It seems like only yesterday that I finished my last exam and the end of school. But with the next semester of St. Xavier University less than a week away, it's good to look back at my summer placement in Detroit and the blessings I've received from being at those ministries.

As if I'm not busy enough, I decided to add two more blogs to my workload. It's not that I have more to write about, but I think it's best to keep my ideas in Order. I know I sometimes jump from topic to topic, and that can be hard for readers to follow. So to help me stay focused, and to help my readers, I've added two new blogs.

My Rosary Habit is a place for me to put up pictures of the my habit rosary work. I find I write most of my blogs when I have wire and bead in-hand, so rosary-making has become an important part of my religious life. I just wanted to provide a specific blog for it.

Friar Tech is an idea that's been going on for a while. As you may know, my focus after Novitiate will be on Ordination as well as the use of social media, the Web, and modern communications as a way to spread the Capuchin charism as a ministry. This area is limitless in its application, and each day I think of new ideas either as a ministry, as a way for my Order and/or Province to respond to the needs of the poor, reflections on what joyful simplicity means with Web use.

I don't plan to abandon my vocation story. For over three years I've been stumbling as a Christian, as a Catholic, and now as a friar. My goal is to focus in on those areas that are important to me, and make my stories clearer for the people who want to read them.

Thanks to all of you who've followed my life and have kept me in your prayers. I hope the next three years can be just as momentous.

While there is no historical basis that this prayer came from Francis, it's easy to see that it exists in the Franciscan tradition and is based on the teachings and life of Francis of Assisi. I've seen this prayer in different forms - I've posted it for reflection and for inspiration as we look at our own baptismal calls and how we will live them out after experiencing the celebration of God's incarnation and self-emptying love to live as one of us.

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,

So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the Gospel reading for this Sunday. There's a unique connection to wearing the habit in public and hearing the words: ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; -Mark 12:38-39. While I avoid the temptation to become someone of honor when wearing the habit in public, I've learned that it's more of a challenge than I'd like.

For me, the wearing of the brown habit of our Order is a testimony or witness to my vocation. In my discussion about A Theology of the Habit,  the wearing of my garb in public is more about my personal decision to live the vows, identify the group I belong to, and be open to questions and criticisms about my lifestyle. Sometimes I simply get weird looks - looks that say: "Why is that man wearing an ugly dress?" Yet when attending Mass or religious functions, there is this desire to put me up on pedestal for the choice I've made to live this life.

In listening to this Gospel, and reflecting on the life of minority that I am planning to join, I see how easy it is to allow the praise and enthusiasm to get to my head. We've had people try to buy things for us (mostly food...I think people want us all to be fat and jolly!), offers of prayers, and words of great encouragement. And while I am always grateful for the interest and love we receive, I feel torn by the desire to be simple and humble.

My fear is that the guys in long robes that Jesus describes could easily be me if left unchecked. Having lived a life focused on power and recognition, I become wary when people ask for speaking engagements, extend offers for dinner, invite us to events, and invite us to become part of a liturgical service. Perhaps I'm just being overly-conscious or worrying too much...but would the same love and generosity be shown to me if I were a begger or a homeless man? Would people bring me food and tell me: "I pray for you every time I do the Rosary," if I was just a nobody...the nobody that Francis of Assisi tried to be?

Again, I don't wish to sound ungrateful for the love and generosity that is shown to us by the many people who we interact with. And I realize that those actions help us as men and women discerning religious life, knowing that others are thinking and praying for us. However this Sunday's Gospel reminds me that there is the ever-present danger to allow the love and kind words build up my pride instead of my love for others.

Of all the love and acts of graciousness that have been shown to me, the one I remember most is when John and Laura, a homeless couple living in Milwaukee, called me their angel. They could offer no stage for me to speak from, no food...only their appreciation and love for me as a chaplain and a human being. That was their "two small coins worth only a few cents," but I've learned to value them more than any other gift I've received.