In case you missed the show I was recently on, here it is for stream or for Download.

This episode of Forte Catholic kicks off Advent in a special way with Catholic rapper and New York City Youth Minister Brandon Morel, also known as BeTheSymbol. He will enlighten us on how he brings the Gospel to the New York City youth culture and more. We have an awesome conversation about Advent and inculturation. Ever wondered how the Church and culture mix?

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/forte-catholic-radio-show/id1162464998?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

- The Symbol
- All is Love

As many of you know, my community is the Institute Id. of Christ the Redeemer(Idente Missionaries) and we were founded by a main from Spain named "Fernando Rielo."

He passed away on December 6th, in 2004 and so every year around that time here in the Archdiocese of New York we have to opportunity to have a special mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in order to pray and ask for our special intentions as we remember his life.

If you happen to be in the area, please join us this Friday, December 2nd at 8PM at the Cathedral. The image above contains all of the information you need to know about this special occasion.

I pray I will see you there.

- The Symbol
- All is Love

Friday, November 18, 2016 at Mount St. Vincent College. The Symbol and DJ Ideal Soundz go LIVE at the Archdiocese of New York's very first Charismatic Conference Youth Session.

- The Symbol
- All is Love

This is what happens when Seeds grow into trees.... Letting the music speak for itself.

- The Symbol
- All is Love

Old song. New visuals...
Definition of Animation: The state of being full of life or vigor; liveliness.
God gives life to all things... All creation is "animated" by him.

Purchase The Animation at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/golden/id894218702

- The Symbol
- All is Love

Listen in as we discuss Hip Hop, and being a faithful Catholic in New York City on November 29th at 7pm central/8pm eastern is when it will air. My interview will start at 7:20(8:20).

You can listen live at: redcradio.org/listen

Podcast link will be posted later on after air date.

- The Symbol
- All is Love

Many are upset about the things they see in the country, in their society, and in the world all around, however few take action until the problems reach their height.... Why wait? Some thoughts and a reflection of today as a response to what is going on in our country right now.

- The Symbol
- All is Love

The above picture is from this past weekend at a retreat down in Texas where over 100 teens learned, experiences, and shared their faith on a much deeper level.  Many people never thought you could worship our beautiful trinitarian God in our Catholic faith through Hip Hop, yet time and time again I have been led to do so for many.

Reflecting upon this image and just this weekend in general, I decided to write this blog post where I want to explore not just the title question, but a few things....

First - What is worship?
Second is - How do we worship?
Third is - Is there any proper way?
And perhaps many other questions can be addressed along the way. I do not intend to answer these questions myself one by one, but instead present some thoughts that we can apply when approaching worship.

But first, just using a simple google search, let's find common language for what "worship is" by giving it a definition.

In general "worship" has to do with us looking outside of ourselves to someone/something that we hold in high esteem, and value.  In many ways, we see this person or thing as ideal and our hearts/minds are oriented towards it in some way.  This can be a celebrity, teacher, parent, friend or even a spouse or even our favorite clothing brand. Whatever this may be, the more we worship, the more we become like the thing we worship.

Anything that we worship that is less than God however, will only limit us in growth.  As my good friend Alex Gotay said on "Let Me See Something" about the mystics, "If we're not moving forward, then we're moving backward." So let's think about it.... if the thing that we worship has a limit, then our worship will have a limit; and if our worship has a limit then our growth has a limit.... Fill in the blanks.

​Now about how we worship.... Well, we do so in action and in word... In song, and in art... In our thoughts and reflections and intentions... That's worship.

Obviously the actions and output of our internal intentions of worship should reflect an orientation towards the thing we worship.... And if that which we worship is God, would not the words, art, actions, etc be oriented towards what is good, true, and beautiful?  Good logic and analysis of our world around us can tell us what is good and true, however beauty is relative so the content of our worship would definitely look similar if true, but its presentation may take many different forms.

Before I move forward, remember that I am Catholic.... And I do believe and stand by the teachings of the church, so I am not saying that salvation is true by other means than Christ, and of course I believe in the scriptures, sacramental life, etc. but sometimes we have fallen into a state of getting caught up in what we would call "lower case 't' tradition" and confuse it as "capital 'T' Tradition".

I end this with two scripture quotes as thoughts to reflect on our current forms of worship...

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31

"...every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them." - Matthew 7:17-20

​- The Symbol
- All is Love