January 27, 2012 – In Defense of Our Conscience

I’ve never worked in a nuclear facility but I know that when things start overheating and there is danger of a meltdown that all of the alarms start going off and all of the emergency procedures go into place.  This past week I felt like my brain was in danger of meltdown and I could hear all of the alarms start going off.  Between trying to follow the news of the past week, trying to absorb all of the church-related information, doing my reading for “Fanning the Flame”, trying to sort out the political races, and on and on, I think I went into “information overload”.  Hopefully I can relieve some of the pressure by blurting out another blog and let my brain cool off a little bit.

Over the several years I’ve been doing this, I’ve taken many twists and turns as to what I write about.  I’ve talked about happenings around the parish and diocese, sports, food, theology, and other things.  I’ve tried to stay away from real “heavy-duty” issues like politics and federal policies.  But there is a federal mandate out there right now that we as Catholics need to make ourselves aware of and that we need to make our voice heard on.

I’m not a journalist or a policy expert, but I’ll try to explain this in a nutshell.  This past August the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a mandate requiring almost all private health insurance plans to cover contraceptives and sterilization procedures (including some drugs that can induce abortion).  This mandate was challenged by many organizations.  However, this past Friday, HHS decided not to make any major changes in this rule, and they are giving religious employers one year to comply with the mandate.  Religious employers would only be exempt if they hire and serve mainly people of their own faith and if they qualify as a church or religious order.  So for example, Catholic hospitals would not be exempt.  Schools would not be exempt.  Families who purchase their own health insurance would be required to purchase a plan that includes coverage for these procedures, even though it may violate their religious beliefs and consciences.

Catholic leaders believe that this is a direct attack on our First Amendment rights, which says that we are free to live by our religious beliefs.  This would be the first time in our history in which citizens would be forced to directly purchase something that violates their beliefs.  This mandate was created after Congress asked the HHS to develop a list of services all health plans should provide without co-pay.  Instead of strictly focusing on prevention of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, HHS took it upon itself to include methods to prevent and end pregnancy, which is not a disease.

Some states have similar mandates – however they have a wider conscience exemption, or at least allow employers to choose a plan without prescription drug coverage if they object to having to pay for anti-pregnancy procedures.  The HHS mandate forces virtually all insurance plans to offer such services.

There are some documents out there that explain what is going on much better than I can.  Below are the links to these documents.  Please read them and share them with others:

www.diobelle.org/documents/BishopBraxton-Backgrounder-12017C.pdf

www.diobelle.org/documents/BISHOPBRAXTON-QuiestionandAnswserFactSheet-12017D.pdf

www.diobelle.org/documents/BISHOPBRAXTON-DesignateCardinalDolan-12017E.pdf

As you know we are in the midst of another election season.  I know it can be a frustrating process.  I watched much of the Republican debate last night and was annoyed that the focus seemed to continue to stray away from the issues back to what they have revealed or not revealed about taxes, if they knew what content was in their commercials, what they were investing in, etc.  However, with issues such as this that continue to eat away at our ability to practice our religion in the way we see fit, it is important for us to stay informed and to let our elected leaders know the urgency in preventing this mandate from forcing us to violate our moral and religious beliefs.

Again, the idea here was not to turn this into a political forum.  I personally do not hold any affiliation to any political party, and with each election I study the candidates and try to make a decision based on my beliefs and whom I feel will uphold their office in the best way.  I also do not begrudge anyone who does affiliate themselves with a particular party.  We have that right, after all.  However, we also have not only the right, but duty as Catholic Christians, to stand up for the principles Jesus taught us and to preserve the rights that we who worship the one true God have been given in our Constitution.  There are several websites out there that can help us stay informed on issues related to our Catholic faith and guides as to how to vote our conscience.  Here are those links:

Just a couple of other notes to wrap things up.  We had another large group in attendance this past week at our Fanning the Flame discussion group.  There are also now about 65 people who have the U.S. adult catechism in their hands.  We have a few extras left.  If you would like one contact myself or the parish office.  This coming week I will be leading the discussion group, so I hope I don’t single-handedly put out the “flame”.  Also, remember you can do individual prayer/reflection by going to the links on the homepage of our website, www.maryhoc.org.

Finally, this coming week we mark Catholic Schools Week across the nation, including in our parish school.  Our school continues to be an outstanding point of pride for our parish and community thanks to all of the dedicated teachers, staff, volunteers, parents, grandparents, benefactors and school board.  You can again go to our homepage and find a link to all of the special activities taking place this coming week.

Have a great week.  3 weeks until spring training!  Peace.

January 20, 2012 – Talking Fire and Football

I’ve got several things floating in mind this week, so this blog will probably be a little bit all over the place (as if none of the others weren’t).  So here we go….

First of all, I can definitely say that the flame is being fanned here at St. Mary’s.  In fact, right now it is a blazing inferno!  Our “Fanning the Flame” series is off to a wonderful start.  We had almost 30 people crammed into the Parish House this past Tuesday night to discuss the first chapter of the adult catechism.  There was very good conversation and good nuggets of information thrown out by Fr. Gene.  Also our original supply of 50 catechisms went like hotcakes, and we had to bring in another 25.  I’m also getting questions about where to find resources on the web, etc.  So we are off to a great start.  If you haven’t looked into what is being offered, find out what all of the excitement is about.  Go to the homepage of www.maryhoc.org and browse the links, or look at some of the materials in the center vestibule of church, or better yet join us this Tuesday night for what I’m sure will be another fruitful discussion.  We will break off into two groups if we have to.

I think the response we have gotten so far shows that people still have a thirst for knowledge about their faith and that we do not have an attitude of “I know all there is to know.”  Knowledge is power, and the more we learn about our faith, the closer our relationship with God can become, and the better equipped we can be to act as Jesus’ disciples and to spread His good news.  So again, please join us in whatever way you feel comfortable, whether it be reading the Catechism, doing individual reflection, or getting together as a group for discussion.  Even if you are not a member of our parish, you can still take advantage of the online materials.  E-mail me at webmaster@maryhoc.org if you have any questions.

You know, we can say about our faith what they say about baseball: that we are never masters of the game, but always students of the game.  Someone who came as close to being a master of the game as there was is Stan Musial.  Cardinal fans and anyone else who lives around this area know not only about his accomplishments on the field (.331 lifetime batting average, 3-time MVP, 24-time all star, 7-time batting champion, and on and on), but also know the exemplary life he has led off the field (devoted family man, devout Catholic, accessible to fans, and again on and on).  However, nationally he has seemed to not get the recognition he deserves, partly I think due to the fact that he does not draw attention to himself, and he does not live in a large media market like New York or Boston.  George Vescey, who is a nationally known sportswriter, released a biography on Musial last year, which I have not read yet but hope to in the near future.  Some have panned the book, saying that it is boring and not “juicy” enough because Stan was never involved in any scandals, affairs, etc.  However, Abp. (soon to be Cardinal) Timothy Dolan, who grew up in St. Louis, mentioned in a recent blog that Stan is just the kind of role model people need to be exposed to.

There has been a long-standing debate over whether athletes make good role models for people, particularly for the kids who idolize them.  Charles Barkley, a former NBA player who now is a studio analyst and is very outspoken (and has had a few brushes with the law), has said that kids should not look to him as a role model.  I have always had issue with this because the fact is, we are all role models, whether it be in our role as a parent, grandparent, friend, pastor, athlete, actor, or even as a big fat dude who teaches religion and plays on the computer.  Kids see what we do, hear what we say, and emulate what we do and say.  This week’s chapter for Fanning the Flame focuses on how God reveals Himself to us.  One way God reveals Himself to us is through us – in other words our ability to spread His message is one way we can influence others to experience a more intimate relationship with God and to act in a moral way. 

I think traditionally it has been difficult for Catholics to talk about their faith outside their own “circle”, but God encourages us and expects us to spread His message with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  This weekend marks the 39^th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States.  It is an opportunity for us as Catholics and as people who believe in what scripture tells us to make known to others that life truly begins at conception, and that we do not have the right to decide when that life should end.  So this weekend especially we pray for our culture that it may value life as the right choice, and pray for those who will be marching in Washington, DC to support the pro-life cause.

Finally, many people would say that the biggest football weekend of the year is Super Bowl weekend, but for the true football fan this weekend, in which the 2 conference championship games are played to decide the Super Bowl contestants is the ultimate.  No 6 hour pregame show, no elaborate halftime shows, just 2 games and about 7 hours of non-stop football!!  Ooofa!  Personally, I would like to see the Ravens and the 49ers win.  If this happens, then it would be the first time that brothers would be head coaches against each other in the Super Bowl.  But, as much as it pains me, I’m afraid the Patriots have too much firepower.  So for my predictions, I’m going with New England 33 – Baltimore 20, and San Francisco 20 – New York 17.  And as always, this is strictly a recreational activity, so no wagering please!

Have a great week.  Keep the flame alive!  Peace. 

 

January 13, 2012 – Let The Flame Burn

Well the first real taste of winter has finally hit us.  Even though we know its January and that it was bound to occur at some point, it is still a shock to the system.  It seems a perfect time to start “Fanning the Flame” (notice that play on words there … thank you, I’ll be here all week!).  As promised I wanted to touch a little more on the “Fanning the Flame” program that begins this week and how EVERYONE can participate in some way. 

As you probably know by now the program is based on the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults (which I’ll refer to as USCCA).  The USCCA is a publication of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Now when a Catholic hears the word “Catechism” 2 words probably pop into their head: long and boring.  However this book and program is set up to debunk both of those myths.  The USCCA admittedly is a rather thick book.  However, it is divided into 36 relatively short chapters.  It also includes personal stories of people of faith, and is a little easier to read than a normal catechism.  It is a good resource to have not just for this program, but to keep as a reference in your home, or to show to someone who wants to know more about the Catholic faith.  If you did not order the book through church last month, we do have a few extra copies available for purchase.  You can also go to the “Fanning the Flame” website, www.ftfdiobelle.org and follow the ordering information using the special discount code provided for the diocese (DB1212).  It is also available at the usual online outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble at a discounted price.  OK, step 1. 

Step 2 is to take advantage of the materials being provided by the diocese.  For each chapter of the USCCA (we will focus on one chapter per week) there will be a “Chapter Guide” provided.  This guide can be gotten again off of the “Fanning the Flame” website, or you can go to the homepage of our website, www.maryhoc.org and find the link.  There is a printer friendly version which you can download and print out (I will also put some copies of this version in the back of church with the other Fanning the Flame materials).  There is also a fuller version of the chapter guide online which includes more material and references, and sometimes also a video.  People who either live in or have ties to our diocese write these chapter guides.  Some are priests and religious, some are lay people.  They share their personal stories based on the chapter of the week and also provide reflections and questions for discussion.  I have also included a link on our homepage to an online version of the USCCA in case you do not have one or if you do not want to invest in one at this time.  Also as the year goes on there will be other materials available such as articles in The Messenger and bulletin items.

Now, the third and final step is to decide how you want to participate in the program.  You are invited to join us for discussion of each chapter on Tuesday evenings at 7:00PM in the Parish House.  You are also free to form or join your own group to discuss the chapters.  There are discussion questions in the USCCA itself and also in the Chapter Guide.  You can go to the Fanning the Flame website for a calendar of which chapter will be focused on during which particular week, or you can adjust your schedule as you see fit.  If you wish not to participate in a group, you can participate individually.  Read and reflect on the chapters in the USCCA and read the chapter guides.  Also, everyone with internet access can go to the Fanning the Flame website and sign up to be a part of the e-mail list which provides the materials for each week as well as other news.  There are also links to other neat opportunities such as the Fanning the Flame Facebook page and blog.  And of course, we all can pray for the success of the program and for a fulfilling year as the diocese celebrates the 125^th anniversary of its founding.  Those who are not residents of our diocese can still participate in the program.  The materials are out there and available for everyone to access and take advantage of.  Do you know someone who is not Catholic but may be interested in the faith, or maybe has just asked questions in the past?  This program would be a good starting point.  Again, there is something available for everyone.

I’m excited about this program because I think at times we are so focused on the religion programs for children and other things, that we adults sometimes ignore ourselves when it comes to ongoing catechesis.  This is an opportunity to learn in an informal way at little expense, taking an hour or so of time each week during this year (there will be a break some weeks around Easter, during the summer, etc).  I’ll do my best to keep you updated on the latest through the website and I look forward to participating with you.

This weekend the high holy days for football fans continue as we are in the midst of the NFL playoffs.  One of the games will feature Tim Tebow of the Broncos, who as you know has gotten a ton of press (both good and bad) for not just his play on the field, but for his Christian background and his openness in his beliefs.  He has not asked for all of this publicity, but he has done a remarkable job focusing on his play while also dealing with the spotlight.  I think he is a great role model and I’ll be rooting for him this Saturday (especially against the hated Patriots).  I may touch on his situation a little more in a future blog.

Have a great week.  FAN THAT FLAME!  Peace. 

 

 

 

 

January 6, 2012 – It’s Not Easy, But …

I hope you have had a good beginning to the year thus far, and I hope you have remembered to write “2012″ instead of “2011″ on at least some of your paperwork.  There were several things that caught my eye as I was surfing the web this past week.  Bear with me, as I’ll be directing you to quite a few videos and links (and bringing you deep into the abyss of my world of cyberspace).  Um, anyway…

Congratulations to those whom Pope Benedict XVI announced will be elevated to Cardinal in the Catholic Church, including 2 from the United States: Abp. Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore and Abp. Timothy Dolan of New York.  Readers of this blog know that I greatly admire Abp. Dolan, so this was great news to me.  I admire him for his staunch defense of the policies of the church and also for his zeal for life in general.  He appeared on the Today show to talk about his appointment.  Here is the link to the video of his appearance:

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45899000#45899000

Happy Anniversary to our Diocese of Belleville!  On January 7, 1887 the Diocese was officially established.  As you know, as part of our observance of the 125th anniversary, the “Fanning the Flame” program will begin the week of January 15.  Next week I’ll go deeper into what the program is all about, but a good place to start is to go to the website www.ftfdiobelle.org and also to view the following video featuring Bishop Braxton:

Also, on a last note from the year gone by, the website CatholicVote.org put together a nice video called “Top 10 Reasons for Hope -2011″, which highlights events that happened in the past year that give our Catholic Church reasons to be optimistic about the future.  You can watch this video below:

So as you can see there is a lot of good news going on in the Catholic Church.  However, no matter how many “feel good” stories we see and hear about our faith, they still seem to be out-weighed by the negativity and the challenges that we face as a people of faith.  I saw a couple of articles this past week that were subtle reminders of this.  One talks about the fact that even though the number of priests continues to dwindle, the standards to be accepted into the seminary and to eventually be called to Holy Orders are higher than ever.  Here is the link to this article:

http://evangelist.org/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=36&ArticleID=23243

The other article is actually kind of a good news, bad news article.  It tells of a young woman who was a faithful Catholic as a child, but then drifted away from the church as a college student.  However, after several years of soul-searching she found her way back to the faith.  Unfortunately, the second part of the article paints a less rosy picture of the participation of young people in religion.  Here is the link to this article:

http://bustedhalo.com/features/pure-sex-pure-love-127-lost-and-found

I don’t have to tell anyone who is Catholic that being who we are can be difficult at times.  The pre-conceived notions about our faith are numerous indeed.  “You are the ones who worship Mary and the saints when you should be worshiping God.”  “You are the ones who don’t pay any attention to the Bible.”  “Priests are more likely to be pedophiles than other groups of people.”  And the list of misconceptions goes on and on.  The media seems to always place its focus on the negative aspects of our faith when there are so many positive things going on.  This in turn gives people an inaccurate portrayal of what our faith is all about, and we find ourselves having to defend our practices and beliefs. 

This is not to say that other religions do not have their share of challenges to face, bu the reality is that at times it’s not easy to be a Catholic.  However, we have to look no further than the Bible to see that being a follower of God is indeed a challenging thing.  Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son, and was willing to do it until God put a stop to it.  There are of course many martyrs who died in defense of their beliefs. And of course Jesus endured the ultimate challenge in dying on the cross for us.

In all of what the Bible tells us I’m sure there is no verse that says anything to the effect that being a follower of God would be easy (of course I’m a Catholic, so what would I know about the Bible?  ha, ha).  As in life, generally the things that we cherish the most are the things that we worked hard to earn.  Such is the same with our religion.  If we were given a free pass to eternal life in heaven, I’m sure it wouldn’t be as meaningful as having to earn our way into heaven through our faith in God and through the good works we perform. 

And though we cannot avoid the challenges, that doesn’t mean that we cannot rejoice in the good news that our faith provides.  The “Fanning the Flame” program will provide us an opportunity to explore both the opportunities our faith gives us and the obstacles we have to face.  It will also be an opportunity to find answers to some of the questions we may have about our faith, and in turn better prepare us to defend our faith when the situation arises.  I hope you consider participating with us, whether it be individually or with others who are looking to learn more about their faith. 

Finally, I have been considering for some time changing the name of this blog.  Maybe something a little catchier, something a little more eye-popping.  But alas, as I was about to change the name, I discovered that someone already took the name, as I discovered that there is a blog out there called “Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer.”  Well, back to the drawing board.

Have a great week.  Peace.

December 29, 2011 – And Another Year In The Books

Once again the holidays have forced me to alter my blogging schedule.  Because of a family gathering tomorrow evening, we’re posting a day early.  I hope first of all that you had a great Christmas celebration.  Mine went according to plan – Mass and then my World Series DVD’s to relive the excitement of the fall.  Good stuff.  Evidently, some other folks had some free time over the holidays.  There were 32 pages viewed on our website on Christmas Eve and 17 on Christmas Day.  Don’t you people have anything better to do? (Ha, ha).  Of course, this comment comes from someone who actually has a “blogging” schedule.

Anyway, now we have reached the end of the year – a time when many of us do a little reflection on what we have accomplished in the past year (short list for me) and what we need to improve on in the coming year (long list for me).  This is also the time when you see a lot of “top ten” lists about the past year.  A couple of these caught my eye this past week.  One list focused on things that came to an end in 2011.  The list included the Harry Potter series of books and movies, the Space Shuttle program, and the 2nd edition of the Roman Missal.  Here is the link to the full article and list:

http://bustedhalo.com/features/11-notable-endings-in-2011

The other list was compiled by the Religion Newswriters Association and it is the top ten religion stories of 2011.  The Catholic faith is mentioned several times in both a favorable and unfavorable light.  Again the new translation of the Roman Missal was mentioned, as well as the beatification of Pope John Paul II.  However, placed above these was the story of Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City being charged with failure to report the suspected abuse of a child.  This, along with the story locally of the diocese losing its appeal of a $5 million lawsuit in a sexual abuse case are both reminders that the church continues to wear a huge scar from these cases and that we must continue to be diligent in caring for those who have been abused and doing everything in our power to make sure that it does not happen again.  Here is the link to this article and list:

www.rna.org/news/79176/

In my personal reflection on the year that has passed, I would have to consider it relatively successful.  It was a fairly uneventful year, which as I get older I have come to appreciate more and more.  But I certainly know that there are things I need to work on in the coming year, so even though I know that eventually at least some of them will go by the wayside, like millions of Americans I have my list of resolutions for the coming year.  My health was reasonably good the past year, but I know that I have dropped the ball somewhat on watching what I eat, etc., which my expanding waistline is reminding me of.  So in the next year I need to get back to a little more healthier regimen.

Also, even though I spend a lot of time on the computer, I have not really taken enough opportunities to just read books or other resources.  So this coming year I hope to do some more real reading than I have in the past, including the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults which will be part of the “Fanning the Flame” program in 2012. 

As always, our parish will be a busy place in 2012.  We will be continuing to work on the Parish Renewal and Restructuring process which we began this past year, including meeting with our neighboring parishes.  As mentioned, we will be participating in the “Fanning the Flame” faith enrichment program, as well as other activities which will be a part of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Belleville.  We hope to continue needed work on our church building, in particular the renovation of the steeple.  We will be continuing to prepare our candidates for Confirmation for reception of the sacrament in April.  This is in addition to all of the other usual stuff – fundraisers, school activities, liturgies, funerals, more funerals, etc., etc.  But the busyness throughout the parish beats the alternative of having a moribund, dying community.

So how will you celebrate the coming of the New Year?  As with Christmas, I intend to have a quiet, relaxing New Year’s, which will probably include watching the ball drop in Times Square, unless I travel somewhere where they drop more unusual things at midnight.  These include a 35-foot orange in Miami, a sardine in Eastport, Maine, a possum in Brasstown, NC, a 100 pound stick of bologna in Lebanon, PA, a 600 pound electric “Moon Pie” in Mobile, AL, and an 80 pound decorated cheese wedge in Plymouth, WI.  On second thought, I think I’ll just stay in good old Southern Illinois.  Whatever you will be doing, I hope you stay safe and have an enjoyable beginning to 2012.  I also hope that the coming year brings you good health, happiness and prosperity.  God Bless all of us as we turn another page and put another chapter behind us.

To end my last blog of 2011, I simply want to say thank you.  Thank you for coming here to read my comments and allowing me to have a voice and an avenue to express my thoughts.  Thank you for visiting our church website and for your compliments on what we continue to include as a part of it.  Thank you to those who joined our group on our Facebook page this past year.  We are up to 55 members now, and we share good information and comments as well as prayers.  And above all thank you for your support of our parish this past year as we continue our mission of making available the sacraments and spreading the gospel message of Christ.  Have a great week as well as a great year ahead.  Here’s to a 2012 filled with – Peace.

December 23, 2011 – Are You Ready?

Are you ready for Christmas?  If I had a dollar for each time I have been asked that question over the last couple of weeks, I would be a semi-wealthy man (before taxes, of course).  I being my polite self say “yes” or “as ready as I’ll ever be”, but the sarcastic side of me would like to say “Why, did they change the date from last year?”, or “yes, I went to confession, how about you?”.  Nonetheless, ready or not, Christmas is upon us, and we will see the payoff to all of our preparations and running around as we gather with our families and friends and watch the excitement of the kids (and adults too) as they open their presents.  And of course, amidst all of the activity, we as Christians will hopefully take time to mark the birthday of Christ.

Someone who is not familiar with Christianity and sees all that goes into our celebrations for Christmas would probably think that this must be the most important and significant event on our Christian calendar.  However, I read an article this past week called “5 myths of Christmas”, and the author, who is a Jesuit priest, points out the fact that in terms of religious significance, Easter actually tops Christmas.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is what gives us hope for eternal life with God.  The author makes a comparison to a football season in that we could consider Christmas our “opening day” of the season, but that Easter is our Super Bowl.  So as we celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Savior, we keep in mind that this leads to something even greater to come.

Of course, even in the midst of the Christmas season other news still takes place, and any article that defends the right of the Catholic Church to proclaim its teachings catches my eye.  Last Friday the Bishops of Illinois met with Gov. Quinn because they were concerned that he was using his Catholic upbringing to justify positions on issues such as abortion and gay couples’ right to adopt children that go against the teachings of the church.  Again, people on the outside looking in will perceive this as the church trying to force its moral beliefs on citizens, when in fact they were simply exercising their rights within a democracy to point out the discrepancies in Gov. Quinn statements as compared to the teachings of the church.  Even though we may live in a growing culture that dispels the beliefs of the church, our right to practice our faith and to defend what we believe is the morally acceptable way to live should never be taken away.  Here is the link to the editorial article about the Bishops’ meeting with the governor:

www.chicagonow.com/dennis-byrnes-barbershop/2011/12/do-catholics-want-to-impose-their-morals-on-america/ 

OK, now for what you really have been waiting for.  I know its not the presents, or the cookies or candies, or the spiked eggnog.  It’s time for Brian’s 3rd annual “If I had the power to give any present to anyone I desire, this is what I would give” list.  Perhaps next year I’ll come up with a better title, but nonetheless here we go:

To those who wait on us at the K of C Monday lunches: a conveyor belt that leads from the dining area to the kitchen that everyone can put their trays and dishes on when they are finished eating.

To Fr. Gene: a Kindle or Nook that would be approved for use during Mass by the Vatican that would contain the new Roman Missal in the order that it is presented at Mass.

To new Cardinal manager Mike Matheny: a successful first year so those who criticized me for being so elated at Tony LaRussa’s departure can put a sock in it.

For Albert Pujols: I truly do wish him happiness in his new home in California, and I also wish his team success.  How cool would it be if the Cardinals and the Angels would meet in the World Series and the Cardinals would drill them in 4 or 5 games!  Booya!

For Cubs fans: I have wished for these people to see the light in the past, and my wish doesn’t come true.  Oh well, you can’t mess with free will I suppose.  Here’s to 103 years and counting.

For Rams fans: the acquisition of football players who can actually play football (what a concept).

For our parish: That the Diocese doesn’t come up with yet another program that we must occupy our energies toward and we can focus more on the needs of our parish.

For our troops: that our departure from Iraq and the beginning of our departure from Afghanistan is the beginning of a trend and our troops can spend more time with their loved ones, and that the casualties that we have become so used to seeing come to an end.

For our community of Chester: that the governor realizes the error of his ways and ceases using needed jobs and the lives of families as political collateral for manipulating the budget as he wants it.

For my mother: as always, anything she wants.

For me: I’ll take a year similar to this one – no health problems, no unexpected happenings and more and more electronic gadgets to go gaga over.

For our country: that our elected representatives work for the good of those in need – those in poverty, those who are jobless, etc. instead of being concerned with their ability to be re-elected.

And for all of us: that the spirit of the Christmas season touch everyone in a special way, and that the newborn King bestow abundant blessings upon us, particularly on those most in need: that He provide resources to those in poverty, healing to those who are ill, and comfort to those who have recently lost loved ones.

Next week I’ll give a little review of the year past and a look at the year ahead (yet another original idea from the creative vault of the webmaster).

My family gatherings are occurring on days other than Christmas, so my plans for Christmas Day are 9:00AM Mass, then breaking open my set of World Series DVD’s and becoming more acquainted with my recliner.  Is that a great Christmas or what?  Have a great celebration with your family and a great week.  Peace.

 

 

 

 

December 17, 2011 – It’s Almost Here! … Or Over!

Well once again this week the holidays have altered my blogging schedule.  I’m running later this week because last night was dedicated to putting up our Christmas tree and decorations, so my apologies to my 3 or 4 fans out there.  I think all of us can claim that even though for the most part we look forward to the holiday season and the good feelings it can bring, that there is also a part of us that is glad when the holidays are over.  It may be because there was a tragedy that happened around this time of year and those bad memories come rushing back, such as unfortunately this past week when 18 year old Rebecca Young of Chester was killed in an auto accident returning from SWIC.  It may be because for one reason or another we won’t be able to be with our family for the holidays.  And for many of us the holiday season may seem to be becoming more of an inconvenience and a reason to get stressed out rather than what it should be – a celebration of one of the great events in history and a time to enjoy each other’s company.  In fact just the other day in Wal-Mart I overheard a conversation where someone was saying how they used to enjoy the holidays so much but with the shopping and all the other hustle and bustle they have gotten to the point where they are glad when the holidays are over.

The fact that you can go all over the internet and find tips for easing the stress of the holidays is proof that the enjoyment and focus of the holidays has somehow become lost.  So what can we, especially us Christians do to reverse this trend and to reclaim our Christmas spirit?  One article I read suggested that we put away our electronic devices for a while, our i-pods, computers, video games, and spend that time in quiet reflection.  OK, moving on then.  Actually, I think we can achieve what the author intends by just getting away from the business of everything for a few minutes and spend time in prayer or reflection.  In fact, on the homepage of our website there is a link to daily reflections for Advent.

Secondly, I think we need to re-emphasize to ourselves and to others that this is the CHRISTMAS season that is at our doorstep, not just the holiday season.  And when Christmas Day is over, the holiday celebration does not end there.  We actually celebrate the Christmas season as a church until the Baptism of the Lord.  In this fashion we don’t have to feel like that we wore the soles off our shoes trying to get everything done just to see it come and pass by in a single day.  We can celebrate Christmas past December 25th even though the radio stations will stop playing Christmas music and people will start taking their decorations down.  The entire Christmas season is a time to rejoice and celebrate.

Finally, we need to remember that the slogan “Jesus is the reason for the season” is not just a nice slogan to remember.  It should tell us where the true focus of our energies should be during the holidays, despite all of the other distractions that come with this time of the year.  It should tell us that in all of our preparations for our celebrations – the shopping, the baking, the eating and drinking, etc., that our preparations should include getting ready to mark the Incarnation – the event when the “word became flesh”, when God appeared in our world in human form as someone “fully divine and fully human”.  We have already mentioned some ways in which we can do this.  Another way is by attending our penance service on Monday evening.  It give us a chance to not only participate in the sacrament of “cleansing”, but allows us to think about what we can try to improve on in the coming year.

As Christians, we have a duty to spread God’s message to others, and to invite those back who for one reason or another may have strayed away from their religion.  Many parishes and other Catholic organizations use this time of year to encourage those people to “Come Home for Christmas”.  There may be questions that those who have not practiced their Catholic faith for some time  have that we are unable to answer, or we may have our own questions.  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has put a nice resource on their website called ”Rediscovering the Faith” that provides some answers to these questions.  Here is the link to te webpage:

www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/outreach-and-ministry/rediscovering-the-faith.cfm

We also have the “fanning the flame” program starting next month which will give us the opportunity to study many aspects of the Catholic faith using the U.S. Catechism for Adults as a guide.  You can go to our homepage on the website and get the link to the diocesan website for “fanning the flame”.  I will also be putting more information on our website in the next week. 

We have heard a lot through the media about different organizations removing the word “Christmas” and replacing it with the word “holiday” when it comes to referring to trees and other public displays of the season.  Should we as Christians be offended by this?  Is our identity being stripped away somehow?  Cardinal George comments on the subject in the following video:

I also want to pass along my compliments to our school children and faculty on a job well done at their Christmas program this past Tuesday night.  I will be working the next few days on putting all of the video on our website.  In the meantime, you can enjoy the always entertaining pre-school portion of the program in the video below:

Well next week I will continue a long-standing Christmas tradition (OK, it will be the third year, humor me here).  I will reveal my Christmas wish list – what I would give if i had the power to give anything I wanted to whoever I wanated.  In the meantime, let us enjoy what the season brings.  Have a great week.  Peace.

December 8, 2011 – Rejoice In Waiting

I’m putting out my blog a little earlier this week.  I have a family Christmas party to go to Friday night and who knows what Saturday brings.  I have to begin by putting out a public statement:  Ever since I declared myself a free agent, I have had many offers to move my website and my blog to other organizations – other parishes, other Catholic websites, social media and others have been clamoring for my services.  The offers have been tempting to say the least.  Long-term contracts, millions of dollars, cars, homes, small islands, etc.  But I am announcing today that I intend to stay writing and posting for St. Mary’s, unless of course I am offered a 10-year contract elsewhere.

As I’m sure you guessed I am making light of the announcement made today that Albert Pujols is leaving the Cardinals for a more lucrative offer from the Anaheim Angels.  In following the news throughout the day, some Cardinal fans are very upset about today’s happenings.  They are selling their Pujols collectibles on Ebay, and one fan was even burning their Pujols jersey.  I as a dedicated Cardinal fan certainly hoped that he would stay with the club.  He is obviously one of the best, if not the best player in the game, and for the past 11 years he has given us fans many moments of excitement.  But he was a free agent, and had the right to sign with whomever he wished, and I’m not going to begrudge him for that. 

Of course part of me thinks “what is the difference between $210 million and $250 million?  Either way he should make more money than his grandkids’ kids can spend.”  But $40 million is $40 million, and he is a charitable guy.  Another $40 million could certainly make a huge difference to the people in the Dominican Republic whom he supports, and to the Down’s Syndrome foundation that bears his name.  So I hope he and his family are happy, and the Cardinals will find a way to continue to destroy the Cubs. 

Whatever track we choose to take in life, whatever field we pursue, whether we have a family or are single, we ultimately in the end want to be happy.  We want to look back at what we have accomplished and speak of it with pride.  What makes us happy?  Well of course that’s up to each individual.  For some it is money and material things.  For some it is the enjoyment that comes with raising a family.  And for some it is the ability to serve God in various ways.  I think though it is safe to say that we want happiness and we don’t want to have to wait a long time for it – we want to take the shortest path to get there.

This philosophy, however, would seem to go against what we celebrate this weekend.  This Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent, is referred to as Gaudete Sunday.  Gaudete refers to the first word of the entrance antiphon, “Rejoice.”  Rose colored vestments are worn by the priest and the rose colored candle is lit on the Advent wreath to remind us of the joy we feel as Christmas nears.  So essentially what we are being told is that we rejoice because we have to wait a little longer?  We have to find happiness not in the present but in the future which we are unsure of?

Well, not exactly.  We rejoice this weekend because we as Christians know what is coming, or in this case who is coming - the coming of a Savior, the coming of the long-awaited Messiah.  As John the Baptist tells us in this weekend’s gospel, “there is one among you whom you do not recognize,  the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 

No matter what path our life takes us on, no matter what trials and tribulations we have to endure, the true Christian finds happiness in what is to come, that ultimately Christ will come again, and if we live by His message, we will have eternal life in heaven.  Those who do not make religion a part of their life and do not believe that there is a better place that awaits, how can they attain true happiness?  Even if they find what would appear to be happiness in money or material things, ultimately where is the satisfaction in thinking that what we accomplish here on earth will come to an abrupt end at our death?  Where else is there to turn to find hope in the future?  So there can be happiness found in the waiting and anticipation, particularly for those who have faith in what is to come.

This past week we lost a member of our parish who lived his life in the belief of what was to come and with the desire to spread that message to others, particularly to young people.  Carl Gardiner demonstrated every day his devotion to God and what it meant to be a true Christian, whether it was in attending daily Mass, or in reading the Bible, or in his work in scouting, or serving on the Parish Council, or as a member of the choir, or in extending a friendly greeting to those he knew at Hardee’s as he worked on his crossword puzzle.  He found happiness here on earth because he knew there was reason to rejoice in what was to come, and though his passing came as a shock, I know that he had been dealing with health issues, and he is now enjoying the true happiness that he knew was to come – eternal life with God.  Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace.

Well I’ll be waiting by the phone and checking my e-mail for those offers to come rolling in (not).  Besides, how can I disappoint my legions of fans, all 6 or 7 of them?  Seriously, I appreciate you continuing to read my blog and using the website.  We have been averaging about 25-30 hits a day the last few weeks.  Fantastic!  Have a great week.  Peace.

 

December 2, 2011 – Is Religious Freedom Really In Jeopardy?

Well, Catholics this week took a big sigh of relief as we made it through the first weekend of using the 3rd translation of the Roman Missal.  I personally thought, at least at the Saturday evening Mass which I attended, that things went pretty smoothly.  It is hard to change when these prayers have become so ingrained in us, but I think in a relatively short time the new translation will become part of us.  I admit, I did OK when I had the book in front of me, but when I went to the altar to distribute the Eucharist, I caught myself saying “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you … DOH!”.  It will continue to be a learning process for all of us.

Stephen Colbert, who is host of his own show on Comedy Central and is a Catholic, gave his own reaction to the new translation as well as to a couple other issues.  Some may find it unhumorous, even offensive, but I think many Catholics will see it as an opportunity to laugh at ourselves.  Here is the link to the video below (about 6 minutes long):

yahweh-or-no-way—altered-catholic-mass–papal-seat-belt—offensive-vodka-ad

Well way back when as the idea came to mind to begin a blog, I wasn’t sure what I would write about each week, but I knew that I wanted to keep things light-hearted and that I didn’t always want to get into topics that were really “deep”.  But sometimes as a Catholic you can’t help but see what is going on around you and defend the basis of your faith.  Many of the items I have been seeing on Catholic information sites have dealt with the erosion of our religious freedom.  So before I give humble opinion about whether or not I think this is a true concern for us, I thought I would refresh my 7th grade lessons and see what the first amendment of our Constitution actually says:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Seems pretty clear cut, doesn’t it?  We are all free to exercise our religion as we see fit without fear of consequences.  So if this is so clear cut, and if this has been the law of the land for well over 200 years, then why did the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops feel compelled to make the loss of religious liberty a part of their agenda at their fall meeting?  Why are a group of nurses in New Jersey suing the hospital where they work claiming their religious freedom is being violated for being forced to assist for abortions?  Why is Belmont Abbey College suing the federal government for being forced to provide a mandated health plan that includes coverage for contraceptives, claiming that it is a violation of religious freedom?

The million dollar question then is whether there truly is a religious freedom crisis in this country.  Or is this just a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that the pews in many of our churches are becoming emptier?  In all fairness, I can see both sides.  I think the basic rights that the first amendment allots us are still in tact.  The fact that I can write this blog and post it on the web for the entire world to see is proof of that.  The fact that we can have a rosary rally, that we can pray at meals, that we can pray at a gravesite are all proof of this. 

However, we see those seemingly subtle things that weaken our ability as Christians to make our message seen and heard.  We see policy decisions being made that force us to go against our beliefs in order to comply with them.  We see our kids being unable to express their religious beliefs in public schools.  We even see references to “Christmas” disappearing from public places.  So is this just the evolution of our society and our culture, or is this a true “crisis” situation?

As with many things, there is not an easy, clear-cut answer.  However, in my opinion, if we continue to allow this trend to continue, we could see our religious freedom not necessarily eliminated, but it could slide down the priority list.  We could find ourselves in a situation where the slow erosion of religious freedom is tolerates by our society.

So this observation brings about another obvious question.  What can we as Catholics do to reverse this trend?  Well there are many things we can do.  We can of course petition our representatives to re-consider their positions that are contrary to our beliefs and to the Gospel message.  We can bring our religion to the public by displaying religious articles and bringing religion into our everyday conversations.

We also need to make the effort to continue to increase the knowledge of our faith by whatever means we can in order to better understand why the church takes the positions that it does.  An excellent opportunity to do this is coming right around the corner.  Next month we along with other parishes in the Diocese will begin the “Fanning the Flame” program.  This is a year-long program developed as part of the observance of the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Belleville.  The program is based on the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.  Participants are asked to read a chapter each week and then either do individual reflection or join a group to discuss and reflect on the material.  In this week’s bulletin will be an insert describing the program and also an order form for obtaining the book.  Please consider being a part of this program and join your fellow Catholics in a faith-based “refresher” course.  You can also go to www.ftfdiobelle.org for more information.

Have a great week.  Stay warm this coming week!  Peace.

November 26, 2011 – Patience Is Indeed A Virtue

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday.  It was certainly a good day – the weather was great, the food was good, and the football games were awesome.  God is certainly good.

But I don’t know if any experience can compare to what happened yesterday.  I have expressed my desire before that I needed an excuse to take the plunge and purchase a flat-screen TV.  There were of course some good deals as part of the “Black Friday” specials, but my desire was not so strong that I was going to get in line at 9:00 on the evening of Thanksgiving just to snag a buy.  In other words, my life may not be the most exciting, but I do still have a life.  Anyway, on a whim I thought I would swing in to the local Wal-Mart on my lunch break yesterday just to see if there was anything left.  I didn’t think there would be, but I wouldn’t be out of anything to go and check.  Well, lo and behold, I walk through the automatic sliding door and it was like walking through the pearly gates (OK, it wasn’t that dramatic, but I’m going for effect here).  There were still TV’s galore that were advertised in the Black Friday ad.  So my reasons for getting this blog out a day late are that number 1, I was still feeling the effects of the tryptophan yesterday (and whatever chemicals are in sweet potatoes, cranberries, etc.), and number 2, I spent the evening mesmerized by the clear picture and sound of my new TV.  In this case, patience certainly did pay off.

We of course now live in a society that seeks instant gratification.  We don’t want to have to wait for things.  We call our prescriptions in to the drugstore so we don’t have to wait for the pharmacist to get them ready.  We become upset when there are more than 2 people ahead of us in line at the grocery store.  We want a computer that will perform our functions even faster than the one we have (guilty).  As I’m typing this I also have the Today show on, and they were talking about second marriages.  Not only do about half of first-time marriages fail, but about two-thirds of all second time marriages fail.  Again, if we don’t get that instant gratification, we move on instead of waiting to see if there is a payoff down the road.   And of course we want God to instantly provide us everything we ask and pray for.

This philosophy goes against what the season of  Advent is really all about.  When I was a kid it seemed that the fun part of Christmas was the anticipation – what is in the box under the tree?  Was I good enough for Santa Claus to come again this year (well of course I was, lol).  Now it seems that the decorations are up for so long and the carols have been sung for so long before Christmas even comes, that what should be a day of rejoicing and renewal has become an anti-climax in a way. 

I think the season of Advent is a reminder to us that the best things we experience are those that involve anticipation, those things that involve preparation, those things that involve reflection.  This weekend we of course will begin saying the Mass of the revised 3rd edition of the Roman Missal.  I still am hearing rumblings of people who are wondering why there has to be a change, and wouldn’t it be better to just leave things the way they are.  Well, it would certainly be easier to leave things as is, but would it be as meaningful?  This 3rd revision has allowed me to attend workshops and study sessions about the Missal and the Mass itself, and I have learned a great deal about why we do the things we do during Mass and how what we pray at Mass is so heavily based on Scripture.  

I’m not saying that the secular influence of doing so many Christmas activities before Christmas even arrives has taken our Christmas away, but I think you could make the argument that it has taken some of our Advent experience away.  Our observance of Advent is a preparation not only for our celebration of Jesus’ coming to earth at Christmas, but is also a time to remember that we need to prepare for Jesus’ second coming, a time in which we do not know the day or the hour.  As the people in the Old Testament who were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, we need to be on constant watch for the coming of our Savior, and realize that the greatest reward it still yet to come.

There are many good Advent resources on the internet, but a couple of the better ones I have found are on a site called www.bustedhalo.com.  It is geared toward younger adults, but there are interesting things for everyone.  First of all, they produced a two-minute video which shows the meaning of Advent   You can view that video below:

Also, they provide a “surprise” Advent calendar which you can view by clicking this link:  http://bustedhalo.com/features/advent-calendar-2011.

There have been many headlines and instances this past year in which our culture and our policy makers have tried to influence our ability to worship as we see fit and to not allow us to practice our faith in the workplace and in social settings.  It is up to us to let others know the real meaning of Advent, and not to let our season of preparation be taken away.

Finally, as Pope John Paul II reminded us on many occasions, “do not be afraid” as we begin the new translation of the Mass this weekend.  If you blurt out “And Also With You” instead of “And With Your Spirit”, you won’t be alone.  Follow the cards in the pews as best you can and it will become easier as the weeks and months go by.  Have a meaningful Advent, and have a great week.  Peace.