Long time no blog...

I hope I don't use that as a title of my blog very often.  It's been almost two weeks since I've posted.  And it's not for lack of topics.  It's just been that hectic.

Let's take this weekend, for instance.  It was non-stop from early Friday morning to late Sunday night.

Helping someone from church prepare a mission trip video, preparing our school of the week video, meeting with the principal of our elementary school, high school homecoming, parish festival (which included my visit to the dunk tank), Life Mass, youth group...

I'd have to say the highlight for sure was attending a conference with Christopher West.  I've never seen him in person (although, when he first started his presentation, I laughed because he sounds exactly like he does on the CDs my brother Steve gave me).  Christopher is a Catholic theologian and considered an expert on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.  The purpose of his presentation was to address the raging debate on the definition of marriage.

He made such a convincing argument for marriage as between a man and a woman.  It was rooted in the beauty of our Catholic teaching.  Yet he said that we can't enter into dialogue or change hearts by using the "because the Church says so" approach.  

He used so much "data" from non-religious sources: the development of civilization, dictionary definitions, the body of a male and female human being to make his point.  And he said, "Let the data speak".

But it was interesting that, as he developed his presentation, it became more of a blueprint for something bigger that just Prop 8.  He gave us insight into being authentically Catholic in the world today, being evangelizers, for serving in a ministry.

And it also affirmed something that has been in my heart and on my mind...that maybe, just maybe, I'm supposed to help give life to this blueprint.