To give some examples, he explains why the priest or bishop say what they say. And why the clergy responds the way they do. Most of it is based on the Bible of course, and he cites specific passages as it relates to them.

He explains the offertory and what is really being offered during that time — spoiler, we are offering ourselves.

He explains why the sign of peace is offered to your neighbors before communion. It is related to the offertory and he mentions the Bible passage related to this. It has to do with making peace with yourself and your neighbors, before you can fully offer yourself to God.

He explains why during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest or bishop speak in persona Christi — speaking as if he is Christ himself.

He explains why the Liturgy of the Eucharist exists in the first place. Spoiler, it is a command from Jesus himself. He quotes the Bible passage where Jesus gives out the command and says, “Do this in memory of me.”

He explains why the bell is rung during consecration. And this one is not something Bible related, but was for a practical reason. Back in the olden days, when people would gather in large numbers — sometimes even outdoors — there were no mics or speakers around to let people know what is happening during the Mass. So a bell was rung to let people know that the body of Christ is being shown to everyone.

He also briefly touched on some Catholic traditions. Traditions like how or why we pray to the saints. The key being, we do not pray to the saints, but we pray through them. It's the same thing as asking for prayers from other people. You don't pray to them, you pray through them.

There's also the tradition of lighting candles whenever we go to church to pray. One of the explanations for this practice is interesting, and is something I've never heard before. The lighted candles stand in vigil for us before the Lord. And so our prayers continue, even as we leave the church to go about our day. Wonderful.

For someone like me, who hasn't thought about it in a long time, it was a great refresher. The last time I really poured through the rites of the Mass, was when I was in elementary. For those interested in the Mass or Catholicism, this homily from Bishop Burns provides a glimpse into why Catholics do what they do.

This post is Day 76 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #Catholicism #Spirituality #Theology #100DaysToOffload

It is Jesus in fact that you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.

~ Address of the Holy Father John Paul II – 15th World Youth Day

This post is Day 75 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #Spirituality #100DaysToOffload

First up is the song “Justified” by one of my favorite bands, A Day To Remember. This song is a great reminder for all of us to stop being judgemental of other people. Especially those with a different set of beliefs than ours. If your set of beliefs or religion has you looking down at other people who believe differently, then there's something wrong there.

Just as an example, Jesus said, “Love your neighbors as yourself.” Note that He didn't say to love them only if they believe what you believe. He said to love them as you love yourself.

Anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm preaching in this music log. Here are some of the song's lyrics. This is a great rock song from start to finish.

Burn me alive If you feel that's justified I need more than faith To see you on the other side, the other side

Can you hear me? The lowly one Do ya fear me? You righteous ones

Song links:

Second song for today is “In Between” by Beartooth. This is a good, hard rock, anthemic and uplifting track. It delivers a great message to listeners.

Life's so dark when every day is a struggle why go out and see the world on fire Don't let your mindset become what controls you Speak right now and make the choice to grow

Don't run away, run away, run away Don't run away, run away, run away (Run!) Up on the mountain I see down below It's easy to lose yourself I know Can't hear what you're shouting, I'm deaf to your show It's easy to lose your self control Everybody gets high, everybody gets low Life can be such overdose Up on the mountain I see down below It's easy to lose yourself I know in the in between Oh! In the in between

My favorite part of this song is the bridge. They captured this moment really well in the music video. You can see that the vocalist has given up and starts drowning. But help is on the way and what a relief that is to see.

I won't let pain get in my way I can't have silence claiming me We have strength in numbers, strength in numbers To get us through the day

Everyone battles their own demons in life. Whether that be addiction, anxiety, depression, sickness, whatever it may be, keep on fighting! Don't let suicide be your only way out. Find other people in the same predicament as you. Find other people who can pull you out of the darkness that you're in. And if all that fails, look up. Help is there, when you need it. Just don't give up.

No compromises to be made, this is a war we're gonna win We have strength in numbers, strength in numbers To get us through the day

Song links:

And that's it for today. I hope y'all have a good weekend.

This post is Day 74 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #MusicLog #ADayToRemember #Beartooth #PostHardcore #100DaysToOffload

A few days ago I heard an ad on TV that said something like, “people say less is more, but more is REALLY MORE!” Obviously, the intent of that ad is to get you to spend more money. We live in a world where people are judged by their material possessions. The narrative being, if you have more, then you are living a better life compared to everyone else around you. That is ridiculous.

The older I get the more I really believe that less is more. Dan Erickson wrote a post about focusing on the “less is more” mindset. It is an absolutely wonderful read.

So often we want more. We have been trained to think more is better. More money. More stuff. More success. But this idea of getting and doing more often gets in the way of our goals. ~ Dan Erickson

Visit Original Post: Sometimes It’s the Things We Leave Out

When I wrote this back in 2019, I was mostly thinking in terms of material possessions. Fast forward to today and I can't help but think that the “less is more” mindset, is also applicable to my online activities. One thing I learned during this second digital declutter, is that I definitely had too much going on with all my online activities. I mean I had five websites that I was trying to maintain for crying out loud.

This post is Day 72 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #SelfImprovement #DanErickson #100DaysToOffload

First — I'm tentatively setting this journal back to Public. This means my posts will once again show up on the read.write.as feed. But...

Second — I'm no longer going to check the read.write.as feed. So, if you respond to a post of mine with a post that shows up on the feed, I have no way of knowing about it. For any questions, comments or concerns, I highly suggest leaving me a message or sending me an email. There's also some more ways of reaching me listed in my Contact page.

It is unfortunate, since I was one of those who happily participated in conversations over the read.write.as feed. But for now, I'm choosing to prioritize my mental health over it. I'm doing this for my own sanity.

Third — I'm going to start experimenting with micro-posts or short untitled posts on this journal. I don't think this journal has a lot of readers, but if you are one and this change somehow affects you, I want to understand why. Please leave me a message or send me an email at your earliest convenience.

Lastly, and this is not a change but a public service announcement. I just realized that if you are an email subscriber, and you reply to one of the subscription emails sent from dino@writeasletters.com, note that I will not receive your reply.

It would have been fine if your email bounced back with an error, but it does not, I just tried earlier.

So, again the best way to reach me is by leaving me a message or sending me an email.

This post is Day 71 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Blogging #100DaysToOffload

Meanwhile, my email inboxes have been getting unwieldy. The number of unread posts on my Feedly account keeps on growing. I have not been reading books as much as I used to. I have not been learning new skills. I'm starting to get exhausted because I feel like I'm in a race to do lots of stuff, even if nobody is asking me to do them.

Recent posts I've read have made me question whether this is the best use of my time and my reader's time. I've started to wonder whether I've been producing something of value for myself and my readers. I wonder if maybe I'm just going through the motions. Like trying to look productive, even though I'm not. If that's the case, then I'm just wasting everyone's time, mine included.

There are also days when I wish for less eyeballs on my posts. I know, it is a weird thing to long for, given that I maintain a public facing blog/journal. But yeah, sometimes I just want to try things out or do my own thing and not affect other people with my posts. But since I publish to a feed, that's kind of hard to avoid.

Have you ever felt like other people use your posts as writing cues? But since they don't link to your post in their post, you can't really tell if they are doing so. At least when Inquiry does his inline quotes, I know he is talking directly to the author. Other posts though seem to touch upon something that somebody else wrote or did, but never quotes them on that. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being self-centered. And if so, I apologize.

I'm also developing an unhealthy addiction to the read.write.as feed once again. I'm constantly checking it multiple times a day. Part of it is wanting to see what other write.as bloggers have written. The other part is checking to see if other people responded or reacted to my posts. Trying to filter through what to read and what to skip also takes a toll on me. And yet, I can't stop checking it.

Sometimes I also feel bad for spamming the read.write.as feed with my “Now Listening to...” posts. You could say that I can simply stop publishing to the read.write.as feed. I know and it's one thing I've been considering lately. I just feel like it defeats the purpose of sharing music in the first place. I wouldn't feel so bad if there was a way for users to mute me on their end. But there is not and so I feel bad.

I feel like I jumped headfirst into blogging and personal websites and stretched myself too thin. I'm doing too much and using too much of my free time. All that time that I freed up by going through a digital declutter, are now gobbled up by all the online activities I'm engaged in.

So, obviously something has to change. I need a break. I'm not exactly sure what kind of break I need. But right now, I'm leaning towards going through another digital declutter phase. I corresponded with a reader through email a few weeks ago. He said that he was doing another digital declutter. I was honestly jealous. So, I might give it another try.

I'll also stop publishing to the read.write.as feed to stop myself from wanting to check it every so often. If my post doesn't show up in the feed, then there's no expectation of other write.as bloggers reacting to it. And there's less reason for me to want to check it.

As always, if you need to contact me, you will find lots of ways to reach me on this page. But honestly, I would prefer receiving emails. So, send me an email if you have any comments.

I'll catch y'all later.

This post is Day 59 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Reflection #Blogging #100DaysToOffload

Then in today's Mass, Dave and Lauren Moore, the couple who sings in the televised Sunday Masses that I watch, sang a beautiful rendition of “I Am The Bread Of Life”. Once again I was filled with this urge to write a Sunday Music Log post. I went on to the Catholic Diocese of Dallas website to find a way to contact the diocese. I wanted to ask them if they have recorded videos of the songs that Dave and Lauren Moore sang in Mass. It turns out, the diocese has a YouTube channel where they uploaded recordings of the televised Masses I've been watching. Within those videos are the exact rendition of the songs that I watched, and now want to share.

All songs in this music log were performed by Dave and Lauren Moore.

So, first up is this beautiful rendition of Dan Schutte's “You Are Near”. The song starts at around the 48:22 mark.

This song brings back good memories. Memories of me as a kid singing it in Mass at school. Memories of me playing the guitar, while our group of altar servers sang this song in Mass. It's such a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Where can I run from your love? If I climb to the heavens you are there If I fly to the sunrise Or sail beyond the sea Still I’d find you there

O Lord, I know you are near Standing always at my side You guard me from the foe And you lead me in ways everlasting

Second song for today is this beautiful rendition of Matt Maher's “Lord I Need You”. The song starts at around the 48:32 mark.

Beautiful song from a contemporary Christian artist.

Lord, I come, I confess Bowing here I find my rest Without You I fall apart You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You Every hour I need You My one defense, my righteousness Oh God, how I need You

And the third and last song for today, is this beautiful rendition of “I Am The Bread Of Life”. The song starts at around the 49:34 mark.

I've never heard this song sang as a duet. Dave and Lauren sang this beautifully.

I am the Bread of life, And who comes to Me shall not hunger, And who believes in Me shall not thirst. No one can come to Me Unless the Father lets.

And I will raise you up, And I will raise you up, And I will raise you up on the last day.

And that's it for my first ever Sunday Music Log. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

This post is Day 57 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #MusicLog #SundayMusicLog #DaveAndLaurenMoore #Spirituality #100DaysToOffload

Walking is increasingly mediated by technological gadgets worn on wrists or gripped in hands. We spend an increasing amount of time ‘screening’ the world – taking in most of life through a contracted frame that captures objects of immediate interest. To live with eyes on the screen is to be attached, stuck in the frame, taking in what is presented to us and re-presented to us again. But representation – even in fine-grained pixilation – is not experience. To experience is to perceive. When we look at a screen, we might see something, but we don’t perceive. To live life through representations is to live passively, to receive rather than to experience.

~ For the full life experience, put down all devices and walk by John Kaag

I am so grateful that I discovered the IndieWeb. Owning my content and posting my thoughts on my own site instead of a silo like Twitter gives me real freedom. I can decide how my thoughts are displayed (I like to make them available to everyone without advertising), I can edit them and they stay available for as long as I want.

~ I deleted my Twitter account by Jan-Lukas Else

People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.

~ Love People, Not Things by Joshua Becker

This post is Day 56 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #DigitalMinimalism #Blogging #SelfImprovement #100DaysToOffload

Note that I'm trying something new in this music log. In addition to the embedded YouTube videos, I also added song links. This gives readers more options to listen or even purchase a song. They are not affiliate links. I do not get paid whatsoever if you decide to click on one of those links. I just thought of adding them to support the artists.

First up is “Mirrors” by Our Last Night. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the band Our Last Night makes some of the best rock covers I've heard. This is no exception. This a great rock cover of Justin Timberlake's hit song “Mirrors”.

Song links:

Second and last song for today is this really good rock cover of Adele's “Set Fire To The Rain”, by the band SYCAMOUR. This cover sounds so polished and clean. There's some minor screaming towards the end, but not enough to detract from the joy of listening to this cover.

Song links:

And that's it for today's music log. Hope y'all have a good weekend.

This post is Day 55 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #MusicLog #100DaysToOffload #OurLastNight #SYCAMOUR #PostHardcore

It was a particular joy for me to visit the sites associated with St. Ignatius of Loyola on a recent film trip. But the most moving locale was a little church in Manresa built around the cave where the young Ignatius spent about nine months preparing himself spiritually for his life’s work. What he learned at Manresa is that our attachments to various created goods—money, power, pleasure, and honor—stand in the way of our responding to God’s will for us. ~ Bishop Barron

A really good homily that talks about the practice of “Agere Contra”, which means “To act against”. I believe that you can apply “Agere Contra” to most things in life. You don't have to be religious to practice it. For instance, I can see the practice of “Agere Contra” being very effective against social media and smartphone addiction.

Link: Ignatian Detachment

This post is Day 53 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #Bookmarks #WordOnFire #Spirituality #100DaysToOffload