Reflecting and Wishing...

So it's been a while since I've posted anything, let alone a personal post, so I thought now's as good a time as any.

I've been perusing pictures of my brother and his friends who are studying abroad in Austria and it reminds me of my own semester there, way back in the fall of 2000. Seems like just yesterday I was tramping through the hills, getting lost on the trains, exploring all through the town, staying out late drinking amazing European beers, and basically just enjoying the laid back lifestyle that is Europe. I would love to be there again, but alas, job, wife, work, and all the other responsibilities keep me grounded here for now.
My word of advice for all those sowing their oats in the bliss of youth, beer and new cultures...enjoy it now, it's the best of times and the best of semesters. Take away from it everything that you possibly can and chalk it all up to the experience of your new surroundings. Live each day to the very fullest because it goes by so fast and you'll look back and say, "where did the time go?" Enjoy the moment and take lots of pictures!

Pro-Life March '06

The 33rd annual March For Life was held in the streets of our nations capitol yesterday. The estimated number of people attending was anywhere from 80,000 to 220,000. This was the 10th year that I have attended the event and I think it was the best one yet. There seemed to be a sense of a changing of the tides in the Roe V. Wade debate. The lack of notable opposition to the pro-life advocates might be one reason, or the fact that everyone involved is realizing that prayer, not gory pictures and insidious name calling, is the only way to change minds and hearts and overcome the atrocity of abortion.
I had the opportunity to help Crossroads pass out over 20,000 pro-life stickers after Mass at the MCI center, attended by 30,000 people! The effect was amazing, the blue and white stickers were seen plastered all over DC!
Of course, after the march we kept with the Franciscan University tradition of going to the Dubliner for a few pints to celebrate another successful march for life!

Go Dan!

My Friend from school, Dan Marrone just proved by this article what a great guy he is.

Crossroads Walk 2005

As I begin to write this I am sitting in Phoenix, AZ at the Cafe Fiat after praying at a Planned Parenthood here in Phoenix with the group The Underground Project, started by the beautiful Melanie Welsch. The past week has been incredible. It started out with a long and delayed arrival into Ontario, CA after many challenges on my connecting flight into Houston. I began my journey in 29 Palms walking all night long through the desert of Southern California. Previous to beginning our night time journey we ate dinner at the O'Briens. Arriving at their house was an experience to be sure, they live in the middle of nowhere in the California desert. It was almost surreal, like something out of a movie! They were the nicest people you'll ever meet though.
The rest of the trip has consisted of walking though California and into Arizona, which is where I am now. Crossroads has a blog that will be updated all summer long here.

Here's some of the pictures I've taken thus far.

Props to Ebay

Here's an email my friend David sent to eBay over their allowing of the Holy Eucharist to be sold online and their response to his email, quite impressive!

-----Original Message-----

From: ----- -------
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 8:30 AM
To: Burke, Brian
Subject: Selling of Catholic Host

To whom it may concern:

I have been using EBay for the last five years and if
EBay allows Eucharistic hosts to be sold I will NEVER
use it again. I am currently patronizing overstock as
a result of this atrocity!



From: CSME
To:
Subject: RE: Selling of Catholic Host
Sent: Tuesday, May 3, 2005 1:27 PM


David,

Thank you for your email regarding the sale of the Holy Eucharist by one of our community members. We respect and appreciate your comments regarding this sensitive matter.

As you may know, eBay does not sell items itself. Rather, we are a global marketplace for sellers and buyers who transact directly with one another. Each day eBay’s sellers list 5 million items on the site, and those sellers decide what items they want to list. eBay did not possess, list or approve the sale of the Eucharist. The buyer and seller completed the Eucharist transaction on April 11th, before eBay even became aware of the listing.

As a marketplace, we strive to respect the diverse perspectives of our sellers. We also work hard to promote an open environment for trade. That said, eBay has policies in place to remove listings for illegal items as well as highly offensive listings that promote hate or intolerance.

We understand that the listing of the Eucharist was highly upsetting to Catholic members of the eBay community and Catholics globally. Once this completed sale was brought to our attention, we consulted with a number of our users, including members of the Catholic Church, concerning what course we should take in the future should a similar listing appear on our site. We also consulted with members of other religions about items that might also be highly sacred and inappropriate for sale. As a result of this dialogue, we have concluded that sales of the Eucharist, and similar highly sacred items, are not appropriate on eBay. We have, therefore, broadened our policies and will remove those types of listings should they appear on the site in the future.

As always, we welcome and appreciate the assistance of the community in upholding the rules of our site. Should you see another Eucharist listed on our site, we encourage you to notify us so we can take appropriate action. Further, we encourage you to directly communicate with the seller. Members are often unaware that a particular item is offensive to others. A respectful e-mail to the seller is often all that is needed for the seller to voluntarily remove the item. We believe this modification strikes the appropriate balance between respect for our community’s values and our goal of providing an open marketplace offering practically anything on earth.

Again, we sincerely appreciate your concern and thank you for communicating your views with us. Your input has helped us frame a policy that will enable us to better serve our diverse community of users around the world.

Regards,

On behalf of Bill Cobb, President of eBay, Inc., North America

Suza Capps

eBay, Inc.
Office of the President
Support Team

St. Patrick's Day

In celebration of St. Paddy's day I raise my glass of Guinness to the Emerald Isle. Of course on this day of all things Irish we want to listen to some good Celtic music and I have just the band, some very good friends of mine as well as one of the hottest bands in the D.C., Baltimore area, Scythian!

Prelude To The Ultimate

A good friend recently authored an incredible book titled "Prelude To The Ultimate." I found it to be one of the most fascinating books I've read in a long time. It is part action/adventure, romance, spiritual, and comedy all rolled into one. Click on the link to see for yourself.

March For Life Weekend

The annual March For Life weekend craziness that somehow seems to surround all of us former Franciscan University students was no different this year as all the stops were pulled out, everything from roaming around the barren streets of D.C. all night long, crazy car crashes, the Dubliner (of course), a random bar called 'Madem's Organ in the heart of Adam's Morgan', 6 inches of snow, lots of football watched and beer drank, and of course the coldest pro-life march in recent memory! No matter how you look at it though, the 90 or so pictures I took definitely will be enjoyed by all who were there (and those who weren't).

Alpha Phi Delta Crest

Alpha Phi Delta Crest

Here lies the crest of the greatest of all fraternites, of which I am a proud alumnus, Alpha Phi Delta National Fraternity, and more specifically, the Beta Theta Chapter. Founded in 1914 at Syracuse University by a group of undergraduate Italian American students, this fine organization has played a pivotal role in the formation of many a young student's life. Click on the crest to view the website.