which tell us: "CM TEC is the biggest and the best TEC program in the world!" Find out for yourself why!

World AIDS Day

Today, December 1st, is the 20th annual World AIDS Day - a day dedicated to increasing awareness, raising funds, fighting prejudice, and improving education surrounding HIV/AIDS. It's unbelievable how many of our brothers and sisters around the world are struggling from this illness and its effects.

• In the past 27 years since the AIDS pandemic began, 25 million people have died from AIDS
  
• Today nearly 33 million people world-wide have HIV, including 2.5 million children
• About 95% of HIV/AIDS sufferers live in developing nations
• Last year women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV
• People under 25 account for half of new HIV infections each year
• Africa has 11.6 million AIDS orphans
• Since the beginning of the pandemic, a half-million people in the US have died from AIDS (that's equivalent the entire population of Las Vegas); currently more than a million people in America are living with HIV, a fifth of whom are unaware of their infection

But there's hope! In my work with our Diocesan Partnership with Homa Bay, Kenya, as well as some of my other mission experiences, I've learned a lot about the many issues that surround HIV/AIDS in our world. Most importantly, though, I learned some of the names and faces of those beautiful people who too often get lumped into the statistics without our taking the time to see their identity and dignity beyond the illness. And through knowing them and their stories, I've also learned a lot about what antiretroviral medications and good nutrition and prevention programs are doing around the world, not to mention what the power of prayer, solidarity and support can do in bringing hope to our world.

I encourage everyone to drop whatever stereotypes you may have surrounding HIV/AIDS, and support the fight against it in whatever way you're able!