In this paper the topic of infant baptism will be examined by comparing two articles with varying levels of opposing views on the topic. The selection of viewpoints required some research since some form of infant or adolescent baptism is practiced among many Christian faiths. Those who practice this custom are called pedobaptists. The Baptist denomination is one that does not utilize this practice, so one selection chosen for analysis comes from that faith tradition. The logical, if not obvious, selection for the other perspective comes from the Roman Catholic tradition..

I have found this month’s reading assignment and reflection to be the most difficult. The difficulty level of the book would have been enough by itself to earn this distinction. On top of that, the topic is personal and this reflection required me to discuss this topic with my wife. I found it difficult to try to describe such difficult reading material to Laurel when I think I could spend another couple months in this book trying to fully engage with this book. This topic was also one where neither of us have much experience, so we decided to look for some outside resources on the topic of Theology of the Body (ToB). This provided a better starting point for us to discuss our relationship in terms of this topic…

Over the past few weeks I have been given the gift of seeing the needs of the poor in spirit from a whole new angle. I have been sick to a degree that I have not experienced before. I have also never been the one in need of being ministered to in such a profound way. I have always been the one doing the ministering and during this time I found myself in need of the ministry of charity…

In reflecting on the various ways in which we can identify with Jesus, Christ the servant is the one that speaks most to me. As a husband, I want to be a servant. As a father, I want to be a servant. As a brother, as a son, as a friend, I want to be a servant. This has been a theme throughout my whole life, but is now even more as I try to emulate Jesus in my life…

The question of What is a deacon? and What does a deacon do? can easily be related to each other on multiple levels. On a surface, if not obvious level, one can easily state that a deacon is one who serves. That makes the answer to What does a deacon do? simple. A deacon is one who serves. It is important to recognize that even though this definition is simple, that in no way diminishes its validity. One would not have to think too hard about how ineffective a deacon's ministry would become if he lost sight of this simple truth. A deacon serves…

I was reading the autobiography of Thomas Merton when I first heard of the idea. Once I knew about it, I began to see it everywhere. The idea is that of the true self. Merton often wrote about the false self. The true self is what is left after you remove all aspects of the false self…

“Why” the diaconate was

The title of deacon was originally established out of necessity. The early Church, rightly, had its focus on prayer and evangelization. The apostles identified an area of need in the ministry of the church, that being providing for the needs of the Greek widows…

How will the diaconate formation program impact my personal identity?

My personal identity is something that has gone through a few iterations over the past ten years. My identity for most of my life has been one of brokenness, but that view evolved as I grew to know God. I began to see how loved I am in my brokenness, then I saw myself only as a sinner. My identity is now as a Beloved Child of God. It was after I came to that place where I began to identify other personal markers of my identity well. I can now also see myself as a husband, father, and educator. My brokenness and my negative view of myself were always holding me back from seeing who I am in the eyes of God…

I am sitting in a Chick-Fil-A in Oviedo eating a quick breakfast. I just dropped Laurel off a MPB so she can spend some time with the CRHP retreat team before we have to leave. Leave for what? Today is the first session of my discernment year for the diaconate. To say that I'm a little excited would be the understatement of the year. I have been waiting for today since I received my acceptance letter in June…

This is a talk I gave to a group of high schoolers while we were on a mission trip. The evening talks revolved around the suffering of Jesus and how it relates to our own suffering. I had mentioned to our youth minister that I could talk on this topic in front of the whole group. I did this because suffering is a topic that religious people are often really bad at discussing. We trivialize it or we romanticize it. Both are things that can be dangerous, especially when presenting to a group of teenagers…

Lord, “with all my ways you are familiar”, “you know me”. Why then do I hide my face from you. With my words, I say that I seek to know you, but so often my actions betray that desire. Help me Lord to offer you my entire life, my successes and failures,; my virtues and my sins…