I’m heavily involved with the RCIA program in our parish, which builds toward the Night of All Nights that we just experienced yesterday.  A three hour Mass brings into clear focus how we are to act [...]]]> I absolutely love this time of year.  Easter is a chance for a deep spiritual renewal – in so many ways.

I’m heavily involved with the RCIA program in our parish, which builds toward the Night of All Nights that we just experienced yesterday.  A three hour Mass brings into clear focus how we are to act as believers, and to help others on their paths toward redemption.

Tuesday night the RCIA class will have a reflection on this weekend’s mysteries, which is undoubtedly the best class of the entire year.  Usually we can’t stop people from pouring their hearts out, which strengthens others and reinforces within themselves.

Our chant schola sang for the Good Friday Veneration, and I was very pleased with the result.  We did almost the same music we did last year for Good Friday, so most people were pretty comfortable with the music.  As an added bonus, we had a local TV station film our practice, to be combined into a segment about a professor at Colorado State University who helps tone deaf singers by teaching them Gregorian Chant with the Ward Method.  They’re saying that the segment should air on Denver Channel 9 (KUSA) this Friday, but of course things can always change.  If you want to be specifically notified, drop me an e-mail at carl@dierschow.com.

A very blessed Easter season to all of you: Use the upcoming weeks to build your new spiritual life!  Christus resurrexit!

Sung entirely in Russian, it was an amazing experience!  And more unexpected – a capella!

I’ve experienced a lot of classical [...]]]> This evening, my wife and I had a chance to attend a concert of the Larimer Chorale, our local and extremely talented choral group based in Fort Collins.  The program was Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (All-Night Vigil), Opus 37.

Sung entirely in Russian, it was an amazing experience!  And more unexpected – a capella!

I’ve experienced a lot of classical music over my lifetime, thanks to a very talented mother and aunt, and a number of years in the school orchestra.  I appreciate this kind of talent and dedication to a faithful rendition.

But in this case, what really made the difference was the pre-concert explanation by the director, Michael Krueger.  For over half an hour, he patiently explained the context of all-night vigils in the Russian Orthodox Church, the timeframe of the composition, and how the choir was able to sing Russian so beautifully.

This reinforced for me the importance of letting people know the larger story behind the music we sing.  It’s not just about singing “Glory to God in the highest” because we’ve done it our entire lives.  This is the song of the angels, defining their relationship to our creator.

What could be more beautiful?  What could be more important?

What to do?

Well, I’m back to a lot of deeper prayer, including the Rosary.  I still have faith that God is [...]]]> This is a time of turmoil in my spiritual life.  I won’t go into more detail, but it’s something that is causing me to lose a bit of sleep.  And what little hair I have left.

What to do?

Well, I’m back to a lot of deeper prayer, including the Rosary.  I still have faith that God is supporting me through all this.  I don’t know why, but – I pray – there’s something good which will result.

I thank each of you for the support that you’ve given me in the past, and will in the future.  Pray for me, for my family, for our church.  We need it.

There’s so many problems, so many things to be fixed.  We live in fear of what is and what’s to come.  And meanwhile, we spend our lives constantly focusing on the future.

Here’s the deal:  Your presence is in the [...]]]>

“Life is not about avoiding broken eggs.  Life is about presence (broken eggs and all)” – Terry Hershey

There’s so many problems, so many things to be fixed.  We live in fear of what is and what’s to come.  And meanwhile, we spend our lives constantly focusing on the future.

Here’s the deal:  Your presence is in the present.  And if you can’t enjoy and appreciate what God has given you in the present, you will reside in constant misery.

The challenge is to appreciate the present, imperfections and all.  Sure, the broken eggs may be a mess, but God’s love is most important when we’re in disarray.  That’s also the time when we can recognize our fragility and reliance on others.

Here’s the long picture:  You’re born.  You do stuff.  You die.  Everybody goes through this cycle and it never changes.

Depressing, huh?  When you look at the rest of your life – you “do stuff” and then you die – it seems almost pointless.  Clearly the meaning of life isn’t there.

Where is it, then?  In relationships.  In the impact we have on others.  In how we are able to help each other on our intertwined journeys.

And our journeys are messy.  I happen to believe that this is exactly God’s design, because it’s only through the messy parts that we experience why love is necessary.  Although it seems paradoxical, glory is revealed through hardship.  Why would you have any need to be lifted up if you hadn’t fallen?

Through our relationships, each of us is put here as a gift for each other – not to avoid difficulty, but to experience difficulty and help each other through it.  That’s the glorious work of God.

It’s our human habits which love to create all this complexity, all the rules, all the wonderfully rich traditions.  But let’s remember that the message of our life’s [...]]]> Jesus has been reaching out to every one of us, every day, with a tremendously simple message.  It’s not rocket science, folks, or it wouldn’t be accessible to all.

It’s our human habits which love to create all this complexity, all the rules, all the wonderfully rich traditions.  But let’s remember that the message of our life’s purpose and ultimate salvation is straightforward:

• Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and
• Love your neighbor as yourself.

When all our human endeavors help us to do these two things, we’re on the right track.  When they obscure our view of the divine, well, that’s not helping.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas season, since most of it remains, and a blessed rejuvenation of your soul.

In our culture, we are very focused on results.  Goals, money, achievement – things that represent the crowning results from our work.  But you might notice that this leaves little room for God to work in our lives.

As we [...]]]> “It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God’s hands.” – Mahatma Gandhi

In our culture, we are very focused on results.  Goals, money, achievement – things that represent the crowning results from our work.  But you might notice that this leaves little room for God to work in our lives.

As we complete our Advent preparation in anticipation of entering into life with our Maker, it’s appropriate to remember that all these results are rather transient.  You can’t take it with you when you leave this world.

What you can take with you is the relationship you’ve developed with God, and hopefully, with your loved ones around you.  So it’s worthwhile developing in deep love, in helping others, and letting them help you.

It doesn’t mean that we should just lay back and wait for God to fix our lives.  Our hard work is necessary and vital.  But in the end, there’s deeper results for which we should be working alongside God.

“It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God’s hands.” – Mahatma Gandhi

This is probably the only newsletter that I always save until I have some quiet time to read and ponder.  How rare [...]]]> I just wanted to pass along this pointer to a newsletter that I’ve been reading for a couple of years:  Terry Hershey’s Sabbath Moment.  Check it out, and if you like it, sign up here.

This is probably the only newsletter that I always save until I have some quiet time to read and ponder.  How rare is that?