Tag Archives: Pope Benedict XVI

My Pleasure Thursday Rundown

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We have reached mid-April and we finally received some of the showers that make this month famous. Thankfully Mother Nature waited until after a sunny spring break to bring the rain. Let’s jump into tonight’s Thursday Rundown…

Day Off – Speaking of spring break, I had the opportunity to take last Friday off to be with my kids. I took them to Dave & Buster’s for a couple hours and then we followed it up with lunch at the Spokane Valley Mall food court. As I have written before, I always try to take my children out to lunch on spring break.

A few images from our outing to Spokane’s Dave & Buster’s location and to the Spokane Valley Mall for lunch.

Fun Saturday – My day off on Friday was followed by another adventurous day. On Saturday I had the treat of taking Sid and the kids to ONE Stadium for a USL Soccer match as the Spokane Velocity defeated the Richmond Kickers, 3-1. It was EWU Night and my family had the opportunity to sit in one of the suites with some of my other co-workers and President Shari McMahan. For someone like Beau who is a soccer fanatic, the experience was something that he especially enjoyed.

A photo of Beau absolutely loving life at the Spokane Velocity soccer match we attended this past weekend.

Great Horror Film – I watched the best scary movie I have seen in a couple years this past week. Called “Weapons,” it tells the eerie story about 17 elementary students from the same classroom who end up going missing on the same night at 2:17 a.m. The plot of the movie is completely original, the concepts are creepy, the images are jarring, and the scares are real. The film receives an A+ from me for its creativity. If you are looking for a terrific horror movie that might even resonate with non-scary film fans (it did win Academy Awards after all), I recommend “Weapons.”

“Weapons” was a great film.

My Pleasure – On this date eight years ago, I wrote about “the problem” with the phrase no problem. I also discussed why I will say my pleasure for the rest of my life. But in short, when someone says “no problem,” it insinuates that there is/was a problem. When someone expresses their gratitude to you, it doesn’t make sense to respond by saying something that doesn’t convey any sort of warmth or sentiment. At best, “no problem” means nothing. How is it acknowledging what someone said to you?

This was my Instagram post from my Life’s Little Instructions calendar back in 2018 that influenced me to write a blog post about “no problem” and “my pleasure.”

Popes – Today would have been Pope Bendict XVI’s 99th birthday. Shortly after his death, I wrote this blog post about our former pope’s status as a master theologian on complex issues but also his simplicity at heart. When Pope Francis passed away, I wrote about his humility and exemplification of what it means to be a servant leader. When it comes to Pope Leo, I hope I don’t have to write about his legacy for a very long time 😉. But what I can say about him right now is that I feel extremely blessed to have him as my pope and I hope he continues to advocate for peace at every chance he gets.

Pope Benedict XVI was as sharp as they come (photo cred: New York Times).

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That’s all I have for tonight. Thanks for your readership and I hope you have a nice weekend. Don’t Blink.

May Pope Benedict XVI Receive His Heavenly Reward

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God is love. Those were the opening words written by Pope Benedict XVI in his first papal encyclical. For a man of unparalleled theological talents, the phrase might seem quite simple for someone of his immense scholarship. However, it was right on character.

Pope Benedict XVI was as sharp as they come (photo cred: New York Times).

I awoke on New Year’s Eve morning to the expected news that Pope Benedict XVI had passed. Although I knew it was coming, his death still made me pause for a moment. Pope Benedict XVI is a central figure in my faith journey. I entered adulthood with Pope John Paul II the only pontiff I had lived under. When he died, I consumed all the funeral coverage that I possibly could and then followed closely the conclave that would elect then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

When Pope Benedict XVI appeared on the Vatican balcony, it was a profound moment for me. It was the first time I had ever seen a new pope elected and the abundant joy exhibited in Vatican Square was not lost on me. How special it was!

When Pope Benedict XVI made his first appearance as pope, I was mesmerized.

Pope Benedict XVI served the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics with humility and effectiveness. He was a champion of our faith and protected the Church to the absolute best of his ability. The way he continued to live his life after his resignation and co-exist with Pope Francis was nothing short of honorable.

As I mentioned, despite Pope Benedict’s prowess as a theologian and his ability to produce extremely thorough writings on complicated matters of faith, he was simple at heart. If the opening to his encyclical wasn’t enough evidence of that, perhaps his last words are. As he slipped into eternity, Pope Benedict XVI said Lord, I love you. Eternal rest grant unto Benedict, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him. Don’t Blink.