At the Table

Holy Thursday is my favorite of all days in the Church year. I love the whole Mass, the washing of the feet, the breaking of the bread, the beloved disciple resting his head on Jesus' chest, the betrayal - I love the whole story, the whole mystery.

Every year I reflect on some different part of the Holy Thursday traditions, some years I've tried my hardest to "stay awake" with Christ while he agonizes in the garden, some years I reflect on whether or not I would deny him three times, other years I've spent time thinking about the ways I was Judas.

This year I'm finding myself thinking about being at the table. I think that is my greatest desire, to be at the table with Christ. I want to be a part of that moment, the moment that we "re-present" each Sunday. I wonder at times if the Apostles knew this would be their last "good" moment with Jesus. Did they savor every morsel, did they hang on his every word, did they take it all in so they could never forget that day?

When Jesus took the bread and broke it, saying "take this all of you and eat this bread." Did any of them have chills realizing that this meal was different than all the meals they had enjoyed with him before? Did they know that what was being shared in that moment would last forever and would be done over and over again all through history?

The truth is I don't have to wonder what it would be like to be sitting at that table with Jesus and His Apostles. I am at the table with them every time I go to Mass, and so are you. Each time we go to Mass we participate in that last supper, we are invited to sit at the table with Jesus' closest friends and to "take the bread and eat it."

So I think to myself, well if I am at the table with them, which one of the Apostles do I most closely represent?
- Am I John - the beloved disciple - resting my head on Christ's chest?
- Or am Thomas, wanting to believe all that Jesus is saying but still holding out for proof?
- Am I Peter - the eager servant who knows he will get it right, but in truth will fail three times?
- Or worse, am I Judas, selling my Lord for 30 pieces?

Truth be told, I think I'm all of them. In many moments I am His faithful servant, waiting at His chest, allowing Him to love me. Then there are times when I'm just not sure, "is He really going to get me through this? Will He really be risen?" Oh for the times I have denied his name in simple and big ways. I think of the times when someone has brought up their disregard for a Church teaching or made a comment about our beliefs and I have simply remained silent, even when they've asked my opinion. Have I betrayed Jesus - sadly I must "confess to almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do" - yes I have betrayed Him many times. I have sold my Lord for 30 pieces.

Yet, I am still sitting there by his side taking His flesh and blood and taking in His words. I am constantly amazed at how no matter what I do He still calls me by His grace to come to the table and take part in that great mystery of the Last Supper again and again.

I imagine that when Peter heard that Jesus had indeed risen he was a little nervous to see him, because he had indeed denied him. Yet, Jesus loved him just the same. Same still with Thomas who still doubted, Jesus did not rebuke him, rather he invited him to see the proof. I wonder about Judas, what if he hadn't committed suicide, would Christ have welcomed him back to the table.

Just as he welcomes you and I and all sinners to sit at the table I believe that Judas would be sitting there too if he had only turned his face back to Christ.

Today, you and I are invited to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples and to take the bread and eat it, and to drink the cup - as they are transformed into His Body and Blood and we are transformed into His faithful disciples.

"Come, and sit at the table, and I will give you rest." (cf. Matt 11:28)

Is it a Holy Week?

Hear we are on the first day of Holy Week. Passion Sunday came and went and I imagine that this week will pass by as quickly as the rest and next Monday while standing by the water cool we will all say things like, "can you believe Easter is over."

Yes, Holy week is upon us and I find myself wondering, how am I going to ensure that this is not just another week. I have to be honest I don't feel like my "lent" was all that remarkable and that is certainly because of me and no one else. I didn't really enter in this Lent and for that I am heartily sorry. I read blogs of friends who are making real strides at prayer this Lent and I have a little bit of remorse that I did not take more time aside this Lent and allow my journey to be one marked with change.

As we enter into this Holiest of weeks, as we prepare our hearts for the Passion, death, and resurrection of our savior, I pray that I may slow down, pause, reflect, and allow the Paschal Mystery to change me from the inside out this week.

I would love to hear your thoughts? What are you doing to make this week Holy in your life? What ideas have you heard or things do you do that you would like to pass on to me and others who are wanting to make this week a special one?

Please share in the comments below. I pray that we each have a blessed and truly transforming week. May Christ's sacrificial love pierce our hearts.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis

#1stFriday - Calling all Catholics to Prayer

To My Brother's and Sisters in Christ,

I was thinking today of how we Catholics on Twitter need to unite in prayer for one another and be available for prayer for others. What a difference we could make by interceding for one another on a regular basis. As a start I propose that we take advantage of 1st Friday observances. Many of us attend Adoration, a special Mass, Rosary group, and other observances of 1st Friday in our parishes.

What I would like to propose is that on every 1st Friday we post our prayer requests/intentions with the hashtag #1stFriday - be sure to use the number 1 as #FirstFriday - spelled out is already used by other groups who do art gatherings, etc. Then when you are going to go to Adoration or whatever you do on 1stFriday you can do a search for #1stFriday to find other people's prayer requests and take them with you.

Intercessory prayer is a very powerful gift that God has given us, this is one step in allowing prayer to transform our world.

1. Each #1stFriday - post your prayer requests with the hashtag #1stFriday (anyone can do this - you do not have to be Catholic -we just want to pray for you) - Note you could add your petitions on the day before in order to ensure that early Mass attendees can take the prayers with them.
2. Before you go to 1stFriday Mass or Adoration, etc, run a search in http://search.twitter.com for #1stFriday - you can either print out the prayers or just remember them as you head out. Here is a link to the RSS feed for the search http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%231stfriday

3. Offer these petitions and pray for one another.
4. Spread this message to all the Catholics you know on Twitter. If folks follow through on this I will set up a website for people who are not on Twitter to post but for now let's get #1stFriday's moving on Twitter... tell all the #catholics out there!

Your brother in Christ,
Chris Faddis

He was filled with Grace

Exerpt from The Catholic Sun, Catholics reflect on the man who forever changed their lives

“But what I will never forget was a moment that may not have lasted long in which I looked into his eyes. It was then that I began to understand why his presence was so overwhelming. I saw in his eyes a love that I had never seen before,” Faddis said. “I swear that I saw the weight of God’s love in those eyes.”

It’s moments like this one described by Faddis, that have a profound, lifelong impact — and there are thousands of Catholics throughout the diocese who have similar experiences to share. - Robert DeFrancesco, The Catholic Sun, Sept. 6, 2007

That's me - the skinny kid holding John Paul II's hand - and that is the moment, a moment I'll never forget, it was the moment I saw the depth and mystery of God's love for me.

In that moment, locking eyes with John Paul II of blessed memory I saw through him the love, the mercy, the generosity of God's love. This moment which I have relived over and over again is the moment in which God used his humble servant to share His love with me, and it is the moment I believe which has led me to youth ministry.

John Paul II is known and remembered for so many numerous acts, words, and deeds that made a difference in millions of lives. We remember him as a champion of social justice, a
defender of life, a fighter of the communists, and a victor over evils of all kinds. Still, he was merely a man - a man called by God, who through faithfulness and great courage became a walking and living saint.

For a long time I wondered why that experience was so powerful to me. I mean, he was merely a man and I had met so many famous people before and never had the same reaction, nor did it ever have the same effect. Why had his presence, his holiness, and his simple look given me such a powerful and life altering glimpse into the mystery of God's love for me?

It was shortly before his death that I had the realization that John Paul II was so filled with God's grace that he truly had been a mirror of God's love. That is our goal to become "full of grace" - that is why Mary is our model, and that is why the Saints are so important. John Paul II was a living, breathing, walking sign of God's Grace in our horribly confused and troubled world.

Today we remember him and ask him to pray for us. John Paul II, thank you for living out the Gospel in such a Heroic way.



To read more about my experience check Catholics reflect on the man who forever changed their lives

Sacrifice: How far do you go?

My wife and I have had some discussions recently about sacrifice. Nothing major, just little side conversations about how far we are to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, etc.

Christ calls us to "love one another as I have loved you." Christ loved us by dying, sacrificing everything for us. So how far are we to go? St. Paul says that husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church, laying down his life for us (cf. Eph 5).

I know in my own marriage, family that I am willing to die for my wife and children. Truthfully I believe I'm willing to die for most people I care about, but especially my family. I feel extremely confident that it is my responsibility to be willing to sacrifice my life for my wife and children.

But what about sacrifice that does not require actual death? What about sacrificing my wants, my desires, my career if it came to that? How far am I willing to go to sacrifice for my wife and children - my primary vocation? If it came down to it would I give up my career in youth ministry to in turn spend more time with them or to make more money so they could be more comfortable? (Just so you know this is not something we're discerning now - those of you at St. Leo's don't start thinking I'm planning to leave, this is not an issue at this point.)

There are so many aspects to this question and so many areas of our lives that we could be called to sacrifice. In fact I think that in our society today if more husbands and wives would consider that sacrifice is a part of their marriage we probably would have less divorcees our there. Marriage is about more than "compromise" or "give and take" it is about laying down your life for the other.

Sacrifice plays a role in all of our relationships, dealings - not just marriage. So the question I pose for discussion here is how far are we to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, or others that we love?

I do believe it is a discussion worth having. Please post your thoughts in the comments section and share this post with others who you think ought to share.

May we all learn to love as Christ loved us, laying down his life.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis
Husband, father, youth minister, blogger, goofball

Read my Youth Ministry Blog at ym.lifeteen.com

I'm excited to have been asked to share my thoughts on Youth Ministry at Life Teen Inc's site for Youth Ministers, ym.lifeteen.com. Currently you can find two blogs: 1st one is called "Set Apart" and is on creating environment for your nights, and the second is called "Responsive" and is about leading a responsive youth ministry. I'm currently working on more submissions as well.

You can also check out the site for our parish youth ministry www.stleoyouth.com for more. Projects in the works: I'm writing a feature for Life Teen's Spotlight publication which will come out later in the spring or early summer and I have a few other projects brewing.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis

FUS Portiuncula Named Site to Obtain Plenary Indulgence

I was very excited to receive this in an email from an old friend from Steubenville... the Portiuncula also known as "The Port" is a very beautiful and holy place to pray. It deserves distinction as it is a place where many people have converted, received their call to Priesthood, been engaged, received a message or calling from God, or been healed. It truly is a place "set apart".

Father Terence Henry, TOR, is pleased to share with you the wonderful news received from the Holy See regarding our very holy site, the Portiuncula, which has meant so much to our students, our grads, families, and friends of the University.

We have just received a decree from J. Francis Cardinal Stafford, Apostolic Penitentiary, naming the Portiuncula as a site to obtain a plenary indulgence. The decree reads in part:

The Apostolic Penitentiary, by the power of the most special faculty granted by Benedict XVI, graciously grants from the heavenly treasure of the Church a plenary Indulgence to be gained by each and every one of the Christian faithful, who devoutly visit the chapel called Portiuncula found at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. There they pray to God the prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father including the Our Father and the Creed. The visit should take place on (a) August 2, on which the Indulgence of the Portiuncula occurs; (b) October 4, on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi; (c) January 23, on the dedication of the tomb of the unborn; (d) one day in the year, which day each individual may freely choose; (e) as often as in a group they make a holy pilgrimage which is completed at this place (the Portiuncula).This will be in effect for seven years; nothing to the contrary withstanding.

Given at Rome from the Apostolic Penitentiary on the 11th day of February in the year of the Incarnate Lord, 2009 on this feast day remembering Our Lady of Lourdes.

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Wondering what a plenary indulgence is? http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm