Father's Weekly Message
Fr. Shaji Joseph Pazhukkathara
2019
Dec 2019
Happy Feast of The Holy Family!
12/27/2019 0 Comments
We are still in the spirit of Christmas. As we celebrate The Holy Family; let us pause for a moment to look at the Holy Family and our own families and families around the world. Let us look at the joy of the family and the challenges of the family. Pope Francis said, “It is necessary to rediscover the plan drawn by God for the family, to reaffirm its greatness and irreplaceability in the service of life and society.”
The goodness and joy of the Holy Family are Mary and Joseph trusted in God and Baby Jesus was the joy of the family. The Gospel for the feast Holy Family for this year is from the Gospel of Matthew which tells us one of the challenges of that family. Mary and Joseph with Child Jesus in the manger, the angel appeared to Joseph and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you.” The Gospel says, the angel appeared to Joseph, I assume Mary and child Jesus might have been sleeping.
We may not have to do what they had to do, but if we look at the families around the world, we may see thousands of families may have to flee for their child, faith or political reason. Are we aware of them?
Let us come back to our life. Another story of the Holy Family is the story of the finding of Jesus in the Temple. The Holy Family had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover; but on the way return, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus, who was only twelve years old, was not in the caravan. This Gospel passage was the reading for last year. Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days, finally finding Him in the Temple amid the doctors of the law. When they found Jesus, the Gospel says, “they were astonished”; and Mary expressed her concern to Jesus, saying, “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”
As a parent how many of you experienced this feeling? Our days, even six or seven years old will say, “Mom/Dad, I know the way around.” When your teenager says, “Mom/Dad, I am old enough to know, don’t worry.” As a parent, you worry anyway, right? Can you think of a moment of astonishment? I am sure you can find lots of days you were in great anxiety. When a child says, “I know…” or teenager says, “I am old enough…” they don’t know exactly, but they are saying we are ready to explore/learn and grow. We have to look at it with astonishment, watch them grow. When Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the Temple, what Jesus asked them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Jesus asked the question, but still followed the direction of his parents and went with them. As a child or teenager, are you ready to listen?
Family is a place to learn to listen. If we want to listen, we need time. Do we have enough family time? It is not in the car, but at home, around the table. A time to pray together, a time to eat together, a time to laugh together and so on. The Holy Family was not in a perfect setting, but the model of our families. Our families are perfect. Let us ask the Holy Family to bless our families.
Thank you!
I would like to express gratitude on behalf of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, to all those who donated towards our stain glass window projects. It is done and looks beautiful. Also, you might have noticed some new spotlights, so we can enjoy our beautiful stained glass windows. Thank you goes to Tom Miller's electrics for donating the lights and doing the work. He is still working on to make it brighter. Thank you.
12/20/2019 0 Comments
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." During Advent and Christmas season these words echo in our ears from the Scripture, Christmas songs and so on. Christmas…look at the lights in the neighborhood, decorations, music, people are so happy, there are groups going around and singing a carol. I love the season of Christmas. Do we have a moment to stop everything and experience the peace and joy of the Christmas, beautiful smell of fresh leaves of Christmas trees, wreaths, and so on? We are busy with Christmas shopping, baking cookies, writing cards, wrapping gifts and so on. As a priest I am worried, whether the church looks beautiful or not, how it is music coming along, working on my homilies and so on. We all need to find time to experience the joy and peace of the season.
Recently I listen to a Christmas son which starts with these lines:
“Christmas is all about you and God get-together forever
Christmas is all about you and God stay together forever.”
Two thousand years ago, God the Father was searching for parents to entrust His Son-Emmanuel, so he can stay with us and share the Good News with His people. Every Christmas reminds us of the Good News-the birth of Emmanuel-God is with us.
I might have shared with this life story of a father who had two children with special needs. They were twins and both of them died a month apart. When Dad started to talk about his two children, his eyes broaden wide and raise a big smile on his face.
He started to explain the story. He said God was looking down from heaven, holding two precious babies in his hands and was waiting in search of parents who will take care of these children with love and care. And God saw him and his wife and gave them those two children. They took care of those two children. They relocated their life for the care of those two children, one of them gave up the job to find time to spend time with the children.
Emmanuel- God is with us. He came to stay with us. Mary wants to share with us the Christmas story. She will tell us it was not easy to accept the call and to live that story. It was totally against the custom. Joseph wants to share his story. It was not easy for him either. But both of them listen to the angels, followed the guidance of the Lord. They both got together with the Lord and stay together.
What is our story? What we want to give each other at this Christmas. I think the most precious gift we can give is Time. Then the other gifts have more value and meaning. The husband gives time with his wife and vice versa. Parents time with children and children do the same. Find time to spend with God. The child is born, God’s newest deed, “Emmanuel”, God is with us!!
Mary was pregnant with Jesus and they had to go to the city of David, Bethlehem. Darkness came, and everyone was looking for a place to stay, Joseph and Mary were among them.
All the doors were locked, the inns were full…It was a busy day in Bethlehem, Everyone was busy…Mary and Joseph found a place and Emanuel was born in a manger…The shepherds and Kings came in adoration…The Angels sang “Glory to God in the highest…” The rest of the city was busy; the birth of the King was not noticed by many.
This Christmas let us find time to spend with Child Jesus. Let us make a resolution to find time every week to spend with him. Emmanuel-God is with us! I wish you all Merry Christmas!
Congratulations: Philip Wagner completed lay leader of prayer training and commissioned last weekend at Immaculate Conception. The lay leader of prayer is commissioned to lead the community in prayer in the absence of priest. Congratulations Phil and thank you for your commitment..
12/12/2019 0 Comments
The third Sunday of Advent is Sunday of Joy. It’s called Gaudete Sunday because today’s Mass begins with the opening antiphon: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” The theme for this weekend is joy and encouragement. We light the Rose Candle and rose vestment, a sign of joy.
On Rejoice Sunday, sets a joyful expectation for the Lord’s birth and the second coming of the Lord. At the same time, he continues to come into every day of our lives. St. Teresa of Calcutta, when she noticed her sisters showing signs of sadness, would say "get out with the people." They saw Jesus in the people.
The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, encourages the exiled Jews in Babylon to believe that God is going to save them and transform their lives. The ultimate salvation comes through the coming of Jesus. In the second reading, James the Apostle encourages the early Christians to be patient, “because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Today’s Gospel reading, we see John the Baptist and Jesus sending the message to each other.
John the Baptist is the last and greatest of the prophets of the old covenant. He fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets – preparing the way for Messiah. John pointed others to Jesus the Messiah at the River Jordan when he cried; behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
When King Herod throws John into prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus. John told them to ask Jesus, "Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?" And Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me." Here, Jesus encourages John the Baptist to accept his healing and preaching ministry as the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy of Isaiah.
Jesus told John’s disciples, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” Joy is here among the people because they can see, hear, talk, and walk. They are healed physically, emotionally and spiritually. They are rejoicing.
What really makes for lasting happiness? Happiness comes from relationships. Jesus decided to come and embrace humanity, because He wants to relate with us, bring us back to joy. Many of our seniors will tell you that they really love their husbands or wives and continued to do so after their spouse died. In our faith, we believe that our loved ones who have gone before us are with the Lord watching over us now and waiting for us to join them later on. That makes us happy.
The greatest relationship we can possibly have is the one that brings us the greatest joy. That is the relationship with Jesus Christ. Real happiness comes from the encounter with God. May the preparation before Christmas bring us authentic joy at Christmas!
Child Jesus will ask you and me the same question he asked John’s disciples, “What we hear and see?” Do we see lots of joy around us?
Happy feast of Immaculate Conception!
12/6/2019 0 Comments
Happy Feast of Immaculate Conception!
The Pharisees brought the woman, caught red-handed, before Jesus for judgment, and Jesus said, "Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone." They fell silent, and then, all of a sudden, a stone came flying from the crowd. Jesus looked up, surprised and amused, and then said, "Hold it, mother? I was trying to make a point, here." This is a humorous slant to the Catholic belief that Mary was born Immaculate to lead an immaculate life.
December 8 is Feast of Immaculate Conception. Because the Sunday of Advent takes precedent over Immaculate Conception, Feast day is transferred to Monday, December 9th. At the same time, we celebrate at Immaculate Conception parish because it is parish feast, we are going to celebrate the feast of Immaculate Conception along with Second Sunday of Advent. It is because more parishioners can participate in the celebration.
I take this opportunity to wish everyone the Happy Feast of Immaculate Conception, especially to Parishioners of Immaculate Conception as we celebrate the patron Saint of our parish. I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make this celebration beautiful, especially the Christian Ladies and KC’s for preparing the breakfast. I would like congratulate also our Confirmation Candidates and first reconciliation candidates who are introduced at Immaculate Conception and St. Anthony.
Mary was chosen and brought her to this world without sin. In the book of Genesis, we read, "The man called his wife Eve because she became the mother of all the living." Mary, the new Eve, bought Jesus to this world to give us life. If we look at Jesus' life, he starts his public ministry at the wedding of Cana in the presence of his mother Mary. And Mary was present throughout his life. Mary was there at the foot of the Cross, at his death and then at the Resurrection. At the foot of Jesus gave Mary as our Mother, mother of humanity.
Bernadette Soubirous at the age of 14 encountered vision of a woman named Mary on hillside grotto. She was a poor young girl so no one believed her, but the vision continued. Finally, the local priest asked Bernadette to find out the name of the woman and she replied Immaculate Conception. Today Lourdes, France where Mary appeared is a great place of pilgrimage and thousands of miracles take place.
Immaculate Conception is not about the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb; it is about the conception of Mary in the womb of Anna. It is beautiful that we get a chance to reflect on the conception of Mary and Jesus during Advent.
The readings for the second Sunday Advent tell us about homecoming. We see a beautiful poem in the first reading from the book of Isaiah. This poem describes the beauty of the coming of Jesus. It reads, “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse…”He is the one who is going to bring the community integrity. He is going to bring peace and harmony. The Baby of Bethlehem comes to establish his reign over the universe, and most especially in our very hearts. Mary brings Jesus for us, He brings us to the true home.
In the Gospel we see John the Baptist is giving the instruction to how to prepare for Jesus. They listened to him and followed the instruction. They received the baptism of repentance and renewed their life, so Jesus can come home – mind and heart.
Nov 2019
11/27/2019 1 Comment
Shirt over the wings: Grandma Martha was scolding her little grandson on his failure to go to church on a Sunday. “You will never get into heaven the way you are going today,” she told him.
“Well, Granny, the reason that I don’t go is I got a problem. I can’t for the life of me figure how I’m gonna get my shirt on over those wings I’ll have on my way to heaven.” “Never mind about shirts,” said the grandma. “The question in your case is how are you gonna get your hat on over those horns which the bad boys get when they are taken to hell.”
This is the first Sunday of the new liturgical year, the First Sunday of Advent. This year we return to the A cycle of readings, with the gospel focus mostly on the Gospel of Matthew. For those who read the daily readings, they are now from Year 1. The first Sunday of Advent, the ‘Sunday of Hope’ in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, through whom God has promised to save and redeem His people. Today we begin our yearly pilgrimage through the scenes and events of our history of salvation. Advent is a time for looking both backward and forward. We look backward as we prepare to celebrate the historical birth of Jesus. At the same time, we look forward to his Second Coming, as we prepare ourselves to welcome him into all areas of our lives during the Advent season.
St. Augustine had heard what sounded like a child’s voice chanting, “Pick it up, read it.” This was no children’s game, and he understood the words to be addressed to him. He picked up the book that lay on a nearby table, which contained Paul’s letters.
At this moment in his life, Augustine was at the tipping point in his conversion. Opening the book at random, he read the words quoted above from Paul’s Letter to the Romans—today’s second reading—and his transformation was complete! Those words are part of an exhortation which begins: “Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
In the first reading Isaiah reports his vision of all nations gathering on Mount Zion as described also by Micah (4: 1-3) using the image of a pilgrimage. In the vision of Isaiah, Judah is shown as the place to which all nations will come for “instructions in righteous living.” The result will be universal peace.
Jesus teaches us in St. Matthew’s Gospel that his coming for us will be without much or any warning at all. Jesus will come, besides business as usual for our family life, and our usual daily activity. But he will come– and he will take us!
God comes again and again in special ways throughout our lives. One of these is His annual coming at Christmas with the birth of His Son in human form. Let us prepare for it.
Every morning when we get up, let us pray, “Lord, show me someone today with whom I may share your love, mercy, and forgiveness.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, "Whatever you do in your family, for your children, for your husband, for your wife, you do for Jesus." Every night when we go to bed, let us ask ourselves, “Where have I found Christ today?” The answer will be God’s Advent gift to us that day. By being alert and watchful we’ll be getting an extra gift: Christ himself. There is a saying which goes s back to St. Thomas Aquinas: "Without God, I can't. Without me, he won't."
In the first reading we have this beautiful invitation:
“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.”
In this advent, let us focus on this invitation.
Christ the king: King our Heart! Thanksgiving!!
11/22/2019 0 Comments
Frederich Nietzche, the German philosopher said, “God is dead.” In 1966 Time Magazine published a cover story that asked, “Is God Dead?” Is it God dead or alive for you and me? We celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King- King of the Universe, which marks the end of the Liturgical year. The only a minority will say God is dead, but lots of us live like God is dead. Our God is alive, he is with us.
November 23, 1927. The dirty walls of the place of execution resounded with the shout, “Viva Cristo Rey!” Blessed Miguel Pro of Mexico, a priest of the Society of Jesus, lived during a very trying time for the Mexican people. As he was waiting for the shots that would end his earthly life and begin a new life in the kingdom of Heaven, he forgave his executioners, and spreading out his arms in the form of a cross he cried out “Viva Cristo Rey!” “Long live Christ the King!” His cry gave courage and determination to people of Mexico, to restore the reign of Jesus the King in a place where Catholics were persecuted since the time of Elizabeth I of England.
Today in the Gospel two criminals were on the cross with Jesus. One recognizes Jesus as his King, and Jesus promises him Paradise. Everything changes because we are members of his kingdom. We have experienced the love of Jesus. We need to live for Christ. We need to spread this love to others. We cannot be vengeful. We cannot be people of hate. We cannot allow or support any form of prejudice or bigotry. We are the people of Jesus Christ. We cannot join those who live in a way that says, “We don’t need God.”
We do need God. We need to proclaim to others with our lives, “Jesus is your king too.” Jesus, remember us when you come into your kingdom.
Mother Teresa told this story in an address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994. “One evening several of our Sisters went out, and we picked up four people from the street. One of them was in a most terrible condition. So I told the other Sisters, ‘You take care of the other three: I will take care of this one who looks the worst.’ So I did for the woman everything that my love could do. I cleaned her and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hands and said two words in her language, Bengali: ‘Thank you.’ Then she died. I could not help but examine my conscience. I asked myself, ‘What would I say if I were in her place?’ My answer was simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said, ‘I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain.’ But the woman gave me much more; she gave me grateful love, dying with a grateful smile on her face. It means that even those with nothing can give us the gift of thanks.” Happy Thanksgiving!!
I would like to take this opportunity to say “THANK YOU” to all our cluster parishioners, councils and committee members, people serving as different ministers, Cluster staff, benefactors and well-wishers…“THANK YOU!”
The end brings new beginning...
11/15/2019 0 Comments
The END brings NEW BEGINNING…
Do you think the end of the world is near? We hear over and over again people talk about this subject. Whenever something unexpected happens we have tendency to think this direction. Do you remember the movie "2012?" The premise was that the world was going to come to an end in 2012. As Hollywood hoped, a significant number of people believed that there might be some truth to this. How many of us stopped for a moment and questioned or worried? Did anything happen so far? Every century there were predictions of end of time. There were times predicted closing date.
Jesus in the Gospel portrays for us, graphically, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. For Jews, the destruction of these two things was equivalent to the end of the world. There were three reason behind this, because for them, the Temple was 1) dwelling place of God. In 1 King chapter 8, we see the dedication of the Temple and Lord came from heaven to dwell in the Temple. 2) It was sole place of sacrifice. Deuteronomy 12 tells that the center of worship is Jerusalem Temple. 3) Jerusalem Temple was symbol of heaven and earth. So they believed that the destruction of Jerusalem Temple is destruction of the universe, the destruction of heaven and earth.
The Temple was the joy of the People of Israel. Its stones were inlaid with jewels. The disciples marveled at it. Jesus said it would be torn down, as it was in the year 70 AD. There is a section of the Temple still standing. It’s called the Wailing Wall. People still go there and mourn the fate of the Jewish people, and the fate of all who are persecuted.
Jesus told the disciples that the Temple would be torn down because all material things come to an end sooner or later. Then the disciples asked the big question, the question that so many people want to know: When? Jesus absolutely refuses to say when the end of time will come. All he will tell us is that there are signs of the end. Jesus' point is that his true followers should not be concerned about when the end is, they should only be concerned that they are ready for end so they can be ready.
Jesus foretold many signs that would shake peoples and nations. The signs which God uses are meant to point us to a higher spiritual truth and reality of his kingdom which does not perish or fade away, but endures for all eternity. God works through many events and signs to purify and renew us in hope and to help us set our hearts more firmly on him and him alone.
How would we respond if someone prophesied that our home, land, or place of worship would be destroyed? Early Church were persecuted and they thought the Second coming of Christ is near. They talked about being prepared.
The reading wants us to reflect on being prepared. It wants us to ask ourselves, “How prepared will be for that moment when it comes?” Let us choose one aspect of our Christian life. Let us ask three question about love.
How loving are our thoughts-right now in our life? How loving are our words-right now in our life? How loving are our action-right now in our life?
We are at the end of liturgical year. Next Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, which is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The end brings new beginning.
Much to celebrate, much to pray, much to be grateful…
11/8/2019 0 Comments
First of all let me take this opportunity congratulate our St. Anthony Confirmation Candidates as they make their commitment. We, faith community with their sponsors, families, and teachers asked to make a commitment to pray for them and support you in their journey.
This week, we celebrate Veterans Day: veterans is the national day to recognize the sacrifices of our nation’s heroes. I would like to share St Ignatius of Loyola’s prayer about heart-felt generosity. It goes like this: Dear Lord, teach me to be generous; teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil, and not to seek for rest; to labor, and not to ask for any reward except that of knowing that I am doing your holy will. Amen. Veterans Day is to honor them for their love and sacrifices for our safety. Our men and women in uniform in past, present and the future, God bless you and Thank You.
The month of November is dedicated to pray for our loved ones. Every year we celebrate a Mass of remembrance to honor and to pray for those who have gone this past year. So this weekend we join with families and friends who lost their loved one.
Thirty second Sunday readings talk about resurrection. There is a story about a singing group called "The Resurrection." They were scheduled to sing at a church. They had to postpone the performance, because of a snow storm. Then the pastor fixed the outside sign to read, "The Resurrection is postponed."
The First reading and the Gospel talks about resurrection. In the first reading seven brothers with their mother are arrested and persecuted. At the time of death one told to the executioner, “you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.” We see a amazing witness to their faith. Second Maccabees became one of the favorite books of the early Christians. They would choose Christ and his Kingdom rather than give in to the so-called modern yet pagan world of the Roman empire.
In Jesus time there were two prominent groups, such as Sadducees and Pharisees. In the Gospel, Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. So they came up with a story and asked a question. The woman in the story married over time to seven husbands. Their question, “Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?”
Although we believe in the resurrection, we often hear tribute at the funerals in which people talk about the person being united with a deceased spouse, “oh yah he or she enjoyed doing something in this world” and now, “he’s up there fishing with Uncle George” or “dancing with Mom.” We say those things; it is easy way for us to understand. Jesus might want to correct us as well as the Sadducees. Heaven, as he indicates, is going to very different from what we experience here on earth. Jesus answered their question and said, “To the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.” Jesus added, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Our God is God of living. Let us pray for our loved ones every day, especially as we celebrate Mass of remembrance.
National Vocation Awareness Week
11/4/2019 0 Comments
We are celebrating National Vocation Awareness week. We all received a call to holiness, but in different ways: as a priest, religious, married couple and family, singles, and so on. Vocation in general is openness to God’s call. How do we foster this call? One of the brochures for Vocation Awareness week talks about seven ways a family can foster vocation: 1) snuggle up and read fascinating age appropriate saints story at bed time; 2) watch a better movie as family (e.g. life a St. John Bosco); 3) Set the record straight, means tell children about real happiness, instead TV tells them what is happiness; 4) Play dress up, let children imagine being a priest or nun and play it out, 5) pray from the heart, have family prayer time and during the family prayer pray for the families, priests and nuns too; 6) Talk about vocations openly, marriage, priesthood and religious life; 7) Befriend priest and religious, invite a priest or nun at your home.
I remember in 2015, 8th grade St. Anthony students invited me as their special guest at the radio station for an interview. Their first question was, why did I became a priest? I told them the short answer is because God called me. Then I explained to them how I found out God was calling me. It was through my family, pastor, nuns, youth group and so on. Definitely I can say that the youth program called “Cherupushpa Mission League” which made a remarkable influence in making my decision. I was very much involved in this youth ministry. I was a participant at the beginning and in my high school years, I was in the leadership team under the guidance of pastor and nuns. The experience with youth ministry encouraged me in my decision making to become a priest.
These are the little steps to teach our children about vocation. Everybody is not going to be a priest or nun. It is their choice, but it our duty to teach them about different vocations and have an opportunity to talk about it and to get to know. When it comes to faith, normally we say it is their choice. But in reality, automatically they are exposed everything else, they should be exposed to faith and its traditions and roots. Then they can make the right choice. Always it starts with prayer. Let us pray for vocation. We all are called to holiness in different paths.
Today we hear the story of the little man Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus the head tax collector, had climbed a tree along the road that Jesus was walking down. He was merely curious. He wanted to see this Jesus. But then Jesus stopped under the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because today I must stay at your house.” Jesus didn’t intend to stay there. He was passing through Jericho. But something happened that made Him change His plans. Compassion and mercy caused to stay. At the same way was Zacchaeus’ reaction…amazing! He promised to give half his possessions to the poor and payback four times over all he had forced. Jesus cared about Him. Zacchaeus would not let the moment pass.
Jesus loved Zacchaeus- sinner and by that love Zacchaeus was transformed. Sometimes we have the temptation to withhold love from the other. For example, a husband and wife may withhold love from each other. There may be a temptation to withhold one’s love from a rebellious teenager. But just as Jesus loved Zacchaeus even though he was the worst of sinners, so we must love others in spite of their weakness. It is not easy, but let us try it. Let us receive Christ’s peace and love; at the same time let us share Christ’s peace and love to one another.
Oct 2019
October reminds us to prayer for life and november invites us to pray for our loved one...
10/25/2019 0 Comments
What would be your first thought when you walk into the Church? Is it about ourselves or God? Do we compare ourselves with others? I often wonder what everybody thinks during the readings and homily at Mass. Do we reflect on our life or neighbors? Couple years ago, someone approached me after the Mass and said, “Father, while you were talking about “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” (2Timothy 4:7) I was thinking about two of my neighbors who had a good fight last night.
This weekends Gospel reading we see a parable of the tax-collector and the Pharisee. In Jesus' time, his Jewish audience would have expected the Pharisee to have been the "good guy" and the tax-collector to have been the "bad guy." But, Jesus flips this predisposition of his audience. Pride is found not in the tax-collector but in the Pharisee; and, conversely, humility is found in the tax-collector. If Jesus look at disposition our life what would he find: pride or humility?
This is the last weekend of Respect Life month, we are praying for victims of Domestic violence and human trafficking. The violence against another person is a failure to treat that person as someone worthy of love. The violence within the sacramental marriage, the abused spouse may question, "How do these violent acts relate to my promise to take my spouse for better or for worse?" An article from United State Bishop’s says, “We focus here on violence against women, since 85 percent of the victims of reported cases of non-lethal domestic violence are women. Women's greatest risk of violence comes from intimate partners—a current or former husband or boyfriend.” The human trafficking is new form of slavery. United Bishop’s Conference says, “Human trafficking violates the sanctity, dignity, and fundamental rights of the human person.” They state that, every nation is affected by this this disease—the United States is no exception.
We all are called to love God and love one another. It is essence of our discipleship. Month of October, we were reflecting and praying, especially through the devotion to the Rosary, on the dignity of the human life. This weekend reading talks about being humble in the presence of God. Our relationship with God is unique. Even though each one of us are different, in the eyes of God no one is fundamentally better or worse than another person. He created us to be ourselves, our best selves. That’s how He sees us.
All Saints Day and All Souls Day: In the month of November Church invites us to pray for our loved ones. We celebrate November 1st is all Saints day and November 2nd is all Souls day. Sometimes we think that the church means we who are on earth. Church has three realms: the church on earth is called militant church because we are in a battle between good and evil; the souls in purgatory are called suffering church because they are in state of purifying to fully experience God’s glory and the saints who have already entered in the heavenly glory are victorious or triumphant church.
All Saints day is a feast honoring all Christian saints – known and unknown. On All Souls day we remember all those who have gone before us. The souls in purgatory, they need our prayer to help their purification and to attain in heavenly glory. On November 2nd we celebrate a special Mass at St. Cecilia Cemetery at 11:00 am. We celebrate a Mass of remembrance on Sunday, November 10.
We ask saints to intercede for us. We pray for our loved one those who have gone before us. Every Mass there is place we pray for our loved ones. Please remember our loved one every Mass. Another way, Church invites us to offer Mass in their name. It costs only $ 10.00, but it take conscious thought and action to do it. Please join for All Saints Day and All Souls Day celebration.
Extraordinary Missionary Month!
10/18/2019 0 Comments
I read a story of a phone call Father O’Malley received. Hello, is this Father O’Malley? Father O’Malley says, “Yes, It Is.” From the other side, “This is the IRS. Can you help us?” Father O’Malley, “Yes-I can” “Do you know a Ted Houlihan?” Father O’Malley, “Yes, I do” Is he a member of your congregation? Father O’Malley, “Yes, He is” Did he donate $10,000 to the church? Father O’Malley, “Yes, He will”
We are celebrating Extraordinary Mission Sunday. Some give to the missions by going. Some go by giving. Mission Sunday is the day to reach out beyond the needs of the local Parish and diocese to assist missionaries as they go and tell in the young churches. The theme for the Extraordinary Missionary Month is: “Baptized and Sent: The Church of Christ on Mission in the World.” Pope Francis in his recent Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium: “Missionary action is the paradigm of every work of the Church.” (EG 15)
In 2017, Pope Francis wrote a letter to call the whole Church an Extraordinary Mission month on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of The Apostolic Letter “Maximum Illud” by Pope Benedict XV. Pope Francis wrote in his letter, “The Apostolic Letter “Maximum Illud” called for transcending national boundaries and bearing witness, with prophetic spirit and evangelical boldness, to God’s saving will through the Church’s universal mission. May the approaching centenary of that Letter serve as an incentive…(to) be open to the joyful newness of the Gospel. In these, our troubled times, rent by the tragedies of war and menaced by the baneful tendency to accentuate differences and to incite conflict, may the Good News that in Jesus forgiveness triumphs over sin, life defeats death and love conquers fear, be proclaimed to the world with renewed fervor, and instill trust and hope in everyone.”
Our baptismal call is to be a missionary. Church is missionary. St. Therese of Lisieux, also called St. Teresa of the Child Jesus or the Little Flower, is the patron saint for the missionaries. She was a spiritual master of the contemplative life. St. Therese didn’t go out to mission journey, but in her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, she reflects on the new freedom of a new joy she will enjoy in heaven. She writes, “There will be no longer any cloister and grilles and my soul will be able to fly with you into distant lands.” She didn’t go too far, but she prayed for missionaries.
This weekends First Reading from the Book of Exodus and the Gospel reading from Luke both speak about perseverance in prayer. In the battle against Amalek, the forces of Israel were winning as long as Moses held his hands up. The ancient way of praying, and the way many of us pray at times is to lift our hands up to the Lord. When Moses’ let his arms fall, Amalek succeeded. When Moses stopped praying, Amalek succeeded. He needed the help and support of Aaron and Hur to keep his arms up. He needed the support of others to persevere in prayer. Jesus tells a humorous story of an unjust judge and a persistent widow. Judge says, “While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.”
As we celebrate Mission Sunday, reading remind us that our missionary journey needs to start with prayer and perseverance in prayer. Let us pray for missionary, and share our resources. At the same time let us encourage each other to grow in our faith. Let us be a missionary!
10/11/2019 0 Comments
In the ancient world, lepers were not included in the community. They were supposed to keep distance from others. The communities were afraid of them. Today we read this story and may say, it is so sad. Are we different from them? Flu season what do we do. We are afraid of those who are sick or self-conscious of our health. Jesus’ story, there were ten lepers. In this story there are two points for reflection: inclusion and gratitude.
What is inclusion? Some of them must have been limping with deformed legs, most likely relying on crutches. Some had lost fingers and even parts of their face. Many had horrible sores all over their bodies. They were hideous.
All of them had bells. All were required to call out continually, “Unclean, unclean.” The healthy would do everything possible to avoid them. That is why at the beginning of the Gospel the lepers stood off at a distance and called to Jesus to heal them. They were not supposed to come closer. Jesus told them “Go show yourselves to the priests.” It is because there was a ritual to be welcomed back to the community. Jesus healed them, not just leprosy, but brought them back to community.
Respect life month invites us to meditate on dignity of life. Fr. Dennis Mullen at the cluster mission reminded us that our culture tells us that we have to be young and wealthy. So we are tempted to move towards that goal. The Bible teaches that life is a gift of God and hence we have to respect it from womb to tomb. This weekend we celebrate Inclusion Awareness Day as a part of respect life month. Respect life month we celebrate life with our ability and disAbilities, our strength and weakness. We are one family. Because we like to see ourselves young, healthy and wealthy, sometime we forget to appreciate the rest of the community. Inclusion awareness Sunday is opportunity to reflect how we include everyone in the community by looking at our abilities, rather than looking at disAbilities. How we appreciate the gift of each and every one. In other words, how we celebrate our differences. This weekends reading invites us to “do something beautiful for God” by reaching out to others.
Father Henri Nouwen, the founder of the Pathways Awareness remarked that "I was always studying about God and teaching about God to all these bright students. I wanted to be smarter than others. I wanted to show them that I could be "with it". And I suddenly realized that it is not in strength and power that God was coming to me, but in weakness."
God’s love includes everyone. He opened his arms and heart on the cross to embrace everyone. So Jesus invites us to open our hearts, minds and doors for everyone. But in reality, sometimes many people with disAbilities are unintentionally excluded. Inclusion Awareness Sunday invites us to reflect that what I can do to include everyone.
Second point is gratitude. On the way to the temple priest, all of them received healing, but only the Samaritan came back to Jesus to express his gratitude. He was outcast twice, he is outcast because he was a Samaritan and then because of leprosy.
We try to teach our children to say please and thank you. When we reach our adulthood, do we still keep the positive attitude or do we become a more negative person. Do we count our blessing? Do we still keep that attitude of gratitude? It is most beautiful prayer. Eucharist is a beautiful prayer of gratitude.
Let us pray, Lord, may we never fail to recognize your love and mercy. Fill our heart with gratitude and thanksgiving. Lord, give us strength to bring others closer to you. Amen
October invites us to reflect on Respect Life, Rosary, life of St. Francis and much more…..
10/4/2019 0 Comments
First of all let us wish our St. Francis parishioners, a happy and joyful Feast of St. Francis. Feast of St. Francis of Assis was on October 4th, but we celebrate on Sunday October 6th. St. Francis of Assis loved the whole universe. The custom of blessing of animal originated from St. Francis’s love all creatures. Animals used to come and listen to St. Francis preach. How beautiful is to begin month of October reflecting St. Francis’ love for all God’s creation.
I assume most of you got a chance to watch the movie, "Unplanned." After the movie, I said, what a powerful message. Why is it powerful, because it involves real life. Life matters.
The month of October is month of respect life and month of the rosary. This year, the theme for the respect life is "Christ is Our Hope in Every Season of Life." Every moment of our life from womb to tomb is a gift from God and He is our Hope. Every season of our life encounters challenges- moments of being vulnerable, but those vulnerabilities give us the opportunity to grow closer to Christ who is our Hope. As I mentioned above, October is month of Rosary, a devotion to our Mother Mary, which very well connects with respect life month. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we walk through life Jesus: from very moment of his conception in the womb of Mary, through his passion death and resurrection to his ascension and coming of the Holy Spirit. He restored the dignity of our life. Through his salvific action, we received the dignity of life.
In this month of October, let us pray for life: life from the womb to tomb. Let us become voice of the voiceless: unborn, vulnerable and elderly. The first week we pray in special way pray for unborn babies, mothers and babies aborted and healing of their parents. The second week we will be praying for people with different abilities (disabilities). We call it Inclusion awareness Sunday. If you know someone is not received Sacrament in appropriate age, please call Kathy Rominske, Sandy Kennedy, we can prepare them for Sacraments. If you know someone who would like to read, serve or bringing the gift this Sunday please call parish office. We will train and prepare them for the ministry.
The third Sunday, we celebrate World Mission Sunday. Pope Francis wrote in his 2017 message, “Carrying out our mission, let us draw inspiration from Mary, Mother of Evangelization. Moved by the Spirit, she welcomed the Word of life in the depths of her humble faith.” Fourth Sunday, we meditate and pray for the domestic violence and human trafficking. Again, an opportunity to reflect on dignity of life in our day to day life.
October 18th we will be celebrating a healing Mass. It is the feast of St. Luke, who was physician and patron saint of the medical profession. During the healing Mass we pray for all those who are sick, opportunity to receive the Sacrament of the Sick, and offer a special prayer for the caregivers and healthcare professional.
Respect Life month invites us to reflect on the dignity of the lives and evaluate, how we respect one another’s lives. Let us take a special attention to pray Rosary this month and pray for peace, human life and the family.
“The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.” -Saint Padre Pio
Sep 2019
Lazarus means 'God is my help'
9/29/2019 0 Comments
Lazarus means ‘God is my help.’
Imagine this scene. A man dies and arrives before the Judgment Seat of God. The divine Judge goes through the Book of Life and does not find the man’s name. So He announces to the man that his place is in hell. The man protests, “But what did I do? I did nothing!” “Precisely,” replies God, “that is why you are going to hell.”
This weekend again the readings challenge us on stewardship. Are we a good steward? I do not remember anywhere in the Scriptures where Jesus condemned the wealthy simply for having wealth. He condemned those who allowed their wealth to make them forget about the God who had blessed them so generously, like the farmer we heard a couple of weeks ago. He had such a great harvest that he had to tear down his barns to build bigger ones and he gave no thought to the eternal life. Or Jesus condemned those who allowed their wealth to lead them into dishonesty like the unjust steward we heard about last week. Or Jesus condemned those who allowed wealth to make them selfish and self-centered like the rich man in today’s Gospel.
The poor man Lazarus was lying at his gate. And the rich man simply couldn’t care less. In the meantime dogs went and licked Lazarus’ wounds. And the poor man died. Of course the rich man did nothing against Lazarus. But he has failed to do a good deed.
We are not told the rich man acquired his wealth by foul means. We are not told he was responsible for the poverty and misery of Lazarus. We are not told he committed any crime or evil deed. All we are told is that he was feeding and clothing well as any other successful human being has a right to do.
Whenever we sin/mistake, we think we commit sin/mistake by our thoughts, words and action. Most of the time we forget, we commit sins of omission. In the prayer “I Confess” we say these words: “I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.” This is what happens to the rich man, he failed to reach out and share a little of his blessings with someone in need.
In the first reading, God, through His Prophet Amos, warned people of the coming downfall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel because of its disrespectful, and arrogant treatment of the poor and the needy by the rich and powerful. In the second reading, St. Paul instructs the first century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the Gospel of Jesus, the only mediator, by preaching the “Good News” to the gentiles and by including them in intercessory prayers, too.
The first and second reading brings connection with the Gospel story and invites us to reflect on stewardship. There are many Lazarus’ at our own gates, in our own families, and in our neighborhoods. They are the people that we easily overlook, dismiss, or ignore.
9/22/2019 0 Comments
Invest for Eternity!
I learned an interesting story about George C. Parker. He was a clever con man who used to convince people that he could sell them the Brooklyn Bridge. They say he sold the Brooklyn Bridge as often as twice a week for thirty years. Now, why would anyone want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge? It’s not like they could put it in their back yards. Well, Parker told his victims that once they owned the bridge, they could set their own tolls. This is a true story. It took place during the 1920's in New York City. Several times the police had to stop the “new owners” of the Brooklyn Bridge from setting up toll booths in the middle of the span.
Now, aside from being naive, and perhaps a bit dim-witted, why would people believe Parker and give him up to $50,000 for the Bridge? This happened because Parker worked hard studying his potential victims. He knew what made them tick and exploited their weakness. For some it was greed; for others it was vanity. “You could rename the bridge after yourself. After all, it would be your bridge.” One man had his doubts and asked Parker, “Are you sure the bridge is for sale?” Parker told him, “Of course it is for sale, didn’t you see the for sale sticker on one of the beams?” And the man believed him!
For those who were a bit more intelligent, hopefully the rest of the world, Parker had set up an office complete with pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and bogus legal papers. He did quite a bit of work and earned quite a bit of cash. Oh, he also was convicted of fraud and spent the last nine years of his life in New York’s Sing Sing Prison.
In the Gospel passage the rich man wants his money. St. Augustine said, “I can’t believe that this story came from the lips of our Lord.” Jesus tells a paradoxical story about the steward (manager) of the estate of a rich absentee landlord. The rich man heard that his employee was taking advantage of him. The main point is not about the employee was stealing nor reducing the debt that various businesspeople owed his master. The main point of the reading is that the employee was cleaver and wasted no time in planning for a secure future for himself. Jesus wanted to tell us that we need to be as cleaver in planning for a secure future for ourselves: not just few years here on earth, but also for our time eternity.
The first reading from the book of Amos tells us that when Israelites enjoyed prosperity, they forgot about God who blessed them so richly. When they lost touch with God, this led them to its collapse. In the second reading, I Timothy instructs the first century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the gospel of Jesus, the only mediator, by preaching the “good news” to the pagans and including them in intercessory prayers.
Jesus said at the end of today’s Gospel, "You cannot serve two masters, you will hate one and be devoted to the other or vice-versa. A person cannot serve both God and Mammon." We need money to operate our family or institutions. We may need to invest money in the market. Our resources are a blessing from God. The question is who has first place in our life/heart? Jesus is telling us today to use the blessings God has given us to help us get closer to God and not let our possessions become a god in themselves. All three readings challenges us to use our blessings - time, talents, health and wealth - wisely and smartly so that they will count for our good in eternity. Our life in this earth is temporary. Eternity is forever.
9/13/2019 0 Comments
Have you ever lost something? What do we do? We search for it. The intensity of the search is determined by the value of the lost item. A couple of years ago, I lost my car key. I cannot remember all the bits and pieces, but remember the tension when I lost it and joy when I found it. It was a Sunday afternoon, after all the Masses, had a bit to eat. There were a couple of events taking place that afternoon. All of sudden I cannot find my car key. If I remember correctly, I was planning to go for Chequamegon High School Madrigals. After or before the madrigal, I was suppose to visit someone in the hospital. I was praying and searching for the key. I prayed to St. Anthony. I cannot go anywhere, I am stuck. I remember at the last minute, I found the key outside of the door. It was a moment of relief and joy.
The Gospel presents to us three lost and found stories. The first one, shepherd who loses his sheep. The shepherd goes out to search for the one lost sheep. Second, women loses the coin. She turns the house upside down in search of it. Third, the story of the prodigal son. I would like to call this story, story of prodigal Father who lavishly shares with his lost son. All three stories talk about celebration of joy. In our faith journey, sometimes we may be the lost one, some other times we may be the older brother of prodigal, who is reluctant to accept the fathers generous forgiveness.
I would like to borrow a thought from Fr. Bloom. He writes, many years ago, in England, three men were pouring into a trough a mixture of water, sand, lime and other ingredients. A passer-by asked them what they were doing. The first said, "I am making mortar." The second: "I am laying bricks." But the third said, "I am building a cathedral." They were doing the same thing, but each looked at it differently. And what a difference that made! We can see something similar in the way people relate to their parish, why they give. One person says, "Oh! All they do down there is ask for money." The second person replies, "Well, you have to pay the bills." But the third person says, "I am building the Body of Christ."
Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to this mission as a community of faith. Each one of us is a catechist. There are a good number of people who volunteer to teach our faith with our young people. We recognize them and we thank them for their generosity. Audrina Damrow and Andria Schwemmer are making their first Communion. All summer, they were attending the Right of Christian Initiation for Children (RCIC). Our celebration of Catechetical Sunday is made more joyful. I would like to Congratulate Andria and Audrina at their first communion.
Prayer for Catechists
O God, our Heavenly Father, you have given us the gift of these catechists to
be heralds of the Gospel to our parish family.
We lift them up to you in thanksgiving and intercede for them concerning their
hopes and needs.
May we be attentive to the presence of your Word in them, a Word that lifts up
and affirms, calls forth and challenges, is compassionate and consoles.
We pray that our parish family will always be blessed with those who have responded to
the call to share in Christ’s prophetic mission as catechists. May we too be open to the
universal call to service that Christ addresses to all of his disciples, contributing our gifts to
the communion of faith, the Church.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Blue Mass…opportunity to express our gratitude!
9/6/2019 0 Comments
Gale Sayers, who played with the Chicago Bears back in the 1960s, ranks among the greatest running back in the history of professional football. Around his neck he always wore a gold medal about the size of a half-dollar. On it were inscribed three words: I am Third.
Those three words became the title of his best-selling auto-biography. The book explains why the words meant so much to Gale. They were the motto of his track coach, Bill Easton, back at the University of Kansas.
Coach Easton kept the words on a little sign on his desk. One day Gale asked him what they meant. Easton replied, “The Lord is first, my friends are second, and I am third.” From that day on, Gale made those words his own philosophy of life.
In his second year with the Bears, Gale decided he wanted to wear something meaningful around his neck, like a religious medal. So he bought a gold medal and had the words I Am Third engraved on it. In his autobiography Gale says, “I try to live by the saying on my medal. I don’t always succeed, but having the saying around my neck keeps me from staying from it too far.”
The story of Gale Sayers illustrates the readings as well as celebration of Blue Mass. We are celebrating Blue Mass to honor and pray for all active, retired, and deceased law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personal. We also remember in a special way all those who died on September 11, 2001, all those who did heroic action to save lives and pray for them.
As we remember September 11, 2001, let us try to imagine we were on the ground running to save our lives or running to someone else. What will be our mental and emotional condition? It is hard to explain, isn’t it? It is about call, it is about commitment.
This weekends reading Jesus talks about commitment. He says: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Are we supposed to love or hate? The Lord is not telling us to ignore the Fourth commandment, Honor your father and mother. Nor is He telling us to refuse to see God in others. And He is not telling us to ignore God’s handwork in our own lives. He illustrates the demands of being His disciples. The discipleship demands true commitment to the duties entrusted to us. Maybe we don’t want to leave the security of our home, parents, or comfort of life. The commitment demands sacrifices. We suppose to help one another to face the challenges.
I am almost certain that many of you have stories from your childhood of how you had imagined yourself becoming a police officer, a firefighter, or a medical technician. I remember, when I walk into the daycare, they try to dress-up like policemen, firefighters, doctors or nurses. They like to dress up in the uniforms and act out various make-believe adventures.
Blue Mass is an opportunity to express our gratitude to all those who decide to dress up for our safety, members of the public safety community for their sacrifices and love. As a Price County Law Enforcement Chaplain, I have the privilege to witness many of their sacrifices, and listen to their stories. They are willing to stand between us and all the violence. They’re out there selflessly to serve others. They don’t do it for the honor. We all should say THANK YOU for their commitment!
Aug 2019
Humility enables us open our hearts and hands…
8/30/2019 0 Comments
The St. Petersburg, Florida, now it is known as Times Tampa Bay Times, carried an interesting story about Don Shula, the coach of the Miami Dolphins. He was vacationing with his family in a small town in northern Maine.
One afternoon it was raining. So Shula, his wife, and five children decided to attend a matinee movie in the town’s only theater. When they arrived, there were only six other people present. When Shula and his family walked in, all six people stood up and applauded. He waved and smiled. As Shula sat down, he turned to his wife and said, “We are thousand miles from Miami and they are giving me a standing ovation. They must get the Dolphins on television all the way up here.”
Then a man came up and to shake Don Shula’s hand. Shula beamed and said, “How did you know me?” The man replied, “Mister, I don’t know who you are. All I know is that just before you and your family walked in the theatre manager told us that unless four more people showed up we wouldn’t have a movie today.”
There is a journey we all have to make, a pilgrimage we are all called to undertake, and that is the journey from pride to humility. In our story, here was a man whose reputation extended across the country not only as an excellent coach but also as an excellent human being. It was only natural for Shula to think that the man who came over to shake his hand know who he was. When it turned out that he didn’t, Shula was the first to laugh at himself and share with others.
The readings warn us against all forms of pride and self-glorification. In the Gospel, Jesus talks about a wedding banquet. He says, “When you are invited, go and take the lowest place.” To enter the wedding banquet - and heaven will be a glorious banquet with Jesus as Bridegroom and the Church as his bride - to enter the wedding banquet, says Jesus, "take the lowest place." I know, we, as Catholics, are people of humility, at least when we come to the Church. We definitely take the lowest place. I may do the same, but don’t much choice.
Pope Francis frequently talks about humility. After he became Pope, a reporter asked him, “Who is Jorge Bergoglio?” The Pope responded, “A sinner.” He knows that who we are before the Lord is due to the Lord’s grace and mercy, not due to our own innate qualities.
The first reading from the book of Sirach, reminds us that if we are humble we will find favor with God, and others will love us. The virtue of humility has two aspect: being humble before God and open our hearts and hands for others. The prayer before communion should exemplify our inner mode before God, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” St. Teresa of Calcutta was certainly a humble little lady who was a giant before God. She knew what God had called her to do, and was not concerned what people said about her. Jesus says, “When you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.”
“Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” Sirach 3:18
Happy Labor Day Weekend!
8/23/2019 0 Comments
Narrow Gate!
Someone once said to Paderewski, the great pianist, "Sir, you are a genius." He replied, "Madam, before I was a genius, I was a drudge." He continued: “If I missed practice one day, I noticed it; if I missed practice two days, the critics noticed it; if I missed three days, my family noticed it; if I missed four days, my audience noticed it. It is reported that after one of Fritz Kreisler's concerts a young woman said to him, "I would give my life to be able to play like that." He replied, "That's what I gave.”
The Gospel passage for this weekend is Jesus’s answer to a question asked, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" The door is narrow. The Christian life is a constant striving to do the will of God as Jesus revealed it. Jesus’s answer to the questions was, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” We need to strive because there are forces of evil within us and around us, trying to pull us down.
Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership does not automatically mean entry into the kingdom of God. You need to believe and live it. Jesus also asserts that many from the gentile nations would enter God's kingdom. His invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door.
There is a story behind the narrow gate. Narrow gate was a small gate built into the much larger city gates of a city. It allowed someone to enter after hours when, for security reasons, the main gates had been closed and locked. The gate was too small to enter with more than a few items. Animals, carts, weapons and other large items had to remain outside the gate until the opening of the main gate in the morning. The night gate for the city of Jerusalem was nicknamed the “needle’s eye”. Jesus doesn’t answer the question regarding how many people will be saved. He was not interested in statistics. His answer was more personal…here’s how YOU can be saved. It is not easy to go through narrow gate. You may have wait or bend yourself. There will be challenges.
There is no comparison here. But there is one thing for consideration: our relationship with God. We have every means to enter the gate. We have sacraments, we have Eucharist, food for our journey: we listen to his words, eat His body and drink His blood. The question is “do we have a strong relationship with him”? Are we ready to face the challenges to build up the relationship?
St. Cecilia Cemetery dedication: As we all know John Wagner served Immaculate Conception Parish, and left gift for parish and St. Cecilia cemetery. Part of his wish was we blacktop the cemetery road and in his memory we place a bench in the cemetery. On the first anniversary of his death, Sunday August 25th at 3:00 pm we will be having a dedication ceremony at the St. Cecilia cemetery. All are welcome.
Thank you: Town of Chippewa provided material and labor to do the edging of new blacktop at the cemetery. We would like to express our gratitude for their generosity. We also like to express our gratitude to Butternut Knights of Columbus for helping with edging of the new blacktop. Thank you to everyone. It looks beautiful.
8/9/2019 0 Comments
God is walking around Heaven one day, and notices a number of people in the heavenly streets who shouldn't be there. He finds St. Peter at the gate and says to him, "Peter, you've been remiss in your duties. You're letting in the wrong sort of people."
"Don't blame me, Lord," replied Peter. "I turn them away just like you said to. Then they go around to the back door and your mother lets them in."
August 15th we celebrate Assumption of Mary: a journey that we’re all called to walk: from here to Heaven. This solemn feast of Mary was defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950, but was celebrated in the Church from its earliest days as the Feast of the Dormition, or falling asleep of Mary. Mary received the grace to be body and soul in Heaven along with her son. The other just souls that have preceded us are in Heaven, but they’re separated from their bodies until the Last Day when Our Lord raises everyone from the dead in the Last Judgment. Our Lord ascended into Heaven in glory; Our Blessed Mother was assumed into Heaven.
We know from the Bible, God created Adam and Eve in the image and likeness of God. Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.”
God gave us second Adam and Eve: Jesus and Mary. If we look at the first book of the Bible, Genesis 3:15, we read, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; they will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.” In the Gospel of John 19:26, we see Mother Mary and Apostle John at the foot of the cross. When Jesus saw them, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” And said to John, “Behold, your other.” In the book of Revelation, John talks about his vision. In our first reading for the Mass of the day, Revelation 12:1 “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”
God chose Mary, second Eve, in a special way to bring Jesus, the second Adam, who brings us salvation. First reading for the vigil Mass, from the book of Chronicles 15, we see David assembled people of Israel in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord. Mary is new the Ark of the Covenant. When the old ark was completed, the glory cloud of the Lord covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Ex 40:34-35; Nm 9:18, 22). The new Ark of the Covenant, Mary, was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. The new Ark of the Covenant, Mary was assumed into heaven.
The Assumption of Mary into Heaven reminds us that suffering and trials are also gifts from God. It was not easy for Mary, but she made it. Assumption reminds us of what awaits us if we accept suffering and trials with patience and faith, desiring to help Our Lord accomplish the work of redemption. Let’s pray today that Mary helps us make the journey to Heaven and one day shine there alongside her and her Son.
8/2/2019 0 Comments
Philip Arthur Fisher was an American stock investor best known as the author of Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, a guide to investing that has remained in print ever since it was first published in 1958. He says, “The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing."
This weekend reading talks about investment and marketing. What is investment? If you are a business man, you will talk about investing in the stock market. If you are a social worker, you will talk about investing in the people.
Msgr. Joseph A. Pellegrino says a story about a grandmother who pulled out pictures of her three grandchildren, all under two, and showed them to a friend saying, “These are my grandchildren. That one’s the rich doctor, that one’s the rich lawyer, and that one’s the chairman of the board of a large corporation.”
We all look differently at investment. What is the real investment? Do you have one? Fr. Bloom reported from Krakwo, 2016 World youth day. He says, Pope Francis is a big soccer fan and when he mentioned the sport, young people cheered. When he referred to the World Cup, it brought even louder cheers. Then he paused, looked at the sea of youth and said, "Jesus is a greater prize than the World Cup!" Young people stood, raised their hands and gave a sustained cheer.
Jesus is the one great prize. That's what we see in today's readings. In comparison to Jesus everything in this world is vanity. Only Jesus has ultimate worth - and only in him does anything have value. The first reading from Ecclesiastes says, “Vanity of vanities, “All is vanity.” Author Qoheleth’s point is that the only real values are the spiritual values.
In the Gospel, Jesus calls the rich a fool? Jesus is not disregarding his skills and ability to acquire wealth, but rather for his selfishness. Jesus was called the rich fool, because he lost his aptitude to invest wisely. His life was consumed with his possessions and his only interests were in himself. Jesus is not talking against wealth or rich; but he is talking about use of it.
We do need good investments: good financial stability. When you invest, you don’t invest in one company, do you? No, you spread it out based on your research. Because you expect the best outcome. In the same way we also need to invest in our family, community and so on. But we should have God in the first place. Everything else should be the secondary.
The parable in the Gospel is a study of our heart. Where is our treasure? Treasure has always had a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. Then a question for us to ask, what/who is our treasure? Does God have the right place in our heart?
Where did you invest?
Jul 2019
7/26/2019 0 Comments
Fr. Tommy Lee says, “When I was in Florida recently I visited the Kennedy Space Center. I saw Cape Canaveral and the launch site for the space shuttle. In the Space Center I was able to look at and touch a moon rock. Through the miracle of modern science and space travel, I reached out and touched the moon! When we pray we leave this world and touch God.”
Theme for this weekend is prayer. In the first reading, we see Abraham’s intimacy with God. He pleads for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah by talking directly to God and asking God to change his plans. He doesn’t just ask, he is persistent in asking, pushing for more and more mercy each time. It may look like a comical dialogue. Like a little child who keeps asking and asking until they get what he/she wants. On the other hand, God is gentle and merciful.
We see in the Gospel Jesus himself goes to pray: intimacy with his Father. The disciples say, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Jesus taught them to pray by using the intimate word “Abba” “Father” to address God. Our Father is a Father who listens to us. He is merciful. Psalmist say that God is true, he has a long memory for His own promises and a short memory for failure to keep ours. We have to trust in his love and mercy.
This prayer we all pray every day. This prayer begins with God, calling Abba, Father; a deep relationship between God and me. Then God’s purpose in my life, “Thy kingdom come and thy will be done.” Then it goes to our needs: “Give us each day our daily bread.” Then we say, “Forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.”
Then we pray “Lead us not into temptation.” Pope Francis has officially approved a change to the translation of the Lord's Prayer to replace "lead us not into temptation" with "do not let us fall into temptation," which many scholars say is a better translation of the original text. The Pope said he thought the current English translation was not correct because it implies that God leads people into temptation, an action that is against his nature as a good and holy God. "A father doesn't do that, a father helps you to get up immediately," Francis said of the line in question. "It's Satan who leads us into temptation, that's his department."
In the Gospel, Jesus goes on after the prayer, further explaining the intimacy which God longs from us. He tells the story about a man who wants to be hospitable and is asking his neighbor to lend him some food to give his guests. When he doesn’t get the response he wants from his neighbor, he asks again, and again and again…persistence in asking made the neighbor to get up and give what he wants. Then Jesus praises the man for his persistence in asking.
At the end of the story, Jesus reminds us that God is there for us beyond our understanding. Every time we pray we touch God. Every time we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, heaven meets earth, God comes to us and becomes part of our life. Prayer changes us and others to be ready to receive the grace of God.
Prayer can change the course of history. So let us pray, pray, pray. “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10)
7/19/2019 0 Comments
The theme for this weekend is hospitality to God. The first reading and the Gospel painted very beautifully the hospitality to God.
Andrei Rublev, the great Russian icon painter, famous for his work in particular with his ‘Old Testament Trinity’: picturing the three angels welcomed by Abraham (Genesis 18 – today’s first reading). Christians see this scene as a prefiguring of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. This icon is also called ‘Welcome to the Stranger’. The table where they are seated has four sides. There are three seated figures; the fourth is an invitation to join them. Anyone praying with this icon for any length of time will feel that the invitation is somehow mutual: as you welcome the Divine Persons into your heart, they are inviting you to sit at the table with them. They are inviting you into the heart of God.
In the first reading on a hot day, Abraham sits at the entrance. He might have been enjoying the breeze on that hot day. All of sudden he saw the three men and recognized that it is the Lord. Abraham begged God not to pass by, but stay, so he can serve the Lord. Then he ran to the tent to prepare food.
In the Gospel we see, Martha and Mary welcome Jesus to their house. Martha and Mary, both have different styles of hospitality. Mary sits with Jesus and listens, but Martha wants to make sure everything is right for him.
Two aspect of spirituality: first, doing something like Martha and second, siting and receiving like Mary. Martha has become a symbol of action-oriented, responsible people who get the job done. Our world and our parish churches need such dynamic and generous men, women, boys and girls who get the job done. At the same we have to adopt Mary into our life too. The key to the Christian life is SETTING PRIORITIES: Jesus Christ first, then everything else. Active and busy as we are, we have to find time every day to listen to God, to our spouse, kids and neighbors. Listening and quiet caring are essential for the success of pastoral life, married life, family life and the rearing of children with love, affection and sense of discipline. Human love begins at home and it begins with listening.
God is passing by my/your home. Do we invite him? My heart is the place where he is welcomed. Mother Teresa often talked about the God appears in disguise: poor and needy. We need to give attention to see who is passing by us. Abraham paid attention, so he didn’t miss the Lord.
7/12/2019 0 Comments
Little Tim was in the garden filling a hole when his neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the youngster was doing, he politely asked, "What are you up to there, Tim?" "My goldfish died," replied Tim tearfully, without looking up, "and I've just buried him." The neighbor said, "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it Tim?" Tim patted down the last heap of earth, and then replied, "That's because he's still inside your stupid cat."
This weekend readings tells us that God reveals in Scripture, in Jesus Christ and in our
neighbor. A scholar of the law asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to
inherit eternal life?” In answer to the question, Jesus directed his attention to the Sacred
Scriptures. Jesus asked him, "How do you read it?" The scriptural answer is “love God and
express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe the word “neighbor” meant another Scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the Scribe insisted on further
clarification of the word “neighbor.” So Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan.
It is tough story for the scholar to here. In this parable the Priest and the Levite “passed by on the opposite side.” They had their own reason. The law didn’t allow them to interact on that
situation. At the time of Jesus, Jews and Samaritans interact each other. They were enemies. Here Jesus describes the parable of Good Samaritan as the answer to the questions. The scholar might have asked himself, “Do you want us to be like that Samaritan, who is our enemy?”
The parable clearly indicated that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help and anyone who gives that help. Thus, the correct approach is not to ask the question “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?”
The Good Samaritan’s story can take us to so many realms of life. The first and foremost thing is about the Good Samaritan is that “he came near,” while the priest and the Levite “passed by on the opposite side.” God always come closer our life. Jesus came in person to be with us. Clement of Alexandria sees the Samaritan as Jesus: “Who can this neighbor be but the Savior himself? Who but he has had pity on us as we lay almost dead from the dark forces of this world, with so many wounds, so many fears and passions, so much anger, so much sorrow, so much deception, so many deceptive pleasures? Jesus alone can heal these wounds.”
Origen of Alexandria writes about the story of the Good Samaritan, “The man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho is Adam. Jerusalem is Paradise. Jericho is this world. The thieves are the forces of the enemy. The priest is the Law. The Levite is the prophets. The
Samaritan is Christ. The wounds are disobedience. The horse is the body of Christ. The inn that is open to all who wish to enter is the Church. The two denarii are the Father and the Son. The inn-keeper is the pastor of the flock, whose duty is to care. The Samaritan’s promise to return indicates the Savior’s Second Coming.”
This weekend reading invites us to meditate on core of our faith: the root of the Ten Commandments, which is LOVE GOD and NEIGHBOUR. Who is my neighbor? Let us make a list our neighbors and see who are in and who are out of the list.
Jun 2019
6/28/2019 0 Comments
Did you get a call?
Yes, we all got a call. The question is, did we answer it? This weekend’s readings are about God’s call and our response and commitment. The Gospel passage starts with Jesus’ destination: Jerusalem. Because Jesus was a Jew and the destination was Jerusalem, Samaritans were not ready to welcome. This infuriated the apostles and two of them, James and John, asked Jesus if He wanted them to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. Jesus rebuked them, however, because he was not a destroyer, but a Savior.
The focus of the reading is on the call and response. On his way, Jesus met someone who said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus response was that it is going to be a tough journey, do want to do this? In a way, Jesus was telling him that he is heading to Jerusalem, to the cross. The interesting part is the other two whom Jesus said, “Follow me.” But they had their own excuses to say. Here we have to connect with the first reading from the book of Kings. God told Elijah to anoint Elisha. When Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha, he said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah allows him to do it. But Jesus told his disciples, his mission is much more important and asked for total commitment.
As in the case of Elisha and the apostles, our commitment becomes our life. We are here this day because, in one way or another, we have said to Jesus, “I will follow you.” But the true fact of the matter is that most of us don't want to follow Jesus; we want Him to follow us. We will leave this hour of Eucharistic worship and return to the world where our daily life takes place where we have to make tough choices and face difficult demands. Every Eucharist, Jesus gives us nourishment, renewed spirit to become the true disciples of Jesus.
New St. Anthony Daycare director: Please join me to welcome our new daycare director, Chealyn Damrow.
Dear Parishioners,
I want to take a moment to introduce myself as the new Director at St.Anthonys Daycare. My name is Chealyn Damrow. I was born and raised in Park Falls. I enjoy spending time with my family, going on trips, fishing, camping, and my pets. After I graduated high school I moved to Eau Claire and attended Chippewa Valley Technical College for Child Care services. Right after I received my certificate I began working at Forever Young ELC where I was the infant/toddler teacher for 3 years and The Kiddie Patch ELC where I was the infant/toddler teacher for 5 years. I moved back to Park falls in October of 2017, with my two children, Nevaeh age 9, and Ryder age 7. I worked at Peace Lutheran Daycare for 6 months as the school age teacher and the infant teacher. Working with children has always been my passion. I am more than excited to get to know the children and families I will be working with. I hope to create a positive experience with each and every one of you and look forward to being a part of St. Anthony’s Daycare!
6/21/2019 0 Comments
The famous theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar (the most important Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century) says it this way: "When receiving the Eucharist each person must remember that he is falling into the arms of God like someone dying of hunger in the wilderness of this life."
Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Body and Blood of Christ! Corpus Christi Sunday! This feast is the heart of our church, and heart of the lives of each of us. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1322 says “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life." Most of the Sacraments take place in the Sacrament of Eucharist.
When Jesus did miracles, he didn’t lose anything, but at the Last Supper when he said “this is My Body” and “this is My Blood,” he had to lose everything. The wedding at Cana was the first miracle of the new covenant. The culmination the new covenant is on Calvary and offered his life. He had to leave everything to give us the “Bread of Life.”
Today the Gospel reading, the multiplication of loaves and fishes, a miracle foreshadows the institution of the Eucharist. In this scripture, the twelve asked Jesus to send these people away. Jesus told them to give something to give. In this miracle, Jesus, in an indirect way told the disciples, he needs their participation. Their reply was that we don’t have much. We just have five loaves and two fish. When they gave what they had, the miracle took place. Jesus took the bread, looked up to heaven and said the blessing and gave to the disciples to give to the crowd. All ate and were satisfied.
I would like to share a story from my hospital ministry period. One Corpus Christy Sunday I was celebrating Mass in the Hospital, a lady was sitting in a wheelchair in the center of the chapel. During consecration she started to cry. I made a conclusion in my mind that she might be in pain. After the Mass, I inquired of her, how she was doing. She told me that it was not tears of pain, but it was tears of joy. She was suffering for a long time; she had thoughts of committing suicide from time to time, but her husband and children gave her strength to live. She continued, she was thinking about the homily, visualizing Jesus broke and gave his life, and in reality, we are sent out to do the same. She said, her faith gave her strength to live. She realized that there is purpose for her life. God needs her for her husband and children. She said, that day she felt her life is so meaningful.
The Eucharist teaches us that numerous grains of wheat are pounded together to make the host and many grapes are crushed together to make the wine, so we become unified in this sacrifice. It is sometimes difficult recognize that we are dying of hunger. On one side we might have been blessed with more abundance, more opportunities than any generation in human history. At the same time we experience a very real hunger. We need something more than this world's bread. Jesus, the bread of life, is the only one who will satisfy our hunger. But he would like to see our participation.
Every Mass we gather together to celebrate Mass. We bring ourselves as we are to offer to God; with our joy and sorrows: our total life. We become one with Christ’s sacrifice. Then we are sent out to break and give our life to one another. It is not easy, it is painful. But Jesus’ Body and Blood give us strength. Let us adore Jesus in Eucharist, and give thanks for many blessings. Let us give witness in a special way in the Eucharistic procession.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity! And Happy Father’s Day!
6/14/2019 0 Comments
Happy Father’s Day to all the Fathers! Five weeks ago we honored our moms. Today, on this Father's Day, we are doing the same, offering our dads – those who are with or gone before us, or those who are like fathers in our life – on the altar of God during this Holy Mass, invoking our heavenly Father’s blessings on them. Fathers are a blessing and we thank them for blessing us with lives of dedication, endurance, and love. Happy Father’s Day!!
Last weekend, we celebrated Pentecost. I would like to thank everyone for those who served Mass to make the celebration of Pentecost beautiful. Special thanks to all those who did reading in different languages: Marcia Lalonde, Mark Schmidt, Aggie Moser, and Sarah Oswald. If any can do a reading please call the office, it will be helpful in the future.
How can we know God: Trinity? It is a mystery, but Jesus makes it easier for us. Today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the relationship. Jesus says “Everything that the Father has is mine.” Also, he talks about the Holy Spirit. Trinity is a community of self-giving love; an intimate relationship. We are made to love as Holy Trinity loved. Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” A family is a simple form of community, it grows into church, school, different organization and it grows into a wider community. We are invited to live in a community of love. Our families become truly Christian when we live in a relationship of love with God and with others. We can call God our Father, Son Jesus “Immanuel” and Holy Spirit “strength in our weakness.”
Glory be to 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.
New Parish Council members: I would like to introduce new parish council members and welcome them. Please read the bio below and get to know them and welcome. I would also like to thank the members leaving for their wonderful service: Dennis Kronberger, Ron Stueber, Marcia Lalonde, Jane Russell, and Jerry Weber. Thank you.
My name is Bob Hoffman. I am a lifelong resident of Park Falls and a St. Anthony’s alumni. My wife Pat and I have two grown children, Adam and Keshia and three grandchildren, Regan, Jacob, and James. I worked at the paper mill for 43 years and have been retired for 1 1/2 years now. I look forward to being on the council and helping our parish move forward into the future.
My name is Stacy Arntsen. I was born and raised in Park Falls and attended school at St. Anthony’s through 8th grade. My parents are Bob and Sandy Kennedy. I currently work as an Administrative Assistant at Phillips Middle/High School. I live in Park Falls with my husband, Kevin and our two sons, Weston and Cam. I enjoy a newfound hobby of crocheting, and hope to spend lots of time camping with family this summer. I look forward to serving on the Parish Council.
Pete is a lifelong resident of Park Falls. Married to Nancy (Hammond), three children (Andy, Allison, Phillip), three grandchildren (Jacob, Aiden, Tyler). Graduated from St. Anthony’s, Lincoln High School and UW-Superior with a Business Management Degree. Real Estate Broker/Manager and Certified Appraiser at Birchland Realty for 43 years. Recent recipient of the Realtor Emeritus status. Retired Captain of the Park Falls Fire/Rescue Dept. after 35 years of service. Past member of the St. Anthony’s Pastoral Council when Father Al Ebach was pastor. St. Anthony’s greeter since 1995.
My name is Judy Seifert. I live with my husband Dan on the Seifert family farm with our little dog Lola. We have two daughters and seven beautiful grandchildren. I attended St. Anthony's school for eight years as did our daughters. My husband and I are both retired now and spend our time working on our hobby farm, watching grandchildren and spending time with our family and friends. I am looking forward to serving on the Parish Council and hope that I will be able to make some positive contributions.
Ad Hoc Committee: I would like to introduce also a newly formed ad hoc committee to make a study on the future of the school building. If you have any suggestion, ideas please call one of them and share. You can call me too. The committee members: Greg Oswald, Rick Harter, Dennis Bablick and Jerry Weber. Thank you.
6/11/2019 0 Comments
We all like to celebrate our birthdays. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Pentecost is not a name but rather it is a number, means 50. It is the conclusion of 50 days of Easter season. The Jews celebrated the feast of pentecost fifty days after the Passover. Originally it was an agricultural feast and later giving of the law at Mount Sanai. Now we celebrate the new Pentecost after the fifty days of Jesus resurrection. When God came to Mount Saini, there was fire and loud sound with trumpet blast. In the new Pentecost, there was a mighty wind and tongs of fire came to over the apostles.
There is a Chinese proverb, “If your vision is for a year, plant wheat. If your vision for ten years of plant trees. If your vision for a lifetime, plant people.” Jesus was and is visionary. He selected the twelve apostles and prepared them. At the last supper discourse and after the resurrection, specifically, he talked to them about his departure and prepared for the mission.
On Pentecost Sunday the Apostles first proclaimed the Christian message, they presented the Gospel to people from all over the world yet were heard speaking in their own languages. The Greeks heard the message in Greek, the Persians in Farsi, the Romans in Latin, the Jews in Hebrew or Aramaic, etc. Although the people who heard the message were from all over, the message itself united them into one people. This was and is the work of the Holy Spirit, forming us into One Person, the Body of Christ. Thus St. Paul tells the Corinthians, "We are all different, we have different gifts, we do different things, but we are united in the Holy Spirit into One Body.”
If you talked to Charismatic community, they will be talking about the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It does not mean, if you are not part of the Charismatic community, you don’t have the Holy Spirit. We all received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism and Confirmation. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Anointing of the Holy Spirit takes place in us when we eagerly asking for it. Sometimes we may tempt to think, it is for the saintly people. It is not a wrong concept. Anointing of the Holy Spirit is for all of us to grow in holiness. Jesus promised apostles an advocate, a helper. When they received the Holy Spirit, changed their life, they got out of the fear. They went out to the street and proclaimed the Good News.
Let us repeat Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”
“Come Holy Spirit
Make our ears to hear
Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the world with your love. AMEN.”
Thursday, June 13th is the Feast of St. Anthony. Please come and join June 13th at 8:10 AM Mass. Because we are preparing to celebrate Eucharist Procession this year, we are not celebrating like in the past. Happy Feast of St. Anthony of Padua!
May 2019
5/31/2019 1 Comment
God the Father sent his son, lived thirty years of silent life, three years did the public ministry. Then he suffered, crucified, died and resurrected. This Sunday we celebrate Ascension Sunday!
The second reading for Ascension is from the book of Hebrews. We read, “Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf.” It also says that the high priest entered the sanctuary to offer the sacrifice of himself to the Father for all eternity. Ascension is the climax of the pascal mystery.
If we look at the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, it looks like a continuation of the Gospel. Luck is the author of Gospel and Acts of the Apostles. In the Gospel, Jesus gives the final parting message to his disciples. Jesus told them that he is going to suffer, die and on the third day resurrect. And also Jesus told Apostles that they are going to be the witnesses, so they should preach the repentance and forgiveness of sin to the world.
What we do if we hear something like that? We may say to each other, hi we need a plan. Jesus told them, don’t go anywhere, but stay in town until they receive the Holy Spirit. In the Act of the Apostles Luck repeats that they should wait in Jerusalem until they receive in the Holy Spirit. Sixth Sunday of Easter, we read in the Gospel, if we love Jesus, we are asked to keep his word. Jesus was telling them, in his parting message, they cannot do any of these thing their own, but with the help of the Holy Spirit. At the Ascension, Jesus left a mission for the Apostles. Today it is our mission. We received the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of the Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation. But we keep to keep asking every day of our life.
I was listening to Jeff Cavins’s message for Ascension. He presented seven points for Ascension of our Lord; seven points for the basic proclamation of the Gospel. I would like to share with you those seven points. Jeff Cavins invites us to personalize these messages and make it our own.
1. God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life.
2. Sin interrupted that plan.
3. Good News: God sent his Son, and he died for us. It is the solution.
4. Now we are called to repent and believe the Gospel.
5. Be baptized: wipe away the original sin and brings us into the body of Christ and gives us the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity.
6. We are called to untie ourselves with the body of Christ in an active way: that is the way we really discover all the sources grace in our life.
7. We are called now to make disciples ourselves to go and tell people about Jesus.
Reflecting on these points, let us challenge ourselves, prepare to celebrate Pentecost. Jesus reminds us on the Sunday of Ascension that we are not able to do by ourselves, but with the help of the Holy Spirit.
5/24/2019 0 Comments
The story is told that after Helen Keller’s teacher, Annie Sullivan, had given her the names of physical objects in sign language, Miss Sullivan attempted to explain God and tapped out the symbols for the name "God." Much to Miss Sullivan’s surprise, Helen spelled back, "Thank you for telling me God’s name, Teacher, for He has touched me many times before." How could Helen Keller have known about God? Although she was blind and deaf, Helen Keller knew God, for God had shown Himself to her. That is “revelation” of an indwelling God about whom today’s Scripture readings speak.
Easter season readings prepare us to celebrate Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. Each weekend reading from the Acts of the Apostles give us a glimpse of the life of the early Church. The members of the early Christian communities were from Jews and gentiles. The first reading, tells us the great internal struggle of the Early Church and how the Holy Spirit indwelling in the Church helped the apostles to solve a major doctrinal problem about the Gentiles becoming Christians, which shook the very foundation of the early Church. The ancient Jews had a particular culture that the first Christians realized was not their culture.
The Gospel passage reminds us that the Holy Spirit, abiding within us, is our teacher and the source of all peace. The passage offers a vision of hope. The gospel passage tells us about love and his indwelling presence. One thing we know about love is that lovers want to be with each other. But Jesus is not physically present. We cannot physically see him or touch him. How can you love an absent Jesus? This is what today’s gospel is all about. In the gospel Jesus prepares his disciples, those who love him, for his departure from this world and shows them how they can keep love and intimacy alive even in his physical absence. Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Jesus promises his followers that the Holy Spirit will come and instruct them in everything they need to know. In the first reading Apostles and other leaders were struggling to make decision. We see the Holy Spirit guiding them in that decision making. We read, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden…” Let us invite the Holy Spirit in our daily life, to our joys and sorrows; our strengths and weakness. Jesus told Apostles, and today to us, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
This weekend we also celebrate Memorial Day. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Let us hold them in our prayers. At the same time let us remember all those who are serving to keep us safe.
Happy Memorial Day!!
Congratulations Senior Graduates!
5/20/2019 0 Comments
First of all, I take this opportunity to congratulate our senior graduates and their families. Our prayers are with you in future plans.
Graduation! How exciting? I am sure seniors are full of dreams and plans for the future. Parents, teachers, and family will look at you with a question: what is next? What are you going to study? What do you want to become? Some of you are already decided, some of you are not sure yet.
Today we gather to honor your success and celebrate the Lord’s gift, the bread and wine, the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. The gift of the Lord, the Body and Blood of Christ that we receive is the greatest gift possible. It is His sacrifice on the Cross made real in the Eucharist for us to eat and be nourished with. It is the source of our life.
A little Johnny asked his dad, “What is love?” Dad replied, “Love is giving away your life for someone.” Often we sing a beautiful hymn at the Mass, called, “They’ll know We Are Christians by Our Love.” Next time when we sign give special attention to those words. It is beautiful and profound.
Today’s readings are about LOVE. It talks about new things: the New Jerusalem, a new heaven and earth, and a new commandment. It’s all about new identity of Christian life. They use uniforms, habits, badges, banners and pinups designed to distinguish different groups and believers. We are symbolic beings who need to express our faith in symbolic ways.
The Gospel for the weekend is so profound. At the Last Supper, Jesus is sitting at the table, Judas has just left to betray him. The next thing Jesus says, which is the first part of the Gospel today, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” He is going to be arrested, nailed to the Cross and put to death. How can Jesus say the Son of Man is glorified? Then Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I think Jesus was saying he is going to take the pain and suffering of the Cross for you, so we will know his love. I thought little Johnny’s dad shared a profound thought: “Love is giving away your life for someone.” Through Jesus passion, death and resurrection, we will be able to acquire the ability to give away our life for someone.
“Love others as I have loved you” (John 13: 35). Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Love is the Christian identity. Love is the Christian uniform. Love is the Christian habit.
We live in a world that denies our basic human worth. How do we reclaim our basic worth? We can become whole and holy only when we learn to love ourselves properly, acknowledging the presence of the triune God in our souls, making our bodies the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” It is through constant love-centered interaction with God and each other that the "new earth, the new heaven and the new Jerusalem" can begin to come into existence. It is not going happen one day, but it is a journey….
Congratulations to Confirmation Candidates, Sponsors, and their families! And Happy Mother’s Day!
5/10/2019 0 Comments
Happy Mother’s Day! There is a beautiful Spanish proverb: "An ounce of mother is better than a pound of clergy." On Mother’s Day let us Christians, acknowledge the truth that we have two mothers: our earthly mother and our heavenly mother, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Catholic Church proclaims the great nobility of the mother of Jesus, Mary most holy, and presents her as the supreme model for all mothers. She was born into humble surroundings, she was called by God to be the mother of the Son of God. She affirmed her obedience to the call of God and lived out her vocation throughout her entire life. Mary, the mother of Jesus, our Blessed Mother, is the true model of motherhood.
The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday and it is the “World Day of Prayer for Vocations.” The vocations rooted in families. Moms have a special role in the life of children, their sacrifices and love influence their life. The scripture lessons for this weekend is about the role of the shepherd.
In his book, The Holy Land, John Kellman describes a field pen. It consists of a circular stonewall about four feet high with an opening in it. Kellman says that one-day a Holy Land tourist saw a field pen near Hebron. He asked a shepherd sitting nearby, “where’s the gate for your pen?” The shepherd said, “I am the gate.”
The shepherd then told the tourist how he herded his flock into the pen each night. Then he lay down across the narrow entrance. No sheep could leave the pen, and no wild animal could enter it, without stepping on his body.
Jesus is our shepherd, who lay down his life for us, to give us new life and He is with us. He broke the bread and said to his disciples, this is My Body, take and eat it. Jesus tells us the same, “This is My Body.” Like Apostles, we are also fed at this table and send out to break us and give to others.
This Sunday our young women and men receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Apostles received Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It was life-changing for them. They received the gift of the Holy Spirit. What are they? There are seven of them: 1. Wisdom which helps to understand things from God’s point of view; 2. Understanding which helps us to understand the deeper meaning of supernatural truth; 3. Knowledge helps us to appreciate the life God has given: begin to see God’s presence in people, things, and nature and treat them with proper dignity; 4. Right Judgement or Counsel which helps to make the right decision God would want me to make; 5. Reverence or Piety which helps to trust God more, the relationship becomes stronger; 6. Courage or Fortitude which helps to stand up for what I believe; 7. Fear of the Lord or Awe and Wonder which helps to stay on the right path to heaven. Fear of the Lord is because I love God and I want to please Him.
Let us join in prayer for our young people, those who are receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation, may God pour the gift of the Holy Spirit, and so they may come out of the Upper Room and reach out in mission to others. Let us pray that with our Confirmands, their sponsors, families and our entire cluster will be renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Apr 2019
4/26/2019 0 Comments
Spring is here, it is nice to get out, enjoy the nature, soon leaves and flowers will appear on plants, it is beautiful. The same way we are done with winter of Lenten season and celebrated Easter and continue to celebrate. We are in a new spirit of Easter Season. Easter is all about God’s love and mercy. Time to time God revealed his love of mercy to humanity. Ultimately, this revelation through Jesus. God continues to send us the message of mercy though Saints. Especially through our Mother, through her apparitions, St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. Faustina and St. Pope John Paul II. During the Papacy of St. John Paul II, he announced that it is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on the Second Sunday of Easter, which throughout the Church, will be called 'Divine Mercy Sunday. Now Pope Francis continues to emphasis the message of mercy and teach us.
St. Faustina of Poland is the well-known apostle of Divine Mercy. On the 30th of April, 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter, St. Pope John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Peter’s Square and proceeded to the canonization of Blessed Sister Faustina. The St. Faustina invites us by the witness of her life to keep our faith and hope fixed on God, the Father, rich in mercy, who has saved us by the precious blood of His Son. The Lord Jesus assigned St. Faustina three basic tasks during her short life: 1. to pray for souls, entrusting them to God's incomprehensible Mercy; 2. to tell the world about God's generous mercy; 3. to start a new movement in the Church focusing on God's Mercy. “The Lord of Divine Mercy” a drawing of Jesus based on the vision given to St. Faustina, shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing, with his left hand on his chest from which gush forth two rays, one red and one white. The picture contains the message "Jesus, I trust in You". The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the blood of Jesus, which is the life of souls and white for the water which justifies souls. The whole image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness, and love of God. The divine mercy chaplet, the novena starts on Good Friday to Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Divine Mercy celebration invites us to receive God’s mercy and at the same time to share one another. Our Lord said to St. Faustina, "Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be acts of mercy. I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it"
Pope Francis continues the message of Mercy. During the year of mercy, Pope Francis said in one of his homilies, “Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought about how the Church might make clear its mission of being a witness to mercy. It is a journey that begins with a spiritual conversion.”
Today, five of our children make their First Communion. They prepared by learning and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive First Communion, to experience God’s love and Mercy first time by the reception of the Eucharist. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate them, their families and teachers, for their sacrifices and preparation.
Also, our Cluster will celebrate at Immaculate Conception Church on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. It includes Adoration, Divine Mercy Chaplet and sacrament of reconciliation is available.
4/18/2019 0 Comments
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to visit the Holy Land. One of the most powerful moments was visiting the Church of Holy Sepulcher. In this Church, we can see the place where Jesus was crucified, “Golgotha” and next to it a small church within the church which is the Tomb of Christ. It was not just Church of Tomb, but also of was Church of Resurrection. We read in the Bible, it was a garden. A beautiful morning, a joy filled morning a group of people, some of them surprised, others confused, still others running to tell others “He is risen”.
There is a story of Joseph of Arimathea. He was a very wealthy Pharisee, a member of the council, and a secret follower of Jesus. It was Joseph who went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. And it was Joseph who supplied the tomb for Jesus’ burial. I wonder if someone pulled him aside and said, "Joseph that was such beautiful, costly, hand-hewn tomb. Why on earth did you give it to someone to be buried in?" "Why not?" Joseph may have answered. He only needed it for the weekend."
After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane, then journeyed to Calvary. We were living these moments the last few days. On Good Friday we make three stops and sing with the Cross, “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world.” And we come up to venerate the cross that brought us salvation. We come up to give their burdens to the One who hung on the cross for them.
At Easter Vigil, a large candle is brought into the darkened church. Its light illuminates the church. This time we sing, “The Light of Christ,” and respond, “Thanks be to God.” The One who hung upon the cross has brought light to a world of suffering in its own darkness. The heat of the flame confirms our hope that the transformation of Lenten winter into Easter spring time.
Inserted in the candle are five wax nails that signify the wounds that the crucified Jesus received in his hands, feet, and side. These nails are the symbol of great love. These symbols reminds us that God is with us in our hurts, grief, that God’s spirit of compassion is in our midst, in our love and concern for one another, and transforms hurt into healing.
The paschal candle will remain lit throughout the Easter season. It will then be given a place of honor near the baptismal font. During the year it will be lit at the celebration of baptism and funerals. By its light we welcome those who are reborn in the waters of baptism, and funerals by its light we commend to God the souls of those who will go before us in peace to the eternal dwelling place of our Father.
St. Agustin says Jesus departed from our sight, that we might return to our hearts and there find Him. He is Risen!! He is alive in our hearts. Let the Paschal candle brighten our hearts and minds. May the Risen Christ dwell in our hearts, families, community and bless us with His love, forgiveness and healing this Easter and always. I wish you all a Happy Easter!!
4/12/2019 0 Comments
Max Lucado, in his book, And the Angels were Silent, reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. He writes: Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul.
We are towards the end of the Lenten journey. A question to ask ourselves, how is it going? The Church celebrates today as both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday and we enter into the Holy Week, and welcome Jesus into our lives, asking him to allow us a share in his suffering, death, and resurrection. In order to receive a new life, there is need of death to happen, the death of our selfishness.
On Holy Thursday there is a Chrism Mass in Cathedral Churches because it is a solemn observance of Christ's institution of the Eucharist and priesthood. In order to make the opportunity for most priests and laity to attend this Mass, the Diocese may celebrate prior to the holy week, as we celebrated in our diocese. At this 'Chrism Mass,' the bishop blesses the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, and Anointing of the Sick.
The Holy Thursday liturgy in the parish communities, celebrated in the evening because Passover began at sundown. Washing of the feet takes place in this Mass. Food brought for the poor will be brought at the offertory. After the Holy Thursday evening Mass, the Blessed Sacrament carried in solemn procession to the flower-bedecked Altar of Repose, where it will remain 'entombed' until the communion service on Good Friday. And finally, there is the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the people during the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal by Judas. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection.
Holy Week can become "holy” for us only if we actively and consciously take part in the liturgies of this week. Holy Thursday institution of Eucharist Jesus said to his disciples, “This is my body broken for you; this is my blood and shed for you” and we see on Good Friday that sacrifice is completed on the cross. He broke himself for us and fed us. This is also the week when we should lighten the burden of Christ’s passion as daily experienced by the needy people through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy; break and share.
As the Church enters into the week before Jesus' Passion and death, Pope Francis writes in his Holy Week message, Jesus is present "in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own: they suffer from slave labor, from family tragedies, from diseases." At the end of every Mass we hear that “Go Forth, the Mass is ended.” We are commissioned and send out to meet those brothers and sisters in need. In other words, to do the washing of the feet in our daily life. Happy and fruitful Holy Week!
4/5/2019 0 Comments
While Mother Teresa is certainly famous for the charity with which she poured herself out in love for Christ in the distressing disguise of lepers, AIDS victims, the dying, and the untouchables, she was likewise a great “Missionary of Mercy” in calling everyone to receive Jesus’ forgiving love in the Sacrament of Confession, a Sacrament she received at least once a week. She would counsel others, “One thing is necessary for us: Confession. Confession is nothing but humility in action. We call it Penance, but really it is a Sacrament of Love, a Sacrament of forgiveness. It is a place where I allow Jesus to take away from me everything that divides, that destroys. A confession is a beautiful act of great love. Only in confession can we go in as sinners with sin and come out as sinners without sin. … There’s no need for us to despair, no need for us to commit suicide, no need for us to be discouraged if we have understood the tenderness of God’s love.” She said elsewhere, very simply, “Confession is Jesus and me, and nobody else.” And then she told us, “Remember this for life.”
Lent invites us to reflect on God’s unconditional love and mercy for humanity. Last week we meditated on the parable of the prodigal son. Read the Gospel for this weekend, Close your eyes for a moment and see this story like a movie. The scribes and the Pharisees were constantly looking for something so they can trap Jesus. All of sudden, they found an adulterous woman. While Jesus was teaching, they brought this woman and threw her in front of Jesus. They thought they got him. Jesus has to oppose the law or agree that she should die. They thought his hands were tied. There was a moment of silence. We read in the Gospel that Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. The silence might have great power. Finally, He spoke, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
What a profound scene? Jesus was not promoting adultery. He was not teaching against marriage. They are no question that adultery is a sin. It violates the Ten Commandments, destroys marital covenant, destroys families, you name it, then how come Jesus tells her, go and sin no more. Jesus has something profound message for us. We see in the Gospel, that He continued writing on the ground. The scribes and the Pharisees left one by one. In a way, they were accepting their sinfulness. Then Jesus looked at the woman, and asked her “has no one condemned you?”, so neither I condemn you, now go, do not sin no more.
Jesus came to find the lost one. The woman caught in adultery didn’t leave the scene with shame, but with new spirit and dignity. How many of us might have stood in the position of Jesus, but did we give life and dignity to the person who was in front of us or send him/her with shame? On the other hand, how many of us might be ashamed of ourselves. Did we go to Jesus to get forgiveness and return with dignity?
Traditionally it is said that this woman was Mary Magdalene. She became a close follower of Jesus and she was first to the experience of the Resurrection. What is my/your personal experience with Jesus? Let us pray for the courage and humility to receive unconditional love from Jesus. Jesus gave us Sacraments thought his passion, death, and resurrection. During Lenten season he invites us to receive the sacrament of reconciliation and to prepare ourselves to celebrate the Holy Week.
Mar 2019
3/29/2019 0 Comments
The fourth Sunday of Lent, traditionally is called Laetare Sunday (Rejoice Sunday). This week each of the three readings characterizes one of the many facets of Easter joy. In many ways, we have been dead, but through God’s grace we have come to life again; we have been lost, but have now been found. We have every reason to rejoice.
This Sunday we have the parable of the Prodigal Son. The parable of the prodigal son is called "the greatest short story in the world" (Charles Dickens), "the gospel of the gospels", “the gospel of the outcasts," and the "parable of the prodigal father." The prodigal father takes home the returning son and gives him new clothes, ring, sandals so on. It is an expression of acceptance, love, and forgiveness.
When the elder brother came from the field, he refused to come in because of the broken relationship. What did the father do? The father went out to the elder son and begged him to be reconciled with his younger brother and to share in his joy. He assured the elder son of his continuing love and of the son’s secure inheritance and place in the family by saying, “All I have is yours.”
Look at that Father and Son encounter. So much warmness is there. One side a father, who is waiting on an everyday basis to see his son, is coming back. On the other hand a son who ran away realizes his mistake and coming back in confidence of his father’s love and forgiveness. Rembrandt's return of the prodigal is masterpiece work. If we take a closer look at his work, we can see that the father emprise his son. His two alms are two different sizes. It represents one mother’s arm (gentleness) and the other represents the father’s arm (strong). This father was waiting for his son, holding so much love in his heart.
The context of this parable, Pharisees, and scribes, who kept the commandments and served, but Jesus was showing mercy and sharing with everyone. They couldn’t accept it, they criticized Jesus for his mercy towards sinners. Look at the elder son, he served his father and obeyed, now he is not happy with his father, because he took his prodigal son in.
In the gospel, the joy is that of a young son’s “coming home”. It is a precious moment. Lent is all about coming to that precious moment: an encounter with God. It is precious, emotional. We have all the reasons to rejoice in the middle of the Lenten season. I suppose we all are making a wonderful journey in this lent. And let us help someone else make that journey of Lent. We have a wonderful, loving and caring God the Father. A father who runs to the son who went away, at the same time we have the father going to the older son and want to invite him to the feast. In a way both of them are still in learning the true love of the father. In this lent let us pause and look at the face of Jesus and learn the love of the father expressed for each one of us.
3/22/2019 0 Comments
There is a story of how King Frederick II, an Eighteenth-Century King of Prussia, was visiting a prison in Berlin. He was going from inmate to inmate, and every one of them was trying to prove how they had been unjustly imprisoned. They all proclaimed their innocence, except one. That one prisoner was sitting quietly in a corner, while all the rest protested their innocence. Seeing him sitting there oblivious to everything else that was going on, the King walked over to him and said, "Son, why are you in here?" He said, "Armed robbery, your Honor," The King said, "Are you guilty?" He said, "Sire, I am guilty, and I deserve to be here." The King then gave an order to the guard and said, "Release this guilty man, I do not want this man corrupting all these other innocent people."
This weekend in a way all of the reading talks about exodus. The first reading tells us how God shows His mercy to His chosen people by selecting Moses as their leader and liberator. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob reveals Himself to Moses from the burning bush and assures Moses of His divine presence with His people and of His awareness of their sufferings in Egypt. God prepares Moses for the exodus, Israelites liberation from slavery to freedom.
In the second reading Paul retelling the exodus story. He said, our ancestors walked through the sea, they ate spiritual food, drank spiritual drink, but in most of them God does not pleased. They were given so much, but they threw it away.
In today’s Gospel, citing two tragic events, Jesus exhorts the Jews to repent and reform their lives. Eighteen people were killed when a tower in Siloam fell on them. A large number of people from Galilee, we don’t know how many, were killed by Pilate’s soldiers during a temple service. All had plans for their lives. All of their lives came to a sudden end with their plans unfulfilled.
Jesus told them those people faced these tragedies not because they were worse than others. Jesus uses two local tragedies to teach them and now us about our need for repentance and a renewal of life. The farmer has a fig tree and it didn’t give any fruit for three years. Jesus was going to cut it down, but the gardener convinced him to give one more year. If at the end of another year, it still hasn’t accomplished its purpose, then it will be cut down.
Today, during this lent, Jesus reminds us to look at our life. He gave everything for Israelites in their journey from slavery to freedom. Jesus, through his new exodus, passion death and resurrection, he gave himself for our journey to freedom. He gave us scripture, gave us sacraments, especially Eucharist. He has given us lot, but are we ready to receive. The burning bush was bursting with fruit of Divine presence. On the other hand, the fig tree in full is barren. Which one of the tree we want to be. Our God is a merciful God who always invites to receive his mercy. He wants us to become the burning bush, and burst with fruits of Divine presence. During this lent, let us grow in our relationship with God and help one another in this journey.
3/15/2019 0 Comments
In his autobiography, Out of My Life and Thought, Albert Schweitzer said that one of the main things his parents did for him as a child was to take him to worship services, even though he was too young to understand much of what was going on. He claimed it is not important that children understand everything. What is important is “that they shall feel something of what is serious and solemn....” Can you see Peter, James, and John as they contemplated what it meant to be in the presence not only of Jesus but also Elijah and Moses, and then on top of all that, to hear the Voice of God as well?
On the Second Sunday of Lent we hear from the Gospel of Luke, the Transfiguration story: Jesus, Peter, John, and James, go up a mountain to pray. Jesus’s face changes, his clothes become dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appeared. What did they say? They talked about the Exodus. We know in the first exodus Moses led Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, and finally built the city of Jerusalem.
In the Gospel we see Jesus was conversing with Moses and Elijah. They talked about Jesus’s New Exodus. At the first exodus there was a lamb that shed blood. In the new exodus Jesus is the new lamb who is going to shed the blood for the entire humanity. In the old exodus started from Egypt, travelled through the wilderness for forty years and reached in the earthly Promised Land, and finally built Jerusalem. In the new exodus Jesus came to Jerusalem to begin the new exodus, to lead us to the heavenly Promised Land, the New Jerusalem; heaven. His exodus is passion, death, resurrection and ascension. It is a greater exodus.
At the transfiguration Jesus revealed His glory. Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents…” Peter loved that mountain top experience, loved to remain there, but they had to go down for the new exodus. Jesus shows his glory at the transfiguration, but transfiguration pointing us to the Cross, the Sacrifice, death, resurrection and ascension.
Every time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, it is our opportunity to participate in Jesus’s new exodus, his passion, death, resurrection and ascension. Every time we kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament, we have a great opportunity to adore and praise him. Do I use the opportunity to prepare and celebrate the Eucharist? Do I use the opportunity to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament?
We have a great opportunity to learn about this greatest gift on our FORMED website. It is a Catholic Version of NETFLIX. And it is free for you. Please sign in at FORMED.ORG and click on access code, and enter the code for our parish GB88ZX. Then you can watch movies, or a documentary or listen to talks. I encourage you to watch the video called Presence. We have a session every Sunday during Lent at 1:00 pm at the Padua Center. If you don’t have time you can watch it at home. Let us learn the meaning and depth of the Eucharist. Jesus had to give his life to give us Eucharist.
3/7/2019 0 Comments
As the Union Pacific Railroad was being constructed, an elaborate trestle bridge was built across a large canyon in the West. Wanting to test the bridge, the builder loaded a train with enough extra cars and equipment to double its normal payload. The train was then driven to the middle of the bridge, where it stayed an entire day. One worker asked, "Are you trying to break this bridge?" "No," the builder replied, "I'm trying to prove that the bridge won't break." In the same way, the temptations Jesus faced weren't designed to see if He would sin, but to prove that He couldn't. (Today in the Word, March 14, 1991).
The first Sunday of Lent starts with forty days of Jesus’ fasting for 40 days and nights, to do battle with the tempter, the devil. 40 is an important number in the Bible. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah and company were in the ark. For 40 days Moses, Elijah and Jesus fasted and prayed to prepare themselves for a life's work. In the New Testament, not only did Jesus fast for 40 days and nights, His Ascension into heaven occurred 40 days after the Resurrection.
Jesus’ 40 days in the desert, culminated in the temptations of the devil. He was strong enough to survive them. Our 40 days of Lent are given to us to strengthen us to continue the battle against the tempter. The Church gives us this time to listen more closely to God, and to grow in our relationship with him – and that means putting God first.
There is a story of Mary. There was a bowl of candy sitting on the coffee table in the living room of Mary's house. Mary's mother noticed that she was looking at the candy and said, "Now, don't you eat any candy until after dinner or you will spoil your appetite." The candy looked so good and the temptation was so great. "Surely just one little piece won't hurt - and mother will never know the difference," Mary thought to herself.
Food is good, necessary, satisfies the hunger temporarily, but it won’t fill our hearts.
Success is good, necessary to make out life valuable, but it won’t fill our hearts.
The honor of others is good, necessary to feel accepted, but it won’t fill our hearts.
We need all of these to a certain extent, but above all we need God, who can fill emptiness in our heart… so if we want to invite God, death should take place in our life. Lent is a season of death and resurrection. Our life is ongoing death and resurrection.
Prayer: die to something in order to grow in personal prayer, participate in weekend Mass, and if our schedule allows, attend weekday Mass.
Fasting: Fast from something and try to increase our ability to share our time/treasure with someone and/or with God.
3/1/2019 0 Comments
Lent, a pilgrimage in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving!
Ash Wednesday marks the season of Lent, in a sense, a time die. Take inspiration for your Lenten journey from prayer and to the reading of Scripture, to fasting and to giving alms. Fasting is prescribed to reinforce our penitential prayer during this season.
Pope Francis writes in his Lenten message, “Once God’s law, the law of love, is forsaken, then the law of the strong over the weak takes over. The sin that lurks in the human heart (cf. Mk 7:20-23) takes the shape of greed and unbridled pursuit of comfort, lack of concern for the good of others and even of oneself. It leads to the exploitation of creation, both persons and the environment, due to that insatiable covetousness which sees every desire as a right and sooner or later destroys all those in its grip.”
On Ash Wednesday, when we received the ashes, we hear the words: "Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return." The custom of distributing the ashes arose from the practice observed in the early Church by penitents. The church recommends three means of conversion and renewal of life, during the period of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is an outward expression of our inner craving for a deeper relationship with God. In the Old Testament fasting, prayer and almsgiving were public. But if we look at the Gospel passage for the Ash Wednesday from the Gospel of Mathew, it talks about a more interior aspect of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. It does not mean we don’t have to do the exterior action, but the season demands interior discipline.
Prayer: We devote ourselves in prayer: in personal prayer, participating in Atweekend Mass, and if our schedules allow, attend weekday Mass.
Fasting: Fast from anything that harms ourselves and others. It could be food or other things, habits, or situations.
Almsgiving: Freeing ourselves from greed and helping others. It can be through prayers, inviting others to pray at Mass, spending time with others, and/or giving financial help.
The season of lent we increase our regular prayer, intensify our regular fasting and regular almsgiving to prepare for the feast of Easter and the Christian Passover.
Fasting and Abstinence: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence. For members of the Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.
Take a Prayer Button for Lent: At the entrances of the Churches in our cluster, there will be a basket with Prayer Buttons. Please take one and place on your jacket during this Lent to remind yourself about the sacrifice of Jesus, the gift of Eucharist and to remember every Sunday to prepare and actively participate in the Eucharist. I invite everyone to take a few minutes to prepare for Mass by looking at the reading for the Mass and by fasting for an hour before Mass. And invite someone you know to come with you to Mass. Jesus had to give everything to give us the Eucharist. What are we going to give up to celebrate the gift of Eucharist more meaningfully?
Feb 2019 NONE
Jan 2019
1/25/2019 0 Comments
I have extended an invitation to Rev. James R. Horath to come to our parish on the weekend of January 26-27, 2019. Father Horath will speak to you about the work being done by Unbound (previously known as CFCA), and how this provides a trustworthy way to actively participate in the social outreach of the Catholic Church and answer the Gospel call to serve the poor.
Founded by lay Catholics, Unbound is an organization that has served more than 600,000 children, youth and elderly in 18 developing countries since 1981 - empowering them to make more choices in their lives, live with dignity and reach their potential.
Unbound’s unique sponsorship program is highly personalized. It matches a child, youth or aging person at a project overseas with a sponsor in the U.S. who cares about and encourages that person. With a monthly contribution, a sponsor helps to provide much-needed nourishing food, medical and dental care, the chance for a child to go to school, livelihood programs for families and much more. All of these efforts are directed at affirming the dignity of every person in their local community.
Please join me in welcoming Father Horath to our parish.
Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ,
Rev. Shaji Joseph Pazhukkathara, Pastor
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Few scattered thoughts….
As I write this my mind is preoccupied about tomorrow mornings drive to airport. Tonight, I hope there won’t be too much snow.
I would like to share with you few thoughts for your reflection and prayer…
March 6th will be Ash Wednesday. During lent we all like to do something special for the season and prepare ourselves for the Jesus’ death and Resurrection.
Charismatic Prayer group: We are in the process of forming a Charismatic prayer group. Tuesday, March 12, 2019 Fr. Dean Buttrick will be celebrating 5 pm Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church and giving homily on Charismatic movement. After the Mass we will have Charismatic prayer group. If you would like to know more about it, please contact Deacon Chet at 715-762-4959. Thank you.
During Lent we are planning to start Adoration on Wednesdays at Immaculate Conception after the Mass. We will continue first Friday Adoration at St. Anthony’s. In addition we will start Wednesday at Immaculate Conception.
During Lent we will be doing a study on Presence. If you did sign up on Formed website, you can watch the video in advance to prepare yourselves for the study. If not, please sign up. Please go to stanthonysparkfalls.formed.org and sign up. Pete (Patrick) Pritzl will be leading the study. There will be more info on book study later. Thank you.
Mary said, "They have no wine"….a thought for the other!
1/21/2019 0 Comments
Little Tommy was so impressed by his sister’s wedding that he announced. “I want to have a wedding just like Linda had.” “That sounds great,” said his father. “But whom will you marry?” Tommy announced: “I want to marry grandma because she loves me and I love her.” “You can’t marry grandma,” his father said. “Why not?” Tommy protested. “Because she is my mother.” “Well,” reasoned Tommy, “Then why did you marry my mother?”
The last two weekends we celebrated Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord: God the Fathers reveals his son, Jesus, the Messiah. This weekend we see Jesus at the wedding of Cana: another revelation. Pope St. John Paul II gave us a beautiful gift when he introduced the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. The second mystery is the subject of today’s Gospel, the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus changed water into wine. The miracle at Cana is the first of seven “signs” in John’s Gospel - miraculous events by which Jesus showed forth his Divinity.
Throughout the Bible, marriage is the symbol of the Covenant relationship between God and His chosen people. God is the faithful Groom and humanity is His beloved bride. We hear about divine marriage in the first reading. God is like a bridegroom who rejoices in his bride. Israel is God's bride. Jesus takes up the theme of divine marriage. He begins his public ministry by calling himself "the bridegroom." And in today's Gospel, Jesus the divine bridegroom attends a human wedding feast. He performs his first miracle on behalf of a young bride and groom.
The presence of the Lord at this marriage feast has resulted in our associating Cana with Catholic marriage. But this miracle is more about the sacrament of the Eucharist than marriage. The first sign, Cana, points to the Final Sign in the Gospel of John, the crucifixion, when Jesus is raised upon the Cross. First of all, today’s Gospel passage points to the extraordinary transformation of the world begun at Cana. Its completion is at Calvary. Every reception of the Eucharist is a union with the crucified Savior whose blood has defeated the power of evil and transform our world. Mary’s instruction is very important, "Do whatever he tells you."
The miracle at Cana invites us to become Jesus and Mary. The question is how? Let us look at tragedies around our lives. Most of the time we wonder about it, try to find an answer. It is ok, beyond that discussion; the miracle at Cana invites us to perform another miracle by giving a helping hand through our thoughts, prayers, and actions. It is an invitation to become Mary and Joseph. Jesus breaks and shares with us at every Mass and we sent out do the same. When our hearts move towards the needy, the miracle happens, this celebration becomes meaningful… the celebration will continue in our life. Mary told Jesus, “they have no wine”….a thought for the other!
Trip to India: I will be leaving for India on January 23rd and will be back February 20th. We have priests for every weekend and on weekdays Deacon Chet, Bob, and Rick Harter will be leading the services. Please keep me in your prayers, I will keep you all in my prayer. I hope it won’t get too cold here and too warm in India either. It should be 80’s in Kerala, India.
1/11/2019 0 Comments
Do you remember your baptism? I don’t. Once I was baptizing a baby. When I poured the water on his head in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he turned his head and looked at me with a question “where is this coming from?” In a recent baptism, a baby was ready to jump in the baptismal font. He looked content and happy. What did you do at your baptism?
Last weekend we celebrated Epiphany, the revelation of the Lord. This weekend again we celebrate that God the Father reveals his Son: Baptism of the Lord. We can see a beautiful painting in the Gospel: the Baptism of the Lord. We can see here that all three persons of God was present. Jesus Christ, the second person of God, standing at the Jordan River. We hear the voice of the Father from heaven and Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove.
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes Christmas and begins the meditation on the ministry of Jesus. Why baptism for Jesus? God’s love was so generous to humble him for us. The Son of God humbled Himself to such a degree that He was born in a manger. He humbled Himself accepting the baptism of John even though He was sinless. We celebrate what happened in him to us. When Jesus was baptized a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased." The same thing happened to us on the day we were baptized. On that moment God said to us, “you are my beloved son/daughter.”
There are three effects of the Baptism. The first effect of baptism is that washes away our Original Sin. We fall again in the life and other Sacraments gives us the mercy of God, and we revisit that baptismal innocence. The second effect of baptism is an indelible mark upon the soul. Here we so closely conformed in Jesus Christ. We become adopted sons and daughters of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. God is the spirit, at the same time he revealed to us as a Father. So we pray the prayer Our Father… We call him Aba Father. The third effect of the baptism is that the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit breathed in our soul and allows us members of the mystical Body of Christ, the Church.
Every time we come into the Church, we dip the fingers of our right hands into the holy water font and bless ourselves. Why? This blessing is supposed to remind us of our baptism. And so when I bless myself with holy water, I should be thinking of the fact that I am a child of God; that I have been redeemed by the Cross of Christ; that I have been made a member of God’s family and that I have been washed, forgiven, cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb.
On the day of our baptism, as in St. Pope John Paul II’s writings, "We were anointed with the oil of catechumens, the sign of Christ's gentle strength, to fight against evil. Blessed water was poured over us, an effective sign of interior purification through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We were then anointed with chrism to show that we were thus consecrated in the image of Jesus, the Father's Anointed One. The candle lit from the paschal candle was a symbol of the light of faith which our parents and godparents must have continually safeguarded and nourished with the life-giving grace of the Spirit."
The baptism of Jesus reminds us of our identity. It reminds us of our mission, mission of the Church.