Come and See (John 1:39)

Diaconate

2011-07-08T14:16:00.004-05:00

So, again, it's been awhile. Here is the short version of an update: I was ordained a Deacon by Bishop Paprocki on Saturday, April 30th at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield alongside my classmate Albert Allen. (Ordination Article) Since then my 14 classmates have been ordained deacons in their respective dioceses all across the Midwest. I was able to attend most of those ordinations.

The semester ended rapidly and all of us at Kenrick-Glennon moved everything out of 5200 Glennon Drive as the building is being gutted and renovated over the next 18 months. Next year my last year of seminary will take place at the former St. Mary's Convent, near St. Mary's Hospital at Clayton & Big Bend in St. Louis. That will be a big adaptation for all of us. I've decided to travel light, books and all, after moving everything from my seminary room back to Vandalia. KGS in it's former form will always remain with me. The time in formation there these last 5 years has been a true blessing.

The last two weekends in May saw travel to 3 deacon ordinations (my classmates in Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO; Peoria, IL; & Omaha, NE), 1 priestly ordination (our own, in Springfield), a graduation Mass (Cardinal Glennon College '11), and 2 First Masses (Fr. Brian Alford @ Mother of Perpetual Help in Maryville, IL & Fr. Henry Purcell @ St. Gabriel's in South St. Louis).

The first days of June saw me deacon in the Extraordinary Form for the first time (Ascension Thursday at St. Aloysius in Springfield), with travel to Memphis, TN, for the Ordination to the Priesthood of Fr. James Clark. After Memphis, it was back to Springfield to travel to Steubenville, OH with over 40 teens from Sacred Heart Griffin High School in Springfield for their summer mission trip. On J.O.S.H.U.A. (Journeys of Service Helping Upper Appalachia) we helped fix, repair, and renew several houses in the dying neighborhoods of SE Ohio. After those great five days, it was back to Springfield and straight into my own car again heading westbound for the wedding of two good friends in rural Nebraska on Saturday, June 11. That was a great time, alongside my good friends who are members of Easter Rising. One of them was kind enough to put me up for the weekend in Omaha. Pentecost Sunday brought be to the FSSP Parish in Omaha, where I subdeaconed as a cleric for the first time. After that, it was home for a few peaceful days.

The ordination circuit resumed on June 18 in Overland Park, KS with the ordination of the 5 men in the male branch of the Apostles of the Interior Life. 4 new priests, and 1 new deacon. I was finally able to meet their founder, Fr. Salvatore, that weekend. It's always good to spend time with Sr. Susan and the AVIs. The next day I was able to return to St. Al's in Springfield, and preach at the Masses there on Trinity Sunday. Mom, Dad, and Hannah were able to come up too, and we started our Father's Day there.

Finally, there was North Dakota. My last classmate to be ordained, Kregg Hochhalter, was ordained at his home parish, Queen of Peace in Dickinson, ND. A short 1100 mile jaunt from home. I was able to assist in the singing of Solemn Vespers at his parish the night before his ordination, and spend a couple of days with the good folks of the Bismarck Diocese. I stayed at a beautiful monastery in nearby Richardton, ND. From Bismarck southward, the Missouri River flooding was incredible all the way back home. My pit stop was again in Omaha, where I was able to go to the city's Corpus Christi procession with Abp. Lucas, and visit the Kenrick men who are at Creighton for the summer. I was also able to return to ICC and deacon the Solemn Mass there for the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost. Before coming home, I spent a day in the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese at a soon-to-be retreat house in Springfield, MO, with one of my brother seminarians from that diocese.

Yep. That's the short version. 40 days. 10,300 miles. 12 states.

Now I'm settling in here at St. Paul's in Highland with Fr. Chuck Edwards and Fr. Paul Kala. I'm already getting to know our home-bound parishioners, preached at all 4 weekend Masses, and yes, have taken the giant Wicks organ for a spin. I greatly look forward to the next 10 months here at St. Paul's.

Stop by our famous parish festival, Kirchenfest, August 27 & 28. It's In-Tents (like camping).

Keep up those prayers out there!

- Deacon Edgar

8.VII.2011

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T07:13:00.003-06:00

Hello, again

2011-02-23T18:49:00.010-06:00

So, much has happened since last June 1. Fr. Donovan and I had a successful move last summer from Ss. Mary & Joseph parish in Carlinville to St. Aloysius parish in Springfield's north-end. I greatly enjoyed the people of both parishes and got see what a transition is really like in the life of a priest as he leaves one flock to take up another. Saying good byes, learning new names and faces, oh - and MOVING. Wow, moving is a pain - all the more incentive to live simply, for sure.

It's been a busy 3rd year of Theology classes here in St. Louis this academic year, not to mention the thesis work that I am presently undertaking (prayers appreciated).

Back in September, my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, and they continue to be my center of support in my vocation.

Last fall I received my last seminary-assigned parish - to St. Joseph's in Imperial, MO in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. About 25 minutes south of the seminary, I serve at the Sunday Masses at St. Joe's and, once a week, come into the 2nd grade classroom to help the students prepare for First Confession (which was Jan. 6) and First Holy Communion (which is in May). They are great kids, I am so blessed! It has been a great experience there. Msgr. Brennell and Fr. Nemeth have been great mentors to me. St. Joe's is as vibrant and young a parish as I have come across - lots of baptisms, praise the Lord. It will be sad to leave there in April.

In November, my greatest spiritual father, then-Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke was created a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church on Christ the King weekend in Rome. In December, I was blessed with the opportunity to act as his master of ceremonies as he made his first trip 'home' to the Diocese of La Crosse, WI and to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which he founded. After assisting His Eminence for a few days, I remained and made my silent retreat that all deacon candidates must make sometime in the 6 months prior to ordination. My quiet week at the Friary at the Shrine was wonderful. Fr. Jacinto Mary, Fr. John Lawrence, Fr. Peter Damien, and Br. Joseph, all Friars of the Immaculate, were wonderful hosts and I am grateful to count them as friends.

Christmas at home was great (and it was a White Christmas!) - likely my last one as I will begin receiving, God-willing, assignments to other parishes within the diocese from here on out. Fr. Havrilka and I pulled out all the bells and smells, as they say, for 2 glorious Christmas Masses at Mother of Dolors. I am also happy to report that Vandalia now boasts 3 diocesan seminarians. Myself, Braden Maher, and now Wayne Stock joins our ranks with Braden at Bishop Brute College Seminary in Indianapolis. Praise God! Our little parish has had no diocesan vocations (that we know of) in her 156-year existence. Hopefully this is a good start in making up for lost time.

Also over Christmas I had 7 of my St. Louis seminarian brothers over to Vandalia for a couple days to hang out, pray, play Beatles Rock Band, etc. It was great. I again also took up the mic at the alma mater, VCHS, for our 39th annual Holiday Boys Basketball Tournament. A crazy four days as always, but ones I still look forward to. Got to spend a day with the bishop, our guys, and some potential prospects for the seminary in the week after Christmas as well. Keep praying and encouraging vocations! We are starting to head in the right direction. I also was able to visit some good friends in Cincinnati over New Years with one of my classmates and sing some good Irish tunes with some great folks, who know who they are. Definitely the most fun I've had on New Years - with great Catholic folks to boot! (even if some of them are Reds fans)

January saw the return of Cardinal Burke to St. Louis, and I was blessed to see and speak with him on multiple occasions during his week-long stay. We here at Kenrick-Glennon were thrilled, to say the least, to have him 'home' for even a brief time. Please pray for him as he undertakes some weighty tasks on a daily basis in Rome.

Due to a couple of issues, I was unable to make the March for Life in Washington this year. But our diocese was well-represented as always, and I saw some great pictures of Bishop Paprocki with our large contingency there. Please pray that hearts will continue to be converted to the pro-life movement. They are vital. A number of us continue to pray on Saturdays in Granite City outside the Hope(less) Abortion Mill alongside Daniel and Angela Michael and Small Victories ministries (http://www.smallvictoriesusa.com/).

February is always a busy time as the stretch-run gets going here at the seminary. I have written my petition asking to be Ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons this coming April 30, and have my final evaluation meeting in the upcoming week. All your prayers for me are needed and appreciated.

There have also been many deaths in recent days, both back home at Mother of Dolors and in the larger extended-prayer-request family here at the seminary. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

So that's about as quick a catch-up as I can give... God-willing, ordination is just over 2 months away. Final details to come later.

May Mary, Our Mother, continue to guide and protect us all, and lead us in all things to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus her Son.

Pax et bonum,
Zach

23.II.2011

Live from Carlinville

2010-06-01T13:19:00.002-05:00

Hello, Goodbye.

Yes, that is the title of one of my favorite Beatles songs, but in actuality it's a pretty applicable summary of my time here at Ss. Mary & Joseph parish in Carlinville.

This is my first full summer living in a parish, and now I can say parishes - since I'll be moving to Springfield with the pastor when he assumes his new office at St. Aloysius in Springfield on July 1.

But for now it's make the most of the present situation. There are wonderful people here at Ss. Mary & Joseph, and I have only met 'the tip of the iceberg' between Mass in the cemetery yesterday for Memorial Day and morning Mass at the parish today.

Fr. Tom Donovan, the pastor, has been great as I'm trying to hit the ground running and, at the same time, do what I can to help with his transition to his new parish in Springfield. So this will be an unusual summer, but one with plenty of unique opportunities to learn about various aspects of the priesthood - especially during a time of transition such as this.

This is a fine town, and I'm reminded it's the hometown of two of my favorite diocesan priests - Fathers Anthony & Carl Schmidt - who just celebrated their 60th Jubilee last week. I go to school with their nephew at Kenrick. He is a classmate and studies for the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Carlinville is also home to my friend Fr. Jeff Stone, who I was able to visit at his parishes in Liberty, Mendon, and Quincy last summer around this time. I had the honor of meeting Fr. Jeff's mother this morning after Mass.

After I return from an Ordination in Des Moines this Friday and Saturday, I will be meeting the greater parish community on Sunday. Looking forward to it!

Fiat voluntas tua, hodie et semper. 1.VI.2010

Ordination season

2010-05-27T12:04:00.003-05:00

In your charity, please join me in praying for the following men who will be ordained either transitional deacons or to the Holy Priesthood.

These are the men that I know from my time in formation who are being (or have been) ordained so far this year. Thanks for your prayers!

Mary, Mother of all Priests, pray for us!
St. John Vianney, pray for us!
St. Lawrence, pray for us!
St. Stephen, pray of us!

These men are now or soon will be deacons:

Dcn. Tim Foy

Dcn. Anthony Gerber

Dcn. Mike Grosch

Dcn. Henry Purcell

Dcn. Joseph Jaskierny

Dcn. Johnson Lopez

Dcn. Brian Alford

Dcn. Carlos Gallardo

Dcn. Barry Clayton

Dcn. Anthony Onyango

Dcn. Gregory Lies

Dcn. Andy Syring

Dcn. Kevin Vogel

Dcn. James Weeder

Dcn. Marco De Lorea

Dcn. John Fogliasso

Dcn. Jason Signalness

These men will be or already have been Ordained to the Priesthood:

Fr. Erich Weiss

Fr. Joseph Oganda

Fr. Dale Maxfield

Fr. Francis Doyle

Fr. Dylan Schrader

Fr. Craig Holway

Fr. Jim Holbrook

Fr. Anthony Yates

Fr. Anthony Ochoa

Fr. Jason Schumer

Fr. Nicklaus Winker

Fr. Timothy Noelker

Fr. Matthew Benjamin

Fr. Evan Harkins

Fr. Steve Thompson

Fr. Paul Kala

Fr. Max Biltz

Fr. Yancey Burgess

Fr. Zach Kautzky

Fr. Michael Voithofer

Springfield welcomes Bishop Paprocki

2010-04-20T04:57:00.004-05:00

Lex cordis caritas

“The law of the heart is charity” – Episcopal motto of Most Rev. Thomas Paprocki

Presenting the 9^th bishop of Springfield in Illinois:

Most Reverend Thomas John Joseph Paprocki

Titular Bishop of Vulturaria
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Chicago

Canon lawyer …and avid Chicago Blackhawks fan

http://www.archdiocese-chgo.org/thearchdiocese/bishop_thomas_paprocki.shtm

On June 3^rd of last year, Archbishop Lucas was appointed to the See of Omaha, Nebraska. Over 10 months later, the See of Springfield in Illinois is no longer vacant. Let us pray for our new bishop (as well as pray in thanksgiving for Msgr. Kemme’s guidance in these recent months):

O dearest Jesus, look down with love on Thy priests, especially our bishop, Thomas. Fill him with burning zeal for the conversion of sinners, keep unstained his anointed hands which daily touch Thy immaculate Body, keep unsullied his lips purpled with Thy Precious Blood, keep pure and unearthly his heart sealed with the sublime marks of Thy glorious Priesthood; bless his labors with abundant fruit, and may those to whom he has ministered on earth be one day his joy and consolation in heaven. Amen.

This good news for our diocese comes one day shy of the year anniversary of Archbishop Robert Carlson’s appointment to St. Louis, where I am in seminary. While this “rumor watch” wasn’t anything like that one, I am certainly grateful that our wait is over. May God abundantly bless Bishop Paprocki as he transitions to his new home. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

Personal Information (from the link above)

Date of Birth: August 5, 1952, Chicago, IL.
Date of Priesthood Ordination: May 10, 1978, Chicago, IL.
Date of Episcopal Consecration: March 19, 2003, Chicago, IL.

Education

Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
J.C.D. - 1991
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome
J.C.L. (Licentiate in Canon Law) - 1989
DePaul University College of Law, Chicago
J.D. - 1981
St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois
S.T.B. (Bachelor in Sacred Theology) 1976
M.Div. - 1978
S.T.L. (Licentiate in Theology) - 1979
Niles College of Loyola University, Chicago
B.A. - 1974
Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, Chicago - 1970
St. Casimir School, Chicago - 1966

Patoral Assignments
Other Positions

Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate IV; Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago - 2003-
Pastor, St. Constance Parish, Chicago - 2001- 2003
Chancellor, Archdiocese of Chicago - 1992- 2000
Vice Chancellor, Archdiocese of Chicago - 1985-1992
President, (South) Chicago Legal Clinic - 1981-1986; 1991-
Administrator, St. Joseph Parish, Chicago - 1983-1986
Associate Pastor, St. Michael Church, Chicago - 1978-1983

His Excellency will take canonical possession of the diocese on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

Happy birthday, Pope Benedict!

2010-04-16T15:23:00.001-05:00

Today, Pope Benedict celebrates his 83rd birthday. Let us remember his health, his intentions, and pray in thanksgiving for the blessings his pontificate has shared with the Church.

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto.
Dominus conservet eum et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 9

2010-04-09T17:35:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow, Saturday, is the Deacon Ordination for Springfield's Brian Alford. Please keep him in your prayers, and, due to this, here is tomorrow's post a day early:

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Ninth Day

“Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy.”

Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.

Opening Prayer

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Sign of the Cross / Our Father / Hail Mary / Apostles’ Creed/ 1 Eternal Father / 10 For the sake… (repeat the last two steps 4 additional times) / 3 Holy God… / 3x "Jesus I Trust in You" / Sign of the Cross

Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 8

2010-04-09T17:34:00.001-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Eighth Day

“Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice.”

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 7

2010-04-08T14:49:00.001-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Seventh Day

”Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.”

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 6

2010-04-08T14:48:00.001-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Sixth Day

“Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of Little Children, and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.”

Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 5

2010-04-06T15:46:00.001-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Fifth Day

“Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 4

2010-04-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Fourth Day

“Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me, I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy.”

Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 3

2010-04-04T09:00:00.001-05:00

(State your intentions)

Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Third Day

"Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 2

2010-04-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

I fly to Your Mercy, Compassionate God, Who alone are good. Although my misery is great and my offenses are many, I trust in Your Mercy because You are the God of Mercy, and it has never been heard of in all ages, nor do Heaven or Earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your Mercy has been disappointed. (State your intentions) Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

Second Day of Novena:

"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

Opening Prayer

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Closing Prayer

The Hour of Mercy

2010-04-02T14:58:00.003-05:00

Divine Mercy Novena: Day 1

2010-04-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Over the coming days, I will re-post last year's writings for each day of the Divine Mercy Novena:

Good Friday begins the annual Divine Mercy Novena - which ends on Divine Mercy Sunday, the last day in the Octave of Easter.

Today, on the Cross, we see blood and water pour forth from the side of Christ. In this Paschal Sacrifice, the Church is born: in His Blood we receive His very self in the Eucharist, by the waters of rebirth we die to sin and rise to new life in Christ.

Each Day of this novena, brought to us by St. Faustina, has its own intention. If you've never prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy before, all you need is a Rosary and about 10 minutes of meditation time.

Here then are the prayers that surround the Chaplet on Day One:

I fly to Your Mercy, Compassionate God, Who alone are good. Although my misery is great and my offenses are many, I trust in Your Mercy because You are the God of Mercy, and it has never been heard of in all ages, nor do Heaven or Earth remember, that a soul trusting in Your Mercy has been disappointed. (State your intentions) Jesus, Friend of a lonely heart, You are my haven. You are my peace. You are my salvation. You are my serenity in moments of struggle and amidst an ocean of doubts. Amen.

First Day of Novena:

"Today bring to Me All Mankind, especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins, but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Opening Prayer

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

Here pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy:

Sign of the Cross / Our Father / Hail Mary / Apostles’ Creed/ 1 Eternal Father / 10 For the sake… (repeat the last two steps 4 additional times) / 3 Holy God… / 3x "Jesus I Trust in You" / Sign of the Cross

Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.

Holy Thursday from Rome

2010-04-01T15:12:00.004-05:00

The Holy Father offered The Mass of the Lord's Supper at his cathedral, St. John at the Lateran, this evening.

Here follows his homily: (source)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In his Gospel, Saint John, more fully than the other three evangelists, reports in his own distinctive way the farewell discourses of Jesus; they appear as his testament and a synthesis of the core of his message. They are introduced by the washing of feet, in which Jesus’ redemptive ministry on behalf of a humanity needing purification is summed up in a gesture of humility. Jesus’ words end as a prayer, his priestly prayer, whose background exegetes have traced to the ritual of the Jewish feast of atonement. The significance of that feast and its rituals – the world’s purification and reconciliation with God – is fulfilled in Jesus’ prayer, a prayer which anticipates his Passion and transforms it into a prayer. The priestly prayer thus makes uniquely evident the perpetual mystery of Holy Thursday: the new priesthood of Jesus Christ and its prolongation in the consecration of the Apostles, in the incorporation of the disciples into the Lord’s priesthood. From this inexhaustibly profound text, I would like to select three sayings of Jesus which can lead us more fully into the mystery of Holy Thursday.

First, there are the words: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3). Everyone wants to have life. We long for a life which is authentic, complete, worthwhile, full of joy. This yearning for life coexists with a resistance to death, which nonetheless remains unescapable. When Jesus speaks about eternal life, he is referring to real and true life, a life worthy of being lived. He is not simply speaking about life after death. He is talking about authentic life, a life fully alive and thus not subject to death, yet one which can already, and indeed must, begin in this world. Only if we learn even now how to live authentically, if we learn how to live the life which death cannot take away, does the promise of eternity become meaningful. But how does this happen? What is this true and eternal life which death cannot touch? We have heard Jesus’ answer: this is eternal life, that they may know you – God – and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ. Much to our surprise, we are told that life is knowledge. This means first of all that life is relationship. No one has life from himself and only for himself. We have it from others and in a relationship with others. If it is a relationship in truth and love, a giving and receiving, it gives fullness to life and makes it beautiful. But for that very reason, the destruction of that relationship by death can be especially painful, it can put life itself in question. Only a relationship with the One who is himself Life can preserve my life beyond the floodwaters of death, can bring me through them alive. Already in Greek philosophy we encounter the idea that man can find eternal life if he clings to what is indestructible – to truth, which is eternal. He needs, as it were, to be full of truth in order to bear within himself the stuff of eternity. But only if truth is a Person, can it lead me through the night of death. We cling to God – to Jesus Christ the Risen One. And thus we are led by the One who is himself Life. In this relationship we too live by passing through death, since we are not forsaken by the One who is himself Life.

But let us return to Jesus’s words – this is eternal life: that they know you and the One whom you have sent. Knowledge of God becomes eternal life. Clearly “knowledge” here means something more than mere factual knowledge, as, for example, when we know that a famous person has died or a discovery was made. Knowing, in the language of sacred Scripture, is an interior becoming one with the other. Knowing God, knowing Christ, always means loving him, becoming, in a sense, one with him by virtue of that knowledge and love. Our life becomes authentic and true life, and thus eternal life, when we know the One who is the source of all being and all life. And so Jesus’ words become a summons: let us become friends of Jesus, let us try to know him all the more! Let us live in dialogue with him! Let us learn from him how to live aright, let us be his witnesses! Then we become people who love and then we act aright. Then we are truly alive.

Twice in the course of the priestly prayer Jesus speaks of revealing God’s name. “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world” (v. 6). “I have made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (v. 26). The Lord is alluding here to the scene of the burning bush, when God, at Moses’ request, had revealed his name. Jesus thus means to say that he is bringing to fulfilment what began with the burning bush; that in him God, who had made himself known to Moses, now reveals himself fully. And that in doing so he brings about reconciliation; that the love with which God loves his Son in the mystery of the Trinity now draws men and women into this divine circle of love. But what, more precisely, does it mean to say that the revelation made from the burning bush is finally brought to completion, fully attains its purpose? The essence of what took place on Mount Horeb was not the mysterious word, the “name” which God had revealed to Moses, as a kind of mark of identification. To give one’s name means to enter into relationship with another. The revelation of the divine name, then, means that God, infinite and self-subsistent, enters into the network of human relationships; that he comes out of himself, so to speak, and becomes one of us, present among us and for us. Consequently, Israel saw in the name of God not merely a word steeped in mystery, but an affirmation that God is with us. According to sacred Scripture, the Temple is the dwelling-place of God’s name. God is not confined within any earthly space; he remains infinitely above and beyond the world. Yet in the Temple he is present for us as the One who can be called – as the One who wills to be with us. This desire of God to be with his people comes to completion in the incarnation of the Son. Here what began at the burning bush is truly brought to completion: God, as a Man, is able to be called by us and he is close to us. He is one of us, yet he remains the eternal and infinite God. His love comes forth, so to speak, from himself and enters into our midst. The mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of the Lord under the appearances of bread and wine, is the highest and most sublime way in which this new mode of God’s being-with-us takes shape. “Truly you are a God who is hidden, O God of Israel”, the prophet Isaiah had prayed (45:15). This never ceases to be true. But we can also say: Truly you are a God who is close, you are a God-with-us. You have revealed your mystery to us, you have shown your face to us. You have revealed yourself and given yourself into our hands… At this hour joy and gratitude must fill us, because God has shown himself, because he, infinite and beyond the grasp of our reason, is the God who is close to us, who loves us, and whom we can know and love.

The best-known petition of the priestly prayer is the petition for the unity of the disciples, now and yet to come: “I do not ask only on behalf of these – the community of the disciples gathered in the Upper Room – but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (v. 20ff.; cf. vv. 11 and 13). What exactly is the Lord asking for? First, he prays for his disciples, present and future. He peers into the distance of future history. He sees the dangers there and he commends this community to the heart of the Father. He prays to the Father for the Church and for her unity. It has been said that in the Gospel of John the Church is not present. Yet here she appears in her essential features: as the community of disciples who through the apostolic preaching believe in Jesus Christ and thus become one. Jesus prays for the Church to be one and apostolic. This prayer, then, is properly speaking an act which founds the Church. The Lord prays to the Father for the Church. She is born of the prayer of Jesus and through the preaching of the Apostles, who make known God’s name and introduce men and women into the fellowship of love with God. Jesus thus prays that the preaching of the disciples will continue for all time, that it will gather together men and women who know God and the one he has sent, his Son Jesus Christ. He prays that men and women may be led to faith and, through faith, to love. He asks the Father that these believers “be in us” (v. 21); that they will live, in other words, in interior communion with God and Jesus Christ, and that this inward being in communion with God may give rise to visible unity. Twice the Lord says that this unity should make the world believe in the mission of Jesus. It must thus be a unity which can be seen – a unity which so transcends ordinary human possibilities as to become a sign before the world and to authenticate the mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ prayer gives us the assurance that the preaching of the Apostles will never fail throughout history; that it will always awaken faith and gather men and women into unity – into a unity which becomes a testimony to the mission of Jesus Christ. But this prayer also challenges us to a constant examination of conscience. At this hour the Lord is asking us: are you living, through faith, in fellowship with me and thus in fellowship with God? Or are you rather living for yourself, and thus apart from faith? And are you not thus guilty of the inconsistency which obscures my mission in the world and prevents men and women from encountering God’s love? It was part of the historical Passion of Jesus, and remains part of his ongoing Passion throughout history, that he saw, and even now continues to see, all that threatens and destroys unity. As we meditate on the Passion of the Lord, let us also feel Jesus’ pain at the way that we contradict his prayer, that we resist his love, that we oppose the unity which should bear witness before the world to his mission.

At this hour, when the Lord in the most holy Eucharist gives himself, his body and his blood, into our hands and into our hearts, let us be moved by his prayer. Let us enter into his prayer and thus beseech him: Lord, grant us faith in you, who are one with the Father in the Holy Spirit. Grant that we may live in your love and thus become one, as you are one with the Father, so that the world may believe. Amen.

Christ, for our sakes, humbled himself, became obedient unto death. 1.IV.2010

Pope Benedict's Chrism Mass homily

2010-04-01T15:09:00.001-05:00

Click here for this morning's Chrism Mass homily by the Holy Father.
Mass was offered at St. Peter's at the Vatican and the clergy of Rome renewed their priestly promises.

Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives

2010-03-09T09:53:00.004-06:00

Today in the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church reads from the works of St. Peter Chrysologus.
I'll simply let him speak for himself. Enjoy.

There are three things, my brethren, by which faith stands firm, devotion remains constant, and virtue endures. They are prayer, fasting and mercy. Prayer knocks at the door, fasting obtains, mercy receives. Prayer, mercy and fasting: these three are one, and they give life to each other.

Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. Let no one try to separate them; they cannot be separated. If you have only one of them or not all together, you have nothing. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others you open God’s ear to yourself.

When you fast, see the fasting of others. If you want God to know that you are hungry, know that another is hungry. If you hope for mercy, show mercy. If you look for kindness, show kindness. If you want to receive, give. If you ask for yourself what you deny to others, your asking is a mockery.

Let this be the pattern for all men when they practice mercy: show mercy to others in the same way, with the same generosity, with the same promptness, as you want others to show mercy to you.

Therefore, let prayer, mercy and fasting be one single plea to God on our behalf, one speech in our defense, a threefold united prayer in our favor. Let us use fasting to make up for what we have lost by despising others. Let us offer our souls in sacrifice by means of

fasting. There is nothing more pleasing that we can offer to God, as the psalmist said in prophecy: A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God does not despise a bruised and humbled heart.

Offer your soul to God, make him an oblation of your fasting, so that your soul may be a pure offering, a holy sacrifice, a living victim, remaining your own and at the same time made over to God. Whoever fails to give this to God will not be excused, for if you are to give him yourself you are never without the means of giving. To make these acceptable, mercy must be added. Fasting bears no fruit unless it is watered by mercy. Fasting dries up when mercy dries up. Mercy is to fasting as rain is to earth.

However much you may cultivate your heart, clear the soil of your nature, root out vices, sow virtues, if you do not release the springs of mercy, your fasting will bear no fruit. When you fast, if your mercy is thin your harvest will be thin; when you fast, what you pour out in mercy overflows into your barn. Therefore, do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give to others.

Fiat voluntas tua, Domine, hodie et semper. 9.III.2010

These Forty Days

2010-02-17T19:23:00.003-06:00

So, finally, here is the first post of A.D. 2010.

May you have a blessed Lent!

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a website up for the Lenten season, so feel free to check out that resource: http://www.usccb.org/lent/

This is the season to remember all those who are preparing to become full members of the Church at the Easter Vigil. So let us remember those who are preparing as well as those who are preparing them.

In the same way, let us pray for all who have entered the Church in recent years - for those who are flourishing in their new life in Christ, and for those who have already fallen away and are being called back.

Conversion, for all of us (if we let God into our lives) is a powerful experience. The great thing is, He is always calling us deeper! He calls us all the more and still desires us even when we have chosen to move away from Him when we sin. So we pray with the Psalmist, "Create in me a clean heart, O God. Put a steadfast spirit in my soul."

May the Holy Spirit help each of us see ourselves as God sees us, and move us to contrition, confession, and repentance as we beg His mercy to restore our right-relationship with Him.

As always, life at the seminary is busy - know that your prayers are always appreciated!

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. - "Take up your cross and follow me." 17.II.2010

Christmas in the Eternal City

2009-12-25T11:35:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Greetings from Rome!

Since the 16th of the month I have been staying at the Pontifical North American College in Rome visiting one of my best friends who studies here and a handful of other seminarians who I know from St. Louis and points west.

I have seen a lot of churches here in the city

(understatement), and have been blessed to be with the Holy Father on four occasions. (Vespers on the 17th, Wednesday Audience of 12/23, Midnight Mass, and today's Urbi et Orbi message in St. Peter's square)

This has been an amazing place to be on pilgrimage. Saints are found in nearly every Church, and I even was able to go underneath St. Peters on a small tour to see where the Prince of the Apostles is laid to rest. Being here at Christmas time has been amazing, and the prayers from back home are truly appreciated and no doubt bearing fruit. I have a new appreciation for the company of saints - may their witness never be forgotten.

Today, as we celebrate the birth of the Lord Our Savior, I can't help but still be moved by Pope Benedict's homily from Mass last night. I will post the link HERE, so click away. Let us too, moved by love come and adore Him who came to save us from our sins so that we might be with Him forever in heaven. Let us beg Mary, who bore our God into human flesh, to intercede for us and take our humble petitions and sacrifices to the loving Heart of Jesus her Son.

Remembering all back home, we of course continue our prayers for a new bishop for the Diocese of Springfield, and we remember Archbishop Lucas in his new ministry in Omaha as he celebrates 10 years of being a bishop this month.

It has been my honor to meet many men from across the U.S. who study here at the NAC, and I can say all the prayers for good and holy priests across our country are being heard - so keep them coming! This is a solid community of men here and I have greatly enjoyed my time among them. It has been a true blessing to be able to visit this place and my good friends from back home who live here.

In a particular way, I owe the 'phenomenalness' of this trip to my friend Chris who has been quite the tour guide and host. One day last week, we were even interviewed by Vatican Radio jut totally at random in St. Peter's square, at it aired on thier broadcast that night. There are many ancedotes like this one from throughout the trip, but this post is getting long enough. Simply put - Merry Christmas and Rejoice in the birth of Our Savior!

With as many places as I have visited here at the Vatican and in Rome, it is difficult to decide what pictures to post here, but maybe more will appear in the future.

Pax et bonum.

25.XII.2009

In Conceptione Immaculata B. Mariae Virginis

2009-12-08T17:51:00.004-06:00

Happy Feast day to all in the Springfield Diocese! We have much to celebrate.

So without further delay, here are some pictures of the Cathedral. For more in depth information check out: http://www.dio.org/dedication/

In Jesus, through Mary,

Zach

8.XII.2009

The "New" Cathedral

2009-11-30T09:23:00.004-06:00

Happy Advent & Feast of St. Andrew. The busiest part of the semester has arrived at Kenrick in earnest. This week, however, I'll be in Springfield for a couple of days preparing for the Mass of Dedication of our Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Archbishop Lucas will return to Springfield to offer the Mass and Cardinal George of Chicago will give the homily. The Catholic Times, our diocesan newspaper has some outstanding photos and stories in their special edition this week commemorating the event.

For my own photos during the construction process I refer you back to this post from April.
Hopefully there will be time for some "after" photos this week.

This is a great moment for our whole diocese, and this project has really allowed the generosity of our people to shine and showed much unity and solidarity across our many counties and parishes. I feel very blessed to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

As for the Advent season, you may remember some postings I was doing at this time last year. While time does not permit the same, I would refer you back to all those via this link. They will appear in reverse order, so scroll down to the bottom of the page for the early days of December.

A better option might be the USCCB's website devoted to this same purpose of daily Advent reflections for the current year. Check it out. http://www.usccb.org/advent/

Kenrick-Glennon Seminary's annual Novena in preparation for Christmas gets underway tonight as well (running through Dec. 8) You can follow coverage of the homilies and photos online at the seminary's website (click on the Podcast tab for homily audio).

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 30.XI.2009

God bless the Knights of Columbus

2009-10-06T16:00:00.002-05:00

Recently I received mail from a group of Knights of Columbus in Illinois and in it came a prayer card for vocations I thought I would share here. The Knights from all over our diocese (and state) have helped me out greatly (financially and spiritually) in the 3+ years I have been here at Kenrick-Glennon in St. Louis.

As the Church celebrates Our Lady of the Rosary tomorrow, please remember in a special way your local Knights in prayer.

Here are the two prayers that came in the mail:

Prayer for Vocations

Heavenly Father, call many holy young people to consecrated life for the sake of your kingdom. Call an abundance of virtuous men to serve in ordained ministry, as laborers for your harvest. Call numerous others to faithful, chaste and fruitful love in the sacrament of marriage, as signs and witnesses of Christ's love for his Church. Through baptism you have called all your children, in whatever state of life, to love and serve you. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and grant us each the grace to follow you in perfect obedience and charity. With Mary and Joseph as our models and intercessors, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Know My Vocation

Lord Jesus, up until now You have been quietly preparing me to be Your disciple. Now the time of preparation is ending. I seem to hear You say to me as You said once to Peter: "Will you also go away?" Peter replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

I stand with Peter. Through prayer and counsel, show me, Lord, where it is in Your vineyard that You want me to serve. Then give me strength to be faithful.

Mary, Mother and Model, help me to respond in generous love to the call of your divine Son. Amen.

Please pray these for those you think might have a call... even better, give them to that person.
Just a reminder, check the sidebar here for all kinds of ways to contact and find out more about priestly vocations.

St. Bruno, pray for us.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 6.X.2009

40 days for life

2009-09-23T12:51:00.003-05:00

October in the Church is both a Marian and a Pro-Life month. Today, Padre Pio's feast day, is the beginning of "40 days for life" here in the St. Louis area. There are prayer vigils at Planned Parenthood here in St. Louis, and back home in Illinois, Msgr. Kemme (our Diocesan Administrator) will celebrate Mass and lead a Rosary walk on Saturday, October 3rd in Granite City:

The Respect Life Mass will be held at Holy Family Church, 2606 Washington Ave in Granite City on Oct. 3 at 9:00am. After Mass, join Fr. Chris Comerford, (Chair, ‘Clergy for Life’) and Catholics from around the Diocese for the Rosary Walk and Prayer Vigil at the abortion clinic.

Angela, who offers free ultrasounds outside the abortion clinic in Granite City, is continuing to do this great work (see Small Victories website: http://www.smallvictoriesusa.com/) despite our struggling economy. On October 29, the Knights of Columbus hall in Collinsville (and Fr. Chris Comerford) will be hosting a benefit dinner and auction (of Cardinals memorabilia) with proceeds going to Small Victories. This will allow Angela to assist these expectant mothers in the best way possible. Consider supporting the dinner or auction or just making a donation:

Angela Michael has been helping to save lives outside the abortion mill in Granite City, IL since the year 2000. In these last 9 years, over 3,000 women have been persuaded not to have an abortion. Many accounts of the day to day happenings outside the “Hope” Clinic are on the ministry’s website "Small Victories." Angela drives from Highland to Granite City nearly every day this death mill is open, parks outside and offers free ultrasounds to expectant mothers as well as pro-life literature. The cost of travel and keeping the equipment up and running is no small feat, and Small Victories has been relying on providence and the spontaneous generosity of others for quite some time…This benefit dinner and auction is our chance here in the Metro-area to come together and support Small Victories in a united effort. Please consider joining us for this fundraiser banquet on October 29 at the Knights of Columbus hall in Collinsville, IL.

Featured Speakers: Fr. Chris Comerford, Pastor of St. Elizabeth’s Church Granite City, IL & Angela Michael of Small Victories Ministry

LOCATION:

Collinsville Knights of Columbus Hall
One Columbus Plaza
Collinsville, IL 62234

For reservations or more information call 618-654-5800

Dinner begins 6:30 p.m. sharp (Thursday, Oct. 29)

$20.00 per person / Tables of 8 available for $150.00

Advanced Reservations Required

Small Victories is a 501c3 tax deductible organization

An offering will be taken to help keep Small Victories on the streets rescuing babies and helping women in need

St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia will be auctioned off

How will you help stand up for the unborn in these 40 days? Prayer & Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? Fasting? Praying at an abortion clinic? Donating to a pro-life cause? Whatever you do, I pray that it draws you closer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary our Mother and the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Pio, pray for us!
(link to former post about St. Pio's prayer "Stay with me, Lord" after receiving the Eucharist)

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 23.IX.2009

Praying for a new bishop

2009-08-30T10:07:00.004-05:00

This weekend is the first of three weekends set aside for Masses focused on prayer for our next bishop. The administrator of the Springfield Diocese, Msgr. Kemme, announced this earlier in the summer, that, as a diocese we would set aside specific weekends where all would be praying for this intention.

What a beautiful expression of unity is all I can say. It is easy to get zoned-in and not see beyond the walls of our own parish. When this happens we truly neglect the reality of the universal nature of the Church. No matter the location or language, all Catholics world wide are participating in the same thing at each Mass - the One True Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. In receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist we participate in a great communion - truly united to Christ who is alive and reigns forever - as we receive His Body and His Blood under the form of bread and wine. We all receive the same Christ, for he cannot be divided. We receive Him totally, each of us. (We do not each receive a small part of Him, we each receive the whole Christ.) He withholds nothing from us.

A bishop of a diocese is also a beautiful image of unity. Wherever the bishop goes, he represents all of us. So it is fitting that all of us are united in praying this weekend, and in the weeks and months to come, for our new shepherd. I remember at confirmation being told that because the bishop was there, the whole diocese - all of its people - where "there". He represents us all and is a successor of the Apostles themselves. By his consecration as a bishop, he is to provide his flock with priests that represent him every where, every time, that Mass is celebrated in the diocese.

God-willing, I hope to be one of those priests someday. A priest of Jesus Christ in His Church in the diocese of Springfield.

Together let's pray for whomever God will call to lead us next, that He might have full trust and confidence in Christ as he assumes this monumental task of shepherding the souls of this local church. (and of course, we thank Him for all the blessings that have come to us during Archbishop Lucas' ministry among us)

P.S. school is going well. This is going to be another fun semester. More on seminary life to come later, including our fund-drive to expand and update the seminary facilities.

Have a great Sunday!

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 30.VII.2009

Ordination to the Holy Priesthood

2009-08-26T16:10:00.005-05:00

Here below is the Archdiocese of New York's Ordination from 2009 (clips total 1 minute, 30 seconds) and is overlayed with the homily of Archbishop Timothy Dolan, a native St. Louisan.

Video from nypriest.com

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr

2009-08-14T10:04:00.001-05:00

Last year on this date, I shared the writing of St. Maximilian Kolbe that accompanies the Liturgy of the Hours for today's memorial. His words have struck a cord yet again, and so I will provide the link to last year's post for any who wish to take in the words of this holy martyr for the faith.

CLICK HERE for last year's post.

14.VIII.2009

Holy Father's General Audience on St. John Vianney

2009-08-13T22:36:00.006-05:00

About a week ago, Pope Benedict gave a Wednesday general audience on St. John Vianney, whose feast day was celebrated the day before. The Vatican website now has posted the full English translation of the Holy Father's address. You can find it at the preceding links as well as below.

Today, August 13, is the 193rd anniversary of St. John Vianney's ordination to the Holy Priesthood.

***

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo
Wednesday, 5 August 2009

St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In today's Catechesis I would like briefly to review the life of the Holy Curé of Ars. I shall stress several features that can also serve as an example for priests in our day, different of course from the time in which he lived, yet marked in many ways by the same fundamental human and spiritual challenges. Precisely yesterday was the 150th anniversary of his birth in Heaven. Indeed it was at two o'clock in the morning on 4 August 1859 that St John Baptist Mary Vianney, having come to the end of his earthly life, went to meet the heavenly Father to inherit the Kingdom, prepared since the world's creation for those who faithfully follow his teachings (cf. Mt 25: 34). What great festivities there must have been in Heaven at the entry of such a zealous pastor! What a welcome he must have been given by the multitude of sons and daughters reconciled with the Father through his work as parish priest and confessor! I wanted to use this anniversary as an inspiration to inaugurate the Year for Priests, whose theme, as is well known, is "Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests". The credibility of witness depends on holiness and, once and for all, on the actual effectiveness of the mission of every priest.

John Mary Vianney was born into a peasant family in the small town of Dardilly on 8 May 1786. His family was poor in material possessions but rich in humanity and in faith. Baptized on the day of his birth, as was the good custom in those days, he spent so many years of his childhood and adolescence working in the fields and tending the flocks that at the age of 17 he was still illiterate.
Nonetheless he knew by heart the prayers his devout mother had taught him and was nourished by the sense of religion in the atmosphere he breathed at home. His biographers say that since his earthly youth he sought to conform himself to God's will, even in the humblest offices. He pondered on his desire to become a priest but it was far from easy for him to achieve it. Indeed, he arrived at priestly ordination only after many ordeals and misunderstandings, with the help of far-sighted priests who did not stop at considering his human limitations but looked beyond them and glimpsed the horizon of holiness that shone out in that truly unusual young man. So it was that on 23 June 1815 he was ordained a deacon and on the following 13 August, he was ordained a priest. At last, at the age of 29, after numerous uncertainties, quite a few failures and many tears, he was able to walk up to the Lord's altar and make the dream of his life come true.

The Holy Curé of Ars always expressed the highest esteem for the gift he had received. He would say: "Oh! How great is the Priesthood! It can be properly understood only in Heaven... if one were to understand it on this earth one would die, not of fright but of love!" (Abbé Monnin, Esprit du Curé d'Ars, p. 113). Moreover, as a little boy he had confided to his mother: "If I were to become a priest, I would like to win many souls" (Abbé Monnin, Procès de l'ordinaire, p. 1064). And so he did. Indeed, in his pastoral service, as simple as it was extraordinarily fertile, this unknown parish priest of a forgotten village in the south of France was so successful in identifying with his ministry that he became, even in a visibly and universally recognizable manner, an alter Christus, an image of the Good Shepherd who, unlike the hired hand, lays down his life for his sheep (cf. Jn 10: 11). After the example of the Good Shepherd, he gave his life in the decades of his priestly service. His existence was a living catechesis that acquired a very special effectiveness when people saw him celebrating Mass, pausing before the tabernacle in adoration or spending hour after hour in the confessional.

Therefore the centre of his entire life was the Eucharist, which he celebrated and adored with devotion and respect. Another fundamental characteristic of this extraordinary priestly figure was his diligent ministry of confession. He recognized in the practice of the sacrament of penance the logical and natural fulfilment of the priestly apostolate, in obedience to Christ's mandate: "if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (cf. Jn 20: 23). St John Mary Vianney thus distinguished himself as an excellent, tireless confessor and spiritual director. Passing "with a single inner impulse from the altar to the confessional", where he spent a large part of the day, he did his utmost with preaching and persuasive advice to help his parishioners rediscover the meaning and beauty of the sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence (cf. Letter to Priests for the inauguration of the Year for Priests).

The pastoral methods of St John Mary Vianney might hardly appear suited to the social and cultural conditions of the present day. Indeed, how could a priest today imitate him in a world so radically changed? Although it is true that times change and many charisms are characteristic of the person, hence unrepeatable, there is nevertheless a lifestyle and a basic desire that we are all called to cultivate. At a close look, what made the Curé of Ars holy was his humble faithfulness to the mission to which God had called him; it was his constant abandonment, full of trust, to the hands of divine Providence. It was not by virtue of his own human gifts that he succeeded in moving peoples' hearts nor even by relying on a praiseworthy commitment of his will; he won over even the most refractory souls by communicating to them what he himself lived deeply, namely, his friendship with Christ. He was "in love" with Christ and the true secret of his pastoral success was the fervour of his love for the Eucharistic Mystery, celebrated and lived, which became love for Christ's flock, for Christians and for all who were seeking God. His testimony reminds us, dear brothers and sisters, that for every baptized person and especially for every priest the Eucharist is not merely an event with two protagonists, a dialogue between God and me. Eucharistic Communion aspires to a total transformation of one's life and forcefully flings open the whole human "I" of man and creates a new "we" (cf. Joseph Ratzinger, La Comunione nella Chiesa, p. 80).

Thus, far from reducing the figure of St John Mary Vianney to an example albeit an admirable one of 18-century devotional spirituality, on the contrary one should understand the prophetic power that marked his human and priestly personality that is extremely timely. In post-revolutionary France which was experiencing a sort of "dictatorship of rationalism" that aimed at obliterating from society the very existence of priests and of the Church, he lived first in the years of his youth a heroic secrecy, walking kilometres at night to attend Holy Mass. Then later as a priest Vianney distinguished himself by an unusual and fruitful pastoral creativity, geared to showing that the then prevalent rationalism was in fact far from satisfying authentic human needs, hence definitively unliveable.

Dear brothers and sisters, 150 years after the death of the Holy Curé of Ars, contemporary society is facing challenges that are just as demanding and may have become even more complex. If in his time the "dictatorship of rationalism" existed, in the current epoch a sort of "dictatorship of relativism" is evident in many contexts. Both seem inadequate responses to the human being's justifiable request to use his reason as a distinctive and constitutive element of his own identity. Rationalism was inadequate because it failed to take into account human limitations and claims to make reason alone the criterion of all things, transforming it into a goddess; contemporary relativism humiliates reason because it arrives de facto at affirming that the human being can know nothing with certainty outside the positive scientific field. Today however, as in that time, man, "a beggar for meaning and fulfilment", is constantly in quest of exhaustive answers to the basic questions that he never ceases to ask himself.

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had very clearly in mind this "thirst for the truth" that burns in every human heart when they said that it is the task of priests "as instructors of the people in the faith" to see to the "formation of a genuine Christian community", that can "smooth the path to Christ for all men" and exercise "a truly motherly function" for them, "showing or smoothing the path towards Christ and his Church" for non-believers and for believers, while also "encouraging, supporting and strengthening believers for their spiritual struggles" (cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 6).

The teaching which in this regard the Holy Curé of Ars continues to pass on to us is that the priest must create an intimate personal union with Christ that he must cultivate and increase, day after day.
Only if he is in love with Christ will the priest be able to teach his union, this intimate friendship with the divine Teacher to all, and be able to move people's hearts and open them to the Lord's merciful love. Only in this way, consequently, will he be able to instil enthusiasm and spiritual vitality in the communities the Lord entrusts to him. Let us pray that through the intercession of St John Mary Vianney, God will give holy priests to his Church and will increase in the faithful the desire to sustain and help them in their ministry. Let us entrust this intention to Mary, whom on this very day we invoke as Our Lady of the Snow.

To special groups

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience, especially the pilgrimage groups from England, China, Korea and the United States of America. Yesterday the Church celebrated the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who is the patron saint of parish priests. In this Year for Priests, let us pray that through his intercession all priests will be renewed in love of the Lord, in the joyful pursuit of holiness and in generous commitment to the spread of the Gospel. Upon you and your families I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace!

My thoughts turn lastly to the sick, the newlyweds and the young people, especially to those participating in The Fifth International Encounter "Youth Towards Assisi". Today, the liturgical Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major, the liturgy invites us to turn our gaze to Mary, Mother of Christ. Always look to her, dear young people, imitating her in doing God's will faithfully; turn to her with trust, dear sick people, to experience the effectiveness of her protection in moments of trial; entrust your family to her, dear newlyweds, so that it may always be supported by her maternal intercession.

Image: Upstairs chapel window at St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie, NY.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 9

2009-08-04T07:01:00.001-05:00

HAPPY FEAST OF ST. JOHN VIANNEY!

AUGUST 4: DESIRE FOR HEAVEN

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O Holy Priest of Ars, your precious remains are contained in a magnificent reliquary, the donation from the priests of France. But this earthly glory is only a very pale image of the unspeakable glory which you are enjoying with God.

During the time you were on earth, you used to repeat in your dejected hours, "one will rest in the other life." It is done, you are in eternal peace, and eternal happiness.

I desire to follow you one day. Until then, I hear you saying to me:
"You should work and fight as long as you are in the world."

Teach me then to work for the salvation of my soul, to spread the good news and good example and to do good towards those around me in order that I will receive the happiness of the Elect with you.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions) .

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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4.VIII.2009

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 8

2009-08-03T06:37:00.001-05:00

AUGUST 3: EXQUISITE PURITY

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O Holy Priest of Ars, a witness of your life made this magnificent praise of you:
'We would have taken him for an angel in a mortal body."

You so edified others: the modesty and the exquisite purity radiated from your body. With such charm and with such enthusiasm you preached to others about these beautiful virtues which you said resembled the perfume of a vineyard in bloom.

Please I beg you to join your entreaties to those of Mary Immaculate and Saint Philomena in order that I guard always, as God asks me, the purity of my heart. You, who have directed so many souls towards the heights of virtue, defend me in temptations and obtain for me the strength to conquer them.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions) .

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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3.VIII.2009

Image: Sacristy altar of St. John Vianney at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 7

2009-08-02T07:25:00.001-05:00

AUGUST 2: DISPELLER OF SATAN

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O Holy Priest of Ars, the infamous attacks of the devil which you had to suffer and the trials which disheartened you by fatigue would not make you give up the sublime task of converting souls. The devil came to you for many years to disturb your short rest but you won because of mortification and prayers.

Powerful protector, you know the tempter’s desire to harm my baptized and believing soul. He would have me sin, by rejecting the Holy Sacraments and the life of virtue. But, good Saint of Ars, dispel from me the traces of the enemy.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions) .

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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2.VIII.2009

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 6

2009-08-01T06:12:00.003-05:00

AUGUST 1: REAL PRESENCE

O Holy Priest of Ars, whose only comfort in this world was the real presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, was it not your great joy to distribute the Eucharist to the pilgrims who visited you? You refused Communion to the souls who refused to reform but to souls of goodwill you opened wide the doors of the Eucharistic Feast.
You, who each day at Holy Mass received Holy Communion with great loves, give me some of your fervor. With freedom from mortal sin, obtain for me a sincere desire to profit from receiving Holy Communion.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for... (mention silently your special intentions) .

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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1.VIII.2009

Image: Fr. Delix Michel's last Sunday Mass at Mother of Dolors, 6/28/09.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 5

2009-07-31T06:30:00.002-05:00

JULY 31: CONFESSOR OF SOULS

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O Holy Priest of Ars, you knew how important was a good confession for the Christian life. It was to procure the happy fruits of millions of souls that you agreed to be in an uncomfortable confessional, which was like a prison, up to 15 to 16 hours on certain days.

I will try to develop the habit of frequent confession, to prepare properly each time and to have always regret for my sins, so that the grace of final perseverance but also the sanctification of my soul will be assured. Ask this grace for me.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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31.VII.2009

Image: Confessional located in Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, MN.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 4

2009-07-30T13:55:00.004-05:00

JULY 30: HORROR OF SIN

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Saint John Mary Baptist Vianney, you were so adamant against sin, yet so sympathetic and so ready to welcome the sinner. I come to you today as if you were still alive, as if I were kneeling at your feet and you could hear me. Bend towards me, listen to the repentant confidence for the weaknesses and miserable deeds of mine.

Priest of the Lord, inexhaustible Confessor, obtain for me the horror for sin. You wanted us First to avoid the occasion of sin. I want totake your advice and make the resolution to break bad habits and to avoid the dangerous occasions of sin. Help me today to examine my conscience.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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30.VII.2009

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 3

2009-07-29T06:50:00.003-05:00

JULY 29: TRUE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

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Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney because of your love of God you showed great charity towards your neighbor. You could not preach on the Love of God without burning tears of love. During your last years, it seemed as though you could not talk about any thing else or live for anything else. Thus you sacrificed yourself to your neighbor by consoling, absolving and sanctifying them to the limits of your strength.

Your charity inspires me to greater love of God, a love which is shown more by acts then by words. Help me to love my neighbor generously as Christ loves them.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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29.VII.2009

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 2

2009-07-28T07:29:00.005-05:00

JULY 28: COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD

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Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were full of love for God.

You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God, obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the Commandments of God.

Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.
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28.VII.2009

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 1

2009-07-27T23:46:00.003-05:00

One of my seminarian brothers was kind enough to pass along this short novena (9 days of prayer) asking the intercession of St. John Vianney as we approach his feast day (August 4).

May these daily reflections bear friut for you as well.

JULY 27: ARDENT FAITH

+ Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, you were born of a deeply religious mother; from her you received the Holy Faith; you learned to love God and to pray. At a young age, you were seen kneeling in the front of the statue of Mary. Your soul was supernaturally carried towards the things on High. Despite the high cost, you answered your vocation!

Against many obstacles and contradictions, you had to fight and suffer to become the perfect priest which you were. But your deep spirit of faith supported you in all these battles. 0 Great Saint you know the desire of my soul; I would like to serve God better; from Him I have received so many good things. For this, obtain for me more courage and especially the depth of faith.

Many of my thoughts, words, and actions are useless for my sanctification and for my salvation, because this supernatural spirit does not stir up my life. Help me to be better in the future.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).

Our Father. . .
Hail Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

O St. John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests.

27.VII.2009

Archbishop George J. Lucas

2009-07-23T16:56:00.003-05:00

To watch the archived video of the Installation Mass, CLICK HERE.

May he have many grace-filled, peaceful years serving Christ's Church here in Omaha, somewhere in middle America...

So here's to new beginnings.

Mary, Immaculately conceived, pray for us.
St. Cecilia, pray for us.
St. Louis IX, pray for us.

Stay with us, Lord! - St. Pio

2009-07-21T16:28:00.001-05:00

An oft needed reminder in my life is that Our Lord asks to be at the center of everything. If He's not there, He ought to be given that place. Knowing He is always there, in the lowest low and the highest high of the spiritual life, brings deep consolation. Everything else is fleeting, only He is eternal. As St. Peter rightly noted, "Lord, to whom (else) shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Even though I am indeed losing a great bishop, Christ is still here with me. He is the light and His love is overwhelming.

So, no worries. It's time to be thankful for the blessings that have brought me to this point.

With that in mind, I truly stumbled upon this prayer of St. Pio (thanks to a good friend) which employs the same words of the disciples on the road to Emmaus: Mane nobiscum, Domine! (Stay with us, Lord). For He is everything.

May this bear fruit for you as well:

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life and without You I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light and without You I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of Love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close and life passes, death, judgment and eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my streangth, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by Communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen.

21.VII.2009

Peace and everything good to you, Archbishop Lucas!

2009-07-20T22:45:00.003-05:00

As a wise man once said, "Christians never say goodbye."

So it seems appropriate to drag out the word "bittersweet" from it's bruised and beaten state amongst the heap of over-used cliches to talk about what will be taking place over the next two days.

Since June 3, I've been dealing with the reality of losing my bishop - my main spiritual father - the man I had envisioned promising obedience to come ordination. All in all, this is surreal right now. I don't really have anything to compare it to... my St. Louis brethren, however, have all too recently been through this first hand.

This, really though, is a joyous occasion for the Church in the U.S. as a worthy successor has been named by Pope Benedict to shepherd the Archdiocese of Omaha.

As I have said, (Arch)bishop Lucas will always hold a special place in my life as the one who has seen be through the beginning of my seminary formation. His influence has been one that I will never forget - from the casual chats we had prior to confirmations at my home parish to his frank honesty about his expectations for us as his seminarians.

Being here in Omaha for the summer (is that irony?) has helped me integrate this transfer as I've fallen in love with this town and quietly visited over a dozen parishes and seen first-hand the great people and places that His Excellency is coming in to.

Even more, I am overjoyed for the many Omaha seminarians that I know from Kenrick, in particular a very good friend of mine, that Abp. Lucas will be the bishop that ordains them and guides their formative years in the priesthood. For all of us praying to Our Lord that our hearts "will be made like unto His," Abp. Lucas will no doubt continue to serve as a great example of that.

He has a zeal for souls, a tangible love for the people of God - and in my experience, it's contagious. I'm going to miss that, but God will no doubt provide in ways I surely can't appreciate right now.

So, time to just enjoy the experience of the next 48 hours. Maybe a picture or two will be forthcoming. Your prayers for all involved are appreciated.

Hodie et semper, Domine, fiat voluntas tua. 20.VII.2009

Pope Benedict's New Encyclical

2009-07-07T09:12:00.004-05:00

In case you haven't heard, today is the worldwide release of the Holy Father's 3rd Encyclical. (What is an encyclical?)
Entitiled Caritas in veritate, (In Charity and Truth) this is the Holy Father's first major writing focused on Church social teaching, the likes of which began back in 1891 with Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum. Since then, many pontiffs have written on the matter (a good outline of which can be found by clicking here).

Caritas in Veritate is now up on the Vatican Website - click here to read it.
It was signed by Pope Benedict on Monday 29 June 2009, the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 7.VII.2009

Archbishop-designate Lucas

2009-06-30T23:56:00.007-05:00

In the last 72 hours, the Church has seen the close of the Year of St. Paul, the conferral of the pallium on the world's 34 newest metropolitan Archbishops, and the end of the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The pallium Mass at the Vatican on the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul marked the first time a bishop associated with the Springfield diocese (leading it, or a Springfield priest becoming a bishop elsewhere) has been elevated to the rank of Metropolitan Archbishop.

Archbishop-designate Lucas received the pallium from the Holy Father around 3 or 4 a.m. local time on Monday. Video of the Mass (as of this writing) is archived at CatholicTV. (Part 1 | Part 2)
Click here to see a still photo of Archbishop Lucas and Pope Benedict.

While I am certainly sad to have lost such a good bishop, I am very happy for him and for my friends who are studying for the priesthood for Omaha. His approachability and genuine care for me during these years of seminary formation have meant more to me than I can express except to say I hope and pray I can be as good a spiritual father to my flock someday as Archbishop Lucas was to me.

I have spent these last several weeks in Omaha at IPF and I have only good things to say about the Omaha community and the Archdiocese. I think Archbishop Lucas will thrive here. For information about his July 22nd Installation in Omaha's St. Cecilia Cathedral, click here.

I will always be grateful to him for bringing my dad into the Church at this past year's Rite of the Elect, for Confirming me and my sister, and for receiving my petitions for Candidacy for Holy Orders and for the ministry of Acolyte. He, as successor of the Apostles, has certainly brought Christ to me and my family. In this Year of the Priest, I gladly put him forth as an example for what it means to have the Heart of a shepherd after the Heart of Christ.

Links to a few of Archbishop Lucas' writings follow:
Message for 2009 World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Bishop's column on his transfer from Springfield to Omaha
"Be Reconciled to God" 2008 Pastoral Letter
Podcast/weekly column archive

30.VI.2009

The Year of the Priest: on the sesquicentennial of the death of St. John Vianney

2009-06-18T22:22:00.004-05:00

Today the Holy Father released the letter he has written to all the priests of the world (text below). The "Year of the Priest" under the patronage of St. John Vianney and Our Blessed Mother begins with Friday's 2nd Vespers of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Vatican.

Here in the Springfield Diocese, we know well the need for more young men to listen for and answer Christ's call to serve Him in the Holy Priesthood. Let our prayers be united with those of the Holy Father for the priests who serve us now and the men who will be the priests of the future.

We must recognize the blunt truth that Satan is working hard among us to crush potential vocations within our culture that screams everything but the selfless sacrifice of the Cross.

Our prayers and the powerful intercession of St. John Vianney and of Our Lady to Christ Our Eternal High priest are essential. We must each do our own part to evangelize the Catholic men in our lives and encourage them to pray about what Christ is calling them to do with their life - whether it's the priesthood or not - it is ALWAYS about what HE wants and not I.
Not including God in such a major life-decision is exactly what Satan wants us to do.

St. John Vianney was a powerful confessor and prayed constantly for the conversion of souls in his parish. We too, must pray for the conversion of our friends and family members who have fallen away, are lukewarm, or who do not know the One True Faith. Even more, we must pray for generous hearts, fashioned after the Most Glorious Pierced Heart of Christ, in the men whom Christ is calling to a life of celibate chastity and spiritual fatherhood to countless thousands for the sake of The Kingdom.

Friday is one of the days of the year for priests in which the faithful can receive a plenary indulgence under the conditions set forth here. Happy Solemnity of the Sacred Heart!

Here then, is the full-text of the Holy Father's letter:

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Dear Brother Priests,

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the “dies natalis” of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide.¹ This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say.² This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

I still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person. I also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. Yet the expression of Saint John Mary also makes us think of Christ’s pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I am also led to think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?

There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgment of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realization of the greatness of God’s gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. Here the teaching and example of Saint John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Curé of Ars was quite humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: “A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy”.³ He spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: “O, how great is the priest! … If he realized what he is, he would die… God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host…”.⁴ Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the sacraments, he would say: “Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest… After God, the priest is everything! … Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is”.⁵ These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the sacrament of the priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: “Were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love… Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth… What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods … Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshiping the beasts there … The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you”.⁶

He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his Bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: “There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there”. As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ’s presence and to bear witness to his saving mercy: “[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!”: with this prayer he entered upon his mission.⁷ The Curé devoted himself completely to his parish’s conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care. Dear brother priests, let us ask the Lord Jesus for the grace to learn for ourselves something of the pastoral plan of Saint John Mary Vianney! The first thing we need to learn is the complete identification of the man with his ministry. In Jesus, person and mission tend to coincide: all Christ’s saving activity was, and is, an expression of his “filial consciousness” which from all eternity stands before the Father in an attitude of loving submission to his will. In a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Certainly this is not to forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but neither can we overlook the extraordinary fruitfulness of the encounter between the ministry’s objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister. The Curé of Ars immediately set about this patient and humble task of harmonizing his life as a minister with the holiness of the ministry he had received, by deciding to “live”, physically, in his parish church: As his first biographer tells us: “Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed”.⁸

The pious excess of his devout biographer should not blind us to the fact that the Curé also knew how to “live” actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organized popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the “Providence” (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.

His example naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of cooperation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people⁹ and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, “that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, ‘loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour’” (Rom 12:10).¹⁰ Here we ought to recall the Second Vatican Council’s hearty encouragement to priests “to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of the dignity of the laity and of the special role they have to play in the Church’s mission. … They should be willing to listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes, and acknowledge their experience and competence in the different fields of human activity. In this way they will be able together with them to discern the signs of the times”.¹¹

Saint John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.¹² “One need not say much to pray well” – the Curé explained to them – “We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to him, let us rejoice in his sacred presence. That is the best prayer”.¹³ And he would urge them: “Come to communion, my brothers and sisters, come to Jesus. Come to live from him in order to live with him…¹⁴ “Of course you are not worthy of him, but you need him!”.¹⁵ This way of educating the faithful to the Eucharistic presence and to communion proved most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Those present said that “it was not possible to find a finer example of worship… He gazed upon the Host with immense love”.¹⁶ “All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass” – he would say – “since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God”.¹⁷ He was convinced that the fervour of a priest’s life depended entirely upon the Mass: “The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!”.¹⁸ He was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice: “What a good thing it is for a priest each morning to offer himself to God in sacrifice!”.¹⁹

This deep personal identification with the Sacrifice of the Cross led him – by a sole inward movement – from the altar to the confessional. Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this sacrament. In France, at the time of the Curé of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion. Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence. He thus created a “virtuous” circle. By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become “a great hospital of souls”.²⁰ His first biographer relates that “the grace he obtained [for the conversion of sinners] was so powerful that it would pursue them, not leaving them a moment of peace!”.²¹ The saintly Curé reflected something of the same idea when he said: “It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to him”.²² “This good Saviour is so filled with love that he seeks us everywhere”.²³

We priests should feel that the following words, which he put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: “I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite”.²⁴ From Saint John Mary Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the centre of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the “dialogue of salvation” which it entails. The Curé of Ars dealt with different penitents in different ways. Those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God’s forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the “flood of divine mercy” which sweeps everything away by its vehemence. If someone was troubled by the thought of his own frailty and inconstancy, and fearful of sinning again, the Curé would unveil the mystery of God’s love in these beautiful and touching words: “The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, he already knows that you will sin again, yet he still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: he even forces himself to forget the future, so that he can grant us his forgiveness!”.²⁵ But to those who made a lukewarm and rather indifferent confession of sin, he clearly demonstrated by his own tears of pain how “abominable” this attitude was: “I weep because you don’t weep”,²⁶ he would say. “If only the Lord were not so good! But he is so good! One would have to be a brute to treat so good a Father this way!”.²⁷ He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God’s own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor. To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God’s love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with him and dwelling in his presence: “Everything in God’s sight, everything with God, everything to please God… How beautiful it is!”.²⁸ And he taught them to pray: “My God, grant me the grace to love you as much as I possibly can”.²⁹

In his time the Curé of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord’s merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love: Deus caritas est (1 Jn: 4:8). Thanks to the word and the sacraments of Jesus, John Mary Vianney built up his flock, although he often trembled from a conviction of his personal inadequacy, and desired more than once to withdraw from the responsibilities of the parish ministry out of a sense of his unworthiness. Nonetheless, with exemplary obedience he never abandoned his post, consumed as he was by apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. He sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism: “The great misfortune for us parish priests – he lamented – is that our souls grow tepid”; meaning by this that a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living.³⁰ He himself kept a tight rein on his body, with vigils and fasts, lest it rebel against his priestly soul. Nor did he avoid self-mortification for the good of the souls in his care and as a help to expiating the many sins he heard in confession. To a priestly confrere he explained: “I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place”.³¹ Aside from the actual penances which the Curé of Ars practiced, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus’ own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the “precious cost” of redemption.

In today’s world, as in the troubled times of the Curé of Ars, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses”.³² Lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: “Are we truly pervaded by the word of God? Is that word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?”.³³ Just as Jesus called the Twelve to be with him (cf. Mk 3:14), and only later sent them forth to preach, so too in our days priests are called to assimilate that “new style of life” which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and taken up by the Apostles.³⁴

It was complete commitment to this “new style of life” which marked the priestly ministry of the Curé of Ars. Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Letter Sacerdotii nostri primordia, published in 1959 on the first centenary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney, presented his asceticism with special reference to the “three evangelical counsels” which the Pope considered necessary also for priests: “even though priests are not bound to embrace these evangelical counsels by virtue of the clerical state, these counsels nonetheless offer them, as they do all the faithful, the surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection”.³⁵ The Curé of Ars lived the “evangelical counsels” in a way suited to his priestly state. His poverty was not the poverty of a religious or a monk, but that proper to a priest: while managing much money (since well-to-do pilgrims naturally took an interest in his charitable works), he realized that everything had been donated to his church, his poor, his orphans, the girls of his “Providence”,³⁶ his families of modest means. Consequently, he “was rich in giving to others and very poor for himself”.³⁷ As he would explain: “My secret is simple: give everything away; hold nothing back”.³⁸ When he lacked money, he would say aimiably to the poor who knocked at his door: “Today I’m poor just like you, I’m one of you”.³⁹ At the end of his life, he could say with absolute tranquillity: “I no longer have anything. The good Lord can call me whenever he wants!”.⁴⁰ His chastity, too, was that demanded of a priest for his ministry. It could be said that it was a chastity suited to one who must daily touch the Eucharist, who contemplates it blissfully and with that same bliss offers it to his flock. It was said of him that “he radiated chastity”; the faithful would see this when he turned and gazed at the tabernacle with loving eyes”.⁴¹ Finally, Saint John Mary Vianney’s obedience found full embodiment in his conscientious fidelity to the daily demands of his ministry. We know how he was tormented by the thought of his inadequacy for parish ministry and by a desire to flee “in order to bewail his poor life, in solitude”.⁴² Only obedience and a thirst for souls convinced him to remain at his post. As he explained to himself and his flock: “There are no two good ways of serving God. There is only one: serve him as he desires to be served”.⁴³ He considered this the golden rule for a life of obedience: “Do only what can be offered to the good Lord”.⁴⁴

In this context of a spirituality nourished by the practice of the evangelical counsels, I would like to invite all priests, during this Year dedicated to them, to welcome the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church, not least through the ecclesial movements and the new communities. “In his gifts the Spirit is multifaceted… He breathes where he wills. He does so unexpectedly, in unexpected places, and in ways previously unheard of… but he also shows us that he works with a view to the one body and in the unity of the one body”.⁴⁵ In this regard, the statement of the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis continues to be timely: “While testing the spirits to discover if they be of God, priests must discover with faith, recognize with joy and foster diligently the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, whether these be of a humble or more exalted kind”.⁴⁶ These gifts, which awaken in many people the desire for a deeper spiritual life, can benefit not only the lay faithful but the clergy as well. The communion between ordained and charismatic ministries can provide “a helpful impulse to a renewed commitment by the Church in proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of hope and charity in every corner of the world”.⁴⁷ I would also like to add, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope John Paul II, that the ordained ministry has a radical “communitarian form” and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their Bishop.⁴⁸ This communion between priests and their Bishop, grounded in the sacrament of Holy Orders and made manifest in Eucharistic concelebration, needs to be translated into various concrete expressions of an effective and affective priestly fraternity.⁴⁹ Only thus will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated.

The Pauline Year now coming to its close invites us also to look to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who represents a splendid example of a priest entirely devoted to his ministry. “The love of Christ urges us on” – he wrote – “because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died” (2 Cor 5:14). And he adds: “He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them” (2 Cor 5:15). Could a finer programme could be proposed to any priest resolved to advance along the path of Christian perfection?

Dear brother priests, the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney (1859) follows upon the celebration of the 150^th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes (1858). In 1959 Blessed Pope John XXIII noted that “shortly before the Curé of Ars completed his long and admirable life, the Immaculate Virgin appeared in another part of France to an innocent and humble girl, and entrusted to her a message of prayer and penance which continues, even a century later, to yield immense spiritual fruits. The life of this holy priest whose centenary we are commemorating in a real way anticipated the great supernatural truths taught to the seer of Massabielle. He was greatly devoted to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; in 1836 he had dedicated his parish church to Our Lady Conceived without Sin and he greeted the dogmatic definition of this truth in 1854 with deep faith and great joy.”⁵⁰ The Curé would always remind his faithful that “after giving us all he could, Jesus Christ wishes in addition to bequeath us his most precious possession, his Blessed Mother”.⁵¹

To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Curé of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their Bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to his Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: “In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Curé of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!

With my blessing.

From the Vatican, 16 June 2009.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

1. He was proclaimed as such by Pope Pius XI in 1929.

2. “Le Sacerdoce, c’est l’amour du cœur de Jésus” (in Le curé d’Ars. Sa pensée – Son cœur. Présentés par l’Abbé Bernard Nodet, éd. Xavier Mappus, Foi Vivante, 1966, p. 98). Hereafter: NODET. The expression is also quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1589).

3. NODET, p. 101.

4. Ibid., p. 97.

5. Ibid., pp. 98-99.

6. Ibid., pp. 98-100.

7. Ibid., p. 183.

8. MONNIN, A., Il Curato d’Ars. Vita di Gian.Battista-Maria Vianney, vol. I, ed. Marietti, Turin, 1870, p. 122.

9. Cf. Lumen Gentium, 10.

10. Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9.

11. Ibid.

12. “Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. ‘I look at him and he looks at me’: this is what a certain peasant of Ars used to say to his holy Curé about his prayer before the tabernacle” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2715).

13. NODET, p. 85.

14. Ibid., p. 114.

15. Ibid., p. 119.

16. MONNIN, A., op. cit., II, pp. 430ff.

17. NODET, p. 105.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid., p. 104.

20. MONNIN, A., op. cit., II, p. 293.

21. Ibid., II, p. 10.

22. NODET, p. 128.

23. Ibid., p. 50.

24. Ibid., p. 131.

25. Ibid., p. 130.

26. Ibid., p. 27.

27. Ibid., p. 139.

28. Ibid., p. 28.

29. Ibid., p. 77.

30. Ibid., p. 102.

31. Ibid., p. 189.

32. Evangelii nuntiandi, 41.

33. BENEDICT XVI, Homily at the Chrism Mass, 9 April 2009.

34. Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, 16 March 2009.

35. P. I.

36. The name given to the house where more than sixty abandoned girls were taken in and educated. To maintain this house he would do anything: “J’ai fait tous les commerces imaginables”, he would say with a smile (NODET, p. 214).

37. NODET, p. 216.

38. Ibid., p. 215.

39. Ibid., p. 216.

40. Ibid., p. 214.

41. Cf. ibid., p. 112.

42. Cf. ibid., pp. 82-84; 102-103.

43. Ibid., p. 75.

44. Ibid., p. 76.

45. BENEDICT XVI, Homily for the Vigil of Pentecost, 3 June 2006.

46. No. 9.

47. BENEDICT XVI, Address to Bishop-Friends of the Focolare Movement and the Sant’Egidio Community, 8 February 2007

48. Cf. No. 17.

49. Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 74.

50. Encyclical Letter Sacerdotii nostri primordia, P. III.

51. NODET, p. 244.

***

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
St. John Vianney, pray for us!

18.VI.2009

Tour of the Diocese resumed

2009-06-16T17:37:00.003-05:00

This past weekend, I traveled from IPF here in Omaha back to the northwest corner of our diocese to do a little promotion of the seminary and priestly vocations as the Catholic world prepares for the inauguration of the Year of St. John Vianney this Friday in Rome.

Thanks to the graciousness of Fr. Jeff Stone, I spent Corpus Christi Sunday in Adams County visiting St. Brigid in Liberty, St. Joseph in rural Quincy, and St. Edward in Mendon.
On Saturday night, I played the organ at Holy Family parish in Mt. Sterling for a friend who is one of Memphis, Tennessee's newly ordained.

This was a great trip and it is always good to share with the people of the diocese the need for active encouragement of possible vocations to the priesthood within our parish families. Those words "you would make a good priest" didn't register much with me the first 7 or 8 years I heard them, but looking back, that encouragement has been invaluable.

This Friday's Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus will see our Holy Father begin a "Year for Priests" under the patronage of St. John Vianney on this anniversary of the saint's death.

Above all, what is necessary in prayer for all our families is to ask for the light of the Holy Spirit to know God's will for our life and for the lives of those we love - no matter what the call is.

Like Mary, our Mother, let's open our hearts totally to His Will so that we can give our whole-hearted "Yes" to whatever His call is for each of us, no matter our age or situation.

***

In closing, I do ask your prayers for more young men in our diocese to have the courage to answer Christ's call to serve as His Priests. I also ask your prayers for Archbishop-designate Lucas as he prepares to make the transition to the Metropolitan See of Omaha, Nebraska. I will post more on this in the future. (Had I not been on silent retreat during the announcement, this would have already been done.) He has been a wonderful spiritual father during the course of my seminary formation and I am truly going to miss him; but this is all part of the obedience in Holy Orders.

If you saw me last weekend in Brown or Adams County, thanks for visiting the blog! Know that my prayers are with your parish families.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 16.VI.2009

Come, Holy Spirit!

2009-05-31T09:00:00.001-05:00

"...the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings." (Romans 8)

Click here to listen to the Sequence Veni, Sancte Spiritus (click here for words and translation)

At this ninth hour of the day, we pray the Spirit will come and dwell in our hearts, with the transforming love of Christ the Lord who died, rose, and lives forever; our Eternal High Priest who continually offers Himself in Sacrificial Love to God the Father so that we might share in a foretaste of heaven, having his very Body and Blood in us under the forms of bread and wine.

O Holy Spirit, increase our faith!

chant source

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! 31.V.2009

The silent retreat

2009-05-30T17:00:00.003-05:00

We entreat you not to receive the grace of God in vain . . . Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

- Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 6:2

To derive real profit from the retreat, you must listen, reflect, and pray.

It is true that Satan will try to attack us at our weakest point, so this is a time of great privilege to look at one's life, do a thourough examination of conscience and daily living, and seek to implement the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit that will combat the vices that have crept into your life.

For a great post on how we can pray for these virtues and gifts to combat the evil in our lives, click here to read this Pentecost-minded post from The Rock and The Sword.

The graces we need will come from our prayers. This would be the time to look at how you pray, and if you say the Creed or Hail Mary at about 200mph, this is the time to slow down and meditate on the words that are coming out of your mouth. For instance, Mary is Our loving Mother, loving us even more than our own earthly Mothers ever could. She leads us always to Christ in everything that she does and so we beg her to pray for an increase in Faith, Hope, and Love in our lives and that all might be centered on Christ.

On Day 1, "The Major Seminarian" (p. 119) instructs us to read all of the 6th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. And our intention is to beg our Lord for the grace to make a good retreat.

Also the following excerpt from "Following of Christ"


A poor and pure man need not give himself to any man through humility,
for he hath in himself the roots of all humility. Nor is it needful for
him to show his humility to creatures, for God understandeth his heart
well; as Christ saith "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart."

Have humility of heart, that is enough. An objection may be made that
"it is not enough for man to have virtue in him, but he should manifest
it, that people may be bettered." I answer to this: If thou art gone
out from thyself and quite withdrawn, people will be much more improved
on thy account, if they wish it, through this thy withdrawal than
through thy co-operation.

It may, however, be urged: Granting that a man in himself understandeth
all truth and hath overcome all sin, yet is it good that he should not
assume this to himself, and it is better for him to trust another than
himself.

To this I say: He should not assume it, but give it to God, and to no
creature; for no creature can give such truth and singleness, for God
only giveth them. 


Lastly, with Pentecost on the brain, a great prayer is the Veni Creator Spiritus,
or the Sequence: Veni Sancte Spiritus.

Retreat & Celebrating the 1-year mark

2009-05-30T12:00:00.003-05:00

First, let me thank you all for your readership the past year. Today is the first anniversary of the creation of "Come and See." While I'm not able to do as much traveling in our diocese this summer to spread the word about the seminary, I hope what you'll find here will help you grow closer in love to Jesus and Mary. As we enter again the month of the Sacred Heart (June) and leave the month of our Lady (May), let us pray for an increase of God's love in our hearts that
we may better spread His Gospel and lead others to Him, The Way.

As I am in full swing into my 8-day silent retreat of the course of the next few days, you'll find pre-written posts (like this one) appearing here and there. The retreat is Ignatian, and I don't know much about that, so what I'll present here are snipets of what one can pray about on a week-long retreat as found in the prayer book "The Major Seminarian" which was a popular volume in the 1940s and 50s. The book offers points of meditation, centered on Scripture over the course of the week. You'll be able to find bits and pieces of that info here in the event you are ever blessed with the opportunity to go on an extended retreat (or take some time out once a week for seven weeks to silently pray and do this).

Check back when you have time, and may the Holy Spirit bless you abundantly on this Pentecost weekend.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 30.V.2009

The Ascension of the Lord

2009-05-24T08:00:00.003-05:00

Today, I'll attend my second First Mass in as many weeks for one of my newly ordained brothers from the seminary. Yesterday was a beautiful day all-around; both the Ordination Mass in St. Louis Cathedral Basilica and the weather was great too.

Today also, I travel to Omaha to Creighton University and the Institute for Priestly Formation where I will spend the next 10 weeks with two of my diocesan brothers, some of my seminary classmates, and countless other seminarians from across the country who I'll meet for the first time.

In a few weeks' time, I'll make my one and only summer visit to a parish in our diocese to speak about vocations. At that time, I'll visit Fr. Jeff Stone and his 3 parishes in Liberty, Mendon, and Quincy, IL.

The Solemnity of the Ascension that we celebrate today (transferred), is an excellent point for our contemplation in prayer - at it may be one of the mysteries that we often overlook.

There are a wealth of Church Father's one could read up on regarding what we celebrate today.
I have chosen to highlight a writing of Pope St. Leo the Great (see further links below this block quote as well!)

Accordingly, dearly-beloved, throughout this time which elapsed between the Lord's Resurrection and Ascension, God's Providence had this in view, to teach and impress upon both the eyes and hearts of His own people that the Lord Jesus Christ might be acknowledged to have as truly risen, as He was truly born, suffered, and died. And hence the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at His death on the cross and backward in believing His Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy. And truly great and unspeakable was their cause for joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude, above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, the Nature of mankind went up, to pass above the angels' ranks and to rise beyond the archangels' heights, and to have Its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, It should be associated on the throne with His glory, to Whose Nature It was united in the Son. Since then Christ's Ascension is our uplifting, and the hope of the Body is raised, whither the glory of the Head has gone before, let us exult, dearly-beloved, with worthy joy and delight in the loyal paying of thanks. For today not only are we confirmed as possessors of paradise, but have also in Christ penetrated the heights of heaven, and have gained still greater things through Christ's unspeakable grace than we had lost through the devil's malice. For us, whom our virulent enemy had driven out from the bliss of our first abode, the Son of God has made members of Himself and placed at the right hand of the Father, with Whom He lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

- from Sermon 73.IV (on the Ascension I).

See also his Homily on the Ascension II.

To listen to the Gregorian Chant propers that belong to today's Solemnity, click here.
They are awesome.

Today, I can't help but think of the two on the road to Emmaus asking the Lord to "stay with us."
Jesus did remain for 40 days until the Ascension, but he did indeed send us the Spirit and is Truly Present in the Holy Eucharist on all the Catholic altars of the world.

With that in mind, a good read would be John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine - which indeed are those three words "stay with us." It is all about our Lord, who is Truly with us in the Eucharist.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 24.V.2009

Novena to the Holy Spirit

2009-05-22T06:22:00.003-05:00

Today marks the ninth day before the Solemnity of Pentecost, and so many novenas will begin today to pray for a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I'll post more later, but here are two links for two of the best novenas that I think are out there:

Adoremus novena

EWTN novena

Veni, Sancte Spiritus! Reple tuorum corda fidelium! 22.V.2009

With What Great Love You Love

2009-05-21T07:14:00.004-05:00

Today, I fondly remember my Uncle Paul who was taken from this earth 10 years ago tonight. I have many vivid images of those days, but thankfully even still more vivid images of the kind and loving man who worked harder than anyone I knew and always had a smile and a compliment ready for you.

So what came to my mind today was a synthesis of things:
I've had Last Sunday's readings on God's Love stuck in my head for the last few days now, and remembering Uncle Paul today made me think of what a wonderful illustration he was of how to live normal, everyday life with the love of Christ emanating forth from you - plain for all to see.

My prayer today then is again for him and for all the souls in Purgatory, but also that I can better live out the charity, generosity and love of God in my life as I am called to by my baptism.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the angels greet you and the martyrs welcome you...
Receive his soul, present him to God most high.

Requiescat in pace. 21.V.2009

Our Mother

2009-05-10T07:15:00.004-05:00

Today as we give thanks to God on His Day, we also give thanks for our mothers and the Mother of the Church, Mary Immaculate.

The Patroness of our nation and our diocese, Mary the Immaculate Conception is our perfect model of how to live lives of virtue and holiness as the Father pours out His Grace upon us.

Mary, like so many of our own mothers, is both humble and obedient, always giving of herself. Mary does so perfectly, and so she is a model for all the rest of mankind.

"Let it be done unto me according to thy Word," she said to the Will of God and to the angel at the Annunciation.

In prayer let's lift up our mothers who gave us life to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that they will be filled this day with the peace and joy that filled the Heart of Blessed Mary as she held our Lord at Bethlehem.

picture: The Immaculate Conception, stained glass, St. John the Evangelist in Lawrence, KS.

10.V.2009

Archbishop Burke's witness for life

2009-05-08T15:21:00.002-05:00

As things wind down here at Kenrick-Glennon for the year, there are many things to look back on and be thankful for. We opened our academic year with a farewell for Archbishop Burke and we closed it with a farewell for our long-time Academic Dean Fr. Larry Brennan and our New Testament prof. Fr. Randy Soto.

Tonight we send off the men who will be ordained to the priesthood for their respective dioceses in the coming weeks. Your prayers for them are appreciated. May Our Lady protect them. Her month, May, always seems to be a time for new beginnings and for reflections on the past academic year's blessings.

Today, Archbishop Burke again reminded us why he is one of those many blessings as he stood up for our faith at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in our nation's capital.

The address speaks for itself, I hope you'll take the time to read it. Remember to say a prayer for him, as well, there's always trials to undergo when one stands up for the Truth of Jesus Christ is our day and age.

Here, then, is the full-text of Archbishop Raymond Burke's address for this year's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast:

KEYNOTE ADDRESS OF

THE MOST REVEREND RAYMOND LEO BURKE, D.D., J.C.D.

ARCHBISHOP-EMERITUS OF SAINT LOUIS

PREFECT OF THE SUPREME TRIBUNAL OF THE APOSTOLIC SIGNATURA

NATIONAL CATHOLIC PRAYER BREAKFAST

“CELEBRATION OF THE TEACHINGS

OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH”

WASHINGTON, D.C.

MAY 8, 2009

Introduction

1. I am deeply honored to give the Keynote Address at this annual gathering of Catholics to pray for our nation. I express my heartfelt esteem and gratitude to those who, each year, organize and support the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

2. The theme of this year’s Breakfast is most fitting to the difficult time through which our nation is now passing. Before the fundamental and great challenges which we as a nation are facing, how better to express our patriotism than by celebrating the teachings of our Catholic faith. The most treasured gift which we as citizens of the United States of America can offer to our country is a faithful Catholic life. It is the gift which, even though it has often been misunderstood, has brought great strength to our nation, from the time of its founding. Today more than ever, our nation is in need of Catholics who know their faith deeply and express their faith, with integrity, by their daily living.

3. Although I no longer have my residence in our beloved nation, I am no less bound to practice the virtue of patriotism, taught and exemplified by Our Lord during His public ministry. It is Our Lord Who gives us, in the Church, the grace to practice patriotism as a fundamental expression of the bond of charity which we have, in Him, with our fellow citizens. From my earliest formation in the life of the faith, received at home from my parents and in the Catholic schools, it was clear to me that duty to one’s nation, to one’s fellow citizens, is integral to our life in Christ in the Church. In the Baltimore Catechism, the virtue of patriotism is joined with filial piety. These essentially connected virtues, in the words of the Catechism, dispose us to honor, love and respect our parents and our country (Revised Baltimore Catechism and Mass, No. 3, New York: Benziger Brothers, Inc., 1949, 1952, no. 135). Surely, the most fundamental expression of patriotism is daily prayer for our homeland, the United States of America, her citizens and her leaders. Our participation in the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast is, I trust, an extraordinary expression of the daily prayer which we all offer for our country, as good Catholics and, therefore, good citizens.

4. It pleases me that today’s celebration included a presentation by Mother Shaun Vergauwen, Superior General of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. I have known Mother Shaun’s religious congregation for all the years of my priestly life. The consecrated life of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist is an inspired witness to the truths of our Catholic faith, especially what pertains to the Gospel of Life, and, therefore, also makes a strong contribution to the good of all citizens in our nation.

Growing Crisis in Our Nation

5. I come to you, this morning, with the deepest concern for our nation. I come to you, not as someone who stands outside of our nation but as a citizen who, with you as fellow citizens, takes responsibility for the state of our nation and, therefore, cannot remain indifferent and inactive about what most concerns the good of us all, especially those among us who are small, weak and defenseless.

6. Over the past several months, our nation has chosen a path which more completely denies any legal guarantee of the most fundamental human right, the right to life, to the innocent and defenseless unborn. Our nation, which had its beginning in the commitment to safeguard and promote the inalienable right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” for all, without boundary, is more and more setting arbitrary limits to her commitment (cf. The Declaration of Independence: Action of Second Continental Congress, 4 July 1776, in The Constitution of the United States with the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 2002, p. 81). Those in power now determine who will or will not be accorded the legal protection of the most fundamental right to life. First the legal protection of the right to life is denied to the unborn and, then, to those whose lives have become burdened by advanced years, special needs or serious illness, or whose lives are somehow judged to be unprofitable or unworthy.

7. What is more, those in power propose to force physicians and other healthcare professionals, in other words, those with a particular responsibility to protect and foster human life, to participate, contrary to what their conscience requires, in the destruction of unborn human lives, from the first or embryonic stage of development to the moment of birth. Our laws may soon force those who have dedicated themselves to the care of the sick and the promotion of good health to give up their noble life work, in order to be true to the most sacred dictate of their consciences. What is more, if our nation continues down the path it has taken, healthcare institutions operating in accord with the natural moral law, which teaches us that innocent human life is to be protected and fostered at all times and that it is always and everywhere evil to destroy an innocent human life, will be forced to close their doors.

8. At the same time, the fundamental society, that is, the family, upon which the life of our nation is founded and depends, is under attack by legislation which redefines marriage to include a relationship between two persons of the same sex and permits them to adopt children. In the same line, it is proposed to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. At the root of the confusion and error about marriage is the contraceptive mentality – which would have us believe that the inherently procreative nature of the conjugal union can, in practice, be mechanically or chemically eliminated, while the marital act remains unitive. It cannot be so. With unparalleled arrogance, our nation is choosing to renounce its foundation upon the faithful, indissoluble, and inherently procreative love of a man and a woman in marriage, and, in violation of what nature itself teaches us, to replace it with a so-called marital relationship, according to the definition of those who exercise the greatest power in our society.

9. The path of violation of the most fundamental human rights and of the integrity of marriage and the family, which our nation is traveling, is not accidental. It is part of the program set forth by those whom we have freely chosen to lead our nation. The part of the program in question was not unknown to us; it was announced to us beforehand and a majority of our fellow citizens, including a majority of our fellow Catholics, chose the leadership which is now implementing it with determination. For example, I refer to our President’s declared support of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would make illegal any legislation restricting procured abortion; his repeal of the Mexico City Policy, permitting U.S. funding of procured abortion in other nations, together with the grant of fifty million dollars to the United Nations Fund for Population Activities which, for example, supported the Republic of China’s policy of one child per family by means of government-dictated sterilization and abortion; his proposal to rescind the regulations appended to the federal Conscience Clause, which assure that, not only physicians, but also all health-care workers may refuse to provide services, information or counsel to patients regarding medications and procedures which are contrary to their conscience; his removal of limitations on federal funding of embryonic-stem-cell research, involving the wholesale destruction of human life at the embryonic stage of development; and his choice of the members of his administration, who are remarkable for the number of major officials, including several Catholics, who favor the denial of the right to life to the unborn and the violation of the integrity of marriage and the family. These are only some examples of a consistent pattern of decisions by the leadership of our nation which is taking our nation down a path which denies the fundamental right to life to the innocent and defenseless unborn and violates the fundamental integrity of the marital union and the family.

10. As Catholics, we cannot fail to note, with the greatest sadness, the number of our fellow Catholics, elected or appointed by our President to public office, who cooperate fully in the advancement of a national agenda was is anti-life and anti-family. Most recently, the appointment of a Catholic as Secretary of Health and Human Services, who has openly and persistently cooperated with the industry of procured abortion in our nation, is necessarily a source of the deepest embarrassment to Catholics and a painful reminder of the most serious responsibility of Catholics to uphold the natural moral law, which is the irreplaceable foundation of just relationships among the citizens of our nation. It grieves me to say that the support of anti-life legislation by Catholics in public office is so common that those who are not Catholic have justifiably questioned whether the Church’s teaching regarding the inviolable dignity of innocent human life is firm and unchanging. It gives the impression that the Church herself can change the law which God has written on every human heart from the beginning of time and has declared in the Fifth Commandment of the Decalogue: Thou shalt not kill.

11. As is clear, the anti-life and anti-family path down which our nation is being led has repercussions for many other peoples who rely upon the United States for aid or who are influenced by the international policies upon which our nation insists. The interest of so many nations in our recent presidential election is a clear sign of the world leadership which our national leadership exercises. What those who were so enthused about the strong message of change and hope in the United States, delivered during the last election campaign, are now discovering is a consistent implementation of policies and programs which confirm and advance the culture of death, which can only finally leave our world without the great hope, described by our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI in these words:

Let us say once again: we need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain. The fact that it comes to us as a gift is actually part of hope. God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety. His Kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; his Kingdom is present wherever he is loved and wherever his love reaches us.

His love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect. His love is at the same time our guarantee of the existence of what we only vaguely sense and which nevertheless, in our deepest self, we await: a life that is truly life (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe salvi, On Christian Hope, 30 November 2007, Acta Apostolicae Sedis no. 31).

The change which brings hope can only be the renewal of our nation in the divine love which respects the inviolable dignity of every human life, from the moment of its inception to the moment of natural death, and which creates and gives growth to new human life through the love of man and woman in marriage. Any hope which is incoherent with the great hope is truly illusory and can never bring forth justice and its fruit, peace, for our nation and world.

Addressing the Crisis

12. How can we as Catholics address effectively the critical situation of our nation in what pertains to the fundamental right to life and the integrity of the family? What does the virtue of patriotism, together with all of the virtues inspired by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, require of us for the common good, for the good of the whole nation? First and foremost, it demands what we are doing this morning, that is, prayer, and the serious reflection which arises from our communion with God in prayer.

13. When Our Lord descended from the Mount of the Transfiguration, he found that his disciples had tried, without success, to help a boy afflicted by an unclean spirit. Our Lord then cast out the unclean spirit, prompting his disciples, when they were alone with Him, to ask why they had been unable to free the boy from his affliction. Our Lord responded with these words: This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting (Mk 9:29). Our Lord reminded them that the good which they wished to accomplish in the face of great evil could only be attained through prayer and fasting. In other words, evil cannot be overcome by our own forces alone, but by the grace of God which inspires and strengthens our thoughts and actions. It is Christ alone who has accomplished the victory over sin and its most evil fruit, eternal death, and it is Christ alone, in the Church, who continues to bring forth the fruits of His victory in our lives and in our world.

14. In the battle for the protection of the right to life and for the safeguarding of the integrity of marriage and the family in our nation, we are easily tempted to give way to discouragement. And it would be right to do so, if the outcome of the battle depended upon us alone. But it does not. Christ is with us always in the Church and, in a particular way, in the struggle to restore the respect for the right to life of all of our brothers and sisters, especially those who are helpless and who have the first title to our care, and to safeguard the integrity of marriage and the family. Christ Who is the Gospel of Life, encountered in prayer and through the Sacraments, will give us the strength to announce His word of life and to act upon His word of life, on behalf of all in our nation, especially those who depend upon us to care for them and protect their God-given rights.

15. If we are serious about our patriotic duty, then we must pray everyday for our leaders, especially our President, and our nation. We should also practice more fervently our fasting and abstinence for the conversion of our lives and the transformation of our society. If we want to act for the common good, the good of all, in our nation, then we will seek to convert our lives each day to Christ, especially through the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. Christ desires to announce the Gospel of Life and bring about its saving effects in our nation by the complete conversion of our lives to Him for the sake of all our brothers and sisters, without boundary, and for the sake of the preservation of the sanctuary of human life, marriage and the family.

16. At various times of great crisis in our nation and in the world, the Holy Father and our Bishops have called upon all Catholics to offer special prayers for the nation and for the world. I recall so well, from my youth, the Leonine Prayers offered at the conclusion of every Mass to address the growing threat of atheistic materialism in our world. Remember, too, how Pope Saint Pius V, in 1571, called upon the whole Church to pray, especially through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when the Christian world was under attack by the Turks. After the victory of the Battle of Lepanto, on October 7, 1571, he established October 7th as an annual feast in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary and introduced the title of Mary Help of Christians into the Litany of Loreto. In the present crisis, praying daily the Rosary for our nation and invoking daily the intercession of Mary Help of Christians will be powerful forces for the victory of life and love.

17. At every Mass, we should offer special prayers for our nation and her leaders, in order that the culture of death may be overcome and a civilization of love may be steadfastly advanced. All Catholics throughout the nation should take part in Eucharistic adoration and in the praying of the Rosary for the restoration of the respect for human life and for the safeguarding of the integrity of the family. In our prayers, we should seek, above all, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception. Mary Immaculate is the patroness of our nation. In a most wonderful way, she appeared, on our continent, in what is present-day Mexico City, in 1531, as the Immaculate Mother of God, in order to manifest the all-merciful love of God toward His children of America. Through her example and intercession, the Native Americans and Europeans, who were on the brink of a most deadly conflict, were brought together to form one people under her maternal care, and the widespread practice of human sacrifice among the native people was brought to an end. In our time, in many parishes and dioceses there are campaigns of prayer for our nation and her leaders. May these powerful spiritual works continue and prosper, so that, through prayer and fasting, the grave evils of contraception, procured abortion, euthanasia, the experimentation on embryonic human life, and so-called

same-sex marriage may be overcome in our nation.

18. Connected with our prayer must be the thoughtful and faithful reflection upon the Church’s teaching on the respect for all human life and the integrity of the family. In our homes, in our Catholic schools and universities, in parish study groups, and in everyday conversations and discussions with our neighbors, we are called to give an uncompromising witness to the Gospel of Life. Parents, parish priests and institutions of Catholic education must be aware of the constant anti-life and anti-family messages which constantly bombard us and our young people. One has only to think, for example, of the corruption of the goodness of our youth by the multi-million dollar industry of pornography, especially on the Internet. Our reflection as individuals and groups must open our eyes to the gravity of the situation in our nation, lest we fail to take responsibility for the widespread attacks on human life and the family. Our reflection must help us all and, in a particular way, our young people to see the godless secularism and relativism which underly and justify our nation’s anti-life and anti-family programs, policies and laws.

19. Our encounter with the world must be clear and uncompromising. Parents must reflect in their daily living the lifelong and rich fruit of the Gospel of Life, which they are called to teach to their children. Catholic educational institutions must devote themselves ever more strenuously to the study of the truths of the faith, addressing them to the moral challenges of our time. In a culture marked by widespread and grave confusion and error about the most fundamental teachings of the moral law, our Catholic schools and universities must be beacons of truth and right conduct. Clearly, the same is true of our Catholic charitable, missionary and healthcare institutions. There can be no place in them for teaching or activities which offend the moral law. Dialogue and respect for differences are not promoted by the compromise and even violation of the natural moral law. The profound granting of an honorary doctorate at Notre Dame University to our President who is as aggressively advancing an anti-life and anti-family agenda is a source of the gravest scandal. Catholic institutions cannot offer any platform to, let alone honor, those who teach and act publicly against the moral law. In a culture which embraces an agenda of death, Catholics and Catholic institutions are necessarily counter-cultural. If we as individuals or our Catholic institutions are not willing to accept the burdens and the suffering necessarily involved in calling our culture to reform, then we are not worthy of the name Catholic.

Catholics and Public Life

20. Our prayer and conversion of life, and the serious reflection upon and study of the truths of the moral life, both as individuals and in our Catholic institutions, require that we accept our responsibility as citizens to work tirelessly to change unjust programs, policies and laws. In a nation set so firmly on a path of violation of the most fundamental moral norms, Catholics and others who adhere to the natural moral law are pressured to think that their religious commitment to the moral law as the way of seeking the good of all is a merely confessional matter which cannot have any application in public life. Apparently, a number of Catholics in public life have been so convinced. How often do we hear Catholic legislators who vote in favor of anti-life and anti-family legislation claim that they are personally opposed to what the legislation protects and fosters, but that they as public officials may not allow religious beliefs to affect their support of such legislation? How often do we hear fellow Catholics supporting candidates for office, who are anti-life and anti-family, because of political-party loyalties or for reasons of other policies and programs supported by the candidate, which they deem to be good? How often is such thinking justified by the claim that religious faith is a purely private matter and has no place in the public forum? On the contrary, the common good depends upon the active engagement of religious faith in the public forum.

21. Addressing the role of the Church in the political order, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us:

It must not be forgotten that, when Churches or ecclesial communities intervene in public debate, expressing reservations or recalling various principles, this does not constitute a form of intolerance or interference, since such interventions are aimed solely at enlightening consciences, enabling them to act freely and responsibly, according to the true demands of justice, even when this should conflict with situations of power and personal interest (Pope Benedict XVI, Ad Congressum a Populari Europae Faction provectum, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 98 [2006], 344)."

In his Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est, our Holy Father reminded us of the great gift of our faith which enables reason to do its work more effectively and to see its proper object more clearly (Pope Benedict XVI, Encylical Letter Deus caritas est , On Christian Love, 25 December 2005, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 98 [2006], 239, no. 28). When the Church addresses her social teaching to issues of the common good, she has no intention of giving the Church power over the State or to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith (Deus caritas est, no. 28). Her aim, which is our aim as patriotic Catholics, is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just (Deus caritas est, no. 28). In addressing the critical issues of our nation, the Church and we, as her faithful sons and daughters, intervene on the basis of reason and natural law, namely, on the basis of what is in accord with the nature of every human being (Deus caritas est, no. 28).

22. Our uncompromising commitment to protect the inviolable dignity of innocent human life and to safeguard the integrity of marriage and the family are not based on peculiar confessional beliefs or practices but on the natural moral law, written on every heart and, therefore, a fundamental part of the Church’s moral teaching. At the same time, what is always and everywhere evil cannot be called good for the sake of accomplishing some other good end. All of us must be concerned about a wide range of goods which are important to the life of our nation, but the concern for those goods can never justify the betrayal of the fundamental goods of life itself and the family. We must take care to uproot from our moral thinking any form of relativism, consequentialism and proportionalism, which would lead us into the error of thinking that it is sometimes right to do what is always and everywhere evil.

23. An important part of our moral reflection must include a clear understanding of the principles regarding cooperation in evil, especially by the act of voting. Too often, in our time, our inability to accomplish all that we should for the sake of the defense of the right to life and of the protection of the integrity of the family is used to justify the direct choice of a political leader who espouses a position or positions in violation of the natural moral law. The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in his Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, addresses at length the question of cooperation in evil which violates the dignity of innocent human life. He offers as an example the case of a legislator who has the possibility of voting for a law which would restrict the evil of procured abortion, even though it would not eradicate it completely. He concludes that the legislator could vote for the legislation, while his own opposition to procured abortion remains clear, for his vote does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects (Pope John Paul II, Encylical Letter Evangelium vitae , On the Good and Inviolability of Human Life, 25 March 1995, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 87 [1995], 487, no. 73). In an analogous manner, as voters, we are often faced with a choice among candidates who do not fully oppose unjust laws. In such a case, we must choose the candidate who will most limit the evil effects of unjust laws. But, there is no element of the common good, no morally good practice, which a candidate may promote and to which a voter may be dedicated, which could justify voting for a candidate who also endorses and supports the deliberate killing of the unborn, euthanasia or the recognition of a same-sex relationship as a legal marriage. The respect for the inviolable dignity of innocent human life and for the integrity of marriage and the family are so fundamental to the common good that they cannot be subordinated to any other cause, no matter how good it may be.

24. In the present situation of our nation, a serious question has arisen about the moral obligation of Catholics to work for the overturning of the Supreme Court decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. There are those who would tell us that such work is futile and, therefore, is to be abandoned, so that we can devote ourselves to help prevent individuals from choosing abortion. As Catholics, we can never cease to work for the correction of gravely unjust laws. Law is a fundamental expression of our culture and implicitly teaches citizens what is morally acceptable. Our efforts to assist those who are tempted to do what is always and everywhere wrong or are suffering from the effects of having committed a gravely immoral act, which are essential expressions of the charity which unites us as citizens of the nation, ultimately make little sense, if we remain idle regarding unjust laws and decisions of the courts regarding the same intrinsic evils. We are never justified in abandoning the work of changing legislation and of reversing decisions of the courts which are anti-life and anti-family.

Conclusion

25. As we gather this morning to pray for our nation, let us draw courage and strength from the glorious pierced Heart of Our Lord Jesus. Let us not give way to discouragement in our exercise of patriotism but rather be confident of the essential contribution which our Catholic faith makes to the life of our nation.

26. May the courage and strength which comes to us from the Sacred Heart of Jesus enlighten our minds to see more clearly the gravity of the situation of our nation and inflame our hearts to do our part to transform the life of our nation, in accord with the natural moral law, that is, with what is just and serves the good of all. Let us draw courage and strength from the Sacred Heart of Jesus through prayer and the Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. May the courage and strength of Christ guide our reflection on the state of our nation and lead us to that just action, taught to us by our faith, which serves the good of all.

27. Invoking the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America, let us pray today and everyday that we as Catholics, true to our faith and, therefore, patriotically devoted to our nation, may promote respect for all human life, safeguard the sanctity of marriage and the family, and, thereby, foster the good of all in the nation and in the world.

Thank you. God bless you.

***

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have Mercy on us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. John Vianney, pray for us.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 8.V.2009

Pope Benedict's Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations

2009-05-04T05:48:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I posted Bishop Lucas' message for the 46th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

Today I pass along the Holy Father's 2009 message for this same occasion.
I should also point out that this coincides with the Priesthood Ordinations (May 3) in the Diocese of Rome, at which the Pope presided yesterday.

***

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 46^th WORLD DAY
OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

3 MAY 2009, FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Theme: Faith in the divine initiative - the human response

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
Brothers and Sisters,

On the occasion of the next World Day of prayer for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life, which will be celebrated on 3 May 2009, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, I want to invite all the People of God to reflect on the theme: Faith in the divine initiative - the human response. The exhortation of Jesus to his disciples: “Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38) has a constant resonance in the Church. Pray! The urgent call of the Lord stresses that prayer for vocations should be continuous and trusting. The Christian community can only really “have ever greater faith and hope in God's providence” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 26) if it is enlivened by prayer.

The vocation to the priesthood and to the consecrated life constitutes a special gift of God which becomes part of the great plan of love and salvation that God has for every man and woman and for the whole of humanity. The Apostle Paul, whom we remember in a special way during this Pauline Year dedicated to the Two-thousandth anniversary of his birth, writing to the Ephesians says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Ef 1:3-4). In the universal call to holiness, of particular relevance is God’s initiative of choosing some to follow his Son Jesus Christ more closely, and to be his privileged ministers and witnesses. The divine Master personally called the Apostles “to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (Mk 3:14-15); they, in turn, gathered other disciples around them as faithful collaborators in this mission. In this way, responding to the Lord’s call and docile to the movement of the Holy Spirit, over the centuries, countless ranks of priests and consecrated persons placed themselves totally at the service of the Gospel in the Church. Let us give thanks to God, because even today he continues to call together workers into his vineyard. While it is undoubtedly true that a worrisome shortage of priests is evident in some regions of the world, and that the Church encounters difficulties and obstacles along the way, we are sustained by the unshakable certitude that the one who firmly guides her in the pathways of time towards the definitive fulfilment of the Kingdom is he, the Lord, who freely chooses persons of every culture and of every age and invites them to follow him according to the mysterious plans of his merciful love.

Our first duty, therefore, is to keep alive in families and in parishes, in movements and in apostolic associations, in religious communities and in all the sectors of diocesan life this appeal to the divine initiative with unceasing prayer. We must pray that the whole Christian people grows in its trust in God, convinced that the “Lord of the harvest” does not cease to ask some to place their entire existence freely at his service so as to work with him more closely in the mission of salvation. What is asked of those who are called, for their part, is careful listening and prudent discernment, a generous and willing adherence to the divine plan, and a serious study of the reality that is proper to the priestly and religious vocations, so as to be able to respond responsibly and with conviction.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church rightly reminds us that God’s free initiative requires a free response on the part of men and women; a positive response which always presupposes acceptance of and identification with the plan that God has for everyone; a response which welcomes the Lord’s loving initiative and becomes, for the one who is called, a binding moral imperative, an offering of thanksgiving to God and a total cooperation with the plan which God carries out in history (cf. n. 2062).

Contemplating the mystery of the Eucharist, which expresses in a sublime way the free gift of the Father in the Person of his Only Begotten Son for the salvation of mankind, and the full and docile readiness of Christ to drink to the dregs the “cup” of the will of God (cf. Mt 26:39), we can more readily understand how “faith in the divine initiative” models and gives value to the “human response”. In the Eucharist, that perfect gift which brings to fulfillment the plan of love for the redemption of the world, Jesus offers himself freely for the salvation of mankind. “The Church”, my beloved predecessor John Paul II wrote, “has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as a gift – however precious – among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of himself, of his person in his sacred humanity, as well as the gift of his saving work” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 11).

It is priests who are called to perpetuate this salvific mystery from century to century until the Lord’s glorious return, for they can contemplate, precisely in the Eucharistic Christ, the eminent model of a “vocational dialogue” between the free initiative of the Father and the faithful response of Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist it is Christ himself who acts in those whom he chooses as his ministers; he supports them so that their response develops in a dimension of trust and gratitude that removes all fear, even when they experience more acutely their own weakness (cf. Rm 8:26-28), or indeed when the experience of misunderstanding or even of persecution is most bitter (cf. Rm 8:35-39).

The awareness of being saved by the love of Christ, which every Mass nourishes in the faithful and especially in priests, cannot but arouse within them a trusting self-abandonment to Christ who gave his life for us. To believe in the Lord and to accept his gift, therefore, leads us to entrust ourselves to Him with thankful hearts, adhering to his plan of salvation. When this does happen, the one who is “called” voluntarily leaves everything and submits himself to the teaching of the divine Master; hence a fruitful dialogue between God and man begins, a mysterious encounter between the love of the Lord who calls and the freedom of man who responds in love, hearing the words of Jesus echoing in his soul, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (Jn 15:16).

This intertwining of love between the divine initiative and the human response is present also, in a wonderful way, in the vocation to the consecrated life. The Second Vatican Council recalls, “The evangelical counsels of chastity dedicated to God, poverty and obedience are based upon the words and examples of the Lord. They were further commanded by the apostles and Fathers of the Church, as well as by the doctors and pastors of souls. The counsels are a divine gift, which the Church received from its Lord and which it always safeguards with the help of His grace” (Lumen Gentium, 43).

Once more, Jesus is the model of complete and trusting adherence to the will of the Father, to whom every consecrated person must look. Attracted by him, from the very first centuries of Christianity, many men and women have left families, possessions, material riches and all that is humanly desirable in order to follow Christ generously and live the Gospel without compromise, which had become for them a school of deeply rooted holiness. Today too, many undertake this same demanding journey of evangelical perfection and realise their vocation in the profession of the evangelical counsels. The witness of these our brothers and sisters, in contemplative monasteries, religious institutes and congregations of apostolic life, reminds the people of God of “that mystery of the Kingdom of God is already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven” (Vita Consecrata, 1).

Who can consider himself worthy to approach the priestly ministry? Who can embrace the consecrated life relying only on his or her own human powers? Once again, it is useful to reiterate that the response of men and women to the divine call, whenever they are aware that it is God who takes the initiative and brings His plan of salvation to fulfillment, is never patterned after the timid self-interest of the worthless servant who, out of fear, hid the talent entrusted to him in the ground (cf. Mt 25:14-30), but rather expresses itself in a ready adherence to the Lord’s invitation, as in the case of Peter who, trusting in the Lord’ word, did not hesitate to let down the net once more even after having toiled all night and catching nothing (cf. Lk 5:5). Without in any sense renouncing personal responsibility, the free human response to God thus becomes “co-responsibility”, responsibility in and with Christ, through the action of his Holy Spirit; it becomes communion with the One who makes it possible for us to bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:5).

An emblematic human response, full of trust in God’s initiative, is the generous and unmitigated “Amen” of the Virgin of Nazareth, uttered with humble and decisive adherence to the plan of the Most High announced to her by God’s messenger (cf. Lk 1:38). Her prompt “Yes” allowed Her to become the Mother of God, the Mother of our Saviour. Mary, after this first “fiat”, had to repeat it many times, even up to the culminating moment of the crucifixion of Jesus, when “standing by the cross of Jesus” as the Evangelist John notes, she participated in the dreadful suffering of her innocent Son. And it was from the cross, that Jesus, while dying, gave her to us as Mother and entrusted us to her as sons and daughters (cf. Jn 19:26-27); she is especially the Mother of priests and consecrated persons. I want to entrust to her all those who are aware of God’s call to set out on the road of the ministerial priesthood or consecrated life.

Dear friends, do not become discouraged in the face of difficulties and doubts; trust in God and follow Jesus faithfully and you will be witnesses of the joy that flows from intimate union with him. Imitating the Virgin Mary whom all generations proclaim as blessed because she believed (cf. Lk 1:48), commit yourselves with every spiritual energy, to realise the heavenly Father’s plan of salvation, cultivating in your heart, like her, the ability to be astonished and to adore him who is mighty and does “great things”, for Holy is his name (cf. Lk 1:49).

From the Vatican, 20 January 2009

BENEDICT XVI

Bishop Lucas on World Day of Prayer for Vocations

2009-05-03T15:16:00.003-05:00

Today, May 3rd, is the 46th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Bishop Lucas' most recent article in the Catholic Times was focused on this topic. The text appears below CLICK HERE for more, including audio of Bishop Lucas' message.

***

Catholics around the world are urged to mark this Sunday, May 3, as the 46th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Pope Benedict XVI himself has set out the theme for this year’s observance: Faith in the divine initiative — the human response. This theme so clearly reminds us that every vocation in the church is not a task to be performed but a life-giving relationship. God issues the invitation to a man or woman to become the person that he or she has been created to be, and the person responds to God in faith. The invitation itself is a grace, a gift. Included in the gift is the help to respond with the gift of self.
Every diocese depends for its vitality and its fidelity to the risen Christ on a generous response to God’s call on the part of many, many people, of different ages and different states in life. Our diocese is no different. I have witnessed in all of our parishes a strong dedication to marriage and family life. Our solid programs for marriage preparation and enrichment, as well as our celebrations of long, faithful marriages, remind us of the centrality of this response to God’s creative plan in Catholic life.

This weekend — and always — our prayer should be that every Catholic family become a seedbed of faith in which a vocation to the priesthood or religious life could begin to develop if God calls a young family member to such a way of life. I am convinced that the many strong families that make up our parishes have been able to flourish in faith because of the care and witness of so many priests and religious who have served in this diocese. Historically, we have had a large number of these vocations for a diocese our size. Often (and currently) we have had the blessing of priests and religious who have come from other places to serve us here in the name of Christ.

What does the future hold for us? We know the future of our local church will be shaped by God’s initiative first. We also know that God’s will is for us to be saved in Jesus Christ. I cannot believe that God will not continue to call men and women to serve our church generously in ordained ministry and religious life. The ability of those being called to hear God’s invitation depends on parishes and families creating an atmosphere of expectation and hope in God’s plan. Their ability to respond must be supported by our open encouragement and by our prayers.

Recently during the Chrism Mass, I announced that I am calling our diocese to a year of prayer for vocations to the priesthood. A focal point of our Cathedral restoration will be the dedication of a new altar of sacrifice that is being given as a gift by the diocesan and religious priests who serve in our diocese. We will begin our yearlong prayer for vocations to the priesthood when the new altar is dedicated early in Advent. Resources will be provided for families, schools and parishes to help us pray together for a generous response to God’s initiative.

Please do not put off praying for this important intention. Our Catholic life in this diocese will be severely diminished in the future without the blessing of good priests in sufficient numbers. As we make preparations for our special year of prayer, I ask you to pray the Hail Mary each day that our efforts will bear good fruit. Surely Mary, the patroness of our diocese, will pray with us that all who are being called to special service in the church will respond as she did with faith and generosity.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 3.V.2009

Regina Caeli

2009-04-30T12:00:00.005-05:00

On this last day of the month, as we prepare for the month of May that is dedicated to our Blessed Mother, it seems right to introduce the Regina Caeli here on the blog. This is a prayer of Easter joy that is said four times a day during the Easter season: at 6 a.m., Noon, and 6 p.m. (replacing the Angelus) and at the completion of Compline (or Night Prayer).

It is a short way of carrying out the words of Holy Scripture: "pray without ceasing" as we pause momentarily throughout the day to rejoice with all the angels and saints in the joy of Christ's Resurrection. (As an aside, the Hebrew word Halelu-ya means literally "Praise God")

Queen of heaven, rejoice, Alleluia!
For He whom thou didst merit to bear, Alleluia!
Has Risen as He said, Alleluia!
Pray for us, to God. Alleluia!

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia!
For the Lord has truly risen. Alleluia!

Let us Pray:
O God who through the Resurrection of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave joy to the whole world, Grant, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Click here for more on this prayer.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 30.IV.2009

St. Louis de Montfort

2009-04-28T06:47:00.003-05:00

As I told you all during Holy Week, there are some other great vocations blogs out there...
The one I pointed you to a few weeks ago, The Rock and The Sword, has done it again for today's feast of one of my favorite saints.

Please click here for the posting on St. Louis de Montfort, and may his prayers for us be lifted up to Mary and to Christ.

Peace

Thank you, St. Sabina!

2009-04-26T07:23:00.002-05:00

Today is my last day attending the Sunday Masses at St. Sabina parish in Florissant. I owe a great year largely to my pastor, Fr. Joe Banden, who will celebrate his 40th anniversary of Ordination in June. He and the rest of the parish staff, including those who run St. Sabina's High School Theology Group, have been a great joy to work with.

More to come later!

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 26.IV.2009

The ministry of Acolyte

2009-04-25T23:52:00.004-05:00

Two years ago today, on the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, I served at my first confirmation with my bishop, Most Rev. George Lucas. That night, my little sister was confirmed at my home parish in Vandalia.

Today, on the Feast of St. Mark, I was installed to the ministry of Acolyte by the Most Rev. Robert Finn, Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO.

And I believe, (I have to double check), that on this day in 1993 I received my First Holy Communion (otherwise it was the week prior - April 18, 1993).

But again, as I said, today I became an Acolyte - an official minister of Holy Mother Church to serve at her altars. Along with the priest and deacon, I may purify the sacred vessels after Holy Communion, and may take the Blessed Sacrament with me to visit the homebound.

Here are a couple of the prayers from today's liturgy:

First, the blessing given to all those who will be instituted:

God of mercy through your only Son you entrusted the bread of life to your Church. Bless + our brothers who have been chosen for the ministry of acolyte.

Grant that they may be faithful in the service of your altar and in giving to others the bread of life; may they grow always in faith and love, and so build up your Church. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then the words of the bishop to the seminarian as he kneels before him and receives the ceborium from him.

Take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church. Amen.

Thy will be done, O Lord, this day and always. 25.IV.2009