My RCIA Diary

They asked me today what my confirmation name would be. Huh!?! My confirmation name....what's that!? Why, Bishop Trautman even called me by my birth name when I met him. (Though the name tag may have had something to do with it.....) My confirmation name huh?

Well this actually seems easy enough! I've always fancied myself a very spiritual person! I love the imagery Jesus uses when speaking about Peter....I mean "you are the rock" it doesn't get any better than that right! I also take great comfort in the fact that even Peter denied him three times....gives a certain humanity to the whole thing. WRONG!!!!!! I AM NO PETER. I am just now even starting to be able to accept some of God's blessings without questioning. I am almost 40. Through most of my life I have looked with doubtful skepticism at just about every blessing God has poured out on me. I am a realist and a yes...but what's the catch? kind of person.

Have you guessed my confirmation name yet.....It didn't take me long to figure out!

Thomas

My RCIA Diary

Just went to a day long retreat at Villa Maria in New Castle. I guess I really didn't know what to expect but let me say....I was pleasantly surprised. The retreat emphasized a great deal of meditation on the beautiful grounds. I think it was such a meaningful way to go into our "home stretch" before being baptised. I got to speak with Father Dan a little. I feel very honored to have him baptise me. I guess if I'm truly honest though, I don't exactly feel like I'm "on fire" I rather feel very at peace and just plane happy and satisfied in a way that I've never felt before.
This whole process has been so meaningful to both me and my family that I really have to look with total awe at God's blessings. It ironically was the topic of the story of Tobiah that we discussed at the retreat today. God's blessing are so rich and full that it really does defy understanding.

I was speaking with my wife Lora after the retreat and the previous story brings to mind a situation we recently went through. After working at the hospital for well over 5 years now I recently made the decision to give up my full time position to work per diem in another department. This decision was so that I could get my foot in the door for medical imaging which I had been struggling to get into. This however meant giving up full time benefits as well as sick and vacation pay. What would I do if I were to get sick? Would we lose everything? Would I even get enough hours to make ends meet? God's answer.....I took my job in medical imaging in the CT department....a field which some x ray tech never get a chance to work in. Just when I didn't know if the hours would be enough to sustain us, my old department came to me with an idea. I could work per diem for them also to pick up additional hours and slightly more pay at that. Though this was not a position I would have ever applied for, It does give me a chance to continue to work with mental health and medical imaging all while being able to provide for my family. My answer....Be careful of what you wish for....God may give you something even better!
Thanks to the Great Creator! Thank you also to Father Dan and St. Michael's Parish for making the retreat today possible...both Lora and I really enjoyed ourselves.

Original Video-Lee Alverson..."Matter of Time"

Check out this new video from Lee Alverson Click on Title

Lee Alverson

If there's anybody out there that remembers my wedding....we had some lovely entertainment provided by a friend of mine. As with many of my friends, unfortunately we lost touch. One of the first people I contacted when I got back on line was Lee Alverson. Lee has been very busy establishing quite a name for himself in the music business. Lee does tribute shows where he spotlights artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, and I've heard him do everything from the Beatles to Phantom. Lee has incredible talent and can play most anything by ear on the piano. This is what originally wow'ed me listening to him in his apartment back at Edinboro. Lee has new video spotlighting 20 years in the entertainment business...yes we are that old! You can view this on my facebook pages or you can do a search for him yourself.....Or you can simply click on a link to go to his official web page(click on Lee Alverson at top of post) although I couldn't find his original vidoes on there. Check him out....I think you'll be impressed!

Liz The Author

My mother-in-law the author! As many of you probably already know...my mother-in-law is a famous....author! SHE IS WIDELY KNOWN (According to her). Actually the book has been loved by just about everybody who has read it. Click on the title of this post to link up with her site. Be sure to check my video bar for a promo video soon to be finished on her book. I Love My Higgly Piggly!

The Eucharist

We talked last Sunday about the Eucharist. What a lovely gift to celebrate it. I am looking forward to this. I find it both sobering and comforting to know that mass is observed so often. I originally got into this because I wanted to be able to worship in a way that I had not previously been able to do. We are fortunate in our parish at St. Michael's to have the staff to provide such abundant services. I feel like my faith life will be able to grow even as a approach the second half of my life. Many of teachers in my RCIA class attend mass daily and participate in things like stations of the cross and adoration. My time has been limited working for two separate departments within the hospital and raising two kids, however I have been able to make time for this process and it is indeed proven to be a true blessing. I look forward to continuing my journey and the thought that there will always be something new for me to discover and learn is as I said before, very comforting to me. I continue to work on my prayers, they're coming along....my mind is not as sharp as it used to be I suppose.

Oh....I supposed I should address something I said in an earlier post. On capital punishment. I have come to the point that I understand the church's stand. You can not be against abortion and for capital punishment. The sanctity and beauty of human life can not be dispensed especially by any man. If you believe this, then you must protect it. Though I admit, this one is a challenge for me....I do embrace this as truth and understand the basis.

yojo

Dinner is served. As many of you know. My- I guess it would be aunt-in-law if there is such a thing....my wife's aunt JoAnne is a very talented cook. She has also created quite a name for herself in the field of public relations. I probably should have contracted her to do all my computer work as I am not as "with it" as I used to be. Anyway, JoAnne has a blog dedicated to sharing some of what she's learned about cooking. It's a pretty cool idea. You may not find traditional recipe's there, rather good ideas and creative things you may not have thought of before. Click on the title of this post to hook up.

More songs

If you like my videos and would like to hear some additional audio recordings you can visit me on myspace. Click on "More Songs"

Uncle Jerry

Jerry Zoten is an authority on just about anything music. He teaches at Penn State and has written on, collected, and preformed music for years. I can remember as a kid playing with him. He was always encouraging and let me play some pretty cool guitars....he has an unblieveable collection. He has been involved with some very successful talent, not the least of which the Fairfield Four. This legendary singing group is soon to be the subject of a documentary which I got to see the trailer for. It was great to see him included in this trailer. When I asked him to provide me with a link of his latest work, he sent me a link to a book on the Beatels which he has been involved with. If anyone is interested please look. If you search his name you may even find some music as he is a very talented performer. Thanks Jerry! Just click on "Uncle Jerry" to check out the book.

Emory's First Video

My son Emory has been into movie making for quite a while now. He is interested in anything pertaining to WWII. He has had this idea of making stop action films using his plastic army men. When we bought our new computers, it came with a pretty good editing program.....hence a star was born. Check his first video out on my video bar. If mine are at the top just wait...it will scroll to his automatically. WATCH OUT SPIELBERG!

My RCIA Diary

On "Those Rituals"

Those "rituals" as some of the opposition calls them, I am embracing as I never thought I would. Some of those things which non-catholics criticize, catholics take for granted. I am in a very unique position.

Through my work, I have been exposed to a lot of depressed, confused, and even suicidal people. With the exception of truly psychotic people... I have found that many by observation and by their own admission are void of a positive self image and identity.

By observing such holidays, sacraments, and rites of passage, we are forming a very sense of who we are and where we belong in the world that envelopes us.

We discussed today the concept of ordinary time.....Through our dicussion one thought-To everything there truley is a season. Acceptance of this has brought alot of peace of mind. It also reinforces and reminds me that whatever I am going through has a time and it shall pass, gives me hope for the future and prepares me for the hardships.

My RCIA Diary

When I started this process there was some self doubt as to whether I would be able to keep it up. I am not a morning person, generally. I have realized that things such as prayer, sacrifice, communion/church and participating in the sacraments are all gifts given to us to fully feel God's presence in our lives. People who do not observe these things are not evil. They are not condemned...they are simply not taking advantage of the gifts that have been given freely.

If someone was to give offer you a million dollars...wouldn't you take it. Anyone who has been exposed to these gifts can tell you....the same analogy applies. It is for this reason that I can remain tolerant of other beliefs, but I can also have a deep love and appreciation for the church that I have adopted.(Has adopted me!)

My RCIA Diary

When I decided to become catholic I knew that there could be some resistance among friends and family. I also had a lot of the same questions and even hangup's as a lot of other people have. I have always shy ed away from organized religion. My father was Amish as a child when they left the order...most of my dad's family did not subscribe to one particular religion, rather individually adopted their own. As far as my mom's family, they did not belong to a specific church as well. As a result I was raised with some definite spiritual values and beliefs and even read the bible as a child, but did not belong to a particular church. Also as a result was not baptised as a child.

My immediate family moved around quite a bit during my childhood moving to different homes yet staying in the same town. I can remember being visited by pastors of whatever churches were in the area. Some of these pastors were rather zealous and pushed us hard to attend their church. As a result, I developed a very negative picture of organized religion.
When I met and eventually started dating my wife I became exposed to not only the catholic religion but also of attending church. Even though I became rather comfortable with attending with her, I still did not identify with this religion. We have been married now for sixteen years. I am not sure exactly when but a question started to develop in my mind. If something should happened to my wife (Sorry Lora!)....would I continue to attend church. This was not an easy answer for me. Previously I would have said... no, and that though I supported her in her religion, it was not mine. However, I realized that this religion in some way had become a part of my history and identity. As I started thinking of all the reasons that I shouldn't convert....they simply melted away. I took a leap of faith to start this process, but it has proven to be a blessing in every way.
I have agreed with everything I have been exposed to thus far except for one thing. I continue to struggle with the Church's view on capital punishment. I will attempt to update my diary as much as I can and I'm sure I will deal with this subject more fully in future posts. I will be referring back to some earlier classes.... as I was not on line at the time I started this process. Just thought some background might be nice as I have been asked a question repeatedly since I started .....Why this....Why now?

My RCIA Diary

"Bad things happen".....I have come to the conclusion that God gives us what we are willing to accept. When we are willing to accept success we achieve it, when we are willing to accept God's graces we receive them by the promise of our savior. This doesn't mean that bad things will not happen to us. It is simply a matter of how we deal with them that makes all the difference in the world. The world can be a very cruel and evil place, but God gives me a sunrise every moring to let me know how he deals with every day. WOW! My mind has become more open to this concept. Sin happens! People are born! People die! People fail! 100 percent guarentee. We can deal with these inevitabilities with some of life's more nasty coping skills or we can face them with prayer, inward contiplation/mediation, and praise for the gifts God has created for us....Yes God is the great creator!

My Blog

Many of you have seen my new videos to my original songs. Even more I'm sure have previously heard some of my original material. I am recently in the process of writing a diary about my journey to becoming catholic. It has recently occurred to me that I have alot of creativity still to come. It has also occured to me that I have been blessed to be exposed to some awesome creativity within my own circle of family and accquaintences. It is for this reason I have created this blog....to have one central location to access original material from me as well as all of the art I have been exposed to. Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, and participates. I love you all. Special thanks to the Great Creator! What an awesome world!