Gaudate Sunday

What a wonderful day! It is the Third Sunday in Advent, also called Gaudate Sunday. Life in the parish has been quite busy and challenging over the last several weeks. However, through the thick and thin, one person keeps coming through and showing the way, no not Santa Claus, but Jesus Christ. As we journey towards his holy birth on Christmas, let us wait in anticipation with his Mother Mary and reflect on how we can serve Him, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Emmanuel. May the week grant us all blessing and encourage us on our spiritual journeys.
In Christ,
Arthur

Time Flys, when doing God's work!

Wow,
It is already mid november. Next week I take off for a week or recreation and SLEEP. I have been quite busy in the parish and working on different projects. Three weeks ago, I attended two days of the Camelback District Camporee, north of Payson. I had a good time and spent time with our Catholic Troop from St. Daniels. On Sunday the 29th of October, I headed to Kingman for the Centennial Celebration. It was a joyous event with great weather, minus the wind during mass, but the Holy Spirit was definately moving the people, there were over 1100 people there!
Two Weeks ago, I spent most of the weekend doing Bobcat work for the new school playground. Sand was moved and holes were dug. The playground project continues each weekend and hopefully it will get done as soon as possible.
Last weekend, I helped with the Diocese of Phoenix, Catholic Committee on Scouting Retreat. I led a session on persecution for the scouts and helped with a mass. The day ended with a campfire and retirement of Flags. A fitting way to pay tribute to our Men and Women who defend our freedom on Nov. 11th.
Today, I was taught the fourth and fifth grade together. I have gotten all my classes to the same page! Thus, as I go forward, everyone should be in sync and less confussion for me on where I was and where I stopped.:)
Next week I have a week off. I will be in Kingman for Thanksgiving and then travel for the weekend! It will be nice.
Until the next posting, God's peace and blessings!
Arthur

Square Dancing????

Oh how time flies when you are doing the work of God! The last two months have been flying by and I am enjoying myself immensely here at St. Daniel's. Tomorrow we have our School Square Dance for the parish. It should be quite the event with Food, a real caller to lead us and the school children showing off their skills. Tonight I am leading the Marian Holy Hour here and am planning to talk about Martha and Mary. I will then talk about the example of the Blessed Mother as being the model of balance for us in today's society. Thus, it has been busy but all is well.

New Week

I am now in week 2 at St. Daniels. My first weekend in the parish has been completed. I am now focusing on my work in the school and Religious Education Department. Thought of the day: If people thought before they talked, their would be less pollution in the air.
As I sit here I reflect on 9/11/01 and the events that have occurred since then. Currently one of my sisters is in Iraq and one is in South Korea. The price for the freedom we have has been paid by the blood of those who have dedicated part or all of their life to freedom and some who have died defending it. Today, I remember all those that have been lost in the war on terrorism, especially our soldiers, police and fire fighting personnel. These dedicated few, day in and day out, go about doing what they do because of their dedication and love of our country and fellow man. Thus, I pray for all of those who are in harms way, whether the battlefield, the beat or the burning house, that God might proctect and keep them. Today, I received on my email a great poem that i am posting here for everyone to think about. God Bless on this somber day. Arthur

TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-9-11)

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine "
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
Trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that
day

"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Black man, White man, Brown man, Yellow man
Side by side helping their fellow man!"

So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '45

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
Are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
Three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven

Author UNKNOWN (What a shame!)

New Parish and compendium

How great the day when all is well and you know that you will not have to move for a year. Unfortunately, that means an extra year before I will be ordained. However, a break is always good to refocus and energize the soul. I have moved into St. Daniel's and have officially begun my internship. I will be doing a lot of teaching in both the school and also in the parish. The one class that I am coteaching is being based on the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Thus, I am currently reading through it and I am quite impressed with it's clarity and thoroughness. A must read for the common Catholic! I have to get ready for spanish re class that I am an aide in, since my spanish is less than par. By the way tomorrow the Church celebrates the Birth of Mary. Let us say a prayer of protection for all men and women who defend our country on this holy feast.
In Christ,
Arthur Nave Jr.

Construction Pain

Oh the fun... Construction started in the kitchen last Wednesday with the taking out of the cabinets. It has metamorphed into a project with a life of its own and its own time schedule. The kitchen will not be complete until after I am gone and moved into my new assignment at St. Daniels. Thus, two weeks with no kitchen. However, this gives us time to paint and prep for the new countertops. Have I mentioned that I hate painting? The walls in the kitchen are almost done, lots of detail work in the kitchen plus the ceiling. Oh the fun of painting... However, the rectory will survive. We will see how the project advances! The new appliances did arive today after ordering them yesterday! Go Maytag Store!
God Bless,
Arthur

break for a few

CPE is over. I passed and all is happy. I currently at the rectory helping out with different projects, resting and preparing to go to St. Daniels on the 4th of September. It is nice to have time to just sit and relax and do what I want to do. Not having a pager is also very nice! Enjoy going back to school :) Arthur

the end is near

The end is near. For CPE that is. Next Friday it will be done and i will come out a better and more informed person. I will not be returning to the seminary but instead doing a pastoral year at a parish in phoenix, yet to be determined. Thus, there is a lot going on but God is still with me and I know he will not abandon me. Have to run to dinner! God Bless. Arthur

diagnosis confirmed

The doctor(mechanic) at Big O delivered the terminal diagnosis for my van. He suggested that I begin to plan and then perform a funeral for the van. The process now begins to start the replacement process. Oh the headache's that will come. It has been faithful for four years. Hopefully, it will continue to run until I can get something newer setup.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel today, Christ sends out the twelve(Apostles) to go and minister in his name, expelling unclean spirits and be a witness to the faith. This passage is one of the biblical points that comes out in the sacrament of confession and the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. However, the work of the Church is not limited to those who are ordained only but to all the baptized. Thus, we are all called to go out in our everyday lives and preach the gospel. However, we do not need to use words. We can speak by our actions of kindness and public witness to our faith. Into week ? of CPE I go. God Bless, Arthur

FIFA Referee's

What a joke the FIFA Ref's can be. I finally got to sit down and watch some of the World Cup. I was appalled at the number of times that the ref blew his whistle for questionable calls. I saw the USA vs. Italy match and the two red cards given to the US where uncalled for and the ref should be thrown out of the tournament. The one appropriate red card that he threw at Italy was valid and he had good reason. However, he does not have the skill to judge well the actions that are taking place on the field. The good news is that his bad refereeing did not throw the US out of the tournament, however, it did not help our goal of moving towards the finals. Thus, in my humble opinion, kick that ref out and never let him ref again, at least at the World Cup. Enjoy your weekend.
Arthur

New Translation not a New Mass

I read earlier today that the Bishops of the United States have approved a new translation for the Mass. Several of the articles that I have read stated that it is a "new mass." While it might seem that this is "new" in reality this translation is a process that was started with Vatican II and will continue as language continues to change. The new transalation will replace the current translation which came out in 1970. The new translation is closer to the Latin and thus we are closer to the rest of the universal church when we pray these sacred texts. These texts are based on and go back to the early days of the church when the Eucharist was first celebrated. We celebrate today the same sacrifice that was offered at the Last Supper and on the Cross. This sacrifice was the greatest gift given to us and we continue to celebrate the Eucharist today. Thus, while we have a new translation, it is not a new "mass" or a new sacrifice. The Eucharist is the same yesterday today and forever.
Have a blessed weekend,
Arthur

midweek yippee's

Praise be to God! It is midweek and another day is done. After spilling the precious blood on my surplice on Sunday, I finally got it to the dry cleaners to get cleaned so that it will be ready to go for Corpus Christi this coming Sunday. I wanted to get it there earlier, but it has been so busy. Today, I had education hours all day at CPE. Overall it was quite good and enlightening. I found out today that I will be going to the alumni celebration on July 3, 2006 at Camp Geronimo and then also go back for the mass with Bishop Olmsted on July 12, 2006. It will be nice to take a day off and go up to camp to see what is going on. It will also be nice to have a day to go off and just have fun. I am sure that they have a whole program planned :) Anways, God is good to me and it is now time for some rest. God Bless, Arthur

Greetings

I had a blog over at xanga, but it was hacked and abused. Thus, I have moved and am now here. This blog is my way of sharing info on my life and activities as I journey towards priesthood.