The Magis Pillars - Spirituality

Like other UCCE programs (and for that matter the majority of other service programs I have seen friends enter such as JVC, Capuchin & Augustinian volunteers etc.) the Magis program is driven by three pillars - one of which is spirituality. As I have progressed through my life, and on my spiritual journey I have found that each phase of my life makes me realize the necessity of God's grace and support more than the last. This has certainly been true as I enter a phase of my life which takes me away from my home, and in charge of a classroom of teenagers even on the days I forget that I am actually a REAL adult now... As I reflect on the beginning of my time in the Magis program, I realize that the spirituality pillar is in many ways two-pronged. We are asked to expand our personal relationship with God, to make progress on our spiritual journeys, but are also given support, resources and guidance to help us along the way. During the summer this support came in the form of regular faith sharing gatherings with our chaplain Fr. Anand, shared prayer/Grace before community meals, the Magis Missioning Mass, and our summer retreat at beautiful Camp Comeca. During the school year I am supported not only by Magis itself, but also the community of my school - STM - where we have weekly Mass or prayer services, grace before Lunch, prayer at every football game, and everyday over the intercom and in classes. Just as important to my summer, as these formal spirituality activities were the ones that simply arose in our time as community - the opportunities to attend daily Mass in St. John's, the simple witness of praying before lunch in Skutt, and the casual yet intellectual conversations which managed to occur in almost any setting. Magis Teachers with Omaha Archbishop George Lucas at Commissioning: St. John's Church at Creighton University - while it was lacking in the intimacy and familiarity of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, it was beautiful and a great place to attend Mass all summer: For more photos of Commissioning, Summer Fun, Retreat etc. check out our community photo albums on Picasa at http://picasaweb.google.com/magisphotos

South Dakota!

I have officially been in South Dakota for one month and about 7 days. The people are friendly, everyone who finds out I'm from Massachusetts wants my life story (or more often to tell me their remotely-related to Massachusetts stories - these range from "I grew up in Massachusetts" to "oh I went to New England for a day once") and now that school has started I can officially say I am working in a great school system and have awesome students! Dotted amongst my fun times and friendly faces, are some moments that I can simply think of as "only in South Dakota" or at least "you know you're outside New England when...." * You see so many grasshoppers/locusts that you actually begin to wonder if we're reliving the Plagues of Egypt. * The busiest WalMart in the country is a few minutes from your house and you wouldn't dare shop there on the weekend. (I learned this one the hard way). * You see an adorable little kid in full cowboy garb in said WalMart and instead of thinking "oh cute, he's dressed up," you just think "they probably own a ranch." * Seeing people in cowboy gear in general is just not surprising. * Motorcycles are as plentiful as cars. * You order a "medium iced" in a coffee shop and they assume you mean tea. * Bars serve tequila with lemons instead of limes, and ask if you want an olive in your beer. * Students miss school for family hunting trips (I haven't gotten any pre-plans for this yet, but I know they're coming). I'm sure there are more! I'll update this post when I think of them!