Lumen Christi Award

I was recently honored with the Lumen Christi Award by fellow blogger and friend Nate who writes over at MyHopeBox.  I know personally that he is a man of great faith and possesses a passion for Jesus and that shines through in his ministry and his writing.  Seriously, go check out his blog and subscribe.

Favorite Saint:

Currently it would have to be St Francis Xavier.  He was close friends with St. Ignatius of Loyola and a missionary to India and Japan.  To get a feel for his zeal for souls and deep love for the Lord, I highly recommend the book Set All Afire by Louis de Wahl.  He desired so ardently to be shot like an arrow into the dark of India and mission territories, but his active life was coupled with an intense union with Jesus through an unrelenting prayer life.

Favorite Part of the Mass:

Receiving Jesus Christ and then returning to my seat to sit in dumbfounded contemplation of the extraordinary miracle that just took place.  The Infinite allowed Himself to be consumed by the finite.  Love allowed Himself to rest in a broken man.  The great Jesus allowed Himself to be caressed by one of his weakest disciples.  Sometimes I think this simple but profound act is so intimate and close to my heart that Holy Communion should take place behind a veil.

Favorite Part of Being a Catholic:

The Eucharist, but since I mentioned that in my last answer, I'm going to go with prayer.  Prayer is my life's foundation.  Without a prayer life that really is a romantic relationship with God, I would be infinitely less of the man, father, husband, friend, youth minister, son, and Christian that I am today.  There is such a sweet condescension in prayer on God's part that flatters me every time I raise my eyes to heaven.  Living with and in Him is always an adventure.

Passing It On:

I would like to nominate Kevin and Casey over at TheCatholicLandMovement.org.  They write a lot about the restoration of Catholic culture, distributism, strong families, and a movement of Catholic families back to living off the land.  It is a blog worth checking out, and worthy of the Lumen Christi Award.