Patrick O'Connell

High School Reunion

I can't believe it.

Nancy and I recently received an invitation to my 20th high school reunion. 20 years! My goodness where have the years gone?

I was a very different person when I graduated HS and wasn't very social. Our graduating class was somewhere around 650 people so it was easy to get lost. There are a half-dozen friends I'd love to reconnect with the invitation indicates that they have been able to contact about 90% of us so I imagine some of them will show up.

I will admit that there is a little stress in the idea of a reunion. I am sure there will be the inevitable question, 'so what have you been up to?' I am not sure what I will say. How do you explain 20 years of your life? We will all stand around and compare ourselves to each other. (I swear that this is not a reason for me wanting to go.)

The reunion isn't until October so I've got time. Got any ideas what I should tell them?

First Communion

I went to the gift shop the other day because I needed to purchase a Communion gift for a friends daughter. (First Communion is one of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The child after undergoing the prerequisite education, is now able to take Communion at Mass with the other adults of the church.)

Standing at the counter waiting to pay, I began remembering my own First Communion. I must have been 9 or 10 years old. We were lined up in front of the altar with a bunch of other kids waiting for the priest to make his way to us and deliver the communion wafer. I was really nervous. I wore a suite (Catholics turn out in their finest garb for this event). It was all over very quickly and then we had a party. I kept asking myself, that was it? That's all Jesus has got? I wasn't changed. I wasn't transformed. I still didn't understand who Jesus really was. I received a pendant from my mother and father. I do recall a little cash coming my way which at that time I thought was the best part it all.

I don't recall going to church for a long time after my communion. I was kind of like you've got the Sacrament under your belt and now you can move along. (I am not upset, I am sure my mother had plenty of life going on and frankly Catholic Sacraments weren't high on the agenda.) She had got me Communed (sp?) and now moved on to the next thing.

My brother and I moaned and groaned when my mother tried to take us to church. After awhile, she gave up. My father simply didn't attend church. After my parents were divorced, we stopped going all together.

And then, like a signal from heaven--I turned 12 or something--and it was time for me to make my first confession. I recall arguing with mother again and refusing to go. (She won that battle and I did Confess--once--and then didn't step foot in a Catholic church until I was in college.)

I am sure I could have stayed involved with the church had I wanted. No doubt my mother would have loved that. But the fact is I never connected with church. The church as I knew it was a real bore. They spoke about Jesus but he didn't connect with my life. Church was a building; it was a place where I went on occasion to celebrate the milestones of life: christenings, weddings, and funerals. It was not a place where you encountered Jesus. In fact I didn't understand Jesus for much of my life. I didn't really try because I had given him a chance as a kid and nothing happened. Only after becoming an adult did I really examine his life and claims. Once I understood him, I was changed. Now I can't get enough of Him.

Today, I am blessed to be a part of vibrant church. I take the Jesus mission seriously and am surrounded by people who feel the same. We don't worry so much about the way we do the mission--just that we get it done. My journey with Christ has transformed my life. The old life is gone and I am born into a new one by the grace of God. Even my mother has gotten in it. She now stops by CCC for service every once in awhile and has even enrolled in a Alpha course.

My intention is not to disrespect the Catholic church nor to tell simply blabber that my church is better than yours. What I am saying is that my Catholic church experience didn't make Jesus relevant to my life. CCC does. Maybe it's because I am older and hopefully wiser? Maybe it's because we try to live out our faith in our lives? I am sure there are a million reasons. But most important of all is that my church is not a building (it's fellow believers; the body of Christ) and my spiritual walk is not measured by sacraments (it's a journey, not a destination). 

Back to my friends daughter. I am happy for her and I will be praying that her First Communion is a real and powerful experience in her life. I will also pray that in the midsts of all the ceremony, she will find Jesus and that she will never, ever let him go.

The Cost of War?

This morning I was late to work on account of the fact I needed to have blood drawn. The lab opened at 8AM. The nurse saw me, sucked a quick vile of blood out of me, and I was on my way. (This is a routine cholesterol check so I am praying for a good report.)

I missed my train and with an hour to kill I stopped at Panera for a bagel. I called my wife and we agree that she and our son would stop by and say hello on their way to his school.

I had just started my Bible reading for the day, when in walks a friend of mine. Well, an acquaintance really. Let's call him M. he's a friend of a friend and we lived in the same subdivision a few years back. I'd see him at the gym on occasion. We sometimes rode the train together. I hadn't seen him in awhile and I asked him where he'd been.

"Afghanistan."

M had served many years in the Reserve and though out for several years, was called up ten months ago, re-trained, and sent packing to Afghanistan where he served as a project inspector for the Army Corp. of Engineers. He told me all about it his six months in-country and how he had been severely injured falling from a truck. I remembered he'd been a avid triathelete. He told me that those days were over for him as a result of his injury because his hip and the muscles in his leg were shot. M happened to be working and therefore had his laptop with him. He showed me pictures of his experience. Most of the them were of snow covered mountains. But a good many were pictures of destroyed Humvees and armored Excursion SUVs. He said how the military lost vehicles to mines and RPGs all the time.

My wife arrived. Unfortunately the few moments we planned on spending together were spent listening to M tell us about his experiences.   

I am reminded that war has a cost. Here was a man paying that cost. Of course, many others have paid a far higher cost. M himself might not look at it that way, but he can't race because he might never be able to run again. That's a sacrifice if you ask me. I feel bad for M. He said everything was fine (except that the military was stalling discharging him which really ticked him off) but I suspect that he may be keeping up a good front. He seemed a changed man to me.

First Post By Email

So I am testing out this new email capability from Typepad. Here's my first post by email! Wow.

Appreciation

(I wrote this one some time in August 2006 after attending a workshop about 'Appreciation.' Not sure why I didn't post it then but here it is. I will eventually post the lists I refer to. In the meantime, make sure you're telling everyone how much you appreciate them.)

I recently attended a workshop that focused on values in the workplace. The experience was positive and I learned much. But there was one bit of information that was quite beneficial. It concerned appreciation and its importance in our relationships. We conducted several practical exercises that were designed to help show us how we could show appreciation to others in the work-place. Showing intentional appreciation for what others do can have enormous benefits in our lives.

I soon begin wondering why not try and implement some of these ideas at home. The organizers of the workshop were one step ahead and provided all of us a list of appreciation statements that we might use in our private lives. It's called 30 Days of Appreciation from Parents to Children and 30 Days of Appreciation for Spouses.

I am going to use the list to generate statements for each member of my immediate family. I'll try and provide you their responses. At some point I'll post the entire list.

How Rich Are You?

So how rich are you? 'Rich' is a relative term of course so you're going to need to compare yourself to th rest of the world.

If you want to know exactly, check out Global Rich List. While you're at it you might learn your rich enough to make a difference in the world.

Thanks to Jeff for telling me about this site.

Chicago Wonk

If you live in Chicago or if you have any interest in the issues that beset the city or Cook County you must check out Chicago Wonk. This is an interactive site that asks the user to vote on real issues. Chicago Wonk is the brain-child of a dear friend and a brilliant guy. Enlighten yourself to the issues facing our community and enjoy the option of voting on them.

Loberstergram!

Here's a plug for a really unique service.

My very good friend Bob F. gave me a Lobstergram as a Christmas gift. So this past Friday we invited some friends over to share in the feast. (I live in a no shellfish zone on account of Nancy being severely allergic to all shellfish. Besides, I couldn't possible eat two lobsters myself.)

The lobsters arrived in Styrofoam box. They were packaged in dry ice (to keep them alive) and all of the tools necessary to cook them, Once we had the food ready and a pot of hot water in they went. Ten minutes or so later we had succulent lobster meant along with salad and pasta.

It's a great service and makes for an interesting gift. They even keep a blog. Thanks Bob!

The Last Day of the Year

So here we are, the last day of the year. I am not sure what you're up to today but I'd urge you to take some time to look back and recall where you started out the year and where you are now. For some of you I suspect 2006 has been hard--maybe even the hardest. For others, maybe 2006 is the best. Most of us, I suspect, are somewhere in the middle. That's my point I guess. It's not like any of us can live around the calendar. Life happens. Days come and go. I suppose that simply acknowledging this is all we can really do.

For me, 2006 has been a God year. He's moved in my life in a great many ways. I hope that I have done my part in acknowledging and obeying Him. I am thankful for so much: God; my wife and kids; friends and family; my church; my small group; you, my wonderful blog readers:). I could go on but I am tired, I am not feeling well and we are hosting a New Year's Eve party tonight so I've got much to do.

Happy New Year and God bless you all in 2007!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."