This is a blog of homilies, reflections, and photos from a Roman Catholic priest serving in the Diocese of Jackson in the state of Mississippi. Currently, I am the pastor of Holy Savior in Clinton and Immaculate Conception in Raymond. I also serve as Vicar General of the Diocese.
Monday, October 30, 2017
November 1 and November 2 Masses - St Jude Catholic Church - Pearl Mississippi
The following are the special masses at St Jude Catholic Church in Pearl this week:
November 1 - All Saints Day - holy day of Obligation - noon and 6:00 pm.
November 2 - All Souls Day - 6:00 pm in English and 9:00 pm in Spanish.
Father Lincoln will also celebrate the All Souls Day mass at St Mary Catholic Church in Yazoo City, Mississippi on November 2 at noon.
Blessings to all of you as we celebrate these significant holy days in our faith this week.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Novena to St Jude - Day Nine - Saturday - October 28 2017
O righteous St Jude, apostle, martyr and companion of Christ, grant that I may grow constantly in a loving relationship with God. In working out my salvation in this life I have infinite needs and desires that God placed within me. Today I turn to you, asking you to intercede for me.
(mention your request)
St Jude, I have specific requests of God that may only partially fill the infinite needs and desires that are in my heart. I ask that you pray not only for those requests but also for a greater reliance on God to satisfy the needs and desires that I have. May I seek God with a sincere heart knowing that it will profit me nothing if I gain the whole world yet suffer the loss of my soul. Help me to see God’s good and gracious purpose in all my trials. Amen.
St. Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Las Lecturas - 2 de noviembre de 2017 - la Conmemoración de Todos los Fieles Difuntos -
Primera lectura - Lectura del libro de Sabiduría:
Las almas de los justos están en las manos de Dios
y no los alcanzará ningún tormento.
Los insensatos pensaban que los justos habían muerto,
que su salida de este mundo era una desgracia
y su salida de entre nosotros, una completa destrucción.
Pero los justos están en paz.
La gente pensaba que sus sufrimientos eran un castigo,
pero ellos esperaban confiadamente la inmortalidad.
Después de breves sufrimientos
recibirán una abundante recompensa,
pues Dios los puso a prueba
y los halló dignos de sí.
Los probó como oro en el crisol
y los aceptó como un holocausto agradable.
En el día del juicio brillarán los justos
como chispas que se propagan en un cañaveral.
Juzgarán a las naciones y dominarán a los pueblos,
y el Señor reinará eternamente sobre ellos.
Los que confían en el Señor comprenderán la verdad
y los que son fieles a su amor permanecerán a su lado,
porque Dios ama a sus elegidos y cuida de ellos.
Palabra de Dios
Salmo
R. El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará.
El Señor es mi pastor, nada me falta;
en verdes praderas me hace reposar
y hacia fuentes tranquilas me conduce
para reparar mis fuerzas.
Por ser un Dios fiel a sus promesas,
Me guía por el sendero recto.
R. El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará.
Así, aunque camine por cañadas oscuras,
nada temo, porque tú estás conmigo.
Tu vara y tu cayado me dan seguridad.
R. El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará.
Tú mismo preparas la mesa,
a despecho de mis adversarios;
me unges la cabeza con perfume
y llenas mi copa hasta los bordes.
R. El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará.
Tu bondad y tu misericordia me acompañarán
todos los días de mi vida;
y viviré en la casa del Señor
por años sin término.
R. El Señor es mi pastor, nada me faltará.
La Segunda Lectura - Lectura de la carta de San Pablo a los romanos:
Hermanos: Todos los que hemos sido incorporados a Cristo Jesús por medio del bautismo, hemos sido incorporados a él en su muerte. En efecto, por el bautismo fuimos sepultados con él en su muerte, para que, así como Cristo resucitó de entre los muertos por la gloria del Padre, así también nosotros llevemos una vida nueva.
Porque, si hemos estado íntimamente unidos a él por una muerte semejante a la suya, también lo estaremos en su resurrección. Sabemos que nuestro hombre viejo fue crucificado con Cristo, para que el cuerpo del pecado quedara destruido, a fin de que ya no sirvamos al pecado, pues el que ha muerto queda libre del pecado.
Por lo tanto, si hemos muerto con Cristo, estamos seguros de que también viviremos con él; pues sabemos que Cristo, una vez resucitado de entre los muertos, ya no morirá nunca. La muerte ya no tiene dominio sobre él.
Palabra de Dios
Aclamación antes del Evangelio
R. Aleluya, aleluya.
Vengan, benditos de mi Padre, dice el Señor;
tomen posesión del Reino preparado para ustedes
desde la creación del mundo.
R. Aleluya.
Lectura del Santo Evangelio Según San Juan
En aquel tiempo, Jesús dijo a la multitud: "Todo aquel que me da el Padre viene hacia mí; y al que viene a mí yo no lo echaré fuera, porque he bajado del cielo, no para hacer mi voluntad, sino la voluntad del que me envió.
Y la voluntad del que me envió es que yo no pierda nada de lo que él me ha dado, sino que lo resucite en el último día. La voluntad de mi Padre consiste en que todo el que vea al Hijo y crea en él, tenga vida eterna y yo lo resucite en el último día’'.
Palabra del Señor
11/5/2017 – Homily for Sunday of the 31st week in ordinary time - cycle A – Matt 23:1-12; Malachi 1:14b; 2:1-2, 8-10
We are in the last weeks of the liturgical year. We’re just 4 weeks away from the beginning of Advent and the beginning of the new Church year. Advent is not only a time when we prepare for Christmas and for the birth of Jesus into our world, but it’s a season where we look into our hearts in a special way to see those ways we need to turn away from sin and to receive renewal in our lives. Today’s readings help us think about these themes, about how we need to repent and amend our ways, to look at those things that are eroding our faith, that are keeping us from growing in our relationship with Christ.
Malachi spoke to the people of ancient Israel in the 5th century, just a generation or two after the Israelites returned from exile. At that time, the people had once again turned their backs on God. Many had married outside of their faith and had started worshipping foreign idols. Malachi is very direct in his message, in identifying the sins of the people and of their priests. Malachi tells them that it’s not enough to go through the empty motions of religious rituals if they’re doing so for their own glory and to put on a good show.
Jesus is very hard on the Pharisees and the Scribes in today’s Gospel; he saw them not only leading many of the faithful astray, but they took the glory that was due God, and in a very sneaky, hypocritical way, turned it into their own glory. In contrast to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus warns us about, I bet we can all think of those who have been examples of faith for us, who truly have lived and served for the glory of God, who have led us closer to the faith rather than leading us astray. When I was in Ecuador serving as a missionary, I saw so many priests and nuns who had left their countries from all over the world in order to serve the poor in the vast jungle region of South America. I met one elderly nun from Italy – Sister Gemma – who had been there in the jungle for almost forty years. Even though she had gone through some very difficult times, I was struck by the love, grace, and humility through which she served the Lord as a Catholic missionary. She never drew attention to herself, she never was announcing to others how great she was. She knew that God called her as a missionary, as his servant, so she served him simply and humbly, through patience, perseverance, and hard work. That is so different from the message we see in the Pharisees and scribes, who follow all the laws of the faith, but who do so rigidly and dogmatically. In flaunting the way they take the seats of honor, in drawing attention to themselves and lording their power over others, the scribes and Pharisees really are serving only themselves.
Let us look at a very different example. Our psalmist humbly comes before the Lord this morning, telling him: My heart is not proud, Lord. My eyes are not haughty. I don’t spend my time trying to accomplish great things. I don’t worry about those things that are too complicated or sublime for me. Instead, he declares that he’s found his peace with the Lord, that his hope is in the Lord both now and forever.
Back in 1953, Sir Emund Hillary of New Zealand and his Sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal were the first humans to set foot on the peak of Mt Everest. Since then, many have died trying to scale that mountain, including 10 who have died during the 2017 climbing season. Hillary and Norgay reacted very differently to this remarkable achievement. Hillary reacted by planting a flag of conquest on top of the mountain peak. However, Norgay knelt in the snow in order to beg the mountain’s forgiveness for disturbing her peace. It doesn’t take long for us to figure out who was able to glimpse the divine presence at that moment, as Norgay saw his experience on that mountain as a holy event.
In September of last year, Pope Francis reached outside of our Catholic faith to bring the message of God’s love to the world in a special way. He convened religious leaders from all over the world to Assisi, Italy, the hometown of St Francis of Assisi, to stress the importance of all of us working together for world peace. He followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI who convened similar events. On those occasions, leaders from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, traditional African religions, and from different Christian denominations all pledged to work toward dialogue, justice, peace, and friendship. In a world where a lot of terrorism and violence has been perpetuated in the name of God and in the name of different religions, a world day of prayer for peace tells the world what all these faith traditions truly stand for.
Yes, there are a lot of things that can erode our faith, that can lead us astray, that can bring us down. However, if we make a conscious decision of living out a faith that is more than going through the motions, then God’s love will truly be present.
11/5/2017 – Homily for Sunday of the 31st week in ordinary time - cycle A – Matt 23:1-12; Malachi 1:14b; 2:1-2, 8-10
We are in the last weeks of our present liturgical year. We’re just 4 weeks away from the beginning of Advent, from a new Church year which begins on December 3. Advent is not only a time when we prepare for Christmas and for the birth of Jesus into our world, but it is a season where we look into our hearts in a special way to see those ways we need to turn away from sin and to receive renewal and conversion in our lives. Today’s readings get us thinking about these themes, about how we need to repent and amend our ways, to look at those things that perhaps are eroding our faith, that are keeping us from growing in our relationship with Christ.
Malachi spoke to the people of ancient Israel in the 5th century, just a generation or two after the Israelites returned from exile. At that time, the people had once again turned their backs on God. Many had married outside of their faith and had turned to the worship of foreign idols. Malachi is very direct in his message, in identifying the sins of the people and of their priests. Malachi tells them that it’s not enough to go through the empty motions of religious rituals if they are doing so for their own glory and to make themselves look good in the eyes of others and the eyes of God.
Jesus is very hard on the Pharisees and the Scribes in today’s Gospel; he saw them not only leading many of the faithful astray, but they took the glory that was due God, and in a very sneaky, hypocritical way, turned it into their own glory. In contrast to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus warns us about, I bet we can all think of those who have been examples of faith for us, who truly have lived and served for the glory of God, who have led us closer to the faith rather than leading us astray. When I was in Ecuador serving as a missionary, I saw so many priests and nuns who had left their countries from all over the world in order to serve the poor throughout this vast jungle region of South America. I met one elderly nun from Italy – Sister Gemma – who had been there in the jungle for almost forty years. Even though she had gone through some very difficult times, I was struck by the love, grace, and humility through which she served the Lord as a missionary. She never drew attention to herself, she never was announcing to others how great she was. She knew that God called her as a missionary, as his servant, so she served him simply and humbly, through patience, perseverance, and hard work. That is so different from the message we see in the Pharisees and scribes, who follow all the laws of the faith, but who do so rigidly and dogmatically. In flaunting the way they take the seats of honor, in drawing attention to themselves and lording their power over others, the scribes and Pharisees really are serving only themselves.
Let us look at a very different example. Our psalmist humbly comes before the Lord this morning, telling him: My heart is not proud, Lord. My eyes are not haughty. I don’t spend my time trying to accomplish great things. I don’t not worry about those things that are too complicated or sublime for me. Instead, the psalmist declares that he has found his peace with the Lord, that his hope is in the Lord both now and forever.
Back in 1953, Sir Emund Hillary of New Zealand and his Cherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal were the first humans to set foot on the mountain peak of Mt Everest. Since then, many have died trying to scale that mountain, including 10 who have died during the 2017 climbing season. Hillary and Norgay reacted very differently to this remarkable achievement. Hillary reacted by planting a flag of conquest on top of the mountain peak. However, Norway knelt in the snow in order to beg the mountain’s forgiveness for disturbing her peace. It doesn’t take long for us to figure out who was able to glimpse the divine presence at that moment.
In September of last year, Pope Francis reached outside of our Catholic faith to bring the message of God’s love to the world. He convened religious leaders from all over the world to Assisi, Italy, the hometown of St Francis of Assisi, to stress the importance of all of us working together for world peace. He followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. On those occasions, leaders from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, traditional African religions, and from different Protestant faiths all pledged to work toward dialogue, justice, peace, and friendship. In a world where a lot of terrorism and violence has been perpetuated in the name of God and in the name of different religions, a world day of prayer for peace tells the world what all these faith traditions truly stand for.
Yes, there are a lot of things that can erode our faith, that can lead us astray, that can bring us down. However, if we make a conscious decision of living out a faith that is more than going through the motions, then God’s love will truly be present.
2 de noviembre de 2017 - la Conmemoración de Todos los Fieles Difuntos - Sabiduría 3:1-9 - Romanos 6:3-9
Hoy, conmemoramos todos los fieles difuntos en nuestra misa. Con esta conmemoración, reconocemos que nuestra Iglesia siempre nos impulsaba de orar para los fieles difuntos desde los días de los apóstoles y la iglesia primitiva. San Agustín de Hipona, teólogo y obispo del siglo IV, explicó – “Si no preocupábamos de los difuntos, entonces no tendríamos la costumbre para orar por ellos.” Esta misa de todos los fieles difuntos del 2 de noviembre tiene su costumbre en el monasterio benedictino en Cluny en Francia desde hace mil años.
Celebramos los fieles difuntos hoy como una comunidad de fe, recordando las debilidades y las imperfecciones que tenemos como seres humanos. En nuestra lectura de Sabiduría, escuchamos sobre una creencia en el mundo antiguo, una creencia que muchos en nuestro mundo moderno tienen también, que nuestra vida termina cuando nuestro cuerpos terminan su existencia en la tierra. En nuestra fe católica, reconocemos que mucho en este mundo es un misterio de fe para nosotros, pero con todo que aprendemos sobre Dios, siempre tenemos mas para aprender, nunca aprendemos todo sobre Dios. Entonces, hay mucho sobre la muerte que es un misterio para nosotros.
El autor del libro de Sabiduría nos asegura: “Las almas de los justos están en manos de Dios y no los alcanzará ningún tormento.” La muerte es un misterio, pero confiamos que Dios está con nosotros - Dios está con nosotros en nuestra vida aquí en la tierra y en nuestra muestra terrenal. En este misterio, confiamos en el misterio infinito de Dios. En el espíritu que vino el las aguas de nuestro bautismo, en la manera que morimos con Cristo en estas aguas, ganamos la vida nueva en El, y continuamos unidos con el Cuerpo de Cristo después de la muerte de nuestros cuerpos terrenales. Oramos por los fieles difuntos hoy y por las almas en el purgatorio, unidos con ellos en nuestra fe en Cristo.
La Santa Misa - El Día de los Difuntos - en español - Parroquia de San Judas - Pearl Mississippi
La Santa Misa - El Día de los Difuntos - en español
2 de noviembre de 2017
9:00 de al noche
Iglesia San Judas Tadeo (St Jude)
399 Barrow St - Pearl, Mississippi
Bienvenidos para orar por los fieles difuntos y celebrar la misa con nosotros
las confesiones a las 8:30 y después de la misa
Padre Lincoln Dall, Párroco
November 3 2017 - St Martin de Porres - Friday of the 30th week in Ordinary Time - Luke 14:1-6
Today, we celebrate the feast day of Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother from Peru from the 16th century. Martin was very much discriminated against in colonial Latin American society, being the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed African slave. The shame Martin’s father felt over this reality caused him to abandon his family. However, Martin never gave up: he used his gifts to contribute to the Body of Christ, even though that was not always so easy for him. Martin's compassion for the poor, for animals, and for the sick of Lima made him a legend in his own time. Even in the midst of a society and a Church that greatly discriminated against him, his compassion and humble nature won over people's hearts and brought many to God. The broom became his symbol, because he would bring a broom with him to clean the living quarters of the sick and the poor when he would visit them. He eventually founded an orphanage and a children's hospital in Lima, Peru to care for the poor, and even a refuge that would care for sick and injured animals. From the alms he collected, he fed over 150 poor people a day. Martin was canonized as a saint by Pope John XXIII in 1962 – he is the patron saint of the poor and of social justice. He is still known today as the saint of the broom.
As we hear about Martin de Porres today, of his simplicity and humility, we think about how his approach to faith is so unlike the Pharisees in the Gospel today, who in arrogance and pride think they are better than everyone else, who try to trap Jesus and scrutinize his every move. They even criticize Jesus when he tries to heal someone, failiing to understand his explanation that he is not violating the spirit of God’s law. Unlike the prideful example the Pharisees give us today, Martin de Porres and the community of saints give us a humble example of faith to follow on our journey.
November 2 2017 – All Souls Day – Romans 5:5-11, Psalm 23:1-6, John 6:37-40
I was a missionary in Ecuador for about a year when my dad passed away in southern California. At the time, I was serving at a very remote mission site that had no telephone at all. My sister contacted the provincial house of our missionary order in the capital city of Quito to notify me. I finally got the news via a CB radio, a message that had to pass through many different missionary priests in order for it to finally reach me in the jungle. It took me several days of travel, but I was able to make it back for the funeral, which really meant a lot to me. However, since my dad was buried in Chicago, and the funeral was in California, I was not able to go to his gravesite until several years later when I had completed my term as a missionary and returned once again to the US. I placed a small wooden cross at his gravesite in Rosehill cemetery in Chicago that my students in Ecuador had made, as well as a rosary that I had gotten in Ecuador. It was important to me to honor him in that way, to remember him as I continued on my journey as a missionary. I think all of us want to remember, honor, commemorate, and pray for our deceased loved ones in a special way, which is the reason that the two day celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day is so popular.
Paul speaks about the virtue hope in his letter to the Romans, stating that this hope we have will not disappoint us, because it has been poured into our hearts by God through the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis says that these two great feasts that we celebrate this week are celebrations of hope. They are to bring hope into our hearts, to be a leaven to our spirits just as we are to be leaven in the world. We all go through difficult moments in our lives, such as the death of a loved one, but with the hope of our faith, we press forward and keep on eyes focused on those eternal truth of God, keeping focused on what awaits us in eternal life. All Souls Day, is a day of hope because we know that our brothers and sisters who died in the love of Christ are in eternal life with him. We place our hope in that eternal life for ourselves. We place our hope that one day we, too, will be in the loving arms of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, that he will lead our souls to eternal rest and refreshment.
Since the days of the Early Church, Catholics have consistently encouraged the offering of prayers and Mass for the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory. At the time of their death, those souls were not cleansed completely of their past sins nor had they atoned completely for their transgressions, and thus were not ready for unification with God. The faithful here on earth assist these souls in Purgatory in attaining eternal life through our prayers, our good works and the offering up of Mass.
We use All Saints Day and All Souls Day to start our commemoration of November as the month of remembrance, in which we in the Church traditionally remember those who have entered eternal life with our Lord. The act of remembering isn't just a nostalgic look back, but rather a way of building up and maintaining our holy community, of making the love, mercy, and goodness of God present in our lives. We remember in this way each time we celebrate the Eucharist as a community. This week’s remembrance takes on additional significance as we remember the souls of the faithful departed.
November 1, 2017 – All Saints Day – Matthew 5:1-12a
The solemnity of All Saints is an important celebration for us in our faith. It is a holy day of obligation, a day when we are obligated to attend mass together as a community to celebrate this day together. Today, we celebrate and honor the example, witness, and intercessions of the holy men and women who make up the community of saints in heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness....They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us...So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.”
The Gospel today is the Beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel. Even though the Beatitudes are a very familiar part of Sacred Scriptures, perhaps we still have a hard time understanding the teaching that is behind the Beatitudes. If you think about what our secular society sees as a blessing, you might name things such as riches and material wealth, popularity, power, fame, intelligence, and athletic ability. Those considered blessed by Jesus would not be seen as blessed through the eyes of our world: the poor in spirit, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and those who mourn. Yet, those whom Jesus names in the Beatitudes are those who truly live out the Gospel in their lives. For example, the poor in spirit are those who place their reliance on God and on the values of the Gospel, who put their faith in God, rather than in the fleeting, secular values of the world. Those who are merciful show love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness to their neighbor, even when it is difficult to do so, even when it would be so much easier to seek revenge or retribution. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are those who seek to bring justice and peace into our world, who are willing to stand up for the values of our faith even when it means that they will suffer greatly for it. Jesus sees those who live out the values of the Gospel as being truly blessed.
Today, we celebrate the Community of Saints that is a real part of our lives of faith. We celebrate the members of the Community of Saints who lived out the values of the Gospel and the reality of the Beatitudes in their lives here on earth. There are many famous and beloved saints who have been recognized by our Church, such as St Francis of Assisi, St Joseph, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and St Joan of Arc. But, we also recognize those members of our Community of Saints who are less famous and who are not officially named as such by the Church. Think of the little grandmothers who went to mass each day and devoutly raised their children and grandchildren in the faith. Think of the fathers who worked in the fields and the factories each day to provide for their families, who lived out the values of the Gospel each day and who instilled those values in their family members by their examples. We can all think of deceased loved ones and family members who influenced our lives of faith and who are now members of the Community of Saints. In celebrating All Saints Day today, we also celebrate the importance of community in our lives of faith. Our personal relationship with God is indeed very important, but our journey in life and our journey in faith take place in the community; it is in community that we live out our faith and the values of the Gospel. Our faith community helps us and encourages us on our journey. Our faith community helps educate us and nurture us. And the Community of Saints not only helps us through its witness, but through the prayers and friendship its members provide to us as well.
Today, we give thanks for the Community of Saints in our lives, for the help, prayers, and witness that the saints provide us.
October 31 2017 – homily for Tuesday of the 30th week of ordinary time – Romans 8:18-25
In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes: “Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” Paul states that although all of creation is still groaning in pains of growth and labor, we human beings already have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit with us. While we know this as a truth of our faith, that the sufferings of this world are nothing compared to the glory of God, that they are nothing compared to the new life we will have with him after our earthly existence comes to an end, it is still difficult for us to bear the many burdens and sufferings we have to go through here on earth. Paul says that it is hope that will sustain us, that will get us through these sufferings and all that we have to bear here on earth. We can lift our sufferings up to the Lord, we can unite our sufferings with the sufferings that Christ endured on his way to the cross. We can find meaning and growth in our sufferings. We can feel encouragement and strength from the prayers and support we receive from the other members of our community of faith. We all know someone in our community of faith or in our family or at work or school who is perhaps going through sickness and illness, through a lot of aches and pains, or struggling with a terrible addiction. We stand in solidarity with them, and we unite all of our prayers together, lifting them up to the Lord. Let us always place our hope in the Lord.
Novena to St Jude - Day Eight - October 27 2017 - Friday
Dear gracious St Jude, apostle of my Lord, pray that I may always be open to God’s love and live according to his will. May I never fail to cooperate with God's grace, especially when I am in great need. St Jude, please intercede with great intensity on my behalf for these intentions…
(State your intentions)
May I be truly thankful to God for the blessings I've received in the past. Help me to understand that I'm totally dependent on God and his love and mercy. When I feel alone, as you surely did when you suffered a martyr’s death, pray that I will take it as an opportunity to rely on God’s grace and love.
Amen.
St Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
Novena to St Jude - Day Seven - Thursday - October 26 2017
Holy apostle Saint Jude, may I never forget that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ called you to be one of his holy apostles. May I never forget the martyr’s death you suffered out of love for Jesus. May I never forget how close a friend of God you are now for all eternity. Therefore, I do not hesitate to ask you to pray to Him for my needs…
(State your intentions)
I ask with great humility that you beg God to bring me as close to Him as you are in heaven. I desire to submit fully to the will of God, as you did, trusting fully when I suffer, doubt or don’t understand. Pray that I will receive and accept such a great grace from God!
Amen.
St. Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Day Six - Novena to St Jude - October 25 2017 - Wednesday
Dear St. Jude, friend and apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ and expert in despairing cases, hear my prayers. In all my needs and desires, may I only seek what is pleasing to God and what is best for my salvation and the salvation of the world. Saint Jude, please beg God for help with my requests…
(State your intentions)
I submit my prayers to you with great confidence in your intercession. I know that you will pray fervently at the feet of God that I may receive His greatest blessings. I know that our good and gracious Lord leaves no sincere prayer unanswered in some way. Help me to see His answers and praise Him even if they are not what I expect.
Amen.
St. Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father...
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Book Review - The Dark Box: A Secret History of Confession - By John Cornwell
I had this book recommended by a friend of mine. It is essentially a history of the sacrament of reconciliation (referred to commonly by the Catholic faithful as "confession.) It was a very interesting book with a lot of history on the sacrament. I did not always agree with the conclusions of the author, but overall, I would say that I did agree with some of the main conclusions, namely that confession can have a negative influence or a positive influence in someone's life, depending upon how that person and the priest approaches it. As a priest, and as a person who goes to confession, I have seen both the negatives and the positives. It gives the history of the sacrament throughout the ages, beginning with the way sins were confessed publicly in the Early Church, to the way that the monasteries and the Irish monks in particular popularized what we know as the private individual sacrament of confession. In the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, communal confession service had been tried and then rejected by Church leaders, but embraced by a lot of the lay people and priests. As a priest who hears confession on a weekly basis, this book and the themes it brought out really hit home to me. I am glad that I read it.
Day Five - Novena to St Jude - October 24 2017 - Tuesday
Blessed St. Jude, close companion our Lord Jesus, you have given me a good example of how to lead a life of fidelity and devotion to Jesus. I humbly request that today you hear my prayers and petitions and intercede for me. I ask you to pray especially for…
(State your intentions)
As I pray for God’s blessings in my life today, please grant that I may never forget all the truth, goodness and beauty that God has given to me out of his love for me. May I, like you St. Jude, give thanks and praise to God every day for the blessings that I have asked for and those which God has given freely. I humbly give myself over to God’s holy will, knowing that God alone knows what is best for me and my present needs. Amen.
St. Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father
Monday, October 23, 2017
God is love, meek and mild - quote from Julian of Norwich
This quote was at the beginning of a chapter on a book on the history of the Sacrament of Reconciliation that I just read entitled The Dark Box. I really like this quote and really liked this book as well:
"Nothing could be more impossible than that God should be wrath. For wrath and friendship are two contraries. He that laid and destroyed our wrath and made us meek and mild --- we must believe that he is ever, in the same love, meek and mild; which is contrary to wrath." (Julian of Norwich - Revelations of Divine Love)
"Nothing could be more impossible than that God should be wrath. For wrath and friendship are two contraries. He that laid and destroyed our wrath and made us meek and mild --- we must believe that he is ever, in the same love, meek and mild; which is contrary to wrath." (Julian of Norwich - Revelations of Divine Love)
Day Four - Novena to St Jude - Monday October 23 2017
Blessed Saint Jude, Jesus called you to be one of His chosen and beloved apostles. With God’s calling, you labored to bring men to a knowledge and love of God. Please listen with compassion to my prayers and grant your intercession. In this broken world I have many trials, difficulties, and temptations. Please pray for me and my petitions in God’s presence. St. Jude, beg God that my most urgent prayers may be answered.
(State your intentions)
May God answer my prayers in His way that is best for me. May God give me the grace to see His purpose in all things.
Amen.
St. Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory be to the Father...
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Crime, shootings, and police killings - doesn't all of it matters
I was horrified last week to hear that a 13 year old boy was shot and critically wounded in the 2100 block of Touhy Avenue in the West Ridge/West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago where I grew up until the age of 12, just blocks from my childhood home. That same weekend, I saw a news item that a very beloved middle school math teacher was killed near the Morse Avenue Red Line train station in the same Rogers Park neighborhood while she was walking with her husband. At the same time, I had read an article saying that Republican were misrepresenting the crime rate in Chicago and blowing it out of proportion for political advantage.
According to the Washington Post, there have been 782 fatal police shootings this year already. Broken down by race: 378 White, 183 African American, 150 Hispanic, 27 other, 44 unknown race. By gender, it is 746 male, 35 female, and 1 unknown gender. The way the media and certain celebrity elitists report it, I would think that these statistics would be very different. Compare those 782 fatal police shootings in the entire US to the 564 fatal homicide shootings in the city of Chicago so far this year. To me, every life killed matters. When I read an article about a police officer in Minnesota who had arrived in the United States as an immigrant from African, who killed an unarmed immigrant from Australia from the confines of his police squad car, when she had called the police for help in response to cries of distress on the street that she had heard, it shows how many of these situations can be very complicated and very messy. The family and friends and loved ones of this Australian woman still have not received any answers and to why this could have happened, even though it is now October and this homicide happened in July. I myself have been the victim or witness in some very violent crimes, though not homicides. I saw someone shot point blank by a pistol to the head on the streets of the village where I lived as a missionary in Ecuador. I was mugged with a knife to my throat on the streets of a busy city, where those who witnessed this crime taunted me and laughed at me, even though I had just seen my life flash before my eyes. I have had an apartment broken into and robbed 5 different times, my house broken into once, and our parish offices broken into and robbed, even taking the chalice I use as a priest. Was I affected by those violent crimes - you better believe I was. I just think that we can often misinterpret reality and statistics for our own personal agenda, making those statistics fit our agenda. Why are we taking sides? Shouldn't we all work together for a better neighborhood, a better community, a better world?
Saturday, October 21, 2017
October 23 2017 - Monday of the 29th week in Ordinary Time - Romans 4: 20-25
Promises made by human beings are often broken, but a promise made by God is something altogether different. It is essential article of belief in the Hebrews Scriptures that God always keeps his promises. St Paul asserts that God made a promise of homeland to Abraham, a promise to Abraham and his future generations. But, perhaps this was preposterous at the time, since Abraham and his wife were barren, with no children, and Abraham was a wandering stranger in the land of Canaan with no land to his name. If God is indeed faithful to his promises, than Israel is to respond by being faithful to God’s commandments. Yet, if Israel is ever unfaithful, then God will still keep his promises. In many ways, the entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures is a promise that is fulfilled in God’s son, Jesus Christ. Even when Israel was sent into exile, the promise was kept in Jesus, which was not the promise of an earthly kingdom, but rather the promise of an eternal kingdom, a kingdom of God’s mercy, holiness and grace. All powerful God, as you made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as those promises were fulfilled in Christ, may you give us the courage to to receive your promise in our own life in faith and joy.
Day Three - Novena to St Jude - Sunday October 22 2017
O holy St. Jude, apostle of Jesus Christ, you who have so faithfully spread Jesus’ Gospel of Light and Love, I ask and beg you to remember me and my deepest needs. St. Jude, please especially pray for…
(State your intentions)
Grant that I may always pray with fervor and devotion, resigning myself and my needs humbly to my loving God. Grant that I may see God’s purpose in all my trials and that I may be open to God’s answers to my sincere prayers. Amen.
St Jude, pray for me!
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!
Our Father…
Hail Mary….
Glory be to the Father…
Friday, October 20, 2017
October 28 2017 - Reflection for 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Exodus 22:20-26
In the Exodus story that we hear this weekend, as the Israelites are escaping the bondage and oppression of their lives in Egypt, as they travel to the promised land, Moses presents God’s law to the people. The laws of conduct that God gives them at Mount Sinai are reiterated again and again by the prophets as the people repeatedly stray from God and turn their back on him throughout the history of the people of Israel.
The widows, the orphans, the poor, the oppressed, the stranger – they were the most vulnerable and the most at risk in the ancient Mediterranean world. Today, in our world and in our own community right here in Pearl, we may think that we can easily identify these members who are most at risk, who are orphans and the strangers. But some individuals may feel like they are orphans or strangers in their own community and they are not so readily identifiable. What we see on the outside and on the surface can be so different from the reality that is going on inside a person. We may see someone who appears happy and content, confident and successful in life, but inside they may be struggling just to make it from one day to the next, they may be insecure and lacking in self-worth and confidence.
God tells the people of Israel that if they do wrong against those who are most vulnerable in their society, those they’ve wronged will cry out to God, and God will surely hear their cry. God’s wrath will flare up at the people of Israel, and the Israelites themselves will become widows and orphans. The point of all of this is not to instill fear in our hearts, to make us afraid of God and be fearful of punishment or retribution, but rather it is a call to awareness, to look at how we treat others, especially the least among us in our society. Since it is often so difficult to determine who the least among us are, we are to be watchful in how we treat all of God’s children.
Many times the message we hear in Sacred Scripture gives us pause to think, it gives us a reason to be challenged. This weekend, we also celebrate our parish’s patron saint, St Jude, also known as Judas Thaddaeus, He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. Tradition states that Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed. He is known to help out people in desperate situations, which is one of the reason so many of the faithful have a great love for St Jude and a devotion to him. St Jude, pray for us.
World Mission Sunday - October 22, 2017
World Mission Sunday is organized by the Society of the Propagation of the Faith in the Catholic Church. This year, it is celebrated on Sunday, October 22, 2017. It is a day set aside for Catholics worldwide to recommit themselves to the Church’s missionary activity through prayer and sacrifice.
We just celebrate the feast day of St Jean de Brebeuf, St Isaac Jogues, and their Jesuit companions who were martyred while serving as missions to the native people of Canada in the 17th century. Our Church has been blessed with so many dedicated missionaries, many of whom gave up their lives for the faith.
During this year’s 90th anniversary, World Mission Sunday celebration relates to the mercy of the Lord: “Mercy Changes the World.” Pope Francis notes, “The mercy of God is His loving concern for each one of us…. As the Father loves, so do His children. Just as He is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other.”
As I served as a missionary myself in Canada, in Ecuador, and in South Texas from 1992 to 2000, I think of the Mennonite Voluntary Service and the Combine Missisionaries with whom I served. I thin of all the dedicated missionaries that I met and worked with. We lift up all the dedicated missionaries to the loving arms of the Lord.
October 27 2017 - Friday of the 29th week in Ordinary Time – Luke 12:54-59
Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth once stated that preachers of God's word ought to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Barth saw an important relationship between the word of God and the word of the day that was important in the way we live out our faith in the reality of the modern world. God’s word and the reality of our day are intrinsically bound together in such a way that one always interprets the other. The Second Vatican Council understood this as well, as the fourth paragraph of Guadium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the modern world, states that: "At all times the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel." Today's Gospel from Luke addresses how some in Jesus' day could interpret the weather from the clouds and the appearance of the earth, but they were not able to discern the signs that Jesus put before their very eyes in his proclamation of God's kingdom. And isn't it even more true today? We are so technologically advanced, we pride ourselves in our scientific advances and all the technology we use in our everyday lives, yet we so often miss the message that God is trying to convey to us. Yes, according to the Second Vatican Council, we are call to dialogue with our modern era and to infuse our world with our faith, yet we are also called to be true to the original message of Jesus and the message preached by the early Church fathers. May we never forget this connection.
October 26 2017 - Thursday of 29th week in Ordinary Time – Psalm 1:1-5, Romans 6:19-23
“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord” – this is the refrain we hear in the psalm today. The message in the psalm brings us a message of hope, as we as disciples of Christ are to place our hope in our faith, in the salvation we have in Christ. Yet, the readings also hold us accountable and responsible as disciples of Christ as well. This hope is not just a promise that demands no action on our own part. Paul tells the Romans that before they were slaves to impurity and lawlessness, but now they are to live in righteousness as disciples of Christ. Sometimes in what we are going through in our daily lives, it can be difficult to have hope. When we have no hope, perhaps we need to look at what we can change in our lives to bring us hope. At a workshop we had in our Diocese in early October, we were told that in order to have hope in our lives, we had to seek out and foster healthy relationships in our lives. We do not feel hope on our own or in isolation. The importance of community in our Catholic faith reinforces this concept. The friends and healthy relationships around us can help us have joy in our heart no matter the struggles and the challenges we are facing. Let us have hope. Let us put our trust in our Lord.
October 25 2017 – Wednesday of 29th week in Ordinary Time – Romans 6:12-18
We are disciples of Christ. To become his disciples, we die to our old life in the waters of baptism, rising to new life in him. Even though we strive toward perfection as disciples of Christ on our journey of faith, that does not me we still don’t struggle with sin, that we don’t face temptations on our journey. In his letter to the Romans, Paul acknowledges the reality of sin. He acknowledges that sin is still powerful and active in the world of believers. That is one of the aspects of our Catholic faith that I really like, that our faith openly acknowledges this power that sin can have over us even as we continue on our journey through life as believers. We are called to an on-going cycle of conversion and repentance on our journey of faith. We are called to confess our sins, to repent, to do penance and to strive to do better.
I remember reading an article in America Magazine in which Pope Francis was asked: "Who is Jorge Mario Bergoglio?" He answered: “I am a sinner. This is the most accurate definition. It is not a figure of speech, a literary genre. I am a sinner.” We are all sinners, this is true, but we have the help of God’s grace, which Paul says is the source of our liberty and our security. It is hard to believe that it is nearing the end of October, which means that Thanksgiving and Advent are around the corner, as we will start our preparations for the Christmas season. We have the sacrament of reconciliation each Saturday afternoon here at St Jude before our Vigil Mass. We also will be having our Advent Reconciliation Service the first week of Advent. We ask the Lord to lead us and guide us in our fight against temptation, against the sins we struggle with in our lives. Without his help, we cannot do anything.
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