here’s a story about my kids that i hope everyone reads. especially people not from my own area.
south chapter schedule a house camp this past weekend. they prepared normally with a camp training, and all the preparatory meetings. everything was going according to plan until the day of. they arrive at the church to pick up their supposed participants and… no one showed. friday night of the camp, and they were a service team with no participants.
so what did they do? rather than get discouraged and throw in the towel and go home upset, they had the camp anyway. they gave all the talks and sharings. they picked names out of a hat and had one on ones with each other. they prayed over each other. they worshipped and everything, just as they should’ve. by the end, what could have been an oppressed weekend, turned into a rally point for our area’s God given vision.
nothing can stop what the Spirit has set in motion
people think we’re crazy, and that this was a waste of time. but how i see it, this weekend was just what God intended; after all he planned the camp in the first place. and only a prayerful people can see His vision and catch a glimpse of His plan thru His eyes.
i often look at my area and remember the phrase, “the next generation will be better than us.” nothing could be truer. i look at this past weekend and think back to all those times i hung my head when we were starting campus based back in ’99. when no one would show up after all that hard work. i look now at my area and their devotion to adoration of the blessed sacrament every single wednesday without fail. i remember our mission team for the delaware youth camp driving 3 hours at 6am saturday morning after serving at first friday mass the night before just in time for the service team meeting and the start of the camp. then i remember them stopping in north md to study together at barnes and noble in north maryland on the way home 30 hours later.
holiness is a standard around here, and 99% purity is already unacceptable. every single time my campus based calls me or IMs me, first thing they ask is, “how’s your prayer time?” just like we used to do back in the day. family comes first. confession is a must. and if one of us slips, there’s already an unspoken pastoral plan for them.
its a culture. its a way of life. maryland and virginia brothers and sisters, realize the culture that you are a part of. if we are not known for anything at all, let us be known by our holiness, by our prayer. and let us conduct it in every facet of our life. it’s who we are. realize, its who you are. your crew, your friends, how people see you… you are a holy people. live that life to the fullest.
at the years start, we said let’s take baby steps first and soon enough we’ll be ready for the plunge. 10 months later, im ready to dive in headfirst, and i know i have a whole area on my back.
is it perfect? of course there’s flaws, just like everywhere else. we’re human of course. so then, is it heaven on earth? i don’t think so. i just think its earth, the way God intended.
md777
walk on water.
