nate’s blog

It’s Easter.  Alleluia.  Much like Christmas it seems that by the time Easter is here, we are too tired for it.  So much happens during lent that Easter, for most of us, is the break after lent rather than a season of resurrection and dancing.  So what can we do?  We should have some sort of practice applied to Easter as we do in lent.  Not necessarily something that we give up, but something that we look at completely differently.  Resurrection turns the world upside down.  Knowing that Christ rose from the dead means that we have to think about life completely differently.  We have to let go of those things to upset us.  All the crap has to fall away.  Death can have no power over us anymore.

God Bless - Nate

Halfway through lent is the hardest. It’s easy to be complacent in whatever promises we’ve made. It’s even hard to remember that it’s lent right now. Basically it’s time to recommit and/or start something new. I know my postings have been few lately and I appreciate the writer’s block jokes.

Lent again…

One of the middle school teens at ZION last week reminded me of something I had said last year: “Lent is about taking everything we know about Jesus and throwing it out the window so we can learn it all over again.” Every lent our church prepares RCIA candidates to become Catholic. In an ideal world, each and every member of our church would be experiencing that same preparation. Basically, I’m trying to invent a new word: Re-conversion. Re-conversion is what this lent is about.

God Bless - Nate

Luke 18 Ended this weekend.  Well, sort of.  The Best part of any retreat is what you do with it.  I know that there were some "Bringing Holy Back" T-Shirts at school today and yesterday.  How fun is that?  People walk up to you, "what’s that shirt for?"  And you’re all like, "It’s for this retreat I was on this weekend.  You should go next year.  I’m also going to camp and summer stretch, wanna come with?"

This is why Luke 18 isn’t over.  We get to actually bring holy back now.  The last talk we heard was "Our Special Mission," and this is it.   So, what have you done?

Luke 18 is almost here, and it is time to get stoked.  Why is this retreat so great?  Disciples and Cori Team make it happen.  I’m fixing some scheduling and sending out letters to parents and sleep houses today, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to stop worrying about what needs to be done and start counting the hours.  There is still much to get ready, but I’m turning my worry into dancing.

Anyone who has a moment this weekend to pray for Luke 18 participants and leaders, thank you.

I recently got a comment from a young lady named Susie Jensen.  It reminded me of the only Teen Leader application I’ve ever rejected - which coincidently I also laughed the hardest at.  For the future, anyone applying for anything in this way will not be accepted.  Applications are getting more important at Holy Name.  47 people applied to go to our Mexico Mission trip this year.  Chris can only take 25.  This is an example of what not to do:

Name: Adam Todd Toppin   Grade: 13  School: Gustavus

Address: 800 West College Ave

Phone Number: i don’t have a home anymore

Email: bigsmokeyAZ@hotmail.com  o wait, that’s already taken… shoot_

 T-Shirt Size: Husky

Why do you want to be a WB Teen Leader?

So I can prove once again that I have superior basketball skills to 12 year old boys that top out at 4’7” and 84 lbs.

What do you think a WB Teen Leaders Role should be?

Definitely not Horn.  A good WB Teen Leader has much lighter hair, a weaker ability to grow facial hair, and a smoother J.

In what ways have you been involved / done service with Middle Schoolers?

I wouldn’t say little Susie and I were ever “involved.”  I mean yeah, sure we had a thing for each other but that was last WinterBlast and plus, it never would of worked out… with the age difference and all.  Don’t get me wrong.  She was a cutie.  But it was a little awkward last year because J Fred kept hitting on her and even Kurt could tell she though nothing of the poor “Stud” from Providence.

Who do you think will win the World Series for the second year in a row?

Many analysts agree with me when I state that Frank Thomas is only beginning to come out of his shell.  The Toronto Blue Jays got a steal picking him up in the free agent market and he should fit in nicely with the Toronto Sky Dome’s dimensions.  If you though he had good years in ’93 and the strike-shortened season of ’94 (back to back AL MVP, by the way), just wait till the 38 year old gets a hold of the crisp, cool air of Toronto, Ontario and gets an extra little pop in his bat.  Wow, I just got goose bumps.

Say, what was the question anyway.  O well, I guess since this question is so cleverly worded that the only possible answer is the St. Louis Cardinals.  Unless of course you are referring to the Little League World Series.  In which case the answer would be US Southeast Columbus, Georgia.  Go Red Knights!

Short History: When this blog started Rachel was the first person to comment, which makes her special. She made a commitment to responding to everything I posted. The idea was that her responses would be a blog in and of themselves

Quick tangent: It’s 9:35 in the AM. I’m at church and so is Timmah - evidently some class was cancelled at Normandale (not the beach in France - that’s Normandy). I’ve actually been here since 8. What is going on?

Nowadays, Rachel has her own “blog” as a sub-page of Chris’ Journal (by the way “sub” means below). No longer is this blog graced by her’s. If want to know how to get to Rachel’s blog, you simple go to CK’s blog, click on the ampersand north of the word “hope”, make a slight right just after the SA, and it’s the third blog on the left after the yellow house. If you get to homestarrunner.com you’ve gone to far and you’ll feel like you’re in middle school again.

To Rachel I say this, quoting the prophet Hosea, “Come back to me.” You don’t want to be slumming it up over at that other place. Come home and I’ll slaughter the fattened calf.

I am not afraid of flying. I sleep through most flights. In one case I actually slept through take off - I was quite tired. I buy into the whole “it’s safer to fly than to drive” thing, but that’s not why I feel so safe on a plane. It’s because I know there is someone who knows what they’re doing in the pilot’s seat. Unfortunately, my confidence in pilots has been somewhat shaken lately:

First of all, my dad, who may be legally blind, has a pilot’s license. Yikes.

Second of all, I know Jason Bourne. For those of you who don’t know Jason Bourne is a pseudonym lifted from a popular movie representing a former Holy Name Teen who wishes to remain anonymous. Let’s call him A. Hutchinson H., or just Hutch. Hutch is a student at UND studying things related to flying.

Now, if I had to get into a plane with either Hutch or my Dad, I would definitely rather fly with Hutch. I have flown with my dad once, but only because his instructor was in the plane. I may do it again one day, but only immediately after the sacrament of reconciliation. Hutch on the other hand makes me much less nervous, mostly because - whether this is true or not - I believe he is being professionally trained. I want to believe he is being professionally trained. I want to believe there is something mystical about the way people become pilots which is what makes commercial flying so easy. I have no idea who the pilot is, and there’s great great comfort in that.

In the end. I ask you this: who do you know well that you would fly with (assuming they would get their license and such)? I’m sure my dad is a fine pilot. I’m sure Hutch’s classmates call him Ice Man. My hang up is that I know these people too well.

In the gospel a couple weeks ago, Jesus’ home town wouldn’t accept him because they knew him. “Isn’t this Joseph’s Son?” There are people in our lives we will not accept as our shepherds. Whose yours?

I don’t know how this entry got serious all the sudden. I just wanted to give Horn trouble. Also I know some people have had trouble posting on Dan’s Blog (see previous entry). We’ll try to fix that. The cookie reward is still up for grabs. “How Rachel’s blog Betrayed Me” is coming soon. - Nate

I’m saving my “Would you get in a plane with Jason Bourne” blog idea for another day when I have more time. Also soon to appear… “How I was betrayed by Rachel’s blog.” Here’s “Happy Budget Day”:

Today I’m working on our Youth Ministry budget, and while that may not sound like fun to you, I LOVE IT. Mostly because it means that I don’t have to be creative today. Unlike most days, today is going to end with me knowing whether or not I did something right. When you’re working with numbers things are either right or wrong. When you’re writing a song or a talk, you don’t really know if it’s good until days later when people tell you, “hey that was good” or “let’s not do that psalm again.” I’ve never really heard the latter as most people are very nice. Anyway, I get excited to work on budgets. It’s fun for me.

And if you want to have fun today, I suggest this (which will also be very funny): Our parish administrator, Daniel W. Garry, who makes most of the decisions regarding this stuff has his own blog. It would be great if everyone (that means you) would go to Dan’s Blog and leave him comments asking for really weird things (like life-size rock’em sock’em robots, or a Caribou here at church, or a even zip cord that goes from the youth room to the church - walking is a pain). Dan is extremely funny. He will definitely laugh and even respond. You may want to use a real name though. I’ll be checking his blog all day and have a cookie for whomever leaves the funniest request. - Nate

The Bringing Holy Back Entry is back up… here are the lyrics Justin has suggested… add to them as you will. - Natel

Quoted from http://www.hnoj.org/wpnate/?p=3#comments:

nate’s blog » Bringing Holy Back, Ya

Those other people dont know how to act. I think your special that you pray like that. YUP.
So turn around and tell me howtodothat. YUP. Take ‘em to the chruch!

I’m holy babe.
You see these people
baby we believe
You forgive me when i misbehave
Its just that no one makes me feel this way

Take ‘em to the church!

I have to be honest with you.  Usually Sunday nights like Superbowl Sunday are tough.  Of course we have LIFE TEEN Mass, and of course much less people are there.  It makes a lot of sense for most people to go to Mass in the morning or on Saturday night.  Fr. Joseph used to tell us that a full church makes for better liturgy, and he’s definitely right.  When only few people are at Mass, there is usually much less energy.  It’s noticeable among the congregation, readers, musicians, and even priests and deacons.

This past Sunday was different.  Even though there were less people there, Mass had energy.  I might have been smiling all through Mass.  It really was beautiful.  It felt like a community of people coming together to pray together, to be with each other, to be with Christ.  I honestly forgot all about the game.  I just wanted to thank everyone there for showing Christ to me.  We all got to watch Rex throw more passes to the Colts than to the Bears in the second half - it doesn’t matter who you were cheering for, no one wants to see a game decided by mistakes rather than good plays.  In the end I enjoyed the first half much better.

A Couples Notes - (1) I don’t know what happened to the Bringing Holy Back entry and comments.  If Justin Timberlake would be so kind as to re-submit his lyrics, I will make sure they are put in a prominent place. (2) I like Rachel’s blog better too, mostly because I don’t have to write it.

Coming Soon…  Would you get in a plane with Jason Bourne?