Trinity Sunday

The calendar uses the title, "The Most Holy Trinity"!!!  The Trinity is a beautiful gift of love.  God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to be our Savior.  Before he returned to the Father, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come.  The Spirit shows the love that the Father and the Son has for us.  The Trinity is a great mystery of our faith.  In fact, I had a semester long course on the Trinity in the seminary.  At the end of the semester the only thing that came  to our mind is that the Trinity is a mystery.  It is a beautiful mystery of love.  As we celebrate the Holy Trinity, let us thank God for the gift of love and always share that love with others!!!!!!!  Have a blessed weekend!!!

Saint Rita of Cascia

"The Lord has taken her as his bride for ever in faithfulness and mercy" (Hos 2:21-22). This is the Entrance Antiphon for the memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia. She can be a saint for our time, being canonized in 1900. Saint Rita is an example of determination, strength, and perseverance. As one commentary stated, her marriage was decided by her parents. Her husband turned out to be violent and unfaithful. Following his death and the death of her sons, Rita followed her original plan and became a nun. Another commentary says, "Suffering bitter trials throughout her life, she was sustained by a deep devotion to the Passion of Christ" (Magnificat, 315). Now, Saint Rita is a patron saint for those going through difficult cases, especially those of marriage. In our society today, we see the attack on our religious freedom and on marriage and family. We need the prayers and intercession of Saint Rita so much! As we celebrate this memorial, may we trust in her intercession before the throne of God and be assured that the saints are with us in our journey on earth. Like Saint Rita, when we encounter trials, may we focus on the Passion of Christ, because our Lord has gone before us and he invites us to follow in his footsteps with the promise of eternal life ever before us. Saint Rita of Cascia, Pray for Us!!!

Prayers for Oklahoma!

Our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the community of Moore, Oklahoma as they begin the healing and clean up process in the wake of the devastating tornado on May 20. Many areas have been dealing with severe weather, including our own this past weekend, but to see the devastation and loss of life is heartbreaking. As one reporter said, there is only so much that you can see through a television tube, but to be on the ground here really shows the magnitude and impact of this event. Another person with a home video simply said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away"! Some of the people that television reporters talked to spoke of prayer and faith. Those are the gifts that sustain us in our journey, especially when we encounter trials and tribulations. I would also refer you to scripture, especially Sirach 2:1-11, which is the first reading for today's Mass. The caption before the passage says very simply, "Prepare yourself for trials." The conclusion to the first paragraph gives us another gift that we need, "Trust God and God will help you; trust in him, and he will direct your way; keep his fear and grow old therein." No matter what we encounter in life: personal, spiritual, emotional, natural disaster, etc., we need our faith, our prayer life, and trust. Sometimes things are easier said than done, but we cannot give up or lose hope. We keep trying and with God's grace we will succeed. We turn our prayers and support to the community of Moore! May God bless them and grant them the faith, strength, hope, and trust to endure and re-build!

May Birthdays

May has always been the month of Mary.  Many places celebrate May crownings at the beginning of the month.  The Rosary is a common prayer to pray during May and hopefully everyday as Our Lady has requested.  May, like any other month, is a time to celebrate birthdays.  I have several friends who celebrate birthdays in May.  Of course, my birthday is also in May, so why not talk about these celebrations of our birth.  Over the weekend, two birthdays were remembered.  On Saturday, May 18, it would have been Blessed John Paul II 93rd birthday.  What a beautiful gift our Holy Father was of the Church.  Now, we await his canonization to the altars of sainthood.  Then, on May 19, the Church celebrated her birthday with the Solemnity of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.  The Holy Spirit guides the Church in her day to day mission of proclaiming the Good News and sharing the love of God with others!  This is a wonderful time to celebrate and thank God for the many blessings He bestows upon us.  Let us not forget, in the midst of our celebrations to recommit ourselves to live our lives, our faith to the fullest.  May God bless us in all we do for His glory and the good of others!  

Nothing to be sad about!

"For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three" (Acts 22:30; 23:6-11).  When I was in the seminary, a monk was on the staff who had a great sense of humor.  He would say on occasions, "The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, that is why they are sadd-u-cee"!  Even though time has past, that is still a quote that I remember.  Of course, there is no reason to be sad because we believe in the resurrection and we know that Jesus is victorious over sin and death.  In the same passage from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is told to have courage.  As he was a witness in Jerusalem, so he will be a witness in Rome.  We are called to be witnesses of the Lord's resurrection.  Belief in the resurrection is a major component of the faith and we are filled with hope and joy.  Yes, we experience sorrow and sadness in our lives but hopefully it does not take hold and let go because we have hope and joy.  Let us be those faithful witnesses in the world because we are truly a resurrection people.  God Bless You!!!

Saint Isidore!

My mom was born and raised on a farm in Northeast Oklahoma. Every year, my parents and I spent our vacation time with my grandmother, uncle and aunt on the farm. It was definitely a nice change of pace and being able to experience farm life on a daily basis was a wonderful experience. Serving in a rural diocese and in farming communities gives me a wonderful appreciation for what farmers and their families go through as they live their vocation. Farming takes a lot of faith and trust. The farmer can do their part by tilling the soil, planting the seed, and doing the jobs that need to be done, but when it comes to the weather and making sure everything falls right, that is up to God. Today, the Church in the United States celebrates the patron saint of farmers, Saint Isidore. As the biography states: "Isidore was a pious layman who would pray for long periods while guiding his plow. He often spent holidays on pilgrimage to local shrines. There are legends about angels assisting him in his farm labors. He was caring toward animals and generous to the poor. Isidore's wife, Maria de la Cabeza, is also a saint. He is patron of Madrid, of farmers, and of rural communities" (Magnificat, 198). Another source said that Isidore is the patron of the National Rural Life Council for the United States. We can say that Isidore is a tremendous example of stewardship because he took care of the gifts and resources that God gave to him. We are called to be good stewards of God's creation and bear fruit in everything that we do. May God bless our farmers, their families, all who work the land, and their crops. May God provide the weather and conditions needed to produce an abundant harvest. Saint Isidore, Pray for Us!!!

Saint Matthias

"Because he had been a witness to the Lord's resurrection, Saint Matthias was chosen by the other apostles to take the place of Judas. The Acts of the Apostles (1:15-26) tells of how he was numbered among the Twelve" (Magnificat, 184). There were two individuals to consider, Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. When the lots were cast they pointed in the direction of Matthias and so he became the next apostle. One of the other commentaries talked about how those early apostles cast lots for their new member and the College of Cardinals still have the Conclave to elect a new Pope. That commentator went on to write that we may never be appointed a bishop or elected to be pope, but we can be a witness like Saint Matthias. We don't aspire to great things, but its the small things that make the difference. In the gospel for today, John 15:9-17, Jesus gives us the commandment of love. If we love one another, then they will know that we are Christians and disciples. Let us go forth to be those witnesses of the Lord in the world and share the love of God with one another! Saint Matthias, Pray for Us!!!

Our Lady of Fatima

The Blessed Virgin Mary has many beautiful titles and today we celebrate one of them, Our Lady of Fatima.  This is truly a title for our time because Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children during a period of months in 1917!  Two of the children, Jacinta and Francisco, died early, but Lucia, who became a nun lived until 2005.  She passed away several months before Blessed John Paul II.  Who can forget May 13, 1981, when Pope John Paul II was shot as he went around St. Peter's Square.  I was in grade school at the time and I remember the teacher bringing a television into the class room so we could see the coverage.  Thankfully, the Holy Father recovered, and he always thanked Our Lady of Fatima.  As he said, "It was a motherly hand that guided the bullet through his body."  Our Lady always takes care of us!  Mary is the Mother of God and the Mother of us all.  We have a great intercessor and today we can say, Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for Us!!!

Ascension Sunday!!!

Several provinces in the United States retained the holy day of Ascension on Thursday, while the other provinces transferred the feast to Sunday.  That rings true for us in the Diocese of Salina as we gather this weekend in our parishes to celebrate the Ascension of The Lord.  This is a solemnity that calls to mind our mission as disciples of Jesus.  The disciples went out to meet The Lord and has he blessed them he ascended into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of the Father.  The disciples still remained until the angel told them to go back into the city because Jesus will return.  We are witnesses of the resurrected and ascended Lord and we have work to do as we proclaim the Good News, not just with words, but with our lives!!!  Have a blessed Ascension and weekend!!!  Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!!!  God bless you all!!!!

A Faithful Resource!

As a gift to my parishioners, I purchased a subscription to the bulletin insert, "Growing in FAITH". The insert comes out monthly and I always try to put it in our bulletins the first of the month. The title reads very simply, "Discovering hope and joy in the Catholic faith." I used that title in my homily this morning as I spoke about Saint Damien of Molokai, whose memorial is celebrated today. Saint Damien is a saint for our time and a saint for the Year of Faith. He was beatified by Blessed John Paul II in 1995 and canonized a saint by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2009. Saint Damien came from Belgium to the United States, namely Hawaii, and ministered to people who had leprosy. As it states in "Growing in FAITH", "Horrified by the conditions, Fr. Damien built schools, churches, hospitals, and sanitation facilities. He bestowed dignity and hope and served until his death from the disease in 1889." Saint Damien is a faithful example for all of us. He truly brought the hope and joy of the risen Christ to those whom he ministered to! As a resurrection people and witnesses, we are called to bring hope and joy to all whom we meet. May Saint Damien intercede for us, that no matter what we encounter in life, we may have the grace and strength to proclaim the Good News to all peoples and in all situations! God Bless our journey!!!

Knights of Columbus

I have been a member of the Knights of Columbus for 20 years. I joined the Knights in June of 1993 while I was a seminarian and working at a parish in Manhattan, Kansas. Soon after ordination as a priest, I received the second and third degree of the Order. Then in 1999, I became a Fourth Degree Knight. It has been a wonderful journey and to be associated with some wonderful councils in the parishes I have served. In 2008, I was appointed State Chaplain for the Kansas State Council and served until 2010. From there I became the State Father Prior for the Columbian Squires and served until 2012! I have a great love and respect for the Knights of Columbus and still enjoy getting together for the State Convention. I was not able to attend the full convention this year but went to Overland Park for the golf tournament which was cold, windy, wet. We made it through six holes before calling it quits. I was able to see the state officers that evening and renew those friendships in person. For those men who read this blog and are not a member of the Knights of Columbus I would encourage you to join. Become part of the right arm of the Church and do what you can for the local church and community. If you are a Knight, consider attending the meetings and let us work to make our local councils active and involved as much as we can. Let us continue to seek the intercession of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, the Venerable Servant of God, Father Michael J. McGivney. May God soon raise him to the altars of sainthood. Vivat Jesus!!!!