speaking Archives - Held By His Pierced Hands

“How does this work?”

One of the top questions I get as a hobo (along with “Where do you shower?” and “How did you decide to do this?”) is about logistics: how do I know where to go next?

It’s a complicated question, this, because it’s different every time. For example, I know where I’ll be next February 4th, but Wednesday morning I didn’t know where I would spend that night. Sometimes people contact me so far in advance that I build my schedule around them. Other times I go to meet a teacher and find myself in his classroom all afternoon. Sometimes I plan all year to go see an old friend. Other times snow blocks my path to Chicago and I end up heading to see a classmate in Peoria. I keep my Google calendar and a map of upcoming travels open in Firefox all the time for “planning” purposes, but a lot of it’s about flexibility.

Travels (more or less) from January to May. (Excluding Hawaii, which makes Google maps freak out.) The further out I plan, the less detail there is and the more days (or weeks) there still are to fill. — Travels (more or less) from January to May. (Excluding Hawaii, which makes Google maps freak out.) The further out I plan, the less detail there is and the more days or weeks there still are to fill. So that Peoria to Albuquerque stretch will probably involve quite a few stops but I don’t yet know what they are.

I mostly plan around invitations I’ve received and then fill in the gaps with what makes geographical sense. So how do people find me to invite me in the first place?

1. My blog

I don’t actually much like writing. You might have picked up on that from the fact that I do it so rarely. But I enjoy having written, so I do it anyway. And then people read it and like it and share it and their friends start poking around on here and see that I’m a hobo and contact me to set something up. So it all works out!

2. Facebook

These days it feels as though Facebook has almost as much to do with the direction of my life as the Holy Spirit. I’ve got a gap of a few days, so I post the time period and the approximate location on Facebook and within 3 hours I’ve got a place to stay and work to do. Or I’m worried about the snow I’m driving into and post my location so I’ve got someplace to sleep if the weather gets too bad. If you don’t mind reading about all my travel plans (and woes) on your news feed, follow me on Facebook. Who knows–maybe I’ll be passing through your town and we’ll get to hang out!

3. Word of mouth

Last night, I spoke to a group of grad students because a friend of a friend of a friend knew someone who was involved. I stayed with women who knew the woman who knew the woman who knew the woman who knew my friend. Of course, many of the links in that chain are my real friends now, but it all happens because somebody tells somebody. That’s how I’m going to Europe in the fall (do you live in Europe? I want to come to you!!) and how I may finally make it to Alaska this summer–people who know people.

4. Straight up Providence

It’s all Providence, of course, but sometimes it’s more obvious: the guy who comes to check on me because I pulled over in front of his house to make a phone call–and then ends up praying over me in the middle of the street; the priest who introduces himself and then offers me a house to stay in and a youth group to speak at; the lady next to me on the plane who says I’ve always got a home with her; the broken-down car resulting in a plane ticket donated by a stranger. The crazy stories that keep reminding me that it’s not about me.

In the end, I don’t have to plan or worry or figure anything out. I serve a mighty God who’s been planning my hoboing since before there was time. After so many years of running my own life (and doing a rather miserable job), it’s a relief to acknowledge the he was always in charge. How does this work? Grace. Providence. And mercy working on a broken heart learning every day to trust. Thanks for all your prayers and support, friends–I couldn’t do this without the Holy Spirit working through you.

48 States

Friends, I write to you from a random coffee shop in some town in upstate New York¹ where fall has already hit (it’s 55 degrees and sunny at 2pm) and half the radio stations are in French. But despite the sweet small town community that’s coming and going around me, the world is dark today. There is tumult and terror in the world (as always, God help us) and I know I ought to write about Syria. And maybe eventually I will. But right now, I have nothing to offer but sorrow and a plea for prayer and fasting. So take a minute and offer a prayer for peace.

And now let’s just geek out a minute with a little update on my life.

Look at that cool map! You can see everything about it (or at least the parts I remembered to add) here. These are my travels over the last 15 months. Why am I showing you the map now? Because on Monday I hit 48 states!² And not just 48 states as a hobo–48 states in 365 days, which is awfully exciting. So I thought y’all might like to see everywhere that I remember having gone.

And check out this map:

That’s a map of views of my blog in different countries, with a list of countries where I get the most hits on the left. Do you see that people are reading my blog in India? And rather frequently in the Philippines? What a funny thing the internet is! And my blog has been viewed in 158 countries! Now I can’t say if all those views were intentional or not, but probably each page view means a die-hard fan. And since Google tells me there are only 196 countries in the world which means I’m famous in more than 80% of the world!!

In the past 15 months, I’ve slept in at least 88 beds/couches/patches of linoleum and given at least 100 talks/retreats/conferences. I’ve stayed in 36 states and spoken in 22.³ I’ve been to Mass in 36 states, but not the same 36 that I’ve stayed in–one of the idiosyncrasies of the hobo life.

So thanks! Thanks to everyone who read or subscribed or shared a post. Thanks to those who invited me to speak or just to visit. Thanks for recommending me to your priest or youth minister, even if nothing came of it. Thanks for your prayers, without which I’d be even more of a disaster than I am. I don’t know how long I’ll be doing this hobo thing, but I know I couldn’t do it without you all. To God be the glory!

And now, after 15 months of intense and systematic research, I’ve come up with some definitive judgments about the United States.⁴

Most hospitable: the U.S. Military.
Worst traffic: L.A. It’s constant and impenetrable. I don’t know how people live that way–and I grew up in D.C. I guess the beach and the constant sunshine are pretty good consolations for the gridlock.
Just going out for lemonade.
Coolest public transportation: Rhode Island water taxis.
Most surprising beauty: Utah. I don’t know why I thought it was a flat desert (you’d think the skiing in the Olympics would have tipped me off) but I was stunned by the beauty of the green mountains plunging into crystal clear lakes. Incredible.
Most ridiculous: New York. These people really don’t ever sleep! Add to that the traffic and the crowds and the noise and that topless lady in Times Square, and I’ll enjoy my visit but be happy to leave.
Most responsive to my ministry: U.S. Military women/wives, western Kansas, the Georgia Tech Catholic Center.
Best liturgical music: St. Benedict’s of Wild Rice in Horace, North Dakota. No, really.
Worst cell reception: Montana. Honorable mentions: Wyoming, Vermont, New Hampshire, Idaho, western Kansas, upstate New York. Maybe I just need a new provider….
Hardest to find an open church: Las Vegas.
This…striking tabernacle is not in one of the glorious old Polish/Italian/German churches.

Most beautiful churches: Cleveland, of all places.
Best liturgy: The diocese of Arlington and the diocese of Madison. And it’s a good thing about Madison, too–Masses in other parts of Wisconsin left me near despair.
Most enthusiastic: all college students.
Most beautiful homes: Mobile, Alabama.
Most ridiculous weather: Colorado. Snow in May? 60 degrees the next day? Go home, Colorado, you’re drunk.
Most exciting youth programs: St. John’s in Hollywood, Maryland. Kids evangelizing kids–it’s great! And they’re working on a way to spread their program to parishes around the country. If you’re interested, let me know. I’ll get you the information when it’s available.
Favorite new food: fried pies in Texas.
Most unpaved roads: Vermont. I drove 20 miles on unpaved roads to get from Mass this morning to tonight’s destination. Not because Google was stupid or because of construction. Apparently, that’s just how they roll.
Most likely to have traffic for no good reason: Pennsylvania. Also DC, but that’s not news to anybody.
Most likely to be under construction: Minnesota.
The view from the road in Montana…in June.

Most scenic views from the road: Oregon and Montana.
Worst drivers: Boston. Why do they even have lane markings?
Best grocery store: Wegmans.
Highest tolls: NYC.
Most obnoxious tolls: Orlando. If you don’t have Florida’s pass, you have to pull off the highway to pay a toll every 3 miles. Which brings me to my soap box: WHY can we not have a universal toll pass in this country? Surely my EZPass could work on tolls in other toll systems–why doesn’t it???
Funniest: The little girl in Kansas whose “question” at the end of my talk was “Sometimes we puke in the sink.”
- Tied with YFL conference leaders–check out this amazing video they made for my evangelization talk. Spot on, and they hadn’t even met me!
Emptiest: Wyoming. At least the southern half. Man, there’s just nothing there!
Most likely to secede: Maine. They’re already using kilometers, folks. It’s just a matter of time.

There you have it–feel free to defend your hometown in the comments. And in case you’re wondering, the next few months look a little like this: New York, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii…Illinois…the Cayman Islands…Virginia…California? It gets a little vague after January. For more details, check out the schedule that I sometimes remember to update. And if you want me to come speak anywhere to any group on any topic (marginally related to Jesus) for free, just let me know!

P.S. Need something to smile about? How about our fantastic pope?

Well, okay, I started there. But then the owner of that little coffee shop in that little town wants to close up to go see a friend before taking his wife out to celebrate their anniversary. So now I’m in somebody’s house. [↩]
Alaska and New Mexico. I’ve got something in the works for Alaska, but not till the summer. New Mexico needs to get on the ball! [↩]
So you might not count my having driven through the others as having been there. But…well, deal with it. [↩]
Even the ones I’ve only driven through a corner of for half an hour. Sorry Arizona–it was a remarkable 30 miles. [↩]

My Favorite Place

One question I get a lot these days (almost as much as “Do you really live out of your car?“) is “What’s your favorite place you’ve spoken?”

Well, friends, that was a tough question. Let me give you a quick run-down of my life over the past 8 months:

Started in Kansas
Stopped over with friends in Indiana
Spent the night with a family in Pennsylvania
Babysat for my sister in Virginia, spoke at the diocesan work camp
Overnight in PA
South Bend for a wedding and some time with friends
Back to Virginia to MC a junior high work camp
A girls’ retreat in Georgia, then a youth leader retreat
An overnight in Ohio
First vows with the Sisters I entered with in Michigan¹
A few more days in Pennsylvania
Visited friends in New York City and Western New York
Back to Indiana for a while
Breakfast with one of my kids in Indiana, lunch with another in Illinois
Time with friends in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana
Got stuck in Alabama–glad I was there
Ave Maria, Florida, to speak to a few Bible studies, a youth group, and a gathering of would-be apologists
Left Alabama in the morning, not knowing where I’d stay. Ended up with a friend’s sister’s husband
Taught classes at my old school in Kansas, spoke at Benedictine College
Theology on Tap in Omaha
Retreat with the University of Evansville in Indiana
Back to Virginia for some babysitting and a little volunteering
Down to Georgia for a chastity retreat in Winder, a youth group meeting in Athens, and a lecture on the Reformation at Georgia Tech²
Hightailed it up to Virginia, getting there right before the twins were born. Spoke to a junior high group
Ran to Delaware right quick to talk to young professionals on the New Evangelization
Back to Virginia to babysit, with a quick hiatus for a lock-in in Maryland and a talk on the Mass at Old Dominion University
Christmas!
Hawaii, where I spoke after three Masses, to two youth groups, two women’s groups, two informal gatherings of moms, three volunteer sessions, and a group of adults who gave up a whole Saturday for my Apologetics Boot Camp
Back to Georgia for a Theology of the Body talk at Georgia Tech (videos to follow) and at a high school youth group (and at Georgia College and State University tonight)

With a list like that, with that many cities and venues and homes, it’s no wonder I had a hard time deciding what I’d liked the best!

Well, no more. Hands down, Hawaii.

Hawaii Beach — This is what I did with my Tuesday afternoon. NBD.

Of course, there’s the weather. Leaving cold, gray Virginia for sunny Hawaii was definitely a perk. And you can’t beat a warm beach in January. And then there’s the landscape–it’s like God had finished creating the world and he decided to make one more spot, just in case the Alps and the Adriatic coast and Australia’s coral reefs and Angel Falls³ weren’t enough to convince us he loved us. Just to be sure, he made one more string of islands and shoved as many ecosystems as he could right up together to show his creative genius, to shout his love. Gorgeous beaches run up against prehistoric forests⁴ with jagged mountains wreathed in clouds just a stone’s throw away. It’s unreal.

That thing I’m doping with my hand is called a shaka. Around my neck is a fuzzy lei.⁵ On my head is a homemade lei that I think was also supposed to go around my neck but it was made by children who underestimated the enormity of my head, so I wore it like a crown. For the entire talk. Because I’m that dedicated.

But so much more than the island itself, it was the people I worked with at St. Damien’s. The ladies who opened their hearts so quickly, who are my friends now. The children who fell asleep in my lap. The families who picked me up early in the morning, drove me around, fed me, and then gave me donations on top of all that. The women who showed up over and over again–even twice a day–hungry for God’s word and eager to make me feel welcome. The lady who spoke to me on the phone after I left, telling me honestly how she’s hurting and listening when I tried to show her how the Lord wants to heal her. The man who told me the boot camp left him more confused about his faith than ever–stunning me until his wife told me he was a Baptist. And of course there was the wonderful woman who arranged my trip, picked me up from the airport, housed me, fed me, planned my week, sat up nights talking with me, and even made sure that everyone who picked me up was planning on feeding me. All of these beautiful military families–they cooked and drove and listened and prayed and spread the word and took notes. I was treated like a princess–and humbled, humbled, humbled by their openness and love.

I think this is the same kind of card they give to their own members when they leave for a new assignment.

I have never felt more welcome anywhere in my entire life. After just a few days, that community became home, and by the time I left, my new friends were hatching a plan to put my picture on a bucket and carry it around asking for donations so I could come back. And you know what? Whether I go back to Hawaii or not, I’ll see those women again. In Colorado or Alabama or Alaska⁶ or wherever. I spoke to the women’s groups about how desperately God loves them–and these ladies reminded me how true it is by making me one of them.

And then, as if meals and beaches and conversations and a paycheck and cards and gifts and friendship weren’t enough, they recorded most of my sessions on Friday–and then gave me the video camera! That’s right, gone are the days of cell phone videos. I am officially the owner of a Sony Bloggie Waterproof camera for all my deep sea speaking needs! I’m linking to the videos below so those of you who didn’t get to attend⁷ can live vicariously. Or so you can take these videos to your pastor/DRE/whoever and get me to your parish!

The first talk defended the existence of God and the divinity of Christ:

After discussing what unites Christians, I explained what divides us:

Later, we hit the Eucharist and confession:

And ended the day with some intense morality issues:

Obviously, these videos don’t cover all 6 hours of the boot camp, but they should give you a pretty good taste. Plus, my friends in Hawaii are so awesome, they had a professional television editor come in to tape the whole day. I have no idea what the final product is going to look like, but I know it won’t happen for a few months. Be sure I’ll let you know when it does!

So no brilliant point today, just joy in the generosity of the people of God and some videos to keep you busy. Because these ladies taught me that even when I feel like all I have to give is pathetic, God is doing great things for his glory.

My new medal of St. Damien–given to me by St. Damien’s Church in Hawaii–on my keys so I remember the blessing of that week.

********

If you haven’t been over to Bonnie’s yet to vote for your favorite Catholic blogs, please do! Voting ends today at 6pm Central, but I think she’s tallying the votes manually, so please don’t vote more than once. Do vote for me and for my sister if you read her–which you should. She’s “A Blog for My Mom” and she’s funny and her kids are amazing and probably way harder to deal with than whatever is exhausting you these days, so at least take a look when you feel overwhelmed and remember that whatever else is going on, you (probably) don’t have 4 kids under 4!⁸

This confuses people. I did not profess vows. I just went to celebrate with them as they did. [↩]
Georgia Tech is definitely high in the standings for favorite place. [↩]
That alliteration was totally accidental! [↩]
I may just think they look prehistoric because they remind me of Land of the Lost. [↩]
Which I’m giving to my niece. She’s going to die of excitement. [↩]
In the summer, please! [↩]
You poor mainlanders, you. [↩]
Not that we’re comparing, it’s just sometimes a relief to think that other people have it rough, too. And to think how much rougher it could be. But not to downplay our suffering in the face of someone else’s crazy life. Oh, whatever. You read my post the other day. You don’t need me to explain that I don’t think my sister is better than you. Even if I kind of do. [↩]

Quick Update from Hawaii

So far, I’ve spoken after 3 Masses, given a talk on evangelizing in a relativist world and one on the Eucharist, led a discussion on leading people to Christ, and met some seriously amazing army families. With another dozen or so talks still on the docket–including my very first Apologetics Boot Camp–I don’t have a ton of time to write anything for y’all, so I’ll just give you a taste of Catholicism Hawaii style:

Can you see that Joseph is wearing a lei and a rosary and that Mary is wearing a lei and holding some cool flower?

And now I’ll send you off to read my sister’s blog. This is a beautiful post about how each of her children is her favorite–I know we’ve got a lot of moms out there who will relate. And then you can read all the ridiculous things my nephew does. It sounds like bragging when I tell these stories, but when she blogs them she’s just recording them for posterity (or the canonization process), right? But seriously, go read it. You’re going to love it.

With a Little Help from My Friends

Merry Christmas! (Yes, it’s still Christmas. Praise the Lord and eat something peppermint!)

To recap for anyone who might be new around here:

Back when I was a white girl pretending to be an island princess. (Okay, it was for a play. I still look ridiculous.)

Since I was 15 years old, all I’ve ever wanted to do was lead people closer to Christ.¹ I felt led to be a high school religion teacher, so I went and got not one but two degrees in theology from Notre Dame. I taught in Atlanta for three years, spent three months in the convent, then taught in Kansas for two years. Last spring, I realized that God was calling me to be an evangelist in a more dramatic way, so I packed everything I own into the trunk of my car and now I’m traveling the country speaking to youth and adults at schools and parishes, giving retreats, and blogging along the way.

In the seven months since I hit the road, I’ve spoken in 8 states, stayed in 18, and driven through 29. I’ve spoken on conversion, the Eucharist, confession, life in Christ, Scripture, the Mass, the Resurrection, the HHS Mandate, lectio divina, chastity, discernment, the New Evangelization, the Blessed Virgin Mary–you name it. I’ve worked with middle-schoolers on up and it’s been a great blessing.

But I’ve had a lot of down time, too. And while it’s nice to get to visit friends and family, I get frustrated when I’ve got any stretch of time when I’m not meeting new people, speaking God’s word, and trying to lead souls to Christ.

You guys have been amazing–from kind comments and emails to the prayer I trust I’ve got coming from you to incredible hospitality and generosity, you are such a blessing. Is it too forward to call on the body of Christ for a little more support? I just really want to be working for the kingdom–anywhere and everywhere–and I bet you guys know people who’d like to bring me in. Is anybody willing to put in a good word for me?

In January, I’ll be headed to Hawaii,² then back to reality in Georgia and Florida. From Florida in early February, I’m headed up to Indiana, then over to Cleveland with a possible trip to New York in between. Then back down to the DC area in March before I head out to Kansas in the middle of the month. At that point, I’m wide open. I’m toying with the idea of heading west to Colorado, maybe Nevada and California, but I don’t have anything lined up until some summertime stuff in Ohio.

I must be a big deal if I speak in venues where people have to sit this far away, right? (Please ignore the empty seats.)

So this is where you guys come in! So many of you have told me that you love my blog or that you’d love to hear me speak. Well, let’s make it happen! If you know anyone who’s involved in Christian education or ministry, could you put in a word for me? I’m not picky–you don’t have to have money or big numbers or even an official ministry.³ If you live anywhere near where I’ve got plans to be, let me know and I’ll swing by. Or if you’re somewhere else, we can figure out a time when I can head out your way. Shoot, y’all, I’m going to Hawaii–wherever you live couldn’t possibly be less convenient.⁴

Seriously–I will drive to Montana for your Sunday school class, to Maine for your Golden Years coffee hour, or to Oklahoma to talk to your daughter about her sketchy boyfriend. If you feel led to help me out, you can send your DRE or youth minister⁵ or whoever to my basic speaking page or this page with tons of poor-quality videos. This page talks about the apologetics boot camp that will be premiering in Hawaii next month. If you want to give them something more official, you can contact me and I’ll email you my press kit.

I hate to ask for help, and I hate it even more because I feel like I’m asking y’all to help me in my career. But I promise it’s about ministry, not money–you literally don’t even have to give me any money if you don’t have any in the budget. So please don’t feel pressured or taken advantage of, just do me this favor: spend 30 seconds in prayer asking the Lord if there’s anything he wants you to do to bring me to your area. If there is, awesome–I can’t wait to meet you! If not, no worries–we can still be friends. And as always, I appreciate your prayers like you would not believe. So whether you’re going to nag your boss for me or not, please keep the prayers coming!

*********

I’ll be on Spirit Catholic Radio in Omaha on Thursday morning at 8am CST. We’ll be discussing Hebrews 2–listen live and let me know what you think!

Do you know about Goodreads? It’s like Facebook for books–it’s my new favorite thing! You can keep track of what you read and how much you liked it and get book recommendations and see what other people are reading. I’m kind of obsessed. You should friend me–especially if you like YA princess books–and see how impressively juvenile my choice of literature really is.

While we’re being random, if you could spend the Triduum anywhere in the country, where would it be? My Easter looks pretty open and I want to go somewhere where I can really pray rather than squeezing Jesus in between social obligations. Any recommendations?

Also, to be a rock star, have a million kids, and eat everything made of white chocolate that I ever encountered. But mostly the Jesus thing. [↩]
God can never be outdone in generosity, right? How ridiculous is that? [↩]
Moms’ group anyone? [↩]
Or more awesome, but that’s not the point I’m making. [↩]
or Adult Faith Formation Coordinator or principal or campus minister or RCIA director or religion department chair [↩]

Year of Faith Boot Camp

I’ve been an apologist almost since I’ve been a Christian.¹ I remember arguing theology in high school, uncatechised as I was, and coming up with answers that surprised me. I guess I was vocal enough that the Holy Spirit decided to give me the gift of understanding in order to preserve the Church from my heavy-handed ignorance.

The minute I realized that I wanted to spend my life teaching others about God,² I started coming up with arguments for every single thing. Since the moment I started teaching, I was an apologist, always giving explanations rather than just definitions.

My second year of teaching, I inadvertently taught a year-long apologetics class. I say inadvertently because I thought it was supposed to be an apologetics class; I found out second semester that it wasn’t really but it was going so well that my department chair didn’t say anything. Oops? We’ll call that a little more Holy Spirit action.

The class I began that year (HSP class of 2010!) is the best thing I’ve ever done. My notes for the class are 125 pages of hardcore apologetics, answers to pretty much everything. We start the year as atheists and build to a solid orthodox Catholicism, using Scripture, Tradition, and reason to defend everything along the way. At the end of the year, I always ask if there are any more questions:

Any questions on priestly celibacy? *pause* Any questions on holy orders? *pause* Any questions on the sacraments of vocation? *pause* Any questions on any of the Sacraments? *smugly* Any questions on anything the Roman Catholic Church believes, teaches, and professes to be true?

Some student: Nope. I think you pretty much covered it.

God willing, this document will one day be a book. But soon, it’ll be a workshop! It’ll be a whirlwind version, of course, cramming something like 150 hours into 1-3 days, but you can move a lot more quickly when people are there voluntarily and aren’t going to be tested.

Here’s my plan: your parish or diocese or campus ministry or whatever sets aside a chunk of time–ideally Friday evening through Sunday evening, although we can do a short version in one day or a few evenings. We’ll have prayer and fellowship (Mass every day, maybe the Liturgy of the Hours, meals in common, even set it up as a retreat if you like) and tons of fascinating, energetic presentations building a case for the faith from the ground up.

The short version of the apologetics “boot camp” will cover the very basics:

Session One: Is there a God?
Session Two: Is Jesus God?
Session Three: Catholicism and Protestantism
Session Four: Revelation and the Church

If you’re up for a longer experience, we’ll add in some of the particulars (your choice):

Session A: Salvation by Faith Alone
Session B: The Papacy
Session C: The Eucharist
Session D: The Sacrament of Reconciliation
Session E: Mary and the Saints
Session F: Purgatory and Indulgences
Session G: The Church’s Moral Teachings

Doesn’t this sound awesome? Oh my gosh, you guys, I’m so excited! And it’s so perfect for the Year of Faith!

I’m thinking this will be good for people college-aged and up, although younger folks should certainly be welcomed. I’ve just never met a large group of high-schoolers who’d really be into something this hardcore. Maybe on a diocesan level….

So if you’re with me in thinking that this sounds awesome (or you just like me and want to help me serve the Lord), will you please, please help me out? Print out this page with all the basic info and take it to your pastor/campus minister/DRE/whoever. Tell them I’m practically free³ and that I’m awesome. Lie if you have to.⁴ If they’re not convinced, point them to any of my posts tagged apologetics or anything in the Truth category. Send them to watch this video, similar to what you’d see in Session Two, although more disjointed since my notes were in my car and my car was at a Firestone in Alabama and I was in Florida. I can do everything but 3 or 4 quotations from memory, though. Or take a look at this video, an excerpt from Session Four.

If you want to convince them that I’m entertaining, show them this picture:

80s dancing — Point out that I was sober. And that the clothing was a costume. But that even dressed like a fool, I’m still sporting a prominent crucifix. In the world but not of it, baby.

If you want to convince them that I’m holy, try this one instead:

liturgy of the hours — That’s a breviary. Yeah, I’m totally into prayer.

Basically, I”m so excited about this that I’m just babbling now and my babbling is manifesting itself in the form of random pictures I found on facebook. So I’ll shut up and leave it in your hands–don’t you really, really want to go to all these sessions? Let’s make it happen!!

Apologetics Bootcamp

By conviction, that is, not just by baptism. [↩]
Which, incidentally, was the minute I found out one could do such a thing and get paid for it. You know, back when I used to want to get paid. [↩]
Okay, I’m literally free. But “the worker deserves his wage” and all that (Mt 10:10), so, you know. Do what you can. [↩]
That was a joke. [↩]