Saint Andrew

As we begin this Advent Season, we pause to celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew, an apostle of the Lord and brother to Saint Peter. I love the gospel for our feast today, Matthew 4:18-22. The gospel talks about Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee and he sees Andrew and Simon Peter casting their nets. Our Lord calls to them and they drop everything and follow him. The same occurred a little bit later when Jesus spots James and his brother John. They were cleaning their nets with their father Zebedee. Jesus called them a they left everything behind to follow him. It seems like there was no hesitancy in any of these early apostles. They heard the call of our Lord and immediately left what they knew and followed after him. One of the commentators asks this question, "What made Andrew leave his nets immediately and follow Jesus?" The answer is: "Faith comes from what is heard." Christ beckons, "Come after me..." His promise transformed the possibilities of Andrew's life (Magnificat, 401). Just think what the Lord can do for our lives when we commit ourselves to following him. It takes faith, grace, and trust, and the Lord provides us with all those gifts and so much more. Let us ask Saint Andrew to intercede for us and help us to heed the Lord's call and follow after him. God Bless You!!!

I HOPE so!

There is a phrase that we use a lot in our everyday language. Whenever we plan something or want something to happen, we usually say, "I hope so." As one person reminds me every time we talk, "We live in hope." We have received the gift of hope and it is a gift that we can pray for everyday. Like one commentator writes, "At the beginning of Advent, the Lord reminds us that the horizons of God's promised kingdom are vast indeed. He created all peoples for his glory, and he will draw them all to himself. Let us not set narrow borders to our hope for his promised peace, the healing of all the wounds of sin that divide us" (Magnificat, 396). Hope has no boundaries, so we should not set narrow borders to our hope. The gift of hope is what we pray for during this Advent Season because we know our Savior is coming soon. Have a blessed day and no matter what we encounter in life, let us always live in hope! God Bless!!!

HOPE!!!

Happy New Year as we begin the Advent Season. This is the time for us to live and wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. As someone told me after one of our weekend Masses, "Hope is a small word but it has a lot of power." Hope is my focus during the Advent Season. This January, the Diocese of Salina, Kansas, will begin the Pastoral Plan named, "Stewards of Hope." We are all stewards and we need to be a people of hope. As another person always reminds me, "We live in hope." There are so many examples of hope that we can find and some happen to be right in front of us. Our different experiences in life can be a testament of hope. Like faith, we can share the hope that we have with our brothers and sisters. My prayer for you today and this Advent is that the gift of hope will be yours and may it be a gift that we live and share each day. Have a blessed Sunday!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know you might be saying that I missed the Thanksgiving greeting by one day. I apologize because after the morning Mass for Thanksgiving Day I headed home and relaxed the rest of the day after a wonderful meal, thanks Mom! As I told the people who attended our Thanksgiving Masses on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, everyday is Thanksgiving Day. Yes, we gather one day a year or one weekend a year as family and friends to give thanks for God's blessings in our lives, but each and every day is a day of Thanksgiving. In our time of prayer and interactions with others, we need to be thankful because all that we have comes from God. Wishing you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving! Let us always be thankful for what God has done for us in our lives. Blessings to you all!!!

The Vietnamese Martyrs

Today is the Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung Lac and his companions. It was during the 16th Century that the Gospel of Christ was first sown among the Vietnamese people and this seed grew through the blood of the martyrs. In the 17th, 18th, 19th Centuries, many Christians received the martyrs crown especially bishops, priests, religious men and women, and members of the laity. All of these suffered torments of various kinds for their Christian faith and fidelity to the cross of Christ, and bore witness to Christ's Church and true religion. Our beloved Holy Father, Venerable John Paul II on June 19, 1988, declared 117 martyrs to be among the ranks of the saints (Magnificat, 328). We look to these holy men and women and we ask their intercession as we continue our journey of faith. May we do what we can to live our faith to the fullest, stay close to the cross of Christ, and continue the mission of the Church entrusted to us. God Bless You!!!

Taking Care of Parents!

Thank God for the gift of parents. They are the ones who bring you into the world- care for you, love you, nurture you, and so many other gifts and qualities. It is tough to see your parents as they age and get hit with different infirmities. In my bio, I tell people that I am an only child, which was not easy growing up, but as you get older, you get used to it, and of course God does His part by bringing other people into our lives to love, care, guide, and support us. Still, you have to do your part to help your parents. As one person told me recently, we end up "parenting our parents." My dad has dealt with alzheimer's for the last few years and thankfully can still function and live at home. My mom has dealt with ulcerative colitis for over 20 years and there have been no major flare ups until now. She will be facing surgery in the next couple of weeks to remove a bad section from the colon. I ask you to keep my folks in your prayers! It is also a good reminder for us to take care of ourselves. We have people in the medical profession to help us and provide what is necessary to stay healthy and well. Each day is thanksgiving as we thank God for the gifts that He has given to us. Let us always take care of the gifts we have received and use them for the glory of God! Have a blessed day!!!

Re-Dedication!!!

Today at the Mass for our Catholic School students, I talked about the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, even though it was the day before. We have had new servers at our Masses this week and they have been pretty nervous. I told them about my nervous experience as a server. It happened to be at the dedication Mass for our new parish church when I was growing up. That was a very important Mass and we had to make sure we were ready to do what was asked of us. I told the students that a dedication Mass is a very beautiful ceremony because we are dedicating a new building to the praise and worship of God. It is also a good time to re-dedicate ourselves to the mission entrusted to us because we are the church, the living stones. We are sent forth to proclaim the Good News each time we celebrate Mass. We celebrate these beautiful dedication Masses but let us always be mindful to dedicate and re-dedicate all that we do in our lives for the glory of God. Have a blessed day!!!