St Jerome - Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church - September 30 - Feast Day

On September 30, we celebrate St Jerome, Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church. In fact, Jerome was chosen as one of the four original Doctors of the Church in 1298, along with St Ambrose, St Gregory the Great, and St Augustine. The great theologian St Augustine once said: “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.” Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, which was the common language of his day. That version of the Bible, the Vulgate, was the official text of Scriptures in the Catholic Church for over 1,500 years and is still held in high esteem today. This a great quote from Jerome that teaches us a great deal about our faith: "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." We celebrate St Jerome today with great joy.

Collect prayer for the feast of St Vincent de Paul - September 24 2017

O God, who for the salvation of the poor and the instruction of the clergy endowed the blessed priest St Vincent de Paul with apostolic virtues,

grant, we pray, that inflamed by that same spirit,

we may both loved what he loved and carry out what he taught.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Prayers of the faithful - feast of St Vincent de Paul - September 27 2017

Priest:  As we unite our prayers with the prayers and intercession of St Vincent de Paul, we pray for our needs and the needs of the world. 

1. For the Church throughout the world; that she may be renewed in compassion and charity, rooted in the values of the faith.   

2. For the leaders of nations and for public servants:  that, like Saint Vincent de Paul, they may be moved to relieve suffering wherever it is found,

3. For those who are exploited and oppressed, for the victims of war and of terrorism, for prisoners, for the homeless and for those without work, for those persecuted for their religion, 

for those suffering from natural disasters, especially the people of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida - may they receive comfort and relief.  

4. For the Vincentian Fathers, the Daughters of Charity, and for all those who work in the Society of St Vincent de Paul

May they be faithful to his charism and may they see the Face of Christ and serve him humbly in the poor and the sick,

5.  For our own conversion of heart - that we may trust in God’s providence and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  

6. For the sick and shut-ins and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed.  

Priest:  Merciful God, as you called forth St Vincent de Paul to show your love for the poor, help all of us see the call of holiness you have for us in our lives.  We make these prayers through your son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  

Praying with Therese of Lisieux on her feast day - October 1 2017

October 1 - the feast day of St Therese of Lisieux 

In 1897, a French Carmelite nun named Therese Martin passed away at the age of 24 from tuberculosis.  She lived her entire life in the remote rural home of her family and in a cloistered Carmelite convent.  She left behind a notebook describing her spiritual journey and some letter she wrote.  Yet, Therese is now one of the most beloved saints in our Catholic Church.  Her autobiography is considered a classic in Christian writings.  Pope John Paul II gave her the title Doctor of the Church.  She is also one of the patron saints of the missions.  We celebrate St Therese on her feast day today.  We unite our prayer to hers:

O St Therese of the Little Flower, during your short life on earth, you became a mirror of angelic purity, of love strong as death, and of wholehearted devotion to God.  Now that you rejoice in the reward of your virtues, cast a glance of pity on us as we place our prayers in your hands. We lift up our troubles to you and ask you to united our prayers to yours, that you will speak a word for us to our Lady Immaculate, our Mother Mary, whose flower of special love you were. We ask for your intercession and the intercession of the Queen of the heart of Jesus as we pray for God’s grace.  May we embody the strength, courage, and selflessness which you embodied in this life. Defend us at the hour of death and lead us to eternal life.  AMEN. 

The Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary for Respect Life Month – 1st Weekend in October 2017 – October 1st

October - Respect life month

Today is the first day of October, respect life month.  Every weekend in October, we pray the rosary before the masses, reflecting upon the mysteries of the rosary through the lens of the respect for life. This weekend, we pray the Joyful Mysteries. 

The Joyful Mysteries – 1st Weekend in October 2017 – October 1st

Prayer at the beginning of the rosary –

Our Lord Jesus:  through you, all life came to be. 

We offer up our prayers to you for all:  

for the great and powerful.

for the weak and broken.

for the smallest and most innocent.

for tall human cedars and the very smallest of human flowers.

May all see in each human being a soul that is so precious to you.

As we celebrate the feast day of Saint Thérèse of the Little Flower this weekend, on October 1st, we unite our prayers with prayers of Saint Thérèse, with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the community of saints.

We ask this though Christ our Lord. Amen.

1. The Annunciation of our Lord

As the angel proclaimed the conception of Christ in Mary's womb, mothers and fathers learn every day about the upcoming birth of their children.  Let us pray to Mary, the Mother of us all, that every child be treasured and protected from the first moment of conception as an inestimable and wondrous gift of God.

2. The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth

As the child in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy when the Blessed Virgin visited her, with Mary being pregnant with the Son of God, so may our hearts leap with joy at the wonders of new life promised in every expectant mother.

3. The Nativity of our Lord Jesus

In the birth of every child we see the birth of Christ Jesus in the humble Bethlehem stable.  Let us commend all new mothers and fathers and every newborn child to the protection and intercession of the Mother of God and Mother of all Christians.

4. The presentation of our Lord Jesus in the Temple

As Christ was consecrated to God at his presentation in the temple by Mary and Joseph, so may we consecrate all children and youth to that holiness, purity, and innocence by which they lead us to God.  Let us pray for all the children and youth in our parish community and give thanks for the ways we see Christ in them. 

5. The finding in the Temple

As the Christ Child was found in the temple by the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, so we pray for all children, especially those lost and forgotten, especially those who are victims of violence, bullying, and neglect.  May the Gospel of Life impel us to find them when they are most in need and to lead them home to a place where they are treasured, protected, and loved.

Prayer at the end of the rosary –

      Heavenly Father, the beauty and dignity of human life is the crowning glory of your creation. You further ennobled that life when your Son became one with us in his incarnation. Help us to realize the sacredness of human life and to respect it from the moment of conception until the moment at death. Give us courage to speak with truth and love and with conviction in defense of life. Help us to extend the gentle hand of mercy and forgiveness to those who do not reverence your gift of life. To all, grant pardon for the times we have failed to be grateful for your precious gift of life or to respect it in others. We ask this in Jesus' Name.  Amen.

September 29 2017 – Friday - Archangels – Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel – Revelation 12:7-12

       Today, we celebrate the feast day of the three archangels – Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael.  We’ve been celebrating the feast day of these three archangels together since 1970, when their feast days were combined together in the revised Roman calendar after the Second Vatican Council. 

       Our reading from the book of Revelation today depicts the Archangel Michael defeating Satan and the powers of evil. With the defeat of Satan, salvation and power have come, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed – Jesus the Christ.  Michael and the other angels are messengers of God’s loving and merciful relationship with us.  They are bearers of Good News to us.   They help us conquer evil and sin in our lives. We respond to this message of Good News by responding to God in faith. Indeed, sometimes our lives may seem like we are in the middle of a war that is fought by the angels who are on the side of God as they battle the demons and the evil spirits who seem intent on getting us.  Michael is seen as the Archangel leading us in battle against those evil forces, so he is the patron saint of police officers, soldiers, paratroopers, and fighter pilots. 

      A belief in angels has gone beyond Christianity, as it is popular in our secular world today to believe in angels, to have a belief in the divine messages that they deliver to us.  May we give thanks for the angels and archangels today.  In our preface before starting the Eucharistic prayer in the mass, we proclaim that we join the angels and archangels in their song of praise to the Lord.  May we truly feel the praise that we proclaim to the Lord in connection with these heavenly spirits. 

1 October 2017 - Reflection for the Respect life mass - Respect life month - 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A

First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28

Thus says the LORD: You say, “The LORD’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed, he does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

      Every year in October, our Church respects the pro-life values of our faith by recognizing the month of October as respect-life month.  I look back to 9 years ago when I was first ordained a priest. I have celebrated Respect life month each of those years.  Respect-life month was important to me while I was in seminary and when I was first ordained as a priest.  But since the erosion of a strong voice advocating for a respect for life in our society, this message seems to be even more important today.  Our Church's message becomes all the more important. The theme this year as chosen by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is: “Be Not Afraid.”  What a great theme in this age of divisiveness and uncertainty.  We are called to trust and follow God in our lives of faith, especially in difficult times, especially when our values of faith seem to collide with the values of the secular world.  Ezekiel presents the anguished cry of one who struggles with God’s commandments and laws, saying that God’s ways are unfair. All of us can feel that way at certain times, can't we?  It is challenging for us to correctly form our consciences when it is a struggle and a hardship to do what is right and to follow the truth in our modern world.  It is often difficult and stressful for us to try to follow what the Church teaches, to reach out to others when they are confronted with temptations that go against God’s love for us.  Caring for the earth, access to adequate medical care, caring for those suffering at the end of their lives, fighting against racism and discrimination, just labor laws, protecting the unborn and the vulnerable, speaking out against bullying, means to receive a good quality education: all these are part of our Church’s teachings on the respect and dignity of human life that we proclaim in Christ’s Good News.  We invite all of you to commemorate Respect Life month with us in the month of October 

Masses at St Jude Catholic Church in Pearl, Mississippi

The next couple weeks will have these special masses at St Jude Catholic Church in Pearl, Mississippi

Thursday, September 28

Blue Mass - praying for our police officers, fire fighters, sheriffs, and first responders

Vigil of the Feast of the Archangels - 6:00 pm in the Church

Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1 

Weekend Masses celebrating Respect Life Sunday, as declared by the US Catholic Bishops

Theme - Be Not Afraid - "Behold, I am with you always until the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  

Wednesday, October 4

Feast of St Francis of Assisi

Blessing of the Animals - please bring your pet or a photo of your pet that you wish to bless

Mass outside

9/28/2017 - Vigil of the Feast of the Archangels - Blue Mass - Revelation 12:7-12ab

    The Blue mass that we celebrate today on the Vigil of the feast of the Archangels has a long tradition here in our Catholic faith in the United States.  However, you may not have heard about a Blue Mass before.  The first Blue Mass was celebrated on September 29, 1934 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, DC by Rev. Thomas Dade, who had founded the Catholic Police and Firemen's Society.  On that day, 1,100 police officers and firemen dressed in blue uniforms processed into St. Patrick's to honor the fallen members of their ranks.

     The Blue Mass began to spread to other cities in the northeastern United States from that day on.  Following the events of 9/11, the Blue Mass began to be celebrated in cities from coast to coast to honor the many law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel who gave their lives so that others might live.  

      Today, we honor these men and women who are heroes in our community, men and women who put themselves in harm’s way daily to serve, protect, and defend us.  

      Today is the vigil of the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the evening before their feast day of September 29.  St Michael is the patron saint of police officers and first responders and the men and women in the military, which is why this feast is a traditional date for the Blue Mass.   Our English word “angel” comes from the Greek word “angelous” which means messenger. There are untold millions of angels in heaven, all created as pure spirits, in continual praise and adoration of our God. In Scripture, we see how in great events in salvation history, God sends an “archangel” to proclaim an important message from God to his people.

    Often, when God wants to do something requiring an courageous effort, he sends St Michael. Michael did battle with Satan and cast him out of heaven after he revolted. Michael is the head of the Heavenly Host, the Five-star General of God's Angelic Army. He is also the protector of Israel, the protector of the Chosen People

   God had sent the Archangel Gabriel to announce something that would require strength from the meek and lowly. He sent Gabriel to announce to the Virgin Mary his plan for her to be the Mother of God.

    Raphael had been sent by God when a message of healing was needed.  In the book of Tobit in the Old Testament, Raphael healed Tobit’s blindness.

    With the angels, with the archangels, with the community of Saints, with our Catholic community here in Pearl and Rankin County, we come together to praise God this evening.  We pray for peace in our community.  We pray for an end to violence, war, and terrorism, an end to anger, hatred, and arrogance, those things that divide our community.  Our gratitude, love, and prayers go out to those men and women who protect us each day. May St Michael, the Angels and Archangels, and all the saints always be there to watch over you.  

9/27/2017 –Homily for Wednesday of the 25th week of ordinary time – St Vincent de Paul – Ezra 9:5-9

     Ezra was a scribe and priest at the time of the return from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC.  This week, in our first readings, we have two readings from the Book of Ezra before we move on to readings from the Prophets Zechariah and Haggai.  Ezra is very upset about how the people of Israel had sinned and turned their backs on God.  Being in exile was a very dramatic and horrific experience for them, but they had intermarried with a lot of the local people, and had abandoned their faith and religious traditions for the pagan traditions of the native people. Ezra was calling the people to return to God’s law, but he was despondent and angry at how slowly the people were responding.  Ezra displays a simple humility in the way he approaches God in our reading today. 

     This same sense of humility is displayed in the saint we celebrate today: St. Vincent de Paul, a French priest who died in in the middle of 17th century, but whose influence is still felt so strongly in our modern world today. He founded two influential religious orders in his own lifetime: the Vincentians and the Daughters of Charity. His compassion and humility in serving the poor also served as the inspiration for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which was founded by Frederic Ozanam and his companions at the University of Paris in 1835.  The St. Vincent de Paul Society is known throughout the world for the way it serves the poor as an expression of our Catholic spirituality.  When I served as Associate Pastor of St Richard parish in Jackson, I had the privilege of being on the ground floor of forming a conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at that parish, where it has become an important presence in serving the poor in the Jackson area.  I have seen a lot of parishioners have their lives changed dramatically through their ministry with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, as I've also seen the ways the Society has changed the lives of those who have received help.

      St. Vincent de Paul taught that true charity does not only consist of distributing alms and giving financial assistance, but also in helping the poor feel the fullness of their human dignity and freedom.  Vincent taught that our good works must never be separated from our faith, but rather must flow out of our faith.  Thus, he counseled that to be men and women of action and good works, we must also be men & women of prayer and deep spirituality.  He advises us: “You must have an inner life, everything must tend in that direction. If you lack this, you lack everything.”

        May we give thanks to the Lord for the way his Word interacts with our lives, for the many ways that God’s word indeed is with us.

9/26/2017 – Homily for Tuesday of 25th week in Ordinary Time – Ezra 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20

     From the scribe Ezra in our first reading today, we hear about the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem after the return of the people of Israel from their exile.  According to Jewish Tradition, Erza helped reintroduce the Torah – the Word of God - to Jerusalem after their exile.  From the description of the rebuilding of the Temple and the return to Jerusalem that we hear today from the book of Ezra, all sounds orderly and successful, doesn’t it? However, from other descriptions of the rebuilding of the Temple and the return from exile in the Old Testament, we know that there was a lot of confusion, arguments, and frustration as well.  Some thought the new Temple was not good enough compared to the Temple that Solomon built.  There were a lot of accusations going back and forth between those who were sent into exile and those who remained behind. We see tensions in our modern Church today on many different levels, and looking at those tensions from the lens of what went on in Ancient Israel, perhaps we can better understand it. But rather than accuse or attack someone who thinks differently than we do in our Church, perhaps we can learn from them and try to get along with them, perhaps we can celebrate and appreciate the diversity that exists within our community of faith.  Hopefully, we can all work toward a spirit of unity, solidarity, and positivity within our Church.  Let us hope so.

Blue Mass - St Jude Catholic Church - Pearl Mississippi

Blue Mass -  Honoring the Police, Fire fighters, Sheriffs, and First Responders in Pearl and Rankin County.  

St Jude Catholic Church - Pearl, Mississippi

On Thursday evening, September 28th, the vigil of the Feast of the Archangels

6:00 pm

Join us for this special mass 

What is a catechist? Definition

A friend of mine posed this question when I posted about our celebration of Catechetical Sunday last week:  What is a catechist?  Good questions, isn't it?  I found this definition on a Catholic website: A Catechist is a person of faith who leads others in understanding the faith teachings according to the official teachings of the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The role of the catechist is a vital ministry to the Church.  It is a gift that has tremendous value to the world community at large because through the catechist’s word and action, the message of Christ continues to have a place in all human affairs.  Usually, in most diocese, to be designated a catechist, one receives a particular training and certification.  Otherwise, one is referred to as a teacher of religious education.  Interesting question - interesting answer!  

Prayer for Parents, Grandparents, and Guardians on Catechetical Sunday - September 17 2017

On Catechetical Sunday, we not only prayed for our catechists, but also for our parents, grandparents, and guardians who are the first and best teachers of the faith in the lives of their children.  This is the blessing we gave them at the masses this past weekend: 

God our Father, 
as we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, 
we pray that you let your peace settle within the hearts
of our mothers, fathers, grandparents, and guardians.  
Give them strength and wisdom 
as they care for their children 
and teach them the faith. 
Show them how to raise their families
with patience and tenderness. 
Give them strength during times of greatest difficulty
and help them to recognize the little joys
that are a part of every day.  
May they grow in wisdom, understanding and grace. 
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, who is one
with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. 
AMEN.  

Vandalism of Statue of St Junipero Serro - Mission Santa Barbara - September 2017

As a teenager living in Orange County, California, home to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, a historical landmark and one of the missions that had such a huge influence in the development of the state of California, I loved learning about the establishment of the 21 missions across the state and learning about their history.  As I have hiked the pilgrimage walk of St James in Spain on five different occasions, I have a dream of one day walking the pilgrimage route linking the missions together in California. Modern-day pilgrims, many of whom have made the pilgrimage walk of St James in Spain, are spreading the word about the California Mission Walk.  In September 2015, during Pope Francis' visit to the United States, Franciscan priest Father Junipero Serra, the Father of the California Missions, was canonized a saint in the Catholic Church.  His statue represents the state of California in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, DC, along with the statue of Ronald Reagan.  Last month, the statue of Father Serra was vandalized in a public park in front of Mission San Fernando in Los Angeles.  This month, the statue of Father Serra located on private church grounds was vandalized in Santa Barbara.  Our founding fathers and founding mothers had their faults, to be sure.  Many of the saints we look up to in the Catholic Church have their faults as well. So do our sports heroes and politicians and movie stars.  We cannot erase our history.  If we do not remember, if we do not learn from the good and bad, we are going to make the same mistakes.  Like many Catholics, I view the vandalism of a statue of saint on our church grounds to be a hate crime for what was done and something that should not be tolerated in any shape or form.  In the words of Rodney King: "Can't we all get along?"  Why does there have to be such hate, violence, and intolerance - because that is what the vandalism of this statue was all about.  


http://www.keyt.com/news/crime/saint-serra-statue-vandalized-at-the-santa-barbara-old-mission/619319654

Update:  I recently saw an article where the students, administration, and staff of Stanford were demanding that buildings on campus be reexamined to see that the people they were named after were not offensive or controversial.  This came about in direct connect to Father Serra.  The founders of Stanford named buildings and streets after key figures in the history of California.  The articles states:  (In February 2016,) "the Undergraduate Senate and the Graduate Student Council of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) passed resolutions requesting that the university rename streets and buildings currently bearing the name of Father Junipero Serra out of respect for the indigenous and Native American communities."  In my opinion, a university founded and named after one of the notorious "robber barons" of the late 19th century, meaning that he earned his money, money that founded this university, through ruthless mean of oppression and tyranny.  I think that they should give back the money and campus of Stanford university to help the poor in order for the students and the university to have a clean conscience and to do what is just.   

Book review - David Downie - Paris to the Pyrenees: A skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James

Pilgrimage is an experience that is very important to me on a personal level.  Five different times, I have walked the pilgrimage route of St James in Spain, first time being in the summer of 2012 as I discerned my call to the priest, and the last time in January 2017, as I had more than 8 years of experience as a priest behind me and as I will looking to the future to changes in my ministry.  David Downie, an American who has lived for many years in Paris with his wife, wrote this memoir of walking part of this pilgrimage route in France.  As he walks along the route, he thinks about the different ethnic groups that settled in France and the mark they made on the country.   He visits old houses and monasteries and castles throughout the region.  He sees traces of France's recent history, with immigration and gentrification and changing demographics changing what he encounters along the way.  He reflects a lot on France's history throughout WWII, through those who formed the resistance and those who collaborated with the German occupiers.   I journeyed along the pilgrimage route as a priest and a Catholic, as a person of faith on a religious and spiritual journey.  Downie calls himself a skeptic, not someone who is walking in through the lens of the Christian faith, but certainly one who is trying to reflect on the journey and who is achieving different types of transformation along the way.  He does, however, refer to himself as a pilgrim, not a tourist, and that is a big difference in the way he views himself and how he looks at this journey through a particular lens and a particular stance.  I have read a lot of pilgrimage memoirs in the last 10 years.  Each one is different, reflecting the particular journey of the pilgrim who wrote it.  Thank you Mr Downie for your reflections and for sharing your journey with us.  

9/24/2017 - homily - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A - Matthew 20:1-16a

     Sometimes it helps to know about the historical context of Ancient Israel and the Ancient Mediterranean world in order to better understand a scripture passage and to apply it to our own modern world. I have been to Spain to walk the pilgrimage route of St James the past three years.  Spain is a part of the Mediterranean culture, just like Israel.  When one goes into a restaurant for lunch or dinner in that part of the world, one is served a bottle of wine with the meal rather than a glass of water.  Wine is a big part of the culture there.  And in the days of Jesus, without refrigeration and without an advanced water purification system, wine was the safest thing to drink.  Thus, the grape harvest was very important in Ancient Israel. The grape harvest took place at the end of September, which was followed by a rainy season.   Thus, if the harvest was not gathered quickly, it could be ruined.  The vineyard owners welcomed all workers to help with the harvest, even if they could give just an hour or two.  The laborers would meet in the market-place, waiting for work.   Jesus’ parable today is really about divine justice, in which God is compared to the landowner who hires laborers to work in his vineyard.  Those who worked a full day were promised the expected wage, but those who only worked a part of the day, or as little as an hour, were promised to be paid “what is just” by the vineyard owner.  You can imagine the feelings of those who worked an entire day as they saw those who worked just an hour being paid this same amount - they felt that they had been treated unjustly.  However, the owner of the vineyard told them that they were not the victim of an injustice.  What can we take away from this parable?  We cannot think about this parable just in terms of our earthly values. What God gives us is not the same as a pay check we would receive from a job; what God gives us is a gift.  God does not give us a reward, but rather he give us grace, offered from his love and mercy. 

     But how can we think of God’s love and mercy for us in the context of our earthly values?  Let’s think about the love and devotion many of us have for our sports teams.  The 3 big universities in Mississippi - USM, Ole Miss and State - all have huge sports fans.  And amongst sport teams, the Braves and Cardinals in Baseball and the Cowboys, Saints, and Packers in Football all have huge followings.  Most of you all know that for me, it is all about the Chicago Cubs.  I was in Seventh Heaven last year when the Cubs won the World Series.  Since the Cubs were in town when I was in Chicago for a conference in July, I just HAD to go to a Cubs game - I could not pass up that opportunity.  A friend of mine had asked when I had last gone to see the Cubs.  It was back in 1996.  And the time before that, I was 11 years old!   I remember growing up, my mom, my aunts and uncles, and my grandfather - they all thought the Cubs were the greatest thing ever.  And you know, it did not matter whether the Cubs won or lost.  They loved the Cubs.  They loved watching the games on WGN.  They bled Cubby blue!  And as a child, even though I saw the Cubs having one losing season after another, breaking all their fans’ hearts again and again, I didn’t dream about rooting for another team.  When I want to the Cubs game on 4th of July this summer, it was the biggest home crowd they had at a regular season game in more than 4 years.  At the time, we were not having a good year.  We had won 42 games, but we had lost 42 games at that point.  Not a great record.  But that crowd at Wrigley field - oh my goodness.  Everyone just so excited about the team they love.  Even little children there had Cubs caps and jerseys on.  The love we have for our sports teams means we still cheer them on whether we win or lose.  We can forgive bad losses or mistakes. But the love we have for our sports teams, the sense of belonging we feel with the other fans, that is nothing like the love God has for us, nothing like the love, mercy, and forgiveness God has for us.  Nothing - there is no comparison. 

       I want to say one other thing about God’s mercy and social justice before I close.  Unfortunately, social justice has become a politicized term in our world today.  We want to label people, right?  We are either a Republican or a Democrat, a bleeding liberal or a staunch conservative, a traditionalist or a reformer.  We also label people in the Church, don’t we?  We are either a conservative, traditional Catholic, or a liberal Catholic who wants to modernize everything.  These labels are divide us.  I am here as your pastor.  I am here to help you on your journey.  I am here to preach the values of God’s Kingdom, the message of the Gospel.  Sometimes the Gospel message can push us, it can challenge us, it can make us feel uncomfortable and make us think.  But don’t be put off by the Gospel message.  Struggle with it.  Wrestle with it.  Ponder it in your heart.  But we are here together on our journey.  We are not here to divide.  We are here to bring social justice and the values of the Gospel to the world.   

  

Mass introductions and prayers of the faithful - 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A - September 17 2017

Introduction and penitential rite: 

Jesus speaks to us about forgiveness in our mass today, one of the great qualities of our Christian faith.  As we remember how God’s mercy is the source of forgiveness in our lives, let us call to mind our need for forgiveness.  Let us call to mind our sins.  

1. Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to one another - Lord have mercy. 

2. Lord Jesus, you came to bring us light and hope  - Christ have mercy. 

3. Lord Jesus,  you are the living God, the son of the Father - Lord have mercy. 

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting light.  AMEN.  

Profession of Faith: 

As God challenges us today to be forgiving and merciful to our another, let us now profess our faith: 

Prayers of the Faithful: 

Priest:  The Lord is compassionate and loving to us.  In confidence, we present our prayers to him:

1. For forgiveness among all, that we may treat each other as God treats us, that we may seek out reconciliation and healing in our lives.  

2. For an end to vengeance, hatred, and terrorism, that all people may learn to live together in tolerance and seek out understanding.  

3. For our community.  As parish activities begin anew in the new school year, we ask that God accompany us always as a community of faith.  

4. For the people of the United States, still hurting after the attacks of 11th September, and for all those who died on that day and in the violence since, that the Lord may keep them in his loving care. 

5. For the victims of the Hurricanes and storms, especially in Texas and Florida and along the Gulf coast.  For recovery and for help. 

6. For catechists and teachers of religious education, for those who teach others in the faith.  May the Lord lead them and guide them in their ministry.  

7. For the repose of the souls of the faithful depart. 

8. For the sick and shut-ins.  For those trying to break away from addictions.  

Priest:  God of mercy and compassion, you bring healing to our lives, you lead us to wholeness and recovery. Help us, we pray you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever and ever. Amen.

9/22/2017 – Homily for Friday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time – 1 Timothy 6:2c-12

      In today's first reading, we hear about how it is important that people are taught correctly regarding religion.  When I was a seminarian up at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Milwaukee just before being ordained as a priest, we had a week-long visit from a visitation team of priests, sisters, and lay people, appointed by the Vatican to visit all of the seminaries who are educating men to be priest.  The goal of the visitation team was to ensure that we as seminarians were being properly taught and formed in our faith in our role as future priests, that our theology and moral ethics truly reflected what our Church teaches.  Being faithful to the word and the spirit of the Gospel is a daunting task indeed, one that we grow into as we journey daily as a pilgrim Church and a pilgrim people. 

     Today, I think this task is even more difficult as our secular world seems to be going in a very different direction than our Church.   As I walk around in public in my clerics here in Mississippi where Catholics make up such a small part of the population, I realize how counter cultural that is in our society today, while it would not have been so a generation earlier in our society.  In 1960s, the hippies saw themselves as counter-cultural  Today, I would say it is the priests and those who try to lives as disciples of Christ. 

       Our reading today from the first letter of Timothy challenges us to truly listen to the words of truth in the Good News of Christ, to not have a disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.  We can get so caught up in the ways of our modern world, in striving for earthly accomplishments and material gain, yet the radical message of Christ's Good News calls out to us and challenges us to take up our cross and to follow Christ, to deny ourselves in order to gain everything that our faith is all about.  May we truly open ourselves to the Gospel – may it penetrate our very hearts, our minds, and our souls.

9/21/2017 – Homily for the Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist - Thursday in the 24th week in Ordinary Time – Matthew 9:9-13

       Matthew was a Jew who worked for the occupying Roman government in Jerusalem, collecting taxes from his fellow Jews.  The Romans were concerned about getting their taxes collected, so they commonly turned a blind eye to any additional bribes or fees that the taxes collectors forced the people to pay, money that the tax collectors kept for themselves.  The tax collectors were viewed as traitors by their fellow Jews, so you can imagine how shocking it would have been for the people to see Jesus call Matthew, a tax collector, to be one of his beloved disciples in his inner circle. 

       God calls us to be disciples in the reality of our lives, in the midst of our personalities, in the midst of our human strengths and weaknesses.  God's grace can work wonders in our lives as we repent and turn away from those things that keep us from God.  Jesus tells us that he specifically came to call sinners to repentance and to have them come to him.  Matthew answered Jesus' call without hesitation.  The Gospel tells us that Matthew got up from his custom post and followed him immediately.  What is Jesus calling us to leave behind in our own lives?  What do we need to do in order to answer the call of repentance and conversion?  

      We know that Matthew and the other apostles made many sacrifices to pass down the faith us.  Tradition has it that Matthew was martyred while bringing the Gospel message to the people of Ethiopia.  As we celebrate the faith of the apostles today, may we turn away from the sins and the obstacles in our own lives that are keeping us from a deeper relationship with the Lord.

9/20/2017 – Homily for Wednesday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time – 1 Timothy 3:14-16

       Paul writes to Timothy, who is in charge of the Christian community in Ephesus, a community that Paul helped establish.  We can tell from the tone of the letter that Paul has great affection for him.  Paul reminds Timothy of the mysteries of the faith in which we believe.  Even though Paul is able to give a summary of these mysteries, a full explanation is beyond our human understanding.  As I read this letter from Paul to Timothy, I thought about the letters that I used to write home as a missionary.   My location in Ecuador was so remote that phone service was not available.  I would write letters quite frequently, so much so that the Chilean nuns in our mission site used to kid me as to how many letters I used to receive.  We would receive our mail every 2 – 3 weeks, since the post office was a 4-hour bus ride away.   When I came back from the mission field, my brother handed me a stack of the letters I had written him – he had saved them to give to me, which I thought was very thoughtful of him.   Letter writing was such an important mode of communication for so long, but now with cell phones and emails and Facebook, writing a letter is a lost art.   Paul, Timothy, and the members of the Early Church are a big part of our faith, a big part of the traditions we honor today in our Church.  And in many ways, the podcasts, texts, and blogs that we write today that continue to communicate the message of our faith continue in that same tradition.  If Paul lived in the modern world, I would suspect he might have a blog or a podcast.  Even Bishop Kopacz and Pope Francis communicate on Twitter.  Yes, we're called to use the methods of communication at our disposal to bring the message of the Gospel to others. 

9/19/2017 - Homily for Tuesday of the 24th week in Ordinary Time - 1 Timothy 3:1-13

     Normally, I address the Gospel in my homilies, but today I want too look at the first reading from the first letter of St Paul to Timothy.   We hear an interesting description of what Paul sees as values towards which certain Church leaders should strive.  One word in particular stood out to me in his description - “dignified.”  Paul states that a bishop should keep his children under control with perfect dignity.  Deacons should be dignified.  Women, as well, should be dignified.  Elsewhere, in this letter, Paul states that the elders of the Christian community should be dignified, that dignity is an important characteristic of good Christian teaching.  In some translations of these Scripture verses, dignity is translated as gravity or seriousness.  Just as gravity is an unstoppable force of nature, so too, the way we teach and the way we lead a good Christian life should produce long-lasting fruits which are unstoppable, which cannot be overcome.  We are called to dignity, to perfection, to holiness on our journey of faith: not just our elders, deacons, and bishops, but all of us as disciples of Christ. Rather than taking ourselves too seriously, rather than becoming arrogant or prideful, we're to be humble and obedient.  We're to give our greatest effort to our life of disciples and our life of holiness, to do so with joy, with wonder, and in awe of our loving and merciful God.  

Troparion of St John Chrysostom - posted in honor of his feast day - September 13 2017

John Chrysostom, 
the grace which gleams from your mouth, 
like a torch, has illumined the world, 
has laid up treasures ungrudgingly for the world
and has manifested to us the loftiness of humility. 
As you instruct us with your words, 
dear Father John Chrysostom,
intercede with the Word, Christ our Lord, 
for the salvation of our souls.   AMEN.  

(Note:   A troparion (Greek τροπάριον, plural: troparia, τροπάρια; Georgian: ტროპარი, "tropari" Church Slavonic: тропа́рь, tropar) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organized in more complex forms as series of stanzas.)

2,500 published posts and counting!!!!

Wow, it is hard to believe that I first posted to this blog back in 2010, when I had been first appointed in my first post as pastor, in the parishes of St Francis and St Mary in Yazoo City and in All Saints in Belzoni.  Since then, I have served 4 1/2 years at St James in Tupelo and am now into my second month as pastor at St Jude in Pearl.  As of today, I now have 2,500 published posts on my blog - unbelievable!  Little did I think that this would be my reality almost 7 years later.  I want to thank all my readers and parishioners and all who read my blog.  Blessings to you.  I will continue to post and to minister to the faithful in my post in Pearl, and wherever the Lord calls me as a priest in the Diocese of Jackson.   

Quotes - St John Chrysostom - Doctor of the Church - September 13

September 13 2017 -  Today we celebrate the feast day of St John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church  (349 - 407) 

Here are two great quotes from him:

"The rich man is not the one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much." 

“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find him in the chalice.”

September 17 2017 - Reflection for Catechetical Sunday - United States Catholic Church - 3rd Sunday in September

     Way back in 1935, the Vatican, under Pope Pius XI, published On the Better Care and Promotion of Catechetical Education, a document that asks every country to acknowledge the importance of the Church’s teaching ministry and to honor those who serve the Christian community as catechists. The ministry of catechesis is passed from the pope to the bishops who in turn pass the ministry to the clergy, religious and laity who are charged with the responsibility and privilege of inviting others into an intimate relationship with Jesus and His Church.  The first celebration of a national catechetical day in our country is recorded in October 1935, in Rochester, New York. By 1944, the practice spread throughout the country.   And by 1955, most dioceses celebrated Catechetical Sunday on the third Sunday in September.  Thus, Catechetical Sunday has a long history in our country.  We here at St Jude are very blessed to have a group of men and women who teach our children, youth, and adults in the faith. 

     This year’s theme for Catechetical Sunday is: “Living as Missionary Disciples.”  Catechists are to respond to a call that we all have to share the gift of faith with others, even as we deepen our own faith. This call can come to us in many different ways, but, ultimately, it comes from God, through the Holy Spirit working in us, guiding us, and inspiring us.  

       In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis writes:  “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything so that the Church's customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation.”  What do we make of these words as we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, as we are called to be evangelizers of the Gospel and missionary disciples?  Yes, religious education, we have a responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Perhaps we need to consider our classrooms and parish halls as missionary territory.  

     Our missionary call is a day-to-day commitment to being Christ-bearers to all those we meet, to bring the message of Jesus Christ to them.  Catechists do this as they draw others into prayer, as they provide instruction around our Catholic beliefs and practices, as they encourage reflection and application to our life experiences, and as they build community among their learners.  May our missionary call as a parish be strengthened as we celebrate Catechetical Sunday this weekend.