First Holy Martyrs!

As we come to this last day of the month of June the Church remembers the First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church. This memorial recalls the first persecution against the Church by the Emperor Nero after the burning of Rome in 64 AD. Many of the faithful were tortured and slain (Magnificat, 416). The entrance antiphon for today speaks well of this holy martyrs: "The saints are happy in heaven because they followed Christ. They rejoice with him for ever because they shed their blood for love of him." Even the opening prayer for Mass speaks of us finding strength from their courage. These holy martyrs lived the call of Christ to "Not be afraid." We pray that their courage, their strength will help us in our journey of life and faith, especially when trials and tribulations arrive. We need to be patient, have faith and trust as we continue our journey towards the kingdom.

Yesterday, I focused on the pallium and the new archbishops who received that from our Holy Father. It was also a special day in the life of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, because it was his 60th Anniversary of being ordained a priest. We congratulate our Holy Father and keep him in our prayers as he continues to lead and guide the Roman Catholic Church. Blessings to all!

Saints Peter & Paul

June 29 is the Feast day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It is a special day in Rome and at Vatican City. On this day new Archbishops who have been appointed throughout the world receive the "Pallium" which is the wool piece that goes around their neck when they wear their liturgical vestments. I bring this up because our former bishop in the Diocese of Salina, Paul S. Coakley, who became Archbishop of Oklahoma City in February will receive his pallium. The pallium also shows collegiality and unity between our Holy Father and the Bishops. A word of congratulations to Archbishop Coakley and all who recieve the pallium from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. As we continue the mission of the Church, let us pray for the intercession of these two great saints, Peter and Paul.

On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and best wishes. I am starting to feel better and some of the concussion symptoms are slowly going away. It will take time and I appreciate your thoughtfulness and patience! God Bless You!!!

Renewed Effort!

The daily with Fr. David has not been very daily in recent days or at least a week. One of my favorite hobbies is bike riding. It is a good way to relieve some stress and get out and see the different sites. However a week ago Thursday, everything changed in a dramatic way. A few days before that, on my day off, I rode about 30 miles. Did some other activities on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday evening was a different story. I may have made it 2 miles before a medical problem hit that caused me to lose consciousness and go down on the bike. I was out maybe 10 or 15 minutes at the most. I did come to, spent the night in our local hospital, and when it was discovered that I had a bleeder on the brain, in a common area for aneurysms, I was transferred to a hospital in Kansas City. I spent 5 days there going through neurological and cardiac tests. Everything came out clean and the cardiologists believe it may have been a blood pressure event. I have had high blood pressure since I was 15 and have been on medicine for years. I made it back home with a few scraps, a lot of bruises, post concussion syndrome, and a 30 day heart monitor. There is a message in all of this and I believe that God and I will know what it is. I had been praying for a renewed effort and I believe that is what I got, just not the way I expected, but prayers are never answered that way. I appreciate the care that I received from the doctors and nurses. I am truly blessed and appreciative of the prayers and best wishes I received from family, friends, and parishioners. This weekend is the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ! Let us be renewed in our love for the Eucharist and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord with reverence and devotion. Thank you to my readers for your patience! Have a blessed weekend!!!

"Our Father"

Just by saying "Our Father" everyone can chime in because this is a prayer that almost everyone knows. Even when it comes up in the gospel, Matthew 6:7-15, like it did today, people will pray right along as I read it. This prayer is what Jesus taught us because he said we did not need to ramble on in our prayers. All we have to do is say this. As one person pointed out, there are 55-words in the Our Father and each word says it all. We call upon the name of God. We pray that His will is done. We ask for our daily bread. We pray for forgiveness and that we avoid all evil and temptation. Jesus also says, "Your Father knows what you need before you ask him." However, that does not get us off the hook when it comes to pray. Many people will say that though, "Why do I need to pray when God already knows what I am going to say?" Our Heavenly Father wants to hear it from us. He wants us to pray, to keep those communication lines open. We need pray and Jesus gave us a prayer that says it all, in the midst of the other prayers that we offer. Keep praying! It is a great gift from God and He does give us the grace and strength that we need. With God and prayer, all things are possible. Blessings to you!!!

A Generous Reminder

We are truly blessed by God's goodness and love. He gives us the grace and strength that we need to live our lives and our faith to the fullest. It doesn't hurt to be reminded of all that God does for us. Plus, it doesn't hurt to be reminded of what we need to do. This past Sunday, we concluded the Easter Season with the great feast of Pentecost. When you read the gospel for today, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18, you might get the impression that we are going backwards. This passage from Matthew is what we hear on Ash Wednesday as we begin our Lenten journey. We are to give alms, pray, and fast. These are gifts that are not confined just to the Lenten Season, but everyday of our lives. We are called to give alms, to share our resources with our brothers and sisters. Like the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians says, "God loves a cheerful giver" (9:6-11). When we give alms we are not to draw attention to ourselves and that is a great feeling when we can help someone and let it go unnoticed. We are called to pray daily. Keep those communication lines with God open at all times. We are called to fast and when we do so then we are open to what God has provided for us. Spend that quality time because God is very generous with us and ultimately we will give back to God what He has given to us. Let us be open to the gifts of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting and may those gifts be a tremendous resource to guide us in our spiritual lives. God Bless You!!!

Command to Love!

The gospel acclamation for today is clear and to the point, "I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you." The call to love is a great gift and our Lord wants us to live it each and everyday. So much so, that he gave us a challenge in the gospel for today as well. In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." That is definitely a challenge because sad to say we do have enemies and people that do not like us. If we cannot change their mind and heart, then God can and we need to let Him do His work. That is why we need to pray for those people. Each day we can pray for the gift of love. We know how much God loves us because He sent His only Son to be our Savior. As Jesus concludes in Matthew's Gospel, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." We strive for perfection, faithfulness, and holiness. These are wonderful gifts and we pray that God will grant us the grace and strength that we need to live that perfection and always be a people of love. God Bless You!!!

Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint Anthony is a dynamic saint because he is able to help people find lost items, but he is known for a lot more than that. Here is what one commentary says, "Although associated in devotional prayer with the finding of lost objects, Saint Anthony was in fact an extremely gifted preacher and teacher of God's word. He did seek out those lost in unbelief and denial and brought them back to the fold of faith by the power of the word he preached" (Magnificat, 178). Saint Anthony truly helps with finding the lost, not just items, but people. His example can be linked with that of the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep and goes in search of the one. It is a beautiful image and we are called to reach out to our brothers and sisters and bring them back into the fold. In light of that, I will share later the homily that I gave for Pentecost Sunday because it talked about finding those who are not in the pews. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we pray that we will renew our efforts to evangelize and bring the Good News to our brothers and sisters. Today and everyday, we can look to Saint Anthony for his intercession because his example is one for us to follow. God Bless You!!!