October 24 2017 - Tuesday of the 29th week in Ordinary Time - Romans 5:12, 15B, 17-19, 20B-21

     One of the saints we celebrate this week is St John of Capistrano.   You probably are more familiar with him by his Spanish name, as mission San Juan Capistrano in California was named after him by the Franciscan missionaries who brought God’s word to the native people of California. John of Capistrano was born in the late 14th century.  He was imprisoned during a war with a neighboring town.  After he was released from his lengthy imprisonment, he entered the Franciscan community in Perugia.  After being ordained to the priesthood, he brought his gifts of preaching to countries all over Europe:  Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia.  Through his preaching, John tried to unify the Christians throughout the European realm.  One interesting fact related to mission San Juan Capistrano in California: it is around this date, October 23, that the swallows leave the mission as they make their way down to Argentina to leave the upcoming winter weather of the northern hemisphere.  

      Unity, in a sense, is a theme in Paul’s letter to the Roman’s today. Paul notes how through the disobedience of Adam, we were condemned and humanity was thrown into disarray.  But, by the obedience of another man, our Lord Jesus Christ, humanity has been unified once again and the many are made righteous. So, how are we working toward unity today?  How are we breaking down barriers and divisions?  We live in a very divided, broken world today.  There is definitely a lot of work to do.  

Day Two - Novena to St Jude

Blessed apostle St Jude, you who answers hopeless causes, grant that I will always serve my Lord Jesus Christ with fervor and zeal in my heart. Grant that I may give my best efforts in living his will every day of my life. I pray that I will convert my heart and my mind so that God will always be first in my life. I pray that my love of God be first above all things, all desires and all my intentions today.

(State your intentions)

St. Jude, please grant that I may be enlightened as to what is best for me! Pray for my intentions today and especially pray for me to receive the grace to love God more than what I seek from Him.  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… 

Day One - Novena to St Jude

In preparation for the feast of St Jude on October 28, we started a novena today, Friday, October 20.  I will be posting the daily entries for the novena.  

Day One: 

O blessed apostle St. Jude, who labored zealously among the Gentiles in many lands, and performed numerous miracles in needy and despairing cases, I ask you to take interest in my needs. I know that you understand me. Please hear my prayers and my petitions. Please beg God for me and my deepest needs.

(State your intentions)

I pray that I will be patient in learning God’s holy will for me and then courageously carry it out in my life.

Amen.

St. Jude, pray for me!

Our Father...

Hail Mary...

Glory be to the Father...

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A - Mass Commentary and prayers of the faithful

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Introduction to the mass and to the penitential rite: 

As we call out to the Lord in our eucharistic celebration today, as we ask him to turn his ear to us, to hear our words, let us call to mind our sins: 

1. Lord Jesus, you bring us grace and peace, Lord have mercy. 

2. Christ Jesus, you help us increase our hope and our faith, Christ have mercy. 

3. Lord Jesus, you call us to turn away from our hypocrisy, Lord have mercy.  

May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.  

Introduction to the Creed:  As we are aware of God’s work in our lives and in our world, let us now profess our faith: 

Prayers of the faithful:

Priest:  As a community that is called to exemplify God’s love and mercy, let us present our prayers to God: 

1. For the holy Church: that we may always pray unceasingly and that we may be open to God’s invitation to a more profound life of discipleship.  We pray to the Lord.  

2. For the grace of perseverance: that we may always call upon God in our times of need and remain open to God’s will.  We pray to the Lord.

3. For fidelity and perseverance: that God will sustain us in our challenges and keep us faithful to the values of the Gospel.  We pray to the Lord.

4. For all who have been victims of crime: that God will heal their painful memories, free them from fear and give them hope.  We pray for the conversion of hearts, for an end to war, terrorism, and violence.  We pray to the Lord.

5. For all who work for justice and for the rights of the oppressed and the marginalized: may they find strength and mercy through prayer and the Holy Spirit.  We pray to the Lord.

6. For the sick and shut-ins: that they know healing through the Body of Christ. For their caregivers and for the medical professionals who are helping them.   We pray to the Lord.

7. For the repose of the souls of the faithful departed.  We pray to the Lord.  

Priest: Lord God, as you hear the cries of your suffering servant, we present our prayers today thru your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord forever and ever.  Amen.  

I love Chock Full O' Nuts Coffee to get me going in the morning.

Even though I was raised in Chicago and southern California, my favorite coffee is Chock Full o' Nuts.  My staff at St James parish in Tupelo used to give me a hard time about it, thinking the name was so funny, but I know that this coffee is very popular in New York.   For some reason, I just love this coffee more than any other.  And it is very retro, that is for sure.  

Consecration of the Diocese of Jackson and the Parishes in the Diocese of Jackson to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The original patroness of our Diocese was Our Lady of Sorrows. This weekend, Bishop Kopacz is asking all of our parishes in the Diocese of Jackson to consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in honor of the 100th anniversary of the last apparition of Fatima, which was yesterday, October 13. Our Diocese has a beautiful prayer of consecration written for the occasion that we will pray at the masses this weekend at the end of the prayers of the faithful. I also love this prayer written by Pope Francis when he consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in October 2013. I am so happy to be at the wonderful parish of St Jude in Pearl, Mississippi as pastor to consecrate our parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

Holy Mary Virgin of Fatima,
with renewed gratitude for your maternal presence
we join our voice to that of all the generations who call you blessed.
We celebrate in you the works of God,
who never tires of looking down with mercy upon humanity,
afflicted with the wound of sin, to heal it and save it.
Accept with the benevolence of a Mother
the act of consecration that we perform today with confidence,
before this image of you that is so dear to us.
We are certain that each of us is precious in your eyes
and that nothing of all that lives in our hearts is unknown to you.
We let ourselves be touched by your most sweet regard
and we welcome the consoling caress of your smile.
Hold our life in your arms:
bless and strengthen every desire for good;
revive and nourish faith;
sustain and enlighten hope;
awaken and animate charity;
guide all of us along the path of holiness.
Teach us your own preferential love for the little and the poor,
for the excluded and the suffering,
for sinners and the downhearted:
bring everyone under your protection
and entrust everyone to your beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus.
Amen.

October 22 2017 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A - Matthew 22:15-21

       The Holy Spirit blesses us with a most insightful Gospel reading today.  It is helpful if we start out by looking at the motivation of the Pharisees, in the manner in which they asked Jesus their question.  They did so not wanting to grow in their faith, not trying to better understand Jesus’ calling and his relationship with the Father, but rather in an attempt to entrap Jesus and to make him look bad. As we look at the motivation of the Pharisees today, we might look at our own motivation in how we approach our own journey of faith, in how we approach Jesus with our own needs, desires, and longings.

      In asking Jesus the question, whether it is lawful to pay Caesar taxes from the point of view of faith, Jesus responds by saying that we are to pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to likewise to give God what belongs to God.  Perhaps Jesus’ rather enigmatic response tells us that while we owe the state our taxes and other responsibilities, we are to pledge our hearts and souls to God, to make God the focus of our lives.

     What I admire most about the saints in our Church is the different ways they live out their calling of faith in their lives, the different ways they make God the center of their lives in the midst of their reality.  I have asked members of our Knights of Columbus Council here in Pearl to share with us some insights on the Venerable Michael McGivney, the priest who founded the Knights of Columbus back in the 19th century.  McGivney was born into an Irish immigrant family in the state of Connecticut in the years prior to our American Civil War.  He was the oldest of 13 children, six of whom died in either infancy or childhood.  He had to leave school at the age of 13 in order to work in a brass factory to help provide for his poor family.  He left the factory at the age of 16 in order to enter seminary.  His father’s death interrupted his studies for a while, but eventually he was able to get through seminary and was ordained a priest.  

      As a young priest, McGiveny noticed several things about the reality of his parishioners.  In those days, many of the men in his parish were veterans of the Civil War.  These men missed the camaraderie that they had as soldiers.  Many secret fraternal societies were forming to meet this social need that the men had, societies that were not in line with the principles and values of the Catholic faith.  In addition, without any social safety net such as social security or health insurance or welfare, many of these families struggled when a crisis hit, or when the patriarch of the family died, leaving behind a widow and children.  McGivney and some of the men of his parish started the Knights of Columbus in response to these needs. The guiding principles of unity and charity were stated in the Knights’ charter approved by the Connecticut state legislature in 1882; the principles of patriotism and fraternity were added later.  It was not easy going in the beginning.  The men had a hard time agreeing on a course of action that first year, and it almost dissolved.  But with perseverance and patience, the Knights progressed and developed.  By the time Father McGivney died of pneumonia and tuberculosis at the young age of 38 in 1890, there were 57 councils of the Knights of Columbus in existence.  Today, there are more than 11,000 councils in 13 different countries.  From its very beginnings and from the dream that Father McGivney and the founding members had, the Knight of Columbus have strengthened the faith of its members, provided them means of fortifying their financial security in an often hostile world, and helped them grow in their confidence and self-esteem.  

       How does Father McGivney’s witness speak to us today in the modern world?  There is a story told of him of how he ministered to a 21-year-old Irish immigrant who had shot and killed a police officer while he was drunk.  The young man was sentenced to death for his crimes.  McGivney was very loyal in ministering to this young man until the day he was put to death. McGivney helped this man repent from his crime and brought him peace and reconciliation with God.   McGivney cited this experience as being fundamental in shaping his compassion and his outreach to his parishioners in the early years of his priesthood.  McGiveny saw the Church as more than just a place where people came to mass and for the Sacraments.  McGivney saw the Church as being the Church of the people, in helping them in all aspects of their lives.  To me, that is McGivney’s greatest witness, something that speaks to us in the midst of our modern journey of faith, of being not like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel in the way they tried to trap and trick Jesus, but rather in making Jesus the center of our lives.  Indeed, the Church and our community of faith always there for us, and we are to be there for the Church, which is shown in the way Father McGivney lived out his life of faith.  We should ask ourselves how we are called to serve the Church and the community, not just how we are called to receive.  By his example, the Venerable Michael McGivney challenge us to live out our faith in boldness and generosity, in service to God and in service to our brothers and sisters. May we heed that call.