Ignatian Spirituality

The Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. We pray for those who follow the charism of Saint Ignatius, especially those in the Jesuit Order. One of the commentaries for today speaks very well of this memorial and the call to grow in our own spirituality. "Following Christ in obedience to God's will discerned in prayer was central to Saint Ignatius' spirituality. The law of the new covenant is an expression of God's love for us. It prescribes peace, justice, and love in place of the violence, oppression, and alienation we tend to create when we fail to listen to God's voice speaking in the depths of our heart" (Magnificat, 398). The first line of that commentary is key, "Following Christ in obedience to God's will discerned in prayer..." In fact, that is a very powerful statement. We are called to follow Christ and to be obedient to the will of God in our lives. The way that we can fulfill that call is through prayer. Great gifts that God gives to us so that we can live our faith, our spirituality to the fullest. May we take this statement to heart and make it a way of life. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Pray for Us!!!

Diocesan Celebration

This afternoon, clergy, religious, pastoral leaders, and the faithful will gather at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Salina, Kansas to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Diocese of Salina. The year started with the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help traveling across the diocese. The diocese in its early beginnings was the Diocese of Concordia and the cathedral was named Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Thus Our Lady is the principal patroness of the diocese. The icon will be processed into the cathedral to begin the celebration this afternoon. A history book was also completed to coincide with the anniversary and it was done very well. This is a day to reflect on our past, live in the present, and keep our focus on the future. In one of the petitions that is being said at our Masses here, "For the Diocese of Salina, as we celebrate our 125th Anniversary, may God bless our pastoral leaders and all the faithful". May that prayer be ours as we thank God for the gift of our local diocesan church. Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Pray for Us!!!

The Mercy of God

On Friday, there is a special emphasis on the cross and the forgiveness that we receive through Christ's death. Our Lord's Resurrection gives us the hope of eternal life. The Mass prayers for today were taken from "The Votive Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ." A reminder of the precious blood that our Lord shed for us. I think the one commentary for today is so appropriate: "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, 352). As God has shown us great mercy, so we need to show that mercy to others. May God grant us the grace to do just that in all things. Have a blessed day!!!

Saints Joachim and Anne

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. Saint John the Baptist Church in Hanover, KS, which is one of the parishes under my care, has a main high altar with statues and they are blessed to have a statue of Saint Anne. The Church holds up these holy men and women as an example of how to live our lives of faith, holiness, and prayer. We are reminded that we can do nothing without God so we just to place our trust in Him at all times. One of the commentaries puts our feast into a wonderful perspective: "The memorial of the couple identified by tradition as the parents of the Virgin Mary gives reason to rejoice in the gift of family life and to reflect on the mutual responsibility parents and children have to love one another and lead one another to holiness" (Magnificat, 341). A beautiful thought for us and our families today and every day. Saints Joachim and Anne, Pray for Us!!!!!

Saint James

We go back to the early days of the Church in celebrating the Feast of Saint James. This James is the son of Zebedee and the brother of Saint John. They were fishermen by trade until that day at the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them. That passage is the basis for the Entrance Antiphon: "As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending their nets and he called them" (Mt 4:18, 21). We know that James and John left everything and followed the Lord. That takes great faith and trust. As present day disciples of the Lord we look to those who have gone before and how they followed Jesus and we strive to follow their example. May we have the courage, faith, and trust to follow the Lord at all times. As Jesus said elsewhere, if we wish to be his disciples we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow him. May we have the divine assistance to do just that. Saint James, Pray for Us!!!

Saint Sharbel Makhluf

Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhluf. One of the blessings of the new Roman Missal is that we get to celebrate some of the saints that we knew about but did not have set prayers for. In fact, we can say that Saint Sharbel is a saint for our times, even though he lived two centuries ago. He was raised to the altars of sainthood in the last century. As the Ordo for our Liturgical Year states: "Saint Sharbel Makhluf was born in 1828 in a small mountain village. He became a monk of the Maronite Rite and was ordained a priest in 1859. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty-three years of his life as a hermit. Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, Sharbel taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer by the life he lived. He possessed the gift of performing miracles even during his lifetime. His tomb at the monastery of St. Maron in Annaya, Lebanon, is a place of pilgrimage. He was beatified during the Second Vatican Council in December of 1965 (footnote added). Saint Sharbel was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977 and he is known as the 'Hermit of Lebanon'"(163). Just think what it would be like to live as a hermit today. It would take great grace and discipline from God. However, it can be done because there are hermits that exist even today. To spend a life of poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer. We can do that in our lives no matter how busy we are. We need to detach from those material items that may hinder us in our relationship with God and others. We make sacrifices everyday in our respective vocations. We need to make the most of our prayer time. That is why Saint Sharbel Makhluf is a saint for our times because he has given us an example to follow, now we need to trust in his prayers and intercession for us and our journey of faith. Saint Sharbel Makhluf, Pray for Us!!!

Being A Shepherd

The key word from this past weekend was "Shepherd"! The Twenty- third Psalm was the response, which gives all of us hope, "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want". In the gospel, Jesus invited the disciples to come away and get some rest after the work they had accomplished. However, when they got to the place, a crowd of people were waiting for them. When Jesus saw the crowd he was moved with pity for they were like sheep without a shepherd. We are called to follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, everyday. He invites us, as his disciples, to pick up our cross and follow him. There are those who have been called to be "Shepherds among us"! It is a very important calling. I thank God everyday for calling me to be a priest, but I realize I do not do it alone. I need God's grace to help me in all aspects of life and ministry. I also need the prayers and support of the people of God. As I told the people over the weekend, "Please pray for me"! I also asked them for their forgiveness because I know I am a sinner. That I have shortcomings, failures, and limitations! To have a heart of unconditional love and forgiveness is truly appreciated. I also asked for patience and understanding. Being a shepherd has challenges, but many blessings! Let us pray that God bless the shepherds among us and may we always be open to the voice of the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep and calls them by name! God Bless Our Journey!!!