September 30 2022 - St. Jerome - Living and Tender Love for Sacred Scripture

 

St. Jerome was born in the Balkans in 345. He was particularly adept at languages, mastering greek, latin, and Hebrew. His translation of the bible which came to be known as the Vulgate served for centuries as the official translation of the Church for liturgical use and church documents.

The Opening Prayer today refers to St. Jerome’s “living and tender love for Sacred Scripture”. Our love for the scriptures must be alive and active. A living devotion to scripture means we are pursuing it’s knowledge and wisdom daily. We are looking to it to help us in our trials, our dilemmas. It needs to guide the life of the Church, the life of a parish, the life of a family, the life of an individual in his struggle to overcome sin and develop virtue and holiness.

St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions the beautiful words, “Let your scriptures be my delight…O Lord, perfect me and reveal those pages to me! Your voice is my joy. Give me what I love…May the inner secrets of your words be laid open to me when I knock. This I beg by our Lord Jesus Christ in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Love the scriptures, memorize them, as much as you can. Read difficult passages over and over until they become familiar. 

 The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “The Church…specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful.  to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

The scriptures are the undergirding of a just society. Where our nation has flourished has been because it has allowed the wisdom of the scriptures to guide its path, where our nation has suffered, has been because we have ignored its lessons, its warnings, its moral guidance.

There is often hesitation on the part of Catholics to be familiar with the Bible. Yet, for those who open its pages, the Scriptures are refreshing, they are consoling, they are instructive, and corrective, they are more valuable than gold.  We should read, and meditate on Scripture every day.  Having a “living and tender love for Scripture” leads us to a living and tender loving care for God and the willingness to follow his Holy Will.  

By studying the Scripture we come to know who we are, who we are meant to be, and so we must not be hesitant to learn How to read the bible, so that we may draw nearer to Christ. 

May St. Jerome’s heavenly intercession guide us in our living devotion and tender love of the Scriptures, that we may be equipped for the work of the Gospel and come to the eternal life promised within its pages, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be equipped for every good work by the word of God, that through our love of the scriptures we may grow in wisdom and courage to share the good news.

For the success of our parish RCIA programs, that the uninitiated may seek God and answer his call to holiness. 

For our young people, that they may be raised in homes where the Word of God is studied, cherished, and practiced. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for victims of the terrible storms in Florida, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our families, friends, and parish, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

September 28 2022 - St. Lawrence Ruiz - The life offered to God

Saint Lawrence Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr.  He was born in Manila around the year 1600 to a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, who were both Christians.  As a young boy he was educated by Dominican priests and served as an altar boy.  He became a professional calligrapher, transcribing documents in beautiful penmanship, and he was a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary.  He married and was a devoted husband and father of two sons and a daughter. He was a man of faith.

His life took an abrupt turn when he was unjustly accused of murder.  The threat of arrest led Lawrence to flee his home.  He sought asylum with several Dominican priests who were going to Japan to do missionary work.

As God’s mysterious providence would have it, Lorenzo along with the missionaries were arrested shortly after arriving in Japan. Catholics were being persecuted heavily in Japan at that time, and those who professed the Catholic faith, especially missionaries, were being jailed by the Japanese government, subjected to unspeakable tortures in attempt to force them to renounce their faith. Those who refused to apostatize were sentenced to death by the Japanese.  

As he faced his persecutors, St. Lorenzo said, “If I had a thousand lives to offer, I would offer them to God. So, do with me as you please."  He was killed by being hung upside down and exsanguinated. 

The world thinks (many Catholics think) that the purpose of life is escape a fate like St. Lorenzo’s—to do anything we can from being arrested, tortured, and murdered for our faith. But we must offer our lives to God no matter what that means.

The life offered to God might mean a long life, surrounded by grandchildren—helping your family to become strong in the faith. It might mean being the victim of a false accusation, like St. Lorenzo, and then tortured for your faith. It might mean to have the hatred of the worldly powers bent on your demise. But, the martyrs show us that offering our lives to God, whatever that means, will always bring about a greater good. 

The Courage of the Martyrs comes from a passivity, an acceptance, and surrender to the Holy Will of God. And that’s something that every Catholic is called to imitate no matter our state in life or our circumstances. Surrendered to God, the slave becomes free, the poor becomes rich, the weak becomes strong in bearing witness to God, the crucified becomes an instrument of grace. 

May the martyrs help us to seek and surrender to the Holy Will of God with courage and love for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That religious indifference and hatred in our country and around the world may be transformed to radical commitment to the Gospel of Christ.

For the transformation of all attitudes which lead to war, violence, racial hatred, and religious persecution.

For the conversion of Atheists, hardened sinners, lapsed Catholics, and the conversion of all hearts.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. 

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: "What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors." 

At the point of death, the second brother said: "You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying."

After him the third suffered their cruel sport. He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,

and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words: "It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again." Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man's courage, because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he had died, they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way. When he was near death, he said, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life."

Jn 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me."

September 27 2022 - St. Vincent de Paul - "I belong to God and to the poor"

 St. Vincent writes, “It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible…Do not become upset or feel guilty even if your prayers are interrupted to serve the poor.”

While a young priest in Paris, St. Vincent encountered the hungry, the homeless, war refugees, neglected elderly men, women, and children, and those who had been spiritually abandoned. And so out of charity, he devoted his life to their care. He set up many houses for the poor, crippled and sick and personally cared for the patients who had the most contagious diseases. He would dress their wounds and nurse them back to health.

A wealthy friend helped Vincent form the Vincentians—a congregation of priests who took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and devoted themselves to work among the poor. Over time, Vincent established many confraternities of charity for the spiritual and physical relief of the poor and sick.  Out of these groups grew the Vincentian nuns or Daughters of Charity who have served in our own diocese since 1865.  

Almost 200 years after his death, an admirer and devotee of St. Vincent named Frederic Ozanam founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul which is now a worldwide society made up of over 800,000 members, including a conference at our own parish, 

Here at St. Ignatius, members of the SVDP conference meets on 2nd and 4th Thursdays, but work together throughout the entire month, to meet the needs of those who turn to the assistance of the Church in our neighborhood, like assisting with utility bills, locating furniture and appliances, putting together bags of food for our neighbors, and visiting and praying with them. It is supported mostly by the generous donations of our parishioners. 

St. Vincent’s apostolate can be summarized in his saying: “It is not sufficient for me to love God if I do not love my neighbor…I belong to God and to the poor.”    

Through his intercession, may our love for God, neighbor, and the poor be ever more deeply kindled for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may grow in charitable attentiveness to the needs of the poor in our midst.

That all those searching and longing for Christ may find him through the witness of His Holy Church.

That the work and ministry of all Vincentian organizations and charitable institutions may bear fruit for the spread of the Gospel.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Filled with God's light

 

This last week, I was able to spend a few days down in southern ohio with a group of priest friends. We spent our days hiking, reading, and praying. The cabin in which we stayed was very remote, it had a mile long drive up a forested hill, so it was a bit quieter than my lodgings here on west blvd. But more dramatically than the quiet was the dark. The night sky was completely devoid of light pollution; what a blessing it was to be able to look up and see the stars. 

I felt a little bit like Dante, who I’ve been reading all summer, as I’ve mentioned. For, at the end of each of the books of the Divine Comedy, Dante looks up into the heavens to see stars. At the very center, he very middle line of his 14,233 line epic poem, line 72 of canto 17 of the purgatorio, Dante looks up and sees stars surrounding him on every side. 

Contrast that to how the poem begins: in the middle of his life, Dante finds himself shrouded in darkness, in the middle of dark wood, confronted by the dark guilt of his vicious sins—lust, wrath, and avarice. He’s lost and confused, and he can’t see the light. One of the reasons of his journey into the underground of hell, is to help him understand what will be lost if he allows himself to remain in the darkness. He will be deprived of the stars and the light of God forever.

In the Gospel today, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who dies and because of his unrepetance, his refusal to see in this life will be deprived of the sight of God in eternity. He refused to see rightly. He refused to see poor Lazarus on his doorstep. He refused to see his duty toward the man in need. 

Now recognize: the rich man is sent to hell not simply because he was rich. We aren’t told that he earned his money in an immoral way. He wasn’t selling guns to terrorists or involved in human trafficking. Nor, are we told that he was particularly malicious toward Lazarus--he didn’t mock Lazarus, send his dogs to assault him, or abuse him physically or emotionally. In the parable—it seems that the rich man is sent to Hell because he was so blind that he didn’t even see the struggling dying man at his front door. His self-absorption and his riches blinded him. 

Throughout the Gospels, it becomes very clear that we will be judged on how we treat others. And not only by the direct sins of malice, our sins of omission, our failures to love God and neighbor, and to show mercy, have eternal consequences.

But what about Lazarus? What made him worthy of heaven? Is it simply because he was hungry? After all, we aren’t told of a single good deed he ever performed. He’s not praised by Jesus like the poor widow for giving what little he had to others. We are simply told his name. But that is actually something quite profound.

In all of the parables of Jesus, the parable of the prodigal son, the dishonest steward, the good Samaritan, the wise and foolish virgins, the persistent widow, this is the only parable in which a character in the story has a name. And so we should take note. The name “Lazarus” is the Greek version of the Hebrew name “Eliezer” which means “God is my help.” 

If his name is any indicator of his personality and his spiritual, Lazarus was not just a poor man, but a man who believed and trusted in God. Lazarus therefore embodies the first and most important of the beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. We are all to be like Lazarus—our whole identity should be based on recognition of the need for God’s help. To be filled with the light of God we must recognize our utter need of God.

The rich man in the parable is rich in everything except what matters most. He lacks the one thing that really matters: having a mind and soul turned toward God. Had his soul been turned toward God, he would have noticed the poor man dying on his front door and done something about it. 

The rich man has walled himself into the darkness of his mansion. His sight is not set on God, nor the other, and so he is filled with darkness. Elsewhere, the Lord teaches “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” The rich man fails to see rightly, he fails to be filled with the light, and so he will be banished to the darkness forever.

Now most of us don’t live in mansions; but we are certainly challenged by this Gospel. Is my life filled with the light of God. The Lord says in John’s Gospel, “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still, but He who loves his brother abides in the light.” To be filled with the light of God we must also learn to see our brother as God sees him, with perfect love.

Additionally, St. Paul explains in our second reading this weekend, how Christians must “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.” Are these spiritual fruits evident in you? They are necessary if you wish dwell in the light of God. 

Pursue Righteousness, Our feelings, our ideas, the passions of our bodies, do not always conform with righteousness. And, so righteousness often involves a real struggle. Our culture says give-in to every appetite, indulge in every craving, follow every inclination, believe whatever you want. But that’s not the way of life. Are you pursuing righteousness with real effort?

Next Paul says, Pursue Devotion. The Greek word here is Eusebia, a great word. Are you devoted to God? Is your devotion to God evident in your speech, in your actions, in private, in public? Devotion to God demands ardent affection for him—a yielding of the heart to him with reverence in prayer, meditation, and works charity. 

The daily examination of conscience, at the end of the day examining your choices, attitudes, behaviors, again, is a vital spiritual exercise. Before bed, we do well to identify where have I, like the rich man in today’s Gospel failed to see rightly; what habits, what attachments are keeping me from seeing what God wants me to see? In the first reading, Amos condemns the complacent? Where have I been complacent toward injustice, with selfishness?

That daily examination is indispensable in getting serious about your spiritual life. For through it, God sheds his light into our hearts, and helps us to see those dark places that he wants to convert.  

May our celebration of the Eucharist today, help us to see rightly in this life, to be filled with the light and love of God, that we may come to share in the beatitude of God in eternal light, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - "Let justice roll on like a river"

 About this time of year, seven years ago already, Pope Francis made a Papal Visit to these United States. He met with our national leaders in Washington and presided over the Canonization of St. Junipero Serra; he addressed the United Nations and visited the 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial in New York, and he spoke to families at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. 

While in Washington, the Holy Father addressed Congress. There he invited people of all faiths to consider one of the great American champions for justice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He spoke of Dr. King’s “dream” of civil and political rights for people of every race, and his call for all Americans to work together to build a nation of justice and peace. 

Justice is one of the famous themes of the prophets.  “The Lord is a God of Justice” Isaiah says. “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Zechariah says, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.”

The prophet Amos in our first reading this weekend speaks about Justice. Amos, by the way, was often quoted by Dr. King. In his famous “I have a dream speech” Dr. King, evoked the prophet Amos when he said “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a mighty stream!” 

What is Justice? Simply, Justice is a virtue by which we give to others what we owe them—to give God what belongs to God, to family what we owe to family, to neighbor what we owe to neighbor, to those in authority what we owe to them, and so on.

In the first reading, Amos is sent by God to the Jewish people who were failing to be just. “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! Talk about grave injustice. "When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain; and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat?”  What’s going on here?

Well, the festival of the new moon was a key religious Jewish observance and during that time you didn’t do business.  And of course, the Sabbath day, was a day of rest, a day of prayer, of sacrifice, when you don’t work.

So, Amos here is calling to repentance his fellow Jews who are so concerned with their business operations and money making that they squirm with impatience during the religious observances.   They can’t wait to get back to work and get this religious stuff over with. They are failing to give God their undivided heart—which they owe him, as a matter of justice. Moreover, they were cheating the poor, tipping the scales in their favor. Their dishonesty in business, exploiting the poor, was a grave injustice. 

So, Amos was sent by God to let these people know God sees you. God sees your injustices and He is not pleased. And you will not escape the consequences of your injustices—unless you repent and make restitution.

Perhaps this is why there has been in the last few decades such a push to remove reference to God from civic life—the wicked hate to be reminded that they will face judgment. Especially Sundays have become divorced from God. Some of you may remember that just a few decades ago, Sunday was a day for God and family.   If you wanted to get gas for Sunday, you had to run out on Saturday night because Sunday morning Sohio gas station would be closed. The stores were closed. 

Now, Sunday seems an awful lot like any other day.  Practically all of the stores and restaurants are all open on Sunday. People aren’t squirming to hurry through their religious obligations; they are skipping them entirely. Less than 20% of Catholics in our country go to Mass on Sundays. In most European countries, it is even less than that.  

In line with the prophet Amos, from a biblical perspective, this loss of the importance of the Sabbath is nothing short of disastrous.  When we replace the Sabbath with human activity, religious life will soon evaporate. And how many of us have seen this in our own families. I know I have.

For when you begin to think you don’t owe God anything, you will soon come to believe you don’t owe anybody anything. Including respect and just treatment. 

In the Gospel today, we heard of the dishonest steward. The dishonest steward gets caught for his unjust use of time and handling of his master’s resources. That’s us folks. We’ve been caught. We’ve sinned. And so, like the dishonest steward, we need to make good, prudent, shrewd use of the time we have left. We have to make a choice: choose your master, God or mammon. Jesus says we can’t serve both. One of them requires our undivided hearts.

Daily prayer, it’s a matter justice, we owe it to God. Obedience to the commandments, it’s a matter of justice, we owe it to God. Faithfully adhering to the laws of the Church, learning and adhering to Catholic doctrine, confessing our sins when we’ve transgressed, supporting the works of the Church and charity toward the poor no matter their race or creed or personal politics, showing mercy to those who ask of it, diligently using our time, resting on the Sabbath, giving God an undivided heart, these are all matters of justice.

Justice, as I mentioned, is a virtue. When we practice it we grow in holiness and happiness. Justice is a foretaste of the resurrection—when all injustice will be eradicated in the world and in our hearts. And we can grow in virtue in a number of ways. By seeking to avoid even the smallest injustice toward neighbor; by paying our debts and fulfilling our promises in a timely manner; by avoiding doing any harm in word or deed to the reputation of others; by showing special concern for the poor; and by giving to Caesar what is owed to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.

We especially grow in justice toward God when we engage in the daily discipline of prayer, acknowledging and thanking God for the blessings he showers upon us; making sacrifices for the work of the Church.

The prophet Amos says “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice”. Catholics have a grave duty right now, to help reestablish justice in our country—recovering the importance of justice toward God and neighbor, justice in business, justice in politics, justice on Sundays, justice in public and justice in private, justice in the life of the Church. The just shall be remain in the hands of God, and no torment shall touch him.  In the words of the Psalm, “may justice flourish in our time, and fullness of peace” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

September 16 2022 - Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian - Seeking out the lost & lapsed

 

In last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard three parables of rejoicing when the lost are found. Joy over the finding of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. 

Our Lord told these parables in response to the pharisees criticism that he dined with sinners, as a way of signaling that he has come precisely for sinners, and that the pharisees should be rejoicing over this fact. 

The saints we honor today, a martyred Pope and a martyred bishop from the 3rd century were church leaders who were concerned with the reconciliation of sinners. 

During a particularly violent persecution of the Church, led by the roman emperor Decius, many Christians, in order to save their lives, underwent the public, state-mandated ritual of offering incense to the Roman Gods.  Others, trying to get around the actual burning of incense, bribed authorities to obtain a document which stated that they had offered such sacrifices.  But that document till said, basically, “I deny Christ”. It’s still a public act—still an act of apostasy.

Now the Gospels are pretty clear that we are to hold fast to Christ to the end; we are to publicly proclaim him as Lord despite worldly pressures.

As the persecutions died down, the question arose: can these apostates be readmitted to communion? So, in the year 251, Pope Cornelius, whom we honor today, called a synod in Rome, and after presumably hearing from his bishop and theologians, declared that, yes, the apostates could be restored to communion, as long as they underwent what he called “the usual medicines of repentance”.  After all, St. Peter, prince of the apostles and first Pope and bishop of Rome had denied Christ three times, publicly.

That through penance and firm purpose of amendment, a sinner could be readmitted to Communion again. Pope Cornelius was supported in this pronouncement by many bishops, but especially St. Cyprian, the most important bishop in North Africa, who was one of the most important theologians and writers of the time.

There is no sin so great that it cannot be absolved in the Sacrament of Confession. God forgives repentant sinners, including those who have publicly denied him. There are many Catholics, who for whatever reason: anger at God, pride, public pressure, attachment to sin, have renounced their faith or lost their faith, either publicly or in their heart. They are the lost, like the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.

But God is working, always, to help them to find their way back home before it is too late, before they are lost forever. And, he enlists us in this work: to preach the Gospel to them, to go out to them to invite them home, to prick their consciences perhaps, reminding them of their eternal soul and God’s love for them. 

The angels of heaven who rejoice over the conversion of sinners, want to help us to do our part in the reconciliation of those who have fallen away. Unlike the joyless second son in Sunday’s Gospel, we welcome sinners home with great celebration.

Through the intercession of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian may we faithfully bear God’s mercy to all those in need of it, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Pope and all the clergy may be effective instruments of mercy, and for the grace and strength to seek out the lost, last, and least.

That through the intercession of the martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian, lapsed Catholics will be moved to return to the Sacraments.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests, deacons and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

September 14 2022 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross - The sign of God's love for sinners

Today marks the celebration of what Saint John Paul II called THE symbol of Christianity. Most of us marked ourselves with it upon entering the Church today, we began mass with it, we’ll end Mass with it.  Essentially, every time we Catholics pray, we begin and end our prayer with it.  Many of our bedrooms and dining rooms have one.  All types of people where it around their necks, from bishops to baseball players to teenage rockstars.   The priest holds his arms in this shape during the Eucharistic prayer.  It is the central focal point of every Catholic church.  Of course, I’m speaking of the cross.

Worn around our necks, adorning our homes and churches, beginning and ending our prayers, the cross is not a good luck charm, it is a reminder that in baptism the Christian has been claimed by Christ, loved by God, that Christ has died for us. “God so loved the world” as we heard in our Gospel today, “that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Christ was sent unto the cross, that we might be delivered unto heaven.

The cross is a sign of God’s love. When we make the sign of the cross, when we wear a cross, when we adorn our home with a cross, that cross is to be a reminder of God’s love; the willingness of Christ to go to the cross for you and for me and every sinner. Not because we were righteous, but because we were lost. Heaven was closed for us. Hell was our destiny.

The cross of suffering and death embraced by Christ is the key that opened the gates of heaven, it is the new tree of life from which flows the fruit of eternal life, so much so that the early Christians sang: O Crux ave, spes unica.  Hail O Cross, Our Only Hope. Piis adauge gratiam, reisque dele crimina, grant increase of grace to believers and remove the sins of the guilty.

And yet, today is not simply a reflection on the importance of the cross 2000 years ago, it is a called for Christians to make the cross known to the world. The feast is called the exaltation of the cross—the lifting high of the cross, the bringing the light of the cross to others.

St. Louis de Montfort says "The cross is a sure sign that God loves you... The greatest proof that we are loved by God is when we are despised by the world and burdened with crosses--when we are made to endure the privation of things we could rightly claim; when our holiest wishes meet with opposition; when we are afflicted with distressing and hurtful insults; when we are subjected to persecution, to have our actions misinterpreted by good people or by those who are our best friends... If Christians knew the value of the cross they would walk a hundred miles to obtain it, because enclosed in the beloved cross is true wisdom..."

The light of the Cross shows us the love God has for us, and by taking up our own crosses, embracing self-sacrifice, service, mortification, penance and ever persecution for the sake of the kingdom, we show that it is by the light of the cross, not the light of worldly values and pleasures, that we are made worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

May we exalt the cross in all we say and do, and by it ourselves be exalted, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church may lift high the Cross of Christ, proclaiming forgiveness and redemption in him alone, we pray to the Lord...

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and take hold of the peace and justice that only he can bring, we pray to the Lord...

That all whose lives are marked by suffering may discover the saving power of the cross of Christ, and be victorious in all their trials, we pray to the Lord...

That those who embrace the cross as they work for justice for the poor, the oppressed, and the unborn, may find strength and success in their work, we pray to the Lord…

That the sick may be blessed with patience during the difficult parts of their journey in life, we pray to the Lord...

That all who have died may experience the eternal life won by the cross of Christ, especially the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for my dear friend Father Robert Wendelken on the anniversary of his death, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered, we pray to the Lord...

Almighty ever-living God, comfort of mourners, strength of all who toil, may the prayers of those who cry out in any tribulation come before you, that all may rejoice, because in their hour of need your mercy was at hand. Through Christ our Lord. (From Good Friday Petitions)

 

September 13 2022 - St. John Chyrsostom - Confessing the Truth of Christ

St. Paul teaches us to consider the Church as a Body with many parts. And if the Church is a body, the saint we honor today, St. John Chrysostom is the mouth, or perhaps, the tongue. The name “Chrysostom” means golden tongue. 

While studying civil law, today’s saint detected God calling him to religious life. He initially entered a monastery, but soon found himself called to ordination as a deacon and then a priest for the Church of Antioch where he had been born—our Antioch, where St. Ignatius had been bishop about 200 years prior. 

It was soon very clear that the young priest was quite gifted in preaching. So St. John’s bishop asked him to dedicate himself to preaching throughout the diocese.  For the next twelve years St. John preached and taught on virtually every book on the bible. One writer puts it, “The pulpit was his throne, and he adorned it as much as any preacher of ancient or modern times.”

His reputation as a preacher and teacher led, against his will, to his election as bishop of Constantinople, the seat of the empire, which was really at the time a moral cesspool.  The courageous bishop called for moral reform, starting with the imperial court, drawing scorn from the empress who he likened to the harlot Jezebel. 

Bishop Chrysostom knew that he must call souls to the gospel, like St. Paul, who said, “woe to me if I do not preach it.” The courageous bishop even directed his call to conversion to his fellow clergy: saying, “The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path.” 

Priests and bishops are often put under great pressure to bend their teaching of morality, but to do so is to violate their duty and role in the Church. St. Paul warns the bishop Timothy about this when he says, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” John said, “we must not mind insulting men, if by ‘respecting’ them we offend God.”

Like today’s saint, we do well to be steeped in the Scriptures, to know them well, to be patient with those who reject them, that when we are called to explain our faith, we are able to do so competently and clearly, that Christ may be on our tongues, on our lips, and in our hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the bishops and priests may be men of sound doctrine, and courageously preach the Gospel in its fullness. 

That government leaders around the world may carry out their duties with justice, honesty, and respect for freedom and the dignity of human life.  

For the grace to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love our neighbors and enemies and those who persecute us, and to share the truth of the Gospel with all.  

For all those who share in the sufferings of Christ—the sick, the sorrowful, and those who are afflicted or burdened in any way.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased clergy and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. 

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Embracing the Lost

 This last Monday, aside from being our national celebration of Labor Day, was the feast of St. Theresa of Calcutta, known throughout the last decades of her life as Mother Theresa. 

During my semester in Rome during college seminary, I had the honor of working alongside the Missionary Sisters of Charity—the Religious Order founded by St. Mother Teresa, at a house for destitute men near the Coliseum there in Rome. Many of those sisters had been with Mother from the beginning of the order and certainly embodied her spirit—patience and love for the poor. And at this house for the destitute, men—mostly homeless men—would come off the streets and would be fed and bathed and treated with dignity and respect.  The sisters were breathtakingly patient and gentle as they treated these men as they would treat Jesus himself.  And they did so because that was Mother Theresa’s gift to them. She modeled for them, and for us, how to love Jesus in the poorest of the poor.

When anyone met Mother Teresa, they were often shocked at the fact that no matter how busy she was and no matter how many other people were around, when she talked to you, you felt like you were the only person in the world. She gave you her total attention, her total love, her total self every moment. It was as if the whole rest of the world dropped away and ceased to exist while she was talking to you. She wasn’t looking past you to see if there was someone more important in the room. She wasn’t bothered because of the other duties she had to attend to. She wasn’t trying to get back home so she could sit on her couch to veg-out or binge her favorite television show or get home to get dinner going. She certainly was not concerned what other people would thing about her by talking to you.

Why did she do that that? How did she do that? For one, it’s because of her prayer life. She made a daily Eucharistic holy hour, and mandated her sisters do the same, no matter what. She gave Jesus her full loving attention in prayer, and was thereby able to give you her full loving attention. 

Secondly it’s because she had come to know Jesus’ love for her. She knew that Jesus died for her—not just for general, collective “humanity”; she knew that if she had been the only sinner in the world, Jesus would have done no less for her than he did for all of us. 

God loves you, each of you, every ounce of you—warts and all. And his love for you is perfect. God’s love is not divided, as if each of us only receive one 6 billionth of his love and attention. God loves each individual with the entirety of his love. 

And that’s important to keep in mind as we consider our scripture readings this weekend. In the parables of the finding of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son in the Gospel today, we are to come to recognize that we cannot be lost to God’s attention or to God’s love. Even when we turn our backs on God, God is search for us. We cannot become lost amidst the nameless, faceless masses. None of us are nameless or faceless to God. 

It is possible to turn our backs on God—to try to hide from God, like Adam and Eve in the garden hiding from God out of shame for their sin. We can separate ourselves from the life of the flock—from the family of God, the Church. We can engage in a life of dissipation outside of the Father’s house in sin.

Like the first son in the Gospel parable—we can act on the dumb idea that we’ll be happier if we just make our own way—if we claim our independence from the Father. But, that’s what sin is, isn’t it? Claiming independence from God and his ways? I’ll do it my way, thank you very much.

But like the prodigal son, that ends in disaster—unhappiness, unfullfilment, misery. If we just trusted God—and stopped playing games with God—and his simple call to holiness—we would be so less depressed.

The real turn in the parable is when the son feels something knocking on his heart. He recognizes everything he has lost because of his choices, and decides to return to the house of his Father.

“And while he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him,” the father had never stopped looking for his son, “and was filled with compassion. The Father runs toward the son to embrace him. Similarly, God, is always knocking on the heart of the sinner, and filled with compassion, is always ready to embrace us in mercy. 

But then, in the Gospel parable, there was another son, and this second son had remained in the Father’s house. But,  there was something lost about him as well—an emptiness. He was lost because he did not share his father’s joy at his brother’s homecoming. Love for his brother had at some point died in his heart. And without love, there can be no joy.

The two sons are two different dangers for Christians. The first danger is that we justify wandering from the Church—embarking on a lifestyle of sin—that brings its own joylessness and emptiness. The second danger, is that those who remain must never lose our love for our brothers and sisters who wander. If we do, it can result in joylessness, bitterness. Those of us who lose love for the sinner, will not know the joy of the Church’s mission to reconcile sinners to God. God forbid we become like that second brother. 

To borrow an idea from Pope Francis…why would anyone become Catholic if all they encounter are scowling, bitter, joyless, complaining sour-pusses. Or the cold, silent treatment. A life-long Catholic annoyed at a stranger sitting in their seat. Someone parked in my spot. Someone is encroaching on my territory. Someone who doesn’t know the right time to sit, stand, kneel. What are they doing here? I never left. We must never harden our hearts against embracing the lost--and those trying to find their way home.

How can we assure that doesn’t happen. Again, like Mother Theresa, prayer enlivens the heart. We need to lovingly gaze upon the face of Jesus in prayer, especially in the Eucharist, so that we can attend to Him in other people. That which you did for the least of my brethren you did for me.

There was a sister who complained to Mother Theresa. Mother, why do we have to waste our time with the daily holy hour. There are children dying in the streets of starvation and disease. The holy hour takes us away from the real work. To which mother replied, sister, because you believe this, you need two hours every day. She wasn’t kidding. 

May our parish always be a place where the lost are embraced and God’s love is joyfully celebrated and shared, where loving attention is given, where God’s children are serious about the sort of prayer that enlivens and emboldens charity, and where the Gospel is learned, cherished and lived out, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

September 9 2022 - St. Peter Claver - For I was a slave and you cared for me

 St. Peter Claver, whom we honor today, lived in a time when men, women, and children in Africa were being captured and sold into slavery.  The poor Africans were put on slave ships where they suffered from starvation, dehydration, and truly disgusting conditions.  Although the practice of slave-trading was condemned by the Popes of the time, it continued to flourish. Africans died by the thousand as they made their way from Africa to the Americas.  

St. Peter Claver, a priest born in Spain, understood the wickedness of the slave trade.  He came to South America where he would minister to the slaves brought there. As they came into harbor, he gave them food and water and medicine, and told them about God who loves them, and about Jesus who suffered like they did, and so many asked the priest for baptism. St. Peter Claver baptized hundreds of thousands of African slaves into the Catholic faith.

Peter Claver recognized the human dignity of the slaves when the rest of the world treated them like property and cattle to be sold, traded, and slaughtered if they did not perform. The recognized their humanity because he had learned to see with the eyes of God and love with the heart of Christ. 

Peter Claver remarked more than once how it took everything in him at times to go down into the disgusting conditions of the slave-ships filled with filth and stench.  He reminds us that true loving service isn’t necessarily about liking what we do—we might even experience revulsion at the conditions in which the poor live; but loving service means being faithful to the duties of mercy despite our personal feelings.  

Peter himself, came to be despised by the slave-traders and those making a profit from the slave-trade. No doubt, his care for the slaves pricked their consciences. But remember, the Lord did say, you will be hated because of me. St. Peter was hated because he sought to be faithful to Jesus in caring for Him in the enslaved. When I was a slave you cared for me. One of the consequences we must accept is that seeking radical holiness will lead us to be hated by the world. But, when the wicked hate you, you’re doing something right.

In 1650 Peter Claver fell victim to an epidemic and was abandoned to die in his sickness.

St. Peter Claver saw with the eyes of Christ, and loved with his heart, pouring out his love in such humble, humble service—he came to be known as a slave of slaves. May each of us respond to the call to holiness with that same radical generosity for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may be diligent in bringing the truth of the Gospel into every sphere of society, and for all those who harden their hearts toward God, for those who have left the Church, for all those in serious sin, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For an end to slavery, human trafficking, and all forms of inhumane oppression; and for the protection and respect of all human life.

For those whose lives are marked by suffering, illness, or grief, that they may find hope in the promises of Christ.

For the repose of the soul of Queen Elizabeth II who died yesterday, for her family and subjects who grieve her loss, for graces upon the rule of her successor King Charles, that his reign may be Godly, and for the repose of the souls of the dead, for all of the souls of purgatory, and for N. for whom this mass is offered.

Heavenly Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrimage Church, grant us what we truly need to remain faithful to your Son in all things. Through Christ Our Lord.

23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Poor, hungry, sorrowful, and hated

The beatitudes Jesus teaches, the way to attain holiness on earth that leads to beatitude in heaven, are a pretty strange set of teachings at first glance, no? Blessed are you when you are poor? No one wants to poor. Everyone tries to get out of poverty. Blessed are you who are hungry? In Jesus’ day, to go hungry was a sign that you were cursed by God. No one likes to be hungry. Blessed are you who weep? Holiness consists in sorrow? Poor, hungry, now sad? We seek to escape sadness, depression, and grief. And the last one is even more dramatic. You are blessed when you are hated, persecuted, and condemned as evil for being a follower of Jesus. 

Poverty, hunger, sadness, and persecution are roads to holiness. If there was ever a refutation of the so-called prosperity Gospel of modern day preachers, you simply have to read these four verses.

Jesus here refutes the idea that riches, and fat bellies, and earthly satisfaction, and a comfortable, peaceful life are signs of blessing and God’s favor. In fact, to prioritize these earthly pursuits over the seeking of holiness will leave you frustrated, exhausted, spiritually depleted, and possibly damned for all time. 

Each the beatitudes are lessons in the importance of recognizing that this earthly life is not the end all and be all of our existence, but that we are to live for eternity, to use the time we’ve been given to prepare for eternity. Part of that is learning to cultivate the attitudes, behaviors, and habits that truly benefit our souls—including detachment from earthly wealth, bodily pleasures, and social favor. And the other part is learning to be dependent on God and trust in God.

Before God we are to be poor, trusting that God will give us what we need to pursue our highest ends. Before God we are to be hungry, trust that God will feed us with what we need to have the strength to follow his holy will. Before God we are to weep—to weep for our sins, to weep for the time we’ve wasted in following empty pursuits and false prophets. And we are to do so all these things, even if it makes other uncomfortable, even if we are hated by our families and past acquaintances. 

This Gospel entails embracing a real different way of life than the way most of us are brought up with. But the saints who embrace the Gospel, embrace these teachings, show us, that it works. It is the road to true and lasting joy, and fulfillment. It’s the life we really long for, but are often too afraid to pursue, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the grace to desire and pursue the holiness God desires for each of us.

For an end to indifference to God and human dignity in our government & educational institutions, businesses, and personal attitudes; and for a flourishing of the Gospel in our land.

For the poor, hungry, sorrowful, and persecuted, that they may trust in the Lord in their trials and know his love and strength. 

For all our departed loved ones and all of the souls in purgatory, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

23rd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Tuesday - Apostolic Zeal

The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles, whose call we hear in today from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6:12-19).  

There’s a story where the angels welcome Jesus to heaven after his death, resurrection, and ascension. The angels ask the Lord, “what was that all about”. Jesus answered, “The redemption of the world”. “But you have come back here,” said the angels. “How will the world know of it?” The Lord replied, “I have trained my men.” “To evangelize the whole world? How many men did you train for such a mammoth undertaking?” the angels asked. “Twelve” the Lord replied. “Twelve! Just a handful! What if they fail?” “They will not fail.”

2000 years later. Here we are. The apostles preached, and the Church has grown from a small seed, to an oak tree that has spanned millennia. And yet, we know that the mission continues, for there are still corners of the world, where the Gospel needs to be preached. Corners of this country, corners of this neighborhood. Every generation opens up a new corner of the world for the Gospel to be preached. 

This parish has been given a share in that task. What do we need to be equipped for that task?

The drive that pushed the apostles into the world, we call, “apostolic zeal”. Apostolic zeal. No matter our state in the church—single, married, religious, priest—catechist, administrator, widow—we are to have zeal—to be zealous for the mission of the Church, zealous for holiness, zealous for souls. If we are not zealous there is a fire that has grown dim. Zeal is not the same as mindless fanaticism—it is not born from setting aside our reason. Christian zeal, apostolic zeal, is the most reasonable course of action possible: it is rooted in the pursuit of the highest goods—desiring the highest good for ourselves and for others—holiness on earth that leads to eternal life with God. 

“Zeal,” as St. Thomas explains, “is an effect of intense love. The love of God impels us to labor for the extension of his kingdom in souls, and the love of those souls enables us to forget ourselves so that we think of nothing but of sanctifying them in and for God.” 

This is the zeal that animated the lives of the Apostles. This is the zeal that urged St. Paul to become all things to all men in order to gain all, and gave him that beautiful sympathy by which his whole being was united with others in their joys and sufferings and sorrows (cf. 1 Cor. 9:22). 

May the Holy Spirit, through the intercession and example of the Apostles, increase our zeal by increasing our love, and give us courage, and strength, and all that we need to labor for the spread of the Gospel, the glory of God, and salvation of souls.

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As the Apostles witnessed to the Resurrection of the Lord, may we be his witnesses to the farthest corners of the world.

For the bishops, the successors of the apostles: That they may be courageous in stirring up the flame of faith and defending the Church from error and mighty in apostolic zeal.

That our parish may build up missionary disciples equipped for working together for the spread of the Gospel.

For all the sick and suffering, especially victims of natural disaster, poverty, abuse and addiction, for consolation of the grieving and comfort of the dying. 

For all our departed loved ones and all of the souls in purgatory, and for N. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - No longer a slave, but a brother

 During St. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, he met a runaway slave named Onesimus and baptized him. Slaves under Roman law had no rights because they were considered property. They could be condemned to hard labor, punished with blows of the rod and otherwise tortured. Runaway slaves were treated even worse—they were to be branded with a red hot iron on the forehead with the letter F, for fugitivus, which meant runaway. A fugitivus, when recaptured, could even be crucified. 

Somehow this runaway slave, Onesimus, had found his way from Colossae, modern-day Turkey, to the crowded, busy streets of the imperial capital city of Rome. And somehow, Onesimus had come into contact with Paul, who had been imprisoned. And while visiting Paul, Onesimus requested baptism, and become a Christian. 

We know Onesimus grew quite dear to Paul. Paul writes how he wished Onesimus could stay with him in Rome, but Paul, the apostle, sends the newly baptized Onesimus back to Philemon, his master, to whom Paul writes his letter. 

And Paul sends Onesimus back to Colossae, to his master Philemon. And in his letter to Philemon, our second reading today, Paul requests that Onesimus be received not as a slave but as a brother in the Lord, to welcome him as he would welcome Paul himself. Do not brand him as a fugitivus, for in baptism, Onesimus has received the indelible mark of salvation through Christ. And we have every reason to believe that Philemon did as Paul asked.

Now, St. Paul knew that what he was asking from Philemon was counter-cultural. Slavery was an institution in the Roman Empire, there were something like 60 million slaves—from different parts of the world which Rome had conquered: asia minor and the middle east, north Africa, spain and Portugal, gaul, and northern europe. 

But Paul had great reason to believe that Philemon would adhere to his request. Philemon was a true Christian. Paul at the beginning of the letter calls Philemon his brother, his coworker in the vineyard. Philemon was a leader in the church of Colossae—a true source of refreshment and encouragement for the other Christians there, as he acknowledges in his letter. Philemon was one of the good guys. 

But this request, this third shortest new testament letter, highlights for us just what it means to be a Christian. The letter to Philemon shows how Christians who have been freed from sin and forgiven by Christ must free and forgive others. Christian Love goes far beyond justice. The law of the world said Onesimus should be branded, even killed. The new law demanded forgiveness from his brother. 

In the eyes of God, we are all Onesimus, freedom from sin by God through Christ. Like Philemon we are to receive our Christian brothers and sisters, even those who have sinned against us, with mercy.

This reading certainly challenges us to examine our hearts sincerely, thoroughly, and honestly, to see what grudges we still hold and what prejudices we bear.

Is there an individual in our life that we are not treating as a brother, but as a slave, or as an enemy? Christ died for that person. Is there a whole group of people that we resent, that makes us mad just to think about? Christ died for them too.

These barriers of resentment, anger, and prejudice are like giant weeds growing in the garden of our souls. They steal the nutrients that are meant to feed virtues like wisdom, courage, and generosity - the kind of virtues that produce interior peace and lasting happiness.

Resentment, anger, and unforgiveness grow around our hearts like vines grow around trees - sucking the Christian life out of us, to the point where we begin to justify gossiping, criticizing, and destructive attitudes of division that make this world such a valley of sorrows.

We plead to God for forgiveness for ourselves, but Christ teaches that we too must forgive others. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” we plead in the Lord’s prayer. The measure of our forgiveness is the measure we receive it. 

In Christ, all the false divisions among people dissolve, and we are made into one family. Sin divides the world, leading to war, racism, prejudice, and injustice. But Christ came to heal the wounds of sin and division. 

Forgiveness, it might feel painful to forgive. It might feel like a cross. But in the Gospel today, the Lord teaches that “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” So we must practice forgiveness.

It is difficult to forgive those who betray us—who offend, who harm us with their words and actions.  To forgive may feel like we are giving them a free pass.  When we are hurt or betrayed, there is a part of us that says, “I don’t want to talk to them, I don’t want to see them, I don’t want to be near them, I don’t even want to think about them.”  But that part of us needs to be flooded with mercy. 

A Christian must never say, “I will never forgive you.”  

Don’t leave Church today without having decided that you will welcome the Onesimuses in your lives as brothers. Ask Jesus to give you a heart like his, a heart like Paul's, to welcome the fugitive—to make your peace with those who have wronged you. I can think of few things that would please our Lord more than that...for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

22nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Friday (School Mass) - Do not put new wines into old wineskins

 

What a perfect Gospel for our first school Mass at the beginning of the school year:  “Do not put new wine into old wineskins”. 

In Jesus’ day, wine was a very common drink. Instead of carrying around water bottles, people would carry around wineskins—a sort of pouch—like a giant caprisun if you’ve ever had one of those. The pouch—the wineskin—was made, not out of plastic but leather. And the wineskin could be resused—it was recyclable. But over time, the leather wineskin would become dry and brittle with age. 

Now, where does wine come from? Wine is made out of grape juice a yeast. And you mix them together in the right concentration, and the yeast, which is actually alive, a living organism, eats the sugar in the grape juice, and makes two byproducts. Wine, which in those days, was much cleaner than drinking water, and also carbon dioxide gas.

So, you’ve made some wine, where do you store it? In your leather wineskin. But if the wine is still too new, it’s still fermenting a bit, it’s still producing that carbon dioxide gas. And if you put that new wine, into that old wineskin, it will burst, like a balloon that continues to expand, eventually the balloon pops. So, for new wine, you need to use a fresh, new, pliable, flexible wineskin, that will expand, as the new wine finishes its fermentation process.

I really like how Jesus gives us a little science lesson in the middle of the Gospel, and a very good lesson for the beginning of the school year.

During the course of the school year, you, students are going to be taught a lot of new material, new ideas, like new wine. But you have a choice: will you be like that old, rigid, wineskin, unwilling and unable to expand, intellectually, or will you be like that new wineskin, fresh, flexible, willing to expand. It’s a choice. Do you want to learn or not. Do you want your intellect to grow or not.

Let be honest, If you hate school, if you don’t want to learn, you will be miserable. But, if choose, and your pray for help, and ask for help when learning is difficult, then this will be a good year. 

In addition to learning about all these new ideas over in school, is my hope, and prayer, that you will also grow, not just intellectually, but spiritually. That is the purpose of a Catholic school. A Catholic school exists not just instill new ideas, but to help souls be filled with the life and love of God. 

Teachers, help these children learn, not just their academic lessons, help these students to know God. It’s not as easy as it once was, the culture does not support the knowledge of God. It has become an old, brittle wineskin, and unless there is some rehabilitation at this level, it will burst; it’s only a matter of time.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Wonder and Awe, may each of us to be new wineskins--open to the growth, the conversion that God desires for each of us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.