Blessed is the Kingdom » family

Welcome Gabriel!

Fr. Christian Mathis — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:38:07 +0000

I would like to introduce the newest member of my family, Gabriel. He was born early yesterday morning. Here he is with his dad and older sister. I suppose you can’t get a better Father’s Day gift than this one!

Before The Skies Opened

Fr. Christian Mathis — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:05:14 +0000

Blogging has been slow lately. First there was Lent to slow me down. Now there is vacation, much of which so far has taken place far, far away from technology.

This morning the skies opened up with lots and lots of rain. My nephew and I knew it was coming. We were successful at staying dry. After a few hours of playing cards and reading, however, we decided we might as well head to a drier climate and return to the woods tomorrow. Thus, my ability to step back into the blogosphere for a short post.

My hope is that you won’t hear much from me over the next week or so, but as always there may be a guest blogger or two. Stay tuned!

NPH Expectations

Ashley Siferd — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:00:07 +0000

When I first arrived to NPH El Salvador in the summer of 2008, I had expected many things. I was told that I would be greeted by a sea of smiling faces and be swept away to play. Knowing that I was going to a Spanish-speaking country, I was prepared to understand very little because at that time, my Spanish vocabulary included numbers, colors and basic greetings. I expected the “normal” things.

What I wasn’t prepared for was the kids’ actual presence and being there with them. You can’t help but be happy and smile and laugh when you are around them! They are beautiful and wonderful each in their own unique way. Some of their stories make you sad, but the majority of their stories make you laugh.

I went there thinking that I would teach them something. What that exact ‘something’ was, I’ll never know. I was wrong though. I wasn’t the teacher. I became the student. Learning from the kids is one of the coolest and most humbling things I have experienced.

Here are the two most important things that I learned. The first was about unconditional love. Some of these kids had unfortunate beginnings and experiences. Instead of being Negative Nancys or closed off to the world, these kids are some of the happiest and most loving in the world. Upon their arrival to NPH, these kids turn their negatives into positives. They love unconditionally, and they treat each other as their own blood family. Once at NPH, a child becomes a part of something bigger…they become a part of the largest family I have ever met. Their love has no expectations, no requirements. It is simple yet strong. It is unconditional!

The second thing that I learned was how to be grateful for the simple things. The children have a home, clothing, food, education, and a place to worship. They are thankful for the new set of clothes they get each Christmas and for the books and pencils they use in school. After visiting them and seeing how they live simply, I came away with a sense of gratitude for the things that I have. Each day I thank God for what He has blessed me with: a family, friends, and the opportunity to go to college…the list goes on.

We all can learn from these kids. Our expectations will be broken. We can especially learn about unconditional love and gratitude.

“When you take the time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it’s amazing what you can learn. Especially if the people who are doing the talking also happen to be children.” –Greg Mortenson

Mama’s Eyes

Fr. Christian Mathis — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:41:42 +0000

It continues to amaze me how much my younger sisters have spent their entire lives looking exactly like our mom did at their age. If it weren’t for the difference between black and white and color photography, it would be difficult to distinguish between baby pictures. This recent photo of my youngest sister and her son Cole drove the point home to me even further as Cole looks almost exactly like my brother did at the same age.

It seems that no matter how hard we might try to avoid taking on the characteristics of our parents, we end up being unable to do so. Sharing the same genes and having the same blood flowing through one’s veins makes it almost a certainty that each of us will take on many of the same traits as our parents.

When it comes to God the same principle applies. We have been created in his image and likeness and no matter how much we attempt to walk away from that image, it remains in us. We can tarnish the image with sin, try to distort it, but in the end others will look at us and be able to exclaim, “You’re the spitting image of your Father!”

The good news of the Christian faith is learning that we have divine blood flowing through our veins that continues to penetrate to the deepest parts of our bodies in order to heal what has been broken.

Cops

Fr. Christian Mathis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:14:00 +0000

One early morning last week I was awakened at 5 am by a loud knocking followed by a voice shouting, “Austin Police!” Once I realized that it was indeed our door the police were knocking on, I awoke my brother to answer the door, all the while wondering what was going on. Once we opened the door the police informed us that we needed to calm down and stop fighting and shouting as it was disturbing the neighbors. The strange thing was that until they showed up with the loud knocking and shouted announcement of their presence, you could have heard a pin drop. My guess is that they responded to the wrong house as there was clearly no domestic disturbance in my brother’s dark and silent house.

This short encounter with the police reminded me to be thankful for their watchful eyes, but I still hope my next meeting with them will not come quite so early in the morning.

We’re going to Texas, boys and girls!

Fr. Christian Mathis — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Yes indeed! We’re going to Texas, boys and girls! We’re gonna do some ropin’ and ridin’ and have a rootin’ tootin’ good time!

Ok, so I’m not really planning on doing any roping or riding, but Texas is tomorrow’s destination. I know what many of you must be thinking, Texas? In July? Has the man lost his mind? Here’s what I was thinking when planning the trip. It’s always good to take a break from work every now and then. It would be good to see my brother and his family. My iconography teacher is there. Austin has great food. And of course there is the heat, can’t forget the added bonus of the heat!

Texas summer or not, I am happy to have some time to slow things down before starting my new job as pastor of St. Thomas.

Stay tuned for a round of posts on the creation of a new icon this coming week!

Beginnings

Fr. Christian Mathis — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:52:00 +0000

During one of my first conversations with our new bishop he asked, “What is the story of your vocation?” It is not the first time I have been asked this question, but recently I have found myself reflecting more upon how I ended up serving as a priest of the Church. My immediate family were converts to the Catholic faith, my father being a nominal Methodist who found very few people who actually seemed to be living out their faith as they professed. You might call him one who wanted very much to believe in what he heard, but was lacking good witnesses. My mother was also nominal in her faith, which more often than not expressed itself in the Episcopal church. Together they found their way to the Catholic faith, mostly from the witness of an
army chaplain my father met during his two tours in Vietnam as well as the example of Fr. Vincent Hines, a priest of the Diocese of Nashville.

As a result, my parents, my brother and I were baptized into the Church together and began our life as members of the Catholic Church in the mid-seventies. We were very misunderstood by the rest of our family, who at first thought we had joined a cult. But I remember well learning the sign of the cross and simple prayers from my mother, who was just learning these things herself, but already passing them along to my brother and I. I also remember watching Fr. Hines closely at mass and trying to figure out just what he was up to. It was here that I can now say the beginnings of a vocation were born.