"God is Faithful in His Promises"

This is the caption from the second reading found in the Office of Readings for this Tuesday, the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time. The second reading is a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope. The paragraph that stood out for me is this: "In this hope, then, let our hearts be bound fast to him who is faithful in his promises and just in his judgments. He forbade us to tell lies; still less will he himself tell a lie. Nothing is impossible for God except to tell a lie. Then let our faith in him be awakened; let us reflect that everything is close to him" (Liturgy of the Hours, 448). The line in particular, "let our faith in him be awakened," is important during this "Year of Faith." We need to revitalize, renew our faith and this is a wonderful time that God and the Church has given to us. God is faithful in all that He does for us and He asks us to do the same. All things are possible with God and just think how much our faith will grow and be strengthened if we put our entire faith and trust in Him!!! Have a blessed day!!!

Called to Serve

We have all been called by Jesus Christ to serve our brothers and sisters with love. Saint Paul highlights our call to serve in his letter to the Ephesians, 4:1-6. He writes, "I, a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace..." He concludes with, "You were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all..." Being called is important since Paul mentions it several times in this reading alone. Jesus is the one who does the calling and we see that throughout the Gospels, "Come, follow me..." The quote that I always like to use is, "God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called." We are not perfect, we are all sinners, but God calls us to continue the mission entrusted to us and He gives us the grace and strength that we need to fulfill our duties. Today is a special day for me!!! It was on October 26, 1996 that I was ordained a transitional deacon. I look back on that day with great fondness and thank God for the call that led me to the diaconate and ultimately to the priesthood. I pray everyday for an increase of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Hopefully we can join each other in prayer as we pray for vocations to the Church. May we also pray for the call that we have received as disciples. Let us listen to the voice of the Lord in our lives and follow where he leads because he truly has the words of everlasting life!!! Have a blessed day!!!

Prayer of Faith

In his letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul writes a prayer that we can make our own. The prayer is found in chapter 3, verses 14-21. To begin with, Paul says that he is kneeling before the Father and continues, "From whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." That is a beautiful prayer and it mentions faith. How important it is to pray for the gift of faith and to know that our Lord is with us at all times. During this Year of Faith, that prayer takes on a special meaning because we want to renew and revitalize our faith so that our faith will continue to sustain us in the future. The holy men and women who have gone before us have given us an example of prayer and of faith. Pray that we may put these examples into practice and live them to the fullest!!! God Bless You!!!

Missionary Zeal

The call to be a missionary is with us everyday of our lives. As we have established, by virtue of our baptism, we are called to be missionaries and being called means to put our faith into practice by our works of charity. Being a missionary means that we are also evangelizers, called to proclaim the Good News with word and deed. In his Apostolic Letter on the Year of Faith, "Porta Fidei, n. 7, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI writes, "Today as in the past, He (Christ) sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim His Gospel to all peoples of the earth." I remember listening to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York on television tell about a pilgrimage that he was on to the Holy Land. The tour guide asked if there was anything else he would like to see and he said the road to Emmaus. The guide told the Cardinal that he could not do that because they really don't know where that road is. The moral of the story is that the road to Emmaus is any road that we travel. We encounter Christ in our brothers and sisters and we are to make Christ known to all peoples. As the guide for Mission Sunday states, "The encounter with Christ as a living Person, who satisfies the thirst of the heart, cannot but lead to the desire to share with others the joy of this presence and to make Him known, so that all may experience this joy." The highways that Christ sends us out to are the roads that we travel in life and the people that we encounter. Pray that during this Year of Faith, God will strengthen our missionary zeal so that we will not be afraid to evangelize and bring the presence of Christ to those whom we meet. Have a blessed day!!!

Missionaries of Faith

This was the theme for the observance of World Mission Sunday that was held on October 21. We are all missionaries and as missionaries, we are called to proclaim the Good News not just with words, but with our very lives. The theme, "Missionaries of Faith" is very appropriate for this "Year of Faith" that we are presently in. Two things that were printed in the pamphlet for World Mission Sunday stated, 1) "Our own life's witness should offer others an example of Christ-like strength and His selfless love and compassion." 2) "Missionaries serve throughout the world, bringing hope to the poor and suffering - and inspiring us by their faith-filled witness to our Lord!" That is what the "Year of Faith" is all about. We are to be joy-filled witnesses of Christ in the world. There are people in our world and in our communities who may not know Christ as they would like. We need to bring them a message of God's love and of hope. However, it has to begin with us. We need to work on our faith, on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ before we preach the Good News to others! Yes, we are missionaries of faith, but in order to be good missionaries, we need to take care of ourselves and our faith, so that compelled by our renewed faith, we can truly minister to the needs of others! Have a blessed day!!!

Blessed John Paul II

I saw a recent announcement that October 22 is the Feast Day of Blessed John Paul II. Happy Feast Day of our beloved Holy Father, the pope that many of us grew up with! I have a great devotion to John Paul II! In my private chapel, I have a small shrine with different prayer cards to our Holy Father and a framed relic! A picture that I have in that shrine is a memory that I will have forever. In 1996, a group of us from the seminary were in Rome for our January interterm and we had the great honor and privilege of having a private audience with the pope. We were taken to the Clementine Hall in the Vatican and put in a semi-circle. Directly, the Holy Father came out through the door and greeted each of us individually. He had photographers with him taking pictures. Later that day, the pictures were developed of our encounter with the pope and we were able to purchase the ones we thought were good. It was a beautiful experience and a cherished memory! Just think, we met a "Blessed" of the Church and he is one miracle away from Sainthood. We pray that God will soon raise Blessed John Paul II to the altars of sainthood. We know that as we pray for him, our beloved Holy Father is praying for us! Have a blessed day!!!!!

Messages of Comfort

I want to go back to October 18, the Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist. Saint Luke was a physician and appropriately, I had to take my mother back to see the surgeon for a follow-up visit from her surgery and was not able to blog about this feast day. However, Saint Luke provides us with messages of comfort and we truly need to hear those in our world today. A world that seems broken, divided, hurting needs to hear the message of God's love and be assured that we live in hope. In speaking about Saint Luke, one writer states, "Saint Luke highlights Jesus' proclamation of God's healing word to all sorts of sinners and sufferers, from the grieving widow of Nain to the semi-comical tax collector, Zacchaeus, to the dramatic and anonymous woman who washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair" (Magnificat, 258-59). The phrase that stands out is, "Jesus' proclamation of God's healing word to all sorts of sinners and sufferers." We are all sinners in need of God's mercy and forgiveness so we need to bring a message of healing and reconciliation. Then from Luke's Gospel, this passage, "Jesus received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured" (9:11). The commentator continues, "Alone of the Evangelists Saint Luke, the 'beloved physician' (Col 4:14), preserves some of Jesus' best-known stories of God's merciful and healing love for all peoples, whether respected or despised. Among them are the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son" (Magnificat, 266). Again, "God's merciful and healing love for all peoples." These are beautiful messages that we need to listen to. We need to take God's word to heart because it is living and effective. Saint Luke, intercede for us!!!

Saint Ignatius of Antioch

The Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr. Saint Ignatius offers these words, "I am God's wheat and shall be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts so that I may become Christ's pure bread." The commentator picks up on this quote as they write, "Only one wine and one bread filled Saint Ignatius with joy; the living bread and the cup of the new covenant, offered on the altar of the cross. This faithful bishop pleaded with his people to draw from this true worship the oneness of mind and heart which identifies disciples of Christ" (Magnificat, 254). The Mass is our central act of worship! The Eucharist means "Thanksgiving." Participation at Mass is the number one way that Catholics can live the Year of Faith. Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, WI, chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops offers the "10 Ways Catholics Can Live the Year of Faith." As was mentioned, "Participate in Mass" is number one and here is the explanation for that participation: "The year is meant to promote the personal encounter with Jesus. This occurs most immediately in the Eucharist. Regular Mass attendance strengthens one's faith through Scriptures, the Creed, other prayers, sacred music, the homily, receiving Communion and being part of a faith community." The saints found great joy in receiving the one bread and the one cup because they were truly receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The same is true for us as Catholics. We believe in the Real Presence and we believe that we receive the Body and Blood of Christ each time we receive Holy Communion. That same joy can be ours! May this memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch renew us in receiving the Body and Blood of Christ! May this Year of Faith lead us to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and renewed attendance and participation in the Mass. God Bless You on Your Journey!!!

Sacred Heart

There are two saints that can be celebrated today: Saint Hedwig and Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Of course, I was wondering which one to celebrate at Mass and then it came to me. On Tuesdays I celebrate Mass at my mission parish in Greenleaf, Kansas which is under the patronage of the Sacred Heart! Thus I will use the Mass for Saint Margaret Mary because she is the saint who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She also promoted the First Friday devotion! Looking at the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus we know how much God truly loves us! The heart of Our Lord radiates the love that God has for us and we are called to share that love with one another! May we grow in our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and may Saint Margaret Mary intercede for us that we may bring God's love to all peoples! Have a blessed day!!!

Blessed with Faith

Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, "Those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith" (3:7-14). We are truly blessed by the gift of faith that God has given to us and that has been handed on to us by our families. The gift of faith is truly a way of life. We need to live our faith everyday, no matter what is going on in our lives, because it is our faith that sustains. Of course, we always need a boost when it comes to living our faith and the "Year of Faith" gives us that energy we need. Yes, we are in the very early stages of the "Year of Faith" and hopefully what we encounter during this year will last long after the "Year of Faith" concludes. As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says, "The Church is well aware of the problems facing the faith" and recognizes that without a revitalization of faith rooted in a personal encounter with Jesus, "then all other reforms will remain ineffective" (The Register, 10/5/12). The "Year of Faith" is a time to revitalize the gift that we have been blessed with. A good starting point is with the "10 Ways Catholics Can Live the Year of Faith" which was put together by Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wis, who is chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The 10 Ways have been published in different periodicals and can be found on the bishops website, www.usccb.org. I would encourage you to read over the 10 Ways, but also put them into practice. Our faith is a blessing and a very beautiful gift and we need to live it each day and to the fullest. May God Bless Our Journey!!!

Year of Faith Dawns

The "Year of Faith" has officially begun!!! It is more than just a title, it is a way of life because we need to make the most of this time as we renew our faith and grow stronger in our relationship with Jesus Christ!!!! May this be a fruitful time for all of us! Always remember, when the Year of Faith concludes next year, that does not mean we stop living, loving, learning our faith, but hopefully it will enrich us to keep doing more. May God bless you as the Year of Faith dawns and may God bless our journey!!!

Eve of the "Year of Faith"

We have arrived at the Eve of the "Year of Faith" which begins on October 11. It is more than just a year because it will last until November 24, 2013. This Year of Faith coincides with the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, October 11, 1962, and the 20th Anniversary of the publication of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" in 1992. The Responsorial Psalm and Gospel for October 10 are appropriate on this eve of the Year of Faith. A highlight of the Year of Faith is the "New Evangelization". As our psalmist says, "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." Yes, we take the message of Jesus Christ to all the world and even in our very communities. As I told the Catholic School students and adults at Mass today, there are people in our communities or maybe in our midst who need to hear the Good News, they need to have a strong, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and they need a message of hope. It is our task to go forth and proclaim the Good News, not just with words, but with our very lives. That is where I tied in the gospel for today, Luke 11:1-4. The disciples witnessed Jesus at prayer and one of them asked, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." One meditation said that the disciples saw something in Jesus' eyes and they knew that they wanted to have what our Lord had. The same is true in living our faith and proclaiming the Good News. Perhaps the people we evangelize can see the joy of discipleship in our eyes and would like to be a part of it. This Year of Faith needs to do something for us personally. We are being asked to renew, revitalize, confirm, and profess our faith and have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Prayer is a beautiful gift and a great place to begin, as well as our participation in the Sacraments. The door on the "Year of Faith" is about to open!!! Let us make the most of this time that God and the Church is giving us and may our efforts bear much fruit so that we can truly live our faith to the fullest!!! Have a blessed day!!!

No Excuses!!!

When I preached about being a disciple and a missionary, I told the listeners that the Lord does not want excuses. He wants us to be faithful, dedicated, committed followers and disciples. I am referring to the gospel where Jesus called different people to follow him and one had to bury his father, another had to say good bye to his family. Those are important, but when Jesus calls us to be his followers, there is no looking back, we move forward. Having a strong relationship with Jesus takes a lot of work. How many times do people make excuses for why they don't pray or why they don't attend Mass? The gospel for today, Luke 10:38-42, shows Martha being caught up with the busyness of hospitality, while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to his words. Martha put it bluntly when she said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." Jesus in turn replies, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." Yes, the need for work and service is always there, but we cannot forget the work that needs to be done to keep our relationship with Jesus Christ strong. With the upcoming "Year of Faith", hopefully we take the time everyday to sit at the feet of the Lord and listen to his words, for he has the words of eternal life. God and the Church has given us this wonderful time to renew our faith and strengthen our relationships. Let us make the most of this opportunity, for there is work to be done, and no excuses are necessary!!! Have a blessed day!!!

RESPECT LIFE!!!

October is "RESPECT LIFE MONTH"!!!! When it comes to God's precious gift of human life, respecting life cannot be contained to just one month, it needs to happen everyday of our lives. We need to do our part to stand up, defend, and protect the beautiful gift of human life. Human life means all of us: the child that has been conceived to the person that has reached old age. I remember an intention that used to be prayed when I was in the seminary, "For a greater respect for all human life, especially the unborn and the elderly." We are a precious gift in God's eyes and we need to see our brothers and sisters as God sees us. Each human being deserves dignity and respect. The theme for the observance of Respect Life is: "FAITH OPENS OUR EYES TO HUMAN LIFE IN ALL ITS GRANDEUR AND BEAUTY"!!! Our faith is also a beautiful gift from God. That is why the Catholic Church will be opening the "Year of Faith" this Thursday, October 11. According to the brochure from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, an office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pope Benedict XVI said this in announcing the "Year of Faith": "The Holy Father spoke of the grave difficulties of our time, and the need for the Church to lead people out of the desert and clasp sinners to its bosom. He suggested a path of penance and renewal and called for authentic conversion and witness to charity so the Church might be the visible community of God's mercy." We need to see not just with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith. May our observance of Respect Life Month and the Year of Faith open our eyes to renewal so that we can live our faith to the fullest and truly see the beauty and grandeur that God sets before us each day!!! God Bless You on Your Journey!!!

Take Time for God

This is a call that we need to heed in our lives!!! Take Time for God many times throughout the day, everyday!!! Prayer is a beautiful gift from God for it gives us a communication line with Him. The image that I like is prayer being like an electrical outlet. Everyday we plug into the continual conversation that is going on between the Father and the Son. One of the commentaries for this morning led me to reflect on this topic. The Scripture passage is this, "The Lord is slow to anger and rich in kindness, forgiving wickedness and crime" (Nm 14:18). From that passage, the commentator makes the following statement: "So wide is God's mercy that no sin is too great or too small for forgiveness. So much narrower is our charity that we often find the small annoyances the hardest to forgive. The more often we turn in prayer to the all-forgiving God, the more we will become like him in extending the hand of pardon to others in every daily circumstance" (Magnificat, 77). This is something that we need to think about and pray about because the more we turn to God in prayer the more we will become like Him in all things. God can touch our lives and hearts in a very beautiful and special way. All we need to do is be open to God working in our lives and take the time to be with Him in prayer!!! Have a blessed day!!!

Saint Francis of Assisi

At Saint John the Baptist in Hanover, one of the parishes I serve, there is a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi! What makes him unique is that his robe is worn and tattered. Apparently it was not a good batch of paint because all the other statues have kept their paint well! As someone told me one time, it really fits Saint Francis because he was a simple, humble person and he wouldn't want anything flashy! I have always enjoyed the saying of Saint Francis, "Preach the gospel at all times and use words if necessary." How true that is because we need to practice what we preach and be an example to others! Saint Francis of Assisi is a tremendous example for us and may we follow that example as we proclaim the Good News each day! Saint Francis of Assisi, Pray for Us!!!

Committed Discipleship

The question was asked, "What does it mean to be a disciple?" The answer given was, "To be a follower of God!" Yes, to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Our Lord tells us in the gospels that if we wish to be his disciple, we must deny our very selves, take up our cross, and follow him. The gospel for today, Luke 9:57-62, presents different answers when it comes to following Christ. One person said to Jesus, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." Jesus answered, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." Another told Jesus he would follow him but needed to say farewell to his family. To that Jesus replied, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God." Those might have been considered excuses in those days and surprisingly enough, those excuses continue in our present day. Times have changed but people still come up with reasons for not following the Lord. Many excuses come with our spirituality especially in our prayer life and Mass attendance. We come up with reasons for not praying and for not going to Mass and that is not what our Lord wants. He wants us to be committed, faithful, dedicated disciples. God has given us the tools and resources that we need to live our lives and our faith but we always choose the contrary. One commentator said that we need to have the commitment that the first person in today's gospel had, "I will follow you wherever you go." Saying that and living it takes total faith, trust, commitment and that is what discipleship is all about. We need to get our priorities straight and putting God number one in our lives is where we need to start. As for the disciple in the gospel, are you, am I willing to make that commitment in following the Lord wherever he goes?

Guardian Angels

Our psalmist puts this memorial into perspective for us when he writes, "The Lord has put angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways" (Ps. 91). How blessed we are knowing that we have an angel to watch over us in all things. I am sure many times a day we are reminded of our guardian angel when something that can cause us harm does not happen. That was very evident this morning as I was driving back from my mission parish, Sacred Heart in Greenleaf, Kansas. I was about ready to pass a grove of trees when all of a sudden a deer appeared out of nowhere but thankfully it bounded back into the trees and waited until I passed by to cross the road. Thank you God and Thank you to my Guardian Angel. As in the words of Saint Basil the Great, "Each and every member of the faithful has a Guardian Angel to protect, guard, and guide them through life" (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy #216). We are a couple days removed from celebrating the Feast of the Archangels- Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, so today we celebrate the angels who watch over us and are with us each step of the way. As the Collect says, "O God, who in your unfathomable providence are pleased to send your holy Angels to guard us, hear our supplication as we cry to you, that we may always be defended by their protection and rejoice eternally in their company" (Magnificat, 45). A great prayer for us today and everyday as we walk our journey of life and faith knowing that God and our Guardian Angels are by our side each step of the way. Have a blessed day!!!

Month of the Rosary

As we begin a new week, we also begin a new month, October! Hard to believe how time is going by quickly. However there are those beautiful traditions that do not change and they are a constant in our lives and our faith! October is traditionally the Month of the Rosary! It is a special month where we can honor Our Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary! The Rosary is a beautiful prayer that can enrich our lives and faith and hopefully we take the time each day to offer this prayer! We have four beautiful mysteries to meditate on: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous! These mysteries reflect on the life of Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother! May the beginning of this Month of the Rosary inspire us to work on our prayer lives and grow in our love and devotion for Our Blessed Mother Mary!!! October is also Respect Life Month. We pray that God and Our Blessed Mother will help us in our efforts to be a pro-life people! Let us show our love, respect, and dignity for the precious gift of human life because it is truly a gift from God!!!! Have a blessed day!!!