May 25, 2012 – The Fight For Freedom

First of all, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.  I have to admit my excitement for the first 3-day weekend I’ve had in quite a while, but of course the focus of this holiday weekend is remembering and praying for those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and our freedom.  We also continue to pray for those who are in harm’s way throughout the world, and for the families of our troops who also have to sacrifice a lot in support of their loved ones.  This weekend I’m sure we will hear the word “freedom” quite a bit.  We will hear about the thousands and thousands of troops who died for the sake of freedom.  We will hear about what a precious gift out freedom is.  We will hear about how fortunate we are to live in a country that values freedom so much.  It makes it that much harder to fathom, then, that there are mandates being proposed by our leaders in government that would erode one of our most precious freedoms – the freedom of religion.

I have written on this before, and I think a couple of questions have lingered to this point.  One is whether the Administration and other government entities would really continue to push policies that force institutions under Catholic leadership to include coverage for contraception and abortion inducing drugs in their health insurance plans, even though this goes against the beliefs of the church.  The answer to this has been a resounding yes.  Even though the Administration claims it has made exemptions for religious employers, the definition is very narrow and still would not include the vas majority of Catholic organizations such as universities, hospitals, charitable organizations, and even publishing companies.  This is only one of many issues confronting us that threaten one of our most precious freedoms, but this is the issue that has garnered the bulk of the spotlight.  To read more about other issues that pose a threat to our religious freedom, here is a link to a newsletter from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:

www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/upload/Current-Threats-to-Religious-Liberty.pdf

The other lingering question has been whether the Bishops of the United States would have the courage and the zeal to challenge these threats.  We found out this week that the answer is a resounding yes.  This past Monday, 43 Catholic Dioceses and organizations in 12 different jurisdictions, including the Archdioceses of New York, Washington D.C. and St. Louis, the University of Notre Dame, and the publication Our Sunday Visitor, filed lawsuits against our federal government claiming that this mandate goes against our constitutional rights, and should be blocked from becoming law.  I skimmed over a copy of one of the lawsuits that was filed, which covered 69 pages.  I am not a lawyer, but the lawsuit basically makes the following points:

1) One of our most cherished freedoms is the freedom to practice our religion without government interference.  This is the issue that has put us at odds with the Federal government.  This is not about whether people have a right to obtain means of birth control.  These services are widely available and will continue to be.  However, the right to obtain such services does not authorize the government to force religious organizations to violate their consciences by making them provide and pay for these services.

2) Since the founding of our country, religious organizations have had the ability to provide services to all people, no matter what the religious views were of those who benefitted from those services.  This mandate would jeopardize the ability of religious organizations to continue these services.

3) If the government can force religious institutions to violate their beliefs in this manner, then there is no clear limit to the power of our government.  This is a clear violation of constitutional rights.

So where does this leave us as Catholics, and what can we do to avoid further restrictions of religious freedom?  There are several things that all of us can do:

1) Contact political leaders at both the state and federal levels and inform them that the erosion of our religious liberties mist stop, starting with these unjust regulations.

2) Stand with our bishops and follow their example of stating our views in a clear manner.  We also need to educate ourselves so that we can be witnesses in our own community.  There are many resources available, particularly online, that explain the details of these issues.  One good resource is the U.S. Bishops “Conscience Protection” page.  The link to the page is: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/ .

3) Pray for our political and religious leaders that they respect the rights of all people and that they remain open to the teachings of the gospel.

4) Support our Catholic organizations and institutions who have the desire to act according to the principles of the church.

In response to these concerns, the Bishops of the U.S. have declared the two-week period from June 21 through July 4 as a “Fortnight for Freedom”.  This period will focus on prayer, education and action in support of religious freedom.  You will be hearing more about this over the next few weeks, and there will be information available on our website.  Right now, you can go to this link for information, prayer resources and educational resources: www.fortnight4freedom.org .

In reading various articles this week, I came across a quote that was thoughtful and informative, yet ironic and frustrating at the same time, considering who said the quote.  The quote is this: “We are blessed to live in a nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of good will may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences.”   The speaker of the quote: Barack Obama.

I know that reading about politics and policies may not be the most compelling reading material, and it may not be the most fun thing to write about, but we as catholics make up one-quarter of the population of this country, and we have a duty as Catholics to be informed and to stand up for our principles.

Enjoy your weekend and try to stay cool (98 degrees in May?  Blah!).  Also have a great week ahead.  Peace.

 

May 19, 2012 – Celebrate the Past, Plan the Future

Those that know me well will tell you that generally I’m not really much of a “planner”.  I’m more of a take things as they come kind of a guy, partly because it seems like even our best laid plans go off kilter much of the time.  Yesterday I had a plan – get off work, run a couple of errands, get home, get on the internet, write the blog, be done by the time the Cardinal game starts.  Beautiful!  Alas, when I get home I get a call from my niece, who is on the same internet server that I am, who asks “Is your internet working because ours isn’t.”  I check, of course mine is not working either.  So, my plan to have the blog up on time for a change is foiled again.  But the good news is that later in the evening it was back up and running again, so at least we are not too far behind this time.

This time of the year we of course focus on graduations.  Actually in monitoring some of the Facebook conversations, it appears more and more schools, particularly large ones, no longer hold ceremonies for 8^th grade graduation, be it due to budget cuts, the sheer large number of students, or because of the way some schools are now setup, it’s not considered that much of leap to go from 8^th to 9^th grade.  We of course still honor our 8^th grade graduates here at St. Mary’s because it is an important milestone.  Many will be moving on to a non-Catholic school for the first time in their life.  Those that do continue on to a Catholic high school will be doing so in a different city, so this is certainly a turning point for them as well.  It is also a time of celebration for the whole parish as we thank God, those involved in the operation of our school, and those who donate to our school that for another year we were able to provide a quality Catholic education to our kids.

Marking these milestones also gives us an opportunity to look toward the future, particularly in our parish as next year we will be celebrating the 150^th year of having a Catholic school.  What an accomplishment – providing Catholic education for 150 years without interruption!  I’m sure those folks in the 1860’s faced some of the same challenges we do now such as maintaining a quality curriculum with limited resources and space (we have more than one teacher in a church basement, but you get the idea).  I’m sure there were times in those early years when they wondered if they could continue to operate the school, especially in times of economic hardship.  But through the grace of God and the hard work and generosity of many people, the school endured and thrived.  We of course have had times in our recent history when the future of our school seemed in doubt due to factors such as declining enrollment and skyrocketing costs.  But again, through the grace of God and the hard work and generosity of many people, the school continues its mission of providing a quality Catholic education and also teaching the morals and life skills that will stay with the students throughout their adult life.

So as we stop today to laud the accomplishments of our 8^th grade graduates and our school as a whole, we continue to keep an eye to what the future holds, particularly as our diocese continues the Parish Renewal and Restructuring process that will likely result in the closure and re-organization of not only some churches, but perhaps some schools as well.  We as a parish have reasons to be optimistic about keeping our school open.  We have made great strides over the last 5-7 years to increase our enrollment.  We have made progress in lowering the percentage of our church income that is used to subsidize the school.  We are the only parish in our cluster to have a parish school.  And of course we have a dedicated group of teachers, staff, parents, alumni, parishioners and benefactors that are dedicated to keeping our school viable.  However, we still must ask the inevitable questions. Will we be able to keep up with continuing increases in costs?  Will we be able to maintain and increase our enrollment as the size of families continues to decrease?  How long can we continue to practically maintain a building that is over 100 years old?  Will parents continue to see the value of a Catholic education and make the sacrifices necessary to obtain it for their children?

I came across an article this past week written by Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia titled “Why Catholic Schools are Worth Saving.”  They are currently making an effort to convince their legislature to increase tax credits for tuition to private schools, and also to increase funding for school choice vouchers.  Here is a link to the article:

http://catholicphilly.com/2012/05/archbishop-chaput/why-catholic-schools-are-worth-saving/

One paragraph in the article I think made the case as to why Catholic schools should be preserved.  Archbishop Chaput says: “The genius of Catholic schools, when they’re led with passion and adequate resources, is that they create a lifelong love of learning; they teach the academic skills to achieve real excellence, not just in the classroom but in adult life; and they shape the kind of moral character that makes for worthy citizenship and an honorable life. This is the dignity God intends for His people. This is why Catholic schools succeed where others often fail. This is why they’re worth fighting to save.”

Bottom line: Catholic schools can provide a base for not only the academic skills needed to succeed, but also the traits of morality and solid character that help our students become virtuous citizens.  We can provide an education based on Christian principles that will ensure that the faith is passed on to future generations.  So today we congratulate our 4 graduates – Elizabeth Heffernan, Rhett Holley, Jade Keel, and Olivia Moore, and pray that they continue to succeed in their future endeavors.  We thank our teachers and staff for  their dedication  and care of our children and school.  We thank our parents, grandparents, volunteers, alumni, parishioners, benefactors, and all who contributed in any way to the success of the past year.  And finally, we pray for the future of our school, that our 150^th celebration is not a final salute to a rich history, but is an opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments while making strides toward the future.

Have a great week.  Pray also for needed rain for our farmers and gardeners.  Peace.

May 12, 2012 – What Defines Marriage

Well another weekend, another late blog posting.  I’m going to be running out of excuses for my tardiness pretty soon.  Actually this time I have a pretty legitimate reason, as I attended the graduation ceremony at McKendree University earlier today.  Congratulations to my nephew Ed and to the many who are graduating college this weekend.  Our prayers be with them as they enter the world of a continuing tough economy and continued divisiveness on many issues.  Normally graduation ceremonies are pretty run of the mill and not very riveting, and this one was pretty much the same way.  However, the President of the University gave some good advice to the students as the ceremony wrapped up.  He told them that “we have prepared you to do well, but we also want to see you do good.”  In other words, being a success means more than finding a well paid job and having a nice home and vehicle.  To be a success you need to be of service to others, and to leave a legacy behind for others to emulate.  Certainly a lesson not just for the students, but for all of us.

Once again this past week we saw a collision between politics and religion, with the politician getting the bulk of the headlines.  After comments by Vice-President Biden (a professed Catholic) on Meet the Press that he has no problem with “same-sex” marriages, President Obama a few days later reversed his earlier positions and proclaimed his support for these unions.  This of course goes completely against the position of the Catholic Church.  The U.S. Catholic Catechism states that “there are attempts by some in contemporary society to change the definition or understanding of what exactly constitutes marriage. Efforts to gain approval for and acceptance of same-sex unions as marriages are examples. While the Church clearly teaches that discrimination against any group of people is wrong, efforts to make cohabitation, domestic partnerships, same-sex unions, and polygamous unions equal to marriage are misguided and also wrong. The Church and her members need to continue to be a strong and clear voice in protecting an understanding of marriage, which is rooted in natural law and revealed in God’s law.”  Again, the Church takes this position, as with all of its positions on social issues, because this is what we feel the Scripture is telling us.  Scripture is filled with references to marriage.  One of the most clear is from Chapter 19 of the gospel of Matthew in which Jesus tells the Pharisees “have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”

It was not a surprise to me that President Obama declared his position in the fashion that he did, particularly in an election year.  As Cardinal Dolan, USCCB President stated: “Unfortunately, President Obama’s words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his Administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage.”  What floored me is that the President and other politicians cited Christ and their Christian faith as reasons for their positions.  In part of his interview this past week, President Obama said this: “This is something that, you know, [Michelle and I have] talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do. And that is that, in the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people and, you know, I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated…”  Contrast this to his statement on the same issue made in 2004: “I’m a Christian. I do believe that tradition and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.”

Then there of course is Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader and also a professed Catholic, who made this statement: “My religion has, compels me–and I love it for it–to be against discrimination of any kind in our country, and I consider this a form of discrimination. I think it’s unconstitutional on top of that. “  As a devout Catholic, I cannot in good conscience accept this position.  Discrimination certainly is wrong.  However, attempts to redefine what is rooted in natural law, what the Church proclaims, and what the Scriptures reveal, is also wrong and misguided.  What will be the next move by some of our politicians?  Appoint a commission to rewrite the Bible?  Abolish wine as a form of the Eucharist?  What I can tell you is that our religious freedom has never been more threatened in our lifetime.  I personally do not proclaim an allegiance to either political party.  In each election, I try to weigh the issues and the candidates and make the selection I feel is best.  I will do the same in this election.  However, when I weigh the issues this time, these issues concerning my values and rights as a Christian will certainly carry a greater influence than they have in the past.

In the past I have tried to avoid getting too “political” in this blog, but as Catholics part of our duty is to be informed about public policy  and to make decisions based on what our conscience guides us to do.  If you disagree with me, that is your right.  If you vote contrary to me, that is your right.  However, it is my right as a Catholic and witness of Christ to make His word known to the best of my ability.  As the McKendree President reminded me today, this is one way I feel I can do good.

Have a great week.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of our Moms, living and deceased.  Peace.

 

 

May 6, 2012 – Church From Beginning To End

In what has seemed to become the norm I am late once again in getting the blog up, and no, it’s not because I was celebrating cinco de mayo.  To explain, I’ll go through a brief play-by-play of my week.  As a disclaimer, I’m not writing this because I’m complaining about being busy, or because I’m looking for any sympathy.  I’m writing this because, well, gotta write about somethin’.

Anyway, my week started last Sunday with 9:00AM Mass.  I wanted to attend because one of my PSR students, Andrew Friess, was recognized for completing 8 years in our PSR program, including the last two with me (poor kid).  We then had our final PSR class of the year, which is a bittersweet day.  You miss interacting with the kids, but admittedly it is nice to get a break from having to make lesson plans, etc.  After PSR, I then had to jump into my suit and head to Belleville for the Mass to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of the diocese.  3 parishioners were recognized for their service to the Catholic Church – Bertha Mae Blechle, Janelle Robinson, and myself.  Bertha Mae was certainly deserving for all of the time she spends planning and cooking for events at the KC, her work with the Sodality, and so many other things she has done for the parish over the years.  Janelle was certainly deserving for her many years of service to our school, including accepting the position of Principal at a time when the future of our school was very much in doubt.  I was hesitant at first to accept the recognition because I could think of so many other people more deserving than myself, but I went not so much for myself, but as a representative of the many who do so much in service to our parish and the church as a whole.  The day was very nice.  Even though Mass was 3 1/2 hours, it was neat to be in the Cathedral with people from all over the Diocese, and it gave me a reminder that the Catholic Church is indeed a universal church, and there are many, many people doing great work for the cause of spreading the Gospel.  325 people were recognized that day, and each name was read during the Mass.  One particularly touching story was a woman from Breese whom had played the organ for 44 years.  Sadly she passed away the Monday before the Mass, but her family was so touched by the award that they had it included in her obituary and displayed her certificate during the visitation.  Again, thank you to everyone in our parish and across the Diocese who do so much to keep the Catholic Church of Southern Illinois alive.

OK, after that day I’m thinking the rest of the week looks pretty clear until I get an e-mail on Tuesday saying the Bishop wants to meet with the Diocesan Pastoral Council on Saturday morning (doh!), and here’s some reading material to prepare for the meeting (doh!).  So change of plans.  There were several things that were discussed at the meeting.  The Parish Renewal and Restructuring Process is still in the data gathering phase.  It is going to take some time to go through the mounds of data and to formulate recommendations to the Bishop.  I still do not anticipate any decisions based on this process until next year.  However, there may have to be some decisions made prior to this simply based on the fact that number of clergy continues to dwindle.  There is one gentleman being ordained this year – a permanent deacon who is 65 years old.  After this there are no ordinations for several years.  This, coupled with the fact that there are only 15 priests who were ordained for this diocese who are age 50 or younger, and well, you can do the math.  This, along with shifts in population and demographics, indicate that chances have to take place.  We will be a different looking church in the years down the road, but if people are cooperative and are dedicated to maintaining a sense of community, we will still be a strong church in the end.

We also addressed the continuing concerns in regard to the threats against our religious freedom.  Bishop Braxton re-emphasized the point that the Catholic Church does not endorse any particular candidate for political office, but has the duty to inform people of what church teachings are in regard to issues such as abortion, birth control, death penalty, euthanasia, family values, poverty, etc..  People should then exercise their right and duty to vote, and to take their conscience with them as they make these important decisions.  As far as the continuing fight for our cherished religious freedom, there is a document that I want to call your attention to.  It is titled “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty – A Statement on Religious Liberty.”  It is a 12 page document from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops which talks about the ways that our basic freedom of religion is being threatened.  In particular I draw your attention to the last page which talks about a 2 week period called “A Fortnight of Freedom” which will focus on prayer and study concerning our religious liberty.  This period will be from June 21 until July 4 which is of course Independence Day.  There is also a prayer for religious liberty on this page.  Here is the link to the document:

www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/upload/Our_First_Most_Cherished_Liberty.pdf

I will also put this link on our website this week.  With all of the news and information coming out, especially in this election year, I hope this week to develop a new page for our website on which I would put links to news items, information items and videos which are Catholic related – kind of a one-stop place for current events.

Finally, my week finished off last night with, well, Mass.  So as the title suggested, it was church from beginning to end this week, and I enjoyed all of it.  What will the coming week bring?  Stay tuned to find out.  In the meantime, let’s get the Blues and Cardinals back on track!  Have a great week.  Peace.

April 28, 2012 – Confirmation Memories

Well I’ve returned after an unplanned one week hiatus.  The masses have been clamoring for the blog to return (actually, one person asked me about not writing last week – you have to pump yourself up once in a while).  I was fighting computer problems all last weekend, beginning with problems updating the website, and then having problems with my DSL internet service.  Technology has a way of bringing out the very best and very worst of me.  When everything is working as it should, I’m as happy as a lark.  However, when I am having problems with my electronics and am unable to pinpoint the trouble, well, let’s just say the sharp and blunt objects need to be kept at a distance.  And this was on top of the Cardinals losing 2 in a row to the hapless Cubs.  Thankfully, things are working again, the Cardinals won the last game of the series against the Cubs, they won 13-1 last night, and all is right with the world again.

Since I wrote last our Confirmation Class was recognized by our parish at the 9:00AM Mass on April 15.  This essentially brought to an end the process of preparation and reception of the Sacrament.  Though I am biased, I think no one can disagree that our class did a magnificent job in doing the many, many things that were asked of them, and it made for a meaningful experience for them.  In going through the process with them I thought back to my own Confirmation experience when I was in 7^th grade.  My teacher was Sr. Anastasia Rubenacker, who just recently passed away.  Sr. Anastasia was a serious person – there was not a lot of joking around in her classes, but she was a person of deep faith.  There was a phrase she repeated many times during our religion classes that year.  She said that “the Spirit can do good things for you, if you let it.”  As a 12 year old I really didn’t know what she meant at the time, but now I think I know what she was trying to tell us – that Confirmation, like the other Sacraments, is not “magic”.  And only if we continue to be faithful disciples of God and are witnesses for our Catholic faith will we receive the full benefits of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Admittedly, the preparation process was not as intense for me as it is now.  We were required to do volunteer service hours as they are now, however when we chose our saint name we didn’t really put any effort or research into it.  I chose Mark as my Confirmation name basically because my Mom wanted to name me Mark, but she was overruled by the rest of the family, so I gave her sort of a “consolation” prize.  Over the years I have come to admire Mark the Evangelist more and more.  He traveled with Peter to Rome and served as his interpreter.  He founded the church of Africa and became Bishop of Alexandria.  He is the patron saint of notaries, so we have something in common (OK, it’s a stretch, work with me here).  If I had done some research on Mark prior to my Confirmation, I think it would have been more to me than just a name; he would have been a true role model.  So even though we require the kids to do more in terms of preparation, I think it makes for a more meaningful experience for them, their sponsors and their families.

I also remember my Confirmation Mass.  Bishop Wurm was the celebrant.  He was a very kind and gentle man who unfortunately contracted cancer and passed away shortly thereafter.  During the Mass one of the main fuses in church blew, leaving us with only part of the lights and no organ.  It actually was kind of nice with the candlelight taking over the church and the choir having to sing A cappella.  Though I remember the Mass, I cannot tell you the exact date it occurred or other details.  In retrospect I wish I would have done more to mark this important event in my life.  Sacraments are more than just “steps” or events that automatically occur at a certain age.  They are true milestones.  They are important stops on our journey of faith.  They are worthy of the preparation we are asked to do for them.  Currently we are studying the sacraments in our “Fanning the Flame” discussion group.  Even if you have never been to a session, you are still more than welcome to join us.

Speaking of milestones, did you realize that the next school year marks the 150^th year of the existence of a school in our parish?  The school board has already begun to discuss some ideas as to how to mark this important anniversary in the history of our parish.  They are looking for some more ideas and for folks who are willing to serve on a committee to plan these events.  Anyone is welcome – parents, grandparents, alumni, parishioners, etc.  Call the school office or Fr. Gene if you are interested.

Finally, I wanted to share with you an article that popped up on my Facebook page this morning.  Kind of going back to the confirmation theme, I think most of us are more familiar with the saints that lived during biblical times and many centuries ago.  But there are many, many saints who have been canonized in our recent times.  Bishop Braxton reminds us of this when the Confirmandi go to choose their saints.  One of the more recently canonized saints celebrates her feast day today – St. Gianna Beretta Molla.  She was born in Italy in 1922 and sacrificed her own life for the life of her child.  she was canonized in 2004.  You can read her biography by clicking this link:

www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2012/04/28/married-saint-st-gianna-beretta-molla/

Well between the football draft and the Cardinal game this afternoon, plus the Blues game this evening, my easy chair will be working overtime.  Enjoy whatever you will be doing this weekend and have a great week ahead.  Peace.

 

April 22, 2012 – Be Back Next Week

I’ve been spending much of the weekend dealing with website/internet issues, so I’m putting aside the blog for a week. We’ll see you next week. Go Blues!

April 14, 2012 – A Glimpse Into the Future?

Well I have been on an emotional roller coaster the last few days.  We had Confirmation this past Wednesday at the Cathedral, which went very well and which I will talk more about in a minute.  Then Thursday evening I was all jacked up for the Blues hockey playoff game because they have not won a playoff game in nearly 10 years, only to see them lose in double overtime.  Then yesterday I was praising God because the Cardinal game was rain delayed almost 2 hours, which meant that I could get home from work and not miss any of the game.  Of course the game did not turn out well for Cardinal nation as we got thumped by the team with the bad 4-letter word.  So hopefully today things will get back to a higher note.

Of course the most important event in all of this was the Confirmation of our 12 candidates from our parish and the 45 candidates in total from our cluster parishes this past Wednesday evening.  This was the first time we went to the Cathedral for Confirmation so I think most of us were excited but nervous at the same time as to how it would go.  I think it was a rewarding experience and a very nice ceremony.  The Bishop was appreciative of us coming to the Cathedral as a cluster of 5 parishes.  He attempts to perform all of the Confirmation ceremonies during the time of the 50 days of the Easter season, which is the liturgically appropriate time.  So it makes his schedule more tolerable.  He also feels there is meaning to us coming to the Cathedral – the “mother church” of the Diocese, for a Sacrament which truly binds us to the universal church.

I think it was beneficial to us also as a Confirmation Class and as a parish.  As a catechist it gave us an oppportunity to work with catechists from other parishes and to take away experiences that others are having in their own parishes.  Also, working as a cluster allowed us to split up many of the duties which would normally have fallen on a single parish.   I think it was good for the kids because even though it was a long and late evening, it showed them that they are a part of not just one, single church of Mary Help of Christians in Chester, but are a part of a wider, universal Catholic Church.  Also, for many of the candidates and others in attendance, it was their first time attending the Cathedral.  So again, I think the positive aspects far outweighed the negative aspects.

I think it was also an important step for what we may have to do in the future as a cluster and as a church.  At the end of Mass, Bishop Braxton acknowledged Fr. Lawrence who is currently administrator of the Sparta and Walsh parishes.  He is a priest of the Oblate community who has served as a missionary in our Diocese.  His superior is now calling him back to his native India, so there is now an opening in these two parishes.  With the continued dwindling of the number of clergy, the question that now has to be asked is not just who may be coming as a replacement, but is there someone available to be a replacement.  I think it is a realistic assumption that our cluster, which currently has 3 priests serving its 5 parishes, may see a reduction to 2 priests.  Will this happen now?  We don’t know.  What we do know, however, is that at some point the situation will require us to cooperate more as a cluster, particularly if we want to keep all or even most of our parishes open.  We have already seen this on a limited basis.  During months when the Ellis Grove parish does not have Saturday evening Mass, have you noticed some new faces in church?  This is a phenomenon that is going to continue.

Is there apprehension in having to work together more with our neighboring parishes?  Sure.  There always is with any type of change.  However, I couldn’t help but notice at the Cathedral that people from different parishes knew each other, whether it be through family, work, school, etc.  We are a more “moveable” society than we were even 20 years ago.  Also, our ability to cooperate so well together in planning the Confirmation liturgy gives me increased confidence that we can do more things together and utilize each other’s talents.  So for one evening we had a wonderful experience with our cluster, and it just may serve as the impetus for more evenings together in the future.

I wanted to share with you a couple of articles before closing.  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is continuing to promote the cause of religious freedom.  They have designated a “Fortnight of Freedom”, a two-week period from June 21 – July 4, as a special time of prayer, study and action for the cause of religious freedom.  Here is a link to an article with more information:

www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1201486.htm

Also, the recent yearly audit of the implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People showed nearly all of the dioceses nationwide in full compliance, and that the majority of reported cases of abuse continue to be from decades ago.  Here is a link to that article:

www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-059.cfm

Finally, are you a Bruce Springsteen fan?  A blog from “Word on Fire” claims that his latest album is filled with influences from his Catholic background.  Here is that link:

www.wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/April-2012/Music-Springsteen-Can-t-Hide-His-Catholic-Past.aspx

As I complete this, the Cardinals have just hit a home run and now lead the Cubs 5-1, and the world is now back on its axis.  Go Cards!  Go Blues!  Have a great week.  Peace.

 

April 8, 2012 – Happy Easter!

So what does a webmaster do on Easter morning?  He gets up, says a prayer of thanksgiving, eats a little breakfast, fires up his computer, and thanks God that he went to the Easter Vigil Mass and doesn’t have to fight the crowd at the Easter Sunday Mass.  I looked back to see what I had written about in Easters past, and I typically have not posted a blog on Easter weekend, so this is new territory for me.  Again this week, I was thrown off of my blogging schedule due to various activities, including cake decorating yesterday with my niece, and of course church-related activities, but I’m certainly not complaining.  All of the Masses and services this past week were beautiful.  An added touch to the Holy Triduum was the presence of our Confirmation Class for each of the three days.  I’m sure it was probably more church than they had ever experienced in a three-day period, and I commend them, their teachers and their parents for their guidance.

Though Holy Week has so many wonderful aspects to it, it certainly is a test of one’s stamina, especially for our priests.  Thank you Fr. Gene for your planning and your devout celebrations this past week.  Thank you also to everyone who helped with the different ministries during Masses and services, and of course to those who helped set up things in church.  It made for a memorable and spiritually fulfilling week.

Speaking of a test of stamina, our 85-year old pontiff was certainly busy this past week.  You can go to www.news.va to see the various ceremonies the Pope was celebrant at this past week, including texts of each of his homilies.  In particular, his homily at the Chrism Mass caught my interest.  At all of the Chrism Masses around the world, besides the bishops blessing the oils to be used in the next year, priests also renew their vows of obedience to God and the church.  There is a group of priests in Austria attempting to form an international Priests’ Initiative.  This “initiative” includes a  ”Call to Disobedience”, which calls for among other things changes such as removing the required vow of celebacy, allowing priests to marry, ordaining women, sharing the Eucharist with Protestants, etc.  Without naming this group specifically, Pope Benedict denounced this movement in a rare public criticism of a group of priests.  Here is part of the text of his homily:

“Recently a group of priests from a European country issued a summons to disobedience, and at the same time gave concrete examples of the forms this disobedience might take, even to the point of disregarding definitive decisions of the Church’s Magisterium, such as the question of women’s ordination, for which Blessed Pope John Paul II stated irrevocably that the Church has received no authority from the Lord. Is disobedience a path of renewal for the Church? We would like to believe that the authors of this summons are motivated by concern for the Church, that they are convinced that the slow pace of institutions has to be overcome by drastic measures, in order to open up new paths and to bring the Church up to date. But is disobedience really a way to do this? Do we sense here anything of that configuration to Christ which is the precondition for true renewal, or do we merely sense a desperate push to do something to change the Church in accordance with one’s own preferences and ideas?”

As he continued his homily, the Pope acknowledged that Jesus had defied conventions and prompted radical changes. But the Lord did so, he pointed out, in fulfillment of his Father’s will:

“He lived out his task with obedience and humility all the way to the Cross, and so gave credibility to his mission. Not my will, but thine be done: these words reveal to us the Son, in his humility and his divinity, and they show us the true path.

So why is this important to all Catholics, and not just to priests?  Because we all share in a common priesthood, and though we may have differences in what the church teaches and in our own beliefs, we share in the obligation to be witnesses for Christ and to pass our faith on to the future generations.  That is why it was so important for our Confirmation Class to join us in our celebrations this past week – so they could share in the journey that Christ took.

This of course will be an important week for our Confirmation class.  They will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation this Wednesday, April 11 at 7:00PM at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Belleville with our other cluster parishes.  We will also recognize them at the 9:00AM Mass next Sunday, April 15, and we will have a reception for them following Mass at the KC Hall.  You are invited to attend any or all of these activities.  We of course also invite you prayers for them as they receive the Holy Spirit in a special way into their lives.

Well I’m going to end here and go enjoy the rest of the day.  May you have a wonderful Easter celebration with your family and friends, and may the risen Lord provide you with His abundant blessings throughout this season.  If you do not read these wishes on Easter Sunday, remember that the Easter season is 50 days long, so this applies for the next 7 weeks.  Have a great Easter week.  Peace.

March 31, 2012 – A Different Feel to Holy Week

Well once again I’m late in getting this blog out.  You know during the winter when you get those little shriveled up lemons or limes from the store, and you squeeze and squeeze but still can only get a few drops of juice out of them?  That’s sort of how my brain is at this point – no matter how long I think the creative juices just won’t seem to flow.  So I’m just going to start typing and see where this goes.

Though it has been a very busy Lent, it is still hard to believe that we have already come to Holy Week.  A lot of the neat little articles and videos that I look at come from the organizations and people that I subscribe to on Facebook, and yesterday there was a ton of stuff that came in on my news feed.  I wanted to share just a couple of them with you.  First of all, I turn to Timothy Cardinal Dolan, whom as you know by now I have come to admire and listen to very much.  He gave some brief thoughts about what Holy Week is about.  The video is only about a minute and a half long, but it gives a pointed and powerful message.  Click the link below to view the video:

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Next, another source I have been following quite often is Busted Halo.  The material it releases is geared more towards young adults (which certainly is most welcome), but many times it is valuable for Catholics of all ages.  During different seasons of the church year they put out little 2 minute videos concerning what the meaning of the season is and some of the traditions associated with it.  They have done this again for Holy Week.  Here is that brief video:

Lastly, also from Busted halo, is a series of videos which is a “virtual” Stations of the Cross.  For each of the stations there is a video associated with it to watch.  It is a very nice reflection to do at home or even at the desk at work (not that I would ever think about doing such a thing … um, anyway).  Here is a link to this series of videos:

http://bustedhalo.com/video/virtual-stations-of-the-cross

Of course there are many other means of reflection we can do and should do.  But for geeks like me who are glued to their electronic devices, there is definitely material out there which makes for a nice change of pace.

As we approach Holy Week, this Lenten season will stand out for me as one in which it seems that there is kind of a turning of the tide with our Catholic Church.  I may be completely off-base, and I may be coming to this conclusion by observing only what is immediately around me, but I sense that our Catholic Church, after a long period of being beat down by the press because of the clergy abuse scandal, and after taking even more blows because our teachings do not jive with the “secular culture”, is starting to rise up once again.   It appears that we are not only standing up for our beliefs, but we are taking pride in what we believe in.  I have seen this in several instances.  I have certainly seen it with our Fanning the Flame program.  Consistently over these past 11 weeks 20-30 people have crowded into the Parish House to learn more about their faith and also share their faith experiences.  I saw it the other night at our Parish Council meeting, where there was very frank discussion about where the church will be 5-10 years down the road.  I have seen it with our dinner/auction.  So many people coming together and doing so much, and as a result it appears we should collect at least as much as last year’s record total.  I have seen it in our diocese with the generous response to the people in Harrisburg and Ridgway after the devastating tornado earlier in the month.  And I have certainly seen it on a national level, with the leadership of not only our church but that of faiths standing up and saying enough is enough, not just to the HHS mandate concerning birth control, but to the slow erosion of religious freedom that we have seen over the past many years.

As I spend quite a few hours in church this week, I will do it with an even better appreciation of what a good place it is to be.  I will do it knowing that the white noise of the everyday world will be filtered out.  I will do it knowing that our church is in the process of withstanding yet more challenges, and that once again the Holy Spirit will keep us in a good place.  I hope that this Holy Week is a fulfilling one for you as we re-trace the steps of Christ’s journey from triumph, to betrayal, to suffering, to death, and to ultimate triumph over death.

Well the fact that I am writing this should indicate to you that I have not been in Red Bud the past few days, and I did not have the winning Mega Millions ticket.  So much for my contribution to the steeple renovation fund (lol).  Congratulations to those who won and hopefully their lives will not get thrown too out of whack.

Finally, a big thanks to you for continuing to  use our website and for sending me things to put on it.  This month we have had over 1300 page views, and that does not count the blog or our Facebook page.  Fantastic!  We are also up to 58 members on our Facebook page.  Maybe we can get to 60 by Easter?  Kepp spreading the word.

Again, have a blessed Holy Week.  I’ll see you in church.  Peace.

March 24, 2012 – Better Late Than Never

My apologies first of all for not getting the blog up sooner.  I had a ton of errands to run after work yesterday, so I had planned to write yesterday evening.  But sometimes things do not go according to plans, and when I flipped on the TV and saw that college basketball was on, well, let’s just say my evening pretty much came to a halt right there.  Priorities, you know!  I doubt that many folks will be reading this today anyway with the dinner/auction going on and everything else.  If you are reading this beforehand, I hope you have a great time tonight and acquire some cool stuff.  If you are reading this afterwards and wondering why you spent so much on a ceramic something or other that will probably just sit in the closet, remember that our parish needs this money to pay our major bills, and there is nothing in the 10 commandments that says “thou shalt not be a re-gifter.”  Anyway, I don’t really have anything that stands out this week to focus on, so I’ll just touch on a few random things.

I remember Game 6 of the World Series last year like it was yesterday.  I can pretty much describe every pitch and strategic move of the last few innings of the game.  In the 10^th inning, when the Cardinals tied the game yet again, Joe Buck said that “this team just won’t go away.”  Yesterday across the country there were about 140 rallies focusing on the attack on our religious freedom.  As I have said before, even though this is an issue we shouldn’t have to be fighting for, it has been inspiring to see the response of our Bishops and so many others to this issue.  I can’t help but think that the Obama administration and those who support the mandate for religious institutions to provide free birth control in their health plans thought they would see this level of unified opposition.  But as we have said, where some people see this as just a question of whether birth control should be paid for by insurance, we who see this in the bigger picture know that being mandated to violate our conscience is a direct attack on our religious freedom, and the Bishops of the United States are not going to stand for it.  Below I put a link to a video from the rally yesterday in Peoria, IL which includes a statement from Bishop Daniel Jenky.  The sound is not the greatest, so you may have to turn up the volume some to hear it:

http://bishopdanielrjenky.blogspot.com/

Well about a month ago we began the season of Lent, and we faced the dread of having to give up things and do extra things in order to feel like we did our “part”.  As always, the time goes very fast, and here we are less than two weeks from the triddum.  I’m not sure if I have noticed this just because I’ve been paying more attention to Lenten things on the web, or if this a recent trend, but it seems that we have even found more “convenient” ways to fulfill our Lenten sacrifices.  You can go online and find things such as a “3-minute retreat”, or a Lenten “micro” challenge.  It appears that we are willing to find things to do in a special way for Lent – as long as they don’t take up too much of our time.  I admit that I’m probably guilty of this also.  I begin Lent with a grand plan of what I will do and slowly it kind of gets chipped away and I find excuses for not doing them, or at least not doing them in a complete way.  So over these last couple weeks of Lent I’m going to try to eliminate the “short cuts” and do some hardcore prayer, reflection and sacrifice.

I am happy to say that I passed my first test yesterday.  I actually have not eaten sweets for the last couple of years now (admittedly though, I need to work on the other stuff like chips, pizza, etc.).  However, yesterday at Wal-Mart I saw something that nearly brought me to the breaking point.  I have always loved things with lemon.  In fact my cousin and I have our own little lemon fan club.  We are a small but vociferous group.  Anyway, I’m in the bread aisle which just happens to also be the pastry aisle, and there it was, something that even the most extreme lemon lover could have only dreamed of – Twinkies with lemon-flavored crème filling!  I had to take a few deep breaths and roll my tongue back up off of the floor, but I passed them by, giving me hope that the rest of Lent will be no problem.

This past week’s chapter in our “Fanning the Flame” program focused on the Church.  In particular, we talked about how the church was instituted by Christ and how we as church, which is a community of believers, are to continue His mission of spreading His gospel message.  I wanted to share one particular quote from the adult catechism: “Priests, laity, and religious can all collaborate in the church’s missionary and evangelization activity, catechetical ministry, the teaching of theology, and the use of all forms of contemporary media.”  We as a parish make a lot of sacrifices to keep our community together, such as all of the time, effort and resources to pull off our dinner/auction.  However, the end result is that we are able to do what the statement from the catechism says we are to do as church, and we are able to do it very well.  I again thank tyou for your efforts in putting on this major fundraiser, and all of the other fundraisers we as a church and school must do in order to continue the mission of church.  We have much to be proud of as a parish, and those who witness to what we do cannot helped but be touched by it.

Have a great week.  Peace.