Update

No, I'm not dead...but you wouldn't know that by reading my blog. I have been really busy. Between running a parish, doing work in the office of vocations, and keeping up with the homeschool families I don't have to worry about being bored. Below you will find a number of homilies and bulletin letters which have been piling up for quite some time now.

Please keep me in your prayers and have a great Thanksgiving.

Homily: 33rd Sunday of the Year

Malachi 3:19-20
Psalms 98:5-6, 7-8, 9
Second Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever. Amen.

1. Well Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. What is it about Thanksgiving that appeals to us so much? Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that really gets our juices flowing. Maybe it’s the food…I like that part. Maybe it’s the family gatherings. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because deep within us there is a desire to give thanks to God. It seems to me, that in most people, there is an inherent knowledge that we should give thanks to God. We all know, deep within ourselves how very blessed we are, and so naturally we feel a need to give thanks to God, who has given us all of these gifts.

2. For us as Catholics this is especially true, because the spirit of giving thanks to God is at the heart of our lives. It is what we come every to Mass every Sunday to do, in fact the very word Eucharist means thanksgiving. So for us as Catholics, every day is Thanksgiving Day, every day is a day where we can come to the Eucharist- to Thanksgiving - in order to give God thanks for the gifts He gives us, and there are so many of them.

3. As Catholics we have been given so many gifts that often times we take them for granted. I would like to talk about three of these gifts, today. First, the gift of baptism which washes away original sin, makes us children of God, and members of His family - which is the Church. This is one gift that we Catholics share in common with our separated brothers and sisters. It is also a gift that we often take for granted, in part because most of us don’t remember our baptism, but nevertheless we could say it was the single most important day of our life, because it was the day we became children of God, and that’s no small thing. To be a child of God means that we have a Father who will always watch over us, who will always make sure that no matter what happens, that He is there to help us through it. It also means that we have a family, the family of the Church; a family which is full of heroes and saints, and a goodly number of sinners too.

4. Second, God has given us the gift of the Sacrament of Penance. A sacrament where we come to have a personal encounter Jesus and have our sins forgiven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that "Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church…." In other words, the only way that we know for sure that our sins are forgiven is to go to confession. Some people out there might say that we don’t even commit sin, that it’s some sort of disease that can’t be stopped. Some people will tell you that you don’t even need to confess, since we don’t really sin. Or they might say we can just confess our sins in private prayer without going to confession. People who teach these things are not teaching what Christ taught. They have strayed from the true teachings of Christ, they have refused a gift that Jesus desires to give them, the gift of knowing for sure, without a shadow of a doubt, that our sins are forgiven no matter how horrible they may be. What an awesome gift it is to know that our sins are forgiven. It’s a gift that so many in our world, and even in our Church, to not accept as frequently as they should. So in thanksgiving to God for giving us the Sacrament of Penance we should accept the gift and go to confession.

5. The third gift from God that we often times take for granted is the Eucharist itself. The Eucharist, the Church teaches us, is the source and summit of our lives. It is the be all and end all of our faith. Why do we as Catholic put so much emphasis on the Eucharist? Because the Eucharist is Christ Himself. As most of you this past weekend I was at St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul with a group of eight young men who are thinking about the priesthood. While I was there I heard a priest share his vocation story. It was a story that was very powerful – almost unbelievable. One of the things that he talked about was how he was raised with really no religion at all – his family’s religion was sports, but when he was getting ready to go to high school his parents decided to send him to Catholic high school; not because of the faith, but because it had a good sports program. While he was there he had an experience of the Eucharist that changed his mind about religion and about the Catholic Faith. In a moment of prayer at Mass he knew that the Eucharist was Jesus – he knew in an instant, that what he thought was ridiculous – that bread and wine could turn into the very body and blood of Jesus – was real. After that, he knew he had to become Catholic, which is what he did. After High School he moved to Mississippi to play college baseball, and there, in the an environment which was predominantly protestant and anti-Catholic, he began to doubt his decision to become Catholic – after all, many of his new protestant friends were telling him that what he believed as a Catholic was not true. In the midst of this doubting he began to visit many protestant communities, he went worshiped with them, he prayed with them, and many of them had many great things going for them. For some it was the preaching, for others it was the music, for others it was their youth program, but no matter what denomination he worshiped with there was one thing missing. It was the Eucharist. It was the true presence of Christ in the tabernacle. It was the gift of being able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. He found himself going to a protestant worship service, and then rushing off to Mass because he just couldn’t go without receiving the Eucharist.

6. My brothers and sisters, what a gift it is to have the Eucharist. What a gift it is to have this act of thanksgiving where we literally receive into our bodies God Himself, yet so many of us take it for granted, so many of us fall into the trap of making something so extraordinary, something so amazing, into something that is just routine. May God deliver us from such a thing! May He make us truly grateful for this gift. May he inspire in us a desire to give thanks for such a gift by accepting the gift frequently – certainly every Sunday since it would be sinful to willing miss Mass on Sunday – but also on other days as well. Thanksgiving Day would be the perfect day to accept this gift, to come, grateful for the gifts God has given us and give thanks, the Thanks of the Church, which we call the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May we never, on a day set aside by our Country to give thanks, fail to give the greatest Thanksgiving we could give: that of joining in the eternal Thanksgiving which is the Holy Mass.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Mary, Queen of all Saints, pray for us.
St. Rose, pray for us. Amen.

Homily: 32nd Sunday of the Year

Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! Amen.


“It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said ‘What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.’”

1. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our readings today all speak of the resurrection of the dead and life after death, but that’s not what I am going to preach about today. Something else in our readings today, especially in our first reading, struck me while I was reading and praying over it. The theme that seemed to jump off of the page was that of family and heritage and history, a theme which is at the heart of this parish family, a theme which is at the heart of who we are as Roman Catholics in the twenty first century.

2. One of the things I have liked to do since my childhood when I was growing up in Milbank is to pray my rosary while walking in the cemetery. I find it to be a very peaceful and quiet place to pray, but also a place which reflects the great heritage and the great history of our families. Just the other day I was doing this very thing in our parish cemetery and I was once again reminded of the value of family, the value of our common heritage that has been passed on from one generation to the next, down to this very group of people gathered here today. It was the men and women buried in that cemetery who gave birth to us, who raised us, and most importantly, who passed on to us our Catholic faith, our strong moral fiber, and our life of prayer and devotions. It was the men and women buried in that cemetery who out of their faith and love for God built this very building with the labor of their own hands and the sweat of their brow. It was they, our ancestors, who gave us this great gift, who built for us this place in which to offer sacrifice to God and nourish the faith which they instilled in us.

3. The brothers Macabee who we hear about in our first reading understood the great gift which their ancestors had passed on to them in their Jewish faith. Their parents, especially their mother, had instilled in all seven of them the great value of their faith, of the laws which guided their life, and the way in which they worshiped God. It was their faith in what had been passed on to them from their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents which gave them the strength to say “We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” Their faith ran deep through the generations. Their faith was so deep, so rooted in history and family, that they were willing to endure some of the greatest cruelties ever recorded in order to hold firm to what their ancestors passed on to them. What an amazing example for our world in which so much of what was passed on to us from our ancestors is easily discarded as old fashioned, archaic, or irrelevant. As people of modern society we all too often have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. We have all too often been unfaithful to the heritage and traditions which our ancestors worked so hard to instill in us. This is why it is so important for us as a parish to remember our ancestors and what they did for us. This is why it is so important that we be good stewards of what they have passed on to us, whether it is this beautiful building or whether it is our strong work ethic. As good stewards of God’s gifts we should seek to preserve, and in some cases even restore, what they worked so hard to give us.

4. The other thing that struck me about this reading was that all seven brothers, along with their mother, remained united and steadfast when they were confronted with hardship and death. They, as a family, supported one another in their darkest day. Something tells me that if they did not all hold firm, that if even one of them had left, that they might have all left and denied their faith, their family, and the heritage given them by their ancestors.

5. This is why it is so important that we, as individual families, but also as a parish family, support one another; that we stick together, that we never, for any reason whatsoever abandon the faith entrusted to us by our ancestors. Because if one of us leaves, the rest are affected - it brings down the whole family. So let us be strong, let us embrace the faith traditions given to us by our ancestors, let us stick together through thick and thin, so that as one family, whole and entire, we can support and uphold one another when the faith of our Ancestors is threatened by outside forces as it is today. Our ancestors gave their blood, sweat and tears so that we might worship freely as Roman Catholics. So let us stick together as a family when so many in our world tell us that this very faith we believe, that our life of prayer and devotion is old fashioned and irrelevant to the modern world. Let us, along with the brothers Macabee and their mother proclaim that we would rather die than abandon the Catholic faith and traditions passed on to us by our ancestors.

6. My parish family, let us be strong, let us be united, let us be men and women of faith no matter what people might say or think. For by standing firm we will one day be given the inheritance reserved for those who keep the faith to the very end; we will be given the kingdom of heaven.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with insults, have mercy on us.
Mary, gate of heaven, pray for us.
St. Rose, pray for us. Amen.

From the Desk of the Pastor: 31st Sunday of the Year

This week we continue our liturgical discussion by answering a question which was placed in the Liturgical Question Box. The question is this: “What is the difference between a normal Mass and a Solemn Mass?”

First of all, we should define what we mean by a Solemn Mass. The term Solemn Mass could be interchangeable with the terms Sung Mass or High Mass. A Solemn Mass could include (but doesn’t have to include) things like the singing of the prayers, the Gospel, the first and second reading, the responsorial psalm, and even the Eucharistic Prayer itself. It may also include incense, the use of more candles and the use of festive vestments. Now certainly not every parish has the resources needed to do all of these things, but every parish certainly has the ability to do some of these things in order for some of their celebrations to take on a more solemn nature.

One thing I would like to clarify is that in some ways a Solemn Mass is indeed the “normal” way of celebrating Mass. In fact, The Solemn/Sung Mass remains the normative (normal) form of Celebrating the Mass, but, sadly, it is not the norm in most parishes. “A liturgical service takes on a nobler aspect when the rites are celebrated with singing,” says the Second Vatican Council. Another post Vatican II Church document refers to the sung or Solemn Mass, saying “For the celebration of the Eucharist with the people, especially on Sundays and feast days, a form of sung Mass is to be preferred as much as possible, even several times on the same day.” (Musicam Sacram).

As we can see from the documents of the Church, the solemn celebration of the Mass is to be preferred. That being the case the Holy Father, both before and after his election to the papacy, as well as Francis Cardinal Arinze, head of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as well as many other liturgist and theologians recommend that every parish, even those who are small and in remote areas, have at least one Solemn Mass for every Sunday and Holy Day. This will enable the parishioners and priests to offer their very best to God, something that should not be out of the ordinary, but a regular occurrence.

I hope that answers your question sufficiently, and as always, feel free to ask me any questions either in person or through the Liturgical Question Box.

Homily: 30th Sunday of the Year

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Psalms 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
Second Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14


Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! Amen.

1. On a British Airways flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged, well-off white South African Lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seating. “What seems to be the problem Madam?” asked the attendant. “Can’t you see?” she said. “You’ve sat me next to this man. I can’t possibly sit next to this disgusting human. Find me another seat!” “Please calm down Madam.” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do- I’ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first class.” The woman cocks a snooty look at the outraged black man beside her (not to mention at many of the surrounding passengers also).

2. A few minutes later the stewardess returns with the good news, which she delivers to the lady, who cannot help but look at the people around her with a smug and self satisfied grin: “Madam, unfortunately, as I suspected, economy is full. I’ve spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class”. Before the lady had a chance to answer, the stewardess continues, “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain felt that it was outrageous that someone be forced to sit next to such an obnoxious person.” With which, she turned to the black man sitting next to her, and said: “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you in first class up at the front...” At which point, apparently the surrounding passengers stood and gave a standing ovation while the black guy walks up to first class in the front of the plane.

3. You know, as we listen to this story, hopefully it disgusts us. The prideful attitude of the woman who would not sit next to the African American man should cause us to be utterly repulsed. This attitude of thinking oneself superior to others rears its ugly head in our Gospel as well. There, it is not a white woman and an African American man, but rather a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee stands in the front of the temple and prays loudly so that all can hear him as he says “'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.” In other words, “Thank God I am not like those people. Thank God that I am so much better than them.”

4. It’s sad that this Pharisee thinks he is better than others, when in reality, it is he who is in need of changing. In this story it is he, and not the tax collector, who has the problem. It is he who needs to learn to be welcoming and loving toward all no matter what their background or heritage or social and economic status. We are all brothers and sisters and should treat each other that way.

5. This is something that, to a more or less degree, we all need to work on. All of us have our prejudices and stereotypes that we need to overcome. And not only do we need to work on this as individuals, but also as groups. Maybe it’s a clique at work that is not welcoming to others. Maybe at school, it’s a group of friends who for one reason or another, feel the need to bully others and treat them badly.

6. Sometimes this sort of prideful attitude finds it’s way even into a parish. I have been to many parishes where there was a kind of an attitude of pride where if you weren’t financially well off or if you were not of the right ethnicity, or if you were a newcomer of any kind, you really didn’t feel welcome. I have even been to a parish where families with children were not allowed…imagine that, a parish without children…how sad.

7. We, as a parish family, need to make sure that we never fall into this same trap. We must all make sure that we never look down upon any of our brothers and sisters for any reason whatsoever. We must make sure that everyone, no matter who they are, what they do, where they come from, or how long they have been in our community, always feels welcome. The day that I hear from someone that they did not feel welcome to be part of our parish or any group within our parish is the day that I know we have, as a parish family, fallen into the sin of the Pharisee who looked down on the tax collector or the woman on the plane who didn’t want to sit next to the African American. God forbid that we as individuals or as a parish would ever fall into such a sin.

8. You know, we as Catholics are about the salvation of souls, nothing more and nothing less. We want all people to be saved, and if we treat others badly, we are failing in that task. Bishop Swain spoke about this very thing when, one year ago this past Friday, he was ordained and installed as our Bishop. On that day, in speaking to us for the very first time as our Bishop he said “Some view the Church as just another special interest group, but the Catholic Church is a not political institution or a non profit agency organized to do good things, although it does. We don’t endorse candidates or support political parties. The Church, rather, is a mystery of God’s plan to sanctify and to save. The Church is the people of God, the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. She is God’s instrument for the salvation of souls. Yet we must take stands on issues in the public sphere when they touch the core of what we know by reason to be true and affect the salvation of souls. We care about all our brothers and sisters.”

9. Yes, my friends, we care about all our brothers and sisters, we want them all to find salvation; and by being prideful, in looking down on others, by judging them, by not including them in our families, in our groups of friends, in our communities, and in our parishes we are not doing that.

10. Today, as we gather around the Altar of Sacrifice, let us ask God for the grace to always be welcoming, to always be ready to lead others, no matter who they are, to Christ, the one who, through the Church, offers us Salvation.

Blood of Christ, generous to all who turn to you, have mercy on us.
Mary, gate of heaven, pray for us. Amen.
St. Rose, pray for us. Amen.

From the Desk of the Pastor: 29th Sunday of the Year

Glory Halleluiah! A question has appeared in the Liturgical question box, and it fits right into where we are in our discussion of the Holy Mass. The question is this; “how were the readings chosen? Of all the messages in the Bible why are these chosen as more important?” This is an excellent question.

The Lectionary, or book of readings used at Mass, has a long history in the Church. Prior to the Second Vatican Council there was only a one year cycle of readings. This means that the same reading would be heard on the same Sunday or Feast Day every year. Now we have a three year cycle for Sundays (Years A, B, and C) and a two year cycle for weekdays (Years 1 and 2). This allows for a greater variety of scriptures to be used, in fact, if one were to go to Mass every day (which is a good idea by the way) they would hear almost all of the Bible (with the exception of some of the more obscure passages) over the course of three years.

The readings that have been chosen to be part of the Lectionary were chosen by a group of scripture scholars, bishops and priests and reflect the season, feast day, or theme of any given Mass. On Sundays the first readings is taken from the Old Testament, the Second reading from the New Testament and the Gospel is from one of the four Gospels. If we pay attention we will find that there is usually a theme or connection between the readings chosen. Granted, sometimes I even wonder why a particular passage was chosen when another reading might fit in better, but the Holy Spirit works through the Church, and He must have a reason, even if you and I don’t understand what it is.

There is a common misconception that Catholics do not read the bible, but protestants do. This may be true when it comes to our private bible reading, but when it comes to our liturgical celebrations Catholics by far have more scripture than any protestant denomination. There is a wonderful book entitled “Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic” by David B. Currie. In the book he recounts his journey from Protestantism to Catholicism, part of which was his own survey looking into which Church was really a “bible based church.” He did an informal study of what percentage of any given denomination’s worship service was actually scripture reading. The results are amazing. “The Evangelical Church…spent less than 6 percent of its Sunday Service in Scripture. The fundamentalist church….which considers itself biblically based spend 2 percent of its morning in Scripture….Catholics at Mass spend more that 26 percent of the time is Scripture.” Surely, for us as Catholics scripture is important, and that is why we spend so much of our time at Mass reading Sacred Scripture.

Stop Clowning Around

Whispers reports something the Holy Father said at his Wednesday Audience. I think it is quite good and pertinent to the Church today, so I thought I would share it.

Those who teach the faith “cannot run the risk of appearing like a type of clown who is playing a part; rather he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head on the Master’s heart and learned therein how to think, speak and act”. Because “at the end of it all a true disciple is he who announces the Gospel in a credible and effective way”, in short “authentic witness”...According to the Pope, an effective announcing of the Gospel can only occur there where the “witness” of the preacher’s life and the “exemplary conduct of the Christian community” are credible, as was the case with Saint Ambrose and his Church. As Augustine himself writes in his ”Confessions” what urged the young sceptical and desperate African to convert was in fact “Saint
Augustine’s witness and that of his Milanese Church, which sang and prayed as one united body, capable of resisting the arrogance of the Emperor and his mother”, who demanded a building for the Arians. But in that building “the people held vigil ready to die together with their bishop”. “It is all too clear – commented Benedict XVI – which the witness of the preacher and the exemplary conduct of the Christian community condition the effectiveness of the spreading of the faith”.

Another Ministerial Appointment

His Excellency, Bishop Paul J. Swain has entrusted to me, in addition to my current assignments, another ministry. He has appointed me Chaplain to St. Margaret's Fellowship, a Catholic homeschool organization for families in the Sioux Falls, SD area. I look forward to serving this wonderful group of families and, with God's grace, lead them closer to the heart of Christ, the Divine Teacher.

Please remember me in your prayers as I take on this new ministry.

And The New Cardinals Are...

New Cardinal Electors:

1. Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern
Churches;
2. Archbishop John Patrick Foley, Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order
of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem;
3. Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Pontifical Commission for
the Governance of the Vatican City-State;
4. Archbishop Paul Joseph Cordes, President of the Pontifical Council "Cor
Unum";
5. Archbishop Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, Vicar
General for the Vatican City-State and President of the Administration of St.
Peter’s;
6. Archbishop Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the
Laity;
7. Archbishop Raffaele Farina, Head of the Vatican Archives and
Library;
8. Archbishop Agustín García-Gasco Vicente of Valencia (Spain);
9. Archbishop Seán Baptist Brady of Armagh (Ireland);
10. Archbishop Lluís Martínez Sistach of Barcellona (Spain);
11. Archbishop André Vingt-Trois of Paris (France);
12. Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco of Genova (Italy);
13. Archbishop Théodore-Adrien Sarr of Dakar (Senegal);
14. Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Bombay (India);
15. Archbishop Francisco Robles Ortega of Monterrey (Mexico);
16. Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston (USA);
17. Archbishop Odilio Pedro Scherer of São Paulo (Brazil);
18. Archbishop John Njue of Nairobi (Kenya).

Honorary Cardinals:

1. His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the
Chaldeans;
2. Archbishop Giovanni Coppa, emeritus Apostolic Nuncio to the Czech
Republic;
3. Archbishop Estanislao Esteban Karlic, emeritus of Paraná
(Argentina);
4. Fr. Urbano Navarrete, S.J., former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian
University;
5. Fr. Umberto Betti, O.F.M., former rector of the Pontifical Lateran
University.

The big surprise, at least for us Americans, was Archbishop Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston. This is a new thing, but a sure sign of the Holy Fathers realization that there is something very important going on in the Southern United States.

Let us pray for these men that they will continue to be faithful servants of Christ, even to the point of shedding their blood.

Homily 28th Sunday of the Year

Second Kings 5:14-17
Psalms 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Second Timothy 2:8-13
Luke 17:11-19


Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever. Amen.

1. When I was in the seminary in St. Louis one of the things our rector, the head of the seminary, would say over and over again in his homilies and in the conferences and talks, was that as Catholic Christians we should always cultivate an attitude of gratitude. At the time I thought the saying “attitude of gratitude” was a bit hokey, but nevertheless there is a great truth in that statement. We, my brothers and sisters, do need to cultivate an attitude of gratitude for what God has given us. For He has given us so much, he has blessed us as individuals, as a community, and as a parish family.

2. Our first reading from the Second Book of Kings recounts for us the healing of Naaman by the prophet Elisha and his immense gratitude for that healing. But what the reading doesn’t recount for us are the events leading up to this, and the fact that right before this, Naaman wasn’t exactly grateful at all, in fact he was rather upset that he didn’t get what he wanted from Elisha.

3. The whole story begins like this: “Naaman, commander of the army of the King of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper...”

4. As the story continues Naaman, through one of the servants of his wife, heard that there was a great prophet who could heal of him of his leprosy, so he went and sought him out. After a stop to see the King of Israel, he eventually made his way to Elisha. Here is how the Scriptures recounts the encounter between them:

Elisha said “Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a
prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and halted
at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying
‘go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you
shall be clean.’ But Naaman was angry, and went away, saying ‘Behold, I thought
that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord
his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper. Are not
Abana, and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away
in a rage.”

5. You see, Naaman had a preconceived notion about how the Lord would work in his life. He thought that there would be some sort of special encounter with all sorts of theatrics and special effects, and that the would be healed through this. As the story says, he wanted Elisha to come out and stand before him. He expected him to call on the name of God and wave his hands about and thus cure him. That’s certainly not what he got; all he got was Elisha’s servant telling him to take a bath in dirty water. He didn’t get what he wanted, and this reduced this great man of valor, this mighty warry to nothing more than a tantrum throwing self centered brat. He was healed, but not the way he wanted to be healed. Even though he was healed, he complained and moaned and groaned because he wanted it to be done according to what he like and what he wanted.

6. Sometimes we can be a lot like Naaman. We can be given everything we could ever desire, but we still complain, we still moan and groan because it wasn’t done the way we like it, or the way we are used to, or the way it’s always been done.

7. This sort of attitude can find its way into a lot of aspects of our lives. It can find its way into family life, into our work, into our social life, and sadly, even into parish life; even into the Holy Mass.

8. In the Mass we are given literally everything we could ever want, for we are given Jesus, God Himself, in the Holy Eucharist. We are fed with the very body and blood of Jesus, we are given the very life of God in our souls. What more could we possibly want? Yet, as any priest will tell you, there is nothing more complained about, nothing which attracts more moaning and groaning than the Holy Mass. It seems that no matter what parish one is at there are complaints about the décor of the Church, or about the music, or about the homily; and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Things like the use of chant, Latin, incense, and a whole host of other liturgical items can overshadow the beauty and true meaning of the Sacred Liturgy and foster a spirit of division and whining rather than a spirit of unity and gratitude which is at the heart of what the Eucharist is all about. Surely, there can be valid reasons to discuss why some of these things are used, but the discussion should always have gratitude and a spirit of thanksgiving for what we do have as its basis. Maybe in some places the music is bad or the homilies are boring, but at least there is Mass, at least there is the possibility of receiving Holy Communion, something that not everybody in our world has.

9. My brothers and sisters, God has given us so very much. We have so much to be grateful for, so much to thank God for. I hope and pray that the Eucharist can truly be a time to express an attitude of gratitude rather than a time to moan and groan. I hope that all of us can overcome in our lives that part of us that is like Naaman, who even though he was healed, was not satisfied because he wasn’t healed in the way he thought he should be healed. I hope that all of us will truly be grateful for the gift which is the Mass, even if it isn’t celebrated the way would like it to be celebrated. After all, the Mass isn’t about us and what we want or what we get out of it. The Mass is about God, and giving Him what is due to Him, namely our thanks.

10. Mary, our mother, is the perfect example for us of what it means to be men and women of gratitude. Her attitude of gratitude shined brightly throughout every moment of her life. I am sure that she didn’t particularly enjoy giving birth in a stable, or fleeing to Egypt, or seeing her Son suffer unimaginably. Yet she never uttered a single complaint, rather, she was grateful for the great gift which was bestowed upon her, namely Jesus. May we, like her, always be grateful that to have been bestowed the grace of having Jesus, God Himself, dwell within our very bodies in the Holy Eucharist. May we, like her, never give in to the spirit of complaining even if things aren’t the way we would like them to be. For by rejecting that spirit we will be embracing a true and holy attitude of gratitude.

Heart of Jesus, generous to all who turn to you, have mercy on us.
Mary, vessel of selfless devotion, pray for us.
St. Rose, pray for us.

From the Desk of the Pastor: 28th Sunday of the Year

This week we continue our journey through the Holy Mass by delving into the Liturgy of the Word. The Institutio gives a wonderful overview of the Liturgy of the word by saying that “The main part of the Liturgy of the Word is made up of the readings from Sacred Scripture together with the chants occurring between them. The homily, Profession of Faith, and Prayer of the Faithful, however, develop and conclude this part of the Mass. For in the readings, as explained by the homily, God speaks to his people, opening up to them the mystery of redemption and salvation and offering them spiritual nourishment; and Christ himself is present in the midst of the faithful through his word. By their silence and singing the people make God’s word their own, and they also affirm their adherence to it by means of the Profession of Faith. Finally, having been nourished by it, they pour out their petitions in the Prayer of the Faithful for the needs of the entire Church and for the salvation of the whole world.”

The Institutio also speaks of the great value of silence during the Liturgy of the Word. Often times people become uncomfortable with the amount of silence that many priests insist upon during the Liturgy of the Word, but according to the Institutio this silence is to be observed and valued, in fact, it says that we should never hurry through this time set aside to listen to the Word of God. It says “The Liturgy of the Word is to be celebrated in such a way as to promote meditation, and so any sort of haste that hinders recollection must clearly be avoided. During the Liturgy of the Word, it is also appropriate to include brief periods of silence, accommodated to the gathered assembly, in which, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the word of God may be grasped by the heart and a response through prayer may be prepared. It may be appropriate to observe such periods of silence, for example, before the Liturgy of the Word itself begins, after the first and second reading, and lastly at the conclusion of the homily.”

The readings from Sacred Scripture, except for the Gospel, are proclaimed by a Lector. The Gospel is proclaimed “by a deacon or, in his absence, a priest other than the celebrant. If, however, a deacon or another priest is not present, the priest celebrant himself should read the Gospel.” The office and role of the Lector will be discussed next week.

The Rectory

Here is a lovely little parody done by some of the pius seminarians at my alma mater Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. It's quite amusing.