tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35912149019017259822024-03-19T12:43:01.457-04:00Operarius in vinea DominiReflections of a Deacon in the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee. The opinions expressed here are my own, but the Glory is the Lord'sDeacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-46116187202083091162022-05-01T15:21:00.000-04:002022-05-01T15:21:45.622-04:00Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter<div><br></div><div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><b>Acts 5:27-32;1:40-41</b></div><div><b>Revelation 5:11-14</b></div><div><b>John 21:1-19</b></div><div><br></div><div>Our readings today speak to us of the authority of Jesus Christ as Son of God and Risen Lord, and the authority he gave his apostles and His Church to teach in his name and pass down what He taught them. This authority, of course, is still with us in the Church today. While the Successor of Peter and the other Successors of the Apostles still have the authority given to them by Jesus Christ and they are the most obvious outward human expression of the Church's spiritual and temporal authority, these Scriptures have a message for every one of us about our duty to spread the Gospel. It isn't the duty of the clergy to spread the Gospel (the Good News of Jesus Christ), it is the duty of every believer.</div><div><br></div><div>In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and some of the other disciples were placed before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish temple Council that administered not only the Temple, but the Jewish law during that time period. Peter would have been well aware of the reality that sitting on that very Council would have been some of the men who took the decision to put Jesus himself to death. They didn't want to hear anything else about the Nazarene, and they certainly didn't want to hear that they were responsible for his death, let alone that he had risen from the dead. They tried telling the apostles not to teach in the name of Jesus, Acts tells us that they didn't arrest the apostles at first because they were afraid of the reaction of the people. The followers of Jesus were already growing in number, so it begs the question: Why were they growing in number when the persecution of believers was real? Because those early followers of Jesus were not afraid to spread the message, and it wasn't just Peter and the 12, it was the whole Christian community. Very early in the life of the Church, who's first believers understood exactly what the words of Jesus meant when he said go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and they set about doing exactly that, and they weren't afraid to tell the world exactly who Jesus was. The world didn't always want to follow in return, in fact most of the time they didn't want to do that at all, just as they don't today. The world has other priorities that usually have little to do with the things of God, but in the early Church those first Christians made God the priority and they wanted to spread the Gospel everywhere, and they understood the risks they were taking to do it.</div><div><br></div><div>It wasn't just the Apostles or the notables among the early followers of The Way (that's what the very first Christians called themselves, followers of The Way) who concerned themselves with the responsibility of bringing the message of the good news of Jesus to the world, every believer concerned themselves with spreading the Good News, and indeed that is what the Church teaches us, spreading the Gospel doesn't just happen here in church, it happens every day when we are going about our lives, and it's our responsibility to spread the message, firstly and most importantly by the lives we lead.</div><div><br></div><div>Today's Gospel gives us one of the most important post Resurrection appearances of Jesus. Peter and some of the other disciples went fishing and Jesus was waiting for them on the shore, John tells Peter that it's the Lord after the man on the shore tells them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they would find fish. Not only did they catch fish but Scripture gives us a number, it says that they caught 153 large fish. One commentary I've read about this passage said that during this time period, the known number of kinds or breeds of fish was 153. I've never been able to verify that, but if there is any truth to that, it tells us something remarkable about what Jesus is trying to illustrate in this whole incident. He's trying to show his fishers of men that the whole world is welcome to be a part of his body if they choose. The Gospel also tells us that this is the third time Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he had risen from the dead.</div><div><br></div><div>St. Peter, we know from the accounts of the Passion, three times denied Jesus on the night before He was crucified. Here, Jesus asked him three times "do you love me" and when Peter responds in the affirmative the first two times he says "feed my lambs,"and "tend my sheep," but the last time the response of the Lord was "feed my sheep." We often think of this passage as representative of the Lord's charge to Peter after he had risen from the dead, and that interpretation isn't wrong, but there's more to it than that. The question that Jesus asks Peter is one that he is asking all of us today. When Jesus asked Peter the question first, he asked him "Do you love me more than these?" What this means in the most literal and obvious sense is "do you love me more than you love the things of this world, or the esteem of others?" After Jesus died and rose, we can see in today's Gospel that initially Peter went back to his family business of running a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, followers of Christ have to find a way to support themselves like everyone else, indeed St. Paul chided some of the early believers for using their faith and their love of the spiritual life in Christ as an excuse not to work or go about the business of their daily living when he told the Thessalonians "if any will not work, neither let him eat," but Jesus was calling Peter to something more, to abandon attachment to the things of the world for the sake of spreading the Gospel. In the same Gospel passage Jesus is calling all of us, as disciples and followers of His, to abandon an unhealthy attachment to worldly things, because we are all supposed to be witnesses to the Gospel and spread the message, something that it's very hard to do if we're worried about the way the world looks at us. </div><div><br></div><div>Jesus' request to Peter is "feed my sheep," and there is a very real way in which this request applies to us. One cannot help but be drawn to our First Communicants last week. They are early in their journey of Faith, but we hope that we will be able to be an encouragement to them, whether we are a deacon or priest, or a catechist or helper, or just a parishioner that encourages the children to pray. Jesus told us that if we harm the faith of his little ones, it would be better for us if a millstone were tied around our neck and we were thrown into the sea. Whether it's the children just beginning their journey of Faith, supporting a new Catholic or someone showing an interest in the faith, or simply encouraging a fellow parishioner or visiting or calling a fellow parishioner who perhaps we haven't heard from in a while… We are all called to play a role in feeding the Lord's sheep and keeping the pasture well kept. </div><div><br></div><div>Jesus is asking us "do you love me more than these?" He is asking all of us if we love him unto death, just as he loved us so much that he gave his life for us. We are all faced with having to answer the Lord's question. What answer shall we give him?</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-35726311491361661612021-11-28T15:41:00.001-05:002021-11-28T15:41:49.815-05:00Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-6cc01c94-7fff-2b96-b82b-065a884dc646"><b>Jeremiah 33:14-16</b></p><p dir="ltr"><b>1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, 4:1-2</b></p><p dir="ltr"><b>Luke 21:25-28, 34-36</b></p><br><p dir="ltr">If you are one of those who take the time to follow the daily readings of the Church each day (and I sincerely hope that you do) or you attend or watch daily Mass each day, you know that the readings this past week have taken on what can best be described as a kind of apocalyptic theme. We've been hearing the discourse of Jesus as described in the 21st chapter of St Luke's Gospel, which is Luke's account of Jesus' discourse to the disciples on the times of trouble that they would experience in their journey to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the Earth, and that the whole world would experience before the Lord's final return at the end of time as we know it. It's easy to see why the Church would direct us to those kinds of readings at the end of the liturgical year, because it's the end of the cycle that we use to mark sacred time, so at the close of the year the Church wants to draw our attention to the reality that the day will come when Jesus returns in glory and this world as we know it will also come to a close. </p><br><p dir="ltr">When we hear the more apocalyptic passages in the Gospels at the end of the liturgical year, they also serve as a personal reminder to each of us that even if we don't live to see the end of days and the final return of Christ in our lifetime, it is a sure and certain reality that we will personally meet the Lord and stand before him, and we should always be ready for that moment, it could come any day, we do not know when, where, or how.</p><br><p dir="ltr">We've come now to the first Sunday of Advent, it's an entirely new Liturgical Year, and yet here we are on the first Sunday of Advent and the Church has us in Luke 21 again, with Jesus speaking near the end of that discourse reminding his hearers to pray for the perseverance to see their way through the various tribulations that they will have to undergo as his followers, and prepare to meet Him at any time.</p><br><p dir="ltr">We've just celebrated Thanksgiving (I'm still full!), and the secular world is already ramping up for Christmas. We can find twenty-four hours a day and 7 days a week Christmas music on our radios or our favorite music streaming app. We are currently living through one of the worst inflationary cycles I can remember in my lifetime, but that doesn't seem to stop the pursuit of holiday profit, or the obsession with many to make sure they have the right number of gifts or that everything is perfect for Christmas, and yet the Church is reminding us in our readings today that these worldly things with which we are concerned - things which are not sinful in and of themselves - can be made sinful when we make those things the purpose of this season or the purpose of our lives. Jesus is reminding us that as surely as we celebrate the first Advent and we begin to focus our minds on the reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, that there is and will be a Second Advent, and that Advent will be the one when the Son of God returns in glory. The reason that Advent is a wonderful time to reflect on that reality is precisely because we need the reminder every year (and certainly this year) that the things of this world are passing things, we cannot take them with us at the end of this Life or at the end of all things.</p><br><p dir="ltr">It is easy for us to forget in our everyday world the reality of the end of life and of the end of things. We don't often tend to dwell on this because Jesus himself told us we did not know the day or the hour that he would return, and we are repeatedly warned in the New Testament for us to carry on our lives. Before the Ascension, when the Apostles asked the Lord if he was going to restore the Kingdom, the Lord's response was that it was not for us to "know the times and the seasons which the Father has under his own power." (cf. Acts 1:7)</p><br><p dir="ltr">It bears remembering, however, that at every Mass we proclaim the mystery of faith, and we say just as St. Paul did that when we partake of the Eucharist, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. You might even recall that some years back before our current Roman Missal came into use, we often proclaimed at the Mystery of faith the words "Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again."</p><br><p dir="ltr">We don't know when that will be, but that is really the point. Whether it is our own death or the Final Consummation of things at the end of the age, all of us will someday meet the Lord face to face. In the end, at the Last Judgement, He will either tell us "well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master's house," (cf. Matthew 25:21) or he will say "depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you." (cf. Matthew 7:21-23) </p><br><p dir="ltr">Advent provides for us a very wonderful and special opportunity to truly deepen our relationship with Jesus who is God become Man. This truly wonderful season allows us to enter more deeply into the mystery not only of the Incarnation and the First Advent of Our Lord, but also the reality that he will return in glory, there will be a Second Advent of Christ, and even now the holy spirit is trying to prepare our hearts for that reality.</p><br><p dir="ltr">We can be open to that preparation, both to celebrate the Incarnation at Christmas and anticipate the Lord's return by looking for Christ amongst our neighbors. We know that this time of year there is need and want all around us, but especially this year when so many people are experiencing the effects of some very hard times in our country. Jesus asked his disciples "when the son of man comes, will he find faith on Earth?" We might also ask ourselves that if he came today, would Jesus find that we are spending our time going about the Lord's work, of spreading the Gospel, and loving and caring for our neighbor?</p><br><p dir="ltr">It's a wonderful time of year to renew our commitment to doing exactly that.</p></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-62819108127809755252021-10-03T15:14:00.000-04:002021-10-03T15:33:23.931-04:00Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Sacrament of Matrimony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div><b>Genesis 2:18-24</b></div><div><b>Hebrews 2:9-11</b></div><div><b>Mark 10:2-16</b></div><div><br></div><div>Those of you who have listened to my preaching for quite some time now know that it tends to providentially happen that I very often find myself preaching on some of the things in scripture which are known as the "hard sayings of Jesus," things which are very important parts of the Christian Life and which have always been very difficult to live out, but especially so in the world in which we find ourselves living in this hour of history.</div><div><br></div><div>Today's Old Testament reading and today's Gospel are meant as an illustration for us of God's plan for humanity and the human family. God made humanity male and female, and he did so for a reason. It has been the plan of God from the beginning of all time that the human race should be perpetuated in the family, and that families are themselves perpetuated when men and women come together as husband and wife and become one flesh. That plan is so important to humanity that Jesus reminds us that it has always been the intent of God that the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony is indissoluble, and that has always been and remains today the teaching of the Church.</div><div><br></div><div>The plan of God for the human race from the very beginning, as Jesus reminds us in the Gospel today, is that God made humanity male and female, and that God intended a man to leave his Father and Mother and cleave to his wife and with her to become one flesh. It was thus from the very beginning, and that is made clear to us both in Genesis and in more than one place in the Gospels. This was a difficult thing when Jesus said it over 2,000 years ago, it was difficult for the Pharisees that heard it, because they were used to the religious laws of that time which said that they could simply declare that they "put their wife away," that's what they called it "putting her away." I could only imagine how dehumanizing such a pseudo ritual must have been for the women who were on the other side of it in those days.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet in this day and age in which we live, not only has divorce become commonplace in society at large, but we see it and its effects in the very heart of the Church today. We understand that part of this is because of human sin and brokenness, that is true, but a huge part of the reason that we see the effects of divorce in the Church today is because so many people have forgotten what matrimony is and it is supposed to be. Pope Francis himself has warned that a big part of the reason why the number of declarations of nullity are so high is because so many young people enter into marriage with a false idea of what this institution is, and what it is about.</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus gives us a real lesson on what marriage is about because immediately after he tells his disciples not once, but twice about the permanence of Holy Matrimony, we then see in the same Gospel text that people brought children to Jesus for him to touch them and the disciples tried to rebuke the people who brought the children. Jesus rebuked the disciples instead, he reminded them and all of his listeners that we all have to receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, that is to have the faith of a child- or we can't enter into it. We are told that Jesus blessed the children who were brought to him. In doing this, and in placing the blessing of children in this context in the Word of God, Jesus is showing us one of the critical reasons why the institution of marriage was created and the Sacrament of Matrimony instituted, and that is for the well-being, and the safety, and the good upbringing of children, right along with the good and well-being of both spouses.</div><div><br></div><div>Holy Mother Church teaches us and has always taught us that a family with a mother and a father and siblings (if God gives children) is the normative means by which God gives humanity to bring up children and to advance society and human flourishing. In saying this and in being reminded of this today, we are not saying that good and holy young people cannot come from a single parent home, or from an alternative situation over which they had little control. No, what we are saying is what Jesus says, and that is that the plan of God is, and has always been, for children to be brought up in families made up of mothers and fathers, and both mothers and fathers are of equal importance, even though they have different and distinct roles. Even the raw statistics tell us that God set down his plan and his way for a reason, some of the best social scientists saw that many decades ago.</div><div><br></div><div>However, rather than acknowledge in humility that God's plan is really for the best and that humanity in our brokenness and sinfulness are the ones who screw that up, and seek repentance and healing and reconciliation, in our culture today we think we know better than Jesus Christ, and the culture seeks to redefine what marriage is, what family is, and even today what constitutes male and female, which is now a matter of choice rather than divine appointment according to some.</div><div><br></div><div>Holy Mother Church teaches us clearly that the Sacraments are the ordinary means by which our Lord confers Grace on humanity and that there are seven of these Sacraments. Three of the sacraments are Sacraments of Initiation or acceptance into God's family, the Church. (Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist), that two of the Sacraments are Sacraments that Jesus gives us for healing our bodies and our souls, (the Anointing of the Sick and the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession), but then we are given two Sacraments that are Sacraments of Service. The Sacraments of Service are Holy Orders, or ordination, and the Sacrament of Matrimony. Holy Matrimony is so important in the plan of God that the relationship between Christ and his Church in Sacred Scripture is described as the relationship between a Bride and a Bridegroom. In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus reminds us to be watchful like a bride for the bridegroom because the bridegroom could return at any time.</div><div><br></div><div>St. Paul in Ephesians Chapter<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%253A22-32&version=DRA"> 5:22-32</a> lays out the way in which Christian married couples should behave, he reminds couples that Matrimony is a great Sacrament, and that it is a reflection in this world of the mystical bond between Christ and his Church. St John Paul II repeated the Church's traditional teaching that the family is a domestic Church.</div><div><br></div><div>Rather than accept God's definition of a family as a model for what his eternal family is like, the world redefines family to fit the definition that is convenient for the priorities of the world. The married relationship is often defined in today's culture by Hollywood. People's idea of married love comes from the movies, or television, or popular books, or the internet, rather than the timeless and correct definitions given to us by the Church from God's own Word. </div><div><br></div><div>Those of us who have been married for any length of time know that real marriage and love within marriage is not Hollywood (where's my late Grandfather used to call it, Hollywierd!). We need to love and cherish our spouse, and doing that right means doing it when it is easy, and when it is hard. Loving our wife or our husband when it's hard, and loving our children when it's hard is what God asks from us, because loving us in that way is exactly what Jesus did for us. If you want to know how much Jesus loves us, all you need to do is look at the Cross behind me. That is how we are called to love our wives and our husbands, our families, our children. Permanent and lasting Love is how he loves us, and it is the way in which he expects us to love one another.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-24092861221888013392021-08-08T12:13:00.000-04:002021-08-08T12:13:45.558-04:00Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHUqu8fADdIQ6Px905eW-fELhO8IsWE931WJjyoojIwWZJ03RUEhgH2_9qgmxPzvPGUha0t2PxGaU6rRyVN0ZxAUxSDKfnK3S_PCSXhhiH_DAEc8Puogz8SZq73oyvl1cJNshzdoQlys/s720/BREAD-OF-LIFE-DISCOURSE.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="720" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiHUqu8fADdIQ6Px905eW-fELhO8IsWE931WJjyoojIwWZJ03RUEhgH2_9qgmxPzvPGUha0t2PxGaU6rRyVN0ZxAUxSDKfnK3S_PCSXhhiH_DAEc8Puogz8SZq73oyvl1cJNshzdoQlys/s320/BREAD-OF-LIFE-DISCOURSE.jpeg" width="320"></a></b></div><b><br> </b><p></p><p><b><br></b></p><p><b>1 Kings 19:4-8</b></p><p><b>Ephesians 4:30-5:2</b></p><p><b>John 6:41-51</b></p><p><br></p><p>For the third consecutive week, Holy Mother Church places us in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St John, in what many Catholic scholars consider John's Eucharistic passage. John's Eucharistic detail comes in the 6th Chapter of his Gospel, because it is here that Jesus recounts what the Eucharist really is and what it really means.</p><p><br></p><p>The Gospel of John, like the other three Gospels, contains an account of what happened at the Last Supper. In the other three Gospels, however, there is an account of the institution of the Eucharist, and Saint Paul reaffirms that account in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%3A27-32&version=RSVCE">1 Corinthians 11:27-32</a>. Interestingly, John's account of the Last Supper doesn't contain an account of the institution of the Eucharist itself on the first Holy Thursday, but instead it contains this lengthy exposition from Jesus in what we know today as the Sixth chapter of John. It's known as the Bread of Life discourse, and we've just heard in this passage why it's called that. Many Catholic biblical scholars believe that this is John's Eucharistic account, his passing along to us one of the most doctrinally important passages in the entire New Testament.<br></p><p><br></p><p>Jesus makes very clear what he means, and his listeners understood it also, which is why we will hear in a couple of weeks time in the Gospel at Sunday Mass the end of this chapter when so many of the people who are listening to Jesus here say "Lord, this saying is hard and who can hear it." (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A60-71&version=RSVCE">John 6:60-71</a>) Jesus said it very clearly in the Gospel today in our own hearing. "I am the living bread which came down from Heaven, and if any one eats of this bread he shall live forever, and the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."</p><p><br></p><p>Many of our separated brothers and sisters will take this entire passage of Scripture, indeed the entire 6th chapter of John to mean something purely symbolic. I won't spend time today giving the cliche arguments against that position, I'm going to presume you're familiar with them. If you are not, I will say that even though those arguments are very true, I don't think they're the most effective to prove the point that Jesus wasn't speaking symbolically. The reason that we can tell that Jesus was speaking literally was the reaction of the crowd, many of whom, the larger chapter tells us, had been disciples of Jesus before that day, they understood exactly what he meant, and many of them walked away. </p><p><br></p><p>The reality of the Eucharist is so central to our faith that when he was teaching about it, Jesus was more than willing to lose followers over it, people who probably otherwise would have been fine disciples of the Lord. But the teaching of the Eucharist was too much for them, it was that serious for Jesus. At the end of the chapter we even get a hint that maybe the remaining 12 didn't entirely understand what Jesus meant, because he asked them if they would also go away, and you have to love Peter's response when he said "Lord, where shall we go, you have the words of eternal life." Considering the situation in the Church today, there have been many many times in recent years when I have had to remind myself of Peter's words, I would say that many of us probably have.</p><p><br></p><p>Our Lord took the teaching of the Eucharist so seriously that when we look at it in the Sacred Scripture today it takes up an entire chapter of the Bible with him explaining it and explaining it again. If it was serious enough to Jesus to spend that much time on one particular teaching of our faith, if we are going to live the way we are called to live and be like Christ then we need to take the Eucharist as seriously as Jesus did and does.</p><p><br></p><p>Some three weeks ago on July 16th, there were two Church documents released on the same day. One of those documents received a whole lot of attention in the Catholic media and it's continuing to receive attention. The other one should have gotten much more attention, because the contents of the second document are far more immediately important for the welfare of our immortal souls. The document that should have gotten far more attention and didn't was a <a href="https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/26397/documents/2021/7/Bishop%20Stika-Pastoral%20Letter%20Eucharist.pdf">pastoral letter by our own Bishop Richard Stika</a> on the matter of sin and the worthy reception of Holy Communion. The Bishop released it to everyone, and you can find it on our diocesan website, but it didn't get a whole lot of coverage in the media. Because of that, you can be forgiven for not knowing about it, but if you want to see everything the bishop had to say, you can look on the website or you can email me. </p><p><br></p><p>The topic of worthiness to receive Holy Communion is sometimes called Eucharistic cohesion. Those words have been in the Catholic news in recent months because the US Bishops are working on a document about it, but our own Bishop's pastoral letter highlights a number of things about worthiness to receive the Eucharist that Catholics ought to know and about which there should be no argument. The Bishop reminds us that of course no one is truly worthy, but that when we approach the altar of God to receive Holy Communion we should be in a state of grace. Unless we are exceptionally saintly, that means availing ourselves of sacramental confession as often as possible. I often remind myself that among humanity, only the Blessed Mother was immaculately conceived. (In his letter, the bishop recommended confession at least once a month or more).</p><p><br></p><p>His Excellency also spoke to the controversial issue of public figures who give grave scandal by making a very public profession of their Catholic faith before the world while supporting, promoting, and even publicly funding the terrible Holocaust of abortion. Bishop Stika very rightly says that those who use their public position to promote abortion "cannot be admitted to Holy Communion." (Pastoral 17)</p><p><br></p><p>The Church does not tell us these things in order to be unwelcoming or uncaring. It is for the good and the salvation of our own souls that the Church reminds us of the conditions whereby we can and should receive Holy Communion. St. Paul put it perhaps most bluntly of all when he said that those who receive the Eucharist unworthily "will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord." (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%3A27-32&version=RSVCE">1 Corinthians 11:27</a>).</p><p><br></p><p>Jesus tells us that He is the living bread who comes down from Heaven, and that if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever, and the bread that Jesus will give is his flesh. Many of us might have heard of the consistent surveys which tell us that only about 30% of Catholics claim to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. I have always prayed that those numbers are untrue. It is not unreasonable, however, to say that many more people would believe in the truth of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist if more of the world could see us treating the Eucharist as if the Eucharist is the Second Person of the Trinity, God who is Holy. The Blood shed for us and the Body given up for us. For if we behave in such a way that shows the world that the Eucharist is Christ, we will understand what it means to receive Jesus worthily, and we will all want to do so.</p>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-61297323231134389792021-08-04T09:35:00.001-04:002021-08-06T02:38:52.362-04:00Traditiones Custodes is less about Liturgy and more about Legacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div>Yesterday I happened upon a social media post from the great lay theologian, Catholic thinker, and Catholic Work Farm manager <a href="https://gaudiumetspes22.com/">Dr. Larry Chapp</a>. Dr. Chapp-who, like many of us, has lamented the promulgation of <i>Traditiones Custodes-</i>linked to an article in which I found the larger conclusions somewhat troubling, but nevertheless true. The <a href="https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/traditionis-custodes-was-never-merely-about-the-liturgy/?fbclid=IwAR0wb8IixOv3HyI8M2srl3YxIhvfvhKNKQ_HHig_fcyx79QNBf7zitXsmLs">article is by Shaun Blanchard</a> in <i><a href="https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu">Church Life Journal</a></i>, which is the premiere ecclesiastical publication of the University of Notre Dame. </div><div><br></div><div>I'm not going to rehash Blanchard's article, but in order to understand the context of this post, readers really do need to click on the article as linked in the text and read it. Blanchard is correct that there is a group within the Church that is reacting to <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/20210716-motu-proprio-traditionis-custodes.html">Traditiones Custodes </a></i>with very uncharitable glee, even celebration. However, the rest of the people who really care about this issue are reacting in three other ways. Some very good liturgists and theologians see the <i>Motu proprio</i> as a matter of unfortunate necessity. A great many practicing Catholics find themselves in the place where I am, which is the posture of "mourn and move on" as Blanchard puts it, especially those of us who are priests and deacons. We don't have to like this <i>Motu proprio </i>and we can believe that it is a very big mistake (I believe it is a historical example of a Papal heavy hand being used to deal with a relatively small problem where the universal Church is concerned, which has happened before), but we are duty bound to obey. This is especially true since we understand that the Pope has ultimate authority over the Church's liturgy. For many observant and practicing Catholics, finding a way to deal with the new situation in light of <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is something that they understand that they have very little choice but to do, especially when we consider that many Bishops are making (often generous) provisions for those in their dioceses attached to the Tridentine Mass. The fourth posture Blanchard says that we often see now in response to <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is "refuse and resist." This is most often the posture that we find in many places on Catholic Social Media today, and those who take this posture don't do anything but confirm those who support <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> in the idea that the Holy Father was correct to issue it.</div><div><br></div><div><i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is only about liturgy on the surface, as Blanchard points out in his article, and it's certainly not about Latin. What <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is really about is the power of the Pope to control the narrative and the legacy of the Second Vatican Council, and every post-conciliar Pope since St. Paul VI has been preoccupied with affirming the Second Vatican Council and controlling the narrative surrounding it. That is not unusual historically, it tends to happen for decades and even centuries after all ecumenical councils, and controlling the narrative and legacy is exactly what Pope Francis is attempting to do.<br><br><span data-outline-text="true">I also think that it's unfortunate that the analysis of where the camps are is largely correct (and mind you, I think the world of Raymond Cardinal Burke, and he's one of the best canon lawyers if not the best canon lawyer in the Church today. I cannot help but note, however, that in his <a href="https://www.cardinalburke.com/presentations/traditionis-custodes">argument that the Holy Father doesn't have the authority to issue <i>Traditiones Custodes</i></a>, which I have read, I do not recall one single instance where he actually quotes previous canon law or liturgical law to prove his argument. I can only conclude that this is because canon law does not support his argument and he believes that this is deeper than a canonical argument, he thinks that it is a moral one.)</span><br><span data-outline-text="true"></span><br><span data-outline-text="true">I would like to believe Cardinal Burke's argument myself, but I understand that the Pope is the chief liturgist in the Church, especially in the Latin Rite. There is no question that he had the authority to do what he did (<a href="http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P15.HTM">CIC 331-333</a>), even if I believe that it was a very dangerous act where unity is concerned.</span><br><span data-outline-text="true"></span><br><span data-outline-text="true">There is also the reality that this is largely a First World Problem, with the majority of parishes offering the Tridentine Mass existing in five countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and Germany). When one adds in the parishes that offer the <i>Usus Antiquior </i>in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, one sees that the matter of the <i>Usus Antiquior</i>, while not exclusively confined to the First World, is dominated by it, and within the First World is largely dominated by the Anglosphere. As Blanchard cites, 40% of all parishes which offer the <i>Usus Antiquior</i> are located in one country, the United States, which only has about 4% of the world's Catholics. The <i>Usus Antiquior</i> is going to become even more of a First World issue as we see <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> implemented. There are large swathes of the world where the Tridentine Mass is largely unknown, as Shaun Blanchard hints at. I don't think that reality has ever helped advocates of the Old Rite, especially as practical power in the Church is increasingly moving away from the First World. The reality is that the Catholic faith on a worldwide level is the faith of the Third World, and in many of those places the allowances of <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html">Summorum Pontificum</a></i> have never been at the top of the Church's priority list.</span><br><span data-outline-text="true"></span><br><span data-outline-text="true">I will say that I don't think that the <i>Usus Antiquior</i> is going away, and I believe that it will continue to grow in the Developed World. I do not think that <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is going to kill it, despite the intentions to do so, and it will likely continue to grow in the places where it is already more available. I don't think the Tridentine Mass is going away... But I also don't think that it's going to expand far beyond the parts of the world where it already is more widely available.</span><br><span data-outline-text="true"></span><br><span data-outline-text="true">I suspect that a future Pope will loosen many of the restrictions in <i>Traditiones Custodes</i>, but we will likely never return to the days of <i>Summorum Pontificum</i>.<br></span></div><br><br><iframe allowfullscreen="" height="90" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/19884416/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/000000/" style="border: none;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="100%"></iframe><br><i>An excellent sermon delivered during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Usus Antiquior by <a href="https://stspeterandpaulbasilica.com/people/fr-david-carter">Father David Carter,</a> Pastor of the<a href="https://stspeterandpaulbasilica.com/"> Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul</a> in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was delivered the Sunday following the release of Traditiones Custodes.</i>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-15875947447108272682021-07-23T01:04:00.000-04:002021-07-23T20:08:33.998-04:00The thing that the Holy Father gets very right.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div>Nearly all of the talk in the world of Catholic social media and Catholic discussion over the last week has centered around the latest Apostolic Letter issued <i>Motu proprio</i> by Pope Francis. That letter, <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/20210716-motu-proprio-traditionis-custodes.html">Traditiones Custodes</a></i>, effectively reverses the provisions of the Apostolic Letter <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html">Summorum Pontificum</a></i> issued by his predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Francis places restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass which many people believe border on the draconian, and which some commentators believe are designed to eventually eradicate the old Latin Mass from the face of the Earth. Reading the <i>Motu proprio</i>, it is very easy to see why some people would get that impression.</div><div><br></div><div>Lots of people have engaged in personal commentary on this document, but I have refrained from posting about it until now, partly so that I could read some educated commentary about it, rather than merely the impassioned views of a few from Facebook and Twitter. I also refrained because I have no desire to appear in any way to disparage or disrespect the Holy Father, I wanted to reserve what comment I do have on this until my own passions could subside enough that I could speak with both clarity and charity. The reality is that some people who fancy themselves to be traditional Catholics have spent an awful lot of time since 2013 saying many bad things about our current Pope in public forums, and in this day and age when even the Vatican monitors social media, that reality is likely one of the things that has brought us to this present situation.</div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't matter whether you disagree with the Holy Father on this thing or that. It's not going to change the fact that he is the Pope and he has the authority of the Pope. I have increasingly learned that when it comes to the Church it does me little good to worry about the things that are out of my control, but does much spiritual good to concern myself with the things which are in my control.</div><div><br></div><div>As for my personal opinion of <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/20210716-motu-proprio-traditionis-custodes.html">Traditiones Custodes</a></i>, I dearly wish that the Holy Father had not issued it, and I pray that he would reconsider some of its harsher provisions. I share the concern of good men of God like <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/traditions-custodes-a-cry-from-the-heart">Monsignor Charles Pope </a>that this document <a href="https://youtu.be/9lqxXMxhYQ8">is taking into consideration the words and views of extremists</a> (many to be found on social media), but that the overwhelming majority of people who attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form are there for the right reasons and they need spiritual care. Perhaps the most harsh provision of <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is that when the Mass of Trent is celebrated, the Holy Father does not want it to take place in ordinary parish churches. It can take place in chapels and oratories and parishes specifically designated for that purpose, such as parishes staffed by the <a href="https://fssp.com/">Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter </a>(FSSP) or <a href="https://www.institute-christ-king.org/">The Institute of Christ The King Sovereign Priest</a> (ICKSP). </div><div><br></div><div>However, those places make up a very small percentage of places where the old Latin Mass is celebrated. Most places where it is celebrated are ordinary diocesan parishes, and it is offered by everyday diocesan priests. That is why in the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop Richard Stika has invoked <a href="http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P9.HTM">Canon 87 Sec. 1</a> of the <i>Code of Canon Law</i> in our diocese and <a href="https://dioknox.org/documents/2021/7/Bishop%20Letter%2007212021.pdf">dispensed from this requirement</a>, at least temporarily, the priests and the faithful of this diocese. What this means is that the schedule of Latin Masses will continue as normal in East Tennessee for the time being. It is almost certain that there will be some changes to that at some point in the future, but I am equally as certain that the celebration of the Extraordinary Form will not go away in the Diocese of Knoxville.</div><div><br></div><div>It would be easy for us to spend time lamenting that the Holy Father has issued <i>Traditiones Custodes</i>, but he has done so and he is the Vicar of Christ. Hence, we are obligated as best we can to give heed to what he has told us, and the clergy are obligated to act in obedience as best we possibly can. In such a time as this, we can also be reminded that "<i>all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose..." </i>(cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8%3A28&version=ESVUK">Romans 8:28</a>). One way that we can see that all things work together for good is that the Holy Father at least seems to see one of the major reasons why people are initially drawn to the Tridentine Mass, liturgical innovation which can lead to banality in our worship, and even liturgical abuse. In the <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2021/documents/20210716-lettera-vescovi-liturgia.html">introductory letter </a>which accompanies <i>Traditiones Custodes</i>, the <a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2021/documents/20210716-lettera-vescovi-liturgia.html">Holy Father writes</a>:</div><div><br></div><div></div><blockquote><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>"At the same time, I am saddened by abuses in the celebration of the liturgy on all sides. In common with Benedict XVI, I deplore the fact that 'in many places the prescriptions of the new Missal are not observed in celebration, but indeed come to be interpreted as an authorization for or even a requirement of creativity, which leads to almost unbearable distortions.'"</i></div></blockquote><div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>This passage means that, at the very least, Pope Francis understands one of the most critical realities that has driven many people- especially younger people - into the embrace of local Latin Mass communities is the reality that in many parishes today, there is a whole lot of liturgical innovation going on, much of it in the name of trying to make the Mass somehow more appealing or participatory than the rubrics, the texts, or the Church documents themselves do. When this is done, what ends up happening instead is that the Liturgy can become a kind of personal entertainment, whether that is the intent or not. What's more, in some cases if people actually bring up this problem they are told that the Second Vatican Council authorized a lot of this innovation. The Council authorized texts and liturgical activity in the vernacular, it didn't authorize people to turn the Liturgy into some form of contemporary schtick. <br></div><div><br></div><div>If the end result of <i>Traditiones Custodes</i> is that the Missal of St. Paul VI as modified by St. John Paul II (and released in the English speaking world at Advent of 2011) becomes in fact as well as in law "the unique expression of the <i>lex orandi </i>of the Roman Rite," (<i>Traditiones Custodes</i> Art. 1) then we should revisit afresh the ultimate liturgical document which governs this rite, <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html">Sacrosanctum Concilium</a></i>, the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. <i>SC</i> 36 tells us that:</div><div><br></div><div></div><blockquote><div>36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.</div><div><br></div><div>2. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters.</div><div><br></div><div>3. These norms being observed, it is for the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned in Art. 22, 2, to decide whether, and to what extent, the vernacular language is to be used; their decrees are to be approved, that is, confirmed, by the Apostolic See. And, whenever it seems to be called for, this authority is to consult with bishops of neighboring regions which have the same language.</div><div><br></div><div>4. Translations from the Latin text into the mother tongue intended for use in the liturgy must be approved by the competent territorial ecclesiastical authority mentioned above.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>In other words, yes the liturgical texts may be translated into the vernacular language and used, but this doesn't do away with the Church's patrimony of Latin. We in the Western Church are part of the <i>Latin Rite</i>. Parts (or even conceivably all) of a Mass in the Rite of St. Paul VI could be said or sung in Latin. Realistically, the parts most likely to be in Latin would likely be major chants such as the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, and perhaps even the Gloria, especially for major feast days. Related to this is what <i>Sacrosanctum Concilium</i> said with regard to the use of Gregorian chant:</div><div><br></div><div></div><blockquote><div><br></div><div>116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.</div><div><br></div><div>But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30.</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br></div><div>Gregorian chant should be given pride of place in our liturgy? In many parishes today, you wouldn't even know that the document said this, you'll be hard-pressed to find chant in many places, even though there are beautiful anglicized versions of Psalmody and musical chants in the Gregorian style for the Mass. Yes, they can be had, some parishes use them. Many do not. </div><div><br></div><div>The section I mentioned above mentions Article 30. That article talks about the full and conscious and active participation of the people, but what exactly does it say?</div><div></div><blockquote><div><br></div><div>30. To promote active participation, the people should be encouraged to take part by means of acclamations, responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes. <b>And at the proper times all should observe a reverent silence.</b> [Emphasis mine]</div></blockquote><div></div><div><br></div><div>Many of our parishes in the Diocese of Knoxville clearly get this part of the message of <i>Sacrosanctum Concilium</i>. If you come before Mass you can find the naves of many of our parishes observing an appropriate level of silence. However, I have visited many parishes over the years in many places in various States and localities, and there are plenty of parishes where the period immediately before and immediately after the liturgy becomes Social Hour in the presence of the Tabernacle. I have written about this particular problem before. I'm a big believer in parish fellowship and in the <i>communio </i>of brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus. But the nave of a church and the area near the sanctuary is not a place of conversation, God's House is a House of prayer. Most Parish grounds have plenty of places where people can go to carry on fellowship, conversation, and enjoyment of each other in the Lord. We should make better use of those places more often.</div><div><br></div><div>Many people have made their way to the Latin Mass because they are desperately looking for the reverence and awe in the worship of a Holy God that they should be able to find at their parish of residence. Sadly, I have known priests over the years who have faced great persecution from parishioners and even people in authority for attempting to do nothing more than the things that <i>Sacrosanctum Concilium</i> encourages us to do in our worship.</div><div><br></div><div>The Church has the liturgical and musical heritage to be able to give parishioners who have become attached to the Latin Mass-and to all of God's people-the reverence and awe of worshiping the Thrice Holy God within the Ordinary Form of the Mass itself. Nowhere in the documents of the Second Vatican Council is it even suggested that traditional behavior such as sacred silence in the presence of the Tabernacle, Communion rails, kneeling, chalice palls or chalice veils, fine vessels for the elements of the Eucharist, Sanctus bells, or Gregorian chant should be done away with. Some of the things on that list are more required than others, but all of them bespeak an atmosphere of reverence and holy worship for Our Lord.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition, both clergy and the People of God at large should comport themselves appropriately for Divine Worship. The hymns used ought to be more traditional in their composition, not simply because they are old (for we know that things that are old are not always necessarily good), but because more traditional hymnody often reinforces essential Christian doctrine in the lyrics, and we all know that for some people, often through no fault of their own, the Liturgy will be the only Christian education they get this week. Psalmody should be simple, preferably in some mode of chant (remember that bit about pride of place). [For more about the Church's teaching on the use of music in liturgy, it is helpful to read the Church document from the Second Vatican Council <i><a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html">Musicam Sacram</a></i> given to us by Pope Saint Paul VI.]</div><div><br></div><div> The clergy ought to wear beautiful and reverent vestments as their Parish can best afford, because this is for Jesus, and that's Him on the altar. A Byzantine Catholic priest friend of mine wisely says that our vestments should be seen as a form of sacred iconography. They should not look like something out of <i>That 70's Show</i>. Yes, use Latin from time to time at points in the liturgy, and we should teach the people some of the simple Latin chants so that they know and understand what they mean, such as the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, and even the Gloria. Sometimes Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are necessary in the Mass, but the number should never be a great many because deacons ought be prepared to make themselves available to distribute Holy Communion if needed, and priests should never be afraid to use their deacons, that is why we are here. If your parish has a Communion rail, use it.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Priests and deacons should be unafraid to preach the Word of God, and even to wax theological or doctrinal in their sermons/homilies. The people of God can take the Truth, and if they can't, they need to examine their consciences, and yes, brother clergy, that includes us as well, sometimes we need to be preaching to ourselves. To that end, increased time should be made for confessions on the part of priests, and priests and deacons should figure out how to schedule more time for Eucharistic adoration and Benediction. </div><div><br></div><div>These are just a few of the things that we can do to make the Ordinary Form of the Liturgy in the Latin Rite something that is filled with reverence, beauty, Truth, and the fear of God. There is much more that can be done, but I am convinced that if some of the things I have mentioned here were actually carried out with care and love of God, we might see some of those young people with families in our diocese who prefer the Extraordinary Form for the reasons of reverence be able to feel more at home in a regular Parish Ordinary Form setting. </div><div><br></div><div>We should be able to go to Mass and truly feel an otherworldly experience, because it is otherworldly, it is meant to be a type of Heaven on Earth.<br><br><br><b>NOTE:</b> <i>It should be noted, as His Eminence<a href="https://www.cardinalburke.com/presentations/traditionis-custodes"> Raymond Cardinal Burke and others</a> have pointed out, Traditiones Custodes has apparently been prepared in such haste that a Latin typical edition of the document has yet to be prepared, and there are translation differences between the Italian and English documents that may prove significant. I myself note that the document does not even appear to be properly numerically divided, which is why I did not cite its sections in the way that I normally would any other Church document.<br><br>In making this weblog post, I feel compelled to point out that I am asserting my canonical rights under <a href="http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/__PT.HTM">Canon 212 </a></i><i><a href="http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/__PT.HTM">§2-3 of the Code of Canon Law</a><a ixt="SL" name="SL_2.1.0.1.0.0.212">.</a></i></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-16010493499130635872021-07-12T10:26:00.001-04:002021-07-12T23:58:30.971-04:00The Irish LetterLast week I happened across a column in <i><a href="http://www.irishnews.com">The Irish News</a>,</i> I was alerted to it by a friend of mine on social media, Father Paddy McCafferty of <a href="https://www.churchservices.tv/corpuschristibelfast?fbclid=IwAR2xRELNR6iQIfCe_H8S6OTElKMbRyqbgZPYkaV8lJfOfcvd9FdQb6bF1y8">Corpus Christi Parish in West Belfast</a>. (Those of you who want to hear solidly Catholic homilies rooted in the faith need to check out Father Paddy, who fears nobody but God in his preaching.)<div><br></div><div>There are a few of you who read this blog who know me well enough to know that I have a political science degree in my secular training. Those very few of you who have known me for years are aware of the fact that I have strong views on a lot of things, both political and religious. I even have strong views on Irish and British politics. However, aside from discussing the politics of Ireland and Britain with friends who may be aware of them over the years, wading into the discussion in the pages of the print media of Ireland is not something I have ever been keen to do. To wade into the politics of Ireland when one is unfamiliar with the ground or doesn't have to live there and have to deal with political outcomes is a very dangerous game. More than one political commentator has rightly said that Irish politics, especially the politics in the six counties of the North, is like something akin to <i>Animal Farm </i>in terms of the chaos that it can invite.</div><div><br></div><div>Opinions are one thing, but until we live it every day it's just that for us on this side of the Atlantic. I am always interested to hear and read what people on the island of Ireland have to say about their situation and current events, but I neither think it right for me to attempt to tell Irish people what they should think of their own situation, or tell my fellow countrymen what they should think about Ireland. It is for me to observe as an interested human being, a Catholic, a Christian... and if I comment on such things, it will be to others who I know who may have an interest.</div><div><br></div><div>However, my longstanding policy of reading the Irish papers (especially those in the six counties of Northern Ireland) but never opining in print about things to be found there came to a temporary halt last week when I read the column in question<a href="https://www.irishnews.com/paywall/tsb/irishnews/irishnews/irishnews//opinion/columnists/2021/07/01/news/tom-collins-in-thrall-to-trump-us-bishops-go-rogue-2371011/content.html"> by<i> Irish News </i>columnist Tom Collins</a> alleging (amongst other utter nonsense) that a large number of the U.S. Bishops are "in thrall" to former President Donald Trump. </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Just to place things into context for any readers who may be unaware, <i>The Irish News</i> is the major newspaper in Belfast that represents an Irish nationalist political perspective. (<i><a href="http://belfasttelegraph.co.uk">The Belfast Telegraph</a></i> is its moderate Unionist counterpart.) In times' past, even in relatively recent times, the editorial line of <i>The Irish News </i>as a voice of moderate nationalism would have also meant a line of deference or at least positivity toward the teachings of the Catholic Church, since not so terribly long ago in an Ireland far far away, a lot of professing nationalists were also Catholics who went to Mass on Sunday. That Ireland and that deference are, of course, things of the past today for various reasons I will save for a post on some other day.</div><div><br></div><div>After reading Mr. Collins' column, however, what he said about the U.S. Bishops, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, abortion, and the Pope went from ridiculous on the one end, to the simply false on the other. After praying, I felt that I had to respond because Irish readers might read that column and they might actually think that what Collins was saying represented the way things actually are, and I don't believe that it does. So since Tom Collins decided to wade into the world of American politics and the Catholic Church in America, I decided to make an attempt to wade into the pages of <i>The Irish News</i> in response.</div><div><br></div><div>As always, my published opinion is just that, my own opinion. However, it is rooted in both Church teaching and reality on the ground here in this country. To my complete surprise, <a href="https://www.irishnews.com/opinion/letterstotheeditor/2021/07/12/news/notion-that-us-bishops-were-ever-in-thrall-of-trump-is-ridiculous-2381623/">my letter</a> in response to Mr Collins' column was published in <i>The Irish News </i>today, July 12th:</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div><div><br></div><div><i>Editor;</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>I have read with utter astonishment Tom Collins' article in The Irish News (July 1st) insinuating that there is a large “pro-Trump” faction among the U.S. bishops and that the bishops are “in thrall” of Trump. I have not decided whether Mr. Collins is largely unaware of U.S. internal political affairs, or ignorant of American ecclesiastical affairs. I will not speculate about whether he understands Catholic doctrine regarding the worthiness to receive Holy Communion, though if he did, I have my doubts that he would have written his piece. </i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Considering some of the things that came from U.S. Bishops during the Trump Administration about Donald Trump and his policies (including the Archbishop of Miami comparing him to the famed American television character Archie Bunker), as well as the near-daily denunciation of the Trump Administration’s immigration policy, the notion that the Bishops are-or ever were-in thrall of Trump is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. Compared to the treatment given to professing Catholic Biden, the Bishops rode Trump, who is not Catholic and never pretended to be, harder than a wild bull at a Texas county fair. By comparison, the USCCB has had very little to say about the humanitarian crisis at the U.S. Border with Mexico since Biden took office, and Biden’s policies have grossly exacerbated the problem, which his administration has yet to address.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>That is not meant as a criticism of American bishops, either individually or as a corporate body. As Bishops of the Catholic Church, it is their right and duty to address civic issues in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic faith as they best see fit, but they have not been in thrall of anyone, least of all Donald Trump.</i><br></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>The issue of Eucharistic coherence and the worthiness to receive Holy Communion is not a partisan political issue. Someone who professes to be a Catholic but who does not believe in the moral teachings of the Church, or who publicly promotes policy that is not in accord with the moral law or most basic moral teachings of the Catholic Church, such as the killing of the unborn through abortion, should not receive Holy Communion, regardless of their station in life or their political beliefs. In that regard, it doesn't matter if you're Joe Biden or Joe who picks up the neighborhood rubbish. </i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Yours Respectfully, &c.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>Deacon David Oatney</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div><i>White Pine, Tennessee USA</i></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-4815034219318007702021-07-01T14:50:00.000-04:002021-07-01T14:50:18.807-04:00Personal God, Personal Relationship (Bulletin Column 7/4/2021)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauOXiRe_aCwAOfnfEoeJ9rvThV945XZyggjzZr22FpuDP5OoT9KaKRyDXHDyH-8Klkr0JLuQ-8QYrVCIFDma3YT9fP4tVeSsCLoORz1ESAHfO2SzuQRZWDIw6R0bMxDW2rjWJKq47-hs/s625/monkimage.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjauOXiRe_aCwAOfnfEoeJ9rvThV945XZyggjzZr22FpuDP5OoT9KaKRyDXHDyH-8Klkr0JLuQ-8QYrVCIFDma3YT9fP4tVeSsCLoORz1ESAHfO2SzuQRZWDIw6R0bMxDW2rjWJKq47-hs/s320/monkimage.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><div>As we celebrate the 245th birthday of our country this weekend, I also want to personally welcome Father Jim Harvey to our Holy Trinity family. I know that you will all join me in praying for a joyful and fruitful pastoral Ministry for Father Jim here with us. Be sure and take the time to make him feel welcome, and let him put some names with some faces as we walk together on this journey to the fullness of the Faith and the Kingdom of God.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the things we are often asked by many of our evangelical friends and neighbors is whether we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This isn't necessarily the best theological language, and it's important to remember that the phrase doesn't appear anywhere in Sacred Scripture, yet it does convey an important truth. We believe in and serve a personal God, and that God sent his Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, into the world to really live among us and to give his life as a ransom for us, so that we might be forgiven of our sins. Jesus loves us so perfectly and so completely that there is no way that we will ever be able to describe how deeply that he loves us. The God who loves us so much that he sent his son- both God and Man - to die for us created us out of love and he wants for us to love him in return for the good of our own souls. Jesus Christ "emptied himself and took the form of a slave" (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A5-8&version=RSVCE">Philippians 2:7</a>), and that means that we can enter into a personal relationship with Him, a relationship that He wants for us to have.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps the most obvious and critical way to do this is through our prayer life. The Lord knows everything, so he understands how busy our schedules are. He knows that we won't always meet our personal prayer goals, but the purpose of prayer is to build our relationship with God in the most personal way we can, by talking to Him just as we would a friend. If you aren't coming to Eucharistic adoration or Benediction once a month, set aside an hour of your time on a Saturday for Jesus, or come to Mass a few minutes early for Benediction on the first Saturday of the month and share prayer with your fellow parishioners. </div><div><br /></div><div>Are you taking the time for a daily Rosary? There's no better way to get to know the Lord than through his Mother. If your daily grind makes it difficult for you to pray the Rosary in the ordinary way, Bishop Robert Barron has led a wonderful Rosary with meditations on the mysteries of the Lord's life, and you can find it on YouTube by simply searching "Bishop Barron Rosary." Perhaps you are ready to enhance your prayer life by including the Prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours, in your daily way of talking to Our Lord. If you'd like to learn more about the Liturgy of the Hours, feel free to email or call me or any of the other deacons (and Father Jim I'm sure), and we will be happy to get you started. The internet makes the process easier than it has ever been before. With Father's permission, I might even be willing to lead a public celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in the parish again; we have done it a couple of times before. However you might be working to better your prayer life, know that the Lord loves you and He wants to hear from you, He looks forward to it every day.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another way that we can deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ is by being Christ to others. A few weeks ago, I shared with you how wonderful it was to again see so many of your smiling faces. The pews are beginning to look full on Sundays, and things are slowly getting back to normal in our Parish life Over the last several weeks, I think the hospitality for which our parish is well known has been on full display for everyone to see. Nevertheless, there are some parishioners who still have not felt comfortable rejoining us in community for the Eucharist. If you know of a parishioner who hasn't been with us for a good while, consider giving them a call. Invite them to return to Mass and to other Parish events. Consider offering a ride if one is needed, and don't be afraid to ask if there's anything you can do to help. Often, during the prayers of the faithful, many of you will note that I remember the sick and the homebound of our parish, but we should all do the same, remembering especially those who have been with us but haven't yet returned.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we continue on our journey with the Lord in a time of change for our Parish, let us commit to ourselves and to one another to grow in our relationship with Christ, and in doing so, to be examples of Christ to one another.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-85300605820875586052021-06-27T11:39:00.000-04:002021-06-27T11:39:39.297-04:00Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div><b>Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24</b></div><div><b>2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15</b></div><div><b>Mark 5:21-43</b></div><div><br></div><div>Our readings today-most especially our Old Testament reading and our Gospel for today- speak to one of the most fundamental truths of the Christian faith, and that is that death was never originally in God's will. The passage from the book of Wisdom reminds us that God didn't create death for humanity, he made man to be imperishable, that is not to die. God made man in his own image, and originally this didn't include death. Death entered the world as a consequence of sin. Indeed, all evil entered the world as a consequence of sin and the fall of humanity. God warned Adam and Eve what the consequence would be if they disobeyed Him, not because God is cruel, but because God is Holy. Sin can't live in the presence of God. The very definition of sin is "the willful transgression or disobedience of God or His laws."</div><div><br></div><div>We are delivered from original sin by virtue of our baptism, but that doesn't mean we are free from the consequences of original sin, and that means that death is a reality for the human race until the Lord returns and history is brought to its consummation. However, in the Gospel we are given the ultimate antidote to the reality of death that we inherited from our First Parents. Jesus Christ came, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, to give us victory over sin and death. This was the reason Our Lord came, and it was the reason He died for us, and the reason that he rose again. He died in atonement for our sins, but he did so that we might have victory over our sins. He wants us to be in Heaven with Him, and in His death and Resurrection, He provides us with the means whereby we can restore a right relationship with God, and our sins be forgiven.</div><div><br></div><div>In the Gospel we see that Christ is the Lord of Life who has power over life and death. The woman afflicted with hemorrhages (or as some translations render it, the issue of blood- meaning that she had parts of her body or sores that had been constantly bleeding for years) believed in faith that Jesus could heal her, and she was so convinced that that she thought that all she needed to do was touch the hem of His garment, a small part of his clothes, and that would be enough. We hear all kinds of television preachers today preaching a "name it and claim it" false Gospel of prosperity. This woman was living the real "name it and claim it." She was healed because she believed that Jesus was who he said he was, and she trusted that he had the power to heal her. Jesus' very response tells us that this woman's faith is what has brought about her healing.</div><div><br></div><div>Our Lord has told us in Scripture that his power to heal is as much about forgiveness of our sins as it is about physical healing. Remember the paralytic man whose friends dropped him through the roof so that he could have an encounter with Jesus? (cf. Mark 2:1-12) What was Jesus' initial response? At first, it wasn't to heal the paralytic, it was to announce to him and to the people around him that his sins were forgiven. People then accused Jesus of blasphemy because only God had the power to forgive sins. Jesus shows us that the power of forgiveness was far more important than physical healing. But he knew that many of the people thought he was doing something that only God could do, and they were right, so he told the paralytic "so that you may believe that the Son of Man has power on Earth to forgive sins, rise, take up your bed, and walk." The healings of Our Lord were to show that he had the power to forgive and the power to make us whole and he has that power today, even if we don't always experience physical healing. The Lord wants to bring us spiritual healing through the Sacraments, and he wants us to be open to receive those Graces.</div><div><br></div><div>Then there was the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official. Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his daughter, likely because he had seen or heard the evidence of Jesus' healings of others, but when Jesus learned that the little girl had died, he said "she isn't dead she's only sleeping," and he was roundly mocked. But he went in and he raised the little girl from the dead. Christ showed that he had power even over life and death, something that only God has. Because Our Lord rose from the Dead, he can give us victory over death. </div><div><br></div><div>Unless we happen to live to see the Lord return, we all have an appointment with death, but it doesn't have to be the end for us. Just as the Church's funeral liturgy tells us, in death we know that "life is changed, not ended." Christ wishes to give us the rewards of Eternal Life, he wishes to restore God's plan for all of humanity that was taken from us because of Original Sin.</div><div><br></div><div>There is only one catch… we have to live a life for the Lord, we have to keep His commandments, because salvation and victory over death can be given to anyone, but ultimately it is given to those who choose it. The choice is a very clear and stark one… we can have "the pleasures of sin for a season," we can live consumed by worldliness and the things of this world which are passing away, and God will honor that choice, and it will be our Eternal choice… Or we can reject a life of sin and worldliness and the things which pass away and win victory over death and an Eternity with God. The choice is really up to us.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-56463425087088301702021-06-21T12:38:00.001-04:002021-06-23T11:04:36.294-04:00Have You No Fear of God?Because of the nature of the material in this particular post, it is likely that I need to begin the post by reminding my readers and what is posted on this blog is my view on what is happening in the Church today, although this opinion is firmly rooted in the established teaching of the Catholic Church, and I'm about to restate that teaching as part of this post.<div><br /></div><div>This past Thursday, the<a href="http://usccb.org"> United States Conference of Catholic Bishops</a> voted by an overwhelming margin to <a href="https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/breaking-usccb-votes-to-draft-document">draft a document on what is called Eucharistic cohesion</a>, basically it will be a document reminding Catholics about the Church's teaching on what is required in order to receive the Holy Eucharist. It is widely expected that as part of that document there will be a reminder that public figures who openly support and promote abortion should not receive the Eucharist, since the Church teaches very clearly that abortion is murder, and that if a public figure is going to openly promote abortion and pass laws which not only keep it legal, but actually encourage the practice, to receive the Eucharist under the circumstances is to endanger their soul.</div><div><br /></div><div>In response, more than sixty Democrats who also claim to be practicing Catholics signed a letter demanding that the Bishops not interfere with their "right" to receive Holy Communion, and they said that the Bishops should not "weaponize the Eucharist." Every one of these people are also public supporters of abortion on demand. In drafting such a letter, these individuals have shown us that no one is threatening to weaponize the Eucharist but them. </div><div><br /></div><div>Among the many responsibilities of Bishops, the most important is to be a teacher of the Catholic faith and to hand on the deposit of faith as it was handed on to them. The bishops are the successors of the apostles, and thus have a duty to uphold Catholic teaching. Furthermore, a bishop is the Supreme liturgist in his diocese, and he is ultimately the one in charge of the conferral of the sacraments. He determines who receives the sacraments and who does not. Signing a letter to bishops attempting to tell them not to deny you the sacraments while you tell them that you are going to obstinately remain in opposition to Church teaching in a public way is not a good idea. It is, in fact, an invitation to be denied the Sacraments. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div>These people believe that they should be able to receive the Eucharist while acting in public opposition to the Church on a moral issue of such gravity that if a Catholic woman receives an abortion with full knowledge and consent of the will, she is excommunicated <i>laetae sententiae</i>, that is by the very commission of the act. (<a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib6-cann1364-1399_en.html">CIC 1398</a>) Now yes, if the same woman comes to the Church repentant, and, as are many women are in that situation, confused and frightened, the Church has made a way to easily lift that penalty for the good of souls, because the mercy of Christ is truly boundless. Nevertheless, excommunication is still the highest penalty that the Church can levy on any Catholic, and that is the penalty for knowingly procuring an abortion or assisting in one. Yet the "Catholics" who signed this letter somehow believe that they are above that, that those who procure or assist in abortions can be excommunicated while they ought to be able to receive the Eucharist with impunity while they not only <i>tolerate</i> legal abortion, many of them are promoting legislation, funding schemes, and organizations which promote and even encourage abortion. The executive actions of our current President have done more to promote abortion than any President in my lifetime (even the one under which he served as Vice President, and Obama's promotion of abortion was bad enough), but he can go to Mass next weekend and receive the Eucharist and not face any ecclesiastical sanction, while the young woman who takes advantage of the abortion funding that Mr Biden has promoted could face <i>laetae sententiae</i> excommunication if she willingly receives an abortion.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not weaponizing the Eucharist to demand accountability in one's faith and sacramental life. If you are a public figure, you cannot promote the taking of the most innocent human life as a matter of public policy and not expect to be called on the carpet by your co-religionists, and ideally by your religious leaders. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since the First Century the Church has condemned abortion. The Didache, which is the earliest manual of Church order that we know of, gives the instruction to the earliest Christians (<a href="https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0714.htm">Didache Chapter 2</a>):</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote><i>"[Y]ou shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill that which is begotten."</i></blockquote></div><div><br /></div><div>The Church's teaching is clear, yet these public officials persist in their opposition to that teaching and at the same time believe that despite their public promotion of abortion, they should simply be able to receive the Eucharist as if they've done nothing wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there is this piece of work from California Congressman Ted Lieu:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div>Congressman Lieu appears to be in dire need of a corrective session on Catholic teaching from his bishop, who just happens to be the current President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles. Obviously, I can't make Archbishop Gomez have a little teaching conference with Congressman Lieu, that's up to the Archbishop to do... However, I am in a perfectly good position to explain to the Congressman that it is possible that he could be denied Communion, and because of the posture he is taking, Archbishop Gomez would be perfectly justified in denying it to him. He is not merely engaging in personal sin, he has chosen with his statement to publicly engage in obstinate defiance of Church teaching and authority. That is perfectly good justification to deny someone the Eucharist unless and until they repent of such obstinate defiance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sanctioning Congressman Lieu for this behavior is entirely up to his bishop, that would be the case even if the USCCB drafted a very specific document on the subject that was extremely clear about this problem... It is still a matter for the local bishop to handle. However, it is most important to be reminded of just why many of our bishops feel the need to have a discussion about this issue and draft a document about it that explains the circumstances under which a person should and should not receive Holy Communion, and which could make it clear that those who publicly promote abortion should not receive Holy Communion.</div><div><br /></div><div>We have come to this discussion and this place because these supposedly "good Catholics" are refusing to be honest with us or with themselves. If you proclaim yourself a Catholic, one of the things you are supposed to profess as a matter of dogmatic Truth is that the Eucharist (Holy Communion) continues to have the outward appearance of bread and wine, but that when the elements are consecrated they become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Lord gives us His flesh to eat (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A32-58&version=RSVCE">John 6:32-58</a>). Secondly, to receive Holy Communion is both Communion with God and with the Body of Christ, the Church. In addition to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Communion is an outward and visible sign not only of that belief, but of unity of faith. If you receive Holy Communion you are saying with your amen that you believe what the Church teaches, that you are in Communion with the Church. If you are not in a state of grace, you should not receive Holy Communion. If you are persistently, publicly, and obstinately opposed to a fundamental aspect of the Church's teaching such as the sanctity of human life at all stages, you most definitely should not be receiving Holy Communion, because in the most literal sense of the word you are not in communion with the Church or what she fundamentally holds to be true. If you are receiving Holy Communion under those circumstances, you are not being honest with yourself and you're certainly not being honest with those around you. When you receive Holy Communion, with your "Amen" you are saying "so be it," or "I believe," while you are literally telling the world in public statements that you don't believe.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is not a partisan critique. I can think of two cases, one Republican (former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge) and one Democrat (former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius) who each got "the talk" from their local bishop about this issue during their political careers. To my knowledge, both of them respected the bishop's judgment that they should not receive Holy Communion until they had reconciled with the Church on this issue of abortion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course that would be the right thing to do, to be honest with yourselves, with your fellow Catholics, and with your constituents. If you are so persistently and obstinately opposed to the Church on an issue upon which the Church has not changed since the first century, why on Earth would you receive Holy Communion if you really believe what we are supposed to believe about what- about <i>Who</i> - the Eucharist actually is? Respect for your own beliefs would demand that you did not receive Holy Communion, unless you are using that belief system or the Eucharist (or both) as a political prop, and if that is the case, may God have mercy on your souls...</div><div><br /></div><div>Considering the poor state of catechesis in many places in our country today, it is always possible that some of the people on that list of signatories to the "letter to the bishops" were not aware of the Church's teaching regarding the Eucharist, or what constitutes worthy reception of Our Lord in the Eucharist. Let us all be reminded of the words of St. Paul in<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+11%253A23-29&version=RSVCE"> 1 Corinthians 11:23-29</a>:</div><div></div><blockquote><div><br /></div><div><i>For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “<b>This is my body</b> which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “<b>This cup is the new covenant in my blood</b>. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.</i></div></blockquote><div><i></i></div><div><br /></div><div>It should be noted here that the majority of the 11th chapter of 1st Corinthians is devoted to correcting those who have disrespected the Eucharist.<br /><br />Holy Communion is not a right, it is a gift. Specifically, it is <a href="https://testeverythingblog.com/joe-biden-communion-and-politicizing-the-eucharist-c44eeff75ca1">a gift from Christ to the Church,</a> not from the Church to individual members. If you are doing things which willfully <b>promote grave or mortal sin</b> (and certainly something which can excommunicate your brothers and sisters in the faith), this is also grave, and that would include not merely upholding existing law, but promulgating new laws which encourage, fund, and even promote abortion and other manifest <b>public and apparent</b> sin. <br /><br />If you publicly and willfully believe in things which are utterly contrary to the most basic teachings of the Catholic faith, the best thing you can do for yourself and the good of your own soul, as well as the good of your brothers and sisters in the faith, is to abstain from receiving Holy Communion unless and until you can reconcile your beliefs with what the Church teaches. <br /><br />Note that I am not telling you that you aren't Catholic or that you should not come to Mass and worship with us. I am saying that if you are not in Communion with the Church, you should not receive Holy Communion.<br /><br />If someone knows that their beliefs are not in Communion with the Church, and they persist in receiving the Eucharist anyway under those circumstances, then it is fair to ask: Have you no fear of God? Do you have no belief in the Judgment of God? Do you have no respect for Jesus who died for you? This debate persists in the Church because some people persist in this public display of dishonesty about what they believe.<br /><br />It doesn't have to be that way. As an act of love and charity, I beg of those who persist in these public errors: If you don't believe, don't receive.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-68544481828974594922021-06-14T11:52:00.001-04:002021-06-14T11:52:29.368-04:00A Farewell Reflection From the Parish<p> Here is a reflection on thankfulness for his that I wrote for Father Patrick's farewell gathering yesterday. It was the most well-attended such parish gathering I have ever been to, which I think goes to show how much Father Patrick is respected, appreciated, and loved. He has earned that adulation because he literally emptied himself for the sake of Holy Trinity Parish... I am given to understand that it was given to him on behalf of the parish yesterday.<br /><br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj774yqAH4bBKdYFFc8z0H7IIFE3VbTiMqlH6m0mGUadhQXZeOXkMSJBweWj98VxnTEmMT2s4gV0qeQDWDT_W9EFwzpvriNVMjRotdjtL5D5XBdlCRAnVjqKN00e-bVU-CYPSmIZH8qetc/s960/16299335_10208450007989657_4119964651955280742_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj774yqAH4bBKdYFFc8z0H7IIFE3VbTiMqlH6m0mGUadhQXZeOXkMSJBweWj98VxnTEmMT2s4gV0qeQDWDT_W9EFwzpvriNVMjRotdjtL5D5XBdlCRAnVjqKN00e-bVU-CYPSmIZH8qetc/s320/16299335_10208450007989657_4119964651955280742_n.jpeg" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-f5588997-7fff-76c9-76a8-0c526daefbf0"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We have to ask ourselves: how does one say "thank you," other than to say "we are thankful."</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God for the time and the energy that you didn't have, but you gave for the good of the parish anyway.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to the Lord for all the times we called on you to bring us comfort, to anoint us, to bring us the Eucharist, and you were there.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God for the time and effort you gave to ensure that the people of our parish have been taught the Catholic faith. Because you cared about our souls, we are a better people and a better Parish.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God for the parish missions which you brought to us. Because you wanted us to know our faith, you brought us some of the finest Catholic missioners to be found anywhere.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God for the Eucharistic devotion you have brought to our Parish. Greater devotion to the Eucharist makes us better followers of the Lord Jesus. You wanted us to be better followers of the Lord Jesus, and so you brought more of Jesus to us.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to the Lord for your undimmed pro life witness. You gave witness every month to the reality that every life is precious, no matter how small, and your willingness to be present at Cherry Street every month showed that to the world. We are thankful you supported the pro-life efforts of Holy Trinity with such devotion.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God that you loved our Parish so much that you even gave to it. Our collection of blue Saint Michael hymnals came from you. We have a gift we will use for some years to come because you cared enough to give it.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>We are thankful to God that you have insisted upon proper liturgy and right worship. Because of your zeal for the Lord's House, our priests and deacons will wear beautiful vestments for years to come. Because of this zeal, you reminded us of what worship due to the Most High God is supposed to look like. Because of your persistence, our liturgies look like Catholic worship, not a Sunday version of Woodstock. Most importantly, you reminded us that worship is about Jesus, not about us.</i></span></p><i><br /></i><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>You have been with us for a short time, but you have left us something priceless in the time you have been here. You have left us a spiritual legacy, and for that we are thankful to God.</i></span></p><br /></span>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-27341542936390128592021-06-12T17:11:00.000-04:002021-06-12T18:06:08.027-04:00Five YearsI have been feeling under the weather this week, so in an effort to recover so that I could keep my liturgical and parish schedule for the weekend, I didn't post yesterday on what would have been the fifth anniversary of my ordination. What few of you follow this blog regularly already know that it is customary for me to post something regarding that anniversary when it falls. I may be a day late and a dollar short (I'm usually a dollar short anyway), I do have a few things on my mind.<div><br></div><div>In reflecting this week on 5 years of ordained Ministry, there has been a scripture in my head which has repeatedly come to mind... Micah 6:8</div><div><br></div><div><i>He has showed you, O man, what is good;</i></div><div><i> and what does the Lord require of you</i></div><div><i>but to do justice, and to love mercy,</i></div><div><i> and to walk humbly with your God?</i></div><div><br></div><div>If it can be said that there is one verse in the Bible which encapsulates what the entire Christian life is about from the perspective of someone who is already a believer, I have long thought that it is this verse. Furthermore, I would go so far as to say that this verse also is a one verse description of what the diaconate is all about. The deacon is an icon of Christ the Servant, and the very essence of Christ's Ministry was the bringing of Justice and the loving of Mercy. </div><div><br></div><div>It is often said by some theologians and others that the ministry of the deacon is to be a bridge (<i>pontiff</i>) between the people of God and the ministry of the altar, or the institutional Church. Normally I would be inclined to say that this is a very simplistic way of looking at the ministry of the deacon, since deacons are members of the clergy and are part of the hierarchy, and are thus intertwined with the very institution from which they are supposed to be a bridge to the people. However, the oversimplicity of this description does not necessarily mean that it is entirely wrong.<br></div><div><br></div><div>I have found that there are plenty of people who do, in fact, approach the deacon first on any number of pastoral issues, or even liturgical questions. This is most especially true when the issues involve marriage or family life. People often believe - sometimes correctly and sometimes mistakenly - that they will be able to talk to the deacon a bit more freely than they can speak to their Parish priest. I have been married for 18 years and have two young children, so it's easy to see why some parishioners might think they can speak more readily to me about family issues, I have to deal with some of the same ones that they do. </div><div><br></div><div>One of the great joys of ministry personally for me is when parishioners ask me for a blessing, or to bless their holy reminders or holy objects. I will freely admit that I am an absolute "ham" for doing this... The reason is not because I like to draw attention to myself. (In reality, I have found that the longer I'm simply involved in Ministry, the less attention I draw to myself, and I prefer that.) Instead, I love to bless sacramentals because these holy items can be used to bring God's Grace to people in their prayers and remembrance, and I am deeply humbled and grateful to God that I am allowed to play some tiny role in helping to bring His peace and Grace to others in that way. </div><div><br></div><div>Although there are many blessings to ministry as a deacon, another great personal blessing for me has been the fraternity of my brother deacons. Deacon Don Griffith and his wife Patty are the Godparents to my oldest daughter, and they and their family are fine examples, the kind of people you want your children to look at and be able to say to them "this is what a good Catholic ought to look like." I have developed wonderful friendships with many of the brothers I went through formation with, from Deacon Don and Deacon Steve Helmbrecht, who were in formation with me from the same deanery, to Deacon Scott Maentz (who is my infamous beer and conversation buddy, and on those all too rare occasions when I see him), Deacon Tom Tidwell, Deacon Steve Ratterman, Deacon Butch Feldhaus, and others too numerous to mention here, I fear if I continue to mention people I will leave too many more out.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div><div><br></div><div>The fellowship of Brothers is so important in Ministry, but one of the great difficulties with this is that I have found that we simply don't get to see one another very often when we actually get into the meat of life doing Ministry in the in the midst of the Church. That reality has been exacerbated, I think, by the recent pandemic, when so many things we might have done were canceled or put on hold.</div><div><br></div><div>I am most thankful for the support of parishioners, and the support of my wife, without whom I wouldn't be able to do this. Some wives of deacons like to be way out front, either participating directly in a part of their husband's Ministry where the world can see, or sometimes having a public apostolate of their own. I think that those are wonderful things, but my wife has always been more intent to lead from behind the scenes. She has never liked public attention, and she runs from it like the plague. There are so many ways in which she is my polar opposite, and I think that's probably what made us a good match for each other. In private, however, she will tell me exactly what she thinks, even if it is not always what I want to hear. Much of the ministry that I am able to do I'm able to do because she takes to make sure that all of my i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Some of you know that I don't drive, and in East Tennessee that often means that I rely on my wife to get me where I need to be when I need to minister to other people... So when people tell you that your wife's support for Ministry is necessary, I am living proof of that. Without my wife's support, it would simply have been impossible for me to serve.</div><div><br></div><div>But I am grateful that God has given me the opportunity, and every year that passes I will continue to be thankful.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-35996756702540711132021-06-01T15:27:00.000-04:002021-06-01T15:27:09.288-04:00Reflection on the departure of a PastorOur parish officially received the news over the last couple of weeks that our pastor, Father Patrick Resen, is retiring. Father Patrick said in a bulletin column that he really didn't want to leave, but that his body is telling him that it is time to retire. A few parishioners have known for a few weeks because word got leaked when Father Patrick took vacation a few weeks back that he was headed to West Texas. Father is from El Paso, and he took a journey there, and some of us knew that part of this journey was to lay the groundwork for a more permanent move. Father Pat didn't go telling everyone what was happening, but a few of us knew, although promising not to tell, of course, until the news became official...<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div>In reality, I have known for some time that this day was coming. Father had shared with me and a few select others quite some time ago that he believed that Holy Trinity would be his last Parish. I have watched him deal very bravely with the ups and downs of priestly life and Parish life over the last five years that we have served together while observing that it was taking an obvious toll on his body. When you are in that situation, you have to understand what your limitations are, and I certainly could grasp that, since I have to deal with exercising ministry while dealing with a disability as well as trying to raise a family at the same time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Father Patrick has been at Holy Trinity for seven years, and in many ways it's a very different Parish than it was when he arrived, much for the better. He has insisted on a liturgical praxis which follows the rubrics of the Church, which means that someone who visits from elsewhere (and we have a lot of those from time to time) won't have to expect any surprises, it's a liturgy done by the book. He has also introduced monthly Eucharistic adoration and benediction at the parish level. It is my hope and prayer that in the future this practice will be extended to more than once a month. Many parishes have perpetual adoration. I don't think we are quite to that level yet (for we are a small country Parish whose members are quite spread out), but I do think that there is a greater interest in Eucharistic devotion, and I believe that leading Eucharistic Benediction from time to time has helped make me a better deacon. I think that devotion to the Eucharist is extremely important in the life of any member of the clergy, but certainly in the life of a deacon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Father Patrick also demonstrated an openness that can be hard to find. When the McCarrick scandal broke and the stories of yet more depravity in the very depths of the Church was revealed yet again, Father Patrick's letter to parishioners reached out, and his secular background as an attorney, law professor, and judge allowed him to explain the legal as well as ecclesiastical and moral issues at play in a pastoral way that perhaps few could ever have done. His monthly "Ask the Pastor" clergy sessions opened the floor to parishioners to ask any questions they might wish. I enjoyed participating in them whenever I had the opportunity. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most of all, I have found him to be a friend I could rely on to talk about issues relating to the ministry and to life in the Church in a way that it was difficult to share with others. Perhaps this is because I came to see that we viewed the Church and the world in a very similar light, and it can be hard to find others who see things so similarly to you that you can speak to them freely about your thoughts, especially about ecclesiastical matters and affairs. This doesn't mean that we saw eye to eye all the time (we often did, but not always), but because I came to understand how Father Patrick thinks, I found myself better able to anticipate what he would ask of me, especially at the altar. I also came to see how under-appreciated Father Patrick often is, because so many parishioners did not see how much he has literally worn himself to the bone for the good of the Parish. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br /></div><div>Thus far, 2021 has been a year of some surprise and certainly of some loss. I've had a number of friends pass away over this past year and a half since COVID-19 began, in many cases people that I have known for a very long time but not seen for many years. Over the last couple of weeks my Dad passed away. Now, our parish is about to lose our pastor and we will undergo a time of transition, I am sure. We will have a new pastor beginning July 1st, Father Jim Harvey. Father Harvey will need our prayers, help, and support as he transitions to a very different environment. I look forward to serving him as best I can and helping him along the way in the very best way that I can.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our faith is a gift from the Lord. For priests and deacons, the Ministry that we are blessed with is also a great gift, a Sacrament to remind us to help lead others to the Lord Jesus. It is at times such as this that I am reminded that the opportunities that we have to serve and minister to others are fleeting, and we need to make the most of them. I am deeply grateful for the example and Ministry of Father Patrick Resen, as well as for his role in my life as a deacon as friend, pastor, and confidante. I pray that I am able to be as much of a servant and confidant to future pastors as he has been to me. As he prepares to leave us at the middle of this month, I do not know when, or whether ever, I will see him again in this life. We have always said to each other that we will limp into Heaven together one day. May the Lord help me to get there. We can enjoy a drink together and assist in the Heavenly Liturgy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pray not only for priests who are holy, but for priests who live to strive to be.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-60095602859188347602021-05-30T11:30:00.002-04:002021-07-18T10:25:08.759-04:00Homily for the Most Holy Trinity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-007625f0-7fff-2b18-1a4f-7bd2efd93fc7"><b>Deuteronomy 4:32-34</b></p><p dir="ltr"><b>Romans 8:14-17</b></p><p dir="ltr"><b>Matthew 28:16-20</b><br /><br /></p><p dir="ltr">The mystery of the Holy Trinity is one that many preachers and many theologians have tried to explain through the centuries, many well-intentioned and fine teachers of the faith have attempted to explain to us this mystery of the nature of God, and when a great many of them attempt to do this, a good number of them of them through the centuries (perhaps the majority) have lapsed into heresy. This is usually because when people try to explain the Trinity, a reality which is the very nature of God himself, they often try to explain in a way that is simple to understand, and they are explaining something that is not to be fully explained on this side of Eternity.</p><br /><p dir="ltr">The bishop Arius tried to explain the nature of God by explaining away the Divinity of Christ. He got a wide following, too. Indeed, so wide was the following that Arius had that years after the Arian controversy, St Jerome commented that "the whole world groaned, waking up one morning to find itself Arian." It took the persistence of Saint Athanasius, who actually held the minority view in those days that our Lord Jesus is one in being with the Father, to ensure that the orthodox position as we know it today remained the teaching of the Church. </p><br /><p dir="ltr">Nestorius, who was the Patriarch of Constantinople, attempted to explain the complex nature of God in the person of Christ by trying to say that Christ had two persons, one human and one divine. Of course the Church holds that Christ is the second person of the Trinity and that he is both human and divine, and that he is only one person, and The Trinity is made up of three persons with one divine nature.</p><br /><p dir="ltr">A lot of people know the old story that Saint Patrick evangelized the people of Ireland by explaining the Trinity with a shamrock. Truth be told, that's kind of an apocryphal story. We don't know if Saint Patrick used a shamrock to explain the Trinity, but the story became so widely circulated and accepted that the shamrock became one of the national symbols of Ireland, and one of the best known Christian symbols of the Trinity. We have to be careful, however, when using the shamrock or any other such symbol to try and explain the Trinity because very often people lapse into another heresy called sabelianism or "modalism" when they do so. This is the idea, widely circulated even in some Protestant sects today, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are merely three modes or aspects of the Divine Revelation, rather than three distinct persons which coexist in the Divine Nature.</p><br /><p dir="ltr">An Arabian tribesman called Muhammed in the 7th century couldn't explain this critical understanding of God's nature at a time when much of the known world had become Christian. His solution was to reject this teaching, to deny that Christ was divine or even that Christ was sacrificed for our sins, but merely to say that Jesus was the greatest of all the prophets… until Muhammad came along, of course. A lot of people followed Muhammad's teaching, many of them willingly, some of them by force.</p><br /><p dir="ltr">All of these attempts to explain- or to explain away- the Trinitarian understanding of God's nature forget the reality that Sacred Scripture is clear… Jesus himself said that the Father and he were one. He told the Pharisees "before Abraham was, I AM." That declaration caused many of the Pharisees to take up stones to stone Jesus, because if he wasn't God, he had just committed blasphemy. </p><br /><p dir="ltr">Jesus used the Divine Name to identify himself. He even did it in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he was betrayed, this was why the Gospel accounts tell us that the soldiers- members of the Temple guard- who came to arrest Jesus fell back when after asking for Jesus of Nazareth, he replied "I AM." Jesus makes it clear that he is one with the Father, that He is equal to God and He is God, something no mere human could ever say.</p><br /><p dir="ltr">The nature of God is unchanging, God says Himself in the Scriptures that "I am the LORD, I change not." (cf. Malachi 3:6) This means that God has always been one Divine Nature, but Three Persons in one Divine Nature. The unchanging nature of God also means that God has always been all merciful, all loving, but also all holy, and all just. If anyone ever tells you that the God of the Old Testament was vengeful and full of wrath but the God of the New Testament is loving and merciful, you should know immediately that that kind of teaching is complete and utter nonsense. God was not any less loving or merciful in the Old Testament. We know this because just as soon as Adam and Eve committed the first sin, God promised them a Savior for the human race (cf. Genesis 3:15), and that meant that immediately God was letting humanity know that even though we had to live with the consequences of our sin, He loves us enough that he will never give up on us as long as this world tarries. </p><br /><p dir="ltr">Conversely, there are lots of people who want to preach the love and compassion of Jesus and the apostles, but they are not interested in the moral pronouncements of Jesus and the apostles because the merciful and loving Jesus was also the perfectly just Jesus. The Jesus who loved us enough to save us and make himself a slave so that we could be free loved us enough not to keep us in our sin. Jesus and his earliest followers gave us a clear picture of the moral life that we are supposed to live as followers of Jesus Christ. This was so important to the earliest followers of Jesus that it was made repeatedly clear that those who did not repent from sin could be and should be cut off from God's people. Today we call that excommunication… Are we supposed to believe that Jesus and the apostles were unloving people? No, Jesus was the most compassionate person who ever lived and the apostles certainly followed in his footsteps. But God is both merciful and just. </p><br /><p dir="ltr">The Holy Trinity is something that we were not meant to completely understand in this life, but it is a reality because the persons of the Trinity are real, we can really experience them, and they are really God, and really one God. Rather than trying too hard to explain something we will only fully understand when - by God's grace and mercy- we are with God for Eternity, it might do us all well to remember God's Word to the prophet Isaiah, that God's ways are so far above our ways as the Heavens are above the Earth. (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9)</p></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-48603843960072220912021-05-02T16:52:00.001-04:002021-07-18T10:25:47.735-04:00Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22ebQlzci7oD8QmtWaJRe9tlR4DWim9SZ9ER2H0WURiIHS1froVCVOWao6YzZ0TqA5yDzlAXrt7ROMrDcZx3_CWiF79dqEV4oru9FlX0yRuxD2T7u8ClxR4CIS2W1R9QMvGLQBbikHsw/s458/YoSoylaVidVerdadera.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22ebQlzci7oD8QmtWaJRe9tlR4DWim9SZ9ER2H0WURiIHS1froVCVOWao6YzZ0TqA5yDzlAXrt7ROMrDcZx3_CWiF79dqEV4oru9FlX0yRuxD2T7u8ClxR4CIS2W1R9QMvGLQBbikHsw/s320/YoSoylaVidVerdadera.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>Acts 9:26-31</b></p><p><b>1 John 3:18-24</b></p><p><b>John 15:1-8</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Jesus uses the analogy of grapes on a vine to describe the relationship between the believer and Christ, and indeed the believer and Christ's body. Anyone who may grow any kind of fruit on a vine knows that the branches or parts of the vine, if cut off from the vine, will not continue to bear fruit or be part of the vine. The vine may continue to be productive, it may grow new branches that produce new fruit to replace the branches that are cut off.</p><p><br /></p><p>"A branch cannot bear fruit unless it remains on the vine," Jesus tells us, "neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." Following Jesus Christ is, for each and every one of us, a choice. It is a choice that we make daily, but increasingly in our society following Jesus Christ is being openly rejected by people, including those who should know better. Several times in the New Testament Jesus uses the agricultural understanding that his listeners would have known in his own time, since he lived in an overwhelmingly agricultural society. Jesus uses this understanding as a way to explain to his listeners and to his followers and to his apostles the reality of Heaven and Hell.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is the reality that Jesus deals with in the parable of the wheat and the tares (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13%3A24-30&version=RSVCE">Matthew 13:24-30</a>) and we see it again here in the parable of the vine and the branches, the branches that are cut off from the vine will be thrown into a fire and burned, just as in the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus explains that the tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest when the tares are separated out and burned while the wheat is gathered in to the Master's barn.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reality of Hell is not something that we often choose to talk about, but Jesus talked about it a whole lot. Considering how much Jesus discussed the matter, I have to admit that I don't quite understand why it is that some theologians come up with the notion that everyone is going to be saved (something that none of us can possibly know). Jesus made it pretty clear that few people would choose to follow him of their own accord. (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7%3A13-14&version=RSVCE">Matthew 7:13-14</a>) The reason is because the way of Christ isn't always easy, and we know that it often isn't easy at all. The benefits, however, are truly out of this world.</p><p><br /></p><p>We also learn something else that's key in this parable of the vine and the branches. The Father is the vine grower and he will take away every branch that does not bear fruit, and he will prune the branches that do bear fruit so that they bear more fruit. This can be particularly critical, because pruning sometimes involves cutting away a non-productive part of the vine, it might even mean that we have to cut off some part of a plant that we might otherwise choose not to, so that the rest of the plant might be productive and bear the best fruit. Pruning isn't always an easy process. But God's way of pruning the vine often means exposing what is wrong with the vine so that it can be cut away from the productive part of the vine of the Church.</p><p><br /></p><p>In recent days, months, and years, we have seen a series of scandals involving the sinfulness of high ranking clergy and the abuse of children and young adults. This is an addition to other scandals which have often exposed the willingness of many in the clergy to tolerate and even promote social, political, and moral ideas which are completely contrary to the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Many of these public clergy who have promoted or continue to engage in promoting things which are contrary to what the Church teaches in matters of faith and morals have been allowed to continue to pedal their confusion to the masses in the Catholic press, in social media, and in society at large. These realities have led some people to judge that orthodoxy- that is Catholic belief that is right and correct- is often seen as outdated and old fashioned, while those who follow the latest modern ideas about what is morally acceptable are given pride of place in the public square, with some of these folks being promoted by the mainstream media as authentic Catholic voices.</p><p><br /></p><p>Let us not be deceived. God is not mocked. (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+6%3A7&version=RSVCE">Galatians 6:7</a>) The moral teachings of the Church have not changed, and the seven deadly sins are still deadly. If something was wrong a hundred years ago or 70 years ago or 50 years ago, it is still wrong today, it will be wrong next week, next month, next year, and next century. Conversely, if something was good and holy 100 years ago or 70 years ago or 50 years ago, be assured that it remains good and holy today, it'll be good and holy tomorrow, good and holy next week, next month, next year, and next century. The Lord changes not… now there is a difference between dogma, doctrine and discipline. We don't have time to get into all of those differences this morning, but disciplines of the church can change because these disciplines are here to help us carry out the dogmas and the doctrines we believe in, they are not those dogmas and doctrines themselves.</p><p><br /></p><p>These are important reminders because we are living in an age when many people look at our Church, and it appears that the bad parts of the branches and being allowed to run rampant and the plant has not been pruned. But I would humbly submit to anyone who feels discouraged about the state of the Church that when you hear things which are discouraging about the situation in the Catholic world today, know and understand that God is working his purpose out. So much of what we see and hear in our Church today is really a part of this pruning process which God has set forth to purify His people. As Saint Paul reminds us, the Lord seeks "a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing." (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A25-27&version=RSVCE">Ephesians 5:25-27</a>) We don't have the ability to make the Church that way, but the Lord does. We need to allow the Lord the opportunity to prune the branches so that we can all bear the very best fruit, and the Church can do what the Lord ordained her to do, preach the Gospel and work for the salvation of many souls.</p>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-42546919645758655102021-03-07T22:48:00.004-05:002021-07-18T10:31:12.346-04:00Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Exodus 20:1-17</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1 Corinthians 1:22-25</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>John 2:13-25</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Our Gospel today comes very early in St. John's Gospel and shares with us John's account of something that the other Gospels tell us happened during (or very near to) Holy Week-Jesus' righteous anger at the money changers in the temple and his overturning of their tables of business. It is important to ask, then, what were the money changers doing at the Jerusalem Temple, the place where any observant first century Jew understood was the dwelling place of Almighty God on this Earth. The one place where legitimate sacrifices to the Lord could take place, and they did- on a daily basis.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Prayer and sacrifice took place in the Jerusalem Temple in those days every day. Just as in our day all clergy in the Church celebrate the<a href="http://www.ibreviary.com/m2/breviario.php"> Liturgy of the Hours</a> and the <a href="https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/14423/documents/2016/8/OrderOfMass.pdf">Holy Sacrifice of the Mass</a> each day, public prayers, usually centered around the Psalms of David, occurred daily in the Temple. Daily sacrifices took place there too, of various kinds. The priests who had their rotation in the Temple had to offer sacrifices to God as part of their daily and Sabbath worship. And if anyone came to the Temple to offer a sacrifice, whether for the circumcision and dedication of a child, in prayer for or in Thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest, for one of the feast days, or simply as a grateful act of worship, the Law required that people should bring their best to God, sacrifices without blemish. There was also another kind of sacrifice that took place at the Temple, it was called the <i>todah</i>, or sacrifice of Thanksgiving. This sacrifice was an offering of special sacrificial bread, often called the showbread, and the very best wine from the vineyards of God's people.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Because the temple was the only place where the fullness of the worship of God could occur, when many people went there to worship, they came from a long way and often they couldn't carry their sacrifices with them, they had to find animals or other sacrificial materials the closer they got to Jerusalem. Eventually the scribes and major priests of the temple figured out that it might be a good idea to allow those selling such wares to do so right on the temple grounds, right outside the building. What this eventually became in the time of Jesus was a lucrative racket, people would have to pay a premium for the best sacrificial animals, that they were then going to buy with Temple coinage which they would get when they exchange their Roman currency on the temple grounds… because Caesar's money couldn't officially be used at the temple.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Jesus saw this currency racket and crony capitalism for what it was, and he saw that the Temple authorities were taking advantage of the people, or they were openly allowing others to do so right under their noses. In the very House of God, in the place where God dwelt in the world and where sacrifices to God were offered, the clergy who ministered in the Holy of Holies were filled with corruption, and what Jesus would call in his famous discourse in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23&version=RSVCE">Matthew 23</a>, "dead men's bones." He said that these people appeared outwardly to be Holy, but he saw that this wasn't Holiness at all, this wasn't fulfilling the law of God. Jesus, we read, turned over the tables of the money changers and the userers and those who were selling sacrifice to the Almighty. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">There is a great lesson to be learned by what Jesus did in the Gospel. We live in an age when the statistics tell us that many people right across the country and the world are leaving the Church, at least they are saying that they are. If you talk to anyone who has left the church, the most common complaint, other than the general hypocrisy of people, (which will always occur in any group of people because of our humanity), is the corruption and sin of so many of our clergy, and the apparent toleration of such corruption and sin by our leaders. There was all kinds of corruption going on, both spoken of in the scriptures and not spoken of, when Jesus showed up at the Temple in Jerusalem. The holy men of Israel had become corrupted to the point where they did not even recognize the Anointed of God. The Lord, in his righteous anger, had enough and turned over the tables, and reminded them that the House of God was to be a House of Prayer and not a den of thieves-or worse! (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2019%3A46&version=RSVCE">Luke 19:46</a>)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">God sees our frustration and anger with the sins and evil and hypocrisy which occur in the church even in our own time. He sees these things to a degree which we cannot. He shares our frustration and our righteous anger at wrongdoing or wrong action, but he doesn't invite us to leave God's house. Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers is a reminder to all of us, and should especially serve as a warning to any of us who have received the gift of Holy Orders at any level, that wrongdoing may go unseen by others, but it does not go unseen by the Lord, and your sins will find you out. The Gospel serves as a reminder to anyone who might have been wronged, abused, or scandalized by someone using an office of the Church that the Lord sees the Injustice that was done to them, and that the wheels of God's justice may slowly turn, but they do turn and grind fine. The Lord sees injustice, and if no one in this world will remedy that injustice, the Lord is keeping a tally. And when it comes time for judgment of injustices and wrongs and evils, the Scriptures are clear that judgment begins at the House of the Lord.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">If you're discouraged by things that you might see or hear about what's going on in the Church today, rest assured that God sees wrongs and injustices also, and the day will come when all is brought to light and the truth will set us free, just as the uncomfortable truth set a lot of people free the day Jesus turned over those tables. The Church needs people who will worship in spirit and in truth and believe in Jesus Christ and his Word today more than ever before, so stand fast in Jesus Christ and his Church and the day will come when he makes all things new.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And that Thanksgiving sacrifice, the <i>todah</i>… Some of the ancient rabbis just happened to predict that in the time of the Messiah, all sacrifices would cease… except for the todah, the sacrifice of Thanksgiving. It is said that this sacrifice will go on until the end of time.</div></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-78067179107715255442021-03-05T19:04:00.000-05:002021-03-05T19:06:54.039-05:00Church Bulletin Column for the week of March 4th<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDG55oNsDVZB_z-mqejE6lJRah4f39aDTwgIoJb7L3kgCW6BBE94hm238r33R8MBIqvfOvYmhN2tmXMA_dUC6CGUyHLEhCGIcQtjN2mj5k2HOi2fTdYFh4mDnFhKO4xHgQbeemc9vuY0/s1600/E-BulletinBanner.001.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="1600" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDG55oNsDVZB_z-mqejE6lJRah4f39aDTwgIoJb7L3kgCW6BBE94hm238r33R8MBIqvfOvYmhN2tmXMA_dUC6CGUyHLEhCGIcQtjN2mj5k2HOi2fTdYFh4mDnFhKO4xHgQbeemc9vuY0/w320-h163/E-BulletinBanner.001.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>As we continue our Lenten journey together, our Holy Trinity family is finding new ways to adapt our ministry and outreach so that people can continue to participate, as much as possible in parish life. We can be thankful to God that unlike this same period on the liturgical calendar last year, we are not actively being encouraged to stay away from our Parish church, from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or from a proper Catholic devotional life. Just as I wrote in this space some months ago, we are not yet back to normal, and all you have to do to understand that is look around on any given Sunday or other day. </p><p><br /></p><p>We are striving as a community to make things as normal as possible, however. I was heartened a couple of weeks ago when my turn in the rotation came to lead the Stations of the Cross, and I was assisted by Deacon Jim. The women's group from Holy Ghost in Knoxville was sponsoring a silent retreat hosted here at Holy Trinity. Not only did so many ladies come from parishes all over the diocese (I recognized a few of them!), but they added to our own home crowd and the church looked as close to normal as I've seen it in a while. May many others come to devotions and Holy Mass at church in the weeks to come.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite the fact that Catholic people in East Tennessee and elsewhere are attempting to return to some semblance of a regular spiritual life (as evidenced by our Parish mission this past week at Holy Trinity, for example), both we and Catholics in other parts of the country remain under restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Families have to keep socially distanced within the church, at least six feet apart. Masks have to be worn in the nave of the church and the clergy must wear masks when distributing Holy Communion. A few bishops around the country have been bold and brave enough to restore the Holy Precept to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation within their dioceses. However, those bishops who have done so have added a number of caveats and exceptions to their decrees. Most dioceses, including the Diocese of Knoxville, have not restored the Sunday obligation largely because of the very restrictions under which we must labor, understanding that these restrictions make it impossible for some people to attend Mass every single week, while others are already homebound or find themselves to be highly at risk, and many are recovering from the disease themselves. </p><p><br /></p><p>There is no substitute in the Church's liturgical and spiritual life for the real and physical attendance of an individual or a family at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or any other act of public devotion or worship. Nothing that the Church can do, or that our Parish could possibly do, will ever change that, and so we continue to encourage anyone who can attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, even if under restriction, to do so for the sake of themselves, their families, and their souls. However, we recognize that some people will not be able to join us each week because of the present situation. As a result, we have responded to the request of Bishop Stika for each Parish in the diocese to make live streamed Sunday Mass available to parishioners. </p><p><br /></p><p>Deacon Jim Prosak has very graciously set up a YouTube page for Holy Trinity Parish at <a href="https://youtube.com/channel/UCY_BPZLO6JGDlK8ijLrn3hw">https://youtube.com/channel/UCY_BPZLO6JGDlK8ijLrn3hw</a>. If the link seems a bit long to remember, just do a YouTube search for "Holy Trinity Jefferson City" and our page will come right up. As you'll see if you visit our YouTube page, we already have some Masses and the recent parish mission archived there. If any parishioners happen to have a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Google-GA00439-US-Chromecast-3rd-Generation/dp/B015UKRNGS/ref=asc_df_B015UKRNGS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=459520558310&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18343721354390250142&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013442&hvtargid=pla-969565346600&psc=1">Google Chromecast</a> or<a href="https://www.roku.com/"> Roku</a> device, you can even stream the Mass right on a digital television.</p><p><br /></p><p>For now, the Sunday 10:00 a.m. Mass has been selected as the regular weekly Mass which will be live streamed. In addition, Holy Days and special events, such as Parish missions, will also be live streamed. In addition to being found on the above mentioned Parish YouTube page, each live stream event can be found on a special page on our Parish website: <a href="https://htjctn.org/masses-online">https://htjctn.org/masses-online </a></p><p><br /></p><p>It is our prayer that most parishioners are able to return to the sacramental life of the Church, and that if you've been away, you'll return and we'll see you soon. Our live stream is another way that we can help bring the prayer of the Church to everyone, and that both those who are able to be with us and those who can't (through no fault of their own) will be blessed by this new ministry to bring our local church even into our digital life.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>Note</b>: This is the unedited version my column in the parish bulletin for the week of March 4th. The <a href="https://d2y1pz2y630308.cloudfront.net/26660/bulletins/20210307.pdf">bulletin is up</a> on the <a href="https://htjctn.org/">Holy Trinity Parish website</a>.</i></p>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-6804204565860368212021-02-14T12:30:00.049-05:002021-02-16T10:39:21.911-05:00Homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOMqG2oBEEWdDSKNXnpHjvvQnrUv016zVVpHIPqoo9NECD0iqlw7bXpqMIQIzyWHkS2IxDujuC5Qv9IPU_z1p2mRq-lKIdvrDhyxx1pdOCoKqH5JnWtpK500XtVPU0FoyuVSSa3irm9k/s1024/leper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGOMqG2oBEEWdDSKNXnpHjvvQnrUv016zVVpHIPqoo9NECD0iqlw7bXpqMIQIzyWHkS2IxDujuC5Qv9IPU_z1p2mRq-lKIdvrDhyxx1pdOCoKqH5JnWtpK500XtVPU0FoyuVSSa3irm9k/s320/leper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Leviticus 13:1-2</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Mark 1:40-45</b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"If you wish, you can make me clean." That's what the leper said to Jesus at the beginning of the Gospel today. Some translations render it-I think more accurately- "if you will it, you can make me clean." In this singular moment the leper approached Jesus and completely submitted himself to the will of God, seeming to understand that Jesus could just as well have told him no. We can even see that Jesus had every reason to decide not to heal the man, after all he asked the fellow not to say anything to anyone about what Jesus had done but to show himself to the priest as Moses had prescribed. Of course this man didn't bother to listen to Jesus on that score, the Gospel tells us that he went out and publicized the whole matter.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's important to remember that by the standards of that day, what Jesus did was remarkable, and not merely because he healed the leper. As we heard in the first reading today from the book of Leviticus, the law as given to Moses was very clear that any person who came down with leprosy-or what we might know today as Hansen's disease- was to be considered unclean, and separated out from the people of God as a whole. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">This seems like a punishment and it seems very harsh, but there was a reason for it. The biblical injunction to separate someone with leprosy away from the children of Israel was a kind of quarantine. In ancient times, they didn't have the more advanced knowledge of germ theory or how disease was transmitted, but they did figure out that it was possible for more people to get leprosy if there was a person with leprosy among them. They were not wrong, because leprosy is a bacterial infection and it can spread from person to person, although we know today that you're more likely to catch leprosy from another leper if you have extensive close contact with them. The ancients were simply aware that this could spread from person to person and they did understand how dangerous that it was. You might remember the story of Saint Damian of Molokai, who was called to care for the lepers in Hawaii and eventually caught the disease himself…</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus, however, let it be seen that he touched a leper and healed him. Jesus showed that it is his will to make people whole. Oftentimes this does not necessarily mean physical healing, although it can. More often than not, Jesus seeks to make our souls whole. Sin, along with the emotional scars and daily wear and tear of life in this world can cause our hearts- our souls- to be infected with a kind of spiritual leprosy. In the sight of God- and even sometimes in the sight of the people around us- we are unclean, and if no one else knows it, we do. Just like healing the leper in the Gospel, Jesus wills us to be made clean and he's willing to make it happen if we are willing to come to him.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">These preceding months that we have all lived through have helped me understand this story in a way in which we might perhaps not otherwise be able to. We are living in a time when we are told that so many of our neighbors could be unclean and that we need to distance ourselves from them, just as lepers had to do in our Old Testament reading. We can better imagine how the leper who Jesus healed must have felt because now he was free and he was clean and he could be a part of the community again, and the community could embrace him. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">God gives us opportunity to be healed of our spiritual leprosy as well. The first way to do this is to present ourselves for the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation. The second way that we can do this is to begin to examine our lives and find out where our weaknesses are, what are the problems in our spiritual immune system that leave us weak and susceptible to the diseases that are sin and spiritual sloth? We can do a daily such examination, and we could commit ourselves to greater prayer, such as time for the <a href="https://www.comepraytherosary.org/">Rosary</a>, or the Angelus, or the <a href="http://www.ibreviary.com/m2/breviario.php">Liturgy of the Hours</a>. I can speak from both personal experience and the experience of working with others to help them in their faith… If we constantly commit ourselves to improving our prayer life and our personal devotion, these things are the ultimate weapons against sin and sloth, for idle time is the playhouse of the Devil. Rather than have idle time, give it to God. We can all stand to turn off the television or the smartphone and take time to call on the Lord.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of us have very busy daily schedules, sometimes things come up that we don't expect and weren't planning on. There are many days when we set aside time for prayer, but things don't work out the way we had planned, and we might think to ourselves "what am I supposed to do?" Even in the most dire and time squeezed-circumstances, most of us can usually make time for the <a href="http://theangelusprayer.com/angelus-prayer/">Angelus</a> (or the <a href="http://theangelusprayer.com/regina-coeli-prayer/">Regina Caeli</a> in the Easter season), and if all else fails and we're so pressed for time that we can't even take 3 minutes for the Angelus, perhaps we can at least say that beautiful <a href="https://catholicexchange.com/pray-the-jesus-prayer-wherever-you-are">Jesus Prayer</a> every day that is a part of Eastern tradition. "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Father Patrick, Father Andres, and I and the other deacons are somewhat fortunate in that we are made to go on a retreat every year. This is often a time to rest, but it's also a time to take stock of where our relationship with Christ is in our life and how we can improve it. I know it is that way for me. Not everyone can afford to drop what they're doing and go on retreat, so every year the Church brings the retreat to us. The Holy Season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday. The principles of this great season are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Those three principles should apply to our lives all the time, not just for around 40 days every year. However, there is likely not a single one of us who is perfectly living out those pillars of Christian example, so each year the Church gives us an opportunity to step back and be reminded of how we are supposed to live, and ultimately that we are supposed to live for others. We will begin on Ash Wednesday and journey with the Lord to Calvary during that time. The discipline of Lent should be a reminder to us that there is no reward of Heaven without the Cross, and that our sufferings are a part of the life we live for God.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lent is also an opportunity for us to do as the leper did in the Gospel today, it is a chance for us to stretch out our hands to the Lord Jesus and to request of him "Lord, if you will, make me clean." The difference is that now Jesus won't ask us to keep it a secret, he wants us to tell the whole world so that they will ask him to do the same for them.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-46278123824688469122020-12-27T13:15:00.023-05:002020-12-28T13:42:42.198-05:00Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsGkjGZGehckD9Xm3T_SiTl5qMgWZhKI16WP330bjNq8zTCV7cWbGXwlzvQQIPa8BpTr_hsbxjDXI35x5Im-2lHRIM0194xGa-UrQOjK90zFHoWnlN13wkIVS2Ir2gU6MJO6HPfGECRs/s704/holy_family-coello2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="613" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXsGkjGZGehckD9Xm3T_SiTl5qMgWZhKI16WP330bjNq8zTCV7cWbGXwlzvQQIPa8BpTr_hsbxjDXI35x5Im-2lHRIM0194xGa-UrQOjK90zFHoWnlN13wkIVS2Ir2gU6MJO6HPfGECRs/s320/holy_family-coello2.jpg" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sirach 3:2-6, 13-14</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-554c9f8c-7fff-1910-2204-9609b4efe229"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colossians 3:12-21</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 2:22-40</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Merry Christmas!
I have to say that I have always found it to be a great shame when some people exercise the option to shorten our second reading today, as well as the shortened other readings involving the Sacrament of Matrimony, such as<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+5%3A22-33&version=RSVCE"> Ephesians 5:22-33</a> when that comes up in the Lectionary. Sometimes this is done out of defference to the modern feminist movement, because an important explanation of the sacramental theology of marriage is deemed by some not to be politically correct in this day and age. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still others prefer to exclude these important readings because they fear that it may give license to abusive spouses to "lord it over" their wives and simply order them around and you ladies are supposed to do whatever we say. St Paul would have understood that if that was what he meant, it was going to go over like a lead balloon even in the ancient world. Remember that he is writing to a lot of people who are former pagans, and the wives in that cultural milieu likely would not have taken very well to simply being ordered around. What Saint Paul was telling the Colossians and the Ephesians and us today is that Christian matrimony is to be patterned after Christ's relationship with the Church, we are the bride and Christ is the bridegroom. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What that means in practical application is that our homes are to be a domestic Church, and husbands and wives can be Christ to one another, but in a family context, the husband should be the one to have spiritual leadership in a home, just as Christ has spiritual leadership over the Church.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see the ultimate clear example of that in the story of the flight into Egypt.. When the time came to follow the spiritual guidance of the Lord and to leave Israel and go to Egypt, there is no way that this could have been an easy decision. Joseph already had to take his espoused wife from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. Now he was being told that Herod and the authorities in Jerusalem were threatening Jesus' life, and Joseph took the lead, following the direction of the Lord as told him by the angel, heeding God's command, and taking the lead over his family when it counted. Similarly, when Herod died, the angel made it known to Joseph, and Joseph followed the Divine directive. St. Joseph exercised spiritual leadership, because he took charge not only of Jesus physical protection, but the spiritual welfare of his family.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Similarly, in the Gospel today we see Mary and Joseph going together as a family to the temple to present Jesus. When this happened, Jesus would have been identified as Joseph's son before the priests and the rabbis of the Temple. We see the declarations of who Jesus is from Simeon the holy man, and Anna the prophetess, but probably the most important passage of the Gospel is what we see near the end when it tells us that the Holy family returned to Nazareth, and that "Jesus became strong and filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him." Even Jesus had the example of holy people around him. What we are left to presume is that Jesus grew up not unlike any other child of his day, we don't hear from his childhood except for the finding in the temple at the age of 12. After that incident, we don't hear from St Joseph in Sacred Scripture at all, but we know that he was the leader in the family when it counted. Early on in Our Lord's life, Joseph is seen making the difficult decisions under God's direction.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity, is the Son of God and He is God. He could have come into the world in any way that he chose in order to carry out his mission to redeem humanity, but from the foundation of the world it was chosen that he would come into the world as part of an ordinary household and a family with a mother and a father, in part to show us that this is the normative way in which children should be raised.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a very long time in our society today, it seems that if children are to have any religious upbringing at all, it is often the lady of the house who does the hard work to ensure that the children know something about God. I've known of a few cases where it's even the grandparents who take that responsibility unto themselves. Sacred Scripture is quite clear, however, that Holy Matrimony is a type, or a living example, of the relationship between Christ and the Church. While spouses are to be Christ to each other in their personal relationship (and I don't know about you, but I can think of plenty of times when my spouse has truly been Christ to me), it is the man of the house who stands in the place of Christ as bridegroom in the Sacrament of Matrimony. Just as Christ is the spiritual leader of the Church, the man of the house is supposed to be the spiritual leader of the home. We know that there are often negative spiritual consequences if things don't happen that way.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A few years back, Touchstone magazine <a href="https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=16-05-024-v">published a study from Switzerland</a> that was undertaken throughout Europe and recorded by the European Union. The study found that if both the father and mother of a family attended church regularly, 33% of their children will be regular churchgoers, and another 41% will be irregular churchgoers but consider themselves practicing. only about a quarter of the children of faith-filled marriages end up not practicing their faith in any way at all. Conversely, if mother practices her faith but father doesn't practice his at all, only about 2% of those children become regular churchgoers. Another 37% of those children will attend church on an irregular basis, and 60% of those children will not practice their faith at all. Interestingly, if Dad is the regular churchgoer and Mom is not, the same study showed that far more children were likely to be loyal to their faith, between 38 and 44% of them depending on the circumstances. Some American studies have shown that practicing Dads yield children that are as much as two-thirds more likely to remain loyal to their faith. Some U.S. studies show the number when Dad is active in church<a href="http://www.wacmm.org/Stats.html"> to be as high as 93%</a> of children who remain in the practice of Christianity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Men matter, fathers matter, and we live in an age when masculinity and fatherhood are both under terrible attack. St. Joseph is given to us as an example and a model of manhood, of leadership, of fatherhood. It is time for men to reclaim the example of St. Joseph and reclaim spiritual leadership of their homes and families. The model of the Holy Family can show us the way.</span></p><br /></span>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-56968200568527251452020-09-13T13:48:00.000-04:002020-09-13T13:51:01.827-04:00Homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPevEFn5Wf0trbCJaK1Xfg7HP-oeURnfqutOpHJYygoB5KEWbJCH2MEwXo7HPnR2eZ-vzO009lEKASHE66fJNw6ls5zELdYFr1LeUv4OxumB1XgMmvXERN7F4hFrsxR5VssM4db5NsbAU/s2048/Jan_van_Hemessen_-_The_Parable_of_the_Unmerciful_Servant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1052" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPevEFn5Wf0trbCJaK1Xfg7HP-oeURnfqutOpHJYygoB5KEWbJCH2MEwXo7HPnR2eZ-vzO009lEKASHE66fJNw6ls5zELdYFr1LeUv4OxumB1XgMmvXERN7F4hFrsxR5VssM4db5NsbAU/s320/Jan_van_Hemessen_-_The_Parable_of_the_Unmerciful_Servant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /><br />Sirach 27:30-28:7</p><p>Romans 14:7-9</p><p>Matthew 18:21-35</p><p><br /></p><p>There are great many truths taught by Our Lord or by the Holy Apostles which are difficult for the world to accept. We can sometimes tell which truths these are because they're the ones that people like to avoid discussing whenever the topic of Christianity or Jesus Christ happens to come up. There are a lot of people in this world who will more or less say that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but either in their words or their actions they will deny that Christ is who he claims to be. The world will make that denial because they do not wish to live in the way that we are called to live, because so much of what the world today calls good, God calls evil. So much of what the Lord God calls evil, the world says it's good, even praiseworthy. (cf. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+5%3A20&version=RSVCE" target="_blank">Isaiah 5:20</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+3%3A1-13&version=RSVCE" target="_blank">2 Timothy 3:1-13</a>)</p><p><br /></p><p>There is perhaps no greater commandment of Christ that is more difficult to live out, however, than the one we find illustrated in the Gospel today, the command that we are to forgive in the same way that we are asking God to forgive us. We want God to forgive us our sins, to pardon our sins, to overlook our sins. In many, if not most cases, the sins we are asking forgiveness for are the sins that will send us straight to Hell because of the choices we have made. Yet Jesus repeatedly tells us that these sins will be forgiven, that we will be received by the Lord if we repent of our sins. The only catch is that we have to forgive others in the same way that we have been forgiven. We get a glimpse of just how unconditional God's love is for us, and we come to understand how difficult it is to give truly unconditional love to others, especially those who would wish us harm or do us harm.</p><p><br /></p><p>When we think about how difficult that truly is, we realize that living the Christian Life isn't so easy, because we have to be like Christ, and that means to forgive others as we have been forgiven. Jesus's illustration of the servant who asked forgiveness of his master while refusing to extend forgiveness to a fellow servant who owed a much smaller amount shows us the reality that God is willing to forgive us the debt of our sins if we confess our sins, and the weight of our sins is far greater than any debt to be understood in this world. Therefore, Jesus is explaining to us that we should be ready and willing to forgive others, because their offenses to us are far less than anything we may have done in this life to offend God.</p><p><br /></p><p>In living the life of a Christian we are called to be like Christ. Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, He is God, and so his nature is the nature of God. What are we told is God's ultimate nature? When the Lord God made himself visible to Moses, telling him that he would pass by on Mount Sinai and allow Moses to see the back of Him and He would say His name. When the Lord did say his name to Moses, the name itself is not actually mentioned in most English translations (we say "the LORD"), but it is immediately followed by an important suffix. God makes Himself known to Moses in this way… "the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+34%3A5-6&version=RSVCE" target="_blank">Exodus 34:5-6</a>) Mercy and love and fidelity are so important to God's nature that He includes them in His very name. We hear these attributes of God in today's responsorial Psalm, which are verses from <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+103&version=RSVCE" target="_blank">Psalm 103</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our first reading from the book of Sirach invites us to do a very difficult thing for a lot of us (and any of us who have a real temper know how hard it is), and that is to let go of our anger, even forgiving the injustices our neighbor might commit upon us.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the Gospel parable, the servant was not seen as wicked for asking his master to forgive his debt (something that we should be doing regularly when we ask for our sins to be forgiven in Reconciliation), but it was seen as most evil that he would not forgive a fellow servant a much smaller debt. The Master's reaction when he had heard what the servant had demanded of his fellow servant was to throw the wicked servant in prison until the debt was paid off.</p><p><br /></p><p>Jesus tells his disciples that God the Father will treat all of us the same way if we do not learn to forgive our enemies from our heart. The big difference will be that if we die in our sins, it is our choice, not the larger society. We can ask forgiveness of God and our neighbor, but if we are not truly willing to forgive others, the faith is hollow within us.</p><p><br /></p><p>Neither our Lord, nor any of the Apostles or the apostolic Fathers who have preached forgiveness have said that forgiving our neighbors who slight us, or do great injustice to us is easy. Jesus understands very well how very difficult and how very contrary it is to our human nature to extend the hand of forgiveness to those who have done us wrong, or even to those who wish us harm. That kind of forgiveness is completely contrary to our human nature, and God understands that. This is exactly why being able to extend forgiveness in the radical way that Jesus asks of us is something that takes great Grace, and is a sign before the world that the person who can forgive in the radical fashion which Christ asks of us manifests a sign of tremendous holiness of life, and they are showing that they can live out their Christian faith not only in word, but in action.</p><p><br /></p><p>We are living in a time of tremendous upheaval in our nation. Not only have we been faced in recent months with a global pandemic which has seriously constricted our way of life and cost many their jobs or their livelihoods, but we have also recently seen protests, and in many places riots, over both the real and perceived abuses directed toward African Americans and other minorities by certain members of local police forces around the country. The resulting protests and riots have caused much disorder, they have also forced many Americans to take a hard look at our past as a nation.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the real difficulties, however, with the present moment in which we find ourselves is that the one thing you don't hear from all sides in these ongoing debates, discussions, and public disorder is the need for- and the willingness of-all sides to extend forgiveness to one another. Instead, because of the lack of an attitude of forgiveness, we see continuing disorder and riots in many cities, including the desecration of many public monuments. There is an utter unwillingness to forgive our neighbors.</p><p><br /></p><p>We also would do well to remember that extending forgiveness does not mean forgetting injustices and wrongs done to us by others, forgiveness doesn't always equate to trust, and nowhere does Jesus ask that. But if we can truly learn to forgive, and leave the final judgment of others to God, our community, our country, our world would look a lot more like Jesus intended. As Christ forgives us, let us extend that forgiveness to one another. </p>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-46334058892631381102020-08-02T14:25:00.001-04:002020-08-02T14:25:45.760-04:00Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div><p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-321abbd9-7fff-a444-0674-eb10fc2eb66a">Isaiah 55:1-3</p><p dir="ltr">Romans 8:35, 37-39</p><p dir="ltr">Matthew 14:13-21</p><br><p dir="ltr">In today's Gospel we hear Matthew's account of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5000. One of the things that we know from the Gospel account is that Jesus actually was able to feed far more than 5,000 people that day, because Scripture tells us that there were five thousand men there, but they did not count women and children, and there were certainly women and children present, we can only guess at the actual number of people who were there that day and who were fed by this very important miraculous moment in the Life and Ministry of Our Lord.</p><br><p dir="ltr">Often, people will read the story of the feeding of the 5000 and see it as another manifestation of the Divinity of Christ, which it certainly is. While the Divinity of Christ is reiterated by yet another miracle, that is not the most important message of this event. The first message was one to the people who were present there, and one that speaks to us through time in the pages of Sacred Scripture, that this miracle of love for people who were not only physically hungry, but (far more importantly) they were spiritually hungry was a prefigurement of the Holy Eucharist, the feast of Thanksgiving where Christ provides for our spiritual needs by giving us himself.</p><br><p dir="ltr">The second message which Jesus is sending to us through time in the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is a message that we need to hear today in a very special way, perhaps more than we have ever needed to hear it in our lifetimes, (certainly I have needed reminding of the other message of this miracle in my life). </p><br><p dir="ltr">We are living in a time that can only be described as one of blinding uncertainty. A worldwide pandemic, brought on by a disease which the supposed "experts" cannot even agree on how best to treat or prevent. In the last six months we have seen our society grind to a halt, and even as we begin some semblance of reopening, nothing is normal. All we have to do is look around this church to see that. Many of our family members, friends, and neighbors have lost their jobs, and many more people are still unsure if they will have a way to provide for themselves in the near future. Even for those of us who have been relatively well provided for during this time in which we are living find that nothing is normal. We have to keep a distance from our neighbors, we have to wear masks to church, and we know that many people are afraid of whether or not they will catch the disease, and how it might affect their lives. </p><br><p dir="ltr">In today's readings, however, the Lord is giving us a message of Hope. Yes, so many of us find ourselves in a situation that is so unclear, and for many it seems hopeless. Jesus was teaching and ministering to a huge throng of people, and the disciples didn't know what to do with them, they were ready to send them away because they knew they couldn't feed them. Jesus, however, had other ideas.</p><br><p dir="ltr">The solution of Jesus to the problem at hand was to do what only God can do, and Jesus is God… Our Lord provided for the obvious need of the people who were assembled there, even though doing so appeared impossible, but as Jesus himself said "with God all things are possible."</p><br><p dir="ltr">We are living in and through an extremely uncertain time, and many of us can honestly say that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. The Lord wants to remind us in all of the readings today that we can rely on him to provide what we need. Just when the situation may seem beyond our control, if we are truly willing to put our lives into the hands of God, he will provide for us, just in the way that Jesus provided for the 5000 and the women and children.</p><br><p dir="ltr">I do not recall a time in my lifetime when people were so fearful of their neighbors, or so afraid for themselves. In our country, we see great levels of civil unrest, and so much lawlessness now in many of our cities that it can rightly be called an uprising against legitimately constituted authority. Good people who are just trying to get on with their lives are afraid of what might happen to them, and many people are afraid of a virus with a 98% survival rate.</p><br><p dir="ltr">But Our Lord is showing us that he will provide for us. He will provide for us spiritually, and he will provide for our physical needs, but we have to believe in and trust in him. Just as he provided for the 5,000, he's ready to provide for us. He wants us to have faith that he can. Even now, he's reminding us, just as Saint John Paul II did, of what he told the disciples when they were in fear of their lives. "Be not afraid!"</p><br><p dir="ltr">About a year-and-a-half ago I recall that I joined Father Patrick up at Cor Jesu Monastery and assisted with Mass for the sisters. We deacons get used to doing things a certain way, and when preparing for the consecration I always pour roughly the same amount of wine in the chalice. On that particular day, Father had told me to fill the chalice up, since all of the sisters received from the one chalice, so what did I do when the time came to prepare for the consecration? I poured in my usual amount, and Father consecrated it. It was my mistake and I began to think we wouldn't have enough… yet miraculously not only did we have enough, all of the sisters partook of the chalice that day as they normally would. The Lord provided because the people had faith.</p><br><p dir="ltr">Jesus is ready and willing to provide for us and for our needs, if we are willing to submit totally to faith in Him. "All who are thirsty, come to the water," Isaiah says, "you have no money, come and receive grain and eat, without paying and without cost drink wine and milk!" The prophet asks, "why spend your money for what is not bread, or your wages for what fails to satisfy?" Jesus already gives us the very best because he gives us himself in the Eucharist. </p><br><p dir="ltr">He wants to provide for our every need, all we have to do is to have faith that he can and understand that he knows what we need far better than we do.</p><br></div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-52117907001738828762020-07-05T00:55:00.000-04:002020-07-31T00:57:34.124-04:00Parish Bulletin Column On Spiritual Communion 7/5/2020<div class="separator">
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As we continue our spiritual journey together during what some have termed- not inappropriately - "coronatide," the most frustrating aspect of our shared experience for so many of us has been the limited nature of public worship, the Mass, and the regular availability of the Holy Eucharist. We have been compelled to limit the number of people who can come to Mass, as well as to wear facemasks when we come to Sacred Worship. Entire rows of pews in our nave must be roped off to keep people from sitting in them as we “social distance.” It has been most difficult for deacons and priests, because bringing Christ to others in tangible ways is a big part of the ministry of Catholic clergy.</div>
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If there is one benefit to what our community is going through, it may be that perhaps this experience will help us not to take the frequent reception of Holy Communion for granted. I was reminded by a recent article in <i>Homiletic and Pastoral Review</i> that the practice of "Spiritual Communion," of not receiving the Eucharist physically for a period of time, but inviting Our Eucharistic Lord to dwell in our hearts and change our lives is not only an ancient devotional practice, at one time it was a far more frequent one. </div>
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It was the great Pope St. Pius X who restored and encouraged the practice of very frequent Holy Communion among the laity, even encouraging people to receive the Eucharist daily if they were properly disposed. While the renewal of the Blessed Sacrament in this way has been a great blessing for the Church, in more recent times we have become so accustomed to receiving Holy Communion with such frequency that the regular practice of Spiritual Communion seemed to be non-existent among many Catholics, with the notable exception of those homebound who have not had regular access to the Holy Eucharist. </div>
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Prior to the great reforms of Saint Pius, there were many Catholics who only received Holy Communion a few times a year, and yet were still obligated to come to Mass at least on Sunday under the pain of mortal sin. If someone wasn't receiving the Holy Eucharist, they were encouraged to make a Spiritual Communion, to unite themselves completely to Jesus in the Eucharist through prayer, and to do so in such a way that they longed for the Eucharist, understanding that it is really Our Lord - body, blood, soul, and divinity.</div>
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The lengthy period of time which we have recently passed in which we had no regular access to the Mass, but were asked to watch Mass on the internet or television, or listen on the radio, caused many of us to feel as though we were spiritually starving without the Eucharist. In many of these "virtual Mass" situations, the celebrant of the Liturgy will invite those watching to make a Spiritual Communion. There are many very good reasons why someone might not receive Holy Communion on any given Sunday. Perhaps you didn't get a chance to go to Confession before Mass. Perhaps you had to leave the church because of illness, or to tend to a sick child or spouse, or perhaps illness or quarantine is keeping you away from Holy Mass.</div>
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The practice of uniting ourselves in perfect prayer with the Eucharist when we cannot receive Our Lord is a way of reminding ourselves how much we long for the Lord Jesus, and how much we hope to be with Him in the heavenly liturgy for all eternity.</div>
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Act of Spiritual Communion:</div>
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<i>My Jesus, </i></div>
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<i>I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. </i></div>
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<i>I love You above all things, </i></div>
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<i>and I desire to receive You into my soul. </i></div>
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<i>Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, </i></div>
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<i>come at least spiritually into my heart. </i></div>
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<i>I embrace You as if You were already there </i></div>
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<i>and unite myself wholly to You. </i></div>
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<i>Never permit me to be separated from You.</i></div>
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<i>Amen.</i></div>
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Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-31155588267194669682020-06-11T00:42:00.001-04:002020-06-11T01:23:10.062-04:00Thoughts On the Anniversary of My Ordination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><div><br></div><div>Every year this day passes and I remember it as I remember my wedding anniversary, or my wife's birthday, or my daughters' birthdays, or other significant days on the calendar. Each year, this day comes and it causes me to pause and reflect on the gifts of God in my life, and the opportunity that he has given me to be present for others.</div><div><br></div><div>There are times, I have to admit, when I wonder how it is that the Lord intends to use this wonderful Sacrament and vocation of service that he has given me, and that is now four years on. I often ponder this because I now have two beautiful daughters and a beautiful and wonderful wife who sacrifices much and puts up with a lot out of me. My weekdays are often covered over dealing with young children, while I sometimes see and hear of my brother deacons taking the time to engage in many ministries that I love and find that I don't currently have the time to do those things that many of them do. I find that I sometimes ask God "how can you use me to serve others in the midst of everything that we have going on?"</div><div><br></div><div>I have found, however, that the Lord has often made some use of me in ways that I am not expecting, often would not think of, and I certainly wouldn't ask. </div><div><br></div><div>There have been the times that parishioners have stopped me after Masses or when I was on my way to the car to share with me that I said or preached something on a particular day that spoke to their heart and mind. People will sometimes stop me and ask if I will bless their holy reminder or their religious object for them. To be honest, I don't often think about this, but the times when I have been able to give the gift of presence and blessing to people when they have needed it didn't seem like much to me, but maybe it meant something to the people who asked for that blessing.</div><div><br></div><div>When our present crisis of pandemic first hit, in the first couple of weeks, all the clergy of the parish took the time to divide up the parish list and make a phone call to each parishioner to check in on them. I didn't realize how much I could serve someone with a simple phone call or text until we (all of our Parish clergy) did this and I heard the thank yous from parishioners and others who terribly missed sacramental life or the fellowship of their church family. The people of God were pleased to know that their priests and deacons were still there and still praying for them and thinking about them.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div> </div><div><br></div><div>"What can I do to be of service to the people, Lord?" Sometimes I will ask Him that question and He will give me answers I don't expect. I certainly didn't expect to be able to help someone find a place to live, but I was able to do that once with a simple letter. "Make me an instrument, Lord..." I will ask Him, and He will do it. It is usually not in the ways I am expecting, it is very often not in ways that the rest of the world, and sometimes even the rest of the parish, can see. However, a long time ago I asked the Lord to grant me the gift of greater humility, and I am slowly beginning to learn what that really looks like. I will freely admit that I have a long way to go, so pray for me that the Lord will bring the good work he has done to fulfillment, and that will be the best deacon, husband, and Dad that I can be.</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Four years ago, Bishop Stika laid his hands on me and bestowed upon me the Sacrament of Holy Orders as a deacon. I am truly blessed, the Lord has given me a great gift of Ministry, and the rare precious treasure of all seven sacraments. I pray that I may be able to minister to others in some small way for a great many more years to come, and I am so thankful for everyone who is blessing me with their kindness and encouragement. (A particular note of thanks to my friend Stephanie Richer, who took these wonderful photographs, and regularly uses her God-given talent for the sake of the Kingdom.)</div><div><br></div><div><i>Ad multos annos</i> to my brothers in the Diocese of Knoxville diaconate class of 2016, and all of my brother deacons and priests everywhere who celebrate the anniversary of their ordination this month. Let us all remember that like Christ the Servant, to whom we are configured, we come not to be served but to serve, and may we, like Christ, give our lives in service for the sake of others.</div>Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-60189670668095767352020-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:002020-05-07T08:00:09.732-04:00Prayer for Our Local National Day of Prayer Observance<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony the Misfit on Flickr / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">National Science Foundation</td></tr>
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<i>Almighty and Ever-living God…
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<i>For the sake of the Sorrowful Passion of your Only-Begotten Son, have mercy upon your people, O Lord, and upon the whole world. Grant, we beseech you, the healing of body, of mind, and of soul to all of those who are afflicted with the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and of every other crippling illness. Give recovery to the cities and communities of our nation and the world who are suffering the effects of this disease, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, help those communities and their leaders turn to you, who alone may give them aid and rescue. We especially remember your precious poor of the world who do not have access to clean water or proper medical care during this epidemic.</i><br />
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<i>We pray for those who are suffering the social and economic effects of COVID-19, particularly those who have been deprived of the dignity of meaningful work, and the fruits of their labor, knowing that many of our neighbors-our brothers and sisters-feel that their livelihood and even their God-given liberty is in danger because of something they cannot control. Come to their aid, O God, and to ours, for the power to restore us is yours alone.</i><br />
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<i>We ask you, O Lord, to bring deliverance to the the nations of the world from degeneration, disaster, and war. We pray that our leaders will give themselves neither to a spirit of fear, nor to a spirit of reliance upon their own wisdom, but that they will turn to Divine Wisdom, which can only be found in the Risen Christ. When this trial is over, grant that its fruits may be used to your glory, that men and women will turn their hearts to God alone, and give you thanks and praise for your salvation.</i><br />
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<i>We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.</i><br />
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<i>Amen.<br /><br /></i><br />
<b>Note:</b> The video version of this prayer was edited and shortened in order to fit within the allotted time for the observance. This is the original prayer as I wrote it.Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3591214901901725982.post-27296632619085949992020-04-25T16:07:00.003-04:002020-04-25T16:07:53.124-04:00Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /><br /><br />Acts 2:14, 22-33</b><br />
<b>1 Peter 1:17-21</b><br />
<b>Luke 24:13-35</b><br />
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Today's Gospel is perhaps one of the most consequential in the New Testament aside from the 6th chapter of John. In this Gospel, we see two disciples of Jesus walking along the road to a town called Emmaus, moving away from Jerusalem. they were not aware that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they knew that Mary Magdalene and her companion had claimed to see Jesus alive. It wasn't something they were quite yet willing to believe, and alongside them on the road comes Jesus, and the Gospel account tells us that at first they did not recognize Him.<br />
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<br />He asks them what they are talking about, and they want to know if he's the only person visiting Jerusalem that has no idea what's been going on there over the last week. So they proceeded to explain to Jesus about Himself, and they are going on about what had happened during Holy Week, and Jesus's response to this was to give them perhaps one of the greatest homilies ever conceived. We get a portion of it, but we know that it moved these men, because when they get to Emmaus to the lodging where they had planned to stay for the night, they invited Jesus to come in with them.<br />
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<br />They still hadn't figured out who this man was, but they knew that there was something different about Him and the message that he was bringing to them, because rather than dreading what had happened over the last week, he had a message of hope, a message that told them they could trust that Jesus was the Messiah because he had to undergo the sufferings that he did. We are told that he opened the Scriptures to them, and that certainly let us in on the reality that we do not get in on all of this teachable moment, but we do get it a few critical bits and pieces.<br />
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<br />These disciples invite the man that they do not realize is Jesus in to have supper and to stay with them, they extend hospitality to Him, a man who they believe to be a stranger at that point, so they are behaving in the way that disciples of Christ ideally ought to behave. Jesus doubtless saw the intent of their hearts when he went in with those men to that inn.<br />
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<br />When I was growing up, if we had a dinner guest it was the custom in our home to ask the guest to say the Grace over the meal, and this was especially true if we knew that dinner guest to be a believer. It seems that our travelers were following that custom. When did the two disciples figure out that it was Jesus? When, and more importantly how, did Jesus make himself known? They recognized him, we are told, in the breaking of the Bread. This was a Eucharistic moment, and so it was in the Eucharist that these followers of Jesus recognized Him. After recognizing Jesus in the Eucharist, then these two disciples run back to tell the Apostles that they have seen the Lord themselves.<br />
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<br />If we look at the whole incident as it is recounted in Scripture, we can even see a very rudimentary sketch, as it were, of the two major parts of the Liturgy. Jesus opens the Scriptures to these men, we are told that their hearts burned within them when he opened the Word of God to them. After doing this, Jesus made himself known to them in a Eucharistic way when they were at table, and so we can see the Liturgy of the Eucharist represented as well.<br />
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<br />Their hearts burned within them when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, and then they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, and then he vanished from their sight.<br />
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<br />Do our hearts burn within us when the Sacred Scriptures are open to us and we hear them? Do we yearn for the Word of God? Do we read Sacred Scriptures regularly, or is the Sunday Lectionary the only time we get a glimpse of it, and then because we hear it from others without having read it ourselves?<br />
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<br />When Jesus spoke to the travelers on the road to Emmaus, he was able to open up the Scriptures to them because they were familiar with these passages, as most observant Jews and that day would have been, mostly because they would have heard them repeated in the Temple or the synagogue, and their parents likely would have known these Scriptures by oral tradition, at least. Are we as familiar with it that the Holy Spirit could open up the Scriptures to us and speak to our hearts when we read them, just as Jesus spoke to the hearts of those travelers on the road?<br />
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<br />This passage tells us that the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, they recognized Jesus in the Eucharist. The question that we all must ask ourselves is… Do we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, do we recognize Him in the Eucharist?<br />
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<br />If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly, corporeally, and substantially present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, are we preparing ourselves to meet Christ personally when we come to the house of God for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist, can we recognize Him here? Can we see him not only in our brothers and sisters, but also in the breaking of the bread as those disciples on the road to Emmaus did?<br />
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<br />If we do understand and recognize that Jesus Christ is present in the Most Holy Eucharist- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - do we grasp that this is the Second Person of the Trinity, that Jesus is God? If we do profess and believe and understand this, and we recognize the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread, as our disciples on the road to Emmaus did, do we treat Jesus as God when we receive Holy Communion? We all should prepare spiritually for Mass so that we can recognize the Lord. Beyond that, however, none of us should rush though the Communion line. If we receive the Lord Jesus in the hand, we should hold our hands completely open until we are presented with the Eucharist. If we receive on the tongue, we should open our mouths completely to allow the Lord to enter in. <br /><br /><br />No one should ever be afraid to take the time necessary to give the Lord His due in the prayer that is the Mass, and whatever we do, unless there is an urgency-such as dealing with babies or very young children, or an emergency- we shouldn't leave before the proper conclusion of the Mass. If we believe that Jesus is present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we can certainly give Him an hour of our time. He gave His life for us… It's the least we can do.<br /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><i>Note: This is the homily I would have delivered at Holy Trinity this weekend if public Mass had been held. As public Masses are not being held in the <a href="http://dioknox.org/">Diocese of Knoxville</a> at present due to COVID-19, our priests and deacons are sharing their homilies/sermons via electronic means of various kinds. A copy of the same homily can also be found on our <a href="https://htjctn.org/2020/04/25/homily-for-the-third-sunday-of-easter/">parish website</a>.</i><br />
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<br />Deacon David Oatneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895500028831981591noreply@blogger.com0