Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Spirit of the season!!!

I was on my parent's computer and emailed myself all of my old speeches from high school and sermons I used to give when I was a Baptist Minister. Here is one that I gave just over 4 years ago at the Christmas Assembly my senior year of high school (I was the Student Body President).

Also with this speech, I got into a lot of trouble giving it. I was asked not to give it at the 2nd assembly, but I did anyway.
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The Spirit of the Season

What is it about this time of the year that brings people together? Is it because of family? Receiving gifts? The Spirit of the Season? Or my favorite, getting out of school? Or it might be because of one of the religious holidays we share? Well, whatever your choice is, we all have one thing in common! The gift of giving.

As you already know we have had many opportunities to give this Christmas. We have had the Canned Food Drive, Clothes for Teens, The Competition with Burg, and FCS was collecting money to help a family this Christmas. I would personally like to say thank you and I am proud of the students at West Carrollton Senior High. Because it was you who donated the cans, it was you who gave up YOUR OWN MONEY, and it was you who gave up your old clothes for people in need. You did this to help others, No one made you! Now that’s what Christmas is about. Its not about receiving gifts, but about giving gifts.

Have you ever noticed how busy it gets around this time of the year? Take a look around and you will see what I mean. The traffic is really bad, parking lots are full, and stores are packed with customers! Everyone is getting prepared for this one day. Kids are getting excited, and parents are panicking, not knowing if they will be done in time.

But then, everything comes to a stop. And a certain silence and joy fills the air. Everything calms down, and there is a since of peace. Churches light up, stores close, parking lots are now empty, and there is no traffic on the roads.

And when two strangers pass for the first time, it is as if they have known each other their whole lives. Because they know, at that time, there is a sense of peace on earth.

Then at midnight on Christmas Eve, we all come together. Just for a moment in a little stable in Bethlehem!

So now as you can see, Christmas is a very busy time and full of excitement. But in the end, we all calm down and come together! So this Christmas remember, its not about giving or receiving gifts, but it’s about the mighty spirit of the season.

HE IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!

Thank you very much, and please include our troops in your thoughts and prayers.
Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Monday, December 22, 2008

How Catholics at Liberty got started

It is hard to believe that I have been a student at Liberty University for two and a half years now. And that this May I will be graduating! I transferred to Liberty after my freshman year because I wanted to study for the Baptist Ministry. After being at Liberty only a few months I soon realized what I was missing in my life was the Eucharist!

It was then that I joined RCIA at Holy Cross Catholic Church. It was during this year that I lost all of my friends at school (except my roommates and one other friend). It was Easter of 2007 that I came into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church!

After going through what I did my first year, I knew I couldn’t be the only Catholic (even though I thought I was). So my second year there, I started a facebook group and looked up all the people who had “Catholic” on their religious views and added them as a friend (whether they were future students, current students or alumni). The group grew to over 50.

From that facebook group, there were two students that I gave rides to mass every week. One of the students was from Peru and hadn’t been to mass for six years. It was Psalm Sunday of 2008 that he was able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist for the first time in six years!!!

During the summer of my junior and senior year, I started to pray for someone to step up and take this ministry over when I graduate, and I also prayed for the intercession of Jerry Falwell to help this ministry grow. Well, just after 2 weeks into my senior year, we grew to six students, and have been growing ever since!

Throughout this semester, I have seen God work in many different ways! I have seen some students struggle with their faith, but then truly find their faith! I’ve seen students return to the Church after many years of being away! And I have seen many students that where very anti-Catholic become very interested in the Church!

Every Sunday the students have a way to get to mass. We also have a weekly dinner at a restaurant on campus. And we do many more things like: cook-outs, prayer groups and a weekend trips!

With my last semester approaching quickly, I have decided to step down as the leader of this group. In January, we will be holding elections for a full leadership team, and we will be creating a constitution and are now in the process of getting this group approved by Liberty!!!

The main reason why this group was started is because I wanted the Catholic students to have the chance to make it to mass and receive the Sacraments. Also so that they know they are not the only Catholic at LU. As we begin next semester, we have around 20 Catholic Students that are involved and over 50 students that we are in contact with (this is not counting our growing non-Catholic group that is involved)!

Please pray for the Catholics at Liberty and this ministry!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Friday, December 12, 2008

Late Update




Hey everyone!

Sorry yet once again for the very late update. The internet at school has been out most of the time, and when it has been up, I was able to answer very few of the emails received.

So, over the past two weeks. We will just put it this way, not a lot was going on except packing, finals, saying good bye to friends and holding a very important meeting with the Catholics at Liberty.

So to make this very short, we had a great week. There was a small Christmas party that my friend had (I attached a picture of the group). There was also three baptisms at church this past Sunday and the Liberty Catholics received a blessing. It was a great service! (pictures of the baptism are attached also).

Besides all of that, we had a meeting with the Catholics at Liberty and discussed things for next year. I am really excited for next semester and year! We are in the process of creating a constitution and picking leadership for next semester. I made it known that I am stepping down next semester. I want another student to start heading it up, and I be there to help him/her out, and that way they will know what to do after I am gone. It was very hard for me to say that I am stepping down, but it is the best thing for the group, and the only way it will survive.

Well, besides all of that, the finals went well. Next semester is going to very tough, but assuming everything goes as planned I will graduate in May!!!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Thanksgiving break







I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is now enjoying Advent!

Once again I apologize for the late update. The internet on campus has been going in and out, so although there was a lot that happened last week, I will make this short.

Sunday before Thanksgiving I went to a Bible Study on "suffering". It was a great study! It lasted around 6 hours and seemed like 2! Bob (the guy who leads it) gave me a lot of materials on the Catholic Church and some that will help with school!

On Tuesday I took the psychological exam for the Arch-diocese of Cincinnati. Lets put it this way, parts of my brain that I never knew I had where hurting afterword's. Although I hated it, I really enjoyed the day because I was able to have lunch with some of the seminarians and faculty from the seminary. Then I went to dinner with Deacon Shawn (thanks for having dinner with me).

Wednesday, I had lunch with Sarah (she is the one from back home that is thinking about becoming Catholic). We talked and it sounds like she is still trying to decide if she wants to become Catholic.

Besides all of that, I just spent time with the family and friends. Overall, it was a great and relaxing week! I have attached some pictures of the UC football game and Thanksgiving with family.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray for Deacon Tony's family. He just lost his mother last week. And also for a graduate from Liberty University who is thinking about the Catholic Church. Then finally, for me and finals this upcoming week!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Rough Week







Well, I apologize for this update being so late. It has been a very busy time (especially now that I am home).

As many of you know I lost my wallet. Well, on Thursday someone found it at the football game and turned it in! They took $20 out of the $40 in it, but everything else was still there, so that is a HUGE blessing!!!

On Wednesday I had to meet with my academic advisor about what I need to take next semester in order to graduate. Well, he told me that I am not going to be able to graduate in May because I am 1 credit hour short. I got very upset and told him that I have done everything they have told me to do and that this is their fault. Well, later on that day, I get a call saying I can still graduate in May if I take 18 credit hours in the spring and then 4 in the summer, but I won't be able to drop a class at all. (This is going to be almost impossible, but we'll see what happens).

We then had our Birthday celebration, and we had 14 students show up! (I have my camera back so I have attached some pictures from NJ and the birthday).

On Friday I came home and went to the University of Dayton (to visit my cousin). We went to someone's 21 birthday party and being there only an hour I go up to use the restroom and instead start talking to about 6 students about Catholicism and Christianity. They ended up leaving and bring more students up (they called it the Bible Study). It just shows me that God will and can use you anywhere at anytime. There was one student that was an Atheist, Protestant and the rest were Catholic. At the end, they all said they have a different outlook on Catholicism (I'm not sure though if they will remember the conversation, but God was working)!

Well, continue to pray for me this week. This week is a very busy week and a lot of great things are happening! Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Psychological Exam

Yesterday I took the psychological exam for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. WOW, what a test. I have never taken a test that was so brutal. It took 7 hours and was over 1,000 questions.

Although, I couldn't think after taking the test, I did find some of the questions very funny:

"Does your soul sometimes leave your body?" "Is the government out to get me?" "Is someone following you?"

Then there were a lot of questions on if you wanted to or have ever thought of killing yourself.

I am just wondering how its going to look when I answered "True" to "Someone is trying to still my wallet?" Since my wallet was missing last week lol.

I am just glad it is over! It was a good day though, I was able to have lunch with some of the seminarians and faculty, then went out to dinner with a transitional deacon.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Whats going on?

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the late update this week. It has been a crazy week, both good and bad, but ended up all being good! Well, the update will be later on tonight. Right now I am on my way to the seminary to take a psychological exam for the priesthood. Please pray for me!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Thursday, November 20, 2008

PRAISE BE TO GOD!!!

I just got my wallet back! Someone found it at the football game and turned it in to Liberty University, so I was able to get everything back! Nothing was missing!!!!

Praise God for good people!!!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Interesting week

Hello everyone!

This week has been a very interesting week. Everything has been the same as the past few weeks, with lunches and our weekly dinner. But there have been a few exciting and not so exciting things happen also.

We had a group of students go to the Charismatic Prayer Group on Tuesday. And on Wed. I met with a board that was reviewing the Campus Ministry at Lynchburg College. It went very well and it was great to meet with a good friend of mine from Radford. I also threw in about the Campus Ministry going on at Liberty!

On Wed. night we had our weekly dinner. Not many people showed up (because its coming down to the end of the semester), but we had some very good conversations. There was a non-Catholic that showed up and was asking all of us what the Catholic Church believed. It was great! I know that she is not interested in joining the Church, but she wants to know if what she has been told about the Catholic Church is True (this is how my conversion started).

On Thursday I met with Fr. Richard and we talked more about my vocation, which was very helpful. He told me stories of when he was in seminary and what I could expect. By the way, I have been praying about it and I feel that after much prayer and discerning, that I should apply for the Arch-diocese of Cincinnati! So please pray for me as this process continues.

Then Friday I had lunch with Deacon Cartwright, and I am very thankful that he is doing better! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for him! Hopefully on Monday I will be able to go to the prison with him so I can help him out with the prison ministry next semester.

Finally, yesterday was a very interesting day. I woke up and wanted to do some homework, but had to take a student to the hospital (he is doing fine). Then I went to the football game (my last Liberty football game, unless we make the playoffs). It was great to see Antonio play and we ended up winning!!!

However, the bad thing that happened is that I lost my wallet after the football game and I checked where I knew I lost it (I think someone has picked it up). I have already canceled all my cards and everything, but it is a hassle. I am very thankful though that I have/had what I do. I lost my meal pass, so today I am without food (until I can get a new one tomorrow). But, thanks to some people from the church (my 2nd moms) they provided for me! But it makes me wonder, I am without food for today, what about the people who have nothing all their lives?

I am very blessed to have friends and family that look out for me, and we should look out for the ones who have nothing. I am only going 1 day without food, but then because of friends, I have food. What about the ones who have no one? This really opened my eyes, and for that, I thank God!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Friday, November 14, 2008

From the USCCB

STATEMENT of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops"If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil." (Psalm 127, vs. 1)

The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all. Because of the Church's history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our provision of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods.

The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.

In the last Congress, a Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) was introduced that would, if brought forward in the same form today, outlaw any "interference" in providing abortion at will. It would deprive the American people in all fifty states of the freedom they now have to enact modest restraints and regulations on the abortion industry. FOCA would coerce all Americans into subsidizing and promoting abortion with their tax dollars. It would counteract any and all sincere efforts by government and others of good will to reduce the number of abortions in our country.

Parental notification and informed consent precautions would be outlawed, as would be laws banning procedures such as partial-birth abortion and protecting infants born alive after a failed abortion. Abortion clinics would be deregulated. The Hyde Amendment restricting the federal funding of abortions would be abrogated. FOCA would have lethal consequences for prenatal human life.

FOCA would have an equally destructive effect on the freedom of conscience of doctors, nurses and health care workers whose personal convictions do not permit them to cooperate in the private killing of unborn children. It would threaten Catholic health care institutions and Catholic Charities. It would be an evil law that would further divide our country, and the Church should be intent on opposing evil.

On this issue, the legal protection of the unborn, the bishops are of one mind with Catholics and others of good will. They are also pastors who have listened to women whose lives have been diminished because they believed they had no choice but to abort a baby. Abortion is a medical procedure that kills, and the psychological and spiritual consequences are written in the sorrow and depression of many women and men. The bishops are single-minded because they are, first of all, single-hearted.

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected. Aggressively pro-abortion policies, legislation and executive orders will permanently alienate tens of millions of Americans, and would be seen by many as an attack on the free exercise of their religion.

This statement is written at the request and direction of all the Bishops, who also want to thank all those in politics who work with good will to protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Those in public life do so, sometimes, at the cost of great sacrifice to themselves and their families; and we are grateful. We express again our great desire to work with all those who cherish the common good of our nation. The common good is not the sum total of individual desires and interests; it is achieved in the working out of a common life based upon good reason and good will for all.

Our prayers accompany President-elect Obama and his family and those who are cooperating with him to assure a smooth transition in government. Many issues demand immediate attention on the part of our elected "watchman." (Psalm 127) May God bless him and our country.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I want to learn the TRUTH!!!!!!

As many of you know, I grew up without going to church. However, when I started going to church it was the Baptist Church. One of the things that I was taught in the church was the Rapture. This is something I have believed all of my "churched" life. It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that I found out that the Catholic Church does not believe in the Rapture and that the Rapture is a fairly new doctrine (and if I might add un-Biblical).

I was heartbroken to hear this and to find out. Although I am a student here at Liberty University (very pro-Rapture) I faced with this lie and heresy just about every day. After doing some research I have found that the verses used to support this doctrine are taken out of context (either out of context in the Bible or in the time that it was written).

The same thing happened to me in the Protestant Church with communion. What else is there? I feel like I have been/am being lied to. Oh man, I can't wait to graduate and enter the seminary.

I WANT TO LEARN TRUTH!!! NOT LIES!!!!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Catholics at Liberty!!!

Greetings from Liberty!!!

There was really nothing different on campus over this past week. I had the usual lunches with Antonio and others (Antonio has asked me to ask you to keep him in your prayers). On Tuesday however, we had a group of students go to the Charismatic prayer group (there where around 5 of us I believe). Then on Wed. we had our weekly dinner and what an amazing dinner it was! We have now outgrown the big table and started using 2 of them! We had 14 students show up! And 5 of which weren't Catholic! I am excited to say that because that means that the students here at LU are out and inviting others to come! We even ran into another Catholic student this week. He is a law student and friends with Jon (who wants to become Catholic)! It's amazing to see how God is working in this ministry and lets it keep growing!

Over this past weekend Jake, Maria and myself went up to Newark, NJ to visit the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal! What a trip!!! We got there at 5 am on Sat and spent all day on Saturday and part of Sunday with them. It was a great time to just relax and draw closer to our Lord! (I had many great pictures that I was going to share with you all, but I left my Camera at the Friary. So as soon as I get it back (if I do) I will send you some of the pictures).

I just want to thank you all for your prayers and support! And please continue to keep us in your prayers! The students here are starting to get home sick and tired from the end of the semester.

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Update from conference

Sorry for the late update everyone!

As you all know I was at a conference in Columbus, OH last this weekend/week.

For the new people joining these updates, welcome! These updates are sent out every week and lets everyone know what is going on with the Catholic's at Liberty and what's going on in my life.

The Coming Home Network put on a conference in Columbus, OH this past weekend and man was it AWESOME!!! I have learned so much about the Catholic Church here in America (and it really answers a lot of questions I have had about the Catholic Church). All I am going to say is, YOU BETTER COME NEXT YEAR!!!

It was great to meet a bunch of new people (especially from the Arch-diocese's of Cincinnati), and also Jim Anderson and Mary Clare who are with the Coming Home Network. There were also some very nice people that set me up with books and cd's on the faith in some areas that I am not as strong in. So thank you!

The retreat was just amazing! It was so good to meet other Protestant Minister's who have come into the Catholic Church. It was a great encouragement to me and everyone. Great friendships where made and I know they will last a life time. It was hard for me to say good-bye to them all on Wed.

As for the ride back to Liberty...It was probably the worst ride ever! I got a speeding ticket for thinking the speed limit was 65 and it was 55. Then about 4 hours later, my back tire blew. What was supposed to be a 7 hour trip turned into 10 hours. But, it was a time to be thankful because my tire blew out right in front of a gas station (out in the middle of nowhere and so God provided).

Sorry it was long, but this is worth a week and a half so the next one this Sunday will be very short! :)

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Sunday, October 26, 2008

God is GREAT!!!

Hey everyone!

This post is going to be very short for a few reason's, one I don't have time and two, I can't put how great God is into words!!!

This past week we had our weekly dinner and 10 people showed up (4 of which weren't even Catholic)! It is great to see how God is working in student's lives here on campus. Most of the Catholic's couldn't come to the dinner due to the sports.

As for the rest of week, I have been here at Deep in History Conference put on by the Coming Home Network. I can't even tell you all that has happened here because I can't put it into words. But what I will say is that ALL OF YOU NEED TO COME NEXT YEAR!!!

Well, as I said it is a short email, I would talk more about this past week but we are going to the retreat now for the clergy converts. I will send out another update just for the conference and the retreat on Wed. night.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Update October 13-19


I want to start off by apologizing for it being so long. And also welcoming the new people who are just joining this update list! I can't believe how big this list is getting...It started out my first year here at Liberty with just the ones from Louisville/New Hope, KY (3 or 4 people) and I probably sent just a few a semester (unless I had questions about the Catholic Church), to now where we have over 50 people and it is every week! We serve a great God!!!

What an interesting and exciting week!

On Tuesday I went to a Holy Spirit (Charismatic) prayer group. It was different from what I am used to, but I did enjoy it! There I met a man from Kenya, he is a principal of a school there. What an amazing guy!!! He is here in America trying to raise support for his school. He will actually be speaking in chapel here at Liberty, this upcoming week. His name is Patrick and here is some of his websites incase you feel lead to donate or find out more info about him and the school: https://webmail.liberty.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=f65a97cd7f5647eb97815be283be6aaa&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.newsfrommcc.blogspot.com%2f and https://webmail.liberty.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=f65a97cd7f5647eb97815be283be6aaa&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.mercycarecentre.com%2f anything you give to the second site is tax deductable!

On Wednesday we prayed the Rosary at the chapel at St. Thomas More, then Jake and I went to Lynchburg College to hang out with the Catholic Campus Ministry there (free ice-cream). That was a very fun and interesting night. I wish I got to spend more time over there (I did my internship with them last school year), but this year most of the time is spent with the Catholic's at Liberty.

On Thursday a small group of us got together in the chapel and prayed the Rosary for Liberty University (founder, students and the whole campus). It was great! Thank you all by the way that prayed with us at 7 pm (no matter where you were in the country)! It's amazing to think that pray can and does bring us all together!!!

After the Rosary on Thursday we had our weekly dinner. We had a nice turnout for it. I think it was the longest time we spent together for dinner. Even though not everyone could make it (due to last minute study groups), it was a lot of fun. We actually decided to throw a cook-out this Sunday after Mass and just have a chance to hang out.

On Friday, we planned on going down to Danville to hear Josh Johnson's testimony at Theology on Tap. As many of you know, those plans ended up changing at the last minute. (Thank you to everyone who kept Josh and Katie in your prayers)!!! Since there was a last minute emergency with Josh and Katie, I ended up giving my testimony at ToT. It was a lot of fun, and I think it really inspired the people who came! (Side note: Cincinnati got a new Archbishop!!! https://webmail.liberty.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=f65a97cd7f5647eb97815be283be6aaa&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.catholiccincinnati.org%2findex.php%3foption%3dcom_content%26task%3dview%26id%3d434%26Itemid%3d1023)

On Saturday, I spent most of the day with Juan and Jake. We went to Wal-Mart to buy the food for the cook-out (never let 3 guys go buy food with no list, it was horrible! We spent 3 hours in Wal-Mart). After going shopping, we went to the football game. Liberty was 6-0 this season, but ended up losing the game. So the three of us went to grab some dinner, and came back to watch the women's soccer game. They WON!!! And Maria scored in the beginning!!! After the game Antonio, Kristi and I hung out for awhile.

Then today (Sunday), we went to Mass and had our cook-out (I have attached pictures). It was a great time! We stayed for probably 3 or 4 hours. It was a lot of fun!

The only other thing I want to say is that on Saturday we met another Catholic at Liberty! He is on the football team and we just keep meeting more and more!!! Thank you for the prayers, and please keep praying for us!!!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Sunday, October 12, 2008

WHAT AN AWESOME WEEK!!!!


Greetings!

I know I say this just about each week, but WOW, what a great week!

Tuesday night we had a dinner with the Catholic Students on campus, and it was a small group that showed up, but a new person came! It is a funny story, her roommate is dating my friend Jon (who wants to become Catholic), and they found out she was Catholic, so they brought her to the dinner!


Then on Wed. there was a girls soccer game, so they were aloud to miss classes on wed. So Maria came to daily Mass with me and there we met another Liberty Student (Jeremy) he is on the basketball team. So this week alone, we have met 2 more Catholic's on campus! We just keep growing!!!

Then on Friday and Saturday, Josh and I went to Mount St. Mary's in Emmetsburg, MD for a Marian Symposium. It was a lot of information on Mary, but very fun! I will say that the Arch-bishop of Baltimore is AMAZING!!! He did the Mass on Friday and it was the most beautiful Mass I have been apart of! There was just something about Arch-bishop O'Brien that I can't even explain into words. The only way I can put it, is that when he walked into the room, it seemed as if Jesus Himself walked in. WOW!!!

After the Mass, he consecrated the grounds of Mount St. Mary's to our blessed mother Mary! After that, Josh and I got a chance to get our picture taken with him (I have attached it).

Josh and I also went to both shrines there and learned a lot about America's FIRST saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Other than that, we went to confession with Msgr. Magee. It was the most powerful confession I have been to yet! And I just can't put it into words.

AS FOR THIS UPCOMING WEEK, WE ARE GETTING THE STUDENTS TO PRAY THE ROSARY ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT JERRY FALWELL'S GRAVE SITE. WE ARE PRAYING FOR HIS SOUL IN PURGATORY. I ASK THAT YOU ALL TOO WILL JOIN US BY PRAYING FOR HIS SOUL ON THURSDAY!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Birthdays!!!


Hey everyone!

I think this is the first update in awhile that I am getting out on time.

This week was probably one of the best weeks we have had in awhile. It has been the usual week, with the dinners and lunches, but there is a young man from New York that has moved here to Lynchburg and he started a Wed. night Rosary Prayer group. So now every Wed. night at 7 pm we are praying the Rosary!!!

This week, right after the Rosary we went to a place on campus called Doc's (it is a really nice restaurant on campus). We have been having one dinner a week there with all the Catholic's that want to come, and this week was our biggest turn out (even though many already left to go home for fall break). This past Wed. we celebrated birthdays! It was Jake's, Antonio's and Jay's. I have attached some pictures of the party to the email (I think this is our first group picture).

After the party many people had to go and get ready for the weekend. It was Fall Break and just about everyone had to leave this weekend for sporting events or to go home and relax with family. I however ended up staying on campus, in hopes of doing a lot of homework. Well, I got most of the homework done, I am just working on my last paper right now (which is due on Tuesday).

It was a very relaxing weekend and nice to just get away from everything. I was able to go to Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday night and on Friday morning! Man, I love going to that! I wish I had the chance to go more often!

Well, I hope everyone has a great upcoming week!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Eucharistic Host

Greetings,

As many of you have probably heard by now, there are videos up on Youtube about the desecration of the Eucharistic Host. I have already received countless emails from many Catholic's who are very upset about this (I too am very upset).

However, it is not good to forward these emails on because of one reason. IT HAS THE LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEOS ON IT. So instead of saying that we need to click on the link (that has the videos on it) to voice our opinion, instead we should write and/or call Youtube at:

YouTube, LLC
901 Cherry Ave.
San Bruno, CA 94066
USA
Phone: +1 650-253-0000
Fax: +1 650-253-0001

This is one reason why we should be more careful on how we receive the Blessed Host. I strongly believe that issues like this would less likely happen if we would receive the Eucharistic Host by having the Eucharistic Minister place the Host on our tongue instead of in our hands (then we put it in our mouth). When we have the Host in our hand, it is just asking for trouble.

Another reason we should receive by tongue is because, "Particles may fall off and get lodged in your hands and then fall off on the floor. This is why even if you do receive via the hand, you should always carefully check to ensure no tiny bits have fallen. You also must take care between hands out position and mouth. Having the priest and/or server do this for you makes things easier." (Brian).

I know this may upset a lot of people, but this is Jesus we are talking about! If we want others to treat Him with respect, then shouldn't we?!

God bless,
Chris Osgood

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Last week

Hey!

Last week was a great week!

The usual lunches with Antonio took place (its starting to grow by 2 or 3 more people). Then on Wed. I met with Deacon Cartwright again (this is helping me so much with our discussions and his encouragement)!

Then something that I haven't told many people about is that I have had a few job interviews for Youth Minister Positions. Although I am still discerning the priesthood, I am starting to feel that it would be to soon for me to enter seminary. Although, I know I want to go into the ministry, I don't know if I am ready to make the commitment to the priesthood. One of my biggest passions is working with youth and sharing/showing God's love to them!

Then on Thursday Maria called me and told me to meet her for dinner at the restaurant on campus. So I showed up and apparently she called all the Catholic's that she knew cause when I walked in there where 7 or 8 of us all at one table. It was great!!! Everyone loved it because we got to meet each other and start building the friendships! We have already planned on making this a weekly event. So we plan on getting together tomorrow night (although not many will come since its the start of fall break).

On Friday I had dinner with Fr. Richard at the school cafeteria (we call it the rot). And then on Saturday I went to the women's soccer game to support Maria and Kristi (we ended up losing).

On Sunday I got sick from something. I think it was some bad chili from my friend (but he tells me it was something else). But Sunday night, St. Thomas More had cooked the "Catholic's at Liberty" a really nice dinner! It was no less than a 5 star dinner!!! We had salmon, salad, ice cream and much more!!!

Please pray for the women's soccer team one of the players lost a really good friend on Sunday night. I don't know any of the details, but the team is taking it very hard. And just last night (Monday) they found out that another player lost her best friend in a car accident. Please keep them in your prayers!!!

As for this upcoming week, it is fall break so many of the students are going home (athletes are traveling to games) so I plan on getting a head in school work and doing a personal retreat.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Update from last week Sept. 15-21

Good afternoon!!!

I am very sorry that it has almost been 2 weeks since the last update. I also want to welcome the new people on the update list!

For the ones that are joining us, I just want to take this time to fill you in, along with everyone else about what God has been doing over the past week.

This email is just covering last week. There will be another one this Sunday about this week.

As many of you know from my last email or so, I have been starting to struggle with my prayer life and school work. I wasn't putting much time into those 2 things, and instead I was putting all of my time into this ministry. Well, I am glad to say that last week was just a week for me to get back on track.

I just stepped back from the ministry and started to get back into the Liturgy of the Hours (Shorter Christian Prayer), I also spent most of my time getting caught back up in school (and this weekend I plan on getting ahead in my classes).

So last week, I just had the normal lunches with Antonio, and I got to get together with Deacon Cartwright on Wed. Deacon Cartwright is a huge blessing in my life and he is helping me out so much!!!

Last weekend was a very nice but busy weekend. I was able to go home and help out at an Air Show in Middletown, OH. I planned on spending time with my family, but that didn't really happen because a lot of my friends found out I was coming home. I was able to surprise my neighbor (best friend since 1st day of pre-school) for his birthday on Sunday, so that was fun! Overall, the weekend was great! On Saturday, I got to spend time with my Uncle Mike and my two cousins, and then on Sunday I was able to go to Mass with my grandparents and my other cousin.

The other thing that happened this weekend was on Friday, I had lunch with a girl that graduated with me and her boyfriend. They are getting really serious and he is about to purpose! So I was able to have lunch with them and talk to her about the Catholic Church (She is not Catholic but her boyfriend is). She is planning on entering RCIA either this fall or next fall so they can get married!

PS: I attached some pictures of the air show. The first one that is on the ground is a 1/2 P-47, I helped build that in high school (5 years ago).


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Another update

Hey everyone!

Sorry the update is late!

Well, last week was a very rough week. I had a lot of fun meeting with students though! I had a couple lunches with Antonio, Kathleen and Peter. Then a dinner with Maria and Kristi (women's soccer players) and Antonio. The dinner was fun because it was Thursday night and they played Navy on Friday (Navy is my fav. college team). So I gave them a hard time on Thursday. By the way, Navy beat them 2-1!!!

On Friday I had lunch with Deacon Cartwright and it was a very good lunch! I won't go into details but I am glad to know him! He is a HUGE blessing in my life!

Saturday, I went down to Danville and from there Josh, Katie and I went to Duke so we could watch Navy play Duke in football. It was a VERY hot day!!! I know it was in the 90's but in the stadium it had to of been in the 100's. I am really burnt from it and my face feels like it is on fire. It was a great game though, but unfortunately Navy lost 41-31.

But, the best part of the week was on Sunday! Brian was confirmed into the Catholic Church! (He was a former Baptist Pastor). I have attached some pictures of his confirmation for you all to see!

Then on Sunday night, I met with a few students who were very interested in the Catholic Church. I only planned on being there for an hour, and it turned into about 3 hours. It went very good! I don't think any of them have the interest in joining, but they all wanted to learn more about the faith!

With all of that said, I do have some important things to let you all know. First off, many of you know about the strong winds in KY and OH. Many are without power and from what I heard it is like a war zone. Trees are everywhere. Please keep them in your prayers! Most of the people on this list (maybe about 90%) are in that area. I will be going home this weekend to help clean up and also for an air show.

Second, it has been revealed to me more than once last week, and I have noticed it myself, that my grades are starting to slip and my spiritual life has been going down hill. I have been focusing on the ministry more than I have on my own spiritual life and school work. So I will try to continue this ministry, but for the next few weeks I am going to have to put it on hold and step back from it. The good news is that most of the Catholics are in touch with each other and that was the main goal of this ministry!

So in the next few weeks, I will still be meeting with students during lunch and dinner, but most of my time will be getting my life back on track!

Thank you for your prayers and your support!!!

Monday, September 8, 2008

These are funny!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmYMTla-OIo

I don't know how to put youtube videos on here or I would have.

sorry its long

Sorry its a little late!
Great things are happening here at Liberty!!! I am sorry it is s long. I will try to sum it all up:

Monday:
I spent time with Kathleen, Peter and a few of their friends (who where not Catholic). It was very nice because their friends where asking some questions about the Catholic Church and why would I even want to become a priest?

It was also Spiritual Emphases week (Liberty's revival) and many of the students ended up going. While they were there, I was able to take Antonio to Wal-Mart and dinner. There he gave me more information on his grandparents. They are doing good, just getting older. But he said his grandfather has a tumor (or something along those lines) so please keep them in your prayers.

Tuesday:
I had lunch with Antonio and we started to talk a little more about his family. His mother is having a really hard time with Antonio's little brother (13 or 14 years old). He is starting to act very different. I am not sure exactly what that means, but he said it was not the "different" that normal teenagers go through. So please keep him in your prayers! He really looks up to Antonio and wants to do everything Antonio is doing.

"SE" was still going on at Liberty on Tuesday night. This was a very powerful night for the campus! Even though I was unable to go, I knew God was working on campus! All over campus, the administration put out trash cans and just opened it up for people to throw away whatever they have that they are struggling with (Alcohol, drugs, pornography, anything). It was a great experience! Many guys on our hall alone who have been struggling with a lot, just threw it all away and handed it over to the Lord. I myself wrote down on a piece of paper what I have been struggling with and threw it away! It was great for everyone!

Wednesday:
I was supposed to have lunch with Kristi (a Catholic), but she canceled at the last minute. To give you a little background on Kristi, she was born Catholic, but fell into the wrong crowd and has had a very bad and rough past. And she is wanting to change her life! (That is all she has told me about her.)

Then I went to the Knights of Columbus to try to get them on board with the vision and ministry here at LU. They received it well! And I was able to raise some funds from some of the members! It is great to know they are supporting this ministry!

This was also around the time where I have found out (if my calculations are right, I am double checking it this week) that my scholarship from Jerry Falwell has increased by $2,000!!! As I have said many times, now that he has passed away, he is CATHOLIC!!!!

Thursday:
I had lunch with Antonio again and we started talking a little more about what he wants to do after college. He will be graduating in December of 2009. I told him he needs to play in the NFL but he quickly told me that he hates football and he is only playing it so he can go to college.

I had dinner with John (the one who doesn't want to enter RCIA but is interested in the church) and we talked about his wife and him. I am really hoping that they can get back together. In case you forget, she lives in LA and he lives in VA (NOT GOOD!!!!).

Friday:
I found out that the campus ministry retreat was canceled (due to the hurricane) so I tried to sign up for the Lifeteen conference in Richmond (youth ministry training). I didn't have any money to pay for the registration, but we were able to work things out (Thank you Angela).

I also had lunch with Antonio and we were talking about how classes were going. Then I had dinner with Fr. Richard. It was a very good dinner! He also told me that he has already met with the head campus minister here at Liberty about starting a Catholic Club here on campus! They are sending him to Jonathan Falwell for approval. So please keep that in your prayers!!!

Saturday:
WHAT A DAY!!! I woke up at 5:30 AM (who knew that I could set the alarm that early?). I left around 6 to catch a ride with Jim and Josh to go to the conference. I learned so much at Lifeteen it was great! It also hit me really hard, because I realized that I have been trying everything in my power to run away from my vocation, and I just need to stop running!!! I won't go into details about this day, but I will say it was GREAT!!!

On the ride back to school, Jim had a brilliant idea!!! So, I am in the process of doing it! He said to write a letter to Thomas Monaghan (Ave Maria) and let him know about the ministry here at LU and what is happening here. As I said I am in the process of writing him a letter and I am hoping that he will be on board with us and be willing to donate the remaining funds I need! Thanks Jim for the great idea!!!

Sunday:
We had 10 students show up for mass! And about 7 students show up for the church picnic!

BUT!!! The most important thing for me that happened on Sunday was I got to talk with Kristi. And she told me why she couldn't have lunch on Wed. Her mother was in the hospital for chest pains and it was really serious. But they ended up finding out Friday morning that it was food poisoning. Then she told me that on Thursday night she just handed everything to the Lord and wants to start over! She really does want to change her life! And she is doing it!!!

And finally (really quick) I am really excited about this weekend coming up!!! As many of you know I am a BIG NAVY fan (Naval Academy). Navy's women's soccer team is playing here on Friday (GO NAVY)!!! Then on Saturday, Josh, Katie and I are going to the Duke vs. NAVY game (GO NAVY)!!!! BUT, the thing that is going to make this upcoming weekend really cool is that our good friend Brian (former Baptist Minister) is going to be received into FULL COMMUNION WITH ROME!!!!!!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

UPDATE!!!

Hey guys!

I know this update is a little early, but there will be another one on Sunday. (I will try to do them on Sunday's but if there is something important, I will get it to you right away).

First the important stuff:

There is a young boy I am mentoring (with the Coming Home Network) and his name is Spencer. He is 16 years old and interested in joining the Catholic Church. He is Baptist and his girlfriend is very Charismatic Evangelical. They both want to join the Catholic Church (and I was surprised when I found out they were 16, I thought they were in their 20's with how mature and how much they know).

Well, to sum it up, I copied part of his email to me, so I am sharing it with you so that you can pray for him and his girlfriend. His parent's said he can do what he wants when he turns 18, but until then, he must stay Baptist.

Also, a little update on finances. If you remember from the last email, I need about $4,200 for the entire school year. Well, I had to cut a trip or two out so now its down to $4,107 for the school year. But, if my calculations are right, then my scholarship has increased to the FULL $2,000!!! This means I won't need $2,000 for school in the spring! I am having this checked out by Financial Aid next week. So please keep that in your prayers!

If the scholarship has increased, then I need $2,107, but I have already raised $650 from personal donations! I am still hoping to raise more funds to cover the rest for this ministry! Great things are happening at LU this year!

There is more I could tell you, but I will wait until Sunday. Have a great weekend!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Spencer:

Let's just start with the bad news. Apparently Melissa's parents either hacked her email or checked her search history in depth. They found out that she is studying the faith, and they absolutely lost it. Her Internet is for now completely gone, and she can't see me much for a while because they think I'm brainwashing her to believe what I do about the Church. This is of course completely untrue, as she and I have talked many times about how while we share a faith journey, it's still our own personal decisions that started it. Her parents (especially her mom) have come down on her hard. They're treating her study of the Catholic church like a sin in itself. Her mom actually told her this morning that she had better confess this to God and before the church, and that they no longer trust her. They're also making her attend all these extra services and studies out of nowhere to try to push themselves on her. It's a really bad situation, and I'm at a loss for what to do. I know she shares our faith, but as long as they pay her bills, she's quite literally under their thumb. She needs all the prayers she can get right now. I don't believe she'll lose her faith and love of the Church, but i know the next few weeks and months are just going to get harder and harder.

I'll keep you guys informed.

-Spencer

Monday, September 1, 2008

Its that time again!


Time for another update!

This week has been rough but very good! And it ended today with just a great day! Nothing much happened this week until Wed. (other than school work).

On Wed, I went to noon mass and met Fr. Richard there. After mass we came to Liberty and had lunch. At lunch we started to brain-storm some great ideas for the LU Catholics! After lunch I gave Fr. Richard a small tour of our campus.

I also have ran into some problems this week. I have asked to be able to go to chapel late on Monday and Friday's so I can attend daily mass at Holy Cross. They aloud me to do this last year, but for some reason they said no this year. But, I talked to my RA yesterday and he said that he would allow me to be 15 min. late to chapel so I can go to mass!!!

Other than that, some of the things that have happened this week are having lunch and dinner with Antonio, Kathleen, Peter, John, Jon and other students who are Catholic or want to be Catholic. John is still ready to enter RCIA this fall, so I am going to get him in touch with Fr. Richard.

And for the weekend and the end of the week, there was no better way to end it! On Friday Liberty had the all night of prayer. My dorm had to pray from 2-3 am on Saturday morning. So we decided to have some fun and create a tennis court in the common area. So we had a big tournament going on (we never finished it). I have attached a few pictures so you can see it (if you don't believe me).

Then on Saturday we had the football game. We WON!!! 48-10 or something like that. And then today at mass, another great turn out!

St. Thomas More was very generous and cooked us Liberty students a very nice home-made breakfast after mass. We had 10 students show up there for mass, but only 8 stayed for the breakfast. The other 2 had their family in town and it was very nice to meet their parents! Also, I met a grad student named Tiffany and she is not confirmed yet, but it looks like she will be by the end of this school year. So keep her in your prayers! It would be great to see her and Antonio be confirmed this year!

After mass, I ended up taking Antonio and John to mass later on at Lynchburg College, and had a really nice dinner after that mass (I like free food ha-ha).

I do have 3 prayer requests:

Antonio's grandparents (Elsa and Raul) they are in bad health and getting older.


Jon and his wife. It is a long story but she has been living in LA for the past 5 years, and Jon hasn't been with her due to the Air Force and now here at school. It's not looking good.


For my finances. I have gone to the Knights of Columbus and asked for a donation. I have came up with a budget for the entire year. It is for $4,200 for the entire year to keep this ministry going at full force. If I am not able to raise that, then this ministry won't reach its full potential.


Other than that, things are great! I am keeping you all in my prayers, and if you have any prayer requests, please let me know!


Monday, August 25, 2008

Prayer Requests!

Hey everyone!

I don't think I have ever sent out this many updates in such a short amount of time! This little update has both good news and a very important prayer request in it.

We will start with the good news! Yesterday was the BIGGEST crowd yet from LU to go to mass! Usually, we have about five Catholics from LU that go to mass. Yesterday, we all met at St. Thomas More and we had at least NINE students go to mass! It was GREAT!!! God is really working! We are hoping to get even more next week!

Now for the prayer request: I sent out just before this email a prayer request from Josh and the foreign exchange student staying with his parents. For those of you who didn't get that email, her name is Nico Leons, and she is from Germany. She is Catholic, and is now going to a Evangelical School, and has already fallen in love with the Evangelical Youth groups.

Another prayer request comes from me: There is a student here at LU and she is a freshman. She is Catholic, but is starting to stray away from the Church. She says that she will not leave the Catholic Church, but I can already tell (along with some of the other Catholic students) that her heart has already left the Church. She did go to mass with us yesterday and absolutely LOVED IT! She said that she really enjoyed how Fr. Mooney celebrated the mass, and that she can't wait to go back! But, she is still slowly drifting away. I have spent many hours with her over the past week, and have talked to her about some issues in the church. I know that college is where people start drifting away from their parents and try to figure things out on their own. So we will see what happens.

Please keep both of these prayer requests in your prayers! And thanks again for your support, you guys are AWESOME!!!

Friday, August 22, 2008

End of Week 1

WOW!!! What a very busy but exciting week this has been here at LU!!!

Thank you all for your prayers, and you are in mine! I will warn you that this may be a little long of an email, but its mostly great news!

Jon has not entered RCIA yet, but is getting ready to meet with the new priest in town (Fr. Mooney)! I haven't heard back from Larry yet (but its still early), and I had dinner with John (Freshman) last night.

But, before we get into that, I want you all to know that GOD IS AWESOME!!! The new priest in town (Fr. Mooney) is really excited about starting a Catholic Campus Ministry at LU! He says it is going to happen one way or another. And the best thing we came up with is not by having the ministry here on campus, but over at St. Thomas More Parish! We are going to be kicking this off with a free dinner for ALL Catholic students here at LU. It is the beginning of a great ministry!

Also, he is going to be coming on campus next Wed. We are going to have dinner at the cafeteria and then I am going to show him around campus! WOW! A priest on campus, I wonder what will be next (maybe the Dominican brother's (hint, hint Br. Ignatius and Br. James)).

Also, Fr. Mooney is looking into hiring me part time as a youth minister at St. Thomas More. It is not for sure yet, but it is looking very good! And it could turn into a full time job!

I also have tried getting permission to get out of chapel in order to go to Daily Mass. I am not having any luck in this area, but it is ok. I am continuing to pray about it, and I know it is going to work out somehow!

Then on Wed. night, I went to the Knights of Columbus meeting. I realized that my biggest mistake last year in doing this ministry is not being able to spend time with Antonio, Maria, Jon and others who are or want to be Catholic. This year, I am wanting to not work as much so I can be there for the students. Many times last year I was busy with work, and this is one reason why Antonio didn't get to go to confession sooner. Also, Antonio and I are good friends, but we just didn't have time to get together. This year there are more Catholics that I am in touch with here and I want to build relationships with them. But it is almost impossible with 20 hours of work, 18 credit hours and church activities. So I went to the KoC and asked for a donation. They want me to come back to the next meeting to ask again, but I was able to get $80 from a generous person!

Other than that, on Thursday night, I had dinner with John. He is the freshman that is discerning about the Catholic Church. He is a freshman, but he is in his 20's. He was in the Air Force and has lived all over the world! He is a very smart young man and honestly, I can see him as a Franciscan brother already! Just from how he acts and talks. He wants to go to the poorest of the poor and live among them! He wants to share Christ with everyone! Every time he talks to someone, he always points them to Christ! So please pray for him!

Well, Other than that, not to much is going on here. I am just getting ready for the weekend and doing some homework. Classes are going well, but they have a LOT of work with them! Thanks again for the prayers, and there will be another update next week!!!

Oh, and I also have been applying to some grad school's and also for some youth minister positions (one in Louisville)!!!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Update at Liberty!!!

Hey everyone!!!

I hope everyone is/having a great summer! I am now back at Liberty and have just moved into my dorm. It is a really nice dorm! They moved me to the apartment style dorms at no extra cost!!! They did that to make up for trying to take my scholarship away from last year.

Anyway, I will try to make this as short as possible (because there will be more emails this week). But, once again we have new people added to the email list! If you don't want to get these updates, just reply back to me and I can easily take you off this list.

Well, this year is already becoming one of the best years yet! I have only been here just 2 days and already have been in touch with old friends and met 2 new Catholic freshmen!!! Today started the ministry of driving the Catholic Students to Mass and it was great to catch up with old friends and meet new friends!

Also, my friend Jon is going to be entering RCIA this fall!!! I met him last year and he was very interested in the Catholic Church, so I gave him a Catechism (thanks to New Hope). Well, lets just say that he probably knows more about church doctrine than I do!

Then just tonight at dinner, we were talking about him coming into the church, and this freshman from Nashville (John) overheard us and said to us that he is really thinking about joining the Catholic Church. So Jon and John were talking about it and it was just amazing to see how much they both knew about the church! I now have John's phone # and we are planning on meeting this week to talk more about it. (I know its getting confusing with John and Jon).

Now for the ending, (sorry it's becoming long). The new priest in town at St. Thomas More Church (one of two Catholic Church's in town) wants to help the Catholic Students at Liberty!!! I am going to meet him for dinner on Tuesday night. So more to that will follow.

Ignite Your Torch 2008

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have posted. I am sorry! Anyway, I am all moved in at Liberty University for my senior year!!! But there will be more about that in the next post. This post I want to tell you about Ignite Your Torch Youth Conference!!!

WOW!!! It was amazing! This was the biggest year they have had yet. They had 200 youth and about 100 adults! We had mass every day, Eucharistic Adoration every night, confession all the time and much more!

Every year we always go to the abortion clinic and pray. This year the Arch-bishop of Louisville was there praying with us (it was AWESOME)! We saw 4 women come out of the clinic that day. It was just great to see our prayers answered that day. We serve an AWESOME God!!! (I think I may be over doing the "!!!" but that's not even enough to tell you how great it was).

There were many different workshops that the youth attended, and free time and much more. On Sunday (the last day of the conference) we had a alter call for ladies that are interested in vocations. There were so many girls (youth) that went up for that alter call. It was great!

Next, it was the guys turn. I think over half of the guys went up for this calling. VOCATIONS ARE ON THE RISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't believe me, then check it out for yourself: http://www.igniteyourtorch.org/ There is even a video on that site to show you a little bit of the conference.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

New Hope, KY

It feels good to go on a personal retreat and go back to the place where my conversion happened! Yup, that's right, New Hope, KY. I came down to KY for the Ignite Your Torch Youth Conference. http://www.igniteyourtorch.org/

But, with things going the way they were back home, I decided to come down a few days early to the place that I met God! I surprised my great aunt, everyone knew I was coming but her. She loved it!

I have been staying in the retreat center for the past 2 nights, but tonight they are giving me the boot. They are moving me to the rectory (since there is no priest at the community anymore). So tonight I will be in the rectory, and tomorrow Fr. Anthony will be here from Texas with his youth group for the conference. So the youth will stay in the retreat center, and I will be with Fr. Anthony in the rectory.

I am really excited about this, because I have been wanting to talk to Fr. Anthony for about 8 months, and now is my chance!

Well, I must go. But more to come later. For those of you who haven't heard of Ignite Your Torch, you better come next year!!!

Update

Sorry it has been so long to post. I have had a rough couple of weeks. One of the guys I work with passed away. He was a senior in high school and a very bright young man.

Also, I have ran into a lot of my very close and best friends putting me down for me being Catholic and even thinking about the priesthood. Some of my family does not support me in my decision either.

So with that, it has been a very hard and upsetting couple of weeks. But, I know that I can rely on God to get me through it!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Camp Union

Over this past week, I have been a camp councilor at Camp Union, in Union County (Ohio). It was my first time ever at camp. And man was it great!!!

It was a non-denominational camp for 2-4 graders. There was no talking about doctrine, just about Jesus and God. It was amazing!!!

I don't even know where to begin. The first night there, we dealt with a lot of homesickness. It seems like none of the campers would do anything because they already miss mom and dad.

That night, I was asked to lead the campfire devotion. I did it on Matthew 6 where Jesus talks about how we don't have to worry. Some of the things I talked about is: how great our God is, how we don't have to worry about mom and dad, school, family problems or anything like that. Why? Because we have an AWESOME God who will take care of that for us!

The rest of the week was a lot of fun. We played games, made crafts, had chapel and just had a great time! The last night we where there it was my turn to lead the devotion for the 14 guys in our dorm. I spent about 4 hours making costumes for the guys in the dorm. I made the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) for the guys out of cardboard.

That night we went over the armor of God and they got to keep their belt of Truth, breastplate of Righteousness, shield of Faith, helmet of Salvation and sword of the Spirit. They absolutely loved it!

I can't wait to go to another camp!!!

Friday, July 4, 2008

4th of July

I hope everyone is enjoying this 4th of July (my 22 birthday)!!!

I also ask that as we celebrate our freedom and independence, that we will also pray for our freedom from sin. America is a great country, but we are still not free from sin. We are living in a world that says it's ok to kill innocent life's with abortion, or take other life's with the death penalty. We are now defiling marriage by saying that its ok to have same sex marriage.

Even though we are free to make the choices we do, help pray with me on this day for our freedom from sin! Let us worship our creator and repent, and ask for freedom from the sex, drugs and violence that surrounds our nation today.

God bless and happy FREEDOM DAY!!!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Power of Prayer!!!

This past Monday and Tuesday I flew down to be on the Journey Home with Marcus Grodi on EWTN. I almost didn't make it due to plane delays. Here is the story:

On Sunday night I was laying in bed and praying to God to make this trip to EWTN to be all about Him and nothing about me. I wanted to make sure that Christ got all of the credit and none of it about myself.

Well, needless to say, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR!!!

On Monday morning, I was supposed to catch my flight from Dayton, OH to Cincinnati, OH at 11:50. Well, our plane was delayed due to a tire bursting. We tried to get on any other flight with any other airline to Birmingham, AL for the Journey Home on EWTN. There was NOTHING available that could get us there in time. So we stayed on our flight to Cincinnati.

When we arrived in Cincinnati, we ran to try to catch our next flight. We missed it by 10 minutes (we later find out that it was the same flight that Marcus Grodi was going to be on). Well, after we missed it, we then went on stand by for the next flight leaving Cincinnati for Birmingham. It was to take off at 4:45 (eastern time) and arrive at 5:10 (central time).

During the entire morning I was sure that my dad and I were going to make it. But by about 3:30, I was starting to get very upset and didn't think either one of us were going to make it. My dad on the other hand said, "Don't worry, you are going to get there."

I believe it was also around 2 or 3 pm that I called Theo to tell her to get everyone she knows to pray for me to make the flight!

As I have mentioned before, I was on stand by. There were 5 people ahead of me to get on this flight. They were overbooked by 3 people, and there were 2 stand by's ahead of me. About 4 pm, I go up to ask what are my chances of getting on the flight, and the lady said, there is no way possible that I will get on, none the less any other stand by.

After asking Delta, what my chances where of getting on, I went to the restroom. When I came back, there was a man in my seat sitting next to my dad. I was kind of upset since the entire row was empty, why would he sit right next to my dad?

Anyway, they end up talking for some time. All of a sudden it is 4:30 and the plane is getting ready to pull out anytime. They call the first stand by and it is the guy that is sitting next to my dad. Man was I mad!!! Well, he goes straight up to the counter and tells them that I am going to take his place! They call me up and he tells me that I am going to take his place on the plane and he will catch the next flight (He had a big business meeting the next day in AL).

So what is so important about this story besides the fact that I made it on time for the show? Well, at 4:30 is when my GREAT Aunt Mary went into the chapel at the convent by EWTN and had the nuns pray along with other people there for me to catch my flight. It was the SAME TIME I GOT ON MY FLIGHT!!! Talk about the power of prayer!!!

Now my GREAT Aunt has more to her side of the story so when she gets back from her trip, we will send that out to you all! But Doug, was the guy who gave me his seat on the plane I believe was Angel #1 and a lady that my aunt met in the chapel is Angel #2. She will tell you more about that!

You told the story well, Chris! My input comes when I walked out of the Chapel there at EWTN. (I was wearing my Dominican cross, on my Dominican shirt.) A total stranger - (named LISA, I later found out), was staring at me. She had an EXTRA friendly face, so we spoke. Lisa told me she had seen my face in a (dream) and was told she must pray for the intercession of Blessed Pier-Georgio Frassatti, a saintly Third Order Dominican who lived in the 1920's. She was to ask for the intercession of Bl. Pier-Georgio Frassatti, in the need of " this lady" (me?!). Right then, Chris was able to get on the only flight out of Cincinnati, which did get him to Birmingham ON TIME for THE JOURNEY HOME!!! So, we do indeed THANK GOD for ALL WHO PRAYED, including Bl. Pier-Georgio Frassatti!

My testimony

My journey into the Catholic Church has been a very interesting but exciting journey. And although I am now in finally home, and in full communion with Rome, I feel that this journey is just starting. It is amazing to think, that God knows what He is going to do with us, even before we are born! And this is exactly how my story starts!

My dad and his family are Catholic and my mom and her family are Methodist. So when they got married, they couldn't find a church. Therefore, when I was born, we didn’t go to church. However, every Christmas Eve, my grandparents would take us to Mass. And throughout the rest of the year, we would either not go to church, or I would go with my friends, or family to a Baptist, Assembly of God, or Non-denominational Church.

When my mom was pregnant with me, my parents went with the rest of my dad’s side of the family to a lake (we get together every 5 years to celebrate my grandparent’s anniversary). While on this trip, the family priest (Father Heft) was talking to my dad. He asked my dad, “Are you ready to have your son?” “I am ready financially, but I just don’t know what I am going to do with him,” my dad said. Then, Father Heft said, “Don’t worry, God will know what to do with your son.”

Then when I was about 2 years old, my grandmother on my dad’s side was reading me a book. The book was about Jesus and His life. About half way through, I asked my grandma “Is there more than 1 God.” She was amazed that someone as young as I would even be capable of asking such a question.

Every Christmas Eve, when my grandparents would take us to Mass, the priest would always call the children around the alter for the homily. Well, one Christmas Eve, I went up and stood by the priest. And during the homily he was talk about the wine becoming Christ’s blood. After the homily, I went back to my seat and I asked my aunt if that was really Christ’s blood? And she sent me to my grandma, who was very surprised that someone my age would even think of that question. My grandmother has told me these stories and many more. And she always tells me that God is working on and in me. And He has been very busy even before I was born!

One day when I was about 6 years old, I went to church with my uncle (on my mom’s side) and there I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior! However, just a few short months later, I was scared of dying. My grandma (on my mom’s side) would always tell me about Jesus and Heaven, and that I don’t need to worry because everything is going to be perfect there! Well, when my grandma died, I was in the 5 grade and I turned my back on God and blamed Him for it.

The good news was I was not scared of dying anymore. Mostly because I knew that I would see my grandma again! But, I did still go through a tough time. I felt like God took my best friend. I went through a lot of depression during this time, and I even talked about killing myself. Even though I was too scared to actually go through it, I did talk about it.

All though I was going through this dark time in my life, I still wanted to go to church and find out more about this God, whom I hated. I would very rarely go, but when I did, I would go with my friends or family on my mom’s side. I went to all different types of churches. But still did not learn too much about the God whom I hated.

My freshman year of high school, I started to smoke pot, and drink beer. My best friends where doing it at the time, and I really looked up to them. So I figured, why not try it? I only smoked pot once or twice, and then realized that I did NOT want my 2 younger sisters smoking pot. So I quit. And by the grace of God, I never went back to it! But with the drinking, I was able to control that. I would only drink in the summer, but even then, it would be rare.

It was in my junior year of high school, that my woodshop teacher (Mr. Moreland) invited me to FCS (Fellowship of Christian Students). I started going every Friday morning. I went every week to learn about God, and to find that special something that I was missing in my life.

During the summer of my junior and senior year, I was asked to lead a group for the next year. I really wasn't ready to lead a group. I knew very little about Jesus and the Bible, and therefore I really didn't want to lead a group. I ended up giving in however, and helped lead a group with my friends.

Also during my senior year, I became the Student Body President of my high school. I would have to say that my senior year of high school was the most exciting time of my life (thus far)! My biggest goal as the Student Body President was to stand up and fight for what the students wanted and needed.

There was a lot that took place during my senior year of high school. But, the one thing I would say that changed my life was when I stood up and fought for 1 minute between classes. You see, usually, the president was somebody that just ran for that position so they could get into a certain school or get a certain scholarship. I however, ran for the students, and because I wanted them to know that I cared for them!

Our class schedule was a block schedule. This means that we would have 4 classes a day, for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Then in the middle of the year at the end of the semester we would change classes to 4 new classes. Between classes however, we would have 5 minutes, to go to our locker, get something to drink, talk with friends and get to class.

Well, my senior year, they took a minute away from between classes and put that minute into the classroom. It looked great on paper, but in reality it made the student body upset. And it actually took more time out of the classroom, because people would have to leave to go finish what they were doing.

This is where I stepped in. I ended up being the first Student Body President to stand up against the administration and fight for the student’s rights! I went to the school board and asked for our minute back, and gave a lot of facts and reasons of how important that 1 minute was. Well, long story short, we got our minute back! And it was the first time in school history, that the students respected student council! And because of that, I gained their trust.

Because I was able to gain their trust, they would listen to me and to what I had to say. (This is when God really grabbed hold of my heart)! Since I was the president I had to give speeches at assemblies. I gave many different speeches, and in every speech I gave, I made sure it had something to do with Jesus! I felt like God was truly using me as an evangelist to the students of West Carrollton High School.

I really had to give God all thanks and praises for me even becoming the Student Body President. It was something I wanted since I was a freshman, mostly because I wanted to give a speech at graduation. And not only did God grant me that, but He really did change my heart!

Also, since I was a freshman, my goal was to get into the US Naval Academy. And I remember applying the fall of my senior year to the Naval Academy and to some Christian schools. During this time, I started going to a Baptist Church every Sunday with my neighbor (who was the pastor). And I was baptized on March 13, 2005! It was great to have all of my family and friends there for this important day! But the thing that made it so great was that my neighbor, the one I knew my whole life was the one that baptized me!

But, I remember laying in bed the last night of spring break praying to God, “Do you want me to go into the military, or into the ministry? And just give me a clear sign.” The next day (Monday), I came home from school and got the mail. I got 2 letters in the mail; One being a rejection letter from the Naval Academy, and the other being a full tuition scholarship to Central Christian College of the Bible. I figured that was a clear sign for me! I then went up to my pastor and asked him, "What is it like to preach?" He then instead of telling me what it was like told me that he was going on vacation in a few weeks and wanted me to preach! From then on, I preached at least once a month. I also ended up taking over the youth ministry at the church, and after doing that for about 3, I also started helping out a Methodist youth group.

After graduation, I went to a community college in Dayton, OH for 1 year. While attending this school, I would frequently make trips to New Hope, KY and stay with my great aunt at the St. Martin de Porres Dominican Community (they had the biggest impact on my conversion)! While I was down there, I made many new friends right away! A lot of them where my age, and the thing that really won me over, was they knew more about Catholicism and the Baptist religion than I knew. They were able to answer every question I through at them, and they would answer right back.

I was actually a little upset with some of the answers I got back. Mostly because, I believed what they were saying (thanks to my grandma), but I didn’t want to admit it. Since I was going to a Baptist church, I was learning that the Catholic religion was wrong. But when I went down to KY, I would always come back on fire for God, and believing more and more of the Catholic faith! I found this happening more and more I would go down.

I remember them asking me, “Are you ready to become Catholic yet?” And I would always respond with, “No, I believe everything you have taught me, but I want to get married and become a preacher. So I definitely do NOT want to become a priest!”

Well, as a Baptist, I was taught to believe the Bible and only the Bible. So one day I get this cassette tape from my great aunt! It was the conversion story of Scott Hahn! I remember sitting in my car and listening to it. And after listening to Scott Hahn talk about John 6, I turned off my car, ran inside my house and grabbed a Bible. I read John 6, and was never the same. How could I believe that communion is just a symbol? Jesus Himself says it’s His body! That was the turning point for me!

In the summer, the community my aunt lives with, puts on a youth conference, called “Ignite Your Torch!” I ended up going, and WOW!!! IT WAS LIFE CHANGING!!! I met great friends there! But I would say more importantly, I was able to hang out with Br. Ignatius (studying for the priesthood in the Dominican Order). I would ask him every question possible. And not only was he able to answer all of my questions, but he also explained it in a way that a little child could understand.

After this conference I was really torn. My family wanted me to become Catholic, but my friends wanted me to stay Baptist. I really felt as if I was choosing between my family and friends (even though, they didn’t want it to seem like that). So I ended up asking pastor where I should go to school to become a preacher, and he said Liberty University.

I ended up meeting with Dr. Jerry Falwell, and told him, that I couldn’t afford LU, but I wanted to go into the ministry! He was generous enough to give me a scholarship to LU. After being at LU for just 3 months, I knew there was something missing. I knew I couldn't become a Baptist preacher, and preach something I didn't fully believe. This is when I started talking to my aunt who worked for the Richmond Diocese (Patrice Schwermer) and got into RCIA at Holy Cross.

It was great! I didn’t have the pressure of choosing my family or friends. I made this choice on my own! And it was/is the best choice I have ever made! I was received into the Catholic Church Easter of 2007. But the big miracle is that since then, I have been feeling the call to the priesthood!

Right now, I am still a student at Liberty, and taking advantage of what God has given me! There are Catholics here at Liberty, and I feel that it is my job to minister to them. We have created a facebook group and now are all in contact together. And the one thing I keep hearing from them is, “I thought I was the only Catholic at LU.”

The other ministry here at Liberty is apologetics! I am trying to be a witness to non-Catholics, to let them know that Catholicism is not bad. There are just misinterpretations that people have, and I am trying to clear some of that up. The one thing I keep telling myself is, “I am the Catholic Church at Liberty University! I represent over 1 BILLION people, so I better not screw up!”

There are many other ministries I take part in, and help out. And they are just as important! For example: 9 grade religious ed, Catholic Campus Ministry, and youth ministries. Although this is a very busy time in my life, and sometimes I feel like giving up, I know that my God is with me! And I am doing it for His glory, honor and praise!!!