Category: ministry

A day or two in the life…

This here is a great example of my wife Erin’s sense of humor: very sharp and not at all afraid to throw in a well-placed cuss word. Also, to answer her question, Erin knows A LOT of things I don’t. She’s very smart. That’s another blog entry, though.

In this case, the thing I knew was that I needed to prepare to write this blog article. Part of that preparation was creating a full day, week-long event entry last week, called “Jesus”, to remind me to pay more attention to where I encounter our Lord in everyday life. Erin didn’t know that, though. I hadn’t had time to tell her that I was writing an article, that Orin and I were planning to try and write something every week. There just isn’t enough time these days for Erin and I to talk about things that aren’t absolutely essential to helping our family function well.

The Cernekas, you see, are a very busy family. In addition to my work with Oddwalk, I work full-time for a parish and school. Erin works full-time as a nurse practitioner in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She also runs a craft business, making headbands, bows, t-shirts, etc. Erin and I have four kids, ages 4-12. The older three are all involved with sports and scouting. The youngest is in pre-school and is preparing to take over the world. I suppose I made that last part up, but when it happens, don’t forget you heard it here first. In addition to all of this, Erin and I try and share our musical and ministerial gifts as much as time and resources will allow. This means leading music for Mass, helping with retreats, and doing what we can to support our local diocesan youth and vocation events. It’s safe to say we have burned the candle at both ends and have ordered more candles.

All of this brings me back to that screen shot of my calendar. While I look to grow in Christ each and every day, I meant that calendar entry to be purely functional, something to help this article deadline not be just another well-intended goal that slipped through the cracks. Yet as I look at it now and think about the craziness that is my life, it occurs to me that I could use something like that. Every. Day. Maybe you could too. While I work for a Catholic institution, go to Mass regularly, pray, and take more than a passing interest in my Catholic faith, I know full-well that I often do not place Christ at the center of my life, at the center of my decision-making, at the center of my family. So, this coming week, I’m committing to spending extra twenty minutes with Jesus. Ideally this will be in church, but I know Jesus will be there for me wherever I am. I know twenty minutes isn’t much, but it’s something. Jesus shouldn’t be just another calendar entry. Jesus has to be everything.

What about you? How are things between you and JC? Is there room to improve that relationship? Ok, that was a trick question. Of course there’s room. There’s always room. What kind of time and space can you commit this week to strengthening that relationship?

-Shannon