Come to the Feast!

In about a month and a half, the Roman Catholic Church will implement the revised translation of the Third Roman Missal. This is an exciting time for us as church because it will hopefully bring about a renewed love and devotion for the Eucharistic litury. The translations go back to the Latin language, but the Mass will not be in Latin, it will still be english, but with a more definitive translation. I have been working with our Catholic School students on the changes that are coming and in a couple of weeks I will work with the parish communities. The invitation to the parish communities is, "Come to the Feast!" The feast is the Eucharist and it is our preparation for the great feast that is to come in God's Heavenly Kingdom. Listen to the readings for this weekend because they focus on the feast that is to come. The caption for Isaiah 25:6-10a says, "The Lord will prepare a feast and wipe away the tears from every face." That is the hope of the Resurrection, the promise of eternal life, that death will be destroyed and there will be no more tears. This is the day that we all look forward to. Of course we need to prepare ourselves right now and that is the message of Matthew 22:1-14,
"Invite to the wedding feast whomever you find." However, as Jesus says at the conclusion, "Many are invited, but few are chosen." We all have choices and options in life and hopefully we make the right choice and decisions as we live our lives and our faith. We have a rich history and beautiful traditions in the Catholic Church, all to help us in our journey and sustain us as we walk on the road to the kingdom. Let us come to the feast, be renewed in body and spirit and be thankful for the many gifts that God continues to give to us! Have a blessed weekend!!!

Our Lady of the Rosary

An appropriate feast to celebrate during this month dedicated to the Holy Rosary. Our Blessed Mother has given us a beautiful and powerful prayer to say everyday. As one commentator writes, "Mary, Mother of the Church, prays with us and for us. Through her example and intercession, we learn the lesson of faithful prayer, just as through our meditation on the mysteries of the rosary, we learn the lesson of faithful life taught by Mary and by her Son Jesus" (Magnificat, 106). Just think how the mysteries of the Rosary give us a glimpse into the life of Jesus and Mary: Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, and Luminous. Each mystery is thought provoking and a great meditation for our time of prayer. We thank God and our Blessed Mother for this beautiful gift of prayer, the Rosary. May we continue to pray the Rosary with great reverence, love, and devotion. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!!!

Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher

We celebrate the memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, a North American blessed. Her next step would be canonization so we pray that one day Blessed Marie-Rose will be raised to the altar of sainthood. Blessed Marie-Rose was born in Canada in
1811. She served as a housekeeper to her brother who was a parish priest. She nursed ill priests and seminarians, and promoted devotion to Our Lady. When she was 33, Eulalie Durocher took religious vows and was given the name Marie-Rose. She founded the teaching Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and died in 1849 (Magnificat, 96). Blessed Marie-Rose was beatified during the pontificate of our late Holy Father, Blessed John Paul II. This is an appropriate memorial to celebrate during the month of October because it is dedicated to the Holy Rosary and the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Mary. The gospel for today is very appropriate, Luke 11:5-13, because it speaks about our persistence in prayer and I am sure that is a gift that Blessed Marie-Rose used very well. She took our Lord's words to heart when he said, "And I tell you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." As one meditation says, "The purpose of prayer is not to change the order established by God, but to obtain what God has decided to accomplish by means of our prayer" (Magnificat, 99). God wants to hear the prayers from us and we need to be persistent in that great gift. May we follow the example of Blessed Marie-Rose as she strived to teach the faith to others and be renewed in her mission by the gift of prayer. Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, pray for us!!!

A Bold Prayer...

The gospel reading for our Mass is from Luke 11:1-4. The setting is Jesus taking the time to pray and the disciples observing his example. Those disciples wanted to learn how to pray and so Jesus taught them. He gave them the "Lord's Prayer," but this version is different from what we know. Here is what one of the commentaries state, "Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer is considered by scholars to be closer to what Jesus actually said than the one found in Matthew's gospel. For centuries this prayer has been praised and glorified as the perfect prayer" (Liturgical Press, 1357). That last statement is true because the "Lord's Prayer" says it all. Everything that needs to be said is said, but there are other beautiful prayers that we can offer as well. Another statement that I find unique is this one, "The Lord's Prayer is unique because of its radical boldness. It encourages the one praying to be bold and make demands on God and insist that these demands be fulfilled right now. It takes a special relationship with God to feel free to make such bold demands" (1357). We need to be bold when we pray! Jesus gave us an example of prayer and we need to use that gift each day. Let us take these words to heart and trust in the presence of God and always know that our prayers are answered because God truly knows what is best! Blessings to you!!!

Saint Francis of Assisi

As we celebrate the memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, I remember fondly 15 years ago my journey to Assisi with the group from the seminary that I was traveling with. It was a very meaningful and blessed pilgrimage for us. We had the opportunity to visit the sites that were meaningful to Saint Francis and to walk where he walked. This is a great memorial for us because Saint Francis left us a tremendous example and we know that as we journey through life we have his intercession. We know that Saint Francis lived the gospels each day and he did so not just with words but with his very actions. He renounced all material wealth and committed himself to following the will of God. Saint Francis lived a life of poverty and humility. So many people get caught up in the trappings of this world and just think if we all had the attitude of Saint Francis what we could do. I think our house would be in order because we would have the right and proper perspective. Everything that we have received is a gift from God! We cannot take it with us when we die. We are to use all our resources and gifts for the glory of God and the good of our brothers and sisters. As the entrance antiphon stated, "Francis, a man of God, left his home and gave away his wealth to become poor and in need. But the Lord cared for him" (Magnificat, 73). I truly believe that God always provides so we need to have that spirit of humility, poverty, faith and trust because God knows what is best and He will give us what we need at the proper place and time. Let us follow the example of Saint Francis of Assisi and truly put our trust in the living God! Have a blessed day!!!

Gift of Life!

As we begin this month of October, we also begin our observance of "Respect Life" month. The theme for this year's observance are the words of Jesus, "I came so that all might have life and have it to the full." Sunday was "Respect Life Sunday" and it sets the tone for this entire month. However, we know that the precious gift of human life is not confined to one month but is a gift that we need to promote every day of our lives. The booklet for Respect Life, which comes from the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has a wonderful drawing of Blessed John Paul II and it calls him, "An Apostle of Life." Our late Holy Father was truly an apostle for life and he did not miss an opportunity to talk about life and tell the world that we need to do all that we can to protect, promote, and defend God's precious gift. Blessed John Paul II would say that we live in a culture of death and we need to turn it into a "culture of life." That call is still very loud and clear because of all that we see going on around us: abortion, euthanasia, etc. People take innocent human life without giving them a chance and we know how long life is to be, from natural birth to natural death. God is the Creator of all human life and our lives are mapped out so we need to follow the Will that He has for each of us. The Pro-Life booklet states for the homily from Respect Life Sunday, "But eternal life awaits those who embrace the Gospel of Life and seek to bring truth and life and beauty to the vineyard God has planted for us. That is why we celebrate this Respect Life Sunday each year. It's to save our lives and the lives of the most vulnerable among us. Let us proclaim that life, preserve it, and devote ourselves to its protection" (Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, USCCB, 4). We pray that we will not lose hope or give up in our efforts to create a culture for life. This is a very important time for all of us and we pray that God will give us the grace and strength that we need to make the gift of life known to all peoples! God Bless You!!!

The Vineyard of the Lord!

The gospel acclamation states, "I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain." Amazing how the images of farming, tending to the resources of the earth can apply to our lives, but they do. As a farmer tils the soil, plants the seeds, does what can be done to nurture those seeds, and then collect the harvest when it is ready, so God does with us. God tils the soil of our lives and hearts. He plants the seed of His word into our lives and hearts and He gives us the grace and strength that we need to allow those seeds to grow. Then when the seeds have grown to their full stature they produce much fruit and the harvest is ready. When it comes to the seed of God's word we have to do our part as well. We have to nuture those seeds along through prayer, the Sacraments, Sacred Scripture, spiritual reading, spiritual direction, and faithful service. We need to put our faith into action, be of service to our brothers and sisters, and proclaim the Good News, not just with words, but with our very lives. The vineyard is the image in our readings for this weekend, Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80, and
Matthew 21:33-43. We truly live in the vineyard of the Lord and this is our time to build up the Kingdom of God in our midst and to bear much fruit. As Saint Paul tells the Philippians (4:6-9), "Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you." Have a blessed weekend!!!