The last two Saturdays I have had the privilege of presiding at family weddings. Yesterday I was at St. Peter's Church in Oswego, NY, officiating at the wedding of my cousin Caitlin Oberst and Joe Langkamer. Like yourself, I very much value the priority of family. Would you believe that their honeymoon is hiking on a spiritual pilgrimage up the Inca trail of the Andes mountains in Peru with their sleeping bag and other gear on their backs. They are hiking to the ancient religious site of Machu Picchu. Needless to say, they are in excellent physical and spiritual shape. May God always bless them.
The feast we celebrate today is of the apostles Peter and Paul, foundational leaders of our Church. They were ordinary people made extraordinary by God's grace. Most institutions would have been tempted to edit their bios to make their lives more heroic. After all, Peter denied Jesus three times and Paul initially persecuted the followers of Jesus. Yet it was their conversion that affirmed the power of God's grace and enabled them to preach mercy and reconciliation at the heart of the Good News.
Fast forward 2000 years to the successor of St. Peter, when Pope Francis was asked to describe himself in one of his initial interviews, he simply said: "I am a sinner, a sinner forgiven by a merciful God." In becoming the pastor of Holy Spirit as well as St. Joseph's, I simply use the words of Pope Francis: "I am a sinner, a sinner forgiven by a merciful God." My hope for Holy Spirit and St. Joseph's is that we are places of mercy that is freely given, where everyone is welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.
Jesus asked the initial disciples and asks us as well: "Who do you say that I am?" May we find Christ in the mystery of the Eucharist, the source and summit of our prayer life. May we also discover Christ in the hearts and in the lives of one another. Just as we reverence the presence of Christ in the tabernacle, may we reverence the presence of Christ in the world and in one another.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
The Feast of Corpus Christi; Father Sergio Chavez' s First Mass; and Father Helfrich's Retirement Party
This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. We celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi; the Body and Blood of Christ; the feast of the Eucharist. In his beautiful homily, one of the points Father Bob Kreckel made was the Eucharist was not the completion of our Sunday obligation; rather the Eucharist is the beginning of our weekly discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to go in peace glorifying the Lord by the way we live our lives. We are an Eucharistic community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Eucharist missions us to give witness to the love of Jesus by the way we live our lives.
This morning I concelebrated with Father Sergio Chavez his First Mass as a priest at Queen of Peace Church. He is an inspiring young man who will enrich our parish life by his faith and strong commitment to ministry. Father Sergio will begin his ministry at St. Joseph's on August 15th.
This afternoon I was at Father Fred Helfrich's retirement gathering at the parish hall of Holy Spirit Church.. He has been the pastor of our neighboring church for 13 years. As of this Tuesday, I will be the pastor of Holy Spirit Church as well as St. Joseph's. Please pray that this new assignment will be a blessing for me and the parish communities of St. Joseph's and Holy Spirit.
This morning I concelebrated with Father Sergio Chavez his First Mass as a priest at Queen of Peace Church. He is an inspiring young man who will enrich our parish life by his faith and strong commitment to ministry. Father Sergio will begin his ministry at St. Joseph's on August 15th.
This afternoon I was at Father Fred Helfrich's retirement gathering at the parish hall of Holy Spirit Church.. He has been the pastor of our neighboring church for 13 years. As of this Tuesday, I will be the pastor of Holy Spirit Church as well as St. Joseph's. Please pray that this new assignment will be a blessing for me and the parish communities of St. Joseph's and Holy Spirit.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
The doctrine of the Trinity is revealed in a father's love for his children.
Today we celebrate Father's Day. We honor and are grateful for the dads in our parish community. Thank you!
Today is also the solemn Feast of the Trinity. This doctrinal feast of the Church celebrates who God is -- Father, Son, and Holy spirit -- three persons in one God.
At first blush, there is not an essential connection between the two. And yet, the readings chosen by the church for the Feast of the Trinity suggest there is a beautiful relationship between Father's Day and the meaning of the Trinity. Our dad's love for us reveals the mystery of God's Trinitarian love for us.
In the first Scripture reading, Moses was prepared to venerate the awesome lawgiver in fear and trembling as he went up Mt. Sinai with the two stone tablets. But we learn he was met by a loving God.
From the Gospel, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said: "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that we might be saved." The way to know the Triune God is through comprehending God's love for the world made visible in the Son.
Here are some examples of a father's love that witness to God's love for us.
At Mass recently, a two year old girl came to Church with her mom. When she spotted her dad coming into Church, she ran to him with a big smile on her face and lunged into his arms knowing she was very much loved by her dad. This two year old will be able to easily grasp God's love for her.
At a recent parish funeral, an elderly dad in a wheel chair came to Church for the funeral liturgy of his son. Yes, there were tears and also great faith and love. With the eyes of faith, he entrusted his son to the fullness of God's eternal life.
An example from my own dad. A vivid memory of my dad for me is that every morning and every night, he would kneel in prayer by his bedside giving thanks to God for the blessings of his life. I knew my dad's life was rooted in God's unending love for him.
Today's feast is a call for us to be more aware of the presence of God in our lives.
Let us honor our own Fathers today, living and dead, and go our and proclaim the Good News that God is the Father of all Fathers, and that he is active and present in the world today.
Today is also the solemn Feast of the Trinity. This doctrinal feast of the Church celebrates who God is -- Father, Son, and Holy spirit -- three persons in one God.
At first blush, there is not an essential connection between the two. And yet, the readings chosen by the church for the Feast of the Trinity suggest there is a beautiful relationship between Father's Day and the meaning of the Trinity. Our dad's love for us reveals the mystery of God's Trinitarian love for us.
In the first Scripture reading, Moses was prepared to venerate the awesome lawgiver in fear and trembling as he went up Mt. Sinai with the two stone tablets. But we learn he was met by a loving God.
From the Gospel, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said: "God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that we might be saved." The way to know the Triune God is through comprehending God's love for the world made visible in the Son.
Here are some examples of a father's love that witness to God's love for us.
At Mass recently, a two year old girl came to Church with her mom. When she spotted her dad coming into Church, she ran to him with a big smile on her face and lunged into his arms knowing she was very much loved by her dad. This two year old will be able to easily grasp God's love for her.
At a recent parish funeral, an elderly dad in a wheel chair came to Church for the funeral liturgy of his son. Yes, there were tears and also great faith and love. With the eyes of faith, he entrusted his son to the fullness of God's eternal life.
An example from my own dad. A vivid memory of my dad for me is that every morning and every night, he would kneel in prayer by his bedside giving thanks to God for the blessings of his life. I knew my dad's life was rooted in God's unending love for him.
Today's feast is a call for us to be more aware of the presence of God in our lives.
Let us honor our own Fathers today, living and dead, and go our and proclaim the Good News that God is the Father of all Fathers, and that he is active and present in the world today.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Pentecost and Fathers Bill Amann and Bob Kreckel 60th Anniversary of Priesthood
What would be like if you possessed the gift of forgiveness and you forgave from your heart people for whom if it difficult to forgive?
What would it be like if you welcomed all people into your heart and spirit?
What would it be like if your possessed the gift of hope and refused to be discouraged even by the significant challenges of life?
What would it be like if you possessed the gift of joy where you see all of life as a gift of God for which you are grateful?
What it be like if you possessed the gift of faith in which you trust in God's abiding presence to you?
These gifts are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are not too good to be true. We are a Spirit-filled people. This is our grace as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.
As we celebrate Pentecost in 2014, allow yourself to be loved by the Spirit of Jesus. These are questions the Holy Spirit is asking of you: Do you love me enough to forgive your failures as I have forgiven you? Do you love me enough to sacrifice a bit of your personal lifestyle so that others may live better? Do you love me enough to welcome all people into your heart and spirit? Do you love me enough to use your God-given giftedness for the building up of our faith community?
The great gift of Pentecost is that it has the capacity to enlarge and expand our human hearts. Clearly one of the signs of the Spirit of Jesus is our midst is the commitment of Father Bill and Father Bob as they celebrate their 60th anniversary of priesthood. May we too claim our Spirit-filled giftedness.
What would it be like if you welcomed all people into your heart and spirit?
What would it be like if your possessed the gift of hope and refused to be discouraged even by the significant challenges of life?
What would it be like if you possessed the gift of joy where you see all of life as a gift of God for which you are grateful?
What it be like if you possessed the gift of faith in which you trust in God's abiding presence to you?
These gifts are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are not too good to be true. We are a Spirit-filled people. This is our grace as we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.
As we celebrate Pentecost in 2014, allow yourself to be loved by the Spirit of Jesus. These are questions the Holy Spirit is asking of you: Do you love me enough to forgive your failures as I have forgiven you? Do you love me enough to sacrifice a bit of your personal lifestyle so that others may live better? Do you love me enough to welcome all people into your heart and spirit? Do you love me enough to use your God-given giftedness for the building up of our faith community?
The great gift of Pentecost is that it has the capacity to enlarge and expand our human hearts. Clearly one of the signs of the Spirit of Jesus is our midst is the commitment of Father Bill and Father Bob as they celebrate their 60th anniversary of priesthood. May we too claim our Spirit-filled giftedness.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
First Communion Sunday
This weekend was our third and final weekend for First Communion. This was a day of faith-filled joy for our First Communicants and their families and for our parish family. During the homily, I led our First Communicants to the Baptismal Font where we reflected on how our life with God began with Baptism. In the grace of Baptism, we are God's beloved. Each and every time we come to Church, we bless ourselves with the Baptismal water celebrating the ongoing grace of our Baptism.
From the baptismal font, we processed to the altar of God. Indeed, the whole spiritual life is characterized by going to the altar of God to give thanks and to be fed and nourished at the table of the Lord. It is our prayer that the families of our First Communicants will Sunday after Sunday after Sunday go to the altar of God to give thanks and to be fed and nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Gospel is the high priestly prayer of Jesus to his heavenly Father in the context of his impending death. In the prayer of Jesus, he prayed to His Father and gave thanks that He had finished the work that God had given Him to do, and that He had made the Lord's name known. May our prayer each night be the prayer of Jesus: may we finish the work God has given us to do today, and may we make the Lord's name known by the way we live our lives.
From the baptismal font, we processed to the altar of God. Indeed, the whole spiritual life is characterized by going to the altar of God to give thanks and to be fed and nourished at the table of the Lord. It is our prayer that the families of our First Communicants will Sunday after Sunday after Sunday go to the altar of God to give thanks and to be fed and nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Gospel is the high priestly prayer of Jesus to his heavenly Father in the context of his impending death. In the prayer of Jesus, he prayed to His Father and gave thanks that He had finished the work that God had given Him to do, and that He had made the Lord's name known. May our prayer each night be the prayer of Jesus: may we finish the work God has given us to do today, and may we make the Lord's name known by the way we live our lives.
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