Deacon Dan Wright

Blog Delayed Today...

...But not an entire day away.  I'll have fresh material here in the late afternoon or early evening, and then likely again Saturday morning.  Grandma (my mother-in-law) celebrated her 82nd birthday yesterday, so it was a late but fun night at Benihana!  Happy birthday Grandma.

Check back here tonight around 6 p.m. my time.  Have a blessed and prayerful Friday.

Blogging Lite

It looks like it will be a day of light blogging for the most part, though not quite a day away from it altogether.  Part of being a husband, dad, teacher, and deacon is that there are plenty of demands.  Yesterday kept me busy into the late evening--a confirmation interview with a very nice young lady, planning for a funeral vigil, and having dinner with grandma.  I do my lesson planning on the weekend--early Saturday morning works best.  I'm going to divulge my secret, so you had better be reading closely: it's good caffeine.

When I was in the discernment process for diaconal ministry there were many people, all of whom I respect, who tried to persuade me that a man with a young family had no business going into ordained ministry.  They were quite serious about it, but I didn't get it.  I was a convert, and all the ordained ministers I had ever known were married with a house full of kids.  Where were these folks coming from?  Add to it the fact that I had been trained a Protestant seminary and no one there had ever said "don't have kids or a family life if you want to be a successful minister."

I'm proud to say that here in my seventh year of ordination I have never felt so much of a bind as to wish that I had chosen otherwise, nor have I made my family say "hey, what about us?"  Unlike the secret to superhuman energy, which comes in a red can, the secret to being a married minister, a deacon, with  a family is that I know when to say "Blogging Lite."

Have fun with the posts that are currently up, and look for fresh content this evening and weekend.  One other FYI--TypePad is going offline for routine maintenance tonight for a couple hours starting at 9:00 PST their time, or 05:00 UTC January 13, so during that time you will not be able to access DDW. 

Posting Habits Due for a Change

It's been my intention to begin scheduling several posts throughout the day each day.  While I still have this intention it may take a short while to get it going.  Because of my work as a teacher, I have to do all my blogging in the evening.  Tuesday evenings are religious education nights at the parish and Thursdays are reserved for parish meetings with engaged couples, confirmands, and anyone else who needs a deacon, so... Wednesdays and Fridays may be shorter blog days for some time to come.

If you see anything newsworthy, comment worthy, or perhaps something you'd like my view on, please send it my way.  I'm open to taking questions on the faith as well, but I may lack the precision of a former classmate of mine who blogs from San Diego on a similar-looking TypePad site.

There may be some days that I don't blog at all.  I'll try to warn you in advance--and typically weekends may not produce posts at all, though recently I've felt the need to write early Saturday morning.

I'll do my best to keep 'em coming in the fullness of our Catholic Tradition--true to the letter and the Spirit.

I'm Still Here

My apologies for disappearing without a lot of notice.  For years I, like you probably, have heard time and again that Advent is a time for us to slow down.  Although my blog slow down of the past couple weeks or more hasn't actually been a planned seasonal observance, it does sometimes do good to step back and get a fresh look.  The truth is that for me the demands of being a teacher often supersede the demands of being a blogger.  The past several weeks at work have been an intense time.  Thank God for his presence and for the power of the Holy Spirit to sustain us!

So, I'm still here at the blog and tonight I simply wanted to give you a "heads up" that I'll be writing a little more frequently this week and in the weeks to come--Lord willing.  Keep me in your prayers as I pray that the Lord speaks to me and through me as we anticipate Christmas and the New Year.

My desire was to return somewhat sooner and I had actually intended to post something for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception--what a great witness to the redeeming power of Christ to break into all times with the grace that brings perfect holiness!  And, what better example of holiness for us is there than Our Lady?  Truly her conception witnesses to the power of Christ to transcend time.

Now, whenever I'm away, I suggest that you visit this fellow's websites--you'll be blessed! 

I'll be looking for your comments as I post this week.

Blogging Update: Buried Somewhere Underneath a Pile of Paper

Not to worry, I anticipate that very soon--likely this weekend--I'll be able to resume a regular blogging schedule.  Before ever entering the field of special education I knew of the paperwork and administrative duties that would come with it.  This past month has seen a mountain of paper and other school-related work pass my way.

Actually, I'm involved in a pilot program for a new state-mandated test designed for the most significantly disabled students.  It has been a learning intensive process, and I don't anticipate it to let up until the end of next week.  Perhaps then I'll even have some thoughts to share with you on something as mundane as NCLB.

I am mindful of the directions that you, my faithful readers, would like for me to go with my writing.  I'll certainly try not to disappoint you.  I believe that God is speaking to me about sharing a dimension of spirituality with you that I have not yet shared but that I have at least hinted at.  So, regardless of the other directions that life tends to push and pull, I cannot for long ignore this call I have to share my inner spiritual life with the world. 

This past weekend I spent a short amount of time at a retreat on the writings of Henri Nouwen.  How could one not help but be blessed by Nouwen, and certainly I was moved within to deal with my greatest struggles.  Again, special education and the burdens that it carries--even teaching in general--was heavily on my mind.

During the retreat I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with one of my fellow deacons--George--from the far other end of my diocese.  I shared with George my personal struggle of getting caught up with the difficulties that go along with being an elementary educator.  George helped me to remember that the foremost reason I chose special education was to make it be my ministry to those whom I felt needed love, kindness, understanding, charity, and above all else good old fashioned Catholic mercy.  "If it ever stops being a ministry first," he said, "find something else to do."

I was able to return to work this week with a renewed confidence that God was blessing my work, blessing the kids I serve, and blessing my co-workers.  I continue to pray for that blessing all around.

Later on in the blogging week I hope to begin uncovering the themes of receiving love and living forgiveness.  I feel somewhat qualified to delve into 12-Step spirituality as well, though I may challenge what you think or believe about 12-Step programs--though not to invalidate them in any way.  I believe that they are indeed a gift from God.

I leave you with a video I found on Ballastexistenz.  It says something to us about the dignity we afford others of being persons.  I try to teach that while there may be glaring inequalities in life, the amount of dignity that God gives us as persons is not one of them.

The Previous Post

I had scheduled the previous post to go on at 5 a.m. today--why it didn't I can't say... Anyhow, better late than never.

I guess if you want you can count me tardy.