Snowmageddon 2011

Well, I am getting ready to go to school again. This is my 2nd
session of English Composition, I am glad that they haven't cancelled
it tonight because I am taking this three hour class one night a
week and I really don't want to have to try to do that kind of
catchup.

Hopefully I get home decently well tonight because I am going to have
to get up early in the morning. Yes, we have the potential for snow
moving in over the next 36 hours is a certainty and could be anywhere
from 2 to 8 inches with lots of wind. This will be lots of fun but I
hope we don't have that much snow tomorrow as I do have Theatre class
as well.

Alright, all is well, time to get a few more things done around the
house and hopefully I will get a few of my journal pages typed in and
rearranged into nice pretty blog posts. Working on some on confession
and Mary to fit in with the First Communion class I am teaching on
Wednesday nights.

Matthew S.

Reflecting on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 2011

Selection from Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 2011-01-24 Mon 08:45    READINGS BIBLE REFLECTION

1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 1:10-17

[Portion in brackets, verse 14-17, is not part of the Sunday Mass
reading]


"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms among
you: but that you be perfect in the same mind and in the same
judgment. For it hath been signified unto me, my brethren, of you, by
them that are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among
you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith: I indeed am of
Paul; and I am of Apollo; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ
divided? Was Paul then crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the
name of Paul? [I give God thanks, that I baptized none of you but
Crispus and Caius: Lest any should say that you were baptized in my
name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanus. Besides, I know
not whether I baptized any other.] For Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of
Christ should be made void."

Some first thoughts on this reading

The first thing that strikes me is about the divisions in the
Christian Community. All of the protestant communions that keep
dividing and sub-dividing. Not to say people can't have disagreements
about the best way to do certain things but not about others. The
principles of faith and morals aren't negotiable. If you are going to
be Christian and follow Christ he has certain things that are right
and true and that's just the way it is.

Second thought

I like how it is said that Paul is sent to preach and not in wisdom of
speech because that would take away meaning of the cross of Christ.
Speech and logic aren't what makes Christianity meaningful. One of
the things I have learned is that no matter the logic (and it is
present and exists as a consolation for the mind) it doesn't give the
suffer meaning. The cross of Christ that we are called to take up and
carry isn't something we can do based upon logic but in coming to know
Christ and His love for us in the cross. Knowing that love, in the
sense that spouses know each other, and expressing back love to
Christ.



Third thought

The most important schism that I need to work to avoid is two-fold.
First, I must conform myself to Christ in His Church present here on
earth. Second, I must lead my family in unity. My wife, myself and
my children must act together. Not to say that we are never going to
have conflicts but we must learn to resolve them. We must learn to
work together better as family or we can never learn to work together
as a Christian community. It is a grave scandal when we have schism
and disunity. As a father this must be done in how I act and what I
do and not in logically convincing anyone.

Matthew S.

Starting to Blog again

Well, now that I am writing more and I have a decent way set up to be able to blog, it's time I do more of it. I have lots more thoughts going through my head these days and a distraction free writing environment, well at least on the computer screen. If any of you are interested I am using Emacs (a very simple but VERY powerful text editor). It may not have all the bells and whistles that other things have but I honestly need to focus on the writing part of life and it helps with that. I can always pretty things up later. It also allows me to take notes really well, organize to-do lists and write some basic programs. I use org-mode from Carsten Dominic for the orginizing features and functions. I have it running under cygwin (a unix like command line geeky environment) for the simplicity, geek factor and full screen covering up windows ability. I also am using dropbox to store all of my files, it backs it up to the cloud and auto places the files on another PC kept at home. This way, if the laptop breaks, I still have all of my school/agenda files. If you are interested in learning more about dropbox, let me know and I will send you a link (I get 250 mb of additional free storage per refferal). Matthew S.

Addie and Her Wagon

Addie and Her Wagon
Originally uploaded by Sweet Sauer Photos (Matthew)

Hard to believe she turned 1 last month. This was her big present from her Mom and I. This is the most amazing, versatile and crazy functional wagon ever. It's a two seat/flat bottomed/cooler in it/cooler on the back/six cupholder/adjustable umbrella, and it turns into a bench . . . .wagon. This was taken just after she turned one while her mom was running at the park.

The Priest as Father and Grandfather

The priest that baptized 3 of our children died recently. I have heard him describe as "an American Karol Wojtyla" and his love of children was very evident. Here is an obituary from the local paper. RIP Father Stuchlik. He taught me that a priest could not only be a Father to his flock but a Grandfather as well. I will have to get up a picture of the enshrinement of the Stained Glass window featuring St. Margaret Mary he made for the Parish.



Fr. Stuchlik went where he could help
Comments (0) Recommend (13)
BY HURST LAVIANA
The Wichita Eagle
While he was growing up on a farm near the Marion County town of Lost Springs, something set Richard Stuchlik apart from his 13 brothers and sisters.

"He had some ornery streaks, but he was different," Ruby Scharping said of her older brother." He just had such a humbleness and caring about him. He was always a very caring kid."

While his siblings grew up to become successful farmers, engineers and company executives, Stuchlik entered the priesthood.

He was serving as pastor of St. Margaret Mary parish in Wichita on Friday when he died unexpectedly, apparently of a heart attack.

Those who knew him said the death left a void in the Wichita Catholic Diocese and St. Margaret Mary Parish, where he had been pastor since 2003.

Mary Samms, principal of St. Margaret Mary Catholic School, said her students were told of Father Stuchlik's death as they prepared to go home on Friday.

"They were just crushed," she said. "They knew there had been a medical problem, but we didn't tell them until the end of the day. They left crying."

Father Stuchlik had bypass surgery 13 years ago, Samms said, and he hadn't been feeling well for the past few weeks.

"I was supposed to take him for medical tests yesterday morning, but we never got there," she said Saturday.

When Father Stuchlik didn't show up for work Friday morning, his housekeeper went to check on him.

"The next thing I knew I heard sirens," Samms said. "I knew he was in trouble."

Emergency medical workers were unable to revive him.

Samms said the school will be closed Wednesday for Father Stuchlik's funeral.

Father Stuchlik was known around the school as a hands-on person, Samms said.

"The night before he passed, he fixed the toilet in the boys bathroom," she said.

"He liked to be a handyman around the school. That was his relaxation — getting to work in the school and the church."

During the summer months, Samms said, Father Stuchlik usually would take on a major project. It might involve weatherizing classroom windows or putting new Formica on desktops.

"We never knew what we were going to see when we came back from summer vacation," she said. "He always had had some surprise up his sleeve.

"The rooms just sparkled when he was finished. Our school is 55 years old, so it's hard to make it sparkle."

Father Stuchlik spoke fluent Spanish and was learning some Vietnamese, Samms said. That helped in a school where half the students are Hispanic and 30 percent are Vietnamese.

Scharping said that while he was in school, her brother was good with languages, along with just about everything else.

"He knew seven languages," she said. "He was always a very intelligent person ... He was trying to decide if he wanted to be a doctor or wanted to be priest. In the end he decided to be a doctor of souls."

Throughout his career, she said, her brother seemed to gravitate to places where he could offer the most help.

Before coming to St. Margaret Mary parish in Wichita, Father Stuchlik served for 10 years as pastor of St. Teresa parish in Hutchinson. During his career, he had several other assignments in the Wichita Diocese.

"With his education and his intelligence, he could have probably gone as high up as he wanted to go, but he always had the desire to be in the poor parishes," Scharping said.

A rosary for Father Stuchlik will be recited at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Mary's Cathedral, 307 E. Central. A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the cathedral. Graveside burial services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the cemetery in Pilsen.

Reach Hurst Laviana at 316-268-6499 or hlaviana@wichitaeagle.com.

Too long for a status update

“Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you where would you hide, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast...and if you cut them down and you're just the man to do it do you really think you could stand upright in the winds which would blow then? Yes, I give the devil benefit of the law for my own safety sake.”

--Thomas More

Adelaide the Nomad

Adelaide the Nomad #1
Originally uploaded by Sweet Sauer Photos (Matthew)

This is the wrap my wife uses to carry her in. Catch snapshots of the little moments in your life.

MattGyver

MattGyver
Originally uploaded by Sweet Sauer Photos (Matthew)

I don't normally do self-portraits but I couldn't resist the opportunity to appear to MacGyver the stove while waiting on the part I needed (a new lower burner) to fix it. Especially with my children's affinity for Mac.

The Coffee Project

Published online

One Porch Light
Originally uploaded by Sweet Sauer Photos (Matthew)

One Porch Light
This house is under development application to be put on the local, state and national historic registers. It is 718n market and it is completely run down and boarded up. I have heard a rumour that it is going to be turned into large flats. Time will tell.
Publsihed online at the daily snap of the verbict web magazine.