Independence Day

I was reminded by my parish priest during his comments in his homily at the July 4th Mass I attended, that Missouri was never under the rule of the British.  While most everyone in the United States celebrates Independence Day on July the 4th, most of what is now the United States did not belong to Great Britain in 1776.  Missouri for example, was first settled by the French Canadians in 1764 but quickly fell under the rule of Spain until France took it back in 1800 under the Treaty of San Ildefonso.  In 1803 it became known as the Missouri Territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, and did not become a state of the union until 1821.  So while we all celebrate July the 4th as the birthday of the United States, you have to look to your own state's history to determine when it actually became a part of the union, which for Missouri was August 10, 1821.  This begs the question:  why don't states make a bigger deal about the anniversary date of when they became a part of the United States?  Why don't we in Missouri, celebrate August 10th with fireworks?

Fireworks

4th of July Fireworks Display

Memorial Day

My wife and I went to Mass on Memorial Day and our priest told a story in his homily about a man named Matt, he knew that grew up without parents.  This man led a lonely life and it seemed that everything he did or tried was met with a closed door.  He joined the military and eventually was deployed into active service in Afghanistan.  On return home to the US while on leave, he seemed bitter and distant to the priest and others who knew him.  His demeanor had changed now that he had been exposed to the brutality of war.  Upon his return to Afghanistan for another tour of duty, he fought bravely for his country, but this time he was killed by enemy fire and returned home to the US again, but this time he returned in a flag draped coffin.  He was given a proper funeral Mass and burial service, and this time he went through an open door, a door which led to heaven.  At this point the priest got choked up and everyone could see that he was very moved by this story.  The story of a person he knew personally, who had fought and died for his freedom as an American.  A person who was not loved by many people on this earth, but was loved tremendously by God.  We often don't think of the thousands of people, real people, real human beings, who lost their lives for this country, when we think of Memorial Day.  We tend to think of the patriotism and the flags, but we quickly turn to thoughts of summer time, BBQ's and time off from our jobs to be with our families and enjoy a day off.  When you think about people who were touched by a soldier who gave his life, it gets personal.  We live in a great country because of people like Matt.

Twitter

Now that we are in the age of social media, I want to remind my followers that I am on Twitter under the handle @scottjwheeler or you can go to https://twitter.com/scottjwheeler to see my page and follow me.  I find that Twitter is more interesting than facebook lately as you see thoughts and messages from so many more people around the world, not just people that are your "friends".  While I don't tweet as much as some, I'm more of a retweeter, I do like to post messages occasionally and you'll find my Twitter page much more current than my facebook page or my blog.  You'll find that I tend to retweet interesting quotes, comments and thoughts I come across, pertaining to the Catholic Church which I now belong to.  There is so much to enjoy and respond to as I study and reflect on the rich history and tradition of the Catholic faith.

Happy May Day!

Does anyone dance around the May pole anymore?

Retreat

I recently went on a men's silent retreat at the White House Retreat center in Oakville, Missouri overlooking the Mississippi river.  It is a Jesuit retreat house that has been in existence since 1922 and is patterned after the St. Ignatius of Loyola's teachings of the Spiritual Exercises.  The retreat is 3 days beginning on Thursday evening and lasting until Sunday afternoon at around 2 pm.  Retreatants have their own private room in a residence hall that accommodates about 150 people.  The rooms are modest and on the small side, with a single bed, desk and rocking chair being the only items in the room.  A bathroom with toilet and shower adjoin the room with no door.  My room had a view of the Mississippi river which was very nice.  Barges could be seen going up and down river throughout the weekend.  Meals were eaten in a dining hall.  The food was very good and served by young women from the area who seemed to really enjoy their job.  The days were filled with a full schedule of talks in the chapel, given by a visiting priest from Kansas City.  There were also times for praying the rosary, morning prayers, benediction, and confessions.  Private meetings with the resident priests could also be arranged.  There was plenty of time given for personal time of prayer and reflection on the talks, as well.  Nature walks were also an option to those wishing to brave the cold weather.  A paved path through the woods along the river featured the Stations of the Cross.  While the retreat is silent by rule, there are a few times in the evenings after dinner, when talking is allowed with the other retreatants.  Overall, it was a great experience which I enjoyed thoroughly, and I will definitely plan to be back next year!

Groundhog Day

Now that we're into February it's clear that the new year has begun, but we're still in the early stages of it.  By now you should be comfortable writing 2015 on your checks and documents, that is, if you still write checks.  My check writing has mainly been reduced to contributions to my church, and money sent to my kid's school to fund their lunch accounts.  Even these could be done online now, but the school charges a fee to use online funding, which I think is crazy.  As for my church donations, if I used the online method then I would have to pass the plate without dropping in my envelope.  While God and the church know that I made my offering, it just wouldn't feel right if I didn't put something in the basket when it passed by.  Does anyone else feel this way?  While we are not supposed to judge people, I'm sure others might notice that I never put anything in the offering plate.  I guess there is something about the gesture of placing your weekly tithes and offerings into the collection basket during the offertory song at church, and now our envelopes have a box that you can check to indicate that you did give online.  That way, you can still drop your envelope and feel good about giving to God during the Mass or church service.  So what does this have to do with Groundhog Day?  Nothing, but I sure hope that groundhog doesn't see his shadow...I'm ready for spring!