Today's TLA is YAC

Young Adult Catholics

I want to specifically write about young adult Catholics today, because well I am one. I would probably identify myself with the label of Christian Catholic. The reason why I label myself as a Christian Catholic is because I have been attending a new church (Baylight Church Community). My Filipino parents were not very pleased when I disclosed this new fact. My mom was simply pissed. "Ano! (What!), Didn't we raise you to be a "good Catholic"? But you went to Catholic school all your life, don't you know anak (my child) 'A Catholic Education makes a difference'!" Granted I still love them very much and they still love me very much as well, and it's not a knock on the Roman Catholic Church at all. But perhaps the Roman Catholic Church has become a bit out of touch with regards to young adults.

First and foremost, why does it matter that I went to Catholic schools all my life? Will I go to heaven because I went to Catholic schools? I don't get the logic. So I have been institutionalized by Catholic schools all my life. So what? Why do Catholic schools matter with regards to my faith and my relationship with God and others? How does attending a Catholic school define what the word "church" means? Anyways, my bold claim is that most young adult Catholics today can not define and are confused by what the word "church" really means to them. Is it a building with nice art and nice music? Is it a spiritual gas station where you just refill for an hour every Sunday? Is church eating the wafer and sipping some of the diluted wine? What does the wafer and wine really mean? What does the word "church" mean and why as a young adult Catholic do you go to "church"?

These are 2 really good questions to ask not only for young adults, but for everyone as well. Are you looking for selfish reasons to go to church? Is it peer pressure? Some may say, "...Well I go to church, because my friends go to church." Some may go for social reasons "...There is that really cute girl who always sits in the third row." Do young adults go to church, because your parents always have gone before, and "it's only natural" or "it's just one of those things you should always do?" Shouldn't we go to church to remind ourselves of God and God's love for all humanity? I mean God did give up his only Son to die for people's sin and suffering. As young adult Catholics shouldn't we start thinking about these things?

For early Christians, the word "church" simply meant a small assembly of believers of Christ. For me church simply means community of believers. Community is at the core of being a believer. What good is it to believe in God and passionately love God if you can't share your beliefs and love with other people? It would be like Picasso or Beethoven creating amazing influencial art and music for their selfish selves. It would be a great tragedy if such talents provided by God were never exposed to other people to enjoy, critique, study and love.

So a loving relationship with others is the key to having a healthy Christian community and for simply being Christian. It's also good to emphasize the belief of God dying for man's sin and suffering through his only Son. For Roman Catholics it's not just a wafer and wine every Sunday. It is the breaking of the "Body and blood" of Christ for humanity. Christ trancends every Sunday to make his body into bread and his blood into wine. God loved us so much that His son died for humanity. The least we could do is not call it a wafer and a wine thing that Catholics do.

Now that we have emphasized our belief, let's take a look at love for others in more detail. This theory takes us back to Jesus' two main commandments. Simply love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. Secondly love others as yourself. So Jesus never said to love a particular building, or even go to church because there is that cute girl who always sits on the third row. And Jesus definitely never meant to go to "church", simply because of your mother and father. For me, it seems like Jesus is just saying church is all about love. Love for God and love for others. So how come the Roman Catholic church can't get these simple ideas? Maybe it's too corporate, institutionalized to make changes. Maybe its too busy with the current sexual scandals to think of their flock and the church in these simple ways. Maybe the Roman Catholic church haven't taken a survey of their young adult members to see their reasons for attending church.

Perhaps it's time for Roman Catholic parishes to go back to the simple idea of having small home churches/communities where you spark this new love for God and a profound love for others to keep the faith. This is not only what young adult Catholics want, but I think this is what most young adults want in general. A sense of belongingness/connection with others and most importantly with He/She/God who always was, always is, and always will be.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is MBD

Meaning of Birth Dates

Your Birthdate: August 23

With a birthday on the 23rd of the month (5 energy) you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them. You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas. You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel. You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable. Your mind is quick, clever and analytical. A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine. You may have a tendency to shirk responsibility. Very sociable, you make friends easily and you are an excellent traveling companion.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Ok I am really getting lazy writing these blogs. I should be writing about more interesting stuff in my life, rather than cutting and pasting these blog survey thingies. Content is key, and I am not making any content right now. I am just creating symbols on a monitor. So I apologize to the 3 readers of this blog. D$nny, H*w&rd, and J*ane&&e. I promise I will write more interesting stuff. I swear.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is MPT

My Personality Types

Your #1 Match: ISFP

The Artist You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now).You enjoy spending your free time in nature, and you are good with animals and children.Simply put, you enjoy bueaty in all its forms and live for the simple pleasures in life.Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs. You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer.

Your #2 Match: ISTP

The Mechanic You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations.A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent.To outsiders you seem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable. You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people.You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete.

Your #3 Match: INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop.You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

What's Your Personality Type?

I wonder if these surveys are biased? How do they actually measure my personality type? I particularly don't get the mechanic type, what does it mean "good at understanding how all things work, except for people." It makes it sound like engineers are just socially inept and disconnected robots who save 529 college funds for their future kids, who will eventually smoke a lot of weed and play video games all day long during high school because of the engineer's inept and disconnected nature.

Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is PSF

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

I prayed this prayer everyday for four years in my Catholic high school. As students, we would try to say this prayer as fast as we could. We would literally recite this prayer in less than 30 seconds. As a high school student, I took this prayer for granted. The repetition of this prayer probably dulled its sharpness and effectiveness. But now as I am growing older, I realize this prayer's relevance in my life. This prayer is deep now that I stand back and I think about it.

"Lord make me an instrument of your peace."
The first line is interesting. How fitting in a world of strife, conflict, war, and uncertainty, the prayer simply asks God for peace. Peace in our hearts, mind, soul, careers, finances, relationships, and in everything that we do.

"Where there is hatred, let me sow love;"
So many times in the world I see the theory of where there is hatred, let there be more hatred. But this line requests to sow (plant) love and not more hate.

"Where there is injury, pardon;"
This line is saying if I have been wronged or injured, show pardon and forgiveness.

"Where there is doubt, faith;"
This line acknowledges the times of doubt in our lives with the power of God's faith in us and also our faith in God. Faith is always there.

"Where there is despair, hope;"
This line describes the times of despair and times when we are down in our lives, and yet there is hope in God in our lives.

"Where there is darkness, light;"
This line is similar to the previous line. Darkness could possibly be for death, illness, and disease, and yet God's shining light is there with us through our times of darkness.

"And where there is sadness, joy."
This line reminds us that through the times of sadness, there exists joy, which God gives us.


"O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love."

These lines describe the other oriented philosophy of one's life. These lines asks not for the one's self to be consoled, to be understand, or to be loved by another, but rather these lines tell us to console, to understand, and to love the other person. It seems like a great lines for marriages and relationships.


"For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;"

These lines remind us the lessons of Christ's compassion. We need to give of ourselves, in order to receive God's love and grace, and we need to pardon others in order for ourselves to be pardoned by God.

"and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."
This line reminds us the fact that Christ's living grace is living in us. Christ's triumph over sin and death did not end 2000 years ago. It continues and transcends through us everyday. For we too shall die and perish on this earth, but we shall be born and inherit Christ's eternal life.

Anyways, it is a good prayer to pray everyday, and I probably should grow up and not rush through it in less than 30 seconds like a high school freshman.



Enjoy,
Jonathan

Today's TLA is DPP

Dating Personality Profile

Your dating personality profile:

Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate.
Big-Hearted - You are a kind and caring person. Your warmth is inviting, and your heart is a wellspring of love.
Funny - You laugh often. People never accuse you of lacking a sense of humor. You don't take yourself too seriously.
Your Top Ten Traits

1. Liberal
2. Big-Hearted
3. Funny
4. Adventurous
5. Religious
6. Practical
7. Athletic
8. Shy
9. Romantic
10. Wealthy/Ambitious


Your date match profile:

Big-Hearted - You want someone compassionate, someone gentle and kind. A loving, nurturing person will fill that hole in your life.
Conservative - Forget liberals, you need a conservative match. Political discussions interest you, and a conservative will offer the viewpoint you need.
Practical - You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living.


Your Top Ten Match Traits

1. Big-Hearted
2. Conservative
3. Practical
4. Funny
5. Traditional
6. Religious
7. Adventurous
8. Athletic
9. Shy
10. Intellectual

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions



I can't believe this survey tells me I am Liberal, Big-hearted, and Funny. By the way, it should say militant rather than liberal. This survey is also telling me I need a Big-hearted, Conservative, and Practical woman. How come the survery doesn't tell you how to go about meeting a Big Hearted, Conservative, and Practical woman? Also how come the survey doesn't just say I am looking for a warm woman? Or perhaps just literally say a warm latin woman. That would be a pretty cool survey. Oh wells...This survey is probably whack like crack. Que Lastima!


Enjoy,
Jonathan