Pilgrims on a Journey

This past Thursday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven! It is a reminder that we are “pilgrims on a journey” toward our true home, Heaven. By Jesus’ Ascension, we are challenged to look beyond this world to the glory which we are to share with Christ in Heaven. Moreover, the celebration of the Ascension is also a reminder of what we need to do while still here on earth. Before his Ascension, Jesus commissioned his disciples, and us also, to be his witnesses and to carry out his mission to the ends of the earth until his return.

Before we can proclaim Jesus to others, we are called to make him the Lord of our own hearts and the center of our lives. Therefore, let us receive the sacraments frequently, meditate on Sacred Scripture and live according to his commandments and teachings. If we strive to become more and more like Christ, then we can proclaim the Good News to others especially by the witness of our lives. We pray that Jesus will reign in our hearts so that we will be together in Heaven.

So many responsibilities, tasks and distractions fill our lives that it is easy to forget what life is all about: preparing to meet God! As mentioned above, Jesus’ ascension reminds us that we are “pilgrims on a journey”. Just as Jesus’ earthly life was temporary, so also are our lives. A prayer of St. Paul to the Ephesians describes a life preparing for eternity:

May God our Father enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories He has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that He has exercised for us believers. (Eph. 1:17-19)

The Scripture readings for this solemnity describe the Ascension of Jesus into his heavenly glory after He promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit. As their source of power, they would bear witness to him throughout the world. The ascended Jesus is still with us. He promised to send his Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He promised to be with us until the end of time and Jesus always keeps his promises!

The Ascension is a celebration of Jesus’ final glorification – a glory in which we, too, hope to share!

It is often said that with God there are no coincidences. Today’s readings are a great illustration of that. They are very dear to me, especially the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. It was read at last year’s Permanent Diaconate Ordination Mass. My classmates and I chose it because it recounts the selection and ordination of the first deacons in the Church.

The timing of this reading in our liturgical year also comes at a perfect time. This coming Saturday, May 9th, three men will be ordained as Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is the culmination of a faith journey that centered on discernment and formation.

The account we read in Acts 6 is quite similar to what we see in the Church today. There is a need within the church community because the harvest is plenty but the workers are few, and as men feel called to discern serving the Church, they are invited to explore this call in a more formal way. The time they spend discerning and learning is important because it helps the men (with their wife and children) and the formation team get to know one another better. This discernment is two-fold: for the men it is a deepening of their understanding of what service in the Church God is calling them to, and for the formation team it is a discernment about the men’s formation and growth in the faith. Together, they explore whether service as a Permanent Deacon is indeed what God is calling the men to.

After this discernment and formation, the men are presented by the church community to the successor of the Apostles, the archbishop, who through prayer and the laying on of hands ordains them to the Holy Order of the Diaconate.

Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch are the first of this Holy Order of service to the Church in the person of Christ the Servant. Throughout the ages, the role of the deacon has undergone changes as the needs of the church community changed. But as it was then, it is now: responding to God’s call is letting yourselves be built into a spiritual house. And through our firm belief in Jesus Christ, we will do the works that he did, and greater ones than these, to the glory of God the Father.

The three men who will be ordained as Permanent Deacons will serve in a public ministry, but is only one example of God’s call. We are all called to serve God’s Church in some capacity, in small things and in big things, in public and behind the scenes.

Let us always be attentive to the call God places upon on hearts, and respond with courage, love, and humility.

Saturday, May 2nd St Athanasius
4:00 pm Intentions of the Presider

Sunday, May 3rd
7:00 am Peace in the World
9:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners
11:00 am Intentions of the Presider

Monday, May 4th
6:30 am † Deceased members of the Link & Simpson Families

Tuesday, May 5th
6:30 am † Ann Doherty

Wednesday, May 6th
6:30 am † Ann Doherty

Thursday, May 7th
6:30 am † Karen Dorland

Friday, May 8th
6:30 am John Curry

Saturday, May 9th
8:00 am † Gerald Gausch– 40th Anniversary

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Betty Palm, Raymond Lahman, Pam Vollum, Ann Cosgrove, Marion Price, Ryan Burke, Wilma Roberts, Joan Evans, Jane McCann, Stephen Mock, Denise Taylor, Frank Gagliano, Mary Ellen Heilner, Phil Strybuc, Helen Carroll, Maria Pinto, Talmadge Conway, Dan Troilo, Forest Wheeler, Ed Mansfield, Sienna Jayde, Nancy Hanlon Fox, Michael McCann, Barbara Gibson, William Reed, Henry Jacquelin, James Maccaroni, Angela Anderson, and residents of Commonwealth and Garden Springs…

all those who are deceased…

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

There is a story told about Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what he said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It was not until the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard, and without hesitation, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”

Every day God speaks to us, but in our busy lives it is easy to fall into the trap to ignore His voice or misunderstand what he is saying. That is why discernment is so important in our lives— in big things in life as well as in little things. There are many things that can confuse us from hearing God’s voice in the world. Daily stress, preoccupations, wanting to do our own wills, and our own failures might make us doubt what God is saying to us. Prayer is about relationship, and if we want to hear Jesus’ voice, the first thing we need is to be a person of prayer, a person with a listening heart. That is why Jesus took his disciples up the mountain to pray to be quiet and to be with him. That means that before we do anything, we pray about it! We need to pray for everything— both the major and minor decisions in life. Here are a couple of things to reflect on in prayer while we are discerning His will:

· Does fear paralyze us to move on something that we know God is asking us to do?

· Do we talk to God about our deep fears?

· Can we hear his peace?

· Are we trying to force something in our lives or other people’s lives to rush a fix where God might be saying to us “wait” or “No, don’t do that”?

Another way to hear the voice of God is to spend time with His word every day. The word of God will give us peace. We don’t need to spend hours doing this; maybe start with 10 minutes a day. If you don’t know where to start, pick one Gospel and slowly read through it one passage at a time. By doing this, we can see how He acts in the world by what He has done in the world. We can also hear the voice of God through the Chief Shepherd and the Church; in other words, listening to what the Pope is saying. Pray on what the Church and the Pope say, even if it seems confusing at times. The Holy Spirit works through the Church, so let us ask the spirit to guide us to the truth.

Again, prayer is all about relationship with God, so we have to know it is possible to hear Him. Imagine what it might be like for us to hear Jesus’ voice all the time…to be able to hear as God wants us to hear and act on it. If we pray, read the Word of God, and listen to the Church with open hearts, He will lead us and guide us more into the faith. He knows us and is calling our name. We don’t only have a good Shepherd, but the perfect Shepherd. The more we practice listening to his voice daily, the more we can allow God to work through us daily.

Saturday, April 25th St Mark the Evangelist
4:00 pm For Peace in the World

Sunday, April 26th
7:00 am Intentions of the Parishioners
9:00 am Intentions of the Presider
11:00 am Intentions of the Presider

Monday, April 27th
6:30 am  Intentions of Thomas Patrick Mest

Tuesday, April 28th St. Peter Chanel, St. Louis Grignon de Montfort
6:30 am † Margaret Vitt

Wednesday, April 29th St. Catherine of Siena
6:30 am † Jacqueline P. Miletto

Thursday, April 30th St. Pius V
6:30 am † Marion McElhatton

Friday, May 1st St. Joseph the Worker
6:30 am † Mr. and Mrs. Frank Shields

Saturday, May 2nd St. Athanasius
8:00 am † Margaret Lewis

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Remembering in our Prayers…
… all those who are sick … Betty Palm, Raymond Lahman, Pam Vollum, Ann Cosgrove, Marion Price, Ryan Burke, Wilma Roberts, Joan Evans, Jane McCann, Stephen Mock, Denise Taylor, Frank Gagliano, Mary Ellen Heilner, Phil Strybuc, Helen Carroll, Maria Pinto, Talmadge Conway, Dan Troilo, Forest Wheeler, Ed Mansfield, Sienna Jayde, Nancy Hanlon Fox, Michael McCann, Barbara Gibson, William Reed, Henry Jacquelin, James Maccaroni, Angela Anderson, and residents of Commonwealth and Garden Springs…

…all those who are deceased…

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

FROM PROFOUND GRIEF TO PROFESSED FAITH

              The Emmaus story that we reflect on this Sunday focuses our attention on the importance of recognizing the Risen Jesus in the Scriptures and in the Breaking of the Bread. The two disciples walked away from Jerusalem a place they considered a failure, with grief-filled hearts. A stranger joined them on the road. They tell their story of sadness and disappointment. “Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.” When they finished their story, Jesus began His, interpreting for them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures, beginning with Moses and the prophets. Jesus’ story was so appealing that they felt that their hearts burned within them. Now he invited them to look at the past in the light of the Scriptures. According to the stranger, the death of Jesus was the perfect achievement of His mission, not the failure they thought it was. As the stranger helps the two disciples to make sense of the past in a new light, they respond by inviting Him to stay with them. The stranger broke bread and gave it to them and their eyes were opened! Jesus helped them interpret the past through their new experience of Him as Lord and gave them a new future. They went back to Jerusalem and shared their story and their strong belief that Jesus Christ is truly risen with the eleven. In their experience of the risen Lord, they were able to revisit the past with new light and hope, transforming the darkness of Good Friday into the light of Easter Sunday.

When rejection, failure, loss and suffering inevitably enter our lives, how strong is our faith that the Risen Lord is walking with us and that His love never abandons us? What can we do to strengthen our faith and hope when trials come? The most efficacious means is frequent celebration of the Eucharist which brings Jesus to us in both His Word and His Body and Blood. Daily meditation on Sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of ‘Lectio Divina’ can increase our faith and illumine our hope. Like the disciples, we are invited to tell the Lord our own story – to express our disappointment, distress, displeasure and even our anger over the happenings in our lives. Our trials may not make sense to us but Jesus’ promise is clear – that He does love us and cares about what we are going through and that He is walking with us. Bishop Robert Barron advises us to sit in silence before the Lord “wasting time” in His presence, listening and surrendering to His voice in our hearts. Only then can King David’s words become ours: “Lord, you have made known to us the path of life; you fill us with joy in your presence.”

Today is an unusual day in the liturgical year. It is the only day that features two gospel readings. At the beginning of Mass, we will hear a gospel known as the “Triumphant entry into Jerusalem.” And in its normal place in the liturgy, we will hear the proclamation of the Lord’s Passion.

The first gospel recounts the events of Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem, riding on a colt, while people spread their cloaks on the road as for a king. They also praised God aloud with joy. They were overjoyed because Jesus was entering the city as a king, in triumph.

Of course, we already know what is going to happen. The triumphant entry is leading to the events we will hear proclaimed as the Lord’s Passion. His suffering, and his death. A horrible death on the cross. One of the most cruel, excruciating ways to put a man to death.

In fact, this entire week will focus on the passion and death of Jesus. It seems that the triumph is short-lived, and in fact, that is also the way his disciples experienced it. They went from an absolute high, to an absolute low. It might make you wonder why we even bother with the gospel reading of the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. It feels completely overshadowed by the passion and death.

The Church employs an ancient literary technique with the first gospel reading today, because it acts as the first of a set of bookends. The other is found at the Easter Vigil. And these bookends show us our Lord’s triumph! They remind us that all the events of the coming week, known as Holy Week, are part of his triumph; the triumph over death and sin.

It reminds us that Jesus was sent by our heavenly Father for the redemption of the world. And Jesus willingly and lovingly embraced the will of the Father to accomplish this mission. The arrest, torture, conviction, and crucifixion are not the result of a plan gone wrong. They are the fulfilment of God’s plan for our salvation. All of it is triumph!

But still… Jesus died a horrific death, so our sorrow is warranted. Holy Week is a rollercoaster of emotions. But let our sorrow be for our sinfulness. Let it reflect our recognition that our Lord suffered for our sin.

But let us also rejoice because God is merciful beyond compare. Let us praise God with joy. Let us accompany him during this Holy Week as he enters his passion, willingly and lovingly. Death has no power over him.

“Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven
and glory to the highest.”

“God is life” and He is the giver of life to us. We are spiritually alive only when we are living in friendship with Him and with one another. As we continue this journey of Lent, let us pray for the gift of a deeper friendship with God and others through the God-man, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

Every form of life is a gift from God and the readings this Sunday remind us of this fact. The First Reading from the Prophet Ezekiel (37:12-14) is a message of hope and restoration, “I am now going to open your graves… you will live.” It is God who gives us life and sustains this life in us. Only He can grant us the fullness of life and open our graves, but never without our cooperation. Opening our graves means leading us out of and away from every form of limitation that creates an obstacle to our full communion with Him.

God’s gift of life is bestowed on us in two forms: our natural life and our supernatural life. Our natural life, which is God’s first gift to us, is given by Him without any effort on our part. In order to grow in the supernatural life or in friendship with God, we must freely respond to God’s invitation through the graces which He alone gives to us. Saint Paul in the Second Reading (Romans 8: 8-11) reminds us that “People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God.” A good life is a life lived in such a way that the choices and aspirations of our natural life correspond to the demands of the supernatural life.

The key to our growth in the supernatural life is to nurture and deepen our friendship with the God-man, Jesus. This is the unique qualification of Lazarus in this Sunday’s Gospel (John 11: 1-45), “Our friend Lazarus is resting, I am going to wake him.” Jesus said “our friend” because all those who are in friendship with Jesus Christ and through Him are friends with the Triune God, are also friends to one another. This friendship is based on their mutual choice and response to one and the same friend, Jesus. Previous to this, Mary and Martha said “Lord, the man you love is ill” demonstrating the personal relationship and affection that must exist between us and God as an indispensable prerequisite for us to merit the supernatural life of grace which He bestows.

The Easter joy we look forward to is a real manifestation of the presence of God’s life within and around us. Ability to develop a lasting relationship and friendship with God is a concrete sign of spiritual growth and maturity. This friendship is what makes us disposed to have God in and around us always like Mary, Martha and Lazarus. When we are gifted with an intimate friendship and love of God which overflows into a genuine love of others, our Triune God is attracted to us.

May God grant us the grace to build a strong and firm friendship with Him and may our friendship with Him, like that of Lazarus, attract Him to us always with His tremendous gifts of supernatural life and never-ending love!

Feast of St. Joseph ~ March 19th

Popes throughout the years have turned to St. Joseph and pointed him out as a guide and model for all Catholics.

Pope Leo XIII in naming St. Joseph as the special patron and protector of the Church, signaled out St. Joseph as “the natural guardian, head and defender of the Holy Family.”  The Pope continues, “It is thus fitting and most worthy of Joseph’s dignity that, in the same way that he once kept unceasing holy watch over the family of Nazareth, so now he protects and defends with his heavenly patronage the Church of Christ.”

In the papal letter, Guardian of the Redeemer, Pope St. John Paul II teaches that St. Joseph is the closest human person to God after Our Lady.  The saintly Pope states that, “This belief of the Incarnation is precisely the mystery in which Joseph of Nazareth shared like no other human being except Mary, the presence of the Incarnate word.”  Pope John Paul concludes, “Because St. Joseph is the protector of the Church, he is the guardian of the Eucharist and the Christian family.

As recently as 2021 in honor of the Year of St. Joseph, Pope Francis added seven invocations to the Litany of St. Joseph further underscoring the importance of St. Joseph in the ongoing life of the Church.  To the traditional invocations to St. Joseph such as:  Joseph most just,  Joseph most chaste,   Joseph most prudent,  Joseph most brave, Joseph most obedient,  and Joseph most loyal.

Francis added: Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of Salvation, Support in Difficulties, Patron of Exiles, Patron of the Afflicted, and Patron of the Poor. 

“A creatively courageous father,” Pope Francis reflects upon the angel’s command to Joseph, “Take the child and his mother” (Mt 2:13). In his life, Joseph has carried out this command not only toward the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus but also toward the entire Church. Like Joseph, we, too, are called to “take the child and his mother”: Christ, Our Lady, every Christian, and indeed the whole Church. Additionally, Joseph “takes the child” when he serves those who are suffering, those in whom his Son dwells: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40). Pope Francis declares, “Consequently, every poor, needy, suffering or dying person, every stranger, every prisoner, every infirm person is ‘the child’ whom Joseph continues to protect. For this reason, Saint Joseph is invoked as protector of the unfortunate, the needy, exiles, the afflicted, the poor and the dying.” As we imitate St. Joseph in his care of Christ, Our Lady, and the Church, so are we called to imitate him in his solicitude for the least ones.

The gospel readings for the Sundays of Lent, especially in the cycle that we read this year, are very powerful.  They lead us on a journey of encounters of faith where Jesus brings about a transformation. And that is very appropriate for Lent, because it is meant to be a time of transformation. In the tradition of the Church, people who feel called to become Catholic enter into a deeper sense of preparation during these final weeks before Easter, when they are fully initiated into the Church.  For members of the Church, it is a time to reflect on our own lives, and to seek transformation (especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation) so that we once again made present ourselves before our Lord with the white garment of our Baptism.

Today’s gospel has many layers, and portrays a rich symbolism.  The verse right before the gospel reading mentions that “Jesus had to pass through Samaria.”  Geographically, that was not true.  Jews avoided Samaria, and would take a route across the Jordan to do so.  Jesus had to pass through Samaria because the encounter he was about to have was very important.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well at noon.  At the hottest time of day, when no sensible person would come out to the well.  We learn in the gospel that there was a good reason for this – she is ashamed.  She is known to the villagers as a very sinful woman, and she avoids them.  Frankly, they would not want her to be around when they got their water.

So, she is probably quite surprised to see Jesus there.  And he tells her: “Give me a drink.”  To us that sounds rude, but to her, it sounds insane.  No Jews would ever drink from a vessel handled by a Samaritan woman, because she was considered impure.  She even points this out to him.  But perhaps she starts to notice something… as a very vulnerable person, shunned by her community, she is encountering Jesus who is making himself vulnerable.

The conversation then takes an almost absurd turn, with role reversal and misunderstanding.  Jesus challenges her faith (“if you knew the gift of God”), and expresses it is she who would be asking him for water – and it would be living water.  She misunderstands and humors Jesus.  How is he going to get her water if he does not even have a bucket?  But… she does not let the faith reference slip!  “Are you greater than our father Jacob?”  She is not going to let this Jew get away with implying that Samaritans are not true descendants from Abraham through Jacob.

Jesus is slowly leading her to the truth, and does so by calling out her sinfulness – not in a judgmental way, but as a matter of fact.  And she does not dispute it!  And as he revealed himself to her, the Samaritan woman left her water jug, went into town, and witnessed to the Messiah.

This woman, who was too ashamed to get water from the well when there might be other people there, no longer cares about the water.  And she is no longer ashamed.  She has become a witness for Christ.  She was transformed – a repentant sinner.

What about us?  Do we acknowledge our sin?  Do we repent?  Do we recognize that we God?  Do we understand that, no matter how unworthy we may feel, God wants us with him in heaven?  Do we thirst for the living water, the “spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

From early centuries onward, the Church has suggested that we practice three Lenten disciplines to bring about personal conversion: Prayer, Fasting, & Almsgiving. During this holy season we are exhorted to make them habits so that God will enter deeply into our conscious efforts to become a better person.

First, let’s consider Prayer as a Lenten practice. We lead busy lives but a life without prayer robs us of peace and time spent in God’s presence. Is it possible to set aside at least fifteen minutes a day, in Church or in a quiet place at home, to talk with God? Try this: invoke the Holy Spirit, read a short passage of Scripture several times and choose a word or phrase that stirs your heart and meditate on it. Listen in silence and let God speak. He might be encouraging you to attend Mass several days a week or more often. Also, by receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation during Lent Jesus will shower his healing grace and peace upon you.

Secondly, Fasting from comfort food and alcoholic beverages is another self-imposed discipline. Fasting from gossip and judgmental thoughts would be an excellent fasting practice. On a positive note, Scripture tells us that fasting should be accompanied by a loving and forgiving attitude toward others. To fast in a way that is genuinely pleasing to God, we ask the Lord to forgive those who have hurt us and not to harbor any resentment toward them.

Thirdly, Almsgiving as commonly understood, means contributing some of our monetary resources to assist those in need. Jesus reminds us, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.”

St. David Parish offers an opportunity to do all three disciplines, Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 PM in Fr. Curran Hall from February 25 to March 25 by attending the “Poor Man’s Supper” followed by praying the Stations of the Cross. Those attending will partake in a simple meal of soup, bread and water, be encouraged to make a donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society that assists the poor in our area, and meditate on Christ’s Passion by praying the Stations of the Cross.

Again, through prayer, fasting (accompanied by forgiving others and not bearing grudges) and through monetary donations to help the poor, may we be transformed. Then, our souls will overflow with God’s peace and joy when we celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Jesus on Easter!

May God bless you!
Sister Kathleen

Salt and Light

In today’s gospel, Jesus presents two metaphors.  He speaks to his followers about how they already are salt of the earth and light of the world. He explicitly addresses his followers in contrast with their counterparts in the synagogue.

Salt was a critical necessity in the ancient world. It was used for seasoning, preservation, and purifying. It was used to ratify covenants and in liturgical functions. To eat salt with someone signifies a bond of friendship and loyalty.

Salts in the soil are also needed to ensure its fertility so that it can produce a plentiful harvest, but soil that is “nothing but sulphur and salt” is a desert wasteland.

In telling his disciples “You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus can draw on any of these symbols. Disciples preserve, purify, and judge, drawing out the savor of God’s love in the world. The puzzle about how salt may lose its taste is probably best answered by salt being diluted or dissolved. Coming on the heels of Jesus’ exhortation to rejoice when persecuted, it is likely a warning to disciples not to let their ardor dissipate under the rigors of persecution.

Disciples are also “the light of the world,” like a city set on a mountain that cannot be hidden. This metaphor has a political twist since Cicero described Rome as a “light to the whole world.” It is Jesus’ beatific way of life that is light to the world, not the imperial domination system. Just as the city on a mountain cannot be hidden, a lamp is not lit and then immediately extinguished. One does not waste precious fuel oil this way. Using a vessel (e.g., a “bushel basket”) to put out the light would prevent dangerous sparks from spreading.

These two images speak of the all-encompassing nature of the witness of disciples: as salt and light they influence the whole world. These metaphors also show that the disciples do not draw attention to themselves. Just as salt is most effective when it is not noticed in well-seasoned food and a lamp serves to illumine the other objects in the room, so the effect of disciples’ good works is to point to God, who is glorified.

And that is what we are called to do as well.  Just like the disciples, we are to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” for the glory of God.

(Based on Barbara E. Reid, “The Gospel according to Matthew,”, The New Collegeville Bible Commentary.)

23,000 Breaths
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6).

One of the good things about the Thanksgiving holiday is that we are “forced” to stop our busy, self-centered lives and count our blessings. It is so easy to take our blessings for granted!

I was recently reminded of how our loving and powerful God cares for us—in ways we rarely ponder.

The average human being takes 23,000 breaths a day. Unless we are sick, winded from running, choking, or experiencing something else out of the ordinary, we never give this complicated and amazing routine much thought.

The process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide is a complex task that requires physiological precision in our
God-designed respiratory system. And yet, we do it thousands of times each day without so much as a second thought.

We tend to praise God and give Him thanks for those “big events” that take our breath away. Sometimes it is good to be reminded that our mighty God is blessing us each moment of each day. Let us use the breath we have to praise the Lord and give Him thanks for our many blessings. 

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day as a grateful nation, perhaps Psalm 111 is a perfect way to give voice to what is in our hearts and for the Blessings that God continues to shower upon us.

“Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty in His work, and His righteousness endures forever. He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever. He has shown His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. He sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name! The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Psalm 111).

What happens to us when we die? This is THE classic question! As Catholics we believe that we will stand before Jesus and be judged. Three possibilities await us: hell for those who have totally rejected God, heaven for those who die as saints, and purgatory for everyone else. Of course, we would all like to go directly to heaven when we die, but are you and I living in such a way that we will die as saints? Would it not be more realistic to expect to spend some time being purified in purgatory? Only perfect love can see God face to face, so in purgatory we are purified that we may worthily stand before the face of God.

November is traditionally known as the Month of the Holy Souls, so beginning today and throughout November, we pray especially for all the souls in purgatory.  May they soon be ready to dwell in the heavenly kingdom.

Christians believe that God is all-merciful and that Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection saved us. However, that does not free us from further purification, as we may still need to make amends for sins committed. This expiation for sin will be made either in this life or in the next. During life, all suffering is redemptive if one accepts it as such, but after death any unexpiated sin needs to be purified. Purgatory purifies the soul of sin leaving it totally pure and ready to come into God’s presence.

The Communion of Saints is the saints in heaven, those who are baptized on Earth, and the souls in purgatory. While we live, we can lessen the time a soul spends in Purgatory through our prayers and sacrifices for them. A particularly powerful means of shortening the time needed for their purification is by having Masses offered for them. Holy Mass is the greatest of all prayers. May I offer a personal anecdote? My father who was a devout Catholic, a devoted husband, and father, said to my siblings and me: “Don’t presume I am in Heaven when I die, please have Masses offered for the happy repose of my soul, just as I did for my parents.”

Traditionally, we name the Church as triumphant (the saints in heaven), the church militant (us on earth, fighting our daily challenges) and the Church suffering (those in purgatory). We are all part of the Communion of Saints! We are united to the saints in their triumph. We are united to the souls in purgatory as they prepare for their eternal reward. Both the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory pray for us and our intentions. We, in turn, fervently offer the souls in purgatory this often-repeated prayer: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.”

“Could you pray for me?”
“I’ll prayerfully consider what you said.”
“I’ll pray for you.”
“You haven’t got a prayer.”
“Well, that was an answered prayer!”

We tend to use the word “prayer” in many different ways as we go about our daily lives.  Often, it is part of our vocabulary as people of faith without a second thought.  Even the prayers themselves, especially the common ones, become second nature.  We can recite them without actively thinking about the words – they are part of our routine.  At Mass, after a while, we can get so used to saying the same prayers every week, or every day, that it becomes so ingrained in us that it begins to lack intention.  We know the words so well that they almost speak themselves.

That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing.  There are forms of prayer where the recitation of the words is more like a backdrop against which our internal disposition reaches out to our heavenly Father.  It is a spiritual meditation that allows us to be more fully aware of God’s presence.

But quite often, our routine recitation of prayers is unfortunately far from spiritual meditation; it is often just a “going with the flow.”  We experience this at Mass when, on a random Sunday, the celebrant chooses to recite the Apostle’s Creed instead of the Nicene Creed.  The voices no longer harmonize as usual – little hesitations are heard.  It sounds a bit messy.

And sometimes messy is a good thing.  When we have to pay attention to the words we pray, we are more intentional.  We are more focused.  We are more engaged in our prayer.

And that is where we want to be.  Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God.  It is an act by which we enter into awareness of a loving communion with God.  And we should do that with our entire being.  We should be fully engaged in this communion – because we know God is.  And a loving relationship can only be fruitful if both parties give it their all.

Developing a fruitful prayer life is a life-long endeavour.  It takes time.  God is patient – he never tires.  He is faithful, even when we falter in our faithfulness.  He offers reconciliation when we stray from the path.

So let us not only be persistent in our prayers – let us be persistent in our desire to learn to pray more intentionally, with our whole mind and heart. There is nothing greater than a loving communion with God.

Last week, we celebrated the feast of St. Francis. There is a legendary story of a fierce wolf that had been terrorizing the Italian town of Gubbio, killing some of the people, including children. St. Francis is visiting the town and, according to the story, when the wolf sees St. Francis, he charges at the saint with his mouth open, ready to attack. St. Francis immediately makes the sign of the cross over him and says, “Come here, Brother Wolf. I command you on behalf of Christ that you do no harm to me or to anyone.” As soon as St. Francis did this, “the fearsome wolf closed his mouth and stopped running; and once the command was given, it came meekly as a lamb, and threw itself at the feet of St. Francis.” Then Francis scolds the wolf for destroying and killing the creatures of God. “The whole town is complaining about you,” Francis tells the wolf gently. “But I want to make peace between you and the people. And so, I promise that I will have food given to you regularly, by the people of this town, so that you will no longer suffer hunger.  And I want you, Brother Wolf, to promise that you will never harm any human person or animal.”

The wolf showed agreement by simply bowing his head. And so Francis asks the people of the town if they will promise to provide food for the wolf regularly. They agreed. “Afterwards, that same wolf lived in that town for two years, and he tamely entered the houses, going from door to door,  without doing any harm to anyone and without any being done to him; and he was kindly fed by the people. Finally, after two years, Brother Wolf died of old age, at which the citizens grieved very much.”

We might say – oh, that is just a story or just a legend. We may ask, did that really happen? However, we see this story played out in the lives of the saints. The narrative of the wolf is hidden in the life of St. Maria Goretti and her mom, Assunta, who forgave her daughter’s rapist and killer, Alessandro. Not only did Maria’s mom forgive the wolf in her life, Alessandro, she called him her son. While in jail, Assunta requested that they attend Midnight Mass together.  There, they humbly received the Eucharist, kneeling side by side.  Twenty-one years later, they knelt again, this time in Rome, among a quarter of a million people with tears in their eyes as Maria was canonized a Saint.

We see this kind of love conquer wolves over and over again in the lives of the saints. This narrative is so important to soak in right now because in our country, in recent weeks,  we have come face-to-face with brutality, anger, and hatred in their ugliest forms. Emotions run high in these difficult times. It is precisely in these moments that we must look to the examples of the saints and ask for their intercession, so that we can become peacemakers to the wolves in our lives.

In 2015, Catholic singer Matt Maher released the song “A future not my own”, in which we hear the following lyrics:

We see the start but you see the end
We see in part but your love sees everything
We plant the seeds but you make them grow
We’re building a house, you’re building a home

This is the great unknown
Love is a long and narrow road
Come chase this heart of stone
I need a future not my own

This world is not my home
I still have miles and miles to go
Come break this heart of stone
I need a future not my own

This is what the readings for the past several weeks have been about.  You might even say that this is what Christianity is all about.  Through baptism we have been reborn into a new life.  A life that is destined to be eternal, through our sharing in the divine life of Christ.  It is what we were created for.  But it is not something we can earn – it is a gift from God.

But it is mysterious… we cannot see what that eternal life truly will be like.  On the other hand, our life here on earth is very concrete.   Our earthly existence is what we can see – and in the context of eternal life, it is the start that we see.  But God sees all – he sees the glorious end that is not a chronological end but rather a state of eternal glory.

We can try to imagine what that eternal life with God may look like but we cannot know it while we roam this earth.  We cannot even really conceive of it because it is not of our making.  Everything that is our doing, of our making, is finite and earthly.  It can make us happy in the here and now, but it has no real future.  Eternal life is an aspect of the divine life.

And yet, we spend so much time focusing on our earthly existence.  We tend to associate happiness with success.  We tend to spend a lot of energy and resources on avoiding hardships and suffering.  We try to pursue the things in life that make us happy – or at least, that make us feel good.  We pursue the things that contribute to establishing a comfortable future – an earthly future

But do we give as much attention to our real future?  The future that we were created for?  The future that is not our own – the future God wants for us?

When I was much younger, I was perplexed by Jesus’ use of the word “hate” as in the beginning of this Sunday’s Gospel. However, I discovered that in the Hebrew dialect that Jesus spoke, “hate” was a Semitic expression. Today we should not take it literally. We now think of it as telling us that loving God is more important than anything else. Jesus asks us to put Him first in our hearts. He certainly is not asking us to abandon our families! In the society in which Jesus lived, people’s entire lives centered on their families, as we do also. Jesus used extreme language so that we would not forget what He was asking: namely, our wholehearted commitment to follow His way, live His truth, and share life with Him. The question is: just how important is God in our lives?

When Jesus proclaimed today’s Gospel message, He was on his way to Jerusalem to undergo extreme suffering, to redeem us, and to demonstrate His tremendous love for us. He does ask us however, to share in His suffering so as to attain the reward of eternal life. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). We can take comfort in Jesus’ promise to be with us today and always and to give us the grace and strength to carry our cross. So, invite Him into your heart and He will invite you to follow Him more closely

Discipleship means freedom to love Jesus and others and to say “no” to what holds us back. For example, St. Francis of Assisi left his family and shed his rich and fancy clothes and clothed himself in beggars’ rags. Only then was he filled with tremendous joy and freedom. Dare I ask myself at this stage on my own journey, what I am willing to leave behind to embrace true discipleship?

If I put Jesus as a personal priority, I will find inner peace and grace, even through difficult moments and whatever it is that God sends my way. May it be so!

God bless you!
Sr. Kathleen

Catholic Podcasts Nourishment for Your Soul

The Catholic tradition has always held Spiritual Reading in high regard and has recommended it to those who wish to grow closer to God. Perhaps in our day and age, Spiritual Listening may be more the trend.

What follows is a list of Catholic Podcasts that will help to make this spiritual practice available for you in your daily life. Listen in your room, your car, outside (when the weather permits) or in your favorite place to sit and relax. You will be happy and enriched because you have embraced this practice. Sometimes dedicating a specific time or place helps you in being faithful to this practice.

All of these Podcasts are available using the podcast app found on most smart phones or i-pads.

*Catholic Morning Offering
*Word on Fire (Bishop Barron)
*Catholic Saints
*Discerning Hearts
*A Rosary Companion
*The God Minute
*American Catholic History
*Vatican Insider
*The Bible in a Year
*Life is Worth Living (Sheen)
*God in All Things

Happy listening!

I expect I am not alone in saying that, if I am truly honest with myself, I sometimes look at God as the provider of “good things”.  That sentiment is expressed in the responsorial psalm where we hear: “[…] steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.”

Who would not want to focus on that?  If the fidelity of the Lord endures forever, and his kindness toward us is steadfast, then surely he wants the best for us.  He wants us to be happy.  And we can call upon him in our need.  And all that is true!

But the relationship between God and man is not one where God serves us.  He is Almighty God.  He is the creator; we are the created.  Let us not forget that.

God is also our Father.  Through the Paschal Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we share in the divine Sonship.  That is a blessing beyond compare.  But as we heard Jesus teach his disciples a few weeks ago: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”  If we receive a share in the divine life through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, I think it is fair to say that we have been entrusted with “more.”  A lot more.  So let us not forget that a lot will be demanded of us.

Last week, we heard the first part of this.  There will be division.  Living our faith will cause conflict, division, and sometimes even rejection.  But we cannot compromise our faith.  There is no way to “kind of” believe in God.  There is no way to “kind of” living the Christian faith.

This week, Jesus explains why we need to be firm in our faith.  There will come a time when the master will lock the door, and he will not admit anyone beyond that time.  This is the day of judgment.  And we already learnt weeks ago that this will happen at an unknown day and time.  If we are lukewarm about our faith, and act as the servant who sees his master is delayed, and puts his focus on having a good time, we will be caught unaware.  And the consequences are dire.

Let us rejoice that Almighty God is our Father, and that because of our share in the divine Sonship, God treats us as “sons”.  As St. Paul writes: “[…] what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?  At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.”  God the Father helps us lovingly, as a father would, to prepare us.  Because He wants “people […] from the east and the west and from the north and the south […] recline at table in the kingdom of God.”  He does not want us to be cast out – locked out when the Master locks the door.

Our faith is likely to lead to trials and hardships.  God is with us, and as a Father, he lovingly instructs us and guides us, to strengthen us, so that when the time comes, we can be faithful and prudent servants, blessed by our Father in Heaven, reclined at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God.