The day briefly recounted

My apologies for not posting much over the past few days; laziness is the only real reason I can offer, so I thought I'd give you a run down of my day and a thought to ponder.

The day began with soccer practice at 6:30 a.m. While the boys did their runs both on the field and around time, I walked around the track praying the office. It was a beautiful morning and a very good experience.

I left practice a little before 8:00 to prepare for the 8:30 Mass.

After Mass I had the first confession of a student at our grade school so he can recieve his first Holy Communion at Mass tomorrow with the grade school. He made an excellent confession and it was a real privilege to administer the sacrament to him.

Since the rest of the day was very free - and since tomorrow is the first day of school, which means fewer open days - I drove to Springfield in hopes of finding a Nintendo Entertainment System (the original) and The Legend of Zelda (and a few other games). I was not disappointed.

I returned to Effingham about 4:00 and saw to a bit of office work before heading back out to soccer practice. I ran a bit with the boys and did some of their exercises, which I'm sure I'll feel in the morning.

After practice a few of us ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, from which I have just returned.

In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24). What has a camel to do with a rich person? Both store up things.

The camel stores up water, that which gives life, within itself. The rich person stores up earthly treasures around himself.

Whereas the camel remains unburdened because it's store is within, the rich man is very much encumburdened. Because the camel's possession is interior he can pass through the eye of a needle more easily than a rich man can enter a gate because of the possessions that surround him and clog the artery.

Like the camel, we must store up water within ourselves, Jesus Christ, the living water. If we store up this water, we, too, will move unhindered and enter to the Kingdom of God.

Now I think it's time to play a little Zelda before bed and a full day.