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February 5, 2012
FIGHTING FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Recently the United States Department of Health and Human Services has ordered that religious institutions including Catholic schools, Catholic charities and Catholic hospitals must provide contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization coverage for their employees.
According to this ruling which is slated to begin next year, these Catholic institutions and other previously exempted religious institutions will be forced to purchase insurance for its employees whose coverage must include select items that the Church holds to be morally reprehensible. In a lead editorial, the Washington Post – a predictably vociferous critic of Catholic life and culture – called the Obama Administration’s decision “wrong,” denouncing the ruling as a restriction of religious freedom. Cardinal-Elect Archbishop of New York and United States Catholic Conference of Bishops President Timothy Dolan resolutely rejected the HHS mandate: “In effect, the president [of the United States] is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.” Archbishop Dolan frames the startling decision as a battle to maintain constitutionally ensured religious liberties, explaining that “to force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable.”
In his sharp rebuke of the government ruling, Cardinal Archbishop of Houston Daniel DiNardo explained that, “never before in our US history has the federal government forced citizens to purchase directly what violates our [Catholic] beliefs.” In concert with Cardinal-Elect Dolan, Cardinal DiNardo says that at stake here is no less than “the survival of a cornerstone constitutionally protected freedom that ensures respect for conscience and religious liberty.”
Archbishop of Los Angels Jose Gomez publicly called for a determined outcry by believers against the new regulations which “violates non-negotiable principles” of religious liberty and are “morally unacceptable.”
I deeply appreciate our Bishop of Toledo Leonard Blair joining the choir of protestations sounded by religious leaders. For your convenience, I have included a copy of the letter I received from Bishop Blair (see insert). Please read his letter carefully and contact the appropriate government leaders to voice your outrage about the Obama administration’s decision (a sample letter along with contact information is provide on the reverse side of the bishop’s letter).
Friends, our first response is to pray and engage in acts of penance done for the expressed intention of God’s Mercy bringing about a reversal of this ruling. In addition, we all will do well to share our disapproval with our governmental representatives and encourage them to take needed action.
January 30, 2012
NOTHING DEFIES THE POWER OF GOD'S MERCY
Friends, there is no sin that any of us can commit that is beyond the power of God’s forgiveness. Provided we confess our sins and receive absolution all sins are forgiven. The exact moment absolution is received the sin is gone. Yes, it is that simple and that real – thank God! It is Christ who removes our sin through the actions of His priest. And once taken away, the sin will not be held against us at our judgment.
There is nothing we can do that is so bad it defies the power of God’s mercy. St. Paul who himself was a notorious sinner, boldly exclaims the glorious truth: “nothing ever can separate us from the love of Christ” (cf. Romans 8:39)
Because Jesus understands our sinful struggles perfectly and gave to us the magnificent Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. He established this Sacrament because He knows we need it. For your convenience, this Sacrament is available 30 minutes before every Mass, including Sundays.
January 22, 2012
ANSWERING GOD’S CALL TO PROTECT UNBORN HUMAN LIFE
The decision rendered by the Supreme Court in the case Roe v. Wade made abortion legal throughout the United States. Since January 22, 1973, more than 53 million American lives have ended by abortion.
In comparison 2,740 American lives were taken in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Abortion is among the most pressing justice issues we face and rightly seen as a basic evil damaging our society.
Attempts to frame the violent termination of unborn human life merely as a matter of personal preference or private choice ignore key features of abortion as public policy. Both state and society have an intense interest in promoting respect for human life. No matter how appealing and convenient arguments for abortion may sound on the surface, we may not shift the debate about such dire life-and-death issues to the private realm without eviscerating fundamental truths and values that birthed our sovereignty and identity as a people. All that threatens human life and dignity must be taken on vigorously and defeated.
The Christian imperative to oppose abortion is seen sharply as a part of its bold proclamation for peoples and nations to honor and defend a consistent life ethic.
When we speak out against the violence of abortion in America in no way are we challenging any of the enduring principles expressed in the Constitution. Our faith-based claims for opposing legalized abortion join an impressive array of concerns that find many reasons to protect unborn human life. Recent medical discoveries have provided new evidence regarding prenatal biology that has persuaded many people, an impressive number of whom have no religious commitments, that the fetus indeed is a unique living human person that is worthy of respect and protection granted to all people in our nation.
As Catholic Christians, we hold to be true that the dignity of every human person stands at the center of understanding and practicing the virtue of justice. Every human being, no matter the size or place of residence, possesses infinite value. In the beginning it pleased God beyond measure to create all human persons in His own divine image (cf. Genesis 1:26-27). Violent endings to innocent human life offend the great God: “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). The divine decree is uttered that we are to uphold and defend human life: “Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Several biblical passages testify specifically to the sacred character of the unborn child. The prophet Jeremiah describes God’s delight for the unborn child: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you” (Jeremiah 1:5). The psalmist marvels upon God’s design and inspires us to do the same:
“You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! My very self you know. My bones are not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139:13-15).
Genuine belief in the mystery of the Incarnation commits the person to affirm the dignity and sacredness of all human life from the conception to death. The earliest Christians described abortion as a violent action and grave sin. The first century document known as the Didache does not mince words: “do not murder a child by abortion or kill a newborn infant.” In the millennia that follow, Christianity consistently trumpets these foundational truths. In one of the magisterial pronouncements at the Second Vatican Council, the Church reminds us that “life must be safeguarded with extreme care from conception; abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes” (Gaudium et Spes, 51). The more recent Catechism of the Catholic Church valiantly affirms the right to life:
“Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life” (CCC, 2270).
These web sites provide outstanding resources for further study:
• www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities
• www.lifenews.com
• www.priestsforlife.org
It's normal to grieve a pregnancy loss, including the loss of a child by abortion.
• www.hopeafterabortion.com
• www.rachelsvineyard.org/
January 8, 2012
SEEING DIFFERENTLY
Despite the heavenly hymn of praise, the Christmas story was a rather quiet event of God that was limited to a few people. Yet, the entire world is affected by what happened! The Feast of The Epiphany celebrates this truth; namely, God’s activity is intended to benefit all people, Jews and Gentiles alike.
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12) we hear the grand account of the arrival of Gentile astrologers. Through the unusual star in the midst of the customary constellations God sends a message to them that shocked them and moved them to act. In contrast stand those who wished not to be disturbed by God.
On more than one occasion Jesus will find greater faith among Gentiles than in Israel. So, too, ought we to recognize and welcome the converts to our faith and along with those who are visiting and new to our parish family. We are to use every available means to lead our relatives and friends closer to Jesus.
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It was wonderful witnessing the church full of people for the Christmas Masses. What cause can we give to others to join us the other 51 weekends of the year? There are few aspects more compelling than a joyful witness.
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Thank you to everyone whose generous sharing of time, talent and treasure added to the splendor and meaning of our Christmastime Masses. Father Jason and I deeply appreciate the many gestures of kindness and encouraging words we have received during this beautiful season of grace.
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The revision of the Mass that began to be used on the first Sunday of Advent sure seems to be going well here. Yes, for many of us it will be awhile before the new responses are hard-wired like the previous ones were. Practice makes perfect. Meanwhile I am paying much closer attention to the prayers. How can this be anything other than very good?
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The Star Tribune reported that two of the newest twins in Minnesota can lay claim to being born in different years! The first baby was born on December 31st while her twin sister arrived 26 minutes into 2012.
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Did you know that 11 names on the memorial at the World Trade Center read “and her unborn child”? Now if only their number can be added to the official tally of those killed in the evil attack for they also were Americans who died on that day.
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We need more people joining together in prayer every Tuesday evening during our Holy Hour for Life. Eucharistic Adoration and recitation of the Rosary changes minds and hearts. Parents, I especially encourage you to bring your children and pray alongside them as a family – if not every week, commit to once a month.
We gather in church every Tuesday from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. to pray for young, frightened, mothers to have the courage to seek out help and support to bring their children into the world and provide for them, whether through adoption or by raising them themselves; to pray for the healing of those people who have been hurt by the violence of abortion; and, of course, to pray for the safety and happiness of the unborn children.
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Father Jason is gone for two weeks enjoying a duly earned vacation at an undisclosed warm and sunny location. This explains the full-moon that suddenly has appeared in Sandusky.
January 1, 2012
Thanks to everyone whose generous sharing of time, talent and treasure made our Christmas Masses exceptionally meaningful and memorable. Yet again, Father Jason and I are reminded how truly blessed we are to serve as your priests. Your sincerity and kindness humbles and inspires us – thank you.
As the New Year dawns, I invite you to reflect upon the Holy Father’s Christmas message. Friends, if the peace of Christ is to reign in the minds and hearts of all people, it must begin with our own choosing Jesus to be the Lord, Savior and Messiah. May our parish dare to be a community of faith that accepts the challenge and labors to live as instruments of Christ’s peace.
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POPE BENEDICT XVI’s 2011 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Christ is born for us! Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to the men and women whom he loves. May all people hear an echo of the message of Bethlehem which the Catholic Church repeats in every continent, beyond the confines of every nation, language and culture. The Son of the Virgin Mary is born for everyone; he is the Savior of all.
This is how Christ is invoked in an ancient liturgical antiphon: "O Emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, hope and salvation of the peoples: come to save us, O Lord our God". Veni ad salvandum nos! Come to save us! This is the cry raised by men and women in every age, who sense that by themselves they cannot prevail over difficulties and dangers. They need to put their hands in a greater and stronger hand, a hand which reaches out to them from on high. Dear brothers and sisters, this hand is Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the hand that God extends to humanity, to draw us out of the mire of sin and to set us firmly on rock, the secure rock of his Truth and his Love.
This is the meaning of the Child’s name, the name which, by God’s will, Mary and Joseph gave him: he is named Jesus, which means "Savior." He was sent by God the Father to save us above all from the evil deeply rooted in man and in history: the evil of separation from God, the prideful presumption of being self-sufficient, of trying to compete with God and to take his place, to decide what is good and evil, to be the master of life and death. This is
the great evil, the great sin, from which we human beings cannot save ourselves unless we rely on God’s help, unless we cry out to him: Veni ad salvandum nos! – Come to save us!"
The very fact that we cry to heaven in this way already sets us aright; it makes us true to ourselves: we are in fact those who cried out to God and were saved. God is the Savior; we are those who are in peril. He is the physician; we are the infirm. To realize this is the first step towards salvation, towards emerging from the maze in which we have been locked by our pride. To lift our eyes to heaven, to stretch out our hands and call for help is our means of escape, provided that there is Someone who hears us and can come to our assistance.
Jesus Christ is the proof that God has heard our cry. And not only this! God’s love for us is so strong that he cannot remain aloof; he comes out of himself to enter into our midst and to share fully in our human condition. The answer to our cry which God gave in Jesus infinitely transcends our expectations, achieving a solidarity which cannot be human alone, but divine. Only the God who is love, and the love which is God, could choose to save us in this way, which is certainly the lengthiest way, yet the way which respects the truth about him and about us: the way of reconciliation, dialogue and cooperation.
On this Christmas 2011, let us then turn to the Child of Bethlehem, to the Son of the Virgin Mary, and say: "Come to save us!" Let us repeat these words in spiritual union with the many people who experience particularly difficult situations; let us speak out for those who have no voice.
Let us turn our gaze anew to the grotto of Bethlehem. The Child whom we contemplate is our salvation! He has brought to the world a universal message of reconciliation and peace. Let us open our hearts to him; let us receive him into our lives. . Once more let us say to him, with joy and confidence: Veni ad salvandum nos!
December 25, 2011
CHRISTMAS 2011
The Gospel writer Luke begins his account of the birth of Jesus Christ with the man regarded to be the most powerful of the age. The story is set in motion when Caesar Augustus issues a
census decree for the entire world: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled” (Luke 2:1).
God’s ways always are as marvelous as they are unlike our own! The Roman Emperor’s decree is seen clearly as an unfolding of divine providence. It is the reason why Joseph and Mary set out for Bethlehem and Jesus is born there as had been prophesied so many centuries earlier.
Caesar Augustus established a sustained peace throughout the Roman Empire which previously had known only war. The delegate of Caesar, the governor Quirinius, looked after the region of Syria. Responding to the demands of the Emperor and his regional representative, Joseph and Mary make their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, an insignificant town in Palestine. Of course, the reader of Luke’s Gospel knows that the real prince of peace will be the child to be born, not the Emperor. The standard of greatness is about to be reversed through the birth of a child. How truly marvelous and absolutely astonishing!
Bethlehem is the city of David, and the child to be born will be a Son of David (Luke 2:4). Upon their arrival, Joseph and Mary find that the usual resting places for travelers are full. The fact so many people make no place in their hearts and homes for Jesus creates a most tragic scene.
Lest the point be lost, we must ask ourselves about the place we have made for the Son of God to rest and rule wherever we are.
At birth Jesus is wrapped in swaddling cloths (Luke 2:7). A millennium earlier King Solomon had uttered this about himself: “In swaddling cloths and with constant care was I nurtured. For no king has any different origin or birth” (Wisdom 7:4-5). Jesus is laid in the manger so that the prophecy of Isaiah might be reversed: “An ox knows its owner and an ass, its master’s manger; but Israel does not know, my people have not understood” (Isaiah 1:3). The swaddling cloths and manger are not meant to be indicators of Jesus’ poverty as much as they are intended to be the definitive markings of His being the royal provider for all the needs of God’s People.
The children of Israel summoned to the manger that holiest of nights are not the high and mighty. Shepherds are called from their flocks (Luke 2:8). They are given the sign of the king in swaddling cloths and the manger at which Israel will be nourished (Luke 2:11-12). Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus stunningly announces a reversal of the value system of the world. It opens with a list of people whom the world regards as the greatest (Caesar Augustus) to the less great (Quirinius) to the unimportant (Joseph and Mary). It closes with a song praising God who has given us a Savior in the newly born son of a humble woman and Who first calls mangy shepherds from their fields to acknowledge their Lord, Savior and Messiah.
Sometimes Christmas can lead to conflict and pain as families sense division patched up for the occasion and give expensive gifts to cover up the patches. The Gospel of the birth of Jesus calls us to re-consider what we hold to be true and most important – what the world refers to as “values.”
This Christmas, may we dare to have the courage to question the false values that enslave us. The splendid miracle of Christmas is seen in the unconditional love given and love received. My hope and prayer is for our lives as individuals, families and parish family to reflect more boldly the unconditional love of our God who has entered our story in the birth of Jesus Christ. May my hope and prayer not be a solitary endeavor, but rather earnestly shared by all of you. Together we are made better.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
December 18, 2011
JOYFULLY RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD
The Gospel story of the Annunciation to Mary is cherished by Christians (Luke1:26-38). Often forgotten, however, is the fact that Mary wrestled mightily in arriving at her commitment to the Word of God. That is, it was not easy for Mary. When the angel Gabriel first greets Mary, her reaction is one of silence and bewilderment. When we consider the story from Mary’s point of view we can appreciate the whirlwind of confusion buffeting her senses. The evangelist Luke wonderfully captures the moment: “But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be” (v. 29).
The angel Gabriel knows already of God’s glorious plan and explains to Mary that she is to be the mother of the Messiah. If there was to be a Messiah for the Jews, someone would have to be the mother. Mary moves beyond her first having been startled and tries to understand the words of the angel. She is being asked to be the mother of the Messiah, yet in Mary’s virginal state such a birth is impossible. She asks the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" (v. 34).
The angel Gabriel responds to Mary’s reasonable question with a further description of the child to be born.
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (v. 35).
Of course none of this is “possible” from a worldly perspective! Through the sign of another physical “impossibility” – the pregnancy of Mary’s aged relative Elizabeth – the angel trumpets: “For nothing will be impossible for God” (v. 37).
Two astonishing stories are being told in our Gospel today. Above all is the story of God entering human history in a new creation. As the Spirit of God hovered over the initial creation (Genesis 1:2), so now the Spirit of God is present as a virgin accepts God’s gift of His Son. We also hear the story of how a person gradually responds to God’s presence in the events of our lives.
How often I am left speechless when God’s designs break into my life! It moves me to recall that Mary began her journey of faith in the same way. The unexpected then calls for an answer. And so I often ask, with Mary, “why me…how is this possible….can this really come to be?”
Alas, too infrequently am I prepared to join Mary in seeing through the limitations of my having been surprised and searching for a logical explanation. Mary’s response is the only way to experience the meaning and joy for which we have been made to discover and savor: “May it be done to me according to your word” (v. 38).
As we begin our final week of preparation for the great feast of Christmas, let us be led all the more deeply away from our own petty plans. May we dare to make Mary’s unconditional response our own.
Next week is CHRISTMAS. This is the splendid occasion for us all to be about welcoming the people whose presence may come as a surprise. The Gospel writer Matthew puts it perfectly: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).
Our words and actions will go a long, long way toward encouraging people to return the following Sunday or keeping them at bay. Let us give our friends who return and guests who join us great cause to stay with us throughout the New Year.
December 11, 2011
WITNESS IN WORD AND DEED: JOHN THE BAPTIST
For all four of the evangelists –Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - the three years that Jesus spent in the years of his public ministry are the three most important years in all of human history.
Last week we heard the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. Right away we were introduced to John the Baptist who appears “in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4).
This Sunday, the THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, our hearts feast on a section from the beginning of John’s Gospel. Again, the figure of John the Baptist is front and center. Rest assured, John the Baptist is not just any man, for “he has been sent by God” (John 1:6). Since he has been sent by God, there can be no doubting the witness of John the Baptist. The only other person so described in the rest of the story as having been sent by God bears the name of Jesus.
John the Baptist is seen as a vital part of God’s plan. His appearance is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. By his regular use of the verb “I am not”, John the Baptist repeatedly points away from himself towards a figure who later in the Gospel of John will exclaim: “I am He!” Jesus alone can make this claim.
All John the Baptist can do - and must do for it is his God given mission - is point towards someone else. No matter how highly the Baptist is esteemed by his contemporaries and despite their attempts to make him fit their longings for the Messiah of God, he is not even worthy to be the humblest of servants to the Holy One of God who is to arrive as we heard him say in last Sunday’s Gospel (Mark 1:8).
The entire Old Testament was a preparation for the arrival of Jesus Christ and is to be read and understood in this manner. The patriarchs and prophets announced in varied ways the salvation the Messiah would bring. In contrast, John the Baptist is able to point out the Messiah himself. The testimony of John marks the culmination of all previous prophesies.
Of course the proclamation of the Baptist is not only heard in his words, but also seen in his living. It is an imitation of Jesus and a sharing in Jesus’ destiny of suffering and death.
We all are to take inspiration from the Baptist’s witness in both word and deed. Each of us are called according to God’s will to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord and so are to live a life marked by charity that springs to action from the Eucharist we celebrate. Friends, we are called to be precursors to Christ and to prepare someway, somehow for His arrival into people’s hearts. We are to be pointing towards Christ present in the different facets of our daily living, even into its most difficult and inconvenient aspects.
Grow in your understanding and practice of the Catholic Faith! Check out these NEW TITLES in the CD rack located in the Commons:
• Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues
(Fr. Robert Barron)
• Becoming the Best Version of Yourself
(Matthew Kelly)
• Building Better Families – 5 Practical Ways (Matthew Kelly)
• How to Keep Your Kids Catholic (Ken Hensley)
• How to Get the Most Out of Mass
(Dr. Scott Hahn)
• Why I am Catholic When I Could be Anything Else (Patrick Madrid)
December 4, 2011
THE TWO GREAT ADVENT ACTION FIGURES
During the season of Advent, the Church places before us two figures who rise above the rest for all to see and consider. Mind you, they are strikingly different both in appearances and actions.
One figure stands tall and straight, weather-beaten and haggard, he sports the latest look in camel’s hair and dines on locusts and wild honey. At first sight he is a man who is noticeably loud and seemingly eccentric. In fact, he himself wants to be nothing more than a booming voice. His message? Repent. Translation: Change your life so that you are preparing the Lord’s way.
The other figure we are likely not to notice as quickly. She is shrouded and wrapped in her own deep thoughts. Only her body tells of the Holy One whom she is expecting. Her words softly reecho: “Let it be done to me according to Thy word” (Luke 1:38).
Both John the Baptist and Mary know whose arrival it is for which they wait. They are waiting for no less than the arrival of God. Not for some charismatic leader, not for some superhero, not
for better times nor for former days, not for trendy religious fads and emotional highs, not for a vague utopia where everything is promised to be perfect – no! They are waiting for God to
arrive right where they are.
Throughout the great season of preparation known popularly as “Advent”, the Church puts John the Baptist and Mary before us in the readings at Mass, prayers we pray and hymns we sing. We are encouraged to imitate their adherence to God and to express what we see and hear in our own lives.
OK, how do we do this? There are three ways: 1) listen to God’s Word, 2) say “yes” to God and 3) serve God and others.
Listen to God’s Word. John’s tireless preaching is fueled by his first being on fire with God’s Word. He relentlessly seeks to ignite a blaze in the minds and hearts of those whom he encounters. His proclamation is bold and even forceful.
Mary is a person who made space in her life so that into it the Word of God could enter. Mary
lets the Word dwell within her, she deeply desires God’s Word to rest in the core of her being. From the first words of the Angel Gabriel to the last words of Jesus on the Cross, Mary listens so attentively and expectantly to God’s Word. She wants nothing more than to make God’s Word her own. How does she do this so beautifully and wholeheartedly? She created a sphere of silence within and about her so that she could hear God’s Word.
Say “yes” to God. Both John the Baptist and Mary represent people whose lives are given to God. From the beginning John the Baptist knows himself to be the voice inspiring hearers to make their way to Jesus, the one pointing towards Jesus. For John the Baptist, joy is experienced to the degree we give ourselves to Christ. The measure we sincerely say “yes” to God is the measure of our own fulfillment and meaning. The formula is simple: “He [Christ] must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30).
From Mary’s contemplative silence is born a second characteristic. That is, she puts herself at the total disposition of the divine call. Mary teaches us that there is nothing to fear when we say “yes” to God in our life. Mary has no knowledge how things will work out, but she knows with absolute certainly God will provide her with all she needs – and more.
To serve God and others. John the Baptist lived a life expressly for others. Even his martyr’s death was an act of violence against him for having spoken honestly to help a sinister king be restored in right relationship with God.
Jesus’ mother demonstrates her adherence to God – we see it. She allows Him to manifest His reign through her, through her humble, faithful service from the Incarnation to the Cross, then in the early Christian community.
What, then, will you do during the next 4 weeks to imitate the adherence to God seen in John the Baptist and Mary?
November 27, 2011
WAITING FOR GOD
Think back to a time when you were really looking hard to see something.
Perhaps you were staring down the street waiting for a long-awaited friend to emerge from the crowd of people. Maybe there was a startling noise and you were looking all around to find whatever it was that caused the sound.
If you’re my age or older it might have been staring at the page and waiting for the words to come into focus!
In all these examples, distances can be tough to judge. It does not take too much to trick our eyes. Recently I was gazing out across Sandusky Bay beyond the shipping channel into Lake Erie in the early evening darkness. I spotted a light on the water. With time I realized it was the signal of a late season freighter, yet I had no idea how far it still had to travel to arrive at the coal dock downtown.
This is how it was for God’s people. They were looking hard to see the Messiah of God. They knew he would arrive, although they did not know exactly when it would happen.
Throughout this time of year, the Church seeks to encourage us to grow in the attitude of hopeful expectation. An essential aspect of being Christian is to be on the lookout for Jesus; that is, to be looking hard to see the presence of God made real, concrete and personal in Jesus Christ.
When the Messiah arrived, few really were expecting Him. In those days, most people had been blind to what was most essential in their lives and in the life of the world. “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him” (John 1:11).
This seems eerily descriptive of our age.
Our Lord tells us to “stay awake!” (Matthew 24:42). St. Paul says the same: “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep” (Romans 13:11). Friends, it is time right now to put first things first, to remember what our lives here on earth truly are about and to be looking out for Jesus’ arrival in our daily experience.
Advent begins today. Advent is the Church’s 4-week period of preparation so that we can ready ourselves to celebrate Christmas once more. The Lord Jesus will arrive soon! If our sights are blurred and we do not see clearly the light which is of God, now is the time to rid ourselves of whatever it is that impairs our vision, to rid ourselves of whatever it is that compromises our hope in God fulfilling His promise of sending to us the Lord, Savior and Messiah. Now is the time for an especially good examination of conscience and a thorough interior purification which will help us to see and welcome the expected Holy One of God. Now is the time to take note of whatever it is which separates us from God, which holds us back from God, to loosen their hold and cast them out from us.
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The Immaculate Conception Holy Day of Obligation Mass offerings will be as follows:
• Wednesday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m.
• Thursday, December 8 at 8:15 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
In addition to our making the Sacrament of Penance available 30 minutes before every Mass, Fr. Jason and I are offering what we have termed a “Day of Grace”. On Thursday, December 23, Confessions will be heard 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on the hour for 15 minutes and then as long as people are present to celebrate the Sacrament. The annual Tri-Parish Penance service will be held on Wednesday, December 21, 7:00 p.m.- 8:00p.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul Church.
There will be no 8:15 a.m. Mass on Saturday, December 24.
Although Confessions will be heard before Holy Day Masses for the Immaculate Conception, they will not be heard before Christmas Masses.
November 20, 2011
GOD’S FIRST COMMANDMENT: GOD FIRST
They like to call State College – home of Penn State University – “Happy Valley,” though the most recent revelations are deeply, deeply disturbing. Pointed questions are in order, including:
• How depraved have we become when the firing of a college football coach creates greater outrage, disgust and anger than the disclosure of the possible sexual abuse of children?
• What ought we to say when a concern to protect the reputation of a university as a football powerhouse trumps the highest regard to champion the innocence and safety of children?
• Where are the legions of protesters, students and otherwise, expressing their solidarity with the children victims of sexual assault and their families?
• What are we to make of the outbursts in defense of those who chose not to pursue the truth with all their might when suspicions were sounded about the gross sexual assault of innocent boys occurring right in their midst?
The facts tell us that university police first began investigating accusations involving the assistant football coach in 1998. The findings are alarming. Police recorded a phone call between the coach and the boy’s mother during which the coach acknowledged his having violated criminal and ethical statutes.
Inexplicably, the (then) county district attorney closed the case and filed no charges.
Before the next season the retirement of the coach is announced yet top officials give him an office in the football building along with access to all university facilities including locker rooms. In the intervening years more and more accounts surfaced involving the former coach continuing to assault boys.
The crux of this appalling story is not about a storied football program in crisis. Nor is it about the startling end to the career of the head coach who has won more college football games than all others. On display in its most hideous perversions we see what happens when idols are worshipped. In this case, sport was cast as a god and its leaders look to have been beyond reproach. It rightly makes us sick.
Let us listen attentively to the first commandment the Lord God gave to us to obey:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20:2-3).
“It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve’” (Deuteronomy 5:7).
It is our supreme duty to protect the innocence and guard the vulnerability of children. The abuse and exploitation of children are inexcusable – that is, there are no excuses, for none exist. To do so manifests a moral depravity that defies description.
Kindly allow me to make clear that my candor in addressing this situation is in no way intended to be a cheap form of piling on after the play. There is no ignoring the fact that the sexual abuse of minors by some priests and some leaders who shamefully sought to hide these heinous crimes has undermined the work of the Church in every way. The Church must continue to do all it can to address what is unquestionably our darkest moment as Catholics in America.
Friends, whenever the light of truth is eclipsed by the darkness of deceit, evil gains a foothold.
“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the light’” (John 14:6). There is no other.
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Made possible through the parish VOGEL HELPING HANDS FUND, the NEW LIFT near the Commons kitchen now is available for your use. For those desiring assistance with entering and exiting the church, the new lift is longer, more open, able to bear a greater load and much quieter than the previous model.
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In his 1864 THANKSGIVING proclamation, President Lincoln prayed for the "blessings of Peace, Union and Harmony throughout the land, which it has pleased God to assign as a dwelling-place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations." May your celebration of Thanksgiving be especially marked by these divine blessings.
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The REVISED MASS TRANSLATION begins the First Sunday of Advent – November 27. For your advance review, “Mass Cards” have been placed in the pew book-holders. We will use these during all Masses beginning next weekend.
November 6, 2011
BECOMING SAINTS
Learning about the saints can help us to live a full and complete human life. Saints are found among all walks of life. They represent all nationalities and age groups:
children, teenagers, young adults, middle age women and men and the elderly. It might surprise a few people to realize that saints are as naturally weak as everyone else. Saints are converted sinners. Many of them were converted from deadly mortal sins while all had to give up lesser venial sins in order to love God and others wholeheartedly
and unreservedly.
The saints tell us what living the Word of God in our daily lives means. They witness to the truth of the Gospel. They are a decisive, vigorous and compelling affirmation of Gospel truth.
The saints seek to cultivate a culture of holiness. That is, their searing love of God and others does not remain in church but goes forth from Mass into the world and changes everyone around them.
How is everything around them changed? Saints are wonderfully happy people and are never bored, cynical or sarcastic. There is nothing dull or dreary about their daily lives. They have a genuine enthusiasm that is highly contagious. When you meet a saintly person you want to be around them just like we want to soak up the sunlight on a brilliantly sunny fall day.
True holiness is so far beyond those who merely describe themselves with drab and uninteresting terms like “nice”. Christians are not called to be lackluster. Christ calls every one of us to holiness. The saints are those who have heard and accepted the call of Christ. They eagerly hand themselves over to God’s sphere and are inflamed by the fire of God’s love. The sequence is important: God’s love is primary, it is the standard by which everything is
measured, the flame that ignites our love in response.
In the Old Covenant, things and persons consecrated to God become “holy.” That is, holiness happens by contact or association with something already known to be holy.
When the Old Covenant is fulfilled in the New Covenant, Christians continually are challenged to be “holy”. How does this happen? They adopt Jesus’ humility and put love of God and love of others first. St. Paul describes this as “putting on Christ” (Romans 13:14).
Is it even right to pick some individuals out from the crowd and elevate them into a special category called “saints”? By no means is this practice exclusively Catholic or even biblical. Such people exist in all cultures and religions. Budda and Socrates are exemplary men. In the squares of our towns we find representations of people who have earned the gratitude and respect of the community for their contribution to the common good in one way or another.
But there is a very important difference between recognizing the achievements of great people and the existence of great saints. God’s choosing. The greatest ones among us are chosen. God makes them great and their greatness far exceeds anything, however noble, that they could accomplish otherwise. God chooses big and small, known and unknown, pious and sinners. Christian greatness of “holiness” begins with our free “yes!” to the call of Christ and advances our faithfulness in carrying out His commands.
Those who utter a wholehearted “yes” to Christ still may stumble or hesitate or fail to live up to
their first ideal, but divine grace will help them up again. Their footing will be regained and
proper way reestablished. The saint has no sense of mission except for doing more completely
what God decrees in the person of Jesus. Taking to heart what Jesus teaches us do in order that we will live full and abundant lives that testify to the presence and action of God.
The mission can be anything: a mission of prayer, of suffering, of active involvement for the poor and oppressed, a mission to a small circle of people who need support and comfort, a public mission or a hidden mission, a successful mission or one doomed to failure. The important feature is this: remaining faithful to God’s direction throughout the journey.
All saints are holy, never for themselves but for God and others. They all think first and foremost of the Lord God’s great task in which they are called to share.
October 30, 2011
BECOMING STEWARDS: LIVING GENEROUSLY AND JOYOUSLY
The final words spoken by the priest (or, if present, the deacon) at Mass are “Go in peace to love and to serve the Lord.” He might as well say this: “In our time of worship together you have responded to God with gratitude, recognizing and receiving God and His gifts at this Mass, now GO and SHARE them in love of God and neighbor throughout the week that is before us.”
At every single Mass we are commissioned to go forth and to live in the world in such a way that we share the bountiful graces we have received each and every time we worship the Lord God at Mass. God’s gifts are not to be hoarded. In a word, we are sent forth to practice the biblical truth of stewardship.
• Biblical Truth = God Himself reveals to us that which is true and to be believed.
• Stewardship = the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares them in love of God and neighbor.
Earlier this summer we launched a stewardship initiative in which all members of our parish family were asked to consider prayerfully ways in which God was calling them to share their time, talent and treasure in love of God and neighbor. We first learned about stewardship of time and talent. Some 70 members of our parish family expressed their interest in getting involved in a parish ministry for the very first time. Well over 100 other parish family members expressed their desire to continue sharing their time and talent in a specific ministry for the benefit of others and praise of God.
Then we took on the third stewardship component – treasure. This initiative now is complete and your generous response simply is amazing. Of the 748 parish households who use envelopes, 162 discerned to continue giving the same amount and 296 have stated they have increased their regular contribution level. An additional 93 households who do not use envelopes have shared their having increased their regular giving and 21 new parishioners have begun supporting our parish ministry activities. Sharing in the form of outright gifts has numbered 24 households.
I do not tire in expressing my heartfelt appreciation to you – THANK YOU! Sharing God’s gifts in love of God and neighbor is the life-giving spirit of a steward. How blessed I am to be the pastor and priest of a community of faith that is growing as a stewardship parish.
October 16, 2011
RENDER UNTO GOD
There continues to be much discussion about what it really means to be Catholic.
This much is crystal clear: claiming to be so and then rejecting the teaching of the Church shows a lack of integrity.
Whenever we believe in something, the convictions we hold to be true always are seen in our actions. Christian faith is no different. People who take God seriously do not remain silent about their faith. They just can’t be quiet about it. Their faith is lived. They want to practice it. While faith in Jesus always is personal, it is not the sort of thing that can remain hidden. Indeed, as the understanding and practice of Christian faith ripens and matures it matters more and more.
Certain collectables come with a certificate of authenticity attached to prove the items are what they are advertised to be.
Real, authentic belief in Christ and His Church is seen principally in our personal choices in our daily living.
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21), the Pharisees hope to discredit Jesus and bring Him down. This alone places them in bad light. They claim belief in God, though their actions prove otherwise. Unwilling to interact directly with Jesus, they send their disciples to Him to spring their trap. Their cowardly choices reveal the true character of the faith: phony, fake, inauthentic.
The question asked to Jesus setting the trap is this: is it lawful for a person to pay taxes to Caesar? Jesus seemingly is placed in a no-win situation. If Jesus answers “yes” then He will be guilty of disloyalty to the Jewish people. If He says “no” then He will be guilty of rebellion against Rome.
Jesus cuts through the haze of their malice and hypocrisy and tells them so. He asks for the
denarius, the coin used to pay the tax. The image on the coin is that of Caesar. They should be willing to give back to Caesar what properly is his. But there is a further duty beyond rendering to Caesar what is his. They are obliged to recognize Almighty God. So are we.
How well we do to recognize that our Christian faith serves as a powerful light helping to scatter the darkness of malice and hypocrisy in our own age. The teachings of Christ and His Church are sure guides for advancing all things beautiful, good and true in our lives along with our society. Real, authentic Christian faith is seen in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and rejecting political conveniences. Followers of Christ and members of His Church are empowered by divine grace to transform the world in which we live. Really Catholic means making this so.
Catholics are called to take an active, vocal and morally consistent role in public debate and policy formation. We cannot trumpet claims about the sanctity of all human life and then speak and act in ways contrary. Personal beliefs cannot be divorced from public actions. Our choices testify to the truth of our convictions and ours is a faith meant to engage and change the world.
The U.S. Catholic bishops’ pastoral statement Living the Gospel of Life (1998) still is the best resource for understanding Catholic citizenship and public leadership.
Please continue to pray for Sr. Colleen Wellington, OP. This summer, Sr. Colleen entered into the Dominican Monastery. What blessings our parish received by our having helped to hatch her vocation to consecrated life! More so, the sisters pray regularly for us all. I know that cards and notes provide a marvelous source of encouragement. Let’s fill the monastery’s mailbox this week!
Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary
335 Doat Street
Buffalo, NY 14211-2199
Next weekend – October 22-23 - I will be traveling to Wisconsin for the joyous occasion of celebrating a cousin’s wedding! While back in my home state, I will spend a day and night with my beloved grandmother who last month turned 97 years young. If the Green Bay Packers were in town, I’d take her to the game. But, alas, they will be on the road and we will watch the game on television after having celebrated Mass together in her home with family. Grandma has a wonderful way of making sure priorities always are in place.
October 9, 2011
THE MEANING OF THE ROSARY
We know a rosary when we see one, even if we do not understand its meaning or pray in this way. Imagine a cinematographer magnificently portraying the life of Jesus by means of his mother’s point of view. This is the rosary!
The beads most commonly are attached to a string or chain. There are large beads – six in all – and they are spaced slightly further apart than the more numerous smaller beads. Ten smaller beads follow a larger one. This pattern is repeated four more times and a circle is formed. Most often there is a cross or crucifix followed by one large bead and then three smaller ones that all are attached to the circularly shaped repeating pattern of larger and smaller beads.
The string or chain of beads slides through the fingers of the praying person. In the beginning the Sign of the Cross is made and the Apostles’ Creed is recited. At the larger beads, the Our Father is prayed and the Hail Mary is reserved for every smaller bead. After every grouping of ten – called a “decade” – a doxology is prayed: “Glory be the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” The rosary ends the same way it began with the Sign of the Cross right after the Hail Holy Queen is prayed.
Prayer is conversation with God. Whenever the conversation with God bubbles up from the heart’s impulse it is good prayer. Anything else is harmful. Jesus condemns one-way conversation: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words” (Mt 6:7). Incessant ramblings are not made evil at the fifth or tenth repetition, but are wrong from the beginning. Intentions matter. Merely looking the part of prayer or acting superstitiously draws no one closer to the Lord God. “A contrite, humble heart, O God, you will not spurn” (Ps 51:19).
Some people worry about repetition. And yet, repetition is beautiful and powerful when it’s done for the right reasons. What else is the beating of a heart but a repetition? Always making the same contraction and expansion and by means of which blood is circulated through the body. What else is breathing but a repetition? Inhaling and exhaling with every breath keeps us alive. The sun rises and sets, the day dawns and nighttime follows – a repetition. If this is so everywhere, why should it not also be our conversations with God and the rhythm of prayer?
The string or chain of beads is meant to help send away distracting thoughts. One bead leads the person praying to the next bead. Their number keeps the repetition within certain bounds. Instead of setting a time limit, the beads are fingered until they all have evoked a prayer. It nicely takes care of having to worry about the conversation with God being “too little” or “too much.” The beads lighten the load in order that the soul may soar.
Easy as the rosary is to pray, it still is learned. Learning requires practice and practice is the way we acquire a certain skill. I recall first learning the rosary in German soon after I moved to Germany. The early rosaries there were hard work and required lots of patience to learn. Then, one day I didn’t need the cards with the prayers and my attention was set squarely on what was essential – Jesus.
The string of beads has no other meaning.
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• ROSARY means “rose garden” and signifies a crown of roses.
• ST. DOMINIC (d. 1221) is credited with having composed and promoted the rosary as we now
have it.
• The five JOYFUL mysteries deal with the sweetly serene yet over shadowed youth of Jesus.
• The five SORROWFUL mysteries comprise Jesus’ passion, from the hour of Gethsemane to His death on the Cross.
• The five GLORIOUS mysteries center on the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit and Mary’s fulfillment.
• In 2002, Blessed John Paul II (d. 2005) added the five LUMINOUS mysteries which draw our attention to significant moments occurring during Jesus’ public ministry.
• We pray the ROSARY in church EVERY TUESDAY at 6:30 p.m. in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Practice brings learning.
September 25, 2011
DOING WHAT GOD WANTS
As is so often the case with Jesus’ parables, the question asked at the end of the story is the key to understanding the entire tale: “Which of the two did the father’s will” (Matthew 21:31)
So, then, what is your opinion?
In the “Parable of the Two Sons” the former son is the one who did the will of the father. He was the one, though initially squawking, is the one who eventually comes to do what the father requested.
The Baptist even dared to live the truth and righteousness he taught. And yet the Baptist was not believed by the religiously appearing people of the day. The people who did believe what he taught and were moved to repent for their sins were the tax collectors and prostitutes, not those belonging to the reigning religious establishment.
Friends, Jesus does not mince words: doing what God wants has nothing to do with merely looking the part. Following Jesus and living in the heart of His Church involves no less than placing our lives squarely where our words are spoken. That is, our lives are to speak to an increasingly pagan society in danger of losing its soul. If we Church-goers, who come to Mass and listen to God’s Word and try, however imperfectly, to do what God wants are not doing what we are saying, how can those Catholics who no longer are with us, but ought to be, return home?
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I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to BOB DANIEL whose long-standing service as a board member of the Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky has been completed. Bob was a leading force in the creation of both the original mausoleum (1991) and its second section (1994). Over the years, Bob has been a trusted counsel of many pastors and associate pastors regarding the Catholic Cemeteries and a veritable host of other important matters. I have so appreciated his sharp insight, generous spirit and witness to the Gospel.
The resignation of Bob and the death a few short weeks ago of kind and dedicated servant of God JACOB “JAKE” KREIDLER who served alongside Bob for so many years on the Catholic Cemeteries board led me to appoint two new parishioners to the board. I am deeply grateful to PHIL SMITH and DELIA MACDONALD who both accepted my invitation to serve the Catholic families of all three parishes in this capacity.
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Established by former parishioner WILLIAM “BILL” VOGEL after he died in 2002 in honor of his own parents, PARISH OUTREACH is a charitable endowment designated to help ease the financial pressures that members of the parish family may be facing. Last year over 60 deserving families received timely assistance whose total amount exceeded $60,000.
The Parish Outreach committee works devotedly to distribute the annual income. Should you or someone you know be in need of financial assistance, especially those who are older and find their fixed incomes insufficient to provide comfortably for their needs, please contact a member of the committee (see bulletin listing) or the parish office. I also wish to thank the two newest members of the committee: SUSAN FOX and TOM LINK.
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Witness the universal beauty and truth of CATHOLICISM in a 10 part epic HD TV and DVD series. Friends, this is the event so many of you have been waiting for to grow in your Understanding
and practice of the Catholic Faith.
Episode 1 is premiering in the Commons on Saturday, October 1. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the one hour first episode will be air on the big screen with big sound at 8:00 p.m. Appetizers and refreshments will be plentiful (21 and over please).
Just listen to a few of the many endorsements of “Catholicism:”
• “Shook me to the core.” – Mike Leonard, NBC “Today
Show” Correspondent
• “The most important media event in the history of the Catholic Church in America” – George Weigel, Biographer of Pope John Paul II and best-selling author
September 18, 2011
MATURE FAITH IS LIVING IN THE MOMENT
I still remember the exceptionally sharp insight of a Protestant Christian minister friend when he
quipped, “wherever you are, there you are.” He cared enough to challenge me to live in the moment and not flee cowardly to avoid a tough stretch.
Worthless complaining shows a lack of faith and announces an interest in being somewhere else, anywhere else. Negative and sarcastic comments similarly tell people that we want to be somewhere other than where we are.
The Lord inserts us into the world of time to be about the task of advancing the Kingdom of God wherever we are. The Sacrament of Baptism empowers us to encounter God where we are and to introduce others to Him. There is no waiting for imaginary better opportunities or different surroundings. God pours out all the divine graces we need to give clear, compelling and compassionate witness to Him where we are. God gives us special graces so that our circumstances – however challenging and difficult – can be occasions for loving Him more and leading others closer to Him.
How great was St. Paul’s longing for Christ where he was! In the second reading for today’s Mass (Philippians 1:20-24, 27) Paul writes from prison. He suffers because of people who out of jealousy want to undermine his duty to proclaim the gospel of Christ. Neither prison nor jealousy takes away his peace and confidence. He continues his work for the Lord precisely where he is.
Don’t let discouragement and disappointment derail your efforts toward fulfilling your Christian mission. Resist temptations to shy away from the burden of the days, even though we may find them stretched out and demanding.
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Fr. Jason was outstanding as a cyclist. Leaving his Harley parked securely at home, he went old school on a bicycle as a triathlon relay participant last weekend, covering 56 miles in a little over 3 hours. Congratulations Fr. Jason!
We both enjoyed terrific friends who made the triathlon relay last weekend a fantastic time for us. I wish to express my sincerest thanks to my teammates Chad and Erika along with Fr. Jason’s teammates Jason and Julie.
Our inaugural SOCIAL SATURDAY was a huge success. Over 100 parish family members joined together for a delicious potluck meal that was held in the Commons immediately after the 4:00 p.m. Mass last Saturday (9/10). Special thanks to those whose spirited leadership and extra hard work made the fun time for so many people possible: Shannon McCabe, Darla Kelly and Julie Youskievicz! By popular demand we already are at work planning a Social Saturday in October – stay tuned.
Reminder: there is no 4:00 p.m. Mass next Saturday at church. All three Sandusky parish churches are canceling their Saturday evening (or “vigil”) Mass in order to have one city-wide Mass at the Erie County Fairgrounds as part of our Oktoberfest celebrations. Last year over 1,000 Catholics gathered for this Mass.
Let me put it another way: the ONLY MASS on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 in all of Sandusky will be at the ERIE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS at 4:00 p.m.
While you’re at it, please plan on staying and enjoying a scrumptious dinner afterwards. Dinner tickets can be purchase at the fairgrounds before Mass as well as after Mass.
September 11, 2011
GLANCING BACK TO GO FORWARD: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON 9/11
How is it that some memories from years ago still seem like yesterday?
We were watching the first Monday Night Football game of the season at a popular sports hangout. As we were leaving, my friend mentioned to me that he would be airborne before sunrise with his admiral to visit an East Coast naval base.
No one could begin to imagine the hellish haze that was to mark the early morning light.
Earlier that year my friend had been re-assigned to a Pentagon post after having patrolled the ocean depths for several years in a nuclear submarine. I was living and working in a Catholic parish just down the street from the White House.
When I first saw the black plume of smoke ominously rising from the Pentagon the next morning, I immediately knew the hijacked commercial jet had slammed into the wedge where his naval detail was located. Almost instantaneously I received a series of panicked messages from DC friends who were unable to locate spouses and other family in the Capital, White House and elsewhere.
Rumors swirled of another commandeered airliner that was headed toward another DC target.
The two greatest towers fell in New York City. Soon thereafter, we heard that a commercial jetliner crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Later the world learned that its destruction had been brought about by self-sacrificing citizens whose bold heroism prevented the passenger jet from being used as a weapon of even greater destruction in the nation’s capital.
In the evening I meet my naval officer friend who had returned home hurriedly. The scene at the Pentagon remains too painful for me to discuss. Never has the night been so awfully dark.
All told some 3000 innocent people were slaughtered by Muslim fanatics on September 11, 2011. The intentional killing of innocents is murder. The invocation of God to justify such unspeakable crimes is sheer blasphemy.
Herod’s evil doing was no less heinous when he ordered his henchmen to massacre the children of Bethlehem (cf. Matthew 2:16-18).
In the intervening years I have heard it said often that time heals. That is a lie. Good choices over time bring about restoration and recovery. Ten years later I am closer to understanding the power of the evangelist’s divinely inspired words: “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overtake the light” (John 1:5).
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Almost ten years later, I recognize God’s providential care wondrously at play in my recent viewing of the stunning award-winning foreign film “Of God’s and Men.”
Based on a true story occurring in 1996, the movie magnificently captures the intensely personal struggles of a small band of Trappist monks in Algeria. Their long-standing peaceful living with Muslim people in a remote village is jeopardized by the rise of Islamic extremists. Violence begets violence and civil war erupts. As Muslim fanaticism intensifies around them, the monks wrestle mightily with the choice of whether to flee to their French homeland or to remain with the townspeople whom they have been called by God to love and serve.
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When Bishop James Hoffman (+2003) requested my return from Washington to Toledo, I quickly made arrangements to find a new spiritual director. Father Edward Farrell graciously accepted the challenge to be my priestly mentor. A remarkably holy and wonderfully perceptive retired priest living in downtown Detroit, Father Farrell immediately introduced me to Blessed Charles de Foucauld whose own life and death in the beginning of the 20th century was remarkably connected with ours in the dawning of the third Christian millennium.
Foucauld wanted everyone whom he met to experience him as if he were their brother. He sought to cry out the Gospel message with the living of his daily life. “I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say, ‘If such is the servant, what must the Master be like?”
Foucauld was shot to death in his tiny desert hermitage by Muslim fanatics on December 1, 1916. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 13, 2005. Father Farrell and I together prayed Foucauld’s “Prayer of Abandonment” every time we met. Reciting this prayer is my first waking action of every new day. Most days, I pray it several times.
Father, I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
September 4, 2011
Revised English Mass Translation What’s Happening
At each and every Mass, we participate in the supreme mystery of our faith, the memorial of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. The way in which the Mass is celebrated has undergone changes throughout the centuries. However, the essential have remained the same: it always has been and always will be the proclamation of God’s Word in Sacred Scripture and reception of Christ’s own Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.
As we prepare to welcome the revised English translation of the Mass, we can be assured that the Holy Eucharist we celebrate with some different words stands in perfect continuity with the first Eucharist instituted by Christ at the Last Supper.
The revised translation – our 3rd English translation of the Roman Missal since the Second Vatican Council – is intended to inspire better worship of Almighty God and to deepen our appreciation of the sacred mysteries of the liturgy.
Is the Mass changing?
The essentials of the Mass are not changing. The structure or order of the Mass is the same, however many of the prayers and responses have been newly translated into English from the Latin original.
So the Mass we celebrate in English is a translation from Latin?
Yes. After the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the prayers were permitted to be translated into the vernacular (or “common”) language of a given country.
How far reaching are the changes in language?
Because of the familiarity we have with the prayers and responses at Mass, the changes will seem significant. For a time, Catholics will no longer be able to walk into church on Sunday and pray the Gloria, Creed and Sanctus (Holy, Holy) and other Mass parts by memory. Special cards will be provided to help you become accustomed to the new translation of the prayers and responses.
Who is responsible for making the English translation of the Mass?
There are several groups who have worked together over a decade to make it happen. And in the case of the English language, many different countries had to work together to make for one new English translation – the US, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain, Scotland, Wales, South Africa and Australia, plus several other countries who use English as their primary language. Final approval came from Rome.
When will the changes in the Mass happen?
The new translation begins on the beginning of the Church’s new year, the first Sunday of Advent, which this year is November 27.
However, beginning in October, we have received permission from our bishop in Toledo to use the revised translation during Mass when singing the Gloria, Sanctus (Holy, Holy) and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). I am glad that we will be singing the same melody with the revised translation at all three parish churches in Sandusky to help make the change easier for all.
What can I do personally to prepare for the revised English translation?
First, take the time to learn more about the actual changes in words used during Mass, especially the people’s parts. The more you learn about the language changes the better you will be prepared to understand and appreciate the revised translation. This will help you enter more fully into the celebration of the Mass.
It will be important to teach your children ahead of time about the new words at Mass. Be positive, seeing it as a wonderful opportunity for them – and you – to learn more about the meaning of the Mass.
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Women’s Bible Study begins on Wednesday, September 14, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. and continues every week through the fall. We will pray and study together the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday. Babysitting is available!
Men’s Bible Study is every week on Saturday mornings 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. and is open to all men seeking to understand and apply the Sunday Gospel reading to their daily lives. Join us!
Earlier this summer parish family member and young professional Colleen Wellington entered the Monastery of Our Lard of the Rosary in Buffalo, New York. What a great blessing our parish has received having helped one of our own hear the call of Christ to dedicate her life to God! Please drop her a short note expressing your special support, sincere gratitude and prayerful remembrance:
Sr. Colleen Wellington
Dominican Monastery
335 Doat St.
Buffalo, NY 14211
August 21, 2011
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ST. MARY’S STEWARDSHIP
What is stewardship? Stewardship is the grateful response of a Christian disciple who recognizes and receives God’s gifts and shares these gifts in love of God and neighbor.
What are the origins of stewardship? Stewardship is a biblical term. Stewardship recognizes that we, as individuals, are not the owners of our lives, our time, our talent and our treasure. God teaches us through His Word that we live this side of heaven as stewards or managers of His gifts. Stewardship is a way of life. Stewardship is how we are called to follow the Lord Jesus. Stewardship is time, talent and treasure given to God in thanksgiving for all that He first has given to us.
At St. Mary’s we especially seek to keep before our sights as individuals and as a family of faith that without God’s goodness we would have nothing – indeed, we would not even be alive.
What is the role of stewardship in our parish? Stewardship is the key to creating a more vibrant and alive parish! The heart of our parish witnesses dedicated and committed members of our family of faith who give freely of their time, talent and treasure – that is, without expectation of return. The fruits of stewardship are impressive! We just look around and see how our parish is marked by an increasingly dynamic character that invites and encourages others to become involved.
St. Mary’s is growing in numbers and expanding in ministries. Last month our time and talent invitation inspired over 100 new parishioners to express their interest in getting involved beyond Sunday Mass.
Why are we calling today (August 21) “Commitment Sunday”? The reason we call it “Commitment Sunday” is because Christ calls forth the gifts from His people which we have received: the gifts of time, talent and treasure. Christ calls us to follow Him by living in the heart of His Church. He fully expects our obedient and joyful response. That is, the Lord Jesus expects us to commit ourselves to the astonishing invitation He issues for each and every one of us to experience a full and abundant life.
At St. Mary’s every member of our family of faith is expected to “commit” to sharing their gifts with others – the family, the parish, the wider community and the poor.
What is the Church asking me to commit of my time? Time itself is a gift from God. During a day, each one of us is given 24 hours by God. In a week we received 168 hours from God. The Christian steward or mature Christian asks, “How am I choosing to use the gift of time that God gives to me?” Christ calls us to share the gift of time with others. Included in this daily question is, “Am I spending time in prayer with God each day?” How can I say I am following Jesus if I am not spending time each day in prayer with the Lord sincerely seeking to listen to His voice?
What is the Church asking me to commit of my talents? We all receive unique gifts from God. “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). The talent that each one receives is not merely given by God for the good of the individual – no! The talent is given by God to the individual so that the individual may share the talent with others. Because our talents vary, the sharing of all the talents in our parish by members of our family of faith strengthens the Body of Christ. “What talents have I received from God? Am I generously sharing those talents with others, or am I hoarding them?”
What is the Church asking me to commit of my treasure? The monetary currency used in our great nation bears upon it four very important words: “In God We Trust.” Do we? Or do we make money to be our God?
St. Mary’s asks each family in the parish to consider prayerfully what they currently are contributing with a genuine openness to growing your commitment to the mission of our parish. Please remember: a little more from many provides much help to those in most need.
What does the Bible say about stewardship of treasure? There are a number of references. The Book of Sirach tells us, “In generous spirit pay homage to the Lord, be not sparing of freewill gifts. With each contribution show a cheerful countenance, and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy. Give to the Most High as He has given to you, generously, according to your means” (35:7-9). Jesus Himself speaks directly about stewardship of treasure, instructing His followers how important it is not only to pay the tithe, but also to live one’s life according to God’s ways –
that is, giving one’s self entirely to God (cf. Matthew 23; Luke 18). When it comes to giving God our finances, we are to do so in a gracious, self-giving manner.
August 14, 2011
The Supreme Importance of Persevering in Prayer
Today’s Gospel scene opens with Jesus and the disciples taking off from where they had been along the Sea of Galilee. They travel some 50 miles together to the Mediterranean Sea. No sooner do they arrive in the resort region of Tyre and Sidon than a Gentile woman approaches Jesus. She cries out in a loud voice:
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon" (v. 22).
Despite the woman’s piercing pleas, the evangelist records that Jesus did not say a word to her. In St. Mark’s telling of the same story, the woman even more dramatically collapses at Jesus’ feet while she begs Him to heal her sick daughter (Mark 7:25-26).
In both Gospel accounts Jesus’ reaction is the same. It appears as if our Lord did not pay any attention to her.
Later on, when Jesus and his companions are preparing to leave, the disciples irritation gets the best them. Complaining openly to Jesus they ask Him to send her away because she keeps calling out to them. It seems her passionate appeals for her daughter are too much for them to bear so they want her to go away.
Continuing her very visible display of emotion, Jesus seems curiously cold to her petition for help: He responds, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v. 24). Might these words have made the impatient disciples grin?
Amazingly she is not dismayed. Indeed, it seems she becomes even more emboldened to act on behalf of her sick daughter. She makes her way to Jesus and kneels before Him she tearfully exclaiming, “Lord, help me” (v. 25). What faith! What humility! What love!
Jesus then uses the image of God’s Kingdom to explain how He first must preach the Gospel to his Jewish brothers and sisters, the chosen people themselves explaining to her that, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs" (v. 26).
But the woman will not take “No” for an answer: She replies, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters" (v. 27).
Her passionate perseverance conquers the heart of Jesus. She inspires one of the greatest compliments uttered by Our Lord and receives the miracle she so fervently pursued. Jesus marvelously utters, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish" (v. 28). Her perseverance in prayer is wonderfully rewarded and her daughter is healed.
In the Gospels we hear several stories involving impressive mothers who dare to seek what truly is best for their children. They know how to appeal to Jesus for help and assistance. On one occasion it is the mother of James and John who approaches Jesus looking for the advancement of her sons. Another time it is a widow in Naim who is weeping for the young man who had been her only child. Maybe it is merely the anguish Jesus sees so perfectly in her eyes that moves Him to bring the body back to life. The mother in today’s Gospel is a perfect model of constancy in prayer, a model intended for all of us who can tire easily in our praying to God.
In his timeless autobiography Confessions, St. Augustine marvels that his mother – St. Monica – never ceased imploring God for the conversion of her wayward son. Nor did she weary of asking good and wise people to speak to her son to dissuade him from his poor decisions and selfish behaviors. One day after making her way to a bishop, she hears that it simply is impossible that the son of such profound tears should perish. What faith! What humility! What love! Much later, St. Augustine acknowledges that the tears of his mother on his behalf brought about his conversion to Christ.
God listens in a special way to the prayers of those who know how to love deeply and passionately, even though at times it may appear that He is deaf to our requests. God wants our faith to become more resolute, our hope to become more profound, our love to become more trusting. He wants everyone to have the bold faith, great humility and unconditional love that a good mother has.
August 7, 2011
21st CENTURY CHANGES IN U.S. PARISH LIFE
In the United States, Catholics normally live their faith as members of a local parish. It has been this way since missionary priests first traveled to the New World to meet the spiritual needs of the growing swell of immigrant Catholics and to preach the Gospel to all people.
Recently released findings from a detailed study of parish life and ministry in the United States draw special attention to what truly are major changes that are happening quickly (http://www.emergingmodels.org/article.cfm?id=75).
In brief, more Catholics are attending Masses at fewer parishes that are served by a smaller number of priests.
According to the in depth report - The Changing Face of U.S. Catholic Parishes - prevailing 21st century trends throughout the country are leading to what is being termed the “supersizing” of the U.S. Catholic parish life. That is, it is becoming more commonplace to create larger parishes or groups of parishes. Smaller parishes seem most at risk to maintain their unique identities while the identities of larger parishes face increasing criticisms for becoming too impersonal. With reducing numbers of priests, the largest parishes are unable to provide the full range of services that parishioners expect most especially Sacramental needs.
Here are some of the major features of the national parish portrait. Underneath in italics I mention the current status of St. Mary’s.
• The average U.S. parish was established in 1920 and 50% of the parish churches have been built after 1940.
St. Mary’s was established in 1855. The cornerstone was laid in 1873 and the church completed and consecrated in 1880.
• The average U.S. parish has 1,168 households = 3, 277 individual parishioners.
St. Mary’s currently has over 2500 households who number over 6000 individual parishioners. In the past two years we have welcomed over 100 new households into our parish family.
• The average U.S. parish has slightly less than 4 Saturday Vigil/Sunday Masses.
St. Mary’s has 5 Saturday Vigil/Sunday Masses. When the Sandusky Life Teen Mass is added to the calendar (September – May), the weekend Masses total 6. Of course this does not include so many other weekend Masses such as weddings, funerals an
• Each year the average U.S. parish celebrates 57 baptisms, 58 First Communions, 44 Confirmations, 14 Marriages, 29 funerals
Last year at St. Mary’s we celebrated 50 baptisms, 54 First Communions, 49 Confirmations, 25 Marriages and 57 funerals.
• In 30% of the U.S. Catholic parishes expenses exceed revenue.
At St. Mary’s we live within our means. Practicing the biblical principles of stewardship, our parish spirit is marked by gratitude and generosity as we seek to depend more wholeheartedly on God, Who so deeply desires to provide us with all that we truly need.
• Catholic parishes in the U.S. provide a variety of services: 86% Visit Sick and Home Bound, 76% Youth Ministry, Social Needs 59%, and Bereaved 54%.
St. Mary’s provides its family members all these ministries and many, many more in an on-going effort to meet the needs of all our family members. We invite all members to give something of their time and talent so that others may be helped in their need and God may be praised in His goodness.
• Catholic education remains very important - 25% of U. S. Catholic parishes support a regional Catholic school while 24% operate a parish school.
Since our beginning, St. Mary’s has been committed to providing outstanding Catholic education. In 1975 St. Mary’s High School was centralized (becoming SMCC) and in 2002 our parish elementary school was combined with two other local parish schools along with St. Mary Central Catholic High School to form Sandusky Central Catholic School.
• Of all the U.S. Catholic parishes, 93% have a Pastoral Council and 97% have a Finance Council.
St. Mary’s has both a Pastoral Council and a Finance Council. The members of each council are critical in crafting the spiritual, pastoral and financial vision of the parish and influencing the daily ministries and services we provide.
• In 27% of Catholic parishes in the U.S. there now are multi-parish ministries, where a parish is “clustered” or linked to another parish or parishes.
St. Mary’s has joined with Holy Angels and Sts. Peter and Paul to form several “tri-parish” ministries including Sandusky Life Teen, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), Sandusky Central Catholic School, Catholic Community Supper, Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky, Pre-Cana Days, Annual Lenten Mission and Oktoberfest.
July 31, 2011
COMING SOON: THE REVISED ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE MASS
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) ushered in the splendid occasion for Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular language. Until that time, Latin was the only language used at Mass throughout the world.
I vividly recall my great-uncle Father Roland Glass who was ordained a priest in 1943 describing his excitement when he was able to pray the Mass in English. He joyfully explained that use of the English language made it possible for him to understand all that he was praying for the very first time. He felt much more connected with Christ along with everyone else at Mass.
The purpose of translating the Latin original is to make for the full, active and conscious participation of everyone who comes together at Mass. The more we understand the words we use at Mass, the better we can worship God and the more we can be united together in faith.
A new English translation of the Mass is on its way for use in all English-speaking nations. Bishops from the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, India, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and a few other countries completed a careful study of translating anew the Latin original into the English language. These are some of the countries where the revised translation will soon be used at every Mass along with many other English-speaking communities throughout the world, including those located in Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Singapore.
All other major language groups already have completed their new translations of the Latin original. In our country, the revised translation will be used at all Masses beginning the First Sunday of Advent 2011 – or Sunday, November 27, 2011.
As you can well imagine, creating a single English translation for so many different countries is a daunting task. Even when comparing how the English language is spoken in the United States and Great Britain, for example, there are numerous clear differences in the way words are used. For example, what we call a “flashlight” is known as a “torch” in England. Moreover, words can change meaning over time, and particular manners of speech can fall in and out of favor.
The revised English translation is meant to do two things:
1. To bring our prayer during Mass closer to the Latin original,
2. To make our prayer more consistent with what is spoken in different languages throughout the world.
Here is a prime example how this will be done. Whenever the priest (or bishop) says “The Lord be with you” the response of the assembly is as follows:
• Latin Original: “Et cum spiritu tuo.”
• Current English Translation “And also with you.” [loosely translated]
Revised English Translation “And with your spirit.” [literally translated]
Change has been a part of the life of the Church since its beginning. As we approach the revised English translation – the 3rd since the Second Vatican Council first permitted Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular language – it is important that we see the changes in a positive light. As we grow in understanding and appreciation of our worship of God so, too, will we pray more comfortably and wholeheartedly. The Mass is the most powerful prayer Jesus has given us to pray. The importance of always praying well cannot be overstated.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have prepared an excellent description of the revised English translation. As the arrival of the new Roman Missal nears, I encourage everyone to check out the bishops’ web site (http://usccb.org/romanmissal).
Let us pray that the new words will enable us to experience an even more profound encounter with Christ.
July 24, 2011
YOUTH AND THE RENEWAL OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Youth are not the “future” Church. By means of receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharistic and Confirmation, a person is fully initiated into the Catholic Church. Teenagers are no less members of the Church than adults. Stated differently, the Church belongs to teens in the very same way it belongs to adults. Youth belong to the Church front and center, here and now.
In recent times we have witnessed an alarming rise in the number of people who are lukewarm and indifferent in the daily practice of their Catholic faith. In no uncertain terms, God addresses those whose lives are marked by worldly pursuits and selfish interests:
I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).
Young people are God’s answer to the apathy and laziness that have overtaken the minds and hearts of far too many Catholic adults. Through teenagers, God unleashes an energy and creativity that helps all people realign their priorities. Often times it is through young people who are living their faith and speaking about their beliefs that adults begin to make more daily choices that are pleasing to God and less about their own comfort and pleasure.
Co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Steubenville Mid-America brought together over 3000 teenagers last weekend for the joyous praising of God and terrific encouragement to live in the heart of His Church. I joined over 40 of our own high school youth from SANDUSKY LIFE TEEN along with some amazing college students to make the pilgrimage to Springfield, Missouri.
I’ve never been in a bus that long. And not since my yellow school bus days of long ago have I been packed together with such supercharged adolescence.
The trip was remarkably uplifting because of the teens and collegians who made it so. Their earnest desire to encounter Christ and to live as active members of their Catholic Church is inspiring. If it is to happen – and happen it must for Our Lord deeply desires all his followers to live daily lives pleasing to him - the renewal of our local parishes will come about in large part through the younger people and not for them.
SANDUSKY LIFE TEEN is not a private program for high school students. It is a movement of the Holy Spirit through which all people in all three local parishes and beyond stand to deepen their love for Christ and rid themselves of being lukewarm, apathetic and indifferent to the Church of Christ.
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The 3rd revised translation to the Roman Missal (more commonly called the “Sacramentary” or what the servers know as the “red book”) will be introduced later this year on the First Sunday of Advent (November 27, 2011). The Mass does not change, though some of the English words we used during Mass will be different. This revision enables us to use English words and phrases which more closely follow the original Latin text (formerly called the Romanum Missale).
Beginning in September we have received permission from our bishop to use the revised translations for the following Mass parts: Gloria, Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and the Memorial Acclamations. Our various choirs – parish, contemporary, children’s and funeral - will be leading us in new music that will help us to become acquainted more quickly with the word changes in these parts of the Mass. This is an exceptionally exciting moment that gives each of us the opportunity to be more intentional in our worship of God at Mass.
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I wish to acknowledge my special appreciation to Alissa Widman for her superbly written article entitled “Church Unity” which appeared on the front page of last Sunday’s Sandusky Register. She expertly summarized the pastoral changes that further will unite all three Sandusky parishes in July 2012.
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I will be away with my family from July 27 to August 6 during which time my entire nineteen member family will be together under the same roof. Meanwhile, rectory curfews remain in place. Of course, I look forward to receiving your detailed report about a certain someone who lives in the rectory and is not the pastor upon my return.
July 17, 2011
THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS
Jesus follows up the parable of the sower and the seed we heard at Mass last Sunday
(Matthew 13:1-23) with the parable of the wheat and the weeds we hear at Mass this Sunday
(Matthew 13:24-43).
The world is like a field where God continually sows the seeds of divine graces. When His Word sincerely is received and takes root in a soul, it produces remarkable fruits of goodness. Jesus offers us his grace with such amazing love – he holds nothing back and gives us no less than his total self.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off (v. 25).
The weed in question is a plant that is often found growing in cereal crops in the Middle East. It resembles wheat so closely that even to the farmer’s practiced eye it is impossible to tell the two plants apart until the stalks begin to mature. Then the weed easily can be recognized by its slender ear and pitifully shriveled grain. It can be quite toxic to humans and if mixed with flour will ruin bread.
Sowing such a weed among the wheat was a form of revenge not unheard of in the countries of Jesus’ time. Periodic plagues of weeds were very much feared by the peasants because they could cause them to lose their entire harvest.
From the earliest days of the Church the weed was understood to be a metaphor for false doctrine. Especially in the beginning, it is not always easy to distinguish what is true from what is a lie. Indeed, the devil tries to mix lies with what is true. And if lies are allowed to flourish they always have a toxic effect on souls. As lies, deceptions and secrets become more a part of one’s daily living catastrophes result.
Jesus’ parable has lost none of its relevance nowadays. We see many Christians who have fallen asleep and whose indifference toward God has allowed the enemy to sow weeds. How very careful and alert we all must be with ourselves and those around us with the internet, movies, magazines, books, television and newspapers, all of which can be a real source of lies and deception. Media creations with huge audiences frequently portray pagan lifestyles, ridicule chastity, mock faithfulness, promote notions that abortion and euthanasia somehow are acceptable, cast doubt on the power of the Church’s Sacraments and, in general, present lethal ideas about human life as if Christ had never come to redeem us. The enemy is relentless in pursuit of capturing human souls.
According to Scripture, the devil is a liar and the father of lies (cf. John 8:44).
In order to be faithful to the requirements of our Christian vocation, we must be watchful constantly and not let ourselves be caught off guard. The moment false doctrine manages to find a place in our soul it quickly gives rise to emptiness and estrangement from God.
Friends, we need also to be watchful with impulses and affections and not fool ourselves with excuses about how our decisions don’t really affect us. We equally should be careful about the harmful affect false teachings have on those God has entrusted to our care.
• I am with a remarkable group of our Sandusky Life Teen teenagers at a national retreat weekend in Springfield, Missouri.
• Last weekend we suspended our monthly Second Sunday collection in order for you to offer total encouragement to the Little Sisters of the Poor in support of their special ministry to the needy aged. If you did not have the chance to do this you can use the envelope they left in church or contact them through their web site: http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/
• St. Mary’s now is on FACEBOOK with audio recordings of homilies and other cool features. Please check it out and while you’re at it, be sure to “like” us: http://www.facebook.com/stmarysandusky
July 10, 2011
SEEDS GOD SOWS
Compared to the relatively level ground where we live in Northern Ohio, the landscape in Galilee is marked by rolling hills and uneven terrain. In the days of Jesus, seeds there only were able to be sown in narrow strips of land in valleys and along river banks. The lack of flat land resulted in farmers scattering seeds broadly, clinging to the hope that some would find rich fertile soil, take deep root and, ultimately, bring forth impressive fruit.
Seeds falling on the path would soon be eaten up by birds or trodden underfoot by people passing along their way. Jesus explains the deeper meaning of this reality. “The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19).
The path, then, that Jesus describes is soil that has been trampled over repeatedly and made hard. These compacted areas are empty souls; these souls are prepared only to want and accept earthly things. Unable to reflect upon their thoughts, souls on the hardened path also fail to guard their senses. They are slaves to the world and become increasingly dissatisfied and alone. Because their affections are neither controlled nor ordered, they easily allow their imaginations to engage in thoughts that are rubbish. Having turned away from God their souls liken uncultivated parched ground. These souls become as hardened as the constantly trodden paths. They hear God’s word, but the devil easily snatches it away from them.
Friends, we must ask the Lord Jesus daily for fortitude so that we never become like those whose soil is like the hardened path – negligent, sarcastic, disengaged. God scattered his seed into our souls at baptism. How often since then has he given us an abundant of grace! How often he has passed close beside us, helping, encouraging and forgiving us!
Jesus’ description of rocky soil similarly is true to form. “Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots” (vv. 5-6).
Such soil only has a thin layer of earth so that the seed shoots up rapidly but then quickly withers in the heat since it has no depth of root. The stony ground represents superficial souls who lack inner depth. These souls are inconsistent and unable to see tasks and relationships through to their proper completion. They have good dispositions. They even receive grace with joy. However, the moment difficulties arise – and we all face them at one time or another – they turn back. They will not sacrifice themselves in order to keep promises made. Sadly, their unfulfilled resolutions bring forth no fruit.
Friends, we must ask the Lord Jesus daily for constancy in our resolutions along with a spirit of sacrifice so that we do not give up when challenges arise. With God’s help, we can begin time and again, marked by a holy determination, to strive always to find the abundant life for which we all have been made. God gives us the graces we need – dare we accept them?
“Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it” (v. 7). Love of riches, a selfish ambition to gain influence of power and excessive concern for a comfortable way of life are like sharp thorns that prevent real communion with God. People who seek these shallow goals are imprisoned souls. Servants of all things material, they are blind to all that really matters.
If we allow our hearts to become attached to money, influence or praise; if we set our hearts on the ultimate comforts we see advertised; if we give in to all our urges and pursue things that are unnecessary, we then place serious obstacles to God’s love being the defining feature of our daily living. This is where acts of penance are especially helpful.
Every person is represented in Jesus’ parable. At various moments, our souls can liken the various soils depicted – beaten path, rocky, thorny and rich, fertile land. We are the soil for the seeds that God sows. Even though the sowing is carried out with great love – after all, it is no less than God who pours himself into our very souls – the results depend largely on the condition of the soil on which it falls. Christ’s words boldly state the responsibility we have to prepare ourselves to receive divine grace and to respond to it.
July 3, 2011
The Yoke of Christ: Helping Others Carry Their Burdens
Jesus came to free people from their most pressing burdens by taking them upon himself. That’s right, Jesus freely bore them all. Every Sunday we profess that Jesus bore upon himself our sorrows and that he did so expressly “for us and our salvation.”
Lest we miss the point, “for us” includes all of us, each and every one of us. No one is omitted, no one is left out.
Those daring to draw closer to Christ, to take him up on the offer of his yoke, find that the things most difficult to bear each day become so much easier. Stated differently, when we start living every day according to the ways Jesus taught, the challenges no longer loom as large and all encompassing.
So, then, how do we imitate Jesus? One way is to help others with their burdens and difficulties. Mature followers of Christ always try to relieve others from whatever is weighing them down, exactly as Christ himself would do in our place. Oftentimes this occurs as a small act of kindness – a thoughtful smile, an encouraging word, remembering to say “please” and “thank you.”
We should never think that an act of sacrifice done for the real benefit of another somehow is more than we ought to do. The virtue of charity leads us to care more wholeheartedly for others. It leads us to look for opportunities to make ourselves useful, to lessen the burdens of others and to instill hope by means of our helping, even though we know we will never do as much as we ought.
We all will do well to think also of those aspects of our daily living which, though without really meaning to, makes life more difficult for others – our whims and fancies, rash judgments, sarcastic comments, insensitivity for others, and unkind words.
To follow Christ joyfully we first have to ask him to give us a heart like his, capable of feeling sorrow for the difficulties others bear. To become the followers of Christ we claim to be, we must have in our hearts the same feelings of mercy Jesus had for others.
Let us ask our Lord to help us grow in his grace so that we will feel greater compassion for others which will inspire more generous living.
Finally, when we find ourselves wrestling with a burden that is beyond our strength – and it happens to us all, sometimes unexpectedly - we should hear and heed the words spoken by Our Lord in today’s Gospel: “Come to me” (Matthew 11:25). Indeed, let us all make our way to Jesus, who alone presents us with the meaning and fulfillment we all seek this side of heaven.
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In anticipation of Independence Day, I re-read the magisterial account of our nation’s establishment entitled 1776 by David McCullough. A Pulitzer-Prize winner, McCullough’s pen (er, word processor) chronicles the establishment of our nation in a style that is remarkably relevant and readable.
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It’s the end of June and the Cleveland Indians still are in the hunt to win the AL Central Division. OK, which is more significant – that it’s the end of June or that we’re talking about the Tribe?
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July 14-18 I will be accompanying our amazing teenagers to Steubenville Mid-America in Springfield, Missouri (http://stlyouth.org/steubenville). The trip will be the longest bus ride I have ever taken. And it is sure to be among the most meaningful and memorable events of the entire year.
Thanks to Sandusky Life Teen for taking a chance on me!
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Next weekend (July 9-10) we welcome the Little Sisters of the Poor to all of our weekend Masses. The sisters will be at the doors after Masses accepting donations for their home in Oregon, Ohio (near Toledo) where their residents wonderfully live their remaining days in a warm and loving community of Catholic faith.
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I personally wish to thank parishioner Tim Walsh for his generous service as a Sandusky Central Catholic School board member. Tim’s spirited leadership repeatedly interjected fresh perspectives and his high expectations have helped to improve vital aspects of our Catholic school. His timely counsel and faithful friendship are deeply appreciated by me and all who know him.
Oh, did I mention that Tim’s also a Green Bay Packers fan?
June 26, 2011
Special Summertime Opportunities
Vacations are needed to enjoy time that truly is personal. They are needed to help us rethink and reorder our life. We need them to help us make better choices, more meaningful choices that move us closer to being who we’ve been created by God to be. The fact remains that we can be much too ensnared by earthly interests. All are threatened by enslavement to a mentality that does not respect our dignity as free people.
Vacations are useful time for making changes. In fact, they may be the only time we have available to make necessary and substantial changes in our daily living. But let’s be sure that during vacation days this summer we find the courage to make choices according to Gospel criteria. If vacation time only is taken up with pursuits of entertainments and idle pastimes which do not allow for rethinking and reordering, if we pass purposeless hours and days following the latest fads, we risk becoming idol-worshippers and ever less available for the great things God so deeply desires us to experience.
Sandusky is a popular summertime vacation destination. How wonderful it is for so many vacationers to join us for the Holy Mass every weekend! They join us to rethink and reorder. Let us help them by means of wonderful hospitality. Welcome those who may be seated in a pew where you normally sit. Assist those whom you do not know and seem to be looking for something or someone. Thank vacationers for praying together with us, encouraging them to complete a Connect Card so we might learn more about their time with us.
Friends, this summer let us take charge of ourselves by doing at home and on vacation those things which truly will refresh us in body and in spirit.
June 19, 2011
The Splendor of Fatherhood
In England in 1534 all the citizens who had come of age where ordered to take the oath under what was termed the Act of Succession which acknowledged the union of King Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn as a marriage. The King proclaimed himself supreme head of the Church in England and denied any authority to the Pope.
Two fathers refused to take the oath: Father John Fisher, who had been ordained a priest in 1491 and then was serving as the Bishop of Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, Chancellor to Henry VIII and a father of four children and husband to his beloved Jane. Both fathers were imprisoned in the Tower of London and the following year they were beheaded.
Biographers routinely describe Thomas More as a man like ourselves because he was an ordinary Christian. He labored to combine his vocation as the father of a family with his profession as a lawyer. He enjoyed his fatherly duties at home and in the world, seeking especially to live a life pleasing to God the Father. Each Friday, Thomas More would meditate briefly on the sufferings of Christ. When his wife and children would grumble about daily difficulties they faced, he would tell them that “we cannot expect to go to heaven in featherbeds.” In other words, the sufferings experienced by Our Lord Jesus for us and our salvation far exceed our most painful trials. It was by means of the Cross of Christ that Thomas More found his strength as a father and citizen.
As we pause and ponder the gift of fatherhood throughout our nation, let us ask John Fisher and Thomas More to help us imitate their fatherly examples so that we may live more wholeheartedly where God wants us to, in all things, both great and small, whatever the circumstances of our lives.
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Your spiritual fathers thank you for your kind remembrances of our priesthood ordinations. I was ordained a priest on June 12 (1993) while Fr. Jason’s anniversary date was May 30 (2009). Your cards, words and prayers have been appreciated greatly.
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Here is something for you to consider carefully this as you prepare to take on another week. “A Catholic, without prayer? It is the same as a soldier without arms.”
(St. Josemaria Escriva, +1975).
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Friday, June 24, is “Fix It Day” at Sandusky Central Catholic School. I will be joining a terrific group of volunteers who are coming together to help improve our Catholic school buildings and grounds. How about sharing some time and joining us in the special effort which, ultimately, is about making the Catholic school environment even better for children to grow in their understanding and practice of the faith?
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Next weekend (6/25-26) elections for the Sandusky Central Catholic School board will be held in all three parishes. This year, registered parishioners who are at least 18 years of age and out of high school will have the opportunity to choose two members from our local parishes to serve as Catholic school board members. In accordance with the SCCS statutes, the pastor of Holy Angels receives the privilege of appointing a member to the board this year.
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Congratulations to parish family member Karen Bush who received the Diocesan Centenary Award. Concluding the year-long diocesan centenary celebration, Bishop Blair bestowed this honor upon 139 representatives who exemplify outstanding service to their parish. Posthumously, Karen’s beloved husband Ray also was fittingly acknowledged.
I wish also to congratulate the other deserving local Centenary Award recipients along with their parishes: Charlie Lochotzki (Holy Angels) and Deacon Milt Opper (Sts. Peter and Paul).
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During the same ceremony at Rosary Cathedral in Toledo last Sunday, parish family member Frank Link was one of eleven recipients of the papal Benemerenti Medal in recognition for lifetime contributions to people of the 19-county Diocese of Toledo. Words simply fall short in expressing the depth of my gratitude to Frank and his wife Sue along with the entire Link Family for the many wonderful ways they promote the faith and help me to be a better priest and pastor.
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Did you happen to hear that Apple is coming out with a new phone called the "LeBron James Edition". It's silent and has no rings.
God is so good!
June 12, 2011
PENTECOST: GOD’S GIFT OF REAL TRANSFORMATION
The setting for today’s Gospel is the same as several Gospels which we have heard proclaimed
during the Easter Season: the upper room.
Recall again Jesus’ words to the disciples on the evening before his death in the upper room when he said he would not leave them orphans, that they must continue his presence in the world by loving as he loved, and that he would give them the Spirit to guide, teach and support them in their trials.
The man who had been agonizingly crucified is not only alive, but comes right through the locked doors to bring them peace. Not once but twice the resurrected Lord says, “Peace be with you” (John 20:20, 21).
And what was the result? The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord (John 20:20). After all, death has turned into life, anguish has turned into peace and fear has turned into joy. In the Gospel story today we find the beginnings of the transformation which the death and resurrection of Jesus can produce. Let us be very careful not to overlook an essential aspect: the presence of the risen Lord in the Church not only is a presence which brings life, peace and joy; it also is a presence which brings real responsibility.
The Holy Spirit instills courage and enflames commitment to open doors which we lock around us. The Church – beginning for us right here with our parish – must make an honest assessment of itself and how it is doing:
How are we handling the challenges poised by the increasingly complicated and godless world into which Jesus sends us?
Have we closed the doors around us, forming an elite, privatized and comfortable sense of religion?
Do we speak and act as if we have all the answers?
Friends, first and foremost the great feast of Pentecost is about transformation – that is, deep, profound and lasting change at the core of our being. The Spirit will change your fears into joy to the degree you accept the great responsibility to live daily as a missionary, opening first the doors that we ourselves have shut tight.
A Note from Fr. Dave: On the First Sunday of Advent (November 27, 2011) the Catholic Church in the United States will begin using the Third Edition of the Roman Missal. This revised translation is more than merely learning new responses to say during Mass, even though the words we use have a particular purpose and are important. Ultimately, the opportunity before us is a call to strengthen our worship and praise of Almighty God during the Holy Mass by praying more wholeheartedly.
In the coming months I will offer comments about the revised translation, seeking to explain what you will say differently during Mass beginning November 27 in an effort to help prepare us for the change that is the most significant one since the Mass first was allowed to be celebrated in English. For those inclined to learn more now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has developed an informative internet resource that is well worth viewing: http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal
June 5, 2011
JESUS’ DEPARTURE MARKS OUR BEGINNING
Jesus’ life on earth did not end with his death on the cross but with his ascension into heaven. As Christ’s
earthly mission comes to a dramatic close with his ascension; his disciples begin their God-given mission.
Jesus explains that we remain in his place. It is in our daily living and by means of our ordinary labors that
the world around us stands to be sanctified and bettered. Jesus expects us to reverence and champion the dignity of every person and in doing so to be God’s own sign of unity and instrument of peace.
Although Jesus ascends to heaven, he states in no uncertain terms that, “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20). How is Jesus always with us? Jesus is present among us in a Church which opens its doors to all peoples, bringing them life through the waters of baptism and instructing them in the teachings of Jesus. Our task is to continue the work of Christ, to teach people God’s truths and make known the demands that these truths impose. We especially are to help people follow God’s way through the grace of the (Seven) Sacraments.
For sure this is no easy task to bring Jesus, still among us, to a world that does not know him, however Christian it may sometimes call itself.
May 22, 2011
THE VIRTUE OF JUSTICE
Love for Jesus Christ is the great motivating source of the just person’s actions. The more faithful we are to Our Lord the more just we will be, the more committed we will be to true justice.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that justice is one of the four cardinal virtues. The just person is distinguished by their habitual right thinking and the uprightness of their conduct toward their neighbor (cf. CCC, 1807).
It never is enough only to think about doing what is right.
Joyful Christians know and cherish an encounter of Christ himself in their neighbor, Christ who always is present in others and, most especially, he is present in those in need.
We need the light of faith to appreciate what is at stake with the justice or injustice of our actions. Friends, the great driving force of daily actions is this: accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ himself. This is something that Christians alone can see. Christ is waiting for us in those whom we encounter – in our family members, our friends, our colleagues, our acquaintances.
“For when I was hungry and you game me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me…whatever you did for the least ones, you did for me” (Matthew 25:35-36, 40).
We must learn to recognize Christ when he comes out to meet us in the people who are around us. How faithfully are we following Christ? It is seen in our respect for justice, the attentiveness we give this biblical virtue, how keen and committed we are to seeking it and having it mark our daily decisions. If we are friends of Christ and earnestly love him, that love and friendship will overflow into our relationships with others.
For sure, the spiritual and material responsibilities of Christians towards others are demanding. We must know how to serve others joyfully, with our hearts and through our actions. When faced with these responsibilities and with the help of God’s grace, mature Christians will neither cower nor be caught up in a superficial and self-absorbed frenzy.
Caritas enim Christi urget nos – the love of Christ urges us on (2 Corinthians 5:14).
We continually are being brought into contact with Christ, that is, directly contacting him, through the regular practice of justice. To treat another person justly is to respect and reverence God’s presence in that person.
Let us, then, ask Christ Our Lord to give us a good heart, capable of having compassion for the pain of others. Only such a heart can realize that the true and lasting relief for suffering and anguish in this world is love.
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• Please support the 2011 Annual Catholic Appeal. This year I am asking that we increase our total parish participation percentage. When a little is done by many it quickly becomes a lot.
• Congratulations to the 49 young people who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.
• It simply is terrific to see more and more of our college students with us at Sunday Masses – welcome home.
• Special thanks to those of you who so generously and faithfully serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion both at Mass as well as those who make it possible for the homebound and sick of our parish to receive the Holy Eucharist. If you are interested in living the faith in this manner, please contact Deacon Bill Burch who will be delighted to speak with you.
May 8, 2011
DID YOU KNOW?
• President Woodrow Wilson made
Mother’s Day an official national holiday in
1914.
• When Pope Benedict beatified Pope
John Paul II on May 1 before a crowd of
over 1,000,000 faithful it was the first time
in the history of the Church that a current
pope beatified his predecessor.
• Speaking of Pope John Paul II (d. 2005), kindly allow
me to recommend two outstanding biographies on the former pontiff. Impressively thorough and very detailed, A Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel remains the scholarly standard. For a more personal portrayal, check out John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan.
• And for those among us who’d rather watch than
read, there is a superb DVD chronicling Pope John Paul II’s impact upon the world that simply is a must see: Nine Days that Changed the World.
• Are all those who are last really to become first?
Genealogists report that Karin Vogel is the last person in line to the British throne. A descendant of Sophia of Hanover, she would rule Britain if 4,972 die.
• Beginning Monday (5/9), I will be spending five days with
the Trappist monks at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia. Father Jason puts the over/under of my being able to remain silent at a few hours – “maybe”, he said, while rolling his eyes.
• The Cleveland Indians set a record for the most wins
ever in the month of April (18). Could a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory and a Cleveland Indians’ World Series triumph really happen in the same year? Dear Lord,…
May 1, 2011
A PASTOR’S PONDERINGS
One of the disciples was not in the upper room (John 20:19-31). When the disciples were filled with faith and joy and received Jesus’ commission to bring His peace and healing into the world, Thomas was not present (24).
Emphatically told that Jesus is alive, it is not that Thomas will not believe; Thomas will believe, but only in his own way. For Thomas, Jesus must meet his conditions and expectations: “Unless I see the holes that the nails made…unless I can put my hand into his side” (25).
The following Sunday, the risen Jesus visits the disciples again. This time Jesus shows the limitations of Thomas’ demands to which Thomas confesses a true Christian faith which no longer depends upon tangible proof.
The early Christians endured fierce persecution because of their commitment to gather for the Eucharist every Sunday. Why would they have risked death when they could have prayed to God privately and individually? From the beginning, Christians considered their weekly participation in Sunday Mass to be the starting point for a life centered in Christ.
• I wish to thank Marty Klupp for again leading our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). She and her wonderfully committed RCIA team volunteers helped to lead 22 new members into our Catholic Faith at the Easter Vigil.
• To all whose dedicated volunteerism makes our church stunningly beautiful and keeps it orderly and clean as an act of faith, thank you! We always welcome new people to join our weekly volunteer church cleaning teams as you are able. The same holds true for people interested in joining groups of volunteers who water flowers throughout the church. If interested, please contact the parish office.
• Congratulations to the 54 children from our parish who are receiving their First Holy Communion this weekend!
• So here’s the deal: the Cleveland Indians are in first place. Should they lose all five remaining games in April (I’m writing this on April 25), the Tribe still finishes the month of April at an even 13-13. I’m trying hard not to drink the Kool-Aid of their early season success, but it sure tastes delicious!
• With baseball in mind, the most recent issue of The Sporting News spotlighted the greatest records in American sports. Several baseball feats were listed among the unbreakable marks. I long since have held that Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak never will be broken along with Cy Young’s total of 511 career pitching wins.
• Disagree? Since DiMaggio set the record in 1941, there only has been one MLB player who has hit safely in more than 40 consecutive games (Pete Rose, 44 game hit streak, 1978). Stated differently, in 70 years no MLB hitter has been within a week of matching what DiMaggio did. Meanwhile on the mound, a pitcher winning 20 games a year for 25 years still would be short of Cy Young’s staggering career accomplishment.
• In addition to The Sporting News, the other magazines I subscribe to and read regularly are – in no particular order - Harvard Business Review, Smithsonian and First Things.
• I strongly encourage you and your family to consider attending the annual BLUE MASS which will be celebrated at St. Mary’s on Sunday, May 15 at 2:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus – Sandusky Council #546 - this traditional Mass honors the work of all public safety personnel including local law enforcement officers, fire fighters and emergency medical providers. The Mass is open to all and provides us with a marvelous moment in which we can express our deepest gratitude to those among us who so courageously put their lives on the line for our daily safety and protection.
• The much-anticipated beatification of Pope John Paul II takes place on May 1. I came of age as a Catholic believer during the early years of his pontificate as he stood steadfastly against the godless Soviet Communism that had terrorized his own beloved Polish people since World War II. He inspired me to live a purposeful life and helped hatch my priestly vocation.
April 24, 2011
The Light of Christ Scatters the Darkness
For those filling the church at the deeply moving Easter Vigil Mass last night, the most solemn liturgy of the entire year began in absolute darkness.
The symbolism is powerful: darkness is the situation into which humanity is plunged without Christ. In an
instant everything changed. The Easter Candle was lit, hoisted high before us and we heard confidently
chanted: “Christ, Our Light!” And from the light of the Easter candle – symbolizing Christ who revealed
Himself to us “the Light of the world” – all the faithful received the light. The darkened church suddenly wasilluminated with the light of the Easter candle and the candles held by the faithful who filled the church.
Friends, this is the same light the Church lets flood over the earth, submerged as it was in darkness.
The Resurrection of Christ is a powerful call to become ablaze with His Light and to carry the light to others. How do we do this? We do this by being united to Christ.
Last night 22 new members were joyously received into the Church of Christ! In addition, we celebrated four adult baptisms. Let it be known throughout our area that the spirit of Jesus is alive in our community of faith.
St. Paul’s advice to the Christians at Ephesus is as timely today as ever: fill everything with the spirit of Jesus placing Christ at the center of everything (Eph 1:10).
Our task as Christians is to proclaim Jesus as Lord, Savior and Messiah of all! We are to announce this glorious truth in what we say and do.
For those among us this weekend who have been disconnected from Christ and His Church, welcome home! For those visiting us this weekend, we are glad you have joined us. And for the many, many members of our parish family whose joyful witness to Christ and faithful friendship continues to strengthen me as a man, Christian and priest, thank you.
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Our historic Lenten mission entitled “An Evening of Reflection” proved to be a powerful evening. Over 800 people gathered at the State Theater last Palm Sunday night to hear Vatican Official and Papal Household Member Monsignor Anthony Frontiero who traveled from Rome to Sandusky. In addition, Diocese of Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair graciously joined us.
For those able and interested, please join me in sending Monsignor Anthony Frontiero a personal letter of thanks. Letters to the Monsignor may be sent to the following address:
Rev. Monsignor Anthony Frontiero
Palazzo San Calisto
00120 Citta del Vaticano
EUROPA
April 17, 2011
We surround ourselves with photographs and other images to keep before us our families and the most
important events in our lives. These visual reminders give us a sense of our personal history whether they
are digital files on phones or printed film in frames.
Photographs and other images of the saints marvelously remind us how well we will do to strive to live lives that are pleasing to Almighty God and beneficial to others.
We do not worship pictures and statues in our church. Instead the many images found in stained glass, carvings and statues serve as reminders of those who already have walked across the earthly stage and stand to inspire us to live lives which are equally as generous and abundant.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that respectful veneration of images is entirely different from the adoration and worship which is due to God alone (2132). We worship God. We remember or honor or venerate the saints of God just as we remember or honor or venerate those whose lives we wish our own to pattern.
Just as we catalogue our lives through pictures, the Catholic Church has a beautiful photo album depicting those people who have gone before us in faith. We rightly look to these great figures of faith as inspirations and examples of how to live full and complete lives.
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The 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal emphasizes the importance of sacred images in Christian life and worship.
“Images of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saints,
in accordance with the Church’s most ancient tradition, should
be displayed for veneration by the faithful in sacred buildings” (par. 318).
I am pleased to announce the long-awaited return of the St. Mary and St. Joseph statues to the church. Beautifully restored by acclaimed artist and life-long parishioner Laurie Rohrbacher, these two historic statues now have been returned to their formerly held places of prominence – the St. Mary Altar and the St. Joseph Altar.
The statues depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus fittingly have been moved to new locations, yet still near the shrines where they previously were located.
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Recalling Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday. In the earliest of times, the faithful marked the beginning of Holy Week with the procession of palms. Here the palms first are blessed in the Commons and after hearing a Gospel passage, we make our way together into the church where Mass is celebrated.
On Holy Thursday we commemorate the institution of two Sacraments: the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders. The day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus is Good Friday, when we listen to the story of His Passion and venerate His Cross. Then we keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior and joyously proclaim His Resurrection during the Easter Vigil Mass. On this holiest of nights those who have been preparing for reception into the Church will be welcomed as the newest members of our community of faith.
April 10, 2011
Making Information Enough and Not Too Much
First published in 1970, Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock warned that people were being forced to process information at a
much higher rate than human brains could handle. He coined the term “cognitive overstimulation” and pondered possible impacts that “techno-societies” would wield upon mental health and societal structures.
Coming of age in the future about which Toffler prophesied, I have felt the consequences of the information deluge: growing uncertainty, constant uneasiness, increased trivial interest and decreased understanding. More frequent communication made possible by electronic means did not guarantee more trusting and meaningful friendships.
With the advent of cable television, the world became wildly accessible. Yet, I sadly must confess that my increasing
awareness of God’s activity in each and every day did not grow at the same clip.
Later technology innovations like computers, internet accessibility and, most recently, the proliferation of smart-phones have likened floodgates thrown wide open. Information swept me away as if an overflowing torrent. Far from sharpening daily attentiveness, it became more difficult for me to focus.
Sociologists and scientists are starting to recognize the fallout from endless novelty and constant stimuli. For example, they now realize that those who attempt to perform two different tasks simultaneously often complete both tasks more poorly than if they had performed them separately. One respected researcher candidly asserts that “multi-tasking prevents people from a deeper understanding of information.”
Additional studies regarding the negative impact of receiving too much information forward findings that show real IQ reductions, impulse control difficulties, emotional instabilities and impaired social development. We still are unsure if such changes are temporary or permanent. Between television, computers and cell phones, teenagers today view a screen on average 43 hours per week. In my regular interaction with young people, such technologies do not seem to be hatching a more confident, happier and generous generation.
Some empirical evidence also suggests that the nearly continuous clicking of remote controls and keyboards and endless choices that characterize surfing the web contribute toward something termed “ego depletion”. In simpler terms, researchers describe a measurable reduction in will-power and self-determination all-the-while people are choosing screens to view.
Might this explain a time from my earlier adult life that was marked by a lack of desire and direction? Looking back, I recall the bewilderment of being exhausted after merely surfing the web for extended periods. More than once I was startled and embarrassed by how much time elapsed online and what I had failed to do.
Some researchers call attention to the critical role that idleness - including daydreaming – plays for the brain to process new information and develop long-term memory.
For some time now, I have tried to unplug one day every week. Use of an “out-of-office” automatic response allows email senders to know that I am not available in the moment and reduces pressures I used to feel to have to reply as quickly as possible to every message. If the matter at hand is a real emergency, the parish number is listed to call. Recently I came across a helpful smart-phone “app” – did I really just say “app”?! When I need (e.g. driving) or wish to take a momentary break from texting, I can turn the “app” on which automatically sends a reply that reads “Txt U L8r”.
The results of unplugging one day each week have been overwhelmingly positive. Projects formerly put off now are more likely to be completed. All the days of my week are more organized and focused. There is a greater self-determination characterizing my daily choices. Books have been enjoyed that I previously never had been able to open. The urgency that the web and smart-phones seemed to have over me is much less intense.
These days, I am working hard to spend parts of every day offline and unplugged. It is enabling me actually to plug in to those aspects of living which truly are most fulfilling and satisfying.
DID YOU KNOW?
Sources: The Nielsen Company, Apple
• The amount of time the average person spent on social networking sites increased from two hours (December 2007) to almost six hours (December 2009).
• Six hours a month of social networking becomes 72 total hours in a year – the equivalent of nearly two full work weeks.
• During the month of November 2009, web users in the United States spent an average of 66 hours online and visited 2,603 websites for an average time of less than a minute.
• Among U.S. mobile phone users, 66 percent send text messages.
• The average teenager sends 3,705 texts every month.
• As of February 2011, Apple offered more than 300,000 apps for its mobile users.
April 3, 2011
How wonderful it was to return home to many thoughtful cards and kind words expressing your heartfelt
condolences to me and my family on the occasion of my beloved grandmother’s passing. On behalf of my
entire family, thank you so very much. Requiescat in pace.
I thoroughly enjoyed a week with my mom and dad in Florida. My mom mentioned that she had invited a
few friends over for Sunday morning Mass at their place. I discovered that “a few friends” = 39.
As the much anticipated sequel to his 2007 best seller Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict’s new book
Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week is an absolute gem. It made for a great read over my vacation.
Here are a few high-points:
• The Christian faith stands or falls with the testimony that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Jesus really died and Jesus really rose.
• The celebration of the Lord’s Day – what we know as “Sunday Mass” – was a part of what it means to be Christian from the outset.
• Christians are not to blame Jews for the death of Jesus.
• Drowsiness opens up possibilities for the power of the Evil One.
• Human fulfillment is found through becoming attuned to God’s will.
• True worship is the living human being. That is to say, our daily living is our true worship of Almighty God.
As an easier Lenten read and profound Holy Week preparation, I especially recommend Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross by the late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus.
The tri-parish Men’s Lenten Day of Recollection last Saturday was impressive. Over 50 men participated in the
morning at Sts. Peter and Paul Church which included a delicious hot breakfast, inspiring DVD video, Eucharistic
Adoration with Confession and Mass.
What are you doing to make the most of the Lenten time remaining?
Please refer to the several opportunities listed below that are wonderful ways to prepare yourself.
The special Lenten Evening of Reflection with Monsignor Frontiero and Bishop Blair is the perfect event to begin
Holy Week on Sunday, April 17. Monsignor Frontiero is traveling to Sandusky from Rome where he works for
Pope Benedict XVI as a Vatican Official in the Department of Global Concerns for Justice and Peace.
I am urging everyone to obtain complimentary tickets from the parish office and attend our historic event which will take place at the State Theater due, in part, to the anticipated large crowd.
Fr. Jason has begun a rigorous diet and suddenly is sporting a sleek new bicycle – the two wheel type with pedals! It all is in advance of the Rev3 Triathlon this fall at Cedar Point. My early preparation has been eating more and exercising less. You decide.
I would have bet the parish on Kansas beating VCU last weekend in the NCAA basketball tourney. Good thing I forgot to place the bet.
Speaking of “March Madness”, does anyone around here have teams left in their brackets? I read that out of 5.9 million brackets submitted on espn.com, two have VCU and Butler in the Final Four.
March 20, 2011
Olive never saw her father walk. Soon after her birth on January 11, 1910, her dad, Jacob Schlaefer, fell off a barn
roof while helping a neighbor. He spent his remaining 30 years completely paralyzed. Nevertheless, he remained
steadfast in the practice of his Catholic Faith and optimistic in his daily outlook. Olive’s older brother died in
childhood as a victim of whooping cough – a then fearsome disease which since has been eradicated by the advent
of vaccinations.
Life was very difficult, although I never once heard Olive describe the grind and grittiness. Instead, she spoke
confidently about how God expects all people to make the best of every situation – good and bad - and to trust
always in God’s providential care.
After high school, Olive went to college and earned a teaching license – an especially remarkable feat for women in her
day. While teaching in a one-room school house, her compensation was paid in part through room and board provided by a family in the community whose own children attended her school.
She married a young handsome laborer – Carroll “Kelly” Glass - from her same slumbering Wisconsin village. Kelly was one of five boys whose dad worked as the village blacksmith.
In their day, the landscape around Campbellsport, Wisconsin, was populated with dairy farms. It seems that little has changed as cows still outnumber the locals. The spire of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church stands watch over the village. The most visible landmark in the village of Campbellsport is the Motherhouse for the School Sisters of St. Joseph who settled their soon after the parish was established. Over 1,100 Catholic sisters buried in St. Matthew’s Cemetery, some of whom are relatives of mine.
Just imagine what Kelly and Olive saw and heard in their 58 years of married love! With God’s assistance they brought four beautiful girls into the world, one of whom is my mother. I am the second oldest of their 20 grandchildren.
My Grandma Glass entered eternal life last Saturday at the ripe young age of 101. There is no doubting her resting in the peace of Christ reunited with my Grandpa Glass. They are certain to spend their heaven together doing good on earth.
March 13, 2011
Lent: Time for True and Lasting Conversion
Fr. David W. Nuss, S.T.L.
I am sounding a call to everyone. We all are in need of deepening conversation. For some the conversation is great big first step, a turning away from things which cannot and will not ever satisfy and fortify. For others, the conversion is more of a continuation of good choices and right attitudes which place the concerns of others above my own – e.g. my spouse, my children, my Lord Jesus, my neighbors, my community of faith, my civic community.
LENT is the powerful period for conversion that the Church in Her love provides us. For the next forty days, the task before us is to cultivate Christian virtues and educate ourselves to several fundamental attitudes on our journey to conversion.
FIRST, grow in your openness to let the Word of God judge your life. We are not the final judges of our life. None of us will be the final judges of our life. Our Catholic Faith requires us to ascribe to the norms that God’s Word sets and to judge ourselves and our actions according to these criteria.
SECOND, spiritual experience and growth further demands a renewed choice to put your self at Jesus’ disposal. The soul of our journey is found in fidelity to the Master and in our consistently choosing to follow Him.
THIRD, there is the desire to live in full communion with God and those whom we encounter along the way across the earthly stage – the ones Jesus describes as our “neighbors” (cf. Luke 10:25-37). Sin damages or destroys this communion. Mature Christians are those followers of Christ who always seek to return love in a deeper way – not hoarding things as if things are theirs for the taking be they materials or emotions.
The invitation towards the SACRAMENT OF PENANCE – Confession – reaches many different situations. The person who has broken their baptismal promises must decide to return to the Lord by having a penitent (humble, sincere and remorseful) heart along with a desire to be pardoned so to start anew.
Others are burdened by a woefully immature and childish faith – a faith that is indifferent or distracted. Their heart is somewhere else and it is often controlled by material things. Today, it is seen in their preoccupations and inabilities to control their impulses with technology. For example, every call, every text, every social networking message rules their day. Trusting, personal and caring relationships with God and others give way to their inabilities to control their compulsions. They become more and more on edge and dissatisfied. Without conversion, these people quickly become consumed by what others think and say about them. It is no different than those whose demons are alcohol, drugs, sex or gambling.
For those this Lent who dare to life each day in faith and according to their Catholic Faith, this special time for conversation allows them to reconfirm their choices, purify themselves by understanding their weakness and better comprehend God’s plan for their life.
There is something great in all of us that is worthy of being fully lived. LENT issues an invitation to enter into our life, our choices, and our ways of confronting or avoiding problems. The spiritual itinerary of conversion can help us to transform ourselves into something relevant, both personally and socially.
This Lent, let us say “yes” that our prayers and actions as individuals and as a parish community. May our hearts be changed and a true and lasting deepening conversation to Christ be celebrated.
SPECIAL ADULT LENTEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRUE CONVERSION
Women’s Bible Study – Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (free babysitting provided)
Men’s Bible Study – Saturdays 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
Holy Hour for Life – Tuesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (rosary prayed at 6:30 p.m.)
Stations of the Cross – Fridays 5:30 p.m. (cheese pizza follows in Commons)
Men’s Lenten Day of Recollection – Saturday, March 26, 7:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The Meaning of the Mass – Saturday, April 2, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
An Evening of Reflection: A Vatican Official Calls us to Justice and Peace – Sunday, April 17, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Sandusky State Theater, complimentary tickets available)
March 6, 2011
Many people, even cradle Catholics, wonder about the practices and meanings behind the Church’s special season of Lent. Below are answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.
Q. What is Lent?
Lent is the forty day season of preparation designed to help us to grow in our understanding and appreciation for the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Q. When does Lent start and end?
It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. These special days this year are as follows:
Ash Wednesday = March 9
Holy Saturday = April 23
Easter Sunday = April 24
Q. Why are the forty days called “Lent”?
The English word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “springtime.”
Q. Why is Lent forty days long?
Special forty day periods appear frequently in the Bible. They symbolize a time of trial that leads to restoration and renewal. Some of the most well-known include:
Moses stays atop the mountain for forty days (Exodus)
The Israelites reconnoiter the land for forty days (Numbers)
Elijah travels for forty days to the cave (1 Kings)
Nineveh is given forty days to repent (Jonah).
Jesus is tempted in the wilderness forty days (Matthew, Mark, Luke).
Jesus spends forty days with the apostles after his resurrection before his ascension (Acts).
Q. What are the three traditional Lenten practices?
A. Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.
Prayer = making time each day to elevate our mind and heart to God
Fasting = making a special sacrifice to do without something we normally enjoy [hint: become less dependent on faceless communication]
Almsgiving = making a special effort to give something to another in need [hint: personal time is the greatest gift we can give to many people]
Q. What does “fasting” mean and do I have to do it?
Fasting means having only one full meal to maintain one's strength. Two smaller, meatless and penitential meals are permitted according to one's needs, but they should not together equal the one full meal. Eating solid foods between meals is not permitted.
Catholics 18 to 59 years of age are bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Those with a special medical condition – i.e. pregnant and nursing mothers, etc… – are exempt.
Q. What is law of abstinence and do I have to do it?
Catholics 14 years of age and older are required to abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Again, persons with special dietary needs – i.e. elderly, pregnant and nursing mothers, etc… - are exempt.
Q. What about Sundays during Lent – penance or no penance?
Since giving something up is voluntary, there is no official rule. My parents stressed giving something up for the entire period from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday with no exceptions. I survived.
Q. What are the Stations of the Cross?
These are 14 major moments from the Bible that tell the story of Jesus’ suffering, death and burial. We can view each of these moments in our church. They are the 14 large works of art or “stations” along the walls of our church. Every Friday during Lent, the Stations of the Cross are prayed in our church beginning at 5:30 p.m. Children from our parish lead our special Lenten devotion and cheese only (!) pizza follows in the Commons.
Q. What color is associated with the season of Lent?
Purple.
Q. What are you doing for Lent?
A. Following the three traditional themes of Lent, here is my plan:
Prayer = Stations of the Cross each Friday
Fasting = no watching television
Almsgiving = visiting as many of our homebound parishioners as I can
Q. What about Fr. Jason?
A. I think he ought to take a forty day break from Nacho Doritos and Little Debbies and eat lots of fruits
and vegetables.
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Since my arrival, several people have asked me if we might use a different wine at Mass. We now will be purchasing altar wine from a local company at a better price. This wine has been approved for our use at Mass by Bishop Blair. I hope you appreciate the change.
February 27, 2011
I feel the increasing uncertainties in those around me. People seem more tense and hurried. At times, I find myself more on edge and for no apparent reason.
Then, again, look at what is happening all around us:
• Political uprisings and military revolutions are spreading like wildfires
• Prospects for peaceful resolutions which uphold the dignity of all people seem bleak
• Gruesome reports of vast civilian murders in Libya are heard as a full-blown civil war rages
• Economic indicators still sound dreary forecasts
• Statehouses – including our own in Columbus – have been occupied by
thousands protesting budget proposals
• Financial conditions right here in and around Sandusky are very, very tough
The challenges before us are as real as they are as formidable. Fruitless worry does not reduce the misfortune we dread. Worry magnifies the difficulties and diminishes our ability to fulfill the duty before us to live fully the present moment. We cannot carry the cares of today and the worries of tomorrow at the same time.
Live today well by trusting God more.
Tomorrow will bring new graces and its burdens will be no heavier than today’s have been. Each day has its toil, its cross as well as its own joy. We only can live in the present. Anxieties mount when we fail to put our best effort in the here and now.
Entrust yourself to God today. Trust in His providential care.
February 13, 2011
PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!
On Sunday, April 17, a long-time friend will be traveling from The Vatican to Sandusky just to be with us for a special evening. A member of the Papal Household, Monsignor Anthony R. Frontiero works for the
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as an official of the Vatican’s Department for Global Concerns of Justice
and Peace. His arrival in Sandusky marks a historic moment in our local community.
We originally met as classmates at The Catholic University of America in Washington. The one actual class
we took together was a summertime intensive Latin seminar in which there was only one other student
besides the two of us.
It was the longest summer of my life!
A special reception and dinner at the Sandusky State Theater on April 17 has been scheduled for
Monsignor Frontiero. I am excited also to tell you that Bishop Leonard P. Blair of the Diocese of Toledo will
be present as well.
200 tickets for the special reception and dinner soon will be available for purchase at $25/each.
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Last week Fr. Marty Nassr (Pastor, Sts. Peter and Paul Church), Fr. Chris Kardzis (Pastor, Holy Angels Church) and I met for the very first time with the bishop’s representatives to discuss the new pastoral plan of a single pastor, two associate pastors and central staff servicing all three parishes.
Two new pieces of information were told to us that can be added to what I previously reported to you. First, the bishop wants all three priests to live together in single rectory. Second, the tentative beginning date for the new single leadership team is July 1, 2012.
To summarize again, here are the decisions that already have been reported:
Our three Sandusky parishes will retain their parish names and church buildings
Weekend Masses, weddings and funerals will be celebrated in all three churches
No decisions have been made as to who the pastor or two associate pastors will be
Sandusky Central Catholic School will grow according to its 5-year strategic plan
The clustering plan minimizes the changes you will experience. More so, it truly provides us with exciting opportunities to build a stronger, more dynamic and more influential living out of our Catholic Faith.
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Please say a prayer for the repose of the soul of Father Jason’s beloved grandmother who died unexpectedly last weekend.
A reminder to all that Father Jason is away on a well-earned vacation and we all will do well to say a prayer also for his relaxation and rejuvenation.
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Several years ago a large endowment was established so that those among us needing financial assistance might be helped. If you or someone you know is in special need of economic help, please contact Deacon Bill and ask about St. Mary’s Parish Helping Hands Fund.
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How is the Peace Nichè working out for you? Do you have any suggestions toward making it a more comfortable and friendlier place, especially for families? Do you have other suggestions regarding ways in which we might make our church a more comfortable and friendlier place?
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In view of the rising tide of materialism and sensuality that threatens to overwhelm us, Our Lord Jesus warns us in today’s Gospel not to be transformed by rottenness and corruption. He says instead that we are to transform the world. How? It beings with the little corner of the world where we live and work and where our dreams are awakened. Right here we begin with the testimony of our own lives. We are to be exemplary, competent and honest at our work. In family life, we dedicate to our children and to our parents as much time as they need.
Friends our daily living prepares the soil in which our words later will bear fruit. Christians can – and must – show in their daily lives what it really means to follow Christ. We should be known as loyal, honest, cheerful, hardworking and hopeful.
This week and beyond let our lives dare to be the sign by which people will recognize Christ.
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“Blessed are the Green Bay Packers, for the Super Bowl trophy returns to where it originated: Titletown, USA” – Anonymous Pastor.
February 6, 2011
Being Salt and Light in the Modern World
In today’s Gospel, Our Lord Jesus makes clear that all His followers bear responsibilities both to themselves and also to the world.
Jesus says to anyone and everyone intending to follow Him: “You are the salt of the earth…
You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14).
Salt gives flavor to food, it gives food taste. Salt preserves food, it makes it last longer, helping to maintain its properties and keeping it safe for us to consume.
In a similar way, the disciples of Jesus are to live in such ways as to give flavor to ordinary
experiences, to help make daily living more delightful both for themselves as well as those
around them. That is, mature Christians make real differences day after day – differences that add
“spice” and “zest” to the ordinary day. There is absolutely nothing bland and banal about Christian living.
Light shows the way through darkness, it makes for safer continuance. Living in accordance with out faith – bearing Christ’s light - inspires upright conduct and makes our lives “shine like bright lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). Our light is to shine in the midst of our daily experiences – in the midst of our everyday work, tasks and duties.
In contrast, how terribly noticeable it is when Christians do not practice their proper roles in their family, in their parish and in their civic community. When Christian belief and action collapses, daily living becomes flavorless, it loses the “spice” and “zest” Our Lord intends for us all to experience and share. Furthermore, preservation of the mind, body and soul very often becomes corrupted and improper behaviors multiply which lead to an increasingly miserable and unfulfilling life.
A simple glance makes it easy to see the results of baptized Christians ceasing to be the salt and light of Christ. Daily living becomes scarred by selfish secular pursuits, individual conquests supplant communal duties, religious duties are scorned and God is denied. The family unit is attacked and larger families who are courageously and generously open to human life as God’s remarkable gift are ridiculed. Younger generations spiral recklessly into deepening skepticism, cynicism and despair, leaving them incapable to face up to crucial contemporary challenges involving the poor, immigrants and ethnic minorities among us.
Pope John Paul II (+2005) did not mince words: “Many modern evils stem from the defection of the baptized and of believers, fallen away or seduced in great numbers from the profound truths of their faith and the doctrinal and moral vigor of their traditional Christian view of life, a view which had guaranteed a right balance to individuals and to communities alike.”
Friends, we have reached this situation. It is necessary to “re-evangelize” the many Christians who have not been the salt and light that Our Lord Jesus asked them to be – to love them enough that we may help lead and inspire them to be who it is God has created them to be, to return anew to their fundamental Christian identity and mission.
Of course we first need to give the example of an upright life, with clean behavior and the very visible practice of Christian virtues in our ordinary everyday living. The world needs salt and light and our good example is to lead the way.
Pastor’s Notes
The February SECOND SUNDAY collection will be to benefit Heartbeat of Sandusky, a local pregnancy center and maternity home whose committed outreach to young mothers and their children is as important as it is impressive. For more information about Heartbeat: http://www.heartbeatofsandusky.com
Next weekend - February 12-13 – is our annual mission appeal for the work of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. Fr. Bob Haas representing the Diocese of Toledo Office of Global Concerns will share with us on how we can help others to know, love and serve Jesus through our prayers and financial assistance.
Fr. Jason will be away enjoying a well-deserved and much needed break from me.
Go Pack Go!
January 30, 2011
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
(Coach John Wooden, d. 2010)
As you already may have heard, on November 27, 2011 – the First Sunday of Advent – Catholic believers in English speaking countries will begin praying a revised translation of the Holy Mass. It will be different for us all because many of the words we use will be different.
The revised English translation of the official Latin version (Missale Romanum) has been debated and discussed by English speaking bishops in one way or another for nearly 40 years. Last year the Vatican approved the language changes requested by our bishops.
Many people can recall the Latin language as the language of the Mass. After the Second Vatican Council ended (1965), bishops quickly moved forward to create translations of the official Latin version in their own national languages.
In the United States, the effort brought forth the first English translation of the (still) official Latin version in 1969. The understanding then was that the bishops would continue refining the English translation used for Mass, seeking to improve the accuracy of the English translation of the official Latin version.
The goal of the revised translation coming this November, is to make our praise and worship of God conform as closely as possible to the official Latin version. Some of the English words and phrases in the revised translation will feel slightly more formal. The language changes represent a tightening of the belt, not a loosening. The intention is for us to celebrate the splendid beauty and remarkable richness of our great Catholic tradition with English language that is the most fitting for public worship and praise of Almighty God.
The structure of the Mass remains unchanged. The prayers led by the priest along with many of your responses with which we all have grown so familiar over the past 40 years will change.
The revised English translation will be used by no less than 11 different English-speaking countries throughout the world including the USA, Canada, Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Australia.
As an aside, other major language-groups (e.g. German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese) have long since completed their respective revised translations of the Mass.
There are many more changes in store for the priest than for you. Some chants and music used during Mass are being modified slightly like the “Gloria” and “Holy, Holy.”
Now, please don’t worry that you won’t know what to do or say at Mass! As we approach this historic English translation revision, I will make sure you will hear all about it. Homilies preached here at St. Mary’s on the fourth weekend of every month will be “teaching homilies”, intended to help you understand what will be different and why we can be excited for the changes in the English language used during Mass.
In addition, the first Saturday night of each month through May, the “Meaning of the Mass” series I am leading continues. These fun and informative evenings are designed to explain the entire Mass piece by piece and to explain the language changes in store for us beginning in November.
[Next: Saturday, February 5 – Doors to the Commons open at 7:30 p.m. and my 30 - 40 minute presentation begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. Twenty-one and over, please].
For the tech-savvy ones, you may enjoy a sharp resource developed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that outlines the revised Mass translation: www.usccb.org/romanmissal.
As we anticipate the most significant language changes in the Mass since English first was used, I know it stands be a moment full of grace for us all.
The implementation of the revised translation gives everyone of us the opportunity to learn much more than new English words and phrases; indeed, the greatest opportunity before us is to grow in our understanding, appreciation and practice of the central act of our Catholic Faith!
As a Christian and priest, I want to fall more deeply in love with Christ Jesus and His Church. And I want people around me to seek the same.
The revised English translation and further strengthening of our three Sandusky parishes (July 2012), sound a clarion call that the Catholic Faith here is alive and well!
January 23, 2011
Dear Friends United in Love of Christ and His Church,
Earlier this week I received official notice from Bishop Blair that all three Sandusky parishes will be led by a single leadership team consisting of one pastor and two associate pastors beginning in 2012 or 2013. All three church buildings will remain open and each parish will retain its name.
Several years before I arrived as your pastor, a study was completed which recommended to our bishop possible ways in which Sandusky area Catholics might be served with fewer priests. In an effort to keep you fully informed, a copy of the bishop’s letter is printed on the reverse side.
The impressive collaboration between the three Sandusky parishes already is seen in such vital ministries as Sandusky Central Catholic School, St. Mary Central Catholic High School, Sandusky Life Teen, Pre-Cana Days, Catholic Community Supper, RCIA, Catholic Cemeteries, Bible Studies, Penance Services, Oktoberfest, Social/Community Outreach, Days of Recollection, Lenten Missions and, most recently, rotating after-hours emergency priest coverage.
For sure, there are many important aspects to study, discuss and decide. I am grateful to the bishop for having made his pastoral plan for the Sandusky area parishes known to us now so that we can dedicate ourselves to the task of deepening our collaborative efforts. We must remember that it is the unenviable responsibility of our bishop to meet the spiritual needs of some 300,000 total Catholics spread throughout the 19-county Diocese of Toledo with fewer priests each year.
Understandably, many people will want to know how they will be affected. To summarize, the decisions that already have been made are:
• Our three Sandusky parishes will retain their parish names and church buildings
• Weekend Masses, weddings and funerals will be celebrated in all three churches
• No decisions have been made as to who the pastor or two associate pastors will be
• Sandusky Central Catholic School will strengthen according to its 5-year strategic plan
While the clustering plan minimizes change, it provides us with exciting opportunities to build a stronger and more dynamic and influential living out of our Catholic Faith.
Over the years we all have developed a great love for our parish while interacting regularly with members from the other two parishes. Yet, in the eyes of God we all are members of one family – the People of God. Together we form the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church established by Christ Jesus. The call of Christ compels us to take our love for our parish and expand it so that others may come to know, love and serve God. True love knows no bounds. Just imagine the impact and influence of 12,000 Catholics united together, all of whom call this area home!
Indeed, ours truly is a future full of hope and I am grateful and privileged, as I am sure you are also, to be a part of the exciting future of the Catholic community of faith in the Sandusky area.
January 16, 2011
Technology’s Impact On Relationships
Do you want to live more personally and intentionally in 2011? Looking for a greater sense of purpose and direction? Are you seeking more meaningful and substantial relationships? Try unplugging.
An especially insightful article this week led me to consider critically my own technology practices.
And you know what? I’d much rather be happier than more efficient.
10 Signs Your Devices are Hurting Your Relationships
(by Elizabeth Bernstein from The Wall Street Journal)
1.You can’t get through a meal without emailing, texting or talking on the phone.
2. You look at more than one screen at a time, checking email while watching television, for example.
3. You regularly email or text, other than for something urgent, while your partner or another family member is with you.
4. You sleep with your phone near you, and you check your email or texts while in bed.
5. You log onto your computer while in bed.
6. You have had an argument with a loved one about your use of technology.
7. You text or email while driving.
8. You no longer go outside for fun.
9. You never turn off your phone.
10. When you spend time with your family – a meal, a drive, hanging out – each person is looking at a different screen.
Really, if technology is so great, why is it not making our daily living more fulfilling, joyful and meaningful? Disagree? Texting easily is misunderstood. Facebook and other social networking sites fuel crazy jealousies. Television makes us lazy, tired and boring. Internet surfing devours hours on end.
The negative impact undisciplined technology use has upon relationships is undeniable.
According to marriage and family therapist Sharon Gilchrest O’Neill, we need to dial down our dependency on technology. “Technology should be on the list of the top reasons why people divorce, along with money, sex and parenting. She claims having witnessed couples who communicate almost entirely through text, email and phone messages.
Set technology boundaries beginning with yourself. Yes, it is that easy: unplug. But do it gradually, celebrating small victories of living more personally and intentionally and then building upon these successes.
Here are a few ideas.
• Turn off the television when eating and don’t answer phones until the meal is finished. The world will continue.
• Make bedrooms media-free zones.
• Tell friends and family that you will be offline via Facebook and email. [An aside: this is especially important for me when I am out-of-town.
• Have emails sent in batches or limit reading emails to a specific time each day (just like most of us have been doing for a very long time with snail mail).
• Establish and enforce time-limits for computer usage and electronic games. [Parents: if you don’t know exactly what your children are viewing and doing, find out].
• View only one screen at a time – i.e. television OR computer OR phone.
• Do you have additional ideas? Email me: dnuss@stmarysandusky.org
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If you passed through the parking lot or walked around the church you may have wondered about the special equipment and group of workers. Some 200 slate shingles on the church roof that were damaged in the hail storm last summer are being repaired or replaced.
Anyone using the lift/elevator in the Commons knows that it has had some problems lately. The issue affecting its operation involves a switch plate that is designed to lock the exterior door when the lift/elevator is in operation. A new switch is on order and will be installed as soon as it is received. Meanwhile, the lift/elevator is safe and operational.
Once again, you asked and we answered. Many of you immediately noticed the larger numbers on the hymn boards which make it easier for all to see. Now, we will have to wait and see if it results in more people singing!
NEW! A corner in our Commons now is dedicated to telling the story of our parish. Think of this newly created more comfortable area as our family photo album. With time, I hope pictures from many other ministries will join the collection of pictures from Sandusky Life Teen to expand our wall of faith.
Terrific hearing impaired devices are available for use during all Masses. Simply ask a Mass Usher for details and assistance.
January 9, 2011
The Baptism of Our Lord Jesus
In today’s feast we celebrate the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River. This momentous occasion marks the official end of the Christmas season.
Why was Jesus baptized?
Unlike us, Jesus had no stain of sin that needed to be washed away. Jesus wished to submit Himself to this ritual just as He submitted Himself to the other requirements of the Law. As a human being, Jesus submitted Himself to the laws that ruled and governed the lives of the people of Israel who had been elected by God to prepare the way for the Redeemer. John the Baptist carried out the mission to prophesy the arrival of the Holy One of God and in doing so aroused a great movement of repentance as an immediate preparation for the long awaited Messiah.
Saint Augustine (+430) puts it this way: “The Lord desired to be baptized so that he might freely proclaim through his humility what for us was to be a necessity.”
Who invented the Sacrament of Baptism?
By His own baptism, Jesus left for us the Sacrament of Christian Baptism. Jesus establishes or institutes this Sacrament; indeed, all Seven Sacraments are instituted directly by Jesus. That is, Jesus starts all Seven Sacraments; they are of His making and design and given through His Church for us and our salvation. On the day of His ascension into heaven, Jesus declares the absolute importance of the Sacrament of Baptism:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:13).
What happens when a person is baptized?
In Baptism we receive faith and grace. The day we were baptized was the most important day in our lives. Before we received the Sacrament of Baptism we were outside the locked gates of Heaven, unable to bring forth the slightest supernatural fruit.
Saint Irenaeus (ca. 202) offers this analogy to explain the wondrous effects of baptism: “Just as the parched land does not bring forth fruit if it does not receive water, so too we who were like dried sticks can produce fruits of life only if we receive freely the gently and abundant rainfall of grace on high.”
In Baptism our souls are cleansed from the stain of original sin and of any other sin we may have committed before our baptism. Jesus gives us the Sacrament of Baptism as a specific means of restoring our damaged human nature and freeing us from the terrible affliction of sin with which we enter the world of time. The baptismal water operates in a real way, signifying what the use of natural water signifies – the cleansing and purification from every blemish or stain (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:11; John 3:3-6).
Saint Leo the Great (+461) perfectly sums up the meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism:
“Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ever let it happen that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ.”
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Congratulations to priest son of the parish and SMCC graduate (’76) Monsignor Charles “Chas” Singler who is one of ten priests in the Diocese of Toledo to have received the honorary title “Monsignor” last week from Bishop Leonard Blair. Personal notes of congratulations can be sent to Monsignor Singler at the following address: 2544 Parkwood Avenue, Toledo, OH 43610.
Located immediately inside the main church entrance, the Peace Nichè is available to anyone needing some privacy before, during and after Mass. Parents will find diapers, wipes and children’s books. Please be sure to let me know what other items can be added to the Peace Nichè to help make coming to church an easier and more comfortable experience.
Mark your calendars now for a special evening with Vatican diplomat and member of the Papal Household Monsignor Anthony Frontiero. A friend from our time together at Catholic University, Monsignor Frontiero has accepted my invitation to travel from Rome to Sandusky to make a dynamic presentation about role and relevance of the Catholic Church. His free and public presentation will be at the Sandusky State Theater on Sunday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m.
January 2, 2011
New Year’s Message for 2011: Great Hope and Abundant Life
How fun and fulfilling it has been to see so many people as the previous year passes and New Year begins!
Military personnel home on leave whose capacity to sacrifice inspires us all to live more courageously and compassionately.
College students and other younger adults returning home and helping to inspire us all to remember our roots.
Older adults setting aside personal agendas to make their way here so they can provide care for elderly parents and others most in need of assistance.
Multitudes of visitors who have shared with me their powerful encounter with Christ in our church while beside us at prayer.
The swelling crowd in Bethlehem was caused by Caesar’s census decree. The huge swell of people joining us for Masses throughout the final week of the year gives witness to God’s design at play in daily human experience. I wish to thank the many, many people whose kindness and self-giving have done so much toward making this sacred time of year especially meaningful and memorable for everyone, beginning with me.
My most amazing gift of the holy season for me again is being your priest. My great-uncle, Fr. Rollie Glass, was a priest 62 years before his passing in 2004. A deep and lasting joy was found by serving the people God placed before him. [An aside: when I came of age he was the long-serving pastor of another St. Mary’s - - in Port Washington, Wisconsin].
I keep you and your families in my prayers. I especially have been praying for those among us who are sick and for those who are feeling burdened and wearied. I pray with a special tenderness for the elderly and those who are approaching the end of their human days.
From the Church’s vantage point the Christmas Season begins at the Christmas Vigil Mass on the evening of December 24 and continues through the Feast of Baptism of Our Lord (this year: January 9). This time of year our thoughts rightly turn to the moment in human history when God’s Chosen People, the Children of Israel, harbored a burning expectation. Whose arrival was fueling their impassioned wait? They were waiting for no less than the arrival of God Himself. They were waiting for the Messiah that God had promised to send. Now, mind you, they imagined the Messiah as a great worldly leader who would rescue them from foreign domination and restore their personal liberty and individual freedom.
God is always faithful to His promises, but God often surprises us in the way He fulfils them.
The child born in Bethlehem restored liberty and freedom, but not only for the people of that time and place – no! God assumed His place in human history as the Lord, Savior and Messiah of all people and for all time. God did not restore liberty and achieve freedom by means of shrewd political workings or unleashing military might. In becoming like us in all things but sin, Christ destroyed death and restored life – our death destroyed and our life restored. This, of course, was accomplished by means of His suffering, death and resurrection. The long-awaited Messiah of God was born where? Not in a palace. Not in the Temple. God arrived in an indiscriminate manger outside a sleepy village. That is, the long awaited Messiah of God was born in the midst of poverty and obscurity, far removed from the centers of earthly power and no where near the commanding personalities of the day.
Let us not forget that the Holy One born to us was none other than the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God. Out of love for us, He took upon Himself our human condition, our fragility, our vulnerability and our mortality. Jesus’ arrival opened up for us the path that leads to the fullness of life. He created the way that leads to no less than a share in the very life of God.
As we continue to ponder this great mystery in our hearts, let us give thanks to God for His goodness to us. Let us joyfully proclaim to those around us the Good News that God offers us liberation from whatever weighs us down and freedom to become who we were created to be.
That’s right! Jesus Christ offers every single one of us great hope and abundant life – right here and right now and for all eternity!
December 26, 2010
Parents’ Most Important Mission:
Getting Your Kids to Heaven
I first learned about Jesus and His Church from my parents. It began before I was born with many a prayer being uttered by my mom and dad. Their prayers for me continued after my birth. They taught me how to pray and that it was important to pray. Their attentiveness and example inspired me to develop the routine of praying each day.
The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) does not mince words about the absolute importance of parents and their God-given mission to teach the true faith to their children. Faith begins at home.
“The parents by word and example are the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children” (Constitution on the Church, 11). How did Jesus Himself learn the meaning of everything that was around Him? Well, He learned about everything from his parents.
The Holy Family devoutly recited the traditional prayers which were said in every Jewish home. How earnestly and eagerly Jesus would have repeated the verses of Sacred Scripture with His parents! Jesus would have recited these prayers over and over, learning them from the lips of his parents. Repetition not only teaches children how important something is but it also makes for it being memorized.
Parents will do well to consider these words from Pope Paul VI (+1978) which were echoed by Pope John Paul the Great (+2005):
Do you teach your children the Christian prayers beginning with the Our Father and Hail Mary?
Do you prepare your children for the Holy Sacraments – Confession, Communion and Confirmation?
Do you encourage your children when they are sick to think of Christ suffering and His being crucified?
Do you encourage your children to invoke the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints?
Do you pray daily with your children, both individually and as an entire family?
Do you consistently seek to help your children get to know God?
Do you provide an inspiring example of honesty to your children?
The family is the “ordinary” place to find God. How is God found in the home? How especially beautiful it is for children when parents seek to make their homes the place to find God! This really happens to the degree which the virtues of faith and hope are discussed and practiced.
When the aim of parents is sanctifying family life all-the-while creating a safe and supportive family atmosphere, the results are impressive. When the greatest effort of the family is seeking to know, love and serve God:
The smaller and greater problems which confront all families have less and less of a hold in those homes where parents persevere in loving their children. Parents are able to smile in the face of difficulties and forget about themselves in order to pay closer attention to their children and better protect them. Parents communicate more openly and honestly between each other and develop greater capacities to listen to their children. Parents come to forget about the trivial frictions that selfishness can blow out of proportion. Small acts of service and self-giving are more and more a part of their daily life together.
Friends, on today’s Feast of the Holy Family, let us ask the Holy Family to pray with us for the genuine well-being of every member of our families and, in particular, for the ones who are in most need.
December 19, 2010
ODDS AND ENDS
Since our beginning as your priests in July 2009, Fr. Jason and I actively have pursued ways for our parish celebration of Sunday Mass to become more comfortable for families. We have been trying to create an environment which encourages and supports families to come to Mass every Sunday. Extended conversations and regular meetings with parents helped us to understand that we needed to make our facility “family friendlier.”
Our most recent response to what you have asked us to do is the beautiful Peace Niché. This special place immediately inside the main entrance to the church is a cozy spot for moms and dads with small children to find a needed moment of privacy. Of course, the space is available not only for parents and children but all people. During the week, Fr. Jason and I intend to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance (or “Confession”) in this space which will be more accessible along with providing more privacy for people desiring to celebrate this Sacrament.
Many generous members of our parish family have shared their time and talent to convert the former “usher’s closet” into an impressive space making Sunday Mass more comfortable for families. Kindly join me in thanking those whose special generosity have helped to make this happen including Laurie Rohrbacher, Mary Jeane Burch, Bill Klepper, Tom Sloma, Don Young, Mike Opfer and Marcy Henry.
Allow me further to thank the family of Fred and Laura Jeane Hiss whose fitting remembrance of their outstanding parents funded our project which benefits all of us by making for a family friendlier church environment.
It is a space that is open for all to use before, during and after Mass. The open door to the Peace Niché invites people to use the space – feel free to use it as you want and need.
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Next weekend, over 3000 people will walk through our doors to join us for our 6 Christmas Masses (4 Christmas Eve Masses, 2 Christmas Day Masses). This is a marvelous opportunity for us to welcome people to our growing community of faith. Your words and actions may make the difference whether they return in a week. Yes, you just might lose your regular parking spot and accustomed pew position. But, really, what could be more exciting than for God to give you the opportunity to help reconnect Catholics with the holy sacrifice of the Mass and, then, for these same people to return to worship with us the following weekend!
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Scientists have found yet another link between spirituality and good health. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) report finding an association between improved mental health and patients who used a higher percentage of words such as pray, worship, faith, holy, and God during those sessions.
To learn more about the fascinating findings of the study, you can check out: http://www.livescience.com/health/070104_cancer_prayer.html.
If a summary of the study is all you are looking to read, check out: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/12/14/prayer-relieves-mind-ways-study-finds.
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Fr. Jason and I will be celebrating the Sacrament of Penance 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 23 (15 minutes on the hour and, then, as long as people remain). We are calling our availability to you in this manner the Day of Grace. If it has been awhile since you last celebrated this Sacrament, now is the moment to do so and draw closer to Christ and His Church. We will be hearing Confessions all day in the Peace Niché.
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Earlier this month the first and only site in the United States of an approved apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary was declared by Diocese of Green Bay Bishop David Ricken: http://www.gbdioc.org/newsevents/news/857-worthy-of-belief.html.
December 12, 2010
The Perils of Faceless Communication
The domestic church – the family – is the place where children need to develop solid Christian virtues and healthy communication practices. Recent studies suggest that an increasing number of young people seem to be influenced by faceless communication outside the home.
The staggering leap in cell phone usage by children and teens makes me wonder how many parents have any idea what their children and teens are communicating on their cell phones.
Cell phone ownership among 8 to 18 year olds rose from
39% to 66% (Kaiser Family Foundation).
High school teens report spending an average of 95 minutes
a day texting (Kaiser Family Foundation).
33% of teens ages 16 and 17 text while driving (Pew Research Center).
25% of teenagers have “sexted” – sharing sexually explicit photos and videos by cell phone or online (Associated Press-MTV Poll).
Fewer than 30% of children and teens say they have rules limiting how much time they can use their phone (Kaiser Family Foundation).
The results of a Case Western University School of Medicine study contribute mightily to an on-going debate involving teenagers’ use of faceless communication” - e.g. texting and social networking – and its impact upon them. Teens and parents who dare to continue reading may want to take a deep breath now.
The findings of the study involving over 4,200 teenagers from 20 different Cleveland area high schools released last month adds to the body of evidence suggesting that there is a real connection between recurrent teenage texting and social networking and dangerous teenage behaviors.
The authors of the study report that teenagers who “hyper-text” (texting more than 120 times a day) and “hyper-network” (spending over 3 hours a day on social networking sites like Facebook) are far more likely to be sexually active and use drugs and alcohol than their peers who text and network less.
While this heavy usage of texting and social networking may surprise many parents, most teenagers would not be fazed by these amounts (especially the 120 texts a day which researchers classify as “extreme” and “excessive”). The study is not saying that texting and networking lead to sex, drugs and alcohol, but rather that there is evidence linking frequent texting and extended networking with unsafe behavior.
Further associations were found to exist between hyper-texting and hyper-networking and stress, depression, suicide, poor sleep, poor academics, television watching and parental permissiveness. According to the lead author of the study, Dr. Scott Frank, a significant number of teens are very susceptible to peer pressure and also have permissive or absent parents. These factors place certain teens at even greater risk of serious harm.
Positively, the study reinforces previously completed research which supports the absolutely crucial role of parents in the development of their teens. Negatively, the study states a woeful 14 percent of teenagers who said their parents set rules limiting texting.
Parents, your engagement in your teen’s lives leads to healthier teenage behaviors along with greater teen self-confidence and personal happiness. Conversely, your permissiveness and absence lead to the likelihood of more dangerous teen practices and crippling emotional deficiencies which only worsen with time.
Teens, your willingness to interact honestly and openly with your parents only helps you to experience the joy, meaning and direction you are seeking to find. While there are aspects of your life which appropriately are private – aspects known only between you and your parents and others who have a proper authority – secrets are not appropriate and will lead you only to new depths of isolation, deception and unhappiness. Grow stronger in Christian virtue also by making use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
There is no substitute for spending time together as a family and having real and regular face-to-face communication.
December 5, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……….
“Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
On this the Second Sunday of Advent the Church puts before us the figure of John the Baptist. The entirety of St. John’s life is determined by his God-given mission or vocation.
(The English word “vocation” comes from the Latin word vocare which means “to call.” For Christians, “vocation” specifically refers to God’s calling of each person to find deep meaning and great joy in daily human living. Such is experienced when we dare to pattern our lives after God’s unique call in contrast to our self-absorbed world which pathetically whimpers the empty formula of maximizing self-pleasure and minimizing self-discomfort).
The whole purpose of St. John’s life – his real vocation and mission – is to prepare a people capable of receiving the Kingdom of God for the long awaited Messiah of God: Jesus Christ. At the same time St. John gives public testimony of Jesus, seeking always to draw the interest of people more and more toward Jesus. St. John is not motivated by finding personal fulfillment in his work, but has come to prepare people for Lord Jesus. St. John does not do this because a career counselor recommended it or his parents told him he would be good at it, but because it was for this very purpose he was conceived and brought into the world of time.
Friends, this is what our true mission and real vocation involves: forgetting oneself and fostering a true and increasingly greater concern for others.
St. John will see his God-given task through to completion, even to the extent of giving up his life in fulfillment of his vocation. Many people come to know Jesus through St. John’s words and actions.
One’s authentic vocation embraces one’s entire life. Each according in his/her own place and own circumstances, every person receives a God-given mission. St. Josémaria Escrivá (d. 1975) puts this in terms which are unmistakable: “Many great things depend – don’t forget it – on whether you and I live our lives as God wants.”
Take the teaching of the saint to heart! God creates us to do great things and accomplishing the many great things has nothing to do with our making a mark and staking a claim – No! God wants us to lead simple, ordinary lives, trying to do good to everyone and carrying out our duties honestly and whole-heatedly – giving forth our best effort even when it’s not our best results.
St. Augustine of Hippo (d. 430) offers us words of encouragement: “Do not be content to live at peace with yourselves until you have won them all for Christ, for you have been won for Christ.”
What a community of faith our parish will become if each of us strives to live according to the wisdom of the saints!
Here are some questions for us to consider prayerfully to help us make this so this Advent season:
How do we bring the people around us closer to God?
How do we give good example in the way we carry out our work, in our family circle, in our social relations?
How do we speak about God to our colleagues or fellow-students?
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Next weekend we will welcome at all Masses Dan Ward, Care and Share Executive Director, who will express his appreciation for all we have done to supply Care and Share with food and non-perishable items by means of our Second Sunday ministry.
November 28, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……….
Everyone knows what it’s like to continue on for a very long time, straining our eyes to see whatever it is for which we are looking – looking intently upon each hill we crest and corner we make, hoping that what we are seeking finally will appear before us. Distances can be tough to judge and it does not take much to trick our eyes. Gazing out across Sandusky Bay into Lake Erie in the early evening darkness, we might come upon the lone light of a late season freighter and yet have no idea how far it still has to travel to arrive downtown.
So it was with the People of God. They strained to see the Messiah of God. Not knowing exactly when He would arrive, they only knew that some time He would come. After all, God had promised as much.
This attitude of expectation is one the Church wants to encourage in us. An essential aspect of being Christian is to be alert; that is, to strain to see the presence of God made real, concrete and personal in Jesus Christ. Especially this time of year, the Church encourages us to take the shepherds as guides and imagine ourselves traveling with them for a very long time all-the-while straining to see the light which properly is divine.
When the Messiah arrived, few really were expecting Him. In those days, most people had been blind to what was most essential in their lives and in the life of the world. “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him” (John 1:11).
This seems eerily descriptive of our age.
Our Lord tells us in today’s Gospel to “stay awake!” (Matthew 24:42). St. Paul says the same: “it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep” (Romans 13:11). Friends, it is time right now to put first things first, to remember what our lives here on earth truly are.
Advent begins today. Advent is the Church’s 4-week period of preparation so that we can ready ourselves to celebrate Christmas once more. The Lord is to arrive soon! If our sights are cloudy and we do not see clearly the light which is of God, now is the time to rid ourselves of whatever it is that impairs our vision, to rid ourselves of whatever it is that compromises our hope in God fulfilling His promise of sending to us the Lord, Savior and Messiah. Now is the time for an especially good examination of conscience and a thorough interior purification which will help us to see and welcome the expected Holy One of God. Now is the time to take note of whatever it is which separates us from God, which holds us back from God, to loosen it’s hold and cast it out from us.
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Adults are invited to the monthly First Saturday Night series I am leading - The Meaning of the Mass. Our next session is Saturday, December 4. The Commons opens at 7:30 p.m. and my presentation begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. Appetizers and drinks are available – 21 and over, please.
The Immaculate Conception Holy Day of Obligation Mass offerings will be as follows:
* (Tue) Dec 7 6:00 p.m.
* (Wed) Dec 8 8:15 a.m., 6:00 p.m.
In addition to our making the Sacrament of Penance available 30 minutes before every Mass, Fr. Jason and I are offering what we have termed a “Day of Grace”. On Thursday, December 23, Confessions will be heard 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. on the hour for 15 minutes and then as long as people are present to celebrate the Sacrament. The annual Tri-Parish Penance service will be held on Tuesday, December 14, 7:00 p.m. - 8:00p.m. at Sts. Peter and Paul Church.
There will be no 8:15 a.m. Mass on Friday, December 24.
Confessions will not be heard before Christmas Masses.
November 7, 2010
From Fr. Dave’s desk……
In today’s Gospel (Luke 20:27-38), the Sadduccees try to spring a trap to trip up Our Lord Jesus.
[Sadduccees = did not believe in the resurrection of the body, the immortality of the soul, the existence of angels and the power of divine Providence].
Ignoring the absurdity of the problem, Jesus replies by affirming that there will be a resurrection. In the world of time, people marry and after the resurrection there will be no more marriage
because people no longer will die [there will be no Sacraments in heaven since we will be with Jesus].
“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (verse 38). Jesus teaches us that there exists a permanent relationship between God and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have been dead for years. Even though these just men died thousands of years ago (as far as their bodies are concerned), they are alive, truly alive, in God and they are awaiting the resurrection of their bodies.
“Lord, for your faithful people life is changed [with death], not ended” (Funeral Mass).
The biblical message promises immortality not to a separate “spirit” but to the whole person.
In the Creed, we profess our earnest hope and steadfast belief in “the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”
“We belong to God completely, soul and body, flesh and bones, all our senses and faculties” (St. Josémaria Escriva, +1975).
Our Mother Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. She reminds us that our body has been created to give glory to God, both here on earth right now and for all eternity in heaven.
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The Memorial Mass on the Feast of All Souls (November 2) was deeply meaningful and wonderfully memorable. Throughout November, let us especially continue to pray for those who have died from our parish family and those whose hearts are heavy with sadness from the loss of their beloved one.
We still are seeking assistance with the Children’s Liturgy of the Word new format at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses. Following the contours of the Good Shepherd Catechesis, the aim is to make the religious teaching time during Mass for children ages 4 – 8 more relevant and enjoyable. This is a marvelous opportunity for junior high students looking for service hour opportunities to help young children grow in their understanding of Jesus and His Church. Parents, I am asking for your help. Please contact our Catechetical Leader Deb Geason directly for details on how your junior high age child can get involved with their faith. In the process of helping the youngest children, your junior high age child will come to learn more about Jesus and His Church.
No joking here: Fr. Jason wore out his elliptical machine! He first reported finding metal shavings on the floor and a few days later the machine went kaput. Now he’s shopping for a new one.
Congratulations to our parishioners who won local elections: Bill Monaghan (Erie County Commissioner) and Rick Jeffrey (Erie County Auditor).
Speaking about the recent election, pundits have crowed that the driving force has been the economy. Let us be clear: the most important issue – past, present and future – concerns protecting and promoting the sanctity of all human life. When they dare to live up to the highest ideals of their faith, Christians courageously and compassionately defend the weakest and most vulnerable among us. May our Christian character be seen by how we dare to care for those most in need of our help and assistance.
I am cautiously optimistic about the Green Bay Packers – Go Pack Go!
October 31, 2010
From Father Dave's desk........
Every November we remember especially our beloved ones who have gone before us in faith. Our parish has a beautiful tradition of honoring those members of our parish
family who have died this past year by listing their names on banners. I am deeply grateful to dedicated parishioner and acclaimed artist LAURIE ROHRBACHER who again so generously and beautifully has preserved the names of those who have died on banners adorning our balcony so that they may be honored by our prayers for them and
memories of them.
On Tuesday, November 2, the FEAST OF ALL SOULS, a special Mass will be offered at 7:00 p.m. During this especially meaningful and memorable Holy Eucharistic, the names of all our parish family members who have died in the past year will be read aloud. I sent personal letters to surviving families inviting them to join me and I want to extend an open invitation to everyone to come for this Mass. Just imagine how powerful it would be for a grieving family to arrive to a church filled with people seeking to pray for their beloved departed one! A light, casual reception will be provided in the Commons immediately after Mass.
The Feast of All Souls connects the past, present, and future, especially at the altar. On the Feast of All Souls the Church proclaims: “Remember!” We ask Almighty God to grant eternal life to all those who have gone before us, in the hope of our own entrance, one day, into the Land of the Living. All of our lives are in the hands of a God whose mercy endures forever (cf. Psalm 118). Rest assured, the joy of heaven is guaranteed for the holy souls in purgatory, even if the experience of that joy must wait.
On Monday, November 1, the FEAST OF ALL SAINTS, sets our eyes on the living – that is, those souls who truly have found perfect light, happiness and peace in heaven! For those wondering, because this feast falls on a Monday this year, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. I do not make the rules, but rather am assigned only to communicate them. The bishops are to thank or blame for the confusion wildly swirling about Holy Days.
Friends, we are personally connected with those who have died in a real and mysterious way. During the Funeral Mass, the priest prays: “Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.” Cling to this truth and share it with those who are grieving the loss of a dear one.
In a sense, the altar represents the crossroads between life and death, mortality and eternity. Atop the altar on the first two November days, we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass first in honor of the saints and then in special prayer for those people who have gone before us in faith and are being made fit for heaven.
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I wish to offer a reminder to adults 21 and over to join me and others for what is certain to be a fun and worthwhile evening on Saturday, November 6 in our Commons as part of our Adult Study Series “The Meaning of the Mass.” Doors open, appetizers and drinks served, and music will be playing at 7:30 p.m. At 8:00 p.m. I will lead a concise 30 minute presentation - this month I will focus on how the Mass came to be. After the chance for some discussion and questions, the music will resume along with more food and drinks.
October 24, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……..
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, prayer is “the elevation of the mind and heart to God in praise of His glory.” Saint Terésè of Lisieux (+1897) – the “Little Flower” -
describes her experience of prayer in this manner:
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple
look toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of
love, embracing both trial and joy.”
Taking all of Jesus’ teachings into account, Jesus speaks about the need for prayer more frequently than all other matters except faith and charity. Prayer is absolutely necessary to follow Jesus. We need prayer as much as we need food to eat, water to drink and air to breathe. This explains why the devil especially delights in keeping Christians from praying.
Sometimes, I find it difficult to pray. There are moments when the demands of priestly life and ministry are overwhelming and I feel so inadequate. In these moments there is a noticeable temptation for me to set prayer aside so that I can work even harder. I hear the words of Our Lord spoken directly to me: “you fool!”. Of course, the danger to neglect daily prayer faces every Christian. What good is the most energetic work if it costs one’s friendship with Christ? Such an achievement would be worthless for this would be nothing more than a purely human endeavor. John Paul the Great (+2005) warns us to avoid temptations to jettison prayer in the midst of our increasingly busy lives:
“We must find time, we must take time, to be with the Lord in prayer.
Prayer is indispensable for you, today as yesterday.”
Throughout this week let us take time to consider how our prayer – that is, how our active friendship with Jesus - really influences our daily work, our family life, our relationships with others and our charitable activities. In our best moments, we know that everything is different once we have talked it over with Jesus. So, then, let’s be sure to talk things over with Him today and throughout this week.
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The Adult Study Series on the first Saturday evening of each month is dedicated toward explaining the meaning of the Mass and its relevancy for our daily living. I especially invite younger people who simply have not had the benefit of growing in understanding of why we do what we do and say what we say during Mass to join me on Saturday, November 6 at 8:00 p.m. in the Commons. The doors open at 7:30 p.m. with delicious appetizers, drinks and music – 21 and over, please. My 30 minute presentation on November 6 is entitled “Where Did the Mass Come From?”
We are pleased to celebrate an Anointing Mass on Saturday, October 30 at 4:00 p.m. at the Commons of Providence (5000 Providence Drive). During this Mass the Sacrament of the Sick will be administered to those present who desire to receive God’s special graces for healing and protection.
All are encouraged to take time to pray for the souls of those who have gone before us in faith this past year. The beautiful All Souls Mass commemorates especially those members from our parish who have died. Please join me in praying for them and their families on Tuesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m. – immediately after our weekly Holy Hour for Life 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Fellowship follows immediately thereafter for those able to remain in the Commons.
While the Feast of All Saints on November 1 remains a Holy Day, the obligation this year is suspended because it falls on a Monday. I do not complicate the rules, but only report them to you.
Make a special difference in someone’s life this week.
October 3, 2010
From Father Dave’s Desk……..
CONGRATULATIONS to the spirited members of HOLY ANGELS PARISH who have restored their 1883 Barckhoff Organ. The parish with the oldest church in the entire Diocese of Toledo (1841), dedicates their historic instrument this weekend on October 2 – their parish feast day.
With an eye toward teaching our CHILDREN principles of stewardship, individual boxes of COLLECTION ENVELOPES were distributed to the 477 K-12 kids we have in our parish
family. Attention parents: please help your children learn biblical lessens of tithing. The amount is not as significant as the regular giving back to God and His Church.
The 5th annual tri-parish OKTOBERFEST was a terrific experience! Thanks to all the people who so generously made possible this memorable and meaningful event. The Mass last Saturday afternoon at the Erie County Fairgrounds witnessed over 1000 faithful gathering together.
This Sunday (Oct 3) at the 11:30 a.m. Mass 16 (!) adults in our RCIA will be taking their first public step toward becoming members of our parish family at Easter during the Rite of Acceptance.
Thanks to Mr. Mike Schmenk who led our CHILDREN’S CHOIR last year. Unfortunately a schedule conflict prevents his leading the children’s choir this year. We are seeking to find the right music leader to take over this important ministry. Please direct any and all suggestions to our Director of Music Mr. Tim Claubaugh.
Since relocating our CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SUPPER to Holy Angels Parish, over 180 needy adults now are served dinner every Wednesday evening (except the first Wednesday of each month). New serving teams have been formed from Holy Angels and Sts. Peter and Paul. In addition, RS has launched the first corporate serving team.
First Sunday in our parish is DONUT SUNDAY. Please stop by the Commons after each of the Sunday morning Masses for some refreshments and great fellowship.
Our Adult Bible Studies are well worth considering! WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY happens twice each week – Tuesday 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Wednesday 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. The MEN’S BIBLE STUDY takes place every Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.
A new chapter in the evolution of CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD begins on Sunday, October 10th when we welcome ERIN COLES as its new coordinator. Applying the Good Shepherd method to teach and inspire our children in their Catholic Faith, catechesis will be more effectively and consistently presented. Children will receive the building blocks necessary for them to know, love and serve Jesus and His Church.
Please join me in thanking BOB MAYER who generously has led our Children's Liturgy of the Word for many, many years. Since my return to St. Mary's, Bob has expanded CLW to include 11:30 a.m. Mass in addition to the 9:30 a.m. Mass. I am deeply indebted to Bob's faithfulness and commitment. I am grateful that Bob will continue to help with CLW.
Make it a great week!
September 26, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk…..
There is a looming question I often hear regarding our Catholic school. Despite the documented benefits which include superior educational results, life-lasting faith formation, and remarkable
character development, the heavy financial weight of our Catholic school still brings forth the question: Is it worth it? Our school’s two respected and experienced principals, Mr. Savona (grades 7-12) and Mr. McDowell (grades K-6) have great news to share! The SMCC freshmen class this fall is considerably larger (nearly 30%) and the total school enrollment is up. Strong parental involvement wonderfully takes place at all levels. Fr. Jason and I are in the school daily. There is daily Eucharistic Adoration and students celebrate Mass weekly. Mrs. Dwight, the Early Childhood Care Director (located on the Holy Angels campus) also reports an enrollment increase and is bullish about our future.
When you walk through the stately main entrance of our Catholic school there are no metal detectors or on-duty police officers to pass. Our students are smiling and courteous and exhibit a noticeable care and confidence. Instantly you realize this is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill school as they make their way between classes in a joyful and orderly way.
Christ Jesus is prominently seen and encountered by all who enter. Throughout the day students and faculty are able to adore the Holy Eucharist in the All Saints Chapel. The retreat programs and Christian Service requirements make for a vibrant Catholic culture.
The impressive test scores (100% OGT) are not surprising when you visit the classrooms and observe the expert, sound and passionate instruction from faculty members. The 2010 SMCC graduating class earned scholarship offers in excess of $2,000,000 and accepted awards topping $1,000,000!
Every clean and bright classroom is equipped with SmartBoard technology – a far cry from the blackboards and chalk marking my dirty classrooms. Personalize teaching is tailored to fit the unique needs of every student. Questioning is encouraged and discovery is expected.
The Bible and Catholic Catechism are studied faithfully. Crucifixes and American flags adorn our classrooms and remind us of our mission. Each school day begins with prayer. Mr. Savona leads an afternoon reflection, asking God to bless and protect our students before they depart.
There always is some cool experiment being conducted by students in Mr. Collins’ chemistry room. Engaging and relevant history and social studies lessons are witnessed in Mr. Kohler’s room. His new leadership class has fast become a favorite among high school students and already is recognized as a top innovative model.
I never cease to be amazed by what the students are learning at younger levels too. Our teachers are so energetic and devoted! Plopping down on the floor alongside the multi-age K/1 students in Mrs. Kessler’s class makes for a perfect moment in my week. It seems I was slow to get the memo that poor Pluto no longer is a planet.
At our weekly school Masses the students read, sing, and pray in a style that inspires all who are present. Their attentiveness and reverence is uplifting! Student-athletes pray before practices and games and other extracurricular activities.
So, then, what is the answer to the question, “is it worth it?” You better believe it!
September 5, 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
You are speaking and we are doing our best to listen and provide you with what you wish. Interest consistently has been voiced for adult opportunities to grow in understanding and practice of the Catholic Faith. I am pleased to share the following adult offerings which I will be leading this fall.
MEN’S BIBLE STUDY – Saturdays 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. in the Lower Room. For 2 ½ years a sizeable group of adult men have gathered weekly to read together and study the Gospel reading
for the upcoming Sunday Mass. Attention is given to understanding God’s Word as He speaks to us as men and fathers. There is plenty of coffee along with a terrific fraternal atmosphere. No previous familiarity with Scripture is required – only the earnest desire to hear God’s Word prayerfully and take it to heart.
WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the Commons
Adult women are invited to participate in a six session series on Tuesday evenings from September 21 – October 26. We will read together and study the Gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday Mass. Women participants will grow in their knowledge of Scripture, especially seeking to discover concrete ways in which God desires to speak to them. No previous familiarity with Scripture is required – only the earnest desire to hear God’s Word prayerfully and take it to heart.
Reminder: the weekly Holy Hour for Life takes place on Tuesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in church. The Rosary is prayed together at 6:30 p.m.
ADULT STUDY SERIES – First Saturdays 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the Commons
This year we will focus on the real meaning of the Mass. Beginning in October and continuing monthly through May, I will break the Mass into smaller successive units so that explanations can be given about the meaning of words and actions in all the component parts. The atmosphere of the evening will be casual and comfortable with music, light appetizers and beverages. Adults twenty-one and over are welcome.
Aside: Last month the bishops of the United States announced that the full text of the English translation of the Mass (Roman Missal, Third Edition) has been approved by the Vatican. Use of the new English translation will begin next year on the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011. In part, my Adult Study Series “The Meaning of the Mass” is meant to help us prepare for the changes coming our way. For more information: http://www.usccb.org/romanmissal
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Undoubtedly you have seen the temporary door at the annex entrance into the church. The solid oak doors currently are undergoing necessary refinishing. I wish to thank Bob Fischer, Tom Hayes and Nick Pasqualini for their generous and expert work to make this happen. Look for the restored doors to be back in place later this month.
We have received notification that the demolition of the 4 condemned homes and clearing of debris from our property will take place in the month of September. Thanks to the special labors of dedicated parishioners, the removal of the structures has been financed by grants and not from parish money.
The master plan is to expand the parking lot in a manner which increases safety and convenience on our church campus. When completed, the parking lot will provide better accessibility, safer entrancing and exiting and maximize lighting for nighttime usage.
We do not have funds for the completion of the parking lot. I have asked the Finance Council to investigate funding options and, with time, to recommend to me how we best can raise $180,000 for the completion of our parish project. Due to modifications made at the behest of the City Planning Commission, the total cost of the project is higher than originally estimated. I will not proceed with the project until the funding is in place.
Make it a great week for others.
August 29, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……..
The readings heard at our weekend Masses all speak wonderfully about the virtue of humility.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1226) the word humility comes from the ancient Latin root humus which means “the earth which is beneath us.” Thus, a humble person is a person who has a sharpened sense of their own beginning and end. The virtue of humility has nothing to do with being shy, timid or mediocre. In actuality, humility instills strength and increases confidence. Because humility makes a person cheerful and available to help others, it prevents the development of an inferiority complex.
Humility causes us to see others respectfully while rescuing us from pathetically rummaging for crumbs of praise and admiration which are entirely worthless.
In the Old Testament Book of Job, we learn about the nature humility in a way that is expressed poetically:
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked
shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has
taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" (Job 1:21).
To grow in humility two things are needed. First, we need to be able to appreciate our nothingness. Lest we forget, we had nothing to do with entering into the world of time. Second, we need to appreciate all the gifts God has given us, the talents from which God expects real results.
In order to progress along the path of humility, we have to learn to accept the humiliating events of life. Friends, these events are as inevitable as they are necessary. How important it is to ask Our Lord these events serve to unite us to Him! Pray daily that Our Lord will teach us to regard these events as heaven-sent opportunities to make reparation for sins, to purify and restore innocence, and to fill us with His love.
Another way to grow in humility is to live with sincerity. Every day we are to examine our conscience prayerfully. Every day we are to ask God for pardon because our weaknesses are so numerous.
How do we know we are growing in humility? One sure sign is a readiness to change our minds. St Jose Maria Escriva (d. 1975) instructs us that “only the stupid are obstinate; the very stupid are very obstinate.” Earthly situations do not offer only one solution. Other people may also be right. It often happens that others propose answers from a different point of view to the same question. Differing opinions regarding earthly items always are enriching.
We also know we are growing in humility when we admit mistakes.
Humility leads us to a more complete love of God and the appreciation of people. The humble soul knows what God wants and happily wants God’s will to be done. The humble soul is well-balanced, knowing the right place to be and always approachable and helpful.
It was because of her humility that God did great things with Mary. Let the Mother of God and Our Mother teach us how to be humble. Turn to her and ask for her intercessory help to grow in the virtue of humility which truly is God’s precious gift.
August 22, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……..
I am so proud to be your priest and pastor. When I am at events away from here, I jump at the chance to tell people where I am from and all about the dynamic parish we have. All summer long visitors throughout the area and beyond have expressed how much they have enjoyed joining us for Mass. Here are some parts of notes I have received just this past week:
“I visited your church for the 11:30 Mass on the Feast of the Assumption. The beauty of the liturgy there was refreshing to my soul. The church building is exquisite.”
“I am going to tell my pastor and Pastoral Council about your Second Sunday so we can start this at our parish”
“Mass was terrific – the people were warm, the music was excellent, the church was stunning.”
“I wish I could be a part of a parish that is so alive and filled with the Holy Spirit. I have never seen so many families and young people at Mass.”
Friends, let us continue to worship Almighty God with our whole hearts, and souls and minds every Sunday and help lead others to Christ our Lord.
Thanks to FOSCO CEMENT who generously and expertly applied asphalt to bridge the front parking lot with the new sidewalk near the rectory. In addition, they kindly donated the 5’ x 5’ sidewalk square near the annex entrance to the church.
New this fall! Four foreign exchange students are living with Catholic host families – 2 from Japan, 1 from Korea, and 1 from China. They will be attending SMCC.
More outstanding news from our Catholic school: Enrollment is up this fall, including a significant increase in students attending SMCC.
Fr. Jason is away enjoying a duly earned break. Strange, his elliptical machine is getting the same amount of use.
August 15, 2010
From Fr. Dave’s desk……
While on vacation with my family earlier this month, there were regular late night conversations taking place around a fire pit. For sure, the topics varied wildly and had a differing range of seriousness – religion, politics, parenting, work, sports, etc… In our family, anything and everyone is fair game. After the children were in bed for the night, the adults assembled together to debate and solve the great issues of our lives and day.
One night there was an interesting foray about our Catholic Faith. Not too long ago reported bizarre and outrageous activities of Mel Gibson brought forth a volley of comments about Catholicism. My brother-in-law shared with us a sarcastic comment he had heard at work. Recounting the episode, a colleague of his was rehashing the litany of troubling allegations involving Mel Gibson only to quip”Who knew Catholicism could be so interesting!”
This comment upset my brother-in-law as much as it did me.
Let me frame it differently to make certain the point is not missed. Just imagine the topic was about Bernie Madoff, the guy who swindled people out of millions and millions of dollars with the ponzi scheme. Suppose somebody was recounting all of Madoff’s unethical behaviors and despicable crimes only to conclude with the statement, “Who knew Judaism could be so fascinating!”
What do you imagine to be the outcry that would follow such a preposterous statement? Why, then, ought a similar statement blaming Catholicism as the source of all Mel Gibson’s woes to be any less offensive?
Is Buddhism to be blamed for Tiger’s repulsive and sickening actions? Yes, that does sound ridiculous and if I were Buddhist it would upset me. Where was the outcry against those who sought to posit Catholicism as the cause for Mel Gibson’s fall from grace?
Several influential people have made statements insinuating that Mel Gibson’s misbehaviors were not caused by his sinful soul, his drinking, his dysfunctional childhood – pick your cause as there appear to be many – but rather they are caused by and product of his Catholicism.
Even the seemingly obsessive interest in Mel Gibson’s alarming allegations might be a function of deep prejudice against Christianity and, more specifically, Catholicism.
Hollywood is filled with hundreds of dysfunctional people, many of whom have been found guilty of horrendous crimes. There is no lack of unethical tales and sordid stories to be told about many in this crowd.
So, then, what are we to make of what sure felt like an endless fascination about Mel Gibson’s problems?
How are we not able to conclude that some hold a vicious anti-Catholic bias and recently have used Mel Gibson’s troubles to club Catholicism? Admittedly, this conjecture might be born of the fact that Gibson has been a very public advocate of Catholic Christianity.
Be assured, I am not for a single second defending any of Mel Gibson’s eerie comments and disturbing behaviors which have been reported. Quite the contrary - I hold what most people do that his reported words and actions are as disturbing as they are disgusting.
August 1, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
Our life on earth is short. Even my Grandma Glass who is approaching 101 years of age only will have had a brief moment in the course of human history when she passes into eternal life.
The saints sought to keep their mortality before them. While some people might find it morbid to think about their end, doing so inspires us to live more fully. When we live with our end in mind, we stand to discover a more meaningful and memorable passing through the world of time. The most important things really become most important.
Recall a special place that you knew you were at for the last time. Once aware of this, time is no longer wasted there. Instead, everything possible is done to take it all in before you had to leave.
In today’s Gospel the Lord Jesus uses a parable to speak in no uncertain terms about the brevity of our human lives. In the parable, God declares: “You fool! This night your life will be demanded of you” (Luke 12:20). Maybe we still think of death in terms of something remote as if we will live forever on earth. However, listen carefully to Our Lord whose words are directed to every one of us. Friends, our days are numbered. We always are in the hands of God. Within a few years, and maybe even not that many, we will find ourselves face to face with Him.
Meditating on our own end can motivate us to use the time that remains better. It can help us to take advantage of our circumstances in order to make reparation for sins and to become detached from earthly goods. One day, like any other day, will be our last day on earth. Today, thousands of people have died or will die in the most varied of circumstances. Many of these people may have been unaware that their time was up and that they no longer would have time left to improve things and make amends. Some died with their hearts immersed in concerns having little or nothing to do with eternal life. Others died who have been involved in exactly the same activities but have kept their sights on God. It is these latter people who have come into possession of the marvelous “treasures in heaven where neither moth nor decay destroys” (Matthew 6:20).
At the moment of death, the state of the soul is fixed forever. Afterwards it is impossible to change. The destiny which awaits us is the consequence of our behavior on earth. This is the reason why Our Lord frequently warns us to be vigilant and to stay awake!
Death is not the end of existence, but the beginning of a new life. Christians cannot ignore or minimize the importance of our mortal existence since it is the very means by which we prepare for our eternal life with God in Heaven. If we wish to yield a rich harvest before God we have to sanctify our ordinary life and use wisely, generously and gratefully the time we have received as God’s gift. This will be our way to Heaven.
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This past week Vacation Bible School simply was amazing! Thanks to the spirited group of parents who poured themselves out all week to lead children closer to Christ and His Church.
Register as soon as possible for Good Shepherd catechesis. When Level I (ages 3-6) and Level II (grades 1-3) reach capacity, waiting lists will be created. For more information and to register: www.stmarysandusky.com/gs.html
Here is some really good news: enrollment at Sandusky Central Catholic School is up for 2010-2011. Check out the strong and sensible 5 year Strategic Plan (2010-2015) at www.sanduskycentralcatholic.org.
July 25, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
Jesus had the habit of praying early in the morning in out-of the-way places. The disciples often would find the Lord Jesus thoroughly absorbed in conversation with His heavenly Father.
It fascinated them and frightened them. In today’s Gospel, one of the disciples says what all of them were wondering after they again had observed Him praying: “Lord, teach us to pray”
(Luke 11:1)
We all will do well to make the same request. Jesus, teach me how to deal with you, tell me what I should ask of you. Like the disciples, we often find ourselves in front of God without knowing what to say to Him or how to speak to Him. At every Mass God truly is present in the Eucharist - Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. Ask Him how to pray. Humility is a prerequisite for meaningful conversation with God. Long before we can appreciate how much we depend on our God, we first need to acknowledge and admit our limitations.
The Lord answered his disciple’s request with the perfect prayer, the Our Father. He spoke every word carefully and intentionally. He taught them how to put all their trust in prayer to their Father God. Our familiarity with the Our Father makes the words feel like an old pair of shoes that fit so comfortably we forget we are wearing them. It is a Christian favorite. Pray it often and pray it well.
Whenever we talk to God we are most likely are asking for something. This really should not come as a surprise. After all, we are children of God and children always are in need. For His part, God wants only to spend Himself on us.
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On Wednesday, July 28, at 4:30 p.m. our parish parking lot expansion proposal will be decided by the City of Sandusky Planning Commission. This meeting is open to the public.
We need to make our presence known.
The meeting will take place at City Hall - 222 Meigs Street. This is the same building where the police station is located, just south of the tennis courts near Battery Park. An impressive turn out will help the commissioners better understand the importance of our project and strong support it truly has. One citizen in particular has expressed strong disagreement about what we are doing to develop our property and is lobbying for our proposal to be rejected. I am hoping to fill the 100 seat room. Please plan on joining me at City Hall to make the positive statement about our church and city that we want the commissioners to hear.
Thank you for the kindness you showed to the Little Sisters of the Poor who thoroughly enjoyed their time with us last weekend. I simply delight in visitors joining us for weekend Masses because I know how warmly they will be welcomed by you!
My youngest brother and his wife and two boys right now are in the process of moving from Milwaukee to Cleveland. You may not have known since they chose not to have a television special to announce their decision.
Speaking of my family, I will be on vacation with them all July 30 – August 6. There will be 19 of us under one roof for a week on the shore of Lake Michigan. Candidly, I am unsure for whom you should pray!
FYI: there should not be a similar 19 staying in the rectory in my absence. I will leave it to you to keep an eye on you-know-who.
Make it a great week.
July 18, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
For centuries, today’s Gospel has been presented as a comparison between the contemplative life and the active life (Luke 10:38-42). In this way to explain the meaning of the story,
the two sisters are presented as depicting rival lifestyles – contemplative versus active or spiritual versus secular. Far too many poor homilies have been preached by priests and deacons
praising the contemplative way as the best way. Before such preaching is finished, listeners are exhorted to be more like Mary and less like Martha. And for those of us who are active – which, by the way, is all of us – we leave church feeling deflated.
Friends, this interpretation misses the point.
You mean to tell me that my own sister and brother-in-law who have five children ages 11 – 5 are less holy [aware of God] than a cloistered monk simply because they have embraced their marriage vocation openly and fruitfully which has resulted in their being quite active all the time?
To understand the story of Mary and Martha properly, recall the Gospel from last Sunday: the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The Samaritan helped a man in need – that is, he acted. It is important to keep this parable in mind when we are seeking to understand the true meaning of the actions of the two women featured in today’s Gospel.
Contemplative dimensions – deep awareness of God’s real presence - do not result in being at the feet of Jesus and doing nothing. Instead, the mature Christian seeks to find God in daily living, in daily work – not apart from it. Again, the Samaritan acted – albeit after he first recognized the need.
It is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to have a profound interior life if we lack a serious commitment to earn our daily bread.
For far too long there has been a mistaken insistence on the supposed incompatibility between secular work and the interior (or spiritual) life.
It is in the midst of daily work and by means of daily labors - not in spite of them - that God calls us to know Him, love Him and serve Him. Christians are to sanctify the world and sanctify themselves and those around them with a life of prayer that gives divine meaning to our earthly tasks. Properly understood, contemplative and active are not rivalries, but rather complimentary – that is, one strengthens the other and vice versa.
So then, seek to find God in your ordinary lives! Combine the love of Mary with the active drive of Martha.
Kindly allow me to share with you terrific words preached by St. Josemaria Escriva (d. 1975):
“You must understand now more clearly that God is calling you to serve Him ‘in and from’ the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each of you to discover it. There is no other way. Either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him.”
When Jesus responds to Martha it is as if He says, “Martha, you are worried about worldly affairs, but you are forgetting about me. You are deeply concerned about important duties, but you are neglecting the most important tone of all, which is union with God – personal holiness. If those worries lead you to lose presence of God then those worries are not good for you.”
Notice, that Jesus does not condemn Martha. Instead Jesus responds to Martha’s question as to what is most important in life – namely, being aware of the presence of God. How often might Our Lord make the same reproach to us? Nothing ever can justify our forgetting Jesus in our daily work, not even the most important of worldly concerns. We certainly cannot minimize the importance of prayer with the excuse we are too busy.
July 11, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
The business the Good Samaritan had at hand was left to wait (Luke 10:26-37). When the dire need of another was seen, the urgent things he had to do were no longer all that important.
He generously gave his time to the person in need. Friends, it not only is a question of time – our interests and the things we like doing are all to take second place to the needs of others.
Let us all work to take this message from God to heart.
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We are a parish who enthusiastically commits ourselves toward helping youth know, love and serve Almighty God and the people of His Church!
Recently Sandusky Central Catholic School unveiled its exciting new 5 year plan to select leaders of the three Sandusky parishes. Catholic education has been the most important ministry of all three parishes since their respective establishments. The new blueprint ensures the continuation of a safe and strong comprehensive pre-K to 12 Catholic education that is marked by living the Catholic Faith, achieving impressive academic successes and inspiring leadership through Christian service.
You have spoken and we have listened! The remarkable success of our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has led me to authorize the expansion of this amazing program from our current offering for ages 3-6. Beginning this fall, Good Shepherd will be the religious education program for children ages 7-10. Last month, five parish catechists received intensive training in the Montessori-style program and now are certified!
In future years it is our intention to expand Good Shepherd further through grade 6 and to implement the national Life Teen program for junior high students called Edge.
Speaking of our enormously popular Sandusky Life Teen, more and more teens are being led closer to Christ. This summer weekly activities for teens on Tuesday and Wednesday nights have resulted in an impressive regular number of high school students praying together and having great fun. Over 30 Sandusky Life Teen participants will be making the trek to the Steubenville St. Louis Mid-America Conference July 16-18. Thousands of teens from all over the USA will converge in St. Louis for what is certain to be a powerful spiritual encounter with Christ and His Church. Remember to pray for our terrific teens!
Vacation Bible School is right around the corner: July 26 – July 30, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the Commons. I registered Fr. Jason and hope you will be sure to do all you can to encourage children ages 4 – 10 to participate.
Let’s make like the Samaritan in Luke’s parable (17:11-19). Would you please send Archbishop Dolan a brief note telling him how much we appreciated his personal letter of thanks for our parish contributions to Catholic Relief Services for their vital work in devastated Haiti? It is no small impression we made to hear personally from the Archbishop of New York and Chairman of Catholic Relief Services.
Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan
Office of the Archbishop
1011 First Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Just in case you are confused by someone looking a lot like me wandering around with a wife and children, my brother and his family from Indianapolis are visiting and staying in the rectory this weekend. You will be pleased to know that he kindly reminded me to keep my preaching short and try to have a point. Too bad for you I have not always listened to him.
July 4, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
What a special gift of God’s making my first year here as your pastor has been! I love being a priest and I especially love being your priest. My love for the priesthood was inspired mightily by the many
impressive priests who have been a part of my lifetime beginning with my great-uncle and priest of 62 years, Fr. Rolland Glass. Memories still are vivid for me of his praying from his breviary, joyously celebrating the Mass, effortlessly caring for and helping people, and constantly urging those whom he encountered to seek
and find the hope and inner peace which Christ Jesus so deeply desires to give to us all. He harbored a real and infectious joy which was something I wanted similarly to characterize my daily living.
While attending Marquette University, I frequently made my way to his parish north of Milwaukee to play golf together, take in walks along the beautiful Lake Michigan shore and root for the Packers after Sunday morning Mass. As a young boy growing up in Wisconsin, he took me to my first MLB game – the Brewers lost to the Tigers after Gates Brown ruined a perfectly fine afternoon with a dramatic home run giving Detroit the victory. His last parish and parish from which he retired as a priest and pastor of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was…St. Mary’s!
Without the priests God generously put into my life, there is nothing I could have done. Without them, the Church could do nothing, for we would then be without the Eucharist, without Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Throughout the Year for Priests which concluded last month, we have heard wonderful testimonies from Catholics about the terrific difference priests have made in their lives. Many people voiced their appreciation for their dedicated labors and numerous sacrifices. Oftentimes the priest’s work is thankless task, but this past year our priests especially have heard people say thanks. I add my voice to that chorus of gratitude, including special words of thanks to Fr. Jason who recently marked his first anniversary as a priest!
Friends, if we are to recapture our sense of the Lord’s Day, our priests will lead us. We often hear people tease their priests that they only work one day a week – Sunday! Of course, that all is in good fun, for parishioners know that a priest’s work in never done. Yet, Sunday is the day of our greatest work or, more accurately, it is the Lord’s work, and we experience the best priestly version of ourselves when we consecrate the Lord’s Day by leading the people in the Lord’s own sacrifice. Many priests, who prudently sensibly begin preparing their Sunday homilies early in the week, regularly are thinking about the next Sunday. In this sense, they choose to live from Sunday to Sunday with their eyes fixed during the week on the Lord’s Day to come. It is important that our priests share that sense of Sunday with their parishioners so that the Church Herself similarly comes to live from Sunday to Sunday.
As my second year as your pastor dawns, I urge you to join me in being bold and confident in inviting people back to Sunday Mass who have grown distant from it. Let us also encourage each other to make the Lord’s Day a day of rest, a day of the Church, a day for the family. We all will benefit immensely by rededicating ourselves to the weekly priority of celebrating Sunday as the Lord’s Day. So much depends on it. If we let our Sunday observance slide when it is so clear that the Lord desires it, how can we hope to follow the Lord’s will in more difficult things?
A deeper consideration of the theological dimensions of the Lord’s Day may well give rise to charitable actions that further will consecrate Sunday. For example, Sunday might be a time for visiting the sick and the lonely, the infirmed and home bound members of our parish family. Each priest and each parish will find their own ways of celebrating Sunday precisely as the day of the Lord and the day of the Church.
See you at Mass!
June 27, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
Today’s Gospel marks a turning point in Luke’s story of Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus embarks upon a journey to Jerusalem. In today’s passage, however, we learn that
Jesus’ journey is not only to Jerusalem. Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem because the time is drawing near “for Him [Jesus] to be taken up to heaven” (Luke 9:51). There is one
further word in this verse that warrants our attention: “resolutely” (Luke 9:51). That is, Jesus responds without hesitation to the design of God, cost Him what it may.
In today’s passage, some of Jesus’ disciples suddenly wish to call down fire and destruction upon the Samaritans who refused to welcome Jesus. Friends, that is not the way of Jesus, who leads the way to Jerusalem and, ultimately, to heaven.
The only disciples Jesus wants are those who follow Him freely – not by means of threats or manipulations.
Jesus does not respond to the design of God alone. While there is no hesitating Jesus’ preparedness to go down the strange road which God is opening up before Him, others are called to follow. The Gospel is never only about Jesus. It also is about all who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ.
We, too, have set out on a journey. All the events of our lives stand to lead us back to the God who made us and who called us to be the followers of His Son through our Baptism.
Who then is an authentic disciple? The one who places the priority upon the Gospel and Kingdom of God in their daily living. For sure, there are many important aspects and duties in our lives. God Word makes clear that the greatest of all these concerns is to be our love of God.
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I am pleased to share with you the three most recent books which I have read.
Voices of Silence: Lives of the Trappists Today by Frank Bianco was given to me as a gift upon my return from my week-long retreat with the Trappists at the Abbey of Gethsemani (in Kentucky). It is an engaging, entertaining and behind-the-scenes portrayal of the remarkable men who seek to know, love and serve Christ as members of this venerable religious community.
A Priest Forever by Father Alfred McBride – a superb popular writer - is an uplifting read about real signs of hope which are apparent in the priesthood today for those who dare to look carefully.
Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote The Priest is Not His Own in 1963. Finally reading it I understand well why this work rightly is considered a spiritual classic of last century. Don’t be misled by the title as many of the insights are applicable for all Christians.
What recommendations do you have to share with our parish family?
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I am pleased to report having rediscovered success at the plate. Perseverance. Several younger people kindly gave me advice as to how I might rediscover my swing on Sunday evenings. Suddenly softballs again are finding their way beyond the infield - God is so good! For those keeping score, this is the first team I ever remember being the…well…o-l-d-e-s-t player – gasp!
June 20, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
To draw closer to Our Lord we must depend on two
equally important aspects: confidence and reverence.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153) explains that confidence and reverence “are the two arms with
which we embrace God.” I sure like that image!
We make our way to God with confidence because we can count on God’s Word always being truthful. At the same time reverence brings us ever closer to God. Reverence or what sometimes Scripture and Church calls “the holy fear of God” is a great source of strength that helps us carry on in our fight against all that offends God. Confidence in God and reverence for God give us proper perspective and enable us to walk in safety this side of heaven.
At 6’8” my father is an imposing man who in his prime commandeered the room soon after he entered. These days he still holds court, though his style is not so pronounced and magisterial as he has become much more…how shall I say it…grandfatherly and relaxed. More than anyone else, dad taught me the Godly attributes of confidence and reverence. In one way, my life is an attempt – poor as it is - to imitate my dad. His walk across the earthly stage has been marked by major adversities: told he had a mere 60 days to live as a young father with four children, surviving a brutal experimental chemotherapy regiment, beating cancer additional times later in life, enduring unforgiving side-effects from a myriad of surgeries and medicines, receiving a kidney from his youngest sister. Through it all he has harbored an unmistakable confidence and reverence, knowing God is to be found in all the challenges of life as well as its joys. He is not a man who needs to lecture about it. Instead, he simply chooses to embrace God in this manner. And that has made all the difference.
June 13, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk………
I still am savoring God’s delights from my week of silence
with the Trappist monks at the Abbey of the Gethsemani in
Kentucky. It is all-too-easy for God’s Word to be drowned
out by the worldly noise that pollutes our day. The Trappist monks structure their day around times for prayer. Then,
whatever time remains is used for manual labors which
keep their monastery self-sustaining.
It strikes me that the opponent tempts us daily to do
otherwise – that is, to work feverishly and only afterwards
give to God whatever is left, if anything. During my days of
retreat it was amazing to enter anew into the cycle of prayer - and not feel captive to a frantic pace. If you want to pray, you have to pray. Let us all remember that good intentions to pray are not prayers that are prayed.
Beginning at 3:15 a.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m., the monks assemble eight times throughout each day in their simple chapel to pray. Every two weeks they beautifully chant all 150 Psalms (our Lord Himself prayed these Psalms). In addition nearly all of the New Testament is read aloud during this same two week period. The fruits of their lifestyle are so readily apparent in their inner peace and unmistakable joy. Answering the deep longing voiced by my favorite band, I can say that they have found what I am looking for.
In a twist of irony, one of the most well-known Catholics in America last century was a member of this cloistered community. In 1948 Fr. Thomas Merton’s (he was called “Fr. Louis” by his Trappist brothers) The Seven Story Mountain became an instantly popular best-selling book. It now is hard to believe that The New York Times refused to put Merton’s book on their weekly list on the grounds that it was “a religious book.” Then, again, the vitriolic anti-Catholic attacks launched without restraint by the NYT today do have a long history.
Including paperback editions and foreign translations, the total sales of The Seven Storey Mountain has reached the multiple millions, and it continues to sell remarkably well year after year. Merton died unexpectedly in 1968. Before I left the monastery, I prayed at his grave which is marked by a simple cross bearing his name – exactly like all the others.
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Near the monastery is the sacred site I long since had wanted to visit. In 1808
Pope Pius VII added four new dioceses to the United States: Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Bardstown (Kentucky). The new Diocese of Bardstown spanned the entire “Northwest Territories” and then some – what would come to be the present states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. The cathedral was completed in 1819. Although it still remains standing, today it serves only as a parish church under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Louisville.
I was overwhelmed kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament inside the cathedral, realizing suddenly that I was adoring the same Lord Jesus Christ whose Eucharistic Presence brought the Catholic Faith to our part of the country.
Nearby small towns bear Catholic names and identities including Holy Cross, Loretto, St. Francis, St. Mary and St. Catharine.
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Turning our sights closer to home, you no doubt have noticed our parking lot project is moving forward with the removal of some backyard garages. As the summer unfolds we expect to remove more structures. Dedicated and determined efforts on the part of some parishioners looks to have the demolition of dilapidated buildings accomplished without spending any parish money.
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Fr. Jason and I are attending the national Life Teen Convention in Phoenix until Thursday, June 17 (www.lifeteen.com). I made the call to the bullpen to summon the ‘ol right-hander and am thrilled that Fr. Phil agreed to take the mound while we are away!
May 23, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……...
Signs of the Spirit: Here Come the Younger Generation
Congratulations to our 47 young people receiving the Sacrament of confirmation this weekend! They have prepared well for this great moment and are eager to be sealed
with the gift of Holy Spirit. I received a personal letter from every one in which they outlined
their studies and service. Yes – a personal letter…paper and ink…greeting, salutation and signature. impressive!
I wish sincerely to thank Fr. Michael Billian for graciously administering the Sacrament of Confirmation as the personal representative of Bishop Blair.
It is wonderful to see the increasing numbers of younger people populating our Sunday Masses – your presence is noticeable! Much has been studied and written about Gen-Xers leading a remarkable spiritual renewal that clearly is underway in our Church. Findings include better educated younger people in matters of Catholic Faith and a higher level of commitment to living out their beliefs through Christian service. After the spiritual malformation marking my generation – where making collages from magazines seemed far more important than learning catechism - today’s younger Catholics display an appetite for what the Church offers. In my interactions, they want to know what the Church teaches. They further want leaders who rally to live the faith. One recent book written by Colleen Carroll is well-worth reading if you want to learn more about the spiritual trends of Gen-Xers and their growing influence in the Church. Carroll spent several years interviewing younger Catholics and what she discovers gives us all real cause for a future full of hope. In The New Faithful: Embracing Christian Orthodoxy, Carroll says that increasing numbers of young adults are finding lively fellowship and community worship focused on the Eucharist. She further emphasizes their excitement to discover the Church’s true teachings.
An entirely different and more personally revealing book about the spiritual quest of younger Catholics is found in Tell Me Why: A Father Answers His Daughter’s Questions About God, co-written by Jana Novak and her father Michael Novak. Jana does not hide her struggles with understanding and practicing the Catholic Faith. She reveals about how hard it can be to keep the faith in a style that is as honest as it is sincere. And yet, she also states how inspired she and her younger generation are by both the Catholic insistence of a God who encourages people to think, question, doubt, study, struggle and then, come willingly to Him.
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Kindly remember me in your prayers during my annual retreat May 24 – 29. This year I will be joining the monks at the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Not to worry – their vow of silence will be more than enough to keep me among them only as a short-term visitor: www.monks.org
Congratulations to the many high school graduates of our parish and their families – bravo! We will be celebrating your accomplishment with a special Mass on Sunday, May 30 at 11:30 a.m. For those graduates who will be pursuing college, military service or other work away from here, we ask you to please stay closely connected with us via the web while you are away: www.stmarysandusky.org. You also can “friend” me after your graduation on Facebook. Of course, you always can go old school and send me a letter too!
Make it a great week.
May 9, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……………
Dear Mom:
Our celebration of First Communion last weekend at
St. Mary’s was absolutely amazing. People looked to be
standing all around the church. In a different setting, this
size crowd, coupled with the warm temperature, would have
made for more than a few impatient people - but not here.
The sense of belonging that people felt made for an
experience of church that simply was great. The moms and
dads stood out in the sea of humanity that flooded the
church – their gigantic smiles gave them all away! What an
awesome day! Just like the family First Communions we
celebrated together the weekend before in Indianapolis, God used the littlest ones to help us older ones stop and marvel at the things that truly are most important.
You are correct: this was my first First Holy Communion as a pastor. (Yes, I know you were a high school English teacher and I suspect I really am not supposed to repeat the word “first” in a sentence like I just did). This also was the first First Holy Communion for Fr. Jason as a priest. How proud and grateful we both are to be their priests! And now we are connected forever with these particular children and their families in such a special and permanent way.
I am thrilled that you and dad will be visiting your moms on Mother’s Day back in Wisconsin. It cracks me up whenever a gasp is uttered after I tell folks that your mom is 100 years old and dad’s mom is nearing 96 years of age. Yes, I will remember to call both grandmas on Mother’s Day – and you too! For sure it means the world to them to have you and dad beside them. Though I am disappointed that I cannot be with you today, I am delighted to know where you are. How I wish I were with you in Fond du Lac!
Motherhood inspires beauty, goodness and truth like no other – it is nothing less than 24/7 love and self-giving. The greatness of motherhood comes out in the total humility that is seen. When problems start getting to me, I just think about the true experience of sacrifice that marks your life. Since my arrival as your first of four children, you have set aside your interests because of your total interest in all of us. Your selflessness makes me want to live for others.
Earlier this week a high school student interviewed me for a paper she is writing. She asked me a really insightful question about how it is that I have the faith that I do. I know faith is God’s gift, but God’s real presence in my life is personal and concrete because of you. Mom, you have given me the faith that I have. From my beginning you made it so and you have spent a lifetime presenting me back to God. Thinking of you makes me want to live more generously and gratefully. You make me want to put others first just like you have done for me, Brian, Mike and Linda.
Thanks for stopping by Sandusky last week and putting some fresh spring touches on the rectory.
Love Always,
Dave
May 2, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……………
This weekend 42 children of our parish family will receive
Holy Communion for heir very first time. God is so good!
It never ceases to amaze me how God chooses His little
ones to remind the rest of us about that which truly is most
important.
Just as we must nourish our bodies with physical food, so
also do we need to nourish our souls with spiritual food.
My personal preparation to receive the Eucharist has
changed over the years. There was a time in my life when I
mistakenly viewed the Eucharist as a reward-of-sorts for a week well lived, like a gold star given for mortal sin avoided. Now when the Sacred Host is held aloft over the altar and words are spoken announcing to all that “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” I feel a deep longing to receive God’s medicine for my soul – a divine remedy I dearly need and without Whom I have no chance to live well.
Of all our prayers, participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice truly is best. The Lord once said to Blessed Angela of Foligno (d. 1309):
“Make yourself a capacity; I will make myself a torrent.”
Friends, the Eucharist unleashes a supernatural surge of beauty, goodness and truth into our very selves. In order to drink abundantly of what is nothing less than an inexhaustible reservoir of divine grace, we need to mature as persons by turning away from self-absorbed impulses and activities. This happens as we see the Eucharist more as God’s gracious gift and less as our rightful reward.
Without exception the saints loved the Eucharist. It is no surprise that those who embark upon imitating the saints find themselves going to Mass frequently. These people especially are alive to the power of God’s Word and Holy Sacrament. With time, they rightly see the Holy Sacrifice as the very best moment of every day.
But, alas, not everyone is a saint. Among the most common excuses heard from the people who are reluctant to attend Mass, those who easily and with little or no regret disregard their Sunday obligation, are the complaints that “it is not meaningful to me,” and “I don’t get anything out of it,” or “it’s boring.” Listen carefully to these excuses, all of which fail to consider anything wrong within the complaining individual and instead see something wrong with the Eucharistic sacrifice itself.
It saddens me terribly that there also are priests who disregard the Church’s norms for a beautiful, dignified and reverent celebration of Mass. Sometimes homilies are vague rhapsodies of platitudes and private opinions with little doctrinal content and even less spiritual depth. If ever I am an obstacle to your prayer, please love me enough to help me by telling me.
What lies at the center of the boredom complaint? Like most kinds of monotony, disinterest in the Mass is due principally to spiritual deficiencies within bored people. Lacking in human development, they more or less are insensitive to seeing and appreciating the beauty that is right before their eyes. For example, they can read Shakespeare, listen to Beethoven and look upon Rembrandt without being moved by what well-rounded and well-grounded men and women find amazing and inspiring. The awesome wonders of creation leave them cold and unimpressed. In biblical literature they are the ones who have ears yet do not hear and eyes yet fail to see.
April 25, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……………
Some have wondered if we are going back in time to the
Middle Ages by building a great big moat around the rectory.
Kindly allow me to bring you up to speed with all that is
happening.
For many years the rectory walls have been deteriorating
from water seepage. In recent years, water entry into the
basement has become much worse. The demands of our
parish make it necessary for us to use the basement daily
for meeting, office and storage spaces. Lest Fr. Jason have
to remain in the rectory basement permanently with a bucket
bailing water, it seemed more responsible to employ a
21st century technique to clean and seal the exterior walls so that they once again
are waterproof.
The best expert estimates are that the foundation to the rectory has not seen the
light of day since its original construction in 1891. The excavation revealed
several surprises. First, our ancestors seemed to interpret literally Jesus’ words to
Peter “upon this Rock I will build my church” by building the rectory superbly upon
bedrock! Second the condition of the foundation walls was worse than realized.
Over the years the mortar has deteriorated and the dirt encasing the rectory has
acted like a sponge drawing water into the basement.
If anyone would like to help our important capital improvement project, please
indicate that you would like your special contribution to be credited toward the “2010 Rectory Foundation Restoration”. Help free Fr. Jason from the basement!
After the foundation work is completed and waterproofing accomplished, new
landscaping will be required to recapture the remarkable beauty of our impressive
building.
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Those of you who use the front annex entry near the flag polls undoubtedly are
enjoying the new concrete which has made coming and going so much safer. I
wish to thank Anne Fosco and the good people of Fosco Cement for graciously
donating their expert work.
One of the many great gifts of priestly life and ministry is the honor and privilege I
have to serve my family. This weekend our family is gathering together in
Indianapolis where we will celebrate the First Holy Communion of a niece and a
nephew.
My absence next weekend gives you a much needed break along with the chance
to welcome Fr. John Blaser to our Masses. A venerable longtime pastor who
now is savoring the delights of retirement, Fr. John is with us representing the
Office of Global Concerns which assists in deepening the mission awareness of
Catholics throughout the diocese.
Speaking of the Office of Global Concerns, the director nearly ran me over in his
zeal to speak with me after a recent Mass at the cathedral. How thrilled I am to
report that St. Mary’s contributed the most of all 132 parishes in the Diocese of
Toledo to Catholic Relief Services and the people of Haiti. The Glory of God is
seen remarkably in your generous self-giving that totaled over $18,000!
On Sunday, May 2, at 2:00 p.m., we joyfully will celebrate the First Holy
Communion of our own young people! Please continue to pray for our young
people and their families.
Our final Theology of the Body Adult Study Series event will take place on
Saturday, May 1, in the Commons. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the dynamic 30
minute DVD presentation by Christopher West begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. This
final presentation is entitled, “The Language of Sexual Love.” Delicious food,
ample drinks and an inspiring message again will be enjoyed by all participating.
April 18, 2010
From Father Dave’s desk……………
How are we to understand the words of Jesus when he
says, “The truth will make you free” (John 8:32)? The path
to real freedom is found in knowing the truth and living it. The
converse also is true: deceit leads to enslavement. Recall that
the Bible describes the devil as “a liar and the Father of all lies”
(John 8:44).
The villainous disdain for the truth by select media
outlets is shocking and shameful. Recent legitimate news
includes the release of the annual independent audit on Catholic
dioceses in America on compliance with our own Charter on the
Protection of Children and Young People. What? You do not
know anything about this report? How can that be given that the major findings are as impressive as they are substantial? Given the seemingly round-the-clock assault against the Catholic Church by select media outlets, people actually may be surprised to learn that:
The Catholic Church has had in place strict protocols and preventative measures to stop the abuse of minors from happening again. The audit reported that six million children in our schools and religious education programs underwent safe environment training – that’s 96% of the children in our care. Background evaluations were completed on two million priests, deacons, seminarians, educators, employees and volunteers. Dioceses incurred costs of some $21 million to make this happen.
There were six (6) credible allegations of sexual abuse of current minors for the entire year, in a Church of more than 60 million members. Though one is too many, the percent is dramatically lower than experts tell us is the sad national average, and is only known because the Church is open and honest in reporting.
False allegations have eclipsed the good work that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger did at the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and later has done as Pope Benedict XVI. Highly respected journalist John Allen accounts that beginning in 2001 (then) Cardinal Ratzinger brought about a profound change in how sexual abuse cases were handled. The details are many, though the effect was clear. It became easier to remove priests who have committed these abominable crimes from ministry very quickly, and often, dismissed from the priesthood altogether. Since his election, Pope Benedict repeatedly has demonstrated that even high-ranking priests are to be held accountable, and has not minced words about the failures of his brother bishops here in the United States and most recently, in Ireland.
Let me be perfectly clear: the Church is not beyond reproach. Deep wounds of our causing need to be healed, spiritual and systemic reforms must be far-reaching, priests need to imitate Jesus and bishops must dare to lead courageously, compassionately and transparently. Jesus meant what he said and said what he meant: “The truth will make you free.”
Friends, recent reporting on Pope Benedict XVI and our Catholic Church in select media outlets has been anything but truthful.
Kindly remember in your prayers Fr. Jason who is making his annual retreat this week at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago.
I am honored and excited to celebrate the First Holy Communion for a niece and nephew next weekend in Indianapolis.
Great hope in our future is seen in our spirited youth who are preparing to receive First Holy Communion (May 2) and the Sacrament of Confirmation (May 23). Please continue to pray for them and their families.
Your generous spirit has made our Second Sunday Food Collection amazingly successful and a vital resource for helping those in our community who are most in need of assistance – thank you!
April 4, 2010
The Joy of Easter
More than anything that could be stated or taught, it is the
true joy of a Christian believer that most makes me want to
know, love and serve the Risen Lord Jesus. Every joyful
person of faith inspires me to find deeper and more lasting joy in my faith.
True joy does not depend on mere physical or material
wellbeing. True joy does not diminish by the presence of
difficulties or the absence of good health. Deep true joy
originates in Christ, in the love that God first has had for us. Rejoice with me in the promise of the Lord that is fulfilled today: “I will give you a joy which no one will take from you” (John 16:22). Take the words of our Lord to heart: nothing – no thing - can take away the joy which God eagerly gives to us.
People who say they are Christian and are not joyful make the Good News seem phony. Just imagine if more members of own parish family dared to seek and find God’s gift of joy – we’d need a whole lot more than 53 new parking spaces!
Being Catholic is not some arduous task or heavy burden that snuffs the joy out of life like a Mass server extinguishes candles. No! Our faith in the Risen Lord Jesus and His Church gives meaning and purpose and joy to life.
In the Easter story depicting Jesus’ encounter with two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-34), the same Jesus who appears along the way helps the distraught disciples to understand how Jesus’ own sufferings are a part of God’s great plan. Then during the Breaking of the Bread their hearts are filled with joy!
Many of us Catholics in and around Sandusky are comparable to those two disciples at the beginning of the Luke’s Gospel account: downcast, discouraged and lost. Improper boundaries lead to constant fatigue and exhaustion in our daily living. The deep wounds inflicted by the horrible scandal, sin and crime of the sexual abuse of minors and the abhorrent actions of some church officials hurt terribly. More and more people in our area are feeling burdened by financial pressures and future uncertainties.
Are we not at times like those two dejected disciples on the road to Emmaus? They were so absorbed in their own woes, so lost in their mistaken conclusion that the one in whom they had placed their trust was dead, so shocked by the shame, scandal, and scorn of last Friday that they failed to recognize Jesus as He walked right along side of them!
Real as they are, let us not turn inward to ourselves, our worries, our burdens and our fears. Rather, let us turn to the Risen Lord Jesus, who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Over and over Jesus tells us “be not afraid” (Matthew 10:26), and assures us that He “will be with us all days, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), and promises us that “even the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church” (Matthew 16:18).
This glorious Easter season, let the Risen Lord Jesus turn our sights toward Him just as He did the two disciples.
Friends, we have every reason to be joyful because Christ is walking right alongside us!
March 14, 2010
The Parable of the Father
The popularly known parable of the prodigal son may just be the
most moving of the parables Jesus tells in the Gospels
(Luke 15:11-32). The life experiences of the two sons serve solely
to reveal the heart of the father. A more accurate story title really
would be something like the parable of the father. Nowhere does
Jesus portray the Heavenly Father more poignantly and more
powerfully. The story begins impressively enough with the fact that
the father grants the request of the son and hands over to him his portion of the inheritance. Because such a handing over of wealth happens at death, the son is announcing that, at least in his eyes, his father is dead.
Take a moment and just imagine some of God’s inheritance which He freely has given
us – our existence, our freedom, our intellect, our emotions. That we waste it all and end up in distress and that the distress brings us to our senses is not as significant as the father’s unconditional love – his pure compassion, extravagant greeting and the lavish feast in honor of the son’s return home. It is as if every single day the father awakes praying that today be the day he returns home. Not even the envious and self-righteous older brother receives a harsh word from the father. To him the father only speaks the full truth: “everything I have is yours” (v. 31). Translation: whoever sticks by God truly possesses everything in common with God.
Do not despair: the Heavenly Father will never tire seeking to find His rebellious sons and daughters and bringing them home to Him.
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I am seeking people whose reservoir of compassion inspires a desire to reach out to
grieving families. Specifically, I would like to have 4 – 6 individuals or couples to assist
with planning Funeral Masses. Training will be provided by both Fr. Jason and me
alongside whom you will minister as you learn how to plan the funeral liturgy while
comforting grieving families. Interested parishioners would need to be readily available to meet with the family at the parish office 24-48 hours after we receive notification of a death in order to help the grieving family select readings and songs for the Funeral Mass. A rotation of parishioners will allow this ministry to be cyclic, normally occurring only 2 or 3 times a month for approximately 1 hour each time.
Please note: in our continuing effort to see people at Mass, we gladly are offering Easter
Sunday Mass at 5:00 p.m.
Sandusky Life Teen will be having Eucharistic Adoration in the Gathering Space of Sts.
Peter and Paul Church from 8:00 p.m. on Holy Thursday (April 1) to 8:00am on Good
Friday (April 2). Recall the words of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane: “So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is week” (Mark 14:37-38).
The Lenten Tri-Parish Penance Service will be held on Thursday, March 25 at 7:00
p.m. at Holy Angels Church. Reminder: we offer the Sacrament of Confession 30
minutes before every Mass, including Sundays. The Confessional is located off the
Blessed Sacrament Chapel (behind the altar).
Here’s hoping my parents recognize me when I travel to Florida to visit them March 15 –
24. Kindly keep close watch on you-know-who while I am away.
March 7, 2010
Stewardship Way of Life
Please join me in thanking Mary Riesterer, who after 24 years of tireless service to our parish family is retiring as our office secretary. When I first arrived here as a green-horn priest in 1993, Mary’s beautiful smile and reassuring words settled my nerves. Since becoming your pastor in July 2009, Mary has helped me to learn what I am to be doing, offering me timely counsel and keeping me headed in the right direction.
If you are able to send Mary a note of thanks please drop it off in the office and we gladly will deliver it to her.
Mary’s retirement leads us to consider carefully our office operations. Specifically we are discussing and deciding how to provide the most timely and complete pastoral care possible. Stay tuned.
Congratulations to our parishioner and St. Mary Central Catholic High School senior student-athlete Michael Gallagher who won the Ohio swimming state championship in the 200 Yard Individual Medley. In the process of earning his gold medal, Michael also set a new state record in the event. He placed a most impressive third place in the 100 Yard Backstroke, in which 3/10 of a second separated third from first place. Michael also competed in two relay races which included two other members of our parish family: James Alexakos and Matt Stahl. I further wish to congratulate parishioner and Perkins High School senior student-athlete Michael Mulvin for his impressive performance in the state swimming competition. These remarkable young men served notice to the entire state that there is something special around here in the water – actung, baby!
Under the spirited leadership of Karen Bush the Catholic Community Supper has relocated to Holy Angels Church and will resume serving hot meals on Wednesday, March 10. The new location makes it possible for our ministry to serve many more people who are in special need of assistance.
Please continue to pray for the men, women and children who are preparing for baptism and full entrance into the Catholic Faith at the Easter Vigil as part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). During Lent, they will be present at the following Masses: (Sun) 3/7 11:30 a.m., (Sun) 3/14 9:30 a.m. and (Sat) 3/20 4:00 p.m. I encourage everyone now to mark your calendars and participate in the magnificent Easter Vigil Mass on (Sat) April 3 at 8:30 p.m. A reception will follow the Mass in the Commons giving all the wonderful opportunity to congratulate our newest parish family members. I wish to thank Marty Klupp and the members of our RCIA Team as well as sponsors who have given so generously of their time in helping to lead these people closer to Christ.
Make it a great week.
February 28, 2010
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Today’s account of the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) occurs right after Jesus had predicted His passion to the disciples. Jesus strengthens the disciples’ faith, revealing to them in the Transfiguration a trace of the glory His body will have after the Resurrection. Jesus wants them – and us – to realize that His passion will not be the end but rather the route He will take to arrive at the goal of glory.
For a person to arrive safely at their intended destination, they must have some sense of where they are headed. An archer shoots an arrow when the target is seen. Where are you headed?
The disciples misunderstand. They think the glory of God that they behold on the mountain is the end of the story. They wish to build three tents so to capture and hold that glory (vv. 32-33). A voice from heaven booms, making clear that what they had suspected is true: Jesus is the beloved Son of God (v. 35). Friends, it is not enough simply to know who Jesus is. Let us listen attentively to what Jesus demands and make God’s way our own path.
The journey continues in order to arrive at the intended destination. In today’s Gospel, this is where the disciples falter. One is not made “Christian” by simply remaining alone on a mountain contemplating the divinity of Jesus. Followers of Jesus come down from the mountain – however glorious the encounter with Jesus – and join Jesus on His journey of love and service unto death.
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Each year my thoughtful parents send a Valentine’s Day package to their nine grandchildren. As it happened, their shipment this year was delayed and arrived at my sister’s Chicago home a few days late on Ash Wednesday. Nine year old Matt ripped open his gift only to heave a mighty sigh exclaiming, “Oh, that’s just great! I can’t even eat this Hershey bar for 40 days!”
Born a mere eight days apart in the same Wisconsin town of Fond du Lac, my parents celebrate their birthdays in early March. Mom’s mom turned 100 this past January and Dad’s mom is a remarkably robust 95 ½. So what do you think it is about Wisconsin - the cheese, the brats or the beer?
Eleven year old nephew Tom plays the trumpet. Recently he called and asked if I wanted to hear him play a song. Thirty minutes later…
Many of you have prayed tenderly for a long-time dear friend of mine who passed away on Ash Wednesday. Hers was a most remarkable life this side of heaven. Initially diagnosed with cancer in 1996, Gretchen harbored an indefatigable spirit whose generous and heroic markings empowered those whom she encountered. Four times she waged war against cancer and defeated it. Though, most amazing, was her always beautiful and grace-full style which placed others first, no matter how intense her own suffering. A devout Catholic, she lived the faith wholeheartedly and inspired those around her to do the same. Living in the image of Christ – as she dared to live - means that we live for God and other people. How can we better the time of others?
The February SECOND SUNDAY collection totaled some 300 bags filled with items for Heartbeat of Sandusky. Thank you for your inspiring generosity which will do so much to help deserving younger women and children in our own community.
The monthly Theology of the Body Adult Study Series is excellent and worthy of your consideration. The next session is SATURDAY, MARCH 6. Doors to the Commons open at 7:30 p.m. and the entertaining and informative 30 minute DVD clip shown on the movie screen begins at 8:00 p.m. This month we will learn why the Church requires priests to be celibate. Delicious appetizers, scrumptious desserts and refreshing beverages help to complete the fun evening which is for people 21 years of age and over.
February 21, 2010
The Temptations of Jesus
The devil never ceases to exploit the weakness of our human nature.
After having fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, Our Lord must have been exceedingly weak and very vulnerable. This is no acting job. Jesus’ hunger pangs are as intense as they would be in every person. He is frail and famished. Precisely then – when vulnerability is the greatest - the tempter appears, slyly suggesting to Jesus that He ought to turn the stones lying around Him into the bread He needs and craves to eat.
In saying “no” to the tempter’s scheme, Jesus does much more than decline the food His body requires and wants. Jesus refuses to unleash His divine power to solve a “human” problem. How amazing Our Lord is in humbling Himself and accepting fully His human condition all-the-while remaining fully divine!
Today’s Gospel (Luke 4:1-13) teaches us to be watchful and vigilant, keeping lookout over ourselves as well as remaining on alert over those whom we have a special duty to help. The importance of this in moments of weakness and tiredness – when vulnerability is the greatest - cannot be overstated. Attentiveness gives us a fighting chance to do what is right when we find ourselves in a tough patch. Certain circumstances can be so overwhelming that in our exhaustion we may feel as though we possibly cannot take another step.
Friends, it is precisely at such moments that the devil tempts us most fiercely, aiming to turn us away from God’s plan so that we hurl ourselves down a different path.
In the second temptation, the devil takes Jesus to the Holy City and dares Him to throw Himself off the top of the temple. Once again, Jesus’ humility provides Him with the strength to refuse the request of the devil. Jesus will have nothing to do with performing pointless miracles which are nothing more than demonstrations of vanity. As we grow in the virtue of humility, we become stronger interiorly. The key to rejecting similar temptations of the devil that arise in our own lives is to become increasingly humble. As we rely more on God, more of His strength and power is at play in our daily living.
In the final temptation, the devil tries to seduce Jesus with all the worldly glory and power that any person could desire. Not so fast, my friend! Recall that the devil is the father of lies. Never forget that the devil always promises more than he can deliver - always.
Every temptation is nothing more than a miserable deception.
Here, the devil preys on our ambitions. The worst of all human ambitions may be the desire to get what we want at all costs. Avoid falling down also in worship of material things. When items are valued improperly, we eventually become their slave. Stated differently, material goods cease to be good if they separate us from God and others.
The longing for human power and glory is a relentless struggle. This Lent let us resolve to keep a constant watch against such temptations. Availing ourselves of the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, may we imitate Jesus and come to serve God more obediently and joyfully
February 13, 2010
Preparing Well to Receive God’s Grace
The season of LENT begins on Ash Wednesday – February 17 – with the ancient practice of marking the baptized with ashes as a public and communal sign of penance.
Q. What do the ashes symbolize?
A. The ashes symbolize repentance and mortality. Accordingly, they also serve to remind us of God’s gracious mercy which is given freely to all those who call out to Him with sincere hearts.
Q. From where to the ashes come?
A. Ashes are created from the burned palm branches distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The priest blesses the ashes and imposes them on the foreheads of the faithful, making the sign of the cross and saying, "Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return," or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."
Q. Upon whose forehead can ashes be imposed on Ash Wednesday? What about those people who are not Catholic – can they receive ashes too?
A. Any baptized Christian may receive ashes. Throughout my 17 years as a priest, I have spoken with many people who are unable to receive Holy Communion for a variety of reasons. Their inability to receive Holy Communion is a source of great suffering. It is important for them to have occasions to go forward along with everyone else toward the altar to receive precisely what everyone else receives.
Q. Does it make sense to impose ashes on infants or toddlers (i.e. those who do not yet have an awareness of sin)? Aren’t the ashes an exterior sign that implies an interior desire for repentance?
A. From a child’s perspective, I think it is good for them to receive the ashes simply because they want to participate and belong. For sure, this disposition in young children should be enjoyed as long as lasts, because it doesn’t last that long. Being included really does mean something to a child. I especially notice this when a child reaches to receive the Holy Eucharist during Communion – and sometimes are disappointed deeply when they do not receive the Sacred Host.
Very recently, my cousin explained it in this way during a conversation we shared. “I bless my infant with holy water and make my toddler cross herself when entering a church, as well as bow before the altar and kneel before the tabernacle. Likely, she doesn’t understand these practices much more or less than she would the reception of ashes. But you have to start somewhere.”
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In our culture we prepare to “give up something” during Lent. We might wonder what value there is for us in depriving ourselves of something that in itself is good and useful. We “give up something” that is good so as to make sure that no good thing in our lives somehow becomes more important than God.
Becoming more aware of others and their needs helps us to find God in our everyday life. The Church helps us to grow in this way each Lent by asking us also to “do something.”
January 24, 2010
Odds & Ends
I am filled with awe and gratitude for your remarkable generosity to the people of Haiti. Catholic Relief Services received $10,232 from our parish family – 10,232 more reasons why I am honored to be among you and serving you as your pastor.
Congratulations to our Second Grade parish family members who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for their first time earlier this week. We are proud of you while being reminded how healing and powerful this Sacrament is for all of us.
Confessions regularly are heard 30 minutes before every Mass, including Sundays. The Confessional is located next to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, behind the altar in the very back left hand corner of the church.
You will do well to thank Deacon Jeff and Deacon Bill for preaching last weekend which spared you the excessively long meandering homily I was sure to deliver after the devastating overtime playoff loss by the Green Bay Packers. For those who have not heard, I am rooting wildly for whoever is playing against the Vikings. Go Saints Go!
Be sure to check out the beautiful picture board of those adults and children who are preparing to enter the Catholic Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Please learn their names, recognize their faces and welcome them warmly into our parish family. I wish to thank parish family member and highly-regarded local artist Laurie Rohrbacher for creating the wonderful RCIA display in the Commons.
Also in the Commons you will find computer generated drawings depicting how the parking lot expansion will appear. After viewing the drawings, take a moment just to imagine the increased convenience and safety as you look out the Commons’ windows!
The Women’s Bible Study is open to all who wish to review together the Gospel reading for the next Sunday. The WBS meets in the rectory living room 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. No knowledge of Scripture is required – only and open heart and mind to receive the beauty, goodness and truth that is God’s Word.
Make plans to see for yourselves the many exciting and impressive additions to Sandusky Central Catholic School during their Open House on Sunday, January 311:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. You can’t spell SUCCESS without SCCS!
The Holy Hour for Life takes place every Tuesday 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in church. The Rosary is prayed together at 6:30 p.m. followed immediately with Benediction and a Eucharistic Blessing. All are welcome to spend as much time as you are able with Our Lord who truly is present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Most people have heard the "whats" of Catholic teaching, but very few have ever heard the "whys." The Theology of the Body Adult Study Series demonstrates that the Church’s teaching on sex and marriage "makes sense", in part, because it corresponds perfectly with the deepest stirrings and desires of the human heart. Everyone searching for their ultimate purpose in life is welcome to join us for our next session which will be held on Saturday, February 6, in the Commons. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the session begins promptly at 8:00 p.m.
January 10, 2010
An Impressive Commitment to Charitable Care
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (1822).
Since our inception as a Catholic church in 1855, charitable care has been at the heart of our mission as a family of faith. We earnestly seek to live out our faith by means of a commitment which is Christ-centered rather than self-centered.
Saint Paul teaches that if charity is lacking then we have nothing (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1-4). He goes on to explain that charity is superior to all the virtues and is the first of the theological virtues: “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor. 13:13).
Dear friends, you have good reason to be mighty proud of the charitable care offered today by St. Mary’s.
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The inaugural SECOND SUNDAY food collection last month netted 800 bags of groceries for deserving people in our community. For those who viewed our Commons overrun with grocery bags, the sight was deeply moving. Care and Share was the beneficiary of your generosity which computed to over $20,000 in non-perishable items for those who are less fortunate and in special need. Thanks to all who participated in our new monthly initiative spearheaded by the Pastoral Council members. Here is how Second Sunday works:
Second Sunday – grocery bags with labels attached are distributed to parishioners after all weekend Masses
Third Sunday – grocery bags are collected in the Commons
Third Monday – grocery bags are distributed to the beneficiaries
I wish to thank the fine supportive people at Mark Advertising and Firelands Packaging whose generous donations have helped our newest charitable care ministry.
Please contact the parish office if you are interested and able to help with any aspect of this monthly ministry.
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The CATHOLIC COMMUNITY SUPPER provides a free, warm and delicious meal on Wednesdays 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. We are closed on the first Wednesday of the month. We currently offer this meal at the First Congregational UCC on the corner of Jefferson and Columbus. Later this spring we will be moving this ministry to Holy Angels Parish. Currently we have seven preparation and serving teams. Members from all parishes are welcome to participate in preparing and serving food.
Please contact our parish office if you feel called by Christ to assist in some manner.
I wish to thank especially the following organizations whose generosity helps us to provide needed food for so many: Routh Packing donates meat, Toft’s Dairy donates milk, Kroger gives us milk and sweets. Kindly support these generous local companies as you are able.
This wonderful social ministry now has been serving people in need for over 20 years.
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PARISH OUTREACH provides direct assistance to members of our parish family facing financial difficulties. In 2009 over 100 parishioners received assistance. All referrals made by parishioners are considered and strict confidentiality is kept. Parish Outreach request forms are available in the parish office. Further inquires will be answered gladly by Deacon Bill Burch bburch@stmarysandusky.org or 419-625-7465 ext. 15.
January 3, 2010
An Open Letter to Tiger Woods
Dear Tiger:
I’ve been working on this letter to you for quite some time. There are certain people I just do not want to disappoint me and you were one of them. When I first heard the reports about your numerous unspeakable acts I felt betrayed. Then I imagined the wave of anger and disappointment that must have engulfed your wife, children and other family members. Those thoughts made my stomach hurt. Our actions always impact others - especially those who are closest to us.
Ratings suggest far too many people are smitten by the morally depravity of soap operas like “Desperate Housewives.” Yet, the vast majority of people still hold long-term commitments to be essential for families as well as for maintaining the fabric of our nation. Being faithful is good. And being unfaithful is not, no matter who you are. Stories of your lewd and selfish actions strike at the very foundations of the sacred trust of married love and fatherhood. Maybe that’s why it hurt so much.
It will take heroic efforts to rebuild the trust you have lost. To make this happen drink the cup of humility. A good father and a loving husband do not act in the manner in which you have been accused. Unfortunately, you do not stand alone. Our debased culture is all too eager to encourage us to do whatever we want for no other reason than we can do it. In fact, one of your very own sponsors tells us to, “Just Do It.” Self-indulgent living does not lead to a life of fullness but only guarantees a desert of regret and restlessness.
You have the chance to reclaim the person you are or, perhaps, discover for the first time the person who you truly are – or rather, to Whom you truly belong. Though a fallen and faulted child of God, you always remain His child, precious and beloved in His sight.
You are not the first person who had so much of this world and found all you had to be not enough. Throughout human history original sin has fueled the urge in us all to be gods. Many people are horribly misled to believe that human fulfillment lies in gaining more sex, more power and more money. When we seek more of this world that more, however much the more is, will never be enough. Things of this world will never satisfy our deepest desires. Never. There is a yearning, hunger, desire deep within us that only can be filled by God. Why? Because every human person is both spiritual and physical. The fulfillment of all human desire only is found with God, never apart from Him.
You have been the topic of conversations everywhere. Indeed, your wealth, fame and achievement have fed monstrous gossip. And no better are those people who delight in learning that someone else is worse than them. “Comparative Christianity” is neither of God nor about Him. Spreading harmful and damaging gossip about others is a twisted way for some to boost their own deflated egos.
There is no denying that gossip harms people, destroys trust and injures friendships. It is no wonder that gossip has been condemned consistently in religious and ethical writings.
As a New Year dawns you have the chance to begin anew, to seek God whom all people need more than most people realize. Dare to do this with the same fiery passion which made you a golf champion. Allow the power of Christ to shape you into the man God created you to be. Indeed, this is the perfect resolution for us all to make.
December 25, 2009
Letting Our Hearts Become a Crib for Him
On that night silent and holy, calm and bright, Jesus, Mary and Joseph are alone.
Suddenly God’s delight bursts forth bringing into their midst the simplest of people. In haste arrive shepherds, who may have been chosen because in their humility they will not be distressed to find the Messiah in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. Indeed, their reaction is wonder and joy!
It is precisely to these simple shepherds of the Bethlehem region that the prophet Isaiah spoke long before: “those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:2).
On the first night the prophecy is fulfilled in them alone. This night they are the first and only people to hear the glad tidings and good news.
Today billions of people throughout the world know of God’s arrival in Jesus. The bright light that Bethlehem night reaches many hearts, and yet darkness still remains. The shepherds of the first night wholeheartedly welcome God and they experience great joy – joy that comes from the light and is no less than God Himself. The darkness in the world is overcome by God’s light once and for all (cf. John 1:5).
Rest assured, it does not matter that on this first night, the night of God’s arrival as one of us in all things but sin, the joy of that event reaches only a few hearts for the divine joy is destined for every human heart.
These simple shepherds go around telling others all they had seen and heard – imagine their exuberance! Scripture records the reaction: “All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:18).
In the same way Jesus reveals Himself to us in the midst of the ordinary events of every day. Simplicity and humility are required to reach Him. Throughout our lives God gives signs that mean nothing to us unless we make our way across the earthly stage with eyes of faith, seeing Jesus as our Lord, Savior and Messiah which He truly is. Expect, then, to discover Jesus in the simplicity of ordinary life, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger, free from theatrical presentations and the like. Everyone who sees Christ – who really sees God made man – feels moved to make Him known straight away and cannot wait to tell others all that has been seen and heard!
In those days it was inconceivable that anyone would make their way before a respected person without a gift. The shepherds bring what they have – perhaps a lamb, cheese, butter, milk and curd. Doubtless it is not far removed from reality to imagine the scene as it is portrayed in the countless cribs of our days and in the Christmas carols which Christians sing with simplicity and which many of us may have made the theme of our prayer.
Mary and Joseph are surprised and delighted! They invite the tepid shepherds to enter and see the Child, to kiss him, to sing to him, and to leave their gifts beside the manger.
This Christmas, what do we bring God? Perhaps that which Our Lady desires more than all else is that we bring to her Child a heart more devoted, more pure, more cheerful, and more compliant to God’s ways.
And as the New Year sets to dawn, there is no finer way to begin 2010 and every day of our lives than drawing closer to Mary. With the confidence of children let us make our way to the Mother of God and our Mother, so that she may help us to seek those things which truly are most important; so that she may give us the impulse to begin again each time we fail because we are so weak; so that she may intercede with her divine Son to lead us to real interior renewal; so that she will pray with us and pray for us to strive to grow in the love of God and in the service of others.
Please join me placing into the hands of Our Lady of Sorrows our earnest desire to identify ourselves with Christ more completely, to sanctify our professional work and to become more faithful and more joyful disciples.
December 27, 2009
Difficulties regarding the health of my father make me ever more aware of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing that which we have received, most especially our Christian faith and family. For many, these days are marked by challenges some of which can be quite daunting. I think, too, of our brave military men and women who are away from family and country and are in dangerous places to keep us and our nation safe.
Kindly say a prayer for them and their families along with all our police, firefighters and first responders.
May God pour out His choicest blessings upon you, your family and all the members of our parish family throughout this season of grace and the entire New Year.
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Let your New Year's resolutions include growing in your understanding of the Catholic Faith. Several exciting opportunities exist to help make this happen right here in our parish.
The next session of the THEOLOGY OF THE BODY - ADULT STUDY SERIES will be Saturday, January 9 in the Commons. The 30 minute DVD begins at 8:00 p.m. with doors opening and refreshments served at 7:30 p.m.
The WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY takes place every Tuesday evening 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Commons. No previous knowledge of Scripture is required, only an open heart toward encountering Jesus and listening attentively to God's Word.
The MEN'S BIBLE STUDY occurs every Saturday morning 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. in the Lower Room (rectory basement). The coffee is hot, juice is cold and fraternity is strong.
December 20, 2009
Keep Hope Alive
This side of heaven we all struggle mightily. Difficulties do not discriminate. There are moments when there seems to be no end to things causing us to lose heart and despair. Life is tough and, at times, very tough.
Hope is God’s gift that enables us to look at life a certain way. Hope is God’s gift that gives us the ability to look through difficulties, to look beyond them. St. Paul draws our attention to sterling examples of hope seen in the Old Testament beginning with Abraham and continued throughout in the longing of Israel for a Messiah. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all human desire, He is God’s Hope-Made- Flesh for us. Whenever we seek to find Christ in our struggles their burdens lessen. St. Paul understands the bruising blows of human life and exhorts us to become more hopeful by striving passionately for the greatest spiritual gifts, to set our sights on heaven. Hope is not a mind-over-matter recipe for an easy way of living. Rather, hope had to do with discovering and experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful way to life in which the deepest desires for eternal life get us through and beyond all that life this side of heaven can throw at us.
Think for a moment about this. The Christians who did the most for this age – the ones whose contributions shaped human history – were exactly the ones who thought most heavenly things while on earth: namely, the saints.
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- A timely reminder for us all: when we leave church we do so always representing our faith and parish. Some people make determinations about our parish and Catholic Faith based on our actions with them – both positively and negatively. Let’s all give people cause to want to learn more about the Catholic Faith and even to come to Christmas Mass.
- There is a good chance that your favorite pew and parking spot will be occupied by others during the Christmas Masses. How wonderful it is that people still desire so deeply to come to worship the Newborn King and to do so in our beautiful and historic church!
- In a sense our whole life is a continual Advent, that is getting ourselves ready to meet Christ one day. One of the best ways of getting ready to find Christ in this life and afterwards being with him in eternity is making a well-prepared Confession. We are pleased to provide the following special hour-long Confession times before Christmas: (Mon) Dec 21 - 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 7:00 pm (Tri-Parish Penance Service); (Tue) Dec 22 - 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, 7:00 pm.
- The “Doritos and Little Debbie” drive was so successful for Fr. Jason that I now am looking for an elliptical machine. If you are using one as a clothes rack, I promise it will be put to more vigorous use in the rectory. No questions asked about your usage of such an exercise machine – only gratitude for it to be used in the rectory by one or, maybe even, both priests.
Speaking of our dutiful associate pastor and spirited Buckeye alumnus, Fr. Jason quipped that I have been easier to be around during the 5-game Green Bay Packers winning streak. Should the Packers falter, you just might want to keep the light on for him.
December 13, 2009
No to Gloom, Yes to Joy
A gloomy soul is at the mercy of many temptations. How many sins have been committed in the shadow of gloominess! In my own experience this is so true.
When our soul is happy it spreads happiness and encouragement to others just as a piping hot cup of delicious soup warms the entire body on a cold December day. When the soul is downcast it spreads misery to others and harms them. Such gloominess and misery arise from selfishness, from focusing only on oneself, from laziness and indifference, and from carelessness toward our relationship with Christ and His Church.
As we are unable to forget ourselves we are unable to know and serve Christ. So, too, are we unable to help those who need our help. True and lasting happiness, fulfillment, and meaning is found in Christ. Joy is not generated by our efforts, but rather received as His gift. Anyone excessively self-centered will find it very difficult if not impossible to discover the joy they long to know.
As we live more generously and gratefully we grow in joy. And certainly more than any words however eloquent, joy draws people to God.
St. Paul’s instruction to the earliest Christians are spoken to us as well: “Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). We can often make life more pleasant for other people in little ways which have no apparent importance in themselves, but which show that we consider others, appreciate them, and care for them: a smile, a friendly remark, a word of praise, a thoughtful note, not making a great fuss over unimportant things that would be better overlooked and forgotten. In these ways we can help to make life easier for the people around us.
An important part of our Christian mission is to bring happiness to a world which is laden with sadness because it is drifting away from God.
Let us ready ourselves for Christmas by doing all we can in small ways to bring happiness and peace to those around us. People need to be convinced that Christ really has been born in Bethlehem. Nothing is more convincing that the happiness of the Christian all-the-while real struggles and challenges continue. Our Lady knew such struggles and challenges as she made the arduous trek to Bethlehem which ended with no place made by others for the birth of her Son.
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With my message of self-giving in mind, I am asking for help with Sandusky Life Teen (SLT). Specifically, SLT is in need of a couple new CORE MEMBERS for next semester. This spirited and fun-filled group of adults plans and leads the Life Nights that take place after the SLT Mass (Sundays 5:00 p.m. at Holy Angels Church). This ministry is making amazing differences in the lives of our teens, compelling them to discard the world’s gloomy message and seek the happiness offered to them by Christ. In addition, SLT needs a couple new people to help provide the meals for the teens once-a-month as part of a HOSPITALITY TEAM. Kindly contact our SLT Executive Director Brittany Taylor. Thanks for your willingness to lead teens closer to Christ!
December 6, 2009
Preparing Well for God Himself
Throughout Advent each passing day marks another step forward towards the celebration of our Redeemer’s birth. Since God is coming to us, we have to get ready for Him. Advent is all about our preparing well for the One who is no less than God Himself. I suggest beginning with the end in mind - Christmas. When Christmas arrives, Our Lord should find us with everything in order and our soul fit to receive Him. We must make the required adjustments to correct the course of our lives and turn ourselves to God.
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A thousand thanks to Laurie Rohrbacher along with all the members of our parish family who graciously donated angel ornaments for the amazing parish Christmas Tree created for the Festival of Trees Gala at the State Theater.
Fr. Jason displayed athleticism that would have won the praise of OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel. On one play during the local Turkey Bowl, our young nimble sure-handed associate pastor caught a short pass from me and proceeded to scamper the length of the field, leaving opponents sprawled across the ground in his wake. Touchdown, baby!
During my Home Listening Sessions, comments were voiced to make Holy Day Masses between all three parishes more convenient for people. On December 8 the Holy Day Immaculate Conception Mass offerings are as follows:
(Mon) Dec 7 6:00 p.m.
(Tue) Dec 8 8:15 a.m., 6:00 p.m.
In addition to Confessions heard 30 minutes before every Mass, we gladly are offering the following extra hours during Advent:
(Mon) Dec 21 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. (Tri-Parish Service)
(Tue) Dec 22 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m.
There will be no 8:15 a.m. Mass on (Thu) Dec 24.
Confessions will not be heard before Christmas Masses.
On January 1 the New Year begins with the Holy Day Mary the Mother of God and we gladly are offering Masses at the following times:
(Thu) Dec 31 4:00 p.m.
(Fri) Jan 1 9:30 a.m.
The Church front doors have been restored and are back where they belong appearing as bold and beautiful as ever! I wish to thank Bob Fischer and Nick Pasqualini for their labor of love to complete the work along with timely assistance from Al Geason. Thanks also to Bob Rengel for graciously providing the space for the work to be completed.
For your Advent consideration:
Men’s Catholic Bible Study, Saturdays 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Lower Room
Women’s Catholic Bible Study, Tuesdays 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Commons
No previous knowledge of Scripture is required. Instead bring only an open mind and eager heart to hear God’s Word and apply it more to your daily living.
Mark your calendars now for the next amazing Theology of the Body - Adult Study Series (Sat) January 9 at 8:00 p.m. - doors open with food, drink and music at 7:30 p.m.
November 15, 2009
Praying the Mass More Wholeheartedly
One of the hallmarks of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy or, as it is more commonly called, the Holy Mass. The aim was to help inspire us to love Christ Jesus more profoundly whenever the Mass is prayed. After all, the Mass is the source and summit of our Catholic Faith and way of life.
The Second Vatican Council set forth the goal for “full, active and conscious participation of the faithful” in the liturgy. This does not mean that we should be a bunch of busybodies at Mass! Rather, what we all are to be is attentive, alert, and awake to the glorious presence of God. We are to give our best to God at every Mass, even when our best is not all that impressive.
Much has been accomplished toward realizing this goal although much work still remains to be done.
In a matter of a few short years to come, the English-speaking church (primarily North America, United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia) will receive a historic text that marks an epic moment in continuing the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy set forth by the Second Vatican Council. The text is a new English Roman Missal which is popularly called the Sacramentary (and known as the “big red book” held by the servers during the Mass).
Some people will ask, “Why do we need a new translation?” In attempting to answer that question, I think it is helpful to remember that when the Second Vatican Council called for the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy over five decades ago, the Mass was celebrated everywhere in the Latin language. In contrast to the majority of my childhood experience of the Mass prayed in the English language, my parents only knew the Mass in the Latin language until after they were married.
The Mass today which is prayed in our church as well as in all English-speaking countries is the translation of the Latin original, which remains the official text of the Roman Rite. It always was presupposed that there would be a learning curve and that the initial translations – most recently done in 1985 – over time, would need to be amended and improved.
In 2001 the Vatican announced that a new translation for English-speaking countries was in order which would more faithfully and literally adhere to the original Latin language. This week the bishops of the United States will be meeting in Washington, D.C., to approve the new translation (November 16-19). If approved – and it certainly appears this will happen – the new translation will be sent to the Vatican where it will be reviewed with painstaking care over many months. Though no specific date has been given for an official launch, it looks to be no later than by Advent 2011 that we will be using the new translation for Mass.
I do not presume that these changes will be easy for any of us. Certainly they will require great adaptation on my part too.
Yet if these adaptations lead us, as they are intended, to a greater sense of wonder, awe, beauty and splendor in our worship of Almighty God, then whatever effort is required will be well worth the sacrifice.
The latest information on the new English Roman Missal is available at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site:
www.usccb.org/romanmissal.
November 8, 2009
Praying for the Souls in Purgatory
Traditionally, the month of November gives us pause to ponder our own mortality as well as remembering our beloved who have gone before us in faith. The splendid colors of October give way to the banal haze of November. Almost instantly, the air becomes chilly and sunlight seems rationed as we scurry from the outdoors to inside.
November 2 commemorates the faithful departed, the Feast of All Souls. Just one day previous, the Church has us celebrate joyously and triumphantly all the saints in glory.
The Feast of All Saints sets our eyes on the living – that is, those souls who truly are living because they have entered heaven. The Feast of All Souls places before us with loving affection the dead – namely, those who died in the state of grace, yet need purification before they may enter eternal life. In this way the Church joins us in worship and prayer to the living and the dead. We are connected to them in a real and mysterious way. The altar is the crossroads between life, death, and eternal life. Atop the altar on the first two November days, we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in honor of the saints and in prayer for those being made fit for heaven.
By means of Her supernatural mission, the Church unites us to God both here and hereafter. The priest is one of God’s key instruments in bringing about this blessed union. On the Feast of All Souls, I especially am conscious of this mission, unworthy as I am of it. We accompany our beloved faithful through the doorway of death, and we earnestly pray to our merciful God for their quick release from purgatory, to be cleansed quickly and fully so to enter into the perfect Joy that lasts forever – heaven!
The Feast of All Souls connects past, present, and future, especially at the altar. All of our lives are in the hands of a God whose mercy endures forever (cf. Psalm 118). Rest assured, the joy of heaven is guaranteed for the holy souls in purgatory, even if the experience of that joy must wait.
Imagine for a moment having the chance to meet the person whom you always dreamed of meeting. Just before you meet the person, you are told that your breath smells and clothes are ratty, but you can still move on to your meeting. Would we all not want to be cleansed first? Now imagine meeting God Himself, the glorified Christ the King? While we may suffer some, purgatory is not about pain, but rather cleansing. Contemporary spiritual writers liken purgatory to sitting in the dentist’s chair where it may be uncomfortable momentarily for the sake of getting what we need.
We can hasten the moment of perfectly and permanently being made clean through our appeals to God, in prayer and penance, on behalf of those whom we no longer see.
On the Feast of All Souls the Church says, “Remember!” We ask Almighty God to grant eternal life to all those who have gone before us, in the hope of our own entrance, one day, into the Land of the Living.
Addendum
I will be attending a conference in Chicago November 8-11 and, then, visit my sister and her husband along with their five children for a couple of days.
Make sure Fr. Jason gets plenty of Little Debbie’s and Dorito’s while I’m away!
November 1, 2009
ODDS AND ENDS
This is the first fall in several years that I will not be able to attend a Green Bay Packer football game at Lambeau Field in my native state of Wisconsin. What fun it was to cheer for my favorite team last Sunday in Cleveland! Their margin of victory had as much to say about the sad state of the Browns as it did the return of the Packers to former glory.
Earlier this week Fr. Jason and I were surprised to discover two large bags with labels on them saying “Trick or Treat.” His bag was filled with every kind of Little Debbie snack imaginable. Mine was packed full of fresh fruit. You decide.
Former Indians and Cy Young Award winners C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee both made it to the World Series – of course, on teams other than Cleveland. For Indians fan of which I still stand to be counted, the sore festers mightily as we crow again over what might have been…
Throughout the month of November, we remember especially those members of our parish family who have died this past year. Their names are ascribed beautifully on banners displayed on our balcony to help inspire us all to pray for them and their families. On Monday, November 2, a special Memorial Mass will be offered at 7:00 p.m. for these souls. If you are able to join us for the memorable and meaningful Mass, please do so.
Remember to vote on November 3. The Ohio Catholic bishops have issued the following recommendations for the three statewide issues: 1-Not Opposed; 2-Yes; 3-No.
Having heard regular requests for solid adult education opportunities during the Home Listening Sessions, comes an impressive collection of CD’s now available in the Commons. The suggested offering is a mere $3. Envelopes are provided which can be put in the collection or dropped off at the office.
October 25, 2009
Lord, I Want To See!
Today’s Gospel story is dominated by a single theme: to be able to see (Mark 10:46-52).
Let’s set the scene: Jesus is leaving Jericho with His disciples while a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus (bar–tea–MAY–us) sits on the side of the road. His position by the roadside says two things. First, Bartimaeus is stationary; that is, he is not a part of Jesus’ journey, he is not a part of the action. Second, as blind and poor, Bartimaeus is nobody of importance and has nothing.
In contrast to those crowding and pushing around Jesus, Bartimaeus is alone, apart and sunken in his own disappointment. No one know more than he does how needy and helpless he is. And here we have the first condition to becoming a mature disciple of Jesus: not to deceive ourselves, to see ourselves as we truly are. When honest, every human person can recognize a part of themselves in the person of Bartimaeus. After all, we all are dependent on God.
From his disappointment, Bartimaeus recognizes who Jesus truly is. Ironically, it is blind Bartimaeus who sees Jesus more clearly than anyone else present, including the disciples! Shouting, Bartimaeus makes up for what his eyes cannot see and for the road his feet cannot find. He pours his heart and soul into Jesus’ ears. Bartimaeus sees with the eyes of his heart, eyes of faith in God. He sees more deeply than those milling around Jesus who rebuke him. He does not ask for money, food, lodging or clothing – all of which would be sources of momentary relief in his suffering. No! His disappointment makes him bolder not weaker: what he demands through his shouting is no less than the compassion of God. He demands that all of God’s goodness may pour out upon him.
The best version of ourselves is seen when we recognize our need for God, when we acknowledge the disappointments marking our place and turn to Christ Jesus.
The blind beggar Bartimaeus teaches us three essential steps toward becoming more mature followers of Jesus: first, to recognize honestly our human disappointments and our deepest need for God; second, to cry out for the divine mercy to pour upon us like an overflowing torrent; and third, to persevere in the face of opposition.
When Bartimaeus hears Jesus calling him, the blind man throws off his mantle, springs up, and makes his way to the Lord. See the energy true faith in God unleashes! Bartimaeus is not going to waste a single moment in responding to Jesus’ call. We can feel his joy and enthusiasm. After having waited so long, finally his moment arrives to be summoned before the Lord. The gesture of throwing aside his cloak is no trivial detail.
- He wants to go as lightly as possible, without any more baggage, as if exclaiming, “enough already with my disappointment and misery.”
- He wants to leave behind his old life and former ways.
- He wants to hide nothing any longer before God.
His jubilation in hearing the call of Christ makes him spring up like a rocket. He does not lose a single instant worrying about cosmetic touches and the like to make for a more “favorable” presentation before God. No! Bartimaeus wants only to come before Jesus as he truly is, free of illusions and self-constructed images. Lord, I want only to see!
October 4, 2009
Living and Sharing the Faith
Our parish cherishes the call of the Church to provide fun and meaningful ways for members to grow in their understanding and practice of the Catholic Faith.
Here at St. Mary’s we start strong from the very beginning. Each Sunday so many of our little ones can gather for simple lessons and songs and prayers with Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses, while parents and older sisters and brothers can worship at Sunday Eucharist. During these same Sunday Mass times, our pre-school age children have the chance to learn the faith in the remarkable hands-on Montessori style program brought over from Italy called Good Shepherd.
Jesus tells His apostles to "Let the little children come to me." And how we labor at St. Mary’s for Jesus’ instructions to be lived and shared! Our excellent Catholic school includes the Early Childhood Center where children ages 18 months to five years of age receive outstanding opportunities to learn in a spacious, secure and clean facility. Day Care is open 12 months of the year from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Pre-School is in session from August through June making it possible for our little ones to be nurtured marvelously in body, mind and soul.
Our parish reaches out to our grade school students unable to attend our Catholic school with outstanding programs of religious education. Trained catechists work hard to make sure these students have at least 75 minutes of solid religious instruction each week as they contend with all their busy activities. The Holy Sacraments are at the heart of our catechetical efforts. Excellent preparations for Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation mark our efforts so that our younger children will be grounded solidly in the faith and live it proudly.
Of course we dare not stop there as a parish! I especially am proud of the important place our parish makes for our high schoolers. Sandusky Life Teen is a part of an international Catholic movement that serves the Church by providing amazing resources and faith experiences that help lead high school teens closer to Christ. This is accomplished through a vibrant Eucharistic spirituality and by creating opportunities for teens to learn and share the faith.
Our younger adults can find numerous outreach opportunities and refreshing initiatives like the Theology of the Body Adult Study Group on the first Saturday night of each month. And as many of them plan to receive the Sacrament of Marriage, they benefit mightily from direct interaction with priests, deacons and lay couples who help them prepare well for married love.
Time and again we hear from our adults of all ages that they realize that faith formation never stops. Weekly Bible Studies for men and women along with numerous service opportunities in and around our parish are available. I wish to draw special attention to our parish Community Supper whose rotating teams provide a weekly Wednesday evening hot meal to those less fortunate in our area at a neighboring Protestant church.
In a world that so challenges the teachings of Christ and His Church, I am encouraged by our parish commitment to understand and live the faith which we have received.
August 27, 2009
ODDS AND ENDS
Briefer and Meaningful Sunday Masses: 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday Mass is the heart and soul of our Catholic Faith. We want to do all that is humanly possible to inspire members of our parish family to participate regularly in the Holy Eucharist.
Toward accomplishing this end, we will make an effort to accommodate the hectic schedules and needs some people are facing all-the-while being sure to maintain proper reverence of Almighty God.
For a trial basis lasting the rest of the calendar year, beginning Sunday, October 4, the 7:30 a.m. and the 5:00 p.m. Masses will be briefer and meaningful celebrations. During these two Masses some parts which we have been accustomed to singing as a congregation will be recited. Music played will have more instrumental parts, allowing for more personal contemplation. Sacred silence will have a more prominent place in worship. It is our hope and prayer that many members of our parish family will find such a style with more time for reflection and less time singing to their liking.
Briefer and Meaningful Weekday Masses: 8:15 a.m.
Beginning in October, we will begin a trial period of celebrating briefer and meaningful Masses on most weekdays. We wish to do all we can to make weekday Mass possible for more members of our parish family by being more sensitive to time demands which are placed upon you. It is our intention for weekday Masses normally to be no more than 30 minutes.
5:00 p.m. Mass Every Sunday Except Christmas and Easter
Again as a way to accommodate the members of our parish family and help more people to participate regularly in the Holy Eucharist, the Sunday 5:00 p.m. Mass now will be celebrated every Sunday throughout the year except on Christmas and Easter.
Change In Our Collection Tithing Policy
There are many wonderful ways to use well the gifts which God has given us. Please see the bulletin insert for a more complete explanation of our new parish tithing policy.
Personal Milestone
I wish to thank all of you for having helped to make my most recent birthday especially memorable. It is quite a treat to celebrate my birthday on the feast day of our parish: Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15.
On that very day I made my way to the BMV to renew my driver’s license. As fate had it a milestone was passed. For the first time since I began driving my hair color was changed from BRN to SDY. The woman behind the counter tried her best to perk up my deflated spirits by quipping, “at least it’s not GRY.”
Heck, by then I was glad I could still read most of the letters on the line and see the blinking lights! Make it a great week!
My Grandma Nuss turned 95 earlier this week. She told me that the State of Wisconsin renewed her driver’s license through the year 2017. Her candid response: “that’s just plain dumb!”
August 20, 2009
True Christian Greatness
Our Gospel for this week (Mark 9:30-37) picks up where last week’s text left off. Recall Jesus being with His disciples and asking that famous question, “Who do you say that I am?” Having clarified who He is - the Christ - and having clarified the nature of His mission—suffering love seen perfectly in the Cross - Jesus continues His journey alongside the disciples.
The scene today opens with the disciples discussing something among them. We notice that the intensity of their discussion grows quickly like a Lake Erie storm. While we might imagine they are intensely discussing Jesus’ instructions and passionately encouraging one another to take them to heart, we soon learn that what they really are doing is arguing who among them is the greatest.
Are you kidding me?!
How beautifully today’s Gospel reading anticipates all of us, all of Jesus’ present day disciples! Over and over again, we hear all about the path of suffering love. We hear it at Mass, we hear it preached, we hear it taught. My goodness, displayed before us constantly is the image of Jesus Crucified - not only in Church, but so frequently seen in art and jewelry all around us outside of Church. While we might imagine intense discussions taking place among ourselves to take Jesus’ way to heart and passionately encourage each other to make it so, we know how often we think and act just like the disciples. We suffer the same self-absorption. Pride and folly do not discriminate. We pine after power, privilege and worldly honor - arguing who among us is the greatest, positioning ourselves to be seen and noticed and adored.
For sure we do affirm Jesus is Lord, and we do affirm His path of suffering love, and yet, when push comes to shove, we are not always eager to walk His way.
Jesus patiently tries once again to explain and encourage. Taking a child, Jesus places it in the midst of the arguing disciples, and putting His arms around the child, Jesus says to the disciples: “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me, but the one who sent me” (v.37).
What does receiving a child mean? Well, it means that we are to become like the little child. What Jesus is saying is that grasping, gaining, climbing the ladder, hoarding possessions, holding off rivals - all of that - is the path of disappointment, discouragement and, ultimately, spiritual death. And, furthermore, the path of happiness, contentment, meaning and fulfillment follows the steps of the little child.
Just imagine Jesus crouching down and putting His arms around a little child and then proposing the child as the great model to His disciples! Friends, Jesus is speaking to us.
Children have an extraordinary capacity to find joy in the simplest things and simplest activities. I remember fondly as a little kid growing up in Wisconsin how I could spend hours-on-end inventing imaginary worlds. And in the same backyard hours upon hours would be spent playing baseball and football with kids from the neighborhood. Such games normally would end only when we could no longer see the ball - oftentimes the lost ball signaled the end of the game! In these moments we were not thinking about the past nor was there a worry about what we did not have or what others had that we did not. We were not consumed in bitter rivalries and petty jealousies. We simply were immersed in the present moment, enjoying fully what was right in front of us.
We all can become so preoccupied with what might be, what we don’t have, what other people might be thinking about us. Jesus proposes the child as the great model of discipleship. Live more fully in the present moment.
As disciples of Jesus, we do not set the terms in the Kingdom of God. After all, it is not a Kingdom of our making. Rather, it is God’s gift to us, for us to receive now by means of taking to heart the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. Only in receiving will we taste the riches that Jesus makes available to us: “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all” (v.35).
August 13, 2009
Christ’s Call To Heroic Evangelization
Every one of the 20 Home Listening Sessions during the summer included a comment expressing a sincere desire to get people back into the pews. You will recall that I stated this as a goal in my pastor letter and am inspired that this priority is shared by so many of you. Certainly, it is a noble and virtuous aim to lead people to Christ, most especially by means of His Holy Sacraments.
OK, now how are we to make this so?
There is only one way to evangelize: we are to fall more deeply in love with Christ Jesus; loving Christ Jesus ourselves to the point that we are willing to die with Him.
Parents, you know already such love is not a lofty ideal, but an astonishing reality as you would rather die than allow your child to be harmed. You know the herculean power of love-unto-death. Indeed, you labor mightily to teach your children to love no less as they grow and mature.
For sure, we can get sidetracked by legitimately good things in our quest to get people back in the pews. Of course, programs to evangelize are good things, but not when they become our will that is imposed upon others. Of course, technology is a good thing and we must use 21st century media outlets to get the message of Christ to all the members of parish family and wider civic community. But make no mistake: technology will never convert a single heart. The same is true with money.
Sometimes we can lean to heavily into thinking that something other than a person will do – a colorful flyer, a new program, a pastor’s letter, an associate pastor’s motorcycle, a cool billboard, a tweet (ask a younger person to explain this one!).
Pope John Paul II (d. 2005) wrote often about the importance of getting people back in the pews and how to accomplish this end.
“It [evangelizing] is not, therefore, a matter of inventing a new program. The program already exists. It is the plan found in the Gospel and the living Tradition. It is the same as ever. Ultimately it has its center in Christ Himself.”
John Paul continues with the plan for effective evangelization. The key is, “in Christ Himself who is to be known, who is to be loved and who is to be imitated. And with Him, then, we transform history until its fulfillment in the New Jerusalem.”
According to John Paul, our getting people back in the pews begins with our knowing Jesus. And when John Paul uses the word “know” he does not mean book learning and the like. Knowing Jesus is the same kind of knowing that a parent comes to have for a child. The parent does not come to know their child from a book. They desire to know their child; time and again they dedicate time to noticing, observing and wondering about their child all-the-while they are with their child. As they become more and more familiar, they come to know their child and the child comes to know them.
Friends, the premier way of knowing anything is to get on our knees and beg the God of the cosmos to grant our request. To know Christ is to pray. To let Him teach us who He is. Love follows because as you come to know Him, you fall in love more wholeheartedly. And it is love that compels us to sacrifice even unto death.
Join me in making a personal commitment to grow in knowledge of Jesus and His Church. When we live out of love for God, everyday difficulties become less and less brick walls and more and more open windows.
The saints never knew they were transforming the world – they never set out to leave their mark in such a way. They only sought to fall more deeply in love with Christ and His Church. The biographies of the saints chronicle their seeking and finding God’s love in daily moments. Amazingly, open windows appear in what formerly were solid brick walls.
The pews will take care of themselves. Let us set our sights on hearts – first setting our sights firmly on Jesus and then making known that He is the One who makes all the difference.
August 30, 2009
Odds and Ends
Beginning Tuesday, September 1, I will lead a weekly HOLY HOUR FOR LIFE 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the Church. During Eucharistic Adoration, we will pray together the Rosary promptly at 6:30 p.m. followed by Benediction. Please join us as you are able.
Coming this Fall: an exciting evangelization initiative designed especially to bring back to our parish family members who have lapsed in the practice of their Catholic Faith. Kindly pray for all those members who the Lord God so deeply desires to return to His Church.
FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, is a national campus outreach that meets college students where they are and invites them to examine the meaning and purpose of their lives. Through large group outreach, Bible studies and one on one mentoring, FOCUS staff are equipped to introduce college students to the Person of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith, empowering them to share His love with the world. Each FOCUS missionary develops a team of “Mission Partners” and in return each FOCUS missionary commits to pray daily for their Mission Partners - by name and to send regular updates on their progress on campus. We are pleased to welcome Laura Gifford to our parish family as our new missionary partner.
Thanks to the family of Al and Ginny Wintersteller for their recent donation of an outdoor statue of St. Francis of Assisi which now keeps vigil in the newly landscaped area on the east side of the garage/front parking lot.
Sandusky Central Catholic School begins on Monday, August 31. Welcome back students, faculty and staff!
Sandusky Life Teen 2.0 launches Sunday, September 13, SLT 5:00 p.m. Mass at Holy Angels Church. Let us all be sure to pray our teens closer to Christ!
NEW! A Women’s Bible Study begins on Tuesday, September 22, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Commons. Colleen Wellington and I will lead the women’s group who will be studying together The Gospel of Mark for a total of 10 sessions on every Tuesday night through November 24. This is an introductory experience to the Bible. Prerequisites: only an open mind and heart to all that the Lord Jesus wishes to make happen in your life.
NEW! Theology of the Body Adult Study Group begins on Saturday, October 3, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the Parish Commons. Based on Pope John Paul II’s revolutionary teaching and presented by world-renowned speaker and best-selling author Christopher West, this 8-part DVD-based study is designed to give you a solid understanding of God’s plan for humanity—a plan stamped right into our bodies! This once-a-month Saturday evening study is for anyone searching for their ultimate purpose in life, as it addresses the most basic truths and questions of human existence. Most of us have heard the “whats” of Catholic teaching, but very few have ever heard the “whys.” With profound insight and humor, Christopher West demonstrates that the Church’s teaching on sexuality and marriage makes sense, because it resonates with the deepest yearnings of the human heart.
The Men’s Group Bible Study remains open to all men who are seeking to grow stronger in their understanding and practice of the Catholic Faith. We meet on Saturday 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. in the Lower Room and discuss together the Gospel reading for Mass the following Sunday. The coffee is hot, orange juice is cold and fraternity is strong.
Make it a great week!
August 23, 2009
Facing The Challenges Before Us With Faith
There certainly are no shortages of serious challenges facing us as Catholics. The final words spoken by Our Lord Jesus to the disciples in Matthew’s Gospel are no less urgent to His followers today:
“Go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20).
We will do well to listen to Jesus’ words in light of some pressing issues facing us: the vocation to marriage, the state of Catholic parishes and schools, the great number of lapsed Catholics and the secular culture desperate to keep God and His Church out of public life.
It seems to me that the fundamental vocation crisis and the single greatest threat to the Church - far greater than the dearth of priestly and religious vocations - is the failure to see marriage as a life-long, life-giving, loving and faithful union. Far too many younger Catholics are forgoing the Sacrament of Marriage. It is vital that the vocation of marriage be cherished as the gift of God it truly is and all it entails, including the openness to life and the responsibility of the parents to raise their children in the Catholic faith. Religious and priestly vocations will increase as the vocation of marriage is restored to its proper dignity. So many of you personally know the twisted attack upon the human family waged by Satan and secularists. Instituted as a Sacrament by Christ Jesus Himself, marriage is the sign and symbol of our salvation; it truly reflects the marriage between Christ and the Church.
Since the Catholic Faith first arrived in the New World, it has been anchored by parish communities and Catholic schools. These two pillars of our faith have hatched astonishing resources that have advanced our nation - Catholics and non-Catholics alike – with the likes of Catholic hospitals and healthcare systems along with the creation of the largest non-governmental provider of social services in our nation. It is not enough to maintain what we have. We are to strengthen the pillars – more specifically, our parish and our Catholic school - so to fortify other essential faith-based services that the people of our country need.
It gives me chills that the second most identifiable religious grouping on the religious landscape of the United States is people who say, “I used to be a Catholic.” The Catholic Faith is a matter of fact. There is no such thing as a former Catholic. All members of our faith are born into the great family of Catholic Faith just like one is born into a natural family. The Church is the supernatural family and we want those who have left the family of faith to return home. Let us confidently and compassionately welcome home those who properly belong with us at Mass.
Finally, secular forces are trying vigorously to keep God and His Church out of public life. For some people of influence, religion and spirituality are seen as hobbies. Without the voice of Christ, Who is heard in the voice of His Church, everyday life becomes increasing self-centered and secular. Part of the greatness of our nation lies in the fact that religion always has had a respected and expected place at the table of public discourse and everyday life. Let us resist the so-called societal “movers and shakers” who want to muzzle God’s Word.
We have plenty to say and, darn it, we need to say it so that people will come to know and take to heart the teachings of Christ.
August 16, 2009
The Real And Hidden Presence
In Catholic theology, the words of consecration are the indisputable heart of the Mass, from which we have the real presence of Christ. At the moment of consecration, it is Jesus Himself who acts and speaks. Jesus is not seen as present merely as a sign or symbol, but on the altar in truth and in His reality.
The Church gives us a more precise explanation of how Jesus is present at every Mass:
- Jesus is truly present and not simply symbolic.
- Jesus is really present and not only through the faith of the believers.
- Jesus is sacramentally present, that is in His profound reality, which cannot be seen by the senses and not in the appearances which remain that of bread and wine.
Reverence springs naturally from faith in the real presence of Christ. As our faith strengthens so, too, do we increase in tenderness for Jesus in the Holy Sacrament.
St. Francis of Assisi (+ 1226) wrote beautifully about the deep and personal affect of the Holy Eucharist: “Surely, we cannot be left unmoved…God gives Himself into our hands; we touch Him and receive Him into our mouths.” Overcome with tenderness for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, St. Francis explained that, “It affects me like this because in this world I cannot see the most high Son of God with my own eyes, except for His most holy Body and Blood.”
Odds and Ends
- Deb Geason walked me through the new Atrium location for our Good Shepherd catechetical program (ages 3 – 6). More conveniently located for parents in our Parish Center, the Atrium is progressing wonderfully and already is impressive. Thanks especially to parishioners Tom and Teresa Sloma, Bill Klepper, Duane Sartor, Don Henry, and Jeff Meyer whose generous time and talents are creating an amazing place for young children to learn the Catholic Faith. The Good Shepherd program begins on Sunday, September 13, and again will be offered during 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses.
- Father Jason is away for a week enjoying a well-earned vacation. I accidently opened a kitchen cabinet door and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but an unopened bag of his favorite “family size” Nacho Cheese Doritos. Will someone kindly remind me to replace the empty bag before he returns later in the week?
- More than a few people have asked whether the Solemnity of the Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation. The answer: this year it is not. According to our bishops, when certain Holy Days fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to go to Mass is suspended. The first person to email or Facebook me with the correct list of all six Holy Days of Obligation wins the other bag of Fr. Jason’s Doritos.
- Deacon Jeff tells me there have not been any takers yet on the opportunity he extended during my time away for someone to purchase a home on Adams St. or Fulton St. as a way of helping our much needed and earnestly desired on-site parking expansion. God has blessed me with unusually big ears and expects me to use them. Naturally, I welcome any and all calls.
Make it a great week!
July 26, 2009
Faith As It’s Meant To Be
Sometimes we hear comments about the Church that make us bite our tongue. For instance, "Well, I was raised a Catholic"; or, "Oh, I used to be a Catholic"; or, "But I come from a Catholic family"; or, “My parents still are good Catholics.” Ouch!
What do people mean when we hear such things? Actually some people are speaking positively about the difference the Catholic faith has made in their lives. These people harbor a sense of gratitude for the Catholic faith which they practiced at an earlier stage in their life. Almost always their words give indication of heartfelt desire to stop drifting away from the Church and to get back into the practice of the faith.
When I meet people like this I smile from ear to ear and welcome them back to the family! What a joy it is to invite Catholics back to Mass, assuring them that they always belong and always have a place in their family of faith.
In contrast stand others whose very same words mean very different things. With arms crossed and teeth clenched, they speak scornfully and sarcastically about the Church. They muse smugly about their having been freed from Catholic beliefs which for them amounted to nothing more than silly playground games. These people frequently strike me as working hard to convince their own selves that a vague newfound sense of freedom and spiritual enlightenment - which may or may not even include mention of God - is some kind of bold step into adulthood.
The largest religious group in our great nation remains Catholics and, sadly, researchers report the second largest religious group to be former Catholics.
We all will do well to take to heart anew the teaching of Saint Paul who implores us to “no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery” (Ephesians 4:14). Human trickery is hardly a relic of the first century for there is no shortage of ungodly, deceitful scheming in our own so-called “advanced” age.
Long before his becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Josef Ratzinger was asked why he remained in the Church. This is a marvelous question for all of us to ponder. Here are a few sentences from his much longer impassioned response:
“I am in the Church because I believe that now as ever ‘His Church’ lives behind ‘our Church’, that we cannot change this situation, and that I can stand by Him only if I stand by and in His Church. I am in the Church because, despite everything, I believe that she is at the deepest level not our Church but precisely ‘His.’”
Mature faith – the kind of faith Saint Paul inspires us to practice and the saints dared to live – has staying power. Mature faith is seen in those who are emboldened humbly, joyfully and gratefully in their Catholic faith. To be sure, mature Christians are well aware of the Church's struggles and imperfections. Concretely, they know that it is the Church that, despite all the human foibles of the people in her, gives us Jesus Christ. They earnestly seek to teach the faith of the Church to their children – her truths, her disciplines, her worship – and to share it also with all those whom they encounter.
When faith ripens, individual believers and whole parish communities suddenly know no strangers.
Now, let’s make it our aim to make this so in our parish.
July 12, 2009
Thank you so very much for your spirited support and enthusiastic encouragement as I begin what is certain to be a remarkable chapter in my priestly life and ministry as your pastor.
Thank you Father Missler, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Port Clinton and the dean of this area of the Diocese of Toledo for representing Bishop Blair at this Installation Mass. Thank you Father Jason, Deacon Bill and Deacon Jeff. Thank you Deb Geason, our Catechetical Leader and Tim Claubaugh our Director of Music – thank you all for the amazing ways you serve the outstanding people of this impressive community of faith.
My beloved brothers and sisters, especially those of you from our parish who have such a special claim on my heart, thank you.
And my dear family, all of whom have traveled considerable distances, thank you. Of all the many, many blessings God has lavished upon me this side of heaven, His greatest gift to me is that I am Bill and Lucille Nuss’ son. I am so glad my brothers and sister and their spouses, nieces and nephews, and dad and mom are here – thank you.
As grateful as I am, there is another claim on my gratitude that towers above the rest and makes all else possible. Above all, I give praise to God, our Father, for raising His Son Jesus Christ from the dead and sending us His Holy Spirit! We know that before all else today is not about Dave Nuss as your new pastor. What we are about today and every day in this historic and vibrant Catholic parish is Jesus Christ and cherishing anew the gift of life He give us as members of His Church.
Not long ago I read a true story about a hermit of some 50 years who had been sought out by a small band of people. It seems these younger people had traveled a great distance to attain the wisdom and learning the devout monk had accumulated through fervent prayer and study over the many years. [With no cell phone, Facebook and tweets, they actually were left traveling to him – call it old school!]. Upon their having found him in his hermitage, the grizzled old monk slowly looked up and summarized his 50 years of prayer and wisdom and learning in two words: “wake up!”.
From the time we are little people, expectations are placed upon us and we strive mightily to make them happen. And for far too many people, human happiness lies in achieving the expectations of others – for example, so much wealth, so much success, so much recognition, etc… And what happens? Well, we work really hard to create it, to create our happiness by means of meeting the expectations others placed upon us. And when the door doesn’t open up for us as we were deceived to believe, we are left desperately trying to knock the door down or to walk away discouraged and defeated.
In contrast, in the great Christian spiritual tradition that is uniquely ours the fulfillment of all human desire has everything to do with watching, waiting, and keeping vigil. The spiritual masters tell us time and again to wake up and remain awake! Happiness – which we all want - is found in our becoming increasingly aware of God, to remain awake and to see the door which God opens before us and, then, to go through it.
It is not about our kicking the door down nor is about our walking away dejected and giving up. Rather, it is all about our being alert and awake so when God opens the door we are ready to go through it. And open it He will!
We see this principle front and center in our readings today. In the first reading from the prophet Amos, Amos explains that he was a simple shepherd and a tender of sycamores. And then for some inexplicable reason God opens a door and invites him to walk through it.
Now, here is Amos’ point: Amos is not vying for the position of prophet. Amos is not the product of a double top secret group training to be prophets. As a kid, Amos is not sent away to summer prophet camps. He is not dreaming about growing up to be a prophet.
He does not see prophet in his career plans. All Amos does is respond when God calls. Amos saw God open a door and dared to walk through it.
How strong the temptation is to embark upon careers of our own making, seeking to fulfill all our human desires by our own efforts - only to wonder why we are so unhappy.
The great Irish writer Oscar Wilde says it wittily in this way: “The only thing worse than not getting what you want is getting what you want.”
Yes! When what I want is not of God’s making, I am better off not wanting it at all.
• How better off I am wanting first what God wants of me.
• How better off we are wanting first what God wants of us.
The very same principle is at play in the Gospel. Jesus calls the Twelve. Said differently, Jesus opens doors for them which they did not see coming.
Jesus calls them and sends them. The word “apostle” means, “to send”. “Post Office” comes from the same ancient word “apostle” [Greek]. To “post” a letter is to send a letter. Jesus’ disciples are like letters sent out,; that is, they belong to someone else, not to themselves.
• Who are disciples? Disciples go where they are told by Jesus to go.
• Who are disciples? Disciples no longer walk their own path.
And now we arrive together at this moment of God’s making! God opens wide the door!
• God deeply desires remarkable things of every one of us.
• God deeply desire remarkable things of our community of faith.
Saint Mary, Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.
July 1, 2009
Gratefully And Prayerfully
I very much look forward to keeping in touch with you by means of this bulletin column whose title is the favorite Scripture verse of one of my Wisconsin childhood Catholic heroes, Coach Vince Lombardi. For those interested, these columns are able to be viewed also on our wonderful parish web site: www.stmarysandusky.org.
First, words simply fail to express the depth of my gratitude for the overwhelmingly warm welcome you have given me. From the March day of the announcement that Bishop Blair had appointed me as your pastor, you have made sure to let me know that I am welcomed and wanted: thank you! Through your greetings, prayers, words, receptions and presence at various events, your encouragement and support have been absolutely marvelous. I find myself not only deeply grateful, but profoundly humbled. Please pray I will be able to live up to the trust you have so beautifully given me.
Second, please allow me to express a particularly fervent word of appreciation to Father Phil Feltman. From the moment I met him right here when I was assigned as a newly ordained priest in 1993, I have respected him immensely. As my first pastor, he inspired me to place the needs of others before my own and to seek God in all things. In the seminary, I learned all about the priesthood; Father Phil taught me how to live and serve as a priest. I have watched in admiration as he shepherded this historic and dynamic parish with accomplishments too many to enumerate over his impressive 18 years of pastoral service.
I thank God for Father Phil’s leadership, and echoing the words of baseball legend, Lou Gehrig, consider myself "one of the luckiest men in the world" to follow him. How glad I am that he will remain close, present and active in his duly deserved retirement.
And, finally, I ask you to renew your resolve to begin each week with Sunday Mass. The Holy Eucharist is the hallmark of our Catholic identity. It defines us as Catholics; it makes us His Church. Confessions will be heard thirty (30) minutes before every Mass including Sunday Masses.
My installation as your pastor will occur next Sunday, July 12, during the 11:30 a.m. Mass. A casual light reception will follow in the Commons. This weekend, our new associate pastor, Father Jason Kahle, is preaching at all the Masses to help us to get to know him better. He is thrilled to be here and I am excited especially to know that we will be working together as your priests.
As I place my future in the hands of the Lord Jesus, these inspired words from Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta sound in my heart: “Let God use you without consulting you.”
I am honored by the appointment to serve as your pastor and am filled with hope as I anticipate serving you and your families in imitation of Jesus.
Over the years I have come to know, love and appreciate you very much.
Thank you, God, for having brought me home safely.
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