Updates from Eric

I haven't posted anything in a while because I got burned out trying to publish interesting things. Also, I wanted to have comments open but kept on getting SPAM comments, so I am now moderating comments. I have two interesting things I have done lately to blog about:

1) My daughter's Catholic youth group were given tickets to see Chris Tomlin in concert in Fresno, a 3 hour drive from San Jose on a Saturday and my wife and I decided that I should be a chaperone to make sure my daughter would be safe there. The donor also paid for a nice bus to bring us there (it even had a bathroom, though I used it on the way back and it is a little scary in there with the bus bouncing up and down and sideways). The concert was awesome, Chris Tomlin is a great Christian singer/performer/songwriter and the concert was in a small old theater and we were in the balcony and the whole balcony was moving up and down because of the people dancing and clapping. Chris is famous for his praise and worship songs and it was great to see a whole theater full of Christians praising God and Jesus. Our parish has LifeTeen and they play his music a lot, I talked with the Lifeteen music director and he says that Chris Tomlin is one of his favorite Christian musician - and of course the Life Teen music director was at the concert with us. My daughter loved the concert too and I tried to give her and her friends some space but she enjoyed being there with her dad.

2) My same daughter's Catholic school always has a All Saints day Saints parade and Mass on Nov. 1st and this year the school got so big that they had to rent out a nearby community theater to have the Mass. It must have been strange for people driving around there to see a parade of kids dressed up as all types of religious men and women ( there was quite a few priests, bishops and nuns marching in the parade). I think it is great that the school has them dress up in Saints costumes and not halloween costumes (her school doesn't recognize halloween while my other daughter's Catholic school has a halloween parade and carnival and then a Mass on Nov. 1st for All Saints day.

I hope to blog soon on the Pope's new encyclical that should be coming out today. I pray that I don't get too convicted of things I do in my life (or don't do) as like with the last encyclical on Love. Have a blessed Advent everyone and let us all try not to get too wrapped (pun intended) up in the crazy Christmas hysteria during our time of advent - waiting and watching for Jesus to come ( and come again in glory).