3 June 2018 - The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

        Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Many of us still refer to this day under the old name for it – Corpus Christi.  I remember when we celebrated this feast day back in 2011 when I served last the pastor in Yazoo City when we began the Year of the Eucharist in our diocese.  I love looking at the history of our faith, so I wondered how the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ got started in our Church.  The idea for this celebration started with a nun in Belgium, St Juliana of Liége, who lived way back in the 13th century.  Since the time she was a teenager, she had a great devotion to the Eucharist and longed for a feast day in its honor in our Church.  What we celebrate today can be traced to this nun, as her idea was passed down to Pope Urban IV, who declared Corpus Christi to be a universal feast in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in 1264.

         Back in the 13th century, Sister Juliana saw a world where there was a lot of irreverent and sacrilegious behavior toward the Blessed Sacrament.  She hoped that the believers who were seeking love, truth, and piety in their lives would be able to draw inspiration and strength from the Most Holy Eucharist.  She saw a world where many people were drawn to heresies and were becoming cold in their faith.  That may have described the 13th century, but it also describes the world today as well.  Thus, it is so relevant to our day and time that we celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ in such a special way today.

         I recently read a book about the saints by the author Anne Gordon entitled A Book of the Saints: True Stories of How They Touch Our Lives.  She states that she long ago realized in her life of faith, that “unless we are clear about what we do and do not believe,…it is quite impossible to live with any degree of depth, conviction, or purpose” in life.  Our Church and we as Catholics are very clear in what we believe in the Eucharist, the real presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood, and how this is the source and summit of our lives of faith and what we believe as Catholics.  We believe this, but is this a reality in our daily lives?

         When I graduated from seminary, our rector Father Thomas Cassidy of the Sacred Heart priests was very clear to us in his conviction in what we needed to do in order to be true to our priesthood and to survive any crisis moments that we might have as priests.  First, he said that we had to be tied to the word of God, to read and pray the word of God each day in the liturgy of the hours.  Second, we need to have a strong love for the mass and for the Eucharist, to the Body and Blood of Christ we receive through the Eucharist.  And third, we have to find ways to truly live out our lives of faith and our priesthood each day.  All believers are also called to live out these ideals – to be tied to God’s Holy Word, to have a strong love for the Eucharist, and to find the ways that God is calling us to live out our faith.

     In the apostolic exhortation he issued in March of this year, Gaudete et exsultate, Pope Francis wrote that the Jesus we meet in Scripture leads us to receive him in the Eucharist, where the Word of God achieves its greatest efficacy.    The Pope states: “In the Eucharist, the one true God receives the greatest worship the world can give him, for it is Christ himself who is offered.  When we receive him in Holy Communion, we renew our covenant with him and allow him to carry out more fully his work of transforming our lives.”

      Indeed: As we receive the Holy Eucharist at mass today, let Christ’s presence really penetrate our hearts and our lives.  

1 June 2018 - Friday of the 8th week of Ordinary Time - 1 Peter 4:7-13

     The first letter of Peter gives us some good practical advice today: Be hospitable to each other without complaining. Use the gifts you have received to serve one another.  Be good stewards of God’s grace.  

      One of the saints we celebrate tomorrow found an interesting way to live out that advice in his life.  One of my favorite towns on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is San Juan Ortega, named after this saint.  It is located on the stage right before the arrival into the city of Burgos, one of the main cities on the Camino.  San Juan de Ortega was born in Burgos in 1050.  He became a priest at a young age.  While traveling back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ship he was on almost sank into a terrible storm. Juan de Ortega prayed to St Nicholas to save them from the storm.  He founded a Augustinian monastery in the village now named San Juan Ortega, and a monastery church named in honor of St Nicholas. In fact, he specifically founded this monastery and church in an area that was very dangerous for pilgrims on the Camino, as it was nestled in the mountains and was a prime location for robbers to hide and attack them.  Juan de Ortega was a good friend of Santo Domingo de Calzada, another great Camino saint.  Both of them spent time repairing bridges on the Camino, improving roads, and constructing new chapels and hospitals for the pilgrims.  He died in 1143. What is interesting is that this monastery and church were abandoned in the 19th century when the monks left and closed them down.  It is only with the renewed interest in the Camino in the last 25 years that the church and monastery are being restored. 

       The advice we hear in the letter to St Peter and the life of San Juan de Ortega both illustrate to us how as disciples of Christ, we are called to serve one another.  Personal acts of piety are not enough.   We are called to discern our gifts, to pray to the Lord for guidance, and to put these gifts into service.  May we hear this call in our lives.  

31 May 2018 - Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her Cousin Elizabeth

     It is very hard for me to believe, but today, on the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her Cousin Elizabeth, I celebrate ten years as a priest.  My ordination to the priesthood in the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi was on May 31, 2008.  I remember all of my family and friends who traveled here to Mississippi for my ordination, including friends from Canada, my sister Kimberley from California, my brother Cameron from Illinois, and friends from North Carolina and Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Wisconsin.  I give thanks to the people of the parishes where I have served since that time as pastor or associate pastor - All Saints Catholic Church in Belzoni; St Richard and Holy Family in Jackson; and St Mary and St Francis of Assisi in Yazoo City, St James in Tupelo, and currently St Jude in Pearl.  I give thanks to the correctional institutions where I have served as a priest: Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl,  and the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility and the Yazoo City Federal Correctional Facility in Yazoo City.  So many people have nurtured me along the way on my journey.  I give thanks to all of them.  And I give thanks for this wonderful feast in honor of the Blessed Mother that falls on the anniversary of my ordination.  

30 May 2018 – Wednesday of 8th week of ordinary time – St Joan of Arc – 1 Peter 1:18-25

      Today we hear from the first letter of Peter. In great wisdom, this reading asserts that our salvation was paid for us not by things of the world such as gold or silver, but rather by the blood of Christ.  We have our new life in Christ not in the perishable things of this world, but in things that are eternal and divine.  While we see things in this world that are beautiful and that catch our eye, it is the word of God that endures forever. That is where we are called to put our faith and trust.       

       The saint we celebrate today, Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, who died on this day way back in 1431 at the age of 19.  She is remembered for her faith in the Lord, a faith that called her to lead the French troops to victory over the English in a phase of the Hundred Years’ War.  In the courage and confidence she found in her faith, she stated: "I place trust in God, my creator, in all things; I love him with all my heart.”  Joan was burned at the stack as a heretic, the victim of political circumstances and jealousies.  Yet, her faith and courage has been remember throughout the generations, inspiring many.  Although she died way back in 1431 and was not canonized until the year 1920, almost 500 years later, she remained a saint in the eyes of believers for centuries even before she was officially canonized by the Church.  One of my favorite novels, Black Robe by Brian Moore, shows a Jesuit priest praying at the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stack before he embarks for his mission work in Canada in the early 17th century.  Her example of faith still speaks to us throughout the centuries.  Joan of Arc was able to take risks of faith based upon the enduring word of God that allowed her to rise above those transitory things of our world.  May we also have the strength and courage to stand by the word of God, to have it inspire us and guide us. 

29 May 2018 -homily for Tuesday of the 8th week of ordinary time - Mark 10: 28-30

         Today, we hear the famous saying: “Many who were first will be last, and the last will be first”. There was a lovely lady at St Richard who used to drive all of the way from the Carthage area to attend the mass at St Richard in Jackson every Sunday morning at 8:00 am. She would arrive in last row of pews in the church at least half an hour before mass to pray and to prepare. She told me that Father Ben Martinez used to often jokingly quote this Scripture passage to her before mass, telling her that the first would be last, and the last would be first, since she was all the way in the last pew in the church without fail.    

            We live in a society today where everyone wants to be number one in the world. I read an article about eduction today that stated that the average high school issues about three times the number of A’s as grades to students compared to a generation ago.  Everyone wants to be the best, and wants the best in life. There is nothing wrong in wanting to be the best, but not everyone can be number 1. Jesus tells us that we need to make sacrifices, and that those sacrifices will be noticed by the Lord. May we not be afraid to make sacrifices for our faith, may we put our faith in the ways of the Lord and not in the accolades of the world. It goes against out desire to be number one, but it will help us to gain grace and wisdom. 

Catholic Prayer issued by USCCB - Memorial Day

Memorial Day in always celebrate in the United States on the last Monday in May.  When I lived up North, Memorial Day always signified the beginning of summer, just as Labor day marked the end of summer.  The traditional meaning of Memorial Day is to honor those who died in active military service.  The first Memorial Day was established in May 1865, less than a month after the Confederate forces surrendered at Appomattox at the end of the Civil War.  In our modern era, with so much political and social division, perhaps the true meaning of Memorial Day gets lost.  

God of power and mercy,
you destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called your sons
      and daughters.
Keep in your mercy those men and women
who have died in the cause of freedom
and bring them safely
into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.  

25 May 2018 - The Venerable Bede - reflection on the saint of the day

      The dictionary defines the word “venerable” this way: one accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character.  The term venerable is associated with the saint we celebrate today: the Venerable Bede.  I have always loved his name, since the term “venerable” denotes the great respect and honor that was given to him.  Bede was a Benedictine monk, priest, and historian.  He lived in England in the 7th and 8th centuries.  A great translator and linguist, he translated the Latin and Greek writings of the Church Fathers into the Anglo-Saxon language. He also wrote 45 books himself.  He is most remembered for being the Father of English history.  I remember reading a book of his in my Western Civilization course in college, The Ecclesiastical History of the English People.  The term “the Venerable Bede” comes from the inscription on his tomb in Durham England in Latin:  “HIC SUNT IN FOSSA BEDAE VENERABILIS OSSA.”  In English, it says: “Here are buried the bones of the Venerable Bede.”  

Quote about the Venerable Bede:  “We have not it seems to me, amid all our discoveries, invented as yet anything better than the Christian life which Bede lived, and the Christian death which he died.”  (C. Plummer, Ecclesiastical History)

PIECECITOS by Gabriela Mistral (The Poem Tiny feet by Gabriela Mistral)

While teaching high school Spanish at Greenville Weston High School in the city of Greenville in the Mississippi Delta, I had the wonderful opportunity to study in the countries of Chile and Argentina during the summer of 2002.  That summer introduced me to the literature and culture of those two wonderful countries.  One poet that I love very much is Gabriela Mistral.  She was the first Nobel laureate in literature from Latin America.  Miss Mistral was also a devout Catholic and was buried in the habit of a member of the 3rd order Franciscan.  A talented educator, the poem below reflects her love for children and her heart of social justice.  It is a very wonderful poem.  It was one of the poems that I had my students memorize in my Spanish classes.  

PIECECITOS

Piececitos de niño,

azulosos de frío,

¡cómo os ven y no os cubren,

Dios mío!

¡Piececitos heridos

por los guijarros todos,

ultrajados de nieves

y lodos!

El hombre ciego ignora

que por donde pasáis,

una flor de luz viva

dejáis;

que allí donde ponéis

la plantita sangrante,

el nardo nace más

fragante.

Sed, puesto que marcháis

por los caminos rectos,

heroicos como sois

perfectos.

Piececitos de niño,

dos joyitas sufrientes,

¡cómo pasan sin veros

las gentes!

Tiny Feet

A child's tiny feet, 

Blue, blue with cold, 

How can they see and not protect you? 

Oh, my God! 

Tiny wounded feet, 

Bruised all over by pebbles, 

Abused by snow and soil! 

Man, being blind, ignores 

that where you step, you leave 

A blossom of bright light, 

that where you have placed 

your bleeding little soles 

a redolent tuberose grows. 

Since, however, you walk 

through the streets so straight, 

you are courageous, without fault. 

Child's tiny feet, 

Two suffering little gems, 

How can the people pass, unseeing.

22 May 2018 - St Rita of Cascia - Tuesday of the 7th week in ordinary time - psalm 55

      Our psalmist today declares: Throw your cares to the Lord, and he will support you.  I don’t see this as a call to passivity, but rather a call to lift up our burdens to the Lord in our prayers, in allow him to help us with our burdens and to feel that we are not alone.  As James says in our first reading, we are called to submit ourselves to God, to submit our will to his.  

     Many of the faithful turn to St Rita of Cascia with their seemingly impossible causes.  Rita was born in the 14th century to a peasant family, its only child.  She longed to be a nun, but instead followed her parents wishes for her to marry.   After a violent, abusive relationship with her husband, after the murder of her husband through a feud with another family, and the death of her two sons by dysentery, she was finally accepted into the Augustinian convent as a religious sister.   Rita was well known for being obedient.  She was made a saint in the year 1900. At her canonization, Pope Leo 13th named her Patroness of Impossible Causes, while in many Catholic countries, Rita came to be known to be as the patroness of abused wives and heartbroken women.

27 de mayo de 2018 – La solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad – Mateo 28,16-20

      Hoy, el domingo después de Pentecostés,  siempre celebramos la solemnidad de la Santísima Trinidad.  Antes de enviar sus discípulos al mundo para ser misioneros del Evangelio, Jesucristo explicó en el Evangelio de San Mateo: “Vayan, y hagan que todos los pueblos sean mis discípulos, bautizándolos en el nombre del Padre y del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo.”  Es un mandato claro y directo para los primeros discípulos de Cristo y es un mandato muy claro para nosotros también.   El Padre nos dio su Hijo para nuestra salvación.  Y el Padre y el Hijo nos dan el Espíritu Santo como la presencia de Dios con nosotros en la tierra.  La Santísima Trinidad no es algo nebuloso -  vive en nosotros como una realidad concreta.  San Gregorio de Nisa escribió mucho sobre la Trinidad en el siglo cuatro cuando la iglesia tenía un discurso amplio sobre este tema.  San Gregorio explicó que “el santo Bautismo se nos imparte la gracia de la inmortalidad por la fe en el Padre y en el Hijo y en el Espíritu Santo.”  Conocemos mucho sobre Dios & sobre la Santísima Trinidad, pero, en su realidad, la Trinidad es un misterio de nuestra fe.  Este misterio de la Trinidad es el punto de partida de toda la verdad cristiana que tenemos.  Es la base de donde procede la vida divina en nuestro mundo con nosotros.  En verdad, podemos declarar sin duda que somos hijos del Padre. Podemos decir que somos hermanos y seguidores y discípulos de su Hijo. Podemos declarar que somos peregrinos caminando continuamente en la luz de la fe con el Espíritu Santo en cada momento de nuestro camino.

      Podemos proclamar al mundo que estamos aquí para hacer cuatro cosas como discípulos de Cristo:

(1) Amar a Dios

(2) Amar al prójimo.

(3) Vivir como discípulos.

(4) Hacer discípulos.

No es algo complicado.  No es algo muy difícil.  Es algo un niño puede comprender.

      Podemos decir con sinceridad y humildad que siempre tenemos mucho para aprender sobre Dios y sobre nuestra fe.  Siempre hay aspectos de Dios y la vida nueva que tenemos en Cristo que no entendemos, no importa el nivel de formación y experiencias que tenemos.  Hay muchas maneras para conocer y experimentar el Dios en la realidad de la Santísima Trinidad.  Dios nos revela su naturaleza divina a través de los profetas y de la Sagrada Escritura, a través de nuestra relación con nuestros hermanos y hermanas en Cristo, y por medio de la comida que compartimos juntos alrededor de la mesa del Señor.  Pero, San Agustín, uno de los teólogos en nuestra Iglesia, dijo esto: Dios no es lo que usted entiende. Dios no es lo que usted piensa que entienda. Si usted piensa que entiende a Dios, entonces usted sabe que ha fracasado. Sin embargo, en nuestra fe, buscamos la comprensión y en la forma en que crecemos en nuestra comprensión, crecemos en nuestra fe también. La fe y la comprensión son dos aspectos de nuestro viaje como cree que un complemento de la otra. Pero, a veces parece que se habla en los círculos o se habla en paradojas acerca de nuestra fe.  El Credo de Atanasio, escrito en la Iglesia Primitiva en el año 500, dice lo siguiente: Las tres personas de la Trinidad, el Padre, el Hijo y el Espíritu Santo, no son tres eternos, sino un solo eterno, no tres todopoderosos, pero uno todopoderoso, no tres dioses, sino un solo Dios.  Es fácil de decir, pero no es tan fácil de comprender.

        La Trinidad es una doctrina importante en nuestra fe, por supuesto. Pero, también, tenemos una nueva vida en la Trinidad a través de nuestro bautismo y en nuestro camino como discípulos en Cristo.  Para nosotros, como creyentes, la Santísima Trinidad nos da la vida, nos da la respiración, nos da una nueva realidad.

20 de mayo de 2018 – Pentecostés – Hechos 2,1-11, Juan 15,26-27; 16,12-15

     Hoy, celebramos la fiesta de Pentecostés, un don para nosotros al fin de nuestra celebración de Pascua.  En Pentecostés, como en toda la temporada de pascua, celebramos la presencia de Jesucristo resucitado con nosotros.  En los domingos de Pascua, hicimos una memoria de la pasión salvadora de Cristo y de su resurrección y ascensión a los cielos.  Hoy, celebramos la llegada & la obra del Espíritu Santo - el Espíritu del Padre y del Hijo. Con la presencia del Espíritu Santo, podemos reconocer sin duda que la resurrección de Jesús es una realidad permanente en nuestra vida de fe. Por eso, podemos decir que para nosotros, cada día es la Pascua de la Resurrección, que cada día es Pentecostés.

        En el Evangelio, Cristo explicaba la llegada del Espíritu Santo. Conocía la realidad de su camino – con el destino en la cruz y la resurrección.  La comunidad de los discípulos no ha experimentado todavía el Espíritu de Dios, no ha experimentado la realidad de la resurrección.  Después de la muerte de Cristo, los discípulos tenían mucho miedo. Cuando los discípulos recibieron la presencia de Cristo resucitado, cuando recibieron su Espíritu Santo, se llenaron de paz & gozo – se llenaron con los dones del Espíritu Santo.  Si nosotros somos una comunidad que vivimos y creemos en el Espíritu de Jesús resucitado, no necesitamos tener miedo de nuestro mundo tampoco.  Si – el Espíritu está siempre con nosotros – su gozo y su paz están con nosotros.

      Cristo explicaba que el Espíritu Santo es nuestro Consolador, es el Espíritu de la verdad.  Es el Espíritu de nuestra vida nueva que recibimos en el bautismo, la confirmación, la reconciliación y la Eucaristía – el Espíritu que tenemos en los sacramentos de la Iglesia.

        En la llegada del Espíritu Santo de Pentecostés, se llenaron todos los discípulos del Espíritu Santo. El Espíritu Santo, el Espíritu de Jesús resucitado, viene como un viento muy fuerte, como un fuego radiante, que sopla donde quiere. Tenemos la efusión del Espíritu Santo cada día en nuestro camino de fe.  La Eucaristía que celebramos hoy es una acción de Cristo y del Espíritu Santo. En la Eucaristía, el Espíritu nos alimenta con la Palabra de Dios y con el cuerpo y la sangre de nuestro Señor.   El Espíritu de Dios quiere que vivimos el espíritu de esta Eucaristía cuando vamos al mundo, para hacer las obras del Padre con nuestro prójimo, para ser testigos del Espíritu con el poder de transformar el mundo.

       El Papa Francisco dice eso sobre el Espíritu Santo y nuestra celebración de Pentecostés:  “Preguntémonos hoy: ¿Estamos abiertos a las ‘sorpresas de Dios’? ¿O nos encerramos, con miedo, a la novedad del Espíritu Santo? ¿Estamos decididos a recorrer los caminos nuevos que la novedad de Dios nos presenta o nos atrincheramos en estructuras caducas, que han perdido la capacidad de respuesta? Nos hará bien hacernos estas preguntas durante toda la jornada."

      Si, creemos en el Espíritu de Dios que está con nosotros.  Si, creemos en el Espíritu de Dios que prepara las obras y las oportunidades que tenemos para avanzar el reino de Cristo aquí en la tierra. Reconocemos esta llamada para servir en nuestra parroquia, en nuestra comunidad, en nuestra país, y en nuestro mundo.  En todo que podemos hacer como individuos y como una comunidad de fe, necesitamos la ayuda del Espíritu Santo.  En nuestra celebración de Pentecostés, celebramos esta presencia de Dios con nosotros. 

Catholic blessing for high school graduation - May 2018

Graduation Blessing

Before you were formed as a human being, God knew you.

While in your Mother's womb, God named you.

At your birth, God's breath filled you with life.

Today we celebrate what you have become at this moment in time as we mark your high school graduation. And so we pray:

God of our beginnings,

We thank you for the gifts of these graduates;

their excitement, their awesome wonder and curiosity,

their open speech and encouraging words.

Their contributions have blessed us and challenged us. 

We have become a richer and more diverse community because of them.

As they step forward into the world that awaits, comfort their fears with the full knowledge of your divine presence.

Strengthen their resolve to walk in the footsteps of Jesus

as modern-day disciples in a world that needs their spirit.

Guide their feet as they move through life,

protecting them from the pitfalls of darkness

while they help to lead future generations

into the warmth and promise of your light.

May you always remember the love and support of your church family here at St Jude.  

We ask this blessing upon each of them,

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Go Winnipeg Jets!

Although I am a priest in Mississippi, and consider Mississippi to be my beloved adopted home, the two cities that shaped me the most prior to my arrival in Mississippi are the cities of Chicago and Winnipeg.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Chicago Cubs.  I grew up with my extended family very loyal to the Cubs.  From 1992 to 1994, I lived in Winnipeg and served there as a lay missionary.  The city of Winnipeg has a special place in my heart.  The Jets left Winnipeg in 1995.  It was a heartbreaking event for a Canadian city that is so in love with hockey, the national sport.  A new Jets team came to Winnipeg in 2011.  This year, the Jets have advanced to the Western Conference Finals of the Stanley.  In the words of my sister Heather, a very avid hockey fan: this is a very big deal.  She has adopted the Jets, too, this year.  I am so hoping they win this year, which would be the first win for a Canadian team since 1993.  Go Jets!  Go Winnipeg!

Prayers of the Faithful and Mass Introductions - the Ascension of Our Lord - May 13 2018

Penitential Rite: 
Lord Jesus - you ascended into heaven - Lord have mercy. 
Christ Jesus - you are seated at the right hand of the Father - Christ have mercy. 
Lord Jesus - you sent us the Holy Spirit to be our advocate - Lord have mercy. 

Prayers of the Faithful: 
Priest: As we celebrate these final weeks of the Easter season, we present our prayers to the Lord: 

1. For the Church:  that the people of God will live with an ardent hope for eternal life with our heavenly Father.  

2. That the authority of heaven may guide the actions of those who govern us here on earth.  

3. That the Holy Spirit may empower each of us to carry out Jesus' mission to be witnesses of his love and mercy.  

4. May we have faith in the Lord’s promise that he will always be with us. 

5. For our first responders, for the men and women serving in the military, for victims of war, terrorism, and violence.  

6. For the prayers and intercessions of our Blessed Mother, whom we celebrate in a special way in the month of May - that our prayers may be united with hers.  

7. For the prayer intension of Pope Francis for the month of May 2018, that the laity in their efforts to evangelize may fulfill their special mission by responding with creativity to the challenges that face the world today. 

Priest: Heavenly Father, as we celebrate the Ascension of your Son, we present these prayer to you through him, for he is our risen Lord forever and ever.  AMEN.  

Pope Francis' prayer intention for the month of May 2018

For May 2018, Pope Francis prays for the mission of the laity in evangelization, that the laity may fulfill their special mission by responding with creativity to the challenges that face the world today.  

In his Apostolic exhortation issued in April 2018, Guadete et Exsultate, Pope Francis states that to extent that we the faithful are able to grow in holiness, we will be able to bear greater fruit for our world.  Pope Francis quotes the Bishops of West Africa, who state: “we are being called in the spirit of the New Evangelization to be evangelized and to evangelize through the empowering of all you, the baptized, to take up your roles as salt of the earth and light of the world wherever you find yourselves”. (paragraph 34).  

28 April 2018 - March for life at St Richard Catholic Church - Pro-Life Mississippi -

Blessing and Mary Woodward - our parish cats having a sleepy day

First Communion - St Jude Catholic Church - May 6, 2018

Trip to Metairie, Louisiana - USCCB regional conference on the Misal Romano in Spanish

Last Wednesday (May 2, 2018), I attended a workshop on the new Roman Missal that is coming out in Spanish.  It is first Spanish language Roman Missal issued in Spanish by our country.  Previously, we had to use a Roman Missal issued by another Spanish speaking country.  It was a wonderful workshop.  I was really glad I attended.  On the way back, I ate at Frostop in LaPlace, Louisiana, a blast from the past the reminded me of the Frostop in Greenville that I used to go to when I lived and taught in that Delta city.  

26 May 2018 – Saint of the Day - Mariana de Jesus de Paredes (1618 - 1645)

       I really love learning about the saints. Every saint has a story and there is so much we can learn from each one of them.  May 26 is the feast day of St. Mariana de Jesus de Paredes, who was born into an aristocratic family in Quito, Ecuador in the early 17th century.  I remember that when I was a missionary in Ecuador from 1996 to 1999, a time of great economic and political turmoil in that country, there was a trolley stop that I used to pass by that was named Mariana de Jesus in her honor.  What I love about the saints is how their witness speaks so strongly to us many centuries later in our own modern era and how they still have so much to teach us. 

       Mariana de Jesus was not accepted into a religious order as a sister or nun, so she lived out her life as a Third Order Franciscan, serving the poor through a school and clinic that she founded to help the poor African Americans and indigenous people who lived in the city of Quito.  When a terrible plague affected the city, she nursed the sick, did penance, and offered her life up to God, hoping that the plague would be lifted.  She died shortly afterwards at the age of 31.  Mariana de Jesus, who was denied entrance into a religious community as a nun, is now a beloved saint in Latin America, and is one of the patron saints of the country of Ecuador.  Mariana de Jesus is venerated at the La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús in the historic center of Quito, a beautiful church where I used to attend mass as a missionary.  That church is considered one of the finest examples of Spanish baroque architecture in all of South America.  May we lift up our sufferings and use them for the glory of God just as Mariana de Jesus did so long ago.  

27 May 2018 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Matthew 28:16-20, Romans 8:14-17

       Every year, on the Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Trinity in a special way.  In fact, we have been celebrating the Holy Trinity on the Sunday after Pentecost since the early 14th century, as declared in an edict by Pope John XXII.  We try to use human concepts and human words to better understand God and to describe God as a Trinity, but ultimately, although these concepts and words do the best job they can, they are far from perfect. 

      We celebrate God as a Trinity in our faith, but, if you do a word search in the Bible, the word “Trinity” is not there.  Yet, the reality of the Trinity is certainly described in the Bible in different ways. Paul closes his second letter to the Corinthians in the name of the Trinity – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you.”  As a priest, I use similar language to greet the faithful at the beginning of mass. So, we Christians often greet each other in the midst of the reality of the Trinity, in God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

      Members the Early Church engaged in heated discussions and even bloodshed in their attempts to try to understand the Trinity, to try to understand God in the way that he truly is.  All of us as disciples of Christ who try to use our faith to gain understanding realize that there is a paradox: as we learn more about God, we realize that there is always more to know and learn.  The English poet John Milton once said:  “When we speak of knowing God, it must be understood with reference to man’s limit power of comprehension.  God, as he really is, is beyond man’s imagination, let alone understanding…. God has revealed only so much of himself as our minds can conceive and the weakness of our nature can bear.”  

      Without reservation, we can say that the Triune God is a God of community.   The triune nature of God tells us that the three Persons of God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are in fellowship in God’s very self.  From the very beginning,  God as Creator, God as the Word and God as Spirit co-mingled to bring forth creation. God is three persons, but God exists communally and God creates communally.  In the Triune nature of God, we human beings are related in a beautiful life giving dance of creation.

      In our reading from Acts of the Apostles, Paul comes across a Temple dedicated to an “unknown God” in the city of Athens. For Christians, God is not unknown. The God of the Trinity that we know is God who reveals himself in different ways.  The God whom we renew ourselves in each year during the celebration of the Easter season and Pentecost is not some abstract, vague concept.  According to today’s Gospel, God is a God of love, a God that loved us so much that he sent his only Begotten Son to live among us and to bring salvation. The love of God is the love of the Father at the source of our life, the love of the Son who died for us on the cross and who rose, and the love of the Holy Spirit who renews the face of the earth. The Trinity did not come out of human reasoning or imagination. The Trinity is not a human construct.  Rather, it is the face of God who reveals himself to us.  The Triune God reveals himself to us in the waters of our baptism, in the Body and Blood of the Son that we receive in the Eucharist, in the love and compassion we show to our brothers and sisters in the faith that we live out.  In all of those ways, the Triune God is a reality to us.  We celebrate the presence of the Trinity with us in this wonderful solemnity we celebrate today.  May we all live out the reality of the Trinity in our lives. 

18 May 2018 – homily for Friday of the 7th week of Easter – John 21:15-19

   Jesus tells Peter that if he loves him, he will feed his sheep.  We use the word love in so many different ways in our modern world.  It is interesting that two different Greeks words are used for love in this Gospel passage. Agape is a love that seeks the highest good of others, not coming only out of emotions, but rather out of the person's mind, intellect, and being.  Agape is a caring love that is intimately involved in the needs of the other person, a love that does not depend upon being reciprocated or being earned.  Peter responds to Jesus with philia, a brotherly love that is born out of a close friendship. Peter is replying to our Lord that his loves him through the bond of a special friendship.  Jesus calls us to a bond of love beyond the special closeness of friendship.  As Jesus asks Peter to grow in his love, perhaps we should also grow in this love: in the way we love God and love others.  St John Chrysostom, an important Early Church Father and Archbishop of Constantinople, said that nothing can so make a person an imitator of Christ so as to care for and love his neighbor. Like Peter, may help the Lord feed his sheep.

17 May 2018 – Thursday of the 7th week of Easter - Acts 22:30; 23:6-11

    We are going through an era where the world seems to be going toward the secular and away from the religious, but we forget that this has happened in other time periods throughout history as well. I thought of the founder of the religious order I worked with when I was in Canada.  Eugene de Mazenod was a child and a youth during the French Revolution. Europe had been experiencing the Age of Enlightenment, in which human reason, philosophy, analysis, and individuality were emphasized over the Church and the traditional seats of power and authority in society.  Even though many in France turned away from the Church during those years, de Mazenod chose to enter the seminary.  He eventually became the Bishop of Marseille, a larger trading port and a place where there was a lot of poverty on many levels.  He eventually founded the Oblates of Mary of Immaculate.  Pope Pius XI called the OMI the missionary specialists of difficult missions. In fact, two of the most influential priests in the United States in recent years have been members of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate - Father Ron Rolheiser and Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.  Both of these men embody the missionary spirit of the order that de Mazenod founded. 

       We hear of conflict and the difficult circumstances Paul faced today in his ministry in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, of how he was beaten and brought before the Sanhedrin, of how that body got into a fight amongst itself between the Pharisees and Sadducees. Facing challenges and persecutions in nothing new in the lives of Christians, is it?  That is why it is so relevant to look at the daily readings and the lives of the saints that we have throughout our liturgical calendar.  We never know how these readings are going to speak to us as we look at them in the context of the reality of our own world and our own lives.  St Paul used a creative and cunning way to get out of a difficult situation.  He could have been put to death, but was able to escape with his life intact.  As we enter the last days of the Easter season, may we ask the Lord to continue to speak to us and guide us. 

20 May 2018 - Pentecost – 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13, John 20:19-23

      As well celebrate Pentecost today, think about how we start mass each time we gather around the table of the Lord.  After we make the sign of the cross, we begin the holy sacrifice of the Mass,  commemorating the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord that Jesus first celebrated with his disciples at the Last Supper and quoting from St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."  God as a Trinity, as 3 divine persons that comprise one God, is a central mystery of our Christian faith.  The Holy Spirit is an essential part of God.

       Today, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world. St Augustine, one of the great theologians and leaders of our Catholic faith, who was Bishop of Hippo in northern Africa in the early 5th century, prayed this beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit: 

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

      No matter what path God calls us to in life, no matter what our accomplishments or our accolades, no matter what our gifts and talents, we need the Holy Spirit of God as a beacon of light and guide in our lives just as St Augustine invoked the Holy Spirit in his prayer.

       As Paul tells us today in his first letter to the Corinthians, it is the Holy Spirit that allows us to call Jesus “Lord”; it is the Holy Spirit that forms us in the Church, to form one Body out of so many parts and so many diverse gifts.  As we celebrate the Holy Spirit and the end of the Easter Season today, as we celebrate with all of our graduates, we pray that the Holy Spirit of God come into our lives, to renew us, to renew our Church, and to renew the face of the earth. 

16 May 2018 - Wednesday of the 7th week of Easter - John 17:11b-19

    Today we hear a prayer that Jesus makes for his disciples, praying that they be kept in God’s name and praying that they may be one in unity and peace.  We are grateful to have to presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our lives, as well as the prayers and intercessions of the community of saints.  

      One of the saints we celebrate this week is Isidore the farmer.  He was a farm laborer on a wealthy estate just outside of Madrid, Spain. The other farm laborers complained that Isidore was not around while they were hard at work.  Little did they know, Isidore was at mass.  Legend has it that the wealthy landowner went to investigate the situation, but not only did he find that all of Isidore’s work was done, but he saw two angels guiding the plow, getting Isidore’s work done.  The landowner believed that Isidore’s faith saved the life of his daughter and the life of his favorite horse. There are actually more than 400 documented miracles attired to him, including leading one of the king’s of Spain to victory in battle and the healing of a monarch of Spain through his relics.  Isidore is the patron saint of farmers throughout the world, as well as a popular saint in his native country of Spain.  It shows that while our Church has great intellects as saints such as St Augustin of Hippo, St Thomas Aquinas, and St Teresa of Avila, we also have simple, humble men and women of faith such as St Isidore the Farmer.  

15 May 2018 - Tuesday of the 7th week of Easter - Psalm 68:10-11; 20-21

       Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth: this is the refrain we hear in the psalm today.  Often, artistic creativity such as singing or painting or writing a poem can express our experience of the divine in our lives in a mystical way when mere words can suffice.  Speaking of poetry, we commemorate the anniversary of the death of one of the most significant American poets.  Emily Dickinson was not Catholic and would not have identified herself as a member of a particular Christian denomination. However, she often attended church services until the age of 30, when she stopped going.  Furthermore, there is certainly a search for the divine and a search for spiritual direction in her poetry.  Her poetry was heavily influenced by the Puritanism that still had a very strong presence in the 19th century New England where she lived all her life.  An eccentric hermit most of her life, her more than 1,700 poems were not discovered by her family until after her death, as she shared them with very few friends during her lifetime.  Emily Dickinson died on this date in 1886.  She is now considered one of the most significant figures in American poetry. Her poetry seemed to struggle between faith and doubt in her attempts to interpret God’s creation that she observed in the world around her.  Emily Dickinson’s approach to life was certainly unique.  Perhaps we can learn from her in her tenacity and creativity a way to search for God in our daily lives, even if that path God calls us to is one that is not trodden by many. 

9 May 2018 - Wednesday of the 6th week of Easter - Acts 17:15; 22—18:1

      In our first reading today, Paul is in Athens trying to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of that city.  In the ancient world, they prayed to a lot of different gods. In many ways, they tried to cover all the bases, not wanting to offend any one god.   When Paul arrives in Athens, he is distressed to see many statues, idols, and altars dedicated to the Greek gods.  Paul mentions seeing a shrine that they have dedicated “to an unknown God.”  In his letter, Paul announces that he is going to preach to the people of Athens about the God that they unknowingly worship, because our God, the Father of Jesus, is indeed the one true God. Paul not only preaches in synagogue to the God-fearing Jews and Gentiles in attendance, but he also preaches the Good News of Jesus Christ in the agora, the busy Athenian marketplace. 

       Paul was definitely called by God to be a missionary and to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile world.  We may say to ourselves that we could never see ourselves preaching the Gospel the way Paul did.  Indeed, God calls each of us to preach the Gospel in our own ways, with our own voice, out of our own spirituality and personality.  In our neighbor, in our workplace, with our friends and even people we happen to meet, we never know the many ways we can witness to the faith in our words, our actions, and our lifestyle.  May we not be afraid to see ourselves as evangelizers of the Gospel.