Community Service Opportunity

Hey everyone,
I know this is short notice but I just found out about a service opportunity in which you can earn 4 hours towards your "Confirmation 20" for this semester.  On this Sunday (October 2)  from 1:00 till like 4:00pm the St. Bede Council of the Knights of Columbus will be holding their Silver Rose Ceremony and then need like 5-10 kids to help serve food during that time.  I will not be able to attend because we will be doing the Life Chain at MCPS, but please let me know if you are going to attend and please have one of the knights sign off on your hours and then bring it to me so that I can give you credit in my books.  Thank you so much for your help.
In Christ,
Ryan

Upcoming Service Projects

Attention Everyone:  As part of our youth program, we strive to help out our community since it is from them that we are even capable of having a youth program to begin with.  So, as part of this post i am including a list of upcoming service projects so that we can show our support to our local community.  For all those who are a part of the confirmation program please remember that you are required to do 20 hours of service a sememster for a grand total of 80 hours by the time you reach the 11th grade.  Also, all those needing hours for NHS or Key Club this is also an excellent opportunity to  get hours. Lastly, if you wish to attend the Jamaica mission trip this summer, remember that doing community service in your own community is a coponent to being accepted to attend the mission trip.  The reason being, if you are not willing to do service in your hometown then I am not going to take you to do service out of the country.  Thus, I ask that you please strongly consider participating in some if not all of the following service projects: 

1. St. Bede Canned Food Drive: please come before all masses this Sat. and Sun. (Sept 24/25) to help collect canned food for the St. Bede Food Pantry.  For every mass that you help collect for you will receive one hour.

2. Holy Spirit Baby Goods Collection: please come after all masses at Holy Spirit on the weekends of October 1/2 and 8/9 to help collect baby good for COPE.  For every mass that you help collect for you will also recevie one hour of community service.

3. Life Chain: on Sunday Oct. 2 from 2:30-3:30 please meet in front of MCPS on Vaughn Road to help protest Abortion.

4. Service Project at COPE: On Oct. 15 from 9:00am-1:00pm will be meet at COPE to help do odd jobs for their ministry.

5.  St. Bede Fall Festival: On October 16, we will need volunteers to help run the concession stand for the St. Bede Fall Festival.  Specific times TBA.

I look forward to seeing all of you there.  God Bless

WHO AM I?: Musings on the Quest for Identity

          Growing up I would often reflect upon my first name, Ryan.  In that reflection I would find myself frustrated pondering about why my parents chose my name for me.  I mean from a purely pragmatic standpoint, I would think, "Why would they name me Ryan?  Didn't they know that everyone from the moment of my birth would call me Brian merely because Brian is a much more common name?"  While I admit that isn't the best of objections to my birth name, there were others that often ran through my head such as:  No one in my family is named Ryan, there are no canonized saints in heaven named Ryan, or with a last name like Bravata wouldn't it have been super cool to be named after a Ninja Turtle or something else super Italian.  Now the first objection to my parents choosing my name can be overlooked because in our modern society it is not that strange to have family members not named after one another, and in terms of being named after a Ninja Turtle, while awesome, it still remains irrelevant to the discussion.  Rather, it is in the second point that we can leave room for discussion.  
          Now before we move farther it is relevant for us to understand the purpose of the name.  When one gives a name, from a biblical standpoint, the person therefore is exercising dominion over the person or thing being named.  For example, when parents give a name to their child they are declaring this is my son or daughter.  He/She belongs to me.  This phenomenon of naming can be seen from the very opening of the scriptures in Genesis 1 & 2 where God names Adam, and in turn, as part of being made in the image and likeness of God, is given dominion over creation.  Namely, he is told to name all of the creatures.  Another example of this is found in the Book of Exodus.  Now, we have all heard the story of the burning bush and, while we can all admit the fact that a bush not only burned and wasn't consumed and that God spoke from it is super awesome, most may miss the "naming" dimension of the story.  At the beginning of the story, God does not call Himself by any particular proper name; rather, he tells Moses, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Ex 3:6)."  Later, Moses in turn questions the Lord and asks what it is he wishes to be called when the people of Israel ask him; however, instead of giving Moses an actual name He tells him to tell them that "I AM WHO I AM" sent him (Ex. 3:13-14).  This very action has great significance and says a lot with few words.  In this very phrase, the Lord is telling Moses, "You do not have authority over Me, For I AM the one who bestows existence over everything in the world."  So in a sense Lord is and isn't giving him a name, but in the process, the Lord, in revealing Himself to the people of Israel shows that He desires intimacy with His people while, at the same time, maintaing the reverence and worship that is owed to Him.
          So as we can see in the Old Testament, the act of bestowing a name was more than just a practical means of distinguishing between person.  In fact, it was a way in which a person bestowed authority over another and in the human sphere a means to living out man's imago dei (Image and Likeness of God).  On the surface, this may seem like a lot of Trivial Pursuit information, but it is important to understand that it was under this cultural norm that Christianity was formed.  In the same way that St. Peter and St. Paul were given new names upon entering into the New Covenant, early Christians, upon their baptism where given an additional "Christian Name" as a form of piety and devotion to a man or woman who lived a life of exemplary virtue in Christ.  This practice has been continued to today and is documented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2156 where it states:

•  In Baptism, the Lord's name sanctifies man, and the Christian receives his name in the Church. This can be the name of a saint, that is, of a disciple who has lived a life of exemplary fidelity to the Lord. The patron saint provides a model of charity; we are assured of his intercession. The "baptismal name" can also express a Christian mystery or Christian virtue. "Parents, sponsors, and the pastor are to see that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment.

          Before I continue, I would like to mention that my parents did give me a wonderful patron at my baptism in the person of St. Joseph the husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus so for all intensive purposes my parents did not go against the catechism or canon law (Canon 855) because all that is required is that your first or middle name be after a saint.  That being said the purpose of this reflection is to further look at my first name and how under the guidance of the Holy Spirit it has earned for itself great significance in my understanding of who I am as a son of God.  But to get to know this one must explain what my name literally means.  If you were to look at my name in its Gaelic (Irish) origins you will find out that it translates as "Little King."  Now when I first read this I was like well that is awesome I'm named king, but it was not until much later would I come to understand the significance behind this name.  
          As I came to understand the spiritual significance of my name, the first step of the progression took place while studying philosophy in college seminary.  As part of the curriculuum, we would read St. Thomas Aquinas and learn about the principle of likeness.  According to this principle something can be said to be like something else when there is a similarity in the communication of its form.  This communication can be either perfect (two of the same thing) or imperfect (similar objects) (ST I, Q.4, a.3).  For example, a candle and sun can be said to be like one another:  both give off light and heat, both can burn something, etc.; however, while they are similar they are not the same.  Rather, the candle can be said to be an imperfect reflection of the sun in the sky.  It is from this very principle in which I would come to draw a greater understanding of my identity in Christ.  In the same way that you might refer to a candle as a "little sun,"  I, by my name have been called a "little king" who is destined to reflect and image the true King, The Son of God, Jesus Christ.  From the moment of my creation this has been the calling that I have been called to, a calling unbeknownst to my parents which would be sealed in my person when at the last minute they decided to change my first name from Nicholas to Ryan.  Thus, while my parents did not name me after a saint, it was the Lord's will that I be named after Him in his Kingship.
          Now that we have gone through a long reflection about the first name Ryan, one might ask what does this have to do with all those who are not named Ryan? In short the answer is everything.  Regardless of whether or not your first name is Ryan, each of us has been called by our Baptism to live a life of holiness that is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ.  As St. Paul says in the Letter to the Galatians, "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Gal. 3:27)."  In other words, by the act of our baptism we "put on Christ" so much so that we bear it in the name of Christ in calling ourselves Christian ("Christ-ian")  Thus, by the very act of our baptism, we must all learn to be likenesses of the king in our daily lives.  God Bless.


In Christ,
Ryan
          

Kayaking

Hey Everyone,
If you attended Christ in the Captiol (which was awesome by the way) last night, you probably heard about the Kayaking trip that we will be taking on September 17th.  If you would like to go, you MUST TELL Me BY FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH.  The reason for this deadline is b/c they need to know a week in advance how many boats they will need, and who is riding with who so that it doesn't take us like three hours to get on the water.  Anyway, if you would like to attend I need the following information:
1. IF you would like ride a canoe, double kayak, or single kayak
2. how much you weigh
3. Kayaking Experience
4.  if there is a specific person you want to ride with
5. Coosa Outdoors Liability Form
6. Archdiocesan Liability form

The cost for the trip is pretty simple Doubles $20 per person; Singles $25.
contact me here or at rosaryinmypoket222@gmail.com

God Bless and hope to hear from you soon.