Personal God, Personal Relationship (Bulletin Column 7/4/2021)

 

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.

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. Philippians 2:7), and that means that we can enter into a personal relationship with Him, a relationship that He wants for us to have.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Amos 6:1A, 4-7
1 Timothy 6:11-16 
Luke 16:19-31


We are not told that the rich man in Jesus’ parable didn’t believe in God, or that he lacked faith, or that he didn’t observe the letter of the law of Moses himself. What we do learn about the rich man is that he has one of the worst problems that any professing believer in God, any professing Christian today can have, and that is the problem of indifference. The rich man was obviously indifferent to the plight of Lazarus who was at his gate, but even more, it is clear that while he was alive, this man had no fear of God. Why can we say that? He saw Lazarus all the time out at the entrance to his property, and he chose to ignore the situation. This is not only an illustration to us from Jesus that we should not ignore the poor and the helpless and should be keen to lend them a hand up, it also represents a flagrant violation of repeated commands of God not to ignore the cry of the poor.



Indifference may be the greatest tool of Satan to bring the greatest number of people into Hell. The Devil isn't worried about the hardened sinner, the unrepentant murderer, the unrepentant adulterer, the unrepentant criminal, the atheist who violently renounces the faith (out of spite against God), a phenomenon we see more and more of today. Satan already has these people, those who have turned away from God in a very public way. He doesn't have to make any effort to try to get them, Jesus is the one who gave his all to bring those people to repentance, and it is the Lord who makes the effort to pursue the hardened sinner. Instead, the Devil has to make an effort to lure the decent and the reasonable people into the Kingdom of Darkness, and indifference is how he does it. The rich man in Jesus's parable is a classic example of how indifference can ultimately send someone to Hell.



Nowhere are we told that the rich man was a personally bad individual, or that he treated members of his own family or his friends with such a lack of care or concern. We are told, however, that while he was eating and drinking well, and while he was well clothed and all of his needs were provided for, there was a need in front of him, a man who was his neighbor. To Lazarus and to his needs, the rich man was indifferent.



Because this was a parable of Jesus, we aren't told much about the rich man's personal life. However, because of the way things worked in 1st Century Palestine, we could probably glean that such a rich man was a Jewish person who was probably at least outwardly observant. That could mean that he went to the synagogue or to the Temple on a regular basis, and certainly for Holy Days and the Sabbath. He would certainly have paid his Temple tax and given the expected alms to the poor, and likely a sizable donation to the Temple treasury. His friends and family likely would not have seen him as anything other than "a good Jew," because that would have been what was accepted in that day and time for someone of that kind of status.


But as men see on the outward appearance, God sees on the heart (cf. 1 Samuel 16:7), and more than anything else it was the rich man's indifference to Lazarus and to the sin of failing to love his neighbor as himself which is what sent the rich man to Hell. (A note here… some of you may remember that a couple of years ago we had Father Stephen Imbarrato here, and he gave a wonderful Parish mission. In one of his talks he suggested that the rich man in the Gospel today might be in purgatory. I'm going to respectfully disagree with him, every decent commentary I have found places the rich man in Hell).


It should stand as a warning to all of us. God does not wish to send anyone to Hell, even Sacred Scripture tells us that much. Going to Hell is not in God's will for you, it's not in God's will for me, and despite what some of our ultra-Calvinist friends may think, it's not in God's will for anyone's life. (cf. 2 Peter 3:9) But God is both a wonderful father and wonderful friend, he doesn't force anyone to love him and he doesn't force anyone to keep His commandments… however, we are repeatedly warned that there are consequences if we don't keep His commandments. These are not consequences that he heaps upon us out of vengeance, but the consequences of failing to follow God are the results of the choices we face in life and the choices we make. The most dangerous choice of all is the choice of indifference. Indifference to our sins, yes, but also indifference to the things of God and to the plan of God.


God created us, and God loves us. He loves us enough to respect the choices that we make. If we choose to live a life without God (something that is possible to do even if you put up the front of coming to Mass on Sunday), we are the ones who have made the choice, and we've made it for eternity.


How can we make the right choice? We have the tools in front of us, we have the teachings of the Church, we have Sacred Scripture, and we not only have the Sacraments, but if we want to be right with God, and if we choose to accept the Graces that God wants to give us through the Sacraments, He will give us the Graces to live the kind of life that he expects of us to live (and part of that means not being afraid of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God loves a repentant sinner).



But we can make the wrong choice as well, and that's entirely up to us. We can choose to be overly concerned with the things of this world, with our own self-enrichment, with our own pleasure and the things which please us. We have the choice to concern ourselves with getting by from day-to-day in this world with little concern for the next. So many people do as Saint Paul described, they have the form of religion, but deny the power thereof (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5).


 The Holy Spirit has given us everything we need to succeed in the Christian Life and to win the race. Do we avail ourselves of those tools? Not only coming to Holy Mass on Sunday but also on holy days of obligation? Are we people of Prayer? Do we pray the Rosary? Do we pray the Liturgy of the Hours? Do we pray the traditional prayers of the Church? Do we remember those who have asked us to pray for them? Do we read our Bibles? Study our Catechism? Do we make an active effort for intimacy with God because we love him?


The rich man asked Abraham to go to his brothers and warn them of the torments of an eternity without God, and Abraham reminded him that they had all they needed in this life right now to avoid the torments of Hell. "They have Moses and the Prophets, let them look to them." "But if only they could see you, Father Abraham and you warn them, they will believe."


"If they will not believe Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe if someone should rise from the dead." Someone did rise from the dead, that is why we are here, and we have two thousand years of the Church's Magisterium to guide us. Don't be like the rich man or his brothers...

On the Anniversary of My Ordination

Today I celebrate the third anniversary of my receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders as a deacon. As I told one of my confreres the other day at a parish picnic, there is a very real sense in which the day passes as if it is any other day. I have to carry on with the responsibilities of my daily life, and my ministry carries on as well. 

The responsibilities of both ministry and family life are oblivious to the calendar. The next time I assist at the altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will not be substantially different than it was when I assisted this past weekend. The various formulae for blessing objects and people do not change because I have passed another year in ordained Ministry. There is a very real sense in which I am grateful to God merely to be able to carry on.

I love being a deacon, and I did not love it any less yesterday and did not love it any less on the day I was ordained than I do today. I will love it as much tomorrow and as much next week as I do right now. The one thing I do envy about my brothers who have passed many more years in the ordained service of the Church is that they have the added benefit of greater experience that can only come with time.

I placed my hands in Bishop Stika's hands to promise obedience
(Dan McWilliams/East Tennessee Catholic)

Ontological change happens with the simple act of the Laying On of Hands
(Stephanie Richer/Stephanie Richer Photography)

Just because I understand the reality that the anniversary of my ordination is just another day in both my ministry and my family life does not mean that the significance of the day lost upon me, or than I am attempting to shrug it off. Quite the contrary. There is a reason that those of us who are ordained remember the day that it happened, just as we remember our wedding anniversary. We understand that the day we were ordained we were changed forever.

When we vest, we kiss the cross on our stoles as a reminder of the sacrament and gift of ministry we have received.
(Stephanie Richer/Stephanie Richer Photography)

The change that myself and my brothers experienced that day was an ontological change. We all received a sacrament by means of the laying on of hands, the outward sign of the ontological mark on the soul.

Cardinal Rigali helps me put on my dalmatic, the vestment proper to a deacon, for the first time, along with my wife.
(Stephanie Richer/Stephanie Richer Photography)

The Graces we receive from this sacramental ontological change, however, are Graces which we must be open to and we must accept in order for them to have the effect that they need to have on our lives, our families, and our ministries. I know that I daily must be open to the Graces of God in order for my Ministry to be effective in the lives of the people that I serve.

Receiving the Book of the Gospels from Bishop Stika
(Stephanie Richer/Stephanie Richer Photography)

On the day I was ordained, Bishop Stika said to me (and my classmates): 

“Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”

I truly love to serve, and I hope that I have many more years to continue to do so. pray for me that God will grant me a double portion of humility, that I may be an effective servant, and a far better reflection of Christ to others.

A Marian Memorial of the Holy Spirit

One of the great reforming actions of Pope Francis' pontificate might be the small but spiritually significant reforms to the liturgical calendar and praxis that could actually help enhance her spiritual life.

One of these changes is to mandate the inclusion of St Joseph in the Eucharistic prayer. A far more significant change, in my mind, is the addition of today's Memorial to the calendar of the Church.


Today is the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church, appropriately held on the Monday following the feast of Pentecost.

This feast day calls attention to one of Mary's most important titles next to the title of Mother of God. it speaks to the reality that Mary is the mother of the Church, and that indeed without Mary saying yes to God, there would be no Church!

It also serves to remind us something reality that Mary was actually present on the Day of Pentecost in the upper room with the disciples. That means that like them, she was a part of the particular outpouring of the Holy Spirit that occurred for the Apostolic College on that day. indeed, the mention of Mary on the Day of Pentecost is the very last direct mention of her in Sacred Scripture.

It is most fitting that we should remember the Mother of the Church on the day after we officially celebrate the birth of the Church

Bishop Tobin is Right

Bishop Thomas Tobin

Recently, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island landed himself in hot water with many in the popular culture with this Tweet over this past weekend about some...cultural events...taking place in many parts of the country during the month of June.

A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ “Pride Month” events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.

— Bishop Thomas Tobin (@ThomasJTobin1) June 1, 2019

Immediately the wolves of our culture came to denounce Tobin for "spreading hate," as they usually do to any bishop, priest, or deacon who speaks out about the moral law, and some even said that he was wrong to say anything because his words would encourage hatred against the "gay community." Even some members of the clergy have gotten in on the act, trying to say on social media that what Bishop Tobin said was not compassionate.

But is the Bishop wrong? Firstly, what is the Church's official statement of its own teaching on this matter? The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it as clear as possible for us:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

The Church holds, then, that while someone's proclivity to attraction of people of the same sex is not, in and of itself, a sin, that homosexual activity is a sin. The Church calls on us to treat homosexual persons with "respect, compassion, and sensitivity," but the Church is quite clear that this compassion does not extend to acceptance of sinful behavior, and indeed that would not be compassionate at all-it could endanger many souls.

Bishop Tobin also said that that Catholics should not attend events which celebrate "Pride Month." No doubt, some readers will say "but Deacon, doesn't the Catechism say that we should treat gay people with 'respect, compassion, and sensitivity,' so shouldn't we go all out and celebrate Pride Month to support them?


 



Are you also going on public marches or attending public events to support those who have a proclivity to adultery or fornication? Would you do such a thing? If you would, I would question any claim you might make to practice bona fide Christianity. Yes, we are all sinners, but we are still called to avoid sin and the near occasion of sin. Furthermore, if we attend events which promote sin, we are giving our approval to the sin by our presence there, and if we do not approve, we will have given scandal to many other believers by the appearance of giving public approbation to grave sin. At the very least, you are saying you are proud of your concupiscence and that of others. "YAY, I am proud of my human proclivity to potentially commit sin and do evil in the sight of God!"

Sacred Scripture certainly backs up what Bishop Tobin is trying to say:

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What reason would anyone have to attend a rally that supports and promotes homosexual acts and faux "marriage" other than to support those acts yourself? If you don't, why would you attend an event where they do? If you would not support other deadly sins, you shouldn't support "Pride Month" either.

Some on social media are saying that Bishop Tobin "backed down" because of this statement from the Diocese of Providence:

.

A close reading of this statement shows us, however, that Bishop Tobin isn't backing down at all. He is more effectively stating Catholic teaching:

I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community. That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense. I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter.

 The Catholic Church has respect and love for members of the gay community, as do I. Individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and our brothers and sisters. 

 As a Catholic Bishop, however, my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues. That is what I have always tried to do – on a variety of issues – and I will continue doing so as contemporary issues arise.

 In other words, Bishop Tobin is saying "I love you, what I said was true." Indeed, he reiterated to the news media that he stands by his statement.

One of the difficulties with Twitter is that you have so little space in which to express what you are trying to get across to others. Twitter has helped to reduce our society to one in which many people take the entirety of what others say by a few characters.

It is for this reason that I personally do not recommend the use of Twitter as a means of social communication for my brother clerics. When the time comes to address controversial social and moral issues, and one feels the need to address them online (as indeed I have done in this post), other means of internet communication such as Facebook, MeWe, or blogs exist so that we may say all that needs to be said, all that the Holy Spirit might place upon our hearts. 

I would humbly recommend to Bishop Tobin that he consider one of those alternatives when the time comes, as it inevitably does in the time in which we live, to address the state of our society on internet-based social media.

Even though other means might have been better means to convey the message, what Bishop Tobin said is true. "Gay Pride" events promote grave sin. Catholics concerned for the good of their souls and the souls of others should not attend or promote them.

Return to This Blog

It has been 6 years since I have posted on this blog. The chief reason why I have not is because I was asked to take over the official blog of the Diocese of Knoxville to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Life At 25.

I greatly enjoyed that work, and I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with a wider audience, but at the time I did not have the time or the energy to run two active blogs. In March of 2015 my daughter Riley was born. As you can imagine, she has taken up much of the time that I had previously devoted to write.

I was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Knoxville in 2016, and assigned to the parish of Holy Trinity in Jefferson City.


As time has passed, it has become clear to me that I still don't have time to maintain two blogs, and the original purpose for the diocesan blog I was helping to maintain long ago passed. We just celebrated 30 years as a diocese.

I was extremely proud to do the work, but I think that the diocese is ready to move on from the blog business. The blogs are still on the website and I still have the ability to post to it but there's no direct link to the blogs that were there before.

Posting on my own personal blog again allows me to deliver my homilies to you, but also to post more personal content, which isn't always appropriate for the diocesan website.

It's good to be back. I hope you'll join me on this journey of faith!

Man of the Church

It has admittedly been quite some time since I have posted here at Operarius, largely because my summer work has taken me to the Diocese of Knoxville's official blog Life At 25, which has meant that I have had less time to post here. However, it is worth noting that as our diocesan Eucharistic Congress approaches this coming weekend, so does the Rite of Candidacy that will "officially" make me a candidate for ordination. That Rite will happen on October 12th, God willing.

If there is one thing that I have learned over the past few months, it is that some people are slowly starting to notice that there have been a lot of changes in the way that I do things. My daily Examiner column has taken on far more religious content and far less political content. It isn't that I have lost interest in the political world (that is what my degree is in, after all, so I have an abiding personal interest in, and a certain enjoyment of, politics), but there is a genuine realization that now, my personal views could be wrongly taken for the views of the Church at large.

"Now Oatney," you may say, "that is silly. Why on earth would anyone take your opinion for the point of view of the diocese, or the bishops' conference, or the Church as a whole." There are some well-meaning people out there who do not necessarily grasp how the Church functions internally as a body, and so the opinions of one small potato can be blown into the official Yukon Gold Source of Truth. That doesn't mean I'm not entitled to my opinion, but it does mean that I must be increasingly more careful about when and how it is expressed. I should point out that, at least to some degree, I have learned this reality "the hard way."

I don't say all that with a sense of trepidation, lest anyone think that might be the case, but instead with an understanding that my journey of formation is about to enter a new phase. Candidacy means that the Church will recognize publicly, for the first time, that there is a strong possibility that I may be ordained. It means that I will be a "man of the Church," and may be seen as such by some already.

Perhaps most important of all, though, I see a change in myself, one that I believe comes from the Holy Spirit. I am increasingly comfortable that the Holy Spirit has placed me where I now find myself, and even though I don't yet know what ministries I will have if I am ordained, I am confident that if the Lord allows me to be ordained, that he will give me the gifts that I need to carry out what I am called to do, if he hasn't already.

Most of all, though, myself and the men of our formation class need your prayers. Remember us as you remember your pastor, and all the clergy. I know that so many of my brother Aspirants are thankful for all the prayers they can get. I know that I am.

New pastor, new normal

Last weekend Father Joseph Hammond, CHS, spent his last weekend as the pastor at my parish, St. Patrick in Morristown. This weekend, our new pastor, Father Patrick Brownell, said his first Sunday Mass, and it happened that Nicole and I attended the Vigil Mass Saturday. We had the advantage of also attending the Wednesday evening Mass (which we often do) and I had attended the Knights of Columbus Officers' Installation, and Father celebrated the Wednesday evening Mass and he had attended the officers' installation the day before, where he was installed as Chaplain of Council 6730.

If his earliest days are any indication, Father Patrick could be a welcome and refreshing change for our parish, and I don't mean because he is a new face on the altar. He seems to have a gift for good (and humorous) homiletics. He also

appears to be a very motivated pastor, and he wants us to be motivated too. It strikes me that Father Patrick could be a great evangelizer, especially since he made a comment in his homily this past weekend about the parish seemingly having plenty of room for more people.

As the lone diaconate Aspirant in the parish, I am praying that Father Patrick and I can build a good relationship. Right now, his head is still spinning, he is still learning who is who, and the first time we were ever introduced was Tuesday evening. Pray for Father Patrick, and for all of our priests in new assignments as of this past week, I know I will be.

The end of the year and candidacy

In a little over four hours from now I will be leaving for another deaconate formation weekend, the second of our classes on the Synoptic Gospels. I do so with something approaching mixed emotions, firstly because the end of our classes will apparently not mean the end of class work (it appears that we will have at least one more paper to write, but that's okay, it goes with the territory), but moreso because I found last year entering into the summer recess that I missed many of my Aspirant brethren tremendously. I think that a bond has formed between many of us from all over the diocese, and certainly between myself and the other two Aspirants in my deanery, Steve Helmbrecht and Don Griffith. I find that I look forward with a great deal of anticipation each month to our class sessions and meetings as much for the communio and (sometimes very deep) discussions we have outside of class as for the learning I get in the classroom. It is wonderful to be among men who love the Lord and the Church as much as you do, and who aspire to devote their lives more fully to the service of God. There are times when the joy seems infectious when we are together.

It is also interesting to note how close we seem to have become to many of the hotel staff. Last month we learned of the departure from the staff of the dear lady who has taken care of us from the beginning of our journey together. I cannot speak to the feelings of the others in the class regarding this development, but I was very sorry to hear of it. She remembered all of us by name and took such care to see to it that our needs were met. I have always gotten the same accessible room on the first floor because she saw to it, and I've always gotten an automated e-mail, usually a couple of days before we were due to be there, letting me know that my room would be ready. I noted that this month I have not received such an e-mail, and I told Nicole that I hope that I have a room!

This month I will submit the letters from Nicole and from myself requesting that Bishop Stika admit me to candidacy for Holy Orders, which if he does so, will happen in October. My mentor told me that it was his experience that the men who make it to candidacy together will likely be ordained together, so it is now that I will ask for everyone's prayers for my own continued discernment, for my growth in charity, and that the Holy Spirit will guide me and conform me into what God would want me to be, and that hopefully when others see me, they will come to see Christ in me.



On this feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray with me the Litany of the Sacred Heart for all of our Aspirant class, for all of the Deacons of our Diocese, for Father Christopher Manning, our newly- ordained priest, for all of our seminarians, priests, religious, and those who spend their lives in God's service.

Projects and praise

The time has come to begin searching in earnest for our summer service projects for formation. I am still unsure exactly what my summer service will entail. Deacon Tim Elliott, who is our Director of Deacons and Deaconate Formation, has e-mailed us a list of suggested places that we might go to minister, but I thought the list for our deanery was a bit thin. The good news is that we don't have to follow that list, we are at liberty to find our own service project, but we have to verify that we've done the good works we set out to do by writing Deacon Tim a one-page summary of our work and the contact information of the person or people who can verify that we did what we have said we would do, and for the amount of time that we are pledged to do it. That is neither an unreasonable request, nor is it undoable once I do find something.

At this point, I still have no idea what my summer service project will be, but I am open to suggestions and I am going to operate under the assumption that if it is something radically different that I might need to clear it with Deacon Tim or with the bishop, even though I have been told in an e-mail that we do not necessarily have to clear our projects beforehand. I'd certainly feel more comfortable doing so in order to make certain that whatever I find (or come up with) meets the intentions that Deacon Tim and Bishop Stika have set out for a proper service requirement, not just a case of "I like this, so I think I will do it." Nicole suggested that it may be possible to find something to do at Daily Bread, which is an ecumenical ministry in Morristown that feeds hungry people-anyone who comes-every day. Many area churches serve there, including our own parish. My spiritual director has suggested that I might consider offering some classes of supplemental instruction at the parish over the summer on topics such as different forms of prayer, the liturgy, or the Eucharist after I expressed a concern to him about some of our RCIA neophytes being "left hanging" a bit (not on purpose, mind you, they just kept right on coming!). I couldn't help but notice that this year, unlike what I have often observed in previous years, we didn't see much of a drop-off in attendance after Easter. Most of our new Catholics stayed with us right up to the very end. To me, this indicated a spiritual hunger and interest, so I might like to try and address some of that (of course, were I to offer these informational sessions, they'd be open to all, not just former RCIA participants). Father Joseph would have to approve of that project, too...

I am also actively seeking to assist the parish in new ways. There are a couple of committee positions on the parish council at St. Pat's that I have a genuine interest in. One is spiritual life, and the other is parish life. Since prayer and spirituality are what I would call a strength of mine (albeit a developing strength), perhaps I can also be of service in this way. A ministry of prayer and the teaching and spreading of prayer to others is one that I would hope to have if I am-God willing-ordained.

Even though I am still perplexed about what my summer project might be, I have decided to take the advice of a commenter to this blog back in January when I first expressed honest concern and some apprehension about what my summer project might be. Everything about my formation up to this point I have entrusted to Jesus through Mary, and I have told the Lord that I trust in him to provide what I need, and he has so far done that through the wonderful and prayerful support of my brother Aspirants, in a unique way through Steve Helmbrecht and Don Griffith, who have been generous to provide me a ride to formation each month, and have therefore had to put up with me! The Lord sent them to answer my prayer that if this was the Lord's will, the Lord would provide a way. 

I am going to approach my summer project with the same spirit and with that prayer brought to us by St. Faustina: "Jesus I trust in you." It is our bishop's episcopal motto (Iesu Confido in Te) and it has become my personal prayer throughout my formation process...and so I trust in Jesus to show me the way in summer service the way he has shown me the way in everything else.

And I am going to praise God for his goodness to me in allowing me to be formed in this way. In that spirit, here is another of my favorite Taize hymns.

If you don't know the Latin, it roughly translates:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
All Nations, Alleluia!


Finally, pray for me. This coming weekend is our formation weekend, and on Saturday I am scheduled to meet with Deacon Tim, Deacon Jim Lawson, and <??????> to answer whatever questions they may have about where I am in my call, to submit my canonical impediments form, and to receive instructions on how to formally request candidacy from the bishop. Nicole will also have to join me in this request.

Come and follow me

I recently engaged in an internet discussion with a very nice lady who has shown some rudimentary interest in the Catholic faith. I don't yet know enough about her, other than just a little about her personal faith background, to know how best I might help her in her faith journey or whether I am the one to help at all. The exchange has gotten me to thinking, however, of the importance of our lives acting as witnesses to call others to Jesus Christ, who would call all people to himself.

Pope Francis has said in a recent homily that without evangelization, the Church doesn't act as our Mother, but as "a babysitter." The Holy Father said that when we evangelize others “the Church becomes a mother church that produces children (and more) children, because we, the children of the Church, we carry that. But when we do not, the Church is not the mother, but the babysitter, that takes care of the baby – to put the baby to sleep. It is a Church dormant." Pope Francis called on all Catholics “to proclaim Christ, to carry the Church – this fruitful motherhood of the Church – forward." The Holy Father's call echos the very words of Jesus when he told the Apostles in Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

The Holy Father also pointed out that the very first believers in the book of Acts had only recently been baptized, but had the courage to go out and proclaim the Gospel to others. Certainly we aren't called to do any less than the first Christians. What we cannot do with any effectiveness is to be witnesses "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:9)” without our lives reflecting that which we proclaim and being the primary witness to the faith we profess.



My internet conversation with someone interested in our faith got me thinking seriously about how the words and actions that I use around others reflect on the faith that I profess with my lips. We are called to issue the same summons that Jesus did, to encourage others to follow him.

Are we really doing that?

Here I am Lord, send me

I just returned yesterday from another wonderful weekend (and they are wonderful) with my Brother Aspirants as we continued our journey through the epistles of St. Paul with Father Andreas Hoeck, who is Dean of Faculty at St. John Vianny Seminary in the Archdiocese of Denver, and he's also charge of deacon formation in that archdiocese. In such a short time, we have all come to love Father Andreas and we are looking forward to having him back next year to teach us more about the Johannine literature in Sacred Scripture. Several of us also think that Father Andreas would be a fine retreat master, but I am most impressed with his humility and obvious holiness. His prayerful way of teaching the faith is an example to all of us.

Over the course of the weekend, we learned a few details in discussions outside of class about a reshuffle in priestly assignments that is about to take place in the Diocese of Knoxville. These transfers will mean that a few of my brothers may have to find new spiritual directors, for example, since their current one either will be or may be moved to a location that will not make it practical to continue regular direction. Some of us have grown used to having Father Christian Mathis nearby at St. Thomas the Apostle in Lenoir City when we are on formation weekends, since Father Christian sometimes says Mass for us on occasions when we do not have a priest instructor, as we have our formation sessions within the geographical boundaries of that parish. From time to time we have been known to attend Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle as a group, but we learned that Father Christian will be moving to a new assignment as the Campus Minister at East Tennessee State University, while Father Michael Cummins, who currently holds that assignment and who serves as spiritual director for one of my brother aspirants in our own deanery, will be serving (we are told) as Chaplain at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga. The clerical "shuffling" is causing some minor discomfort among some of my brothers as they will have to make adjustments in the process of their own formation. Several priests will experience reassignment in our diocese, and not a few deacons, aspirants, and laity might ask "why us and why now."

The reassignment of priests, and even of deacons from time to time, is a fact of ecclesiastical life. Learning that the reality of reassignment will impact several of our precious priests and the people of God in the parishes and ministries in which they are presently serving has caused me to reflect on the very nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, whether as a deacon, priest, or bishop.



When a man has answered God's call to serve the Church through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, he answers the same question from God that the Prophet Isaiah did, and when the bishop ordains a man who has answered that call, the bishop is affirming that the Church believes that the man who is asking to be ordained has given the same answer to the Lord that Isaiah gave him in Isaiah 6:5-8:

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Those who answer the call to Holy Orders are truly sent. This is true whether the man in question is a deacon who is ordained and sent to minister in his own parish (or in a parish or ministry he was not expecting), a priest sent to a parish or a mission far from home, a bishop sent to a mission diocese in some far-flung and isolated place, or Jorge Bergoglio being called to Rome for a conclave and never coming home again, not as the Archbishop of Buenos Aries.

When someone submits themselves in a spirit of prayerful obedience to God's will and they accept a life of service to the Church as a large part of that will, they are accepting a certain reality that in embracing God's call to ordained life, a man's life is truly not his own any longer. For a priest, that means that he should live his life in radical imitation of Christ. He has no bride except for the Church, and he goes where he is needed-where he is sent. That sometimes means leaving communities of faith and ministries  that he has grown to truly love to take up new ones where he is needed.

Deacons also have a similar sense that their lives are no longer led at their whim. Those of us who are aspirants for the deaconate know that if we are ordained, our assignment or assignments are at the bishop's discretion. We have faith that he will place us in positions that are both good for the people of God and for ourselves. Unlike priests, most deacons have what we sometimes call "one foot" in the secular world, with secular jobs, businesses, interests, or engagements in addition to our ministry...but those secular things are what we do, being a deacon will be who we are. I have noticed in myself that since I began formation in the fall of 2011, I have changed a great deal. The things that are most important to me on a daily basis have changed, the things that most matter have changed, and the things that I most desire to spend my time engaged in...those things have all changed, in some cases dramatically. Needless to say, I have no regrets about these changes, because I think God is adjusting my life to where it needs to be in order to serve him more fully. My wife was among the first people to encourage me in my own call, and that remains the case. There is a realism on my part that if ordained, I will go where I am sent. I will accept the ministry I am given, no matter how tiny and insignificant it might be.

Both Nicole and I know that if I am ordained, I will truly be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:12)-that if anything should happen to her and I am still alive, I will never marry again. Not only is it the strict requirement of canon law, but it is a part of the charism of an ordained man that he has pledged the rest of his life to God's service. Most permanent deacons are in a unique position in that we are already married when we come before the bishop for that laying on of hands, and our wives, well, they have to agree to all of this, because if they don't, we won't be ordained.

Deacons, priests, and bishops have pledged a life of service to God, but the people of God have to cooperate in that service. That can be hard when the time comes for God to call that ordained person to their next assignment in ministry, it isn't easy to let go of a beloved pastor, minister, spiritual guide, and friend. However, a priest, a deacon, a bishop does not belong only to us, but to the whole Church, which belongs to Christ, her Divine Spouse. We all must share the gifts that we have in order that the whole Church may benefit, more souls may be added to God's Kingdom, and we might reach heaven having done all that we could to help the Church in this divine mandate.

It means that sometimes ministries will change as needs arise, but the goal of the Church remains the same. We are here to bring the Kingdom of God more fully to fruition, even if it means sacrificing for the sake of that Kingdom

Never the same again

The above video of the Diocese of Knoxville's Chrism Mass, which I wrote of from my own personal perspective on Holy Thursday, comes to us via the photographically talented and video-inclined Deacon Patrick Murphy-Racey. The perspective in this video is one that I appreciate in a special way, because it tells us what this annual reaffirmation of priestly promises and of the ministry of service means to men who are studying for the priesthood themselves, and many will soon be serving us in our parishes.


Even though the priesthood and the deaconate are different ministries that often require men with different charisms, there is no priest in the world who was not first and remains still a deacon. It was Bishop Joseph Martino, Emeritus of Scranton, who was our instructor in Church History, who reminded us that he is a deacon and will always be a deacon. Father Randy Stice also reminded us of that reality in our Liturgy section. With that in mind, when I listen to these seminarians I am also reminded of how my own discernment of a calling to the Sacrament of Holy Orders is impacting me and the way I see and view the Church and the People of God, even though my calling differs from the seminarians who reflect in the video. I identify with the seminarians in a very real way because my formation to the deaconate has changed how I see my faith and my relationship to God and my call to serve his people.

A person cannot experience this discernment and this call and ever be the same again, just as Moses was never the same again after he'd seen the burning bush or the Apostles were never the same again after Jesus called them.

He is Risen!

Genesis 1:1-2:2:

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss,
while a mighty wind swept over the waters.

Then God said,
"Let there be light," and there was light.
God saw how good the light was.
God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night."
Thus evening came, and morning followed-the first day.

Then God said,
"Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other."
And so it happened:
God made the dome,
and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome "the sky."
Evening came, and morning followed-the second day.

Then God said,
"Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin,
so that the dry land may appear."
And so it happened:
the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land "the earth, "
and the basin of the water he called "the sea."
God saw how good it was.
Then God said,
"Let the earth bring forth vegetation:
every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it."
And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed
and every kind of fruit tree on earth
that bears fruit with its seed in it.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed-the third day.

Then God said:
"Let there be lights in the dome of the sky,
to separate day from night.
Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth."
And so it happened:
God made the two great lights,
the greater one to govern the day,
and the lesser one to govern the night;
and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky,
to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed-the fourth day.

Then God said,
"Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky."
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
"Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth."
Evening came, and morning followed-the fifth day.

Then God said,
"Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds."
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
God created man in his image;
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed-the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished
with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.





Genesis 22:1-18:

God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am, " he replied.
Then God said:
"Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a holocaust
on a height that I will point out to you."
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust,
set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants:
"Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust
and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
"Father!" Isaac said.
"Yes, son, " he replied.
Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"
"Son," Abraham answered,
"God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust."
Then the two continued going forward.
When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am!" he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing—
all this because you obeyed my command."

Exodus 14:15-15:1:

The LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me?
Tell the Israelites to go forward.
And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,
split the sea in two,
that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land.
But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate
that they will go in after them.
Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots and charioteers.
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I receive glory through Pharaoh
and his chariots and charioteers."

The angel of God, who had been leading Israel's camp,
now moved and went around behind them.
The column of cloud also, leaving the front,
took up its place behind them,
so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians
and that of Israel.
But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed
without the rival camps coming any closer together
all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers."
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army
which had followed the Israelites into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the Israelites had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.


Isaiah 54:5-14:

The One who has become your husband is your Maker;
his name is the LORD of hosts;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
called God of all the earth.
The LORD calls you back,
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
a wife married in youth and then cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great tenderness I will take you back.
In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
I hid my face from you;
but with enduring love I take pity on you,
says the LORD, your redeemer.
This is for me like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah
should never again deluge the earth;
so I have sworn not to be angry with you,
or to rebuke you.
Though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be shaken,
my love shall never leave you
nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,
I lay your pavements in carnelians,
and your foundations in sapphires;
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of carbuncles,
and all your walls of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
In justice shall you be established,
far from the fear of oppression,
where destruction cannot come near you.


Isaiah 55:1-11:

 Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread,
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of nations,
so shall you summon a nation you knew not,
and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.


Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4:

Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life:
listen, and know prudence!
How is it, Israel,
that you are in the land of your foes,
grown old in a foreign land,
defiled with the dead,
accounted with those destined for the netherworld?
You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
Had you walked in the way of God,
you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
Learn where prudence is,
where strength, where understanding;
that you may know also
where are length of days, and life,
where light of the eyes, and peace.
Who has found the place of wisdom,
who has entered into her treasuries?

The One who knows all things knows her;
he has probed her by his knowledge—
The One who established the earth for all time,
and filled it with four-footed beasts;
he who dismisses the light, and it departs,
calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
before whom the stars at their posts
shine and rejoice;
when he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!"
shining with joy for their Maker.
Such is our God;
no other is to be compared to him:
He has traced out the whole way of understanding,
and has given her to Jacob, his servant,
to Israel, his beloved son.

Since then she has appeared on earth,
and moved among people.
She is the book of the precepts of God,
the law that endures forever;
all who cling to her will live,
but those will die who forsake her.
Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
walk by her light toward splendor.
Give not your glory to another,
your privileges to an alien race.
Blessed are we, O Israel;
for what pleases God is known to us!


Ezekiel 36:16 (17a)-28:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their land,
they defiled it by their conduct and deeds.
Therefore I poured out my fury upon them
because of the blood that they poured out on the ground,
and because they defiled it with idols.
I scattered them among the nations,
dispersing them over foreign lands;
according to their conduct and deeds I judged them.
But when they came among the nations wherever they came,
they served to profane my holy name,
because it was said of them: "These are the people of the LORD,
yet they had to leave their land."
So I have relented because of my holy name
which the house of Israel profaned
among the nations where they came.
Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD:
Not for your sakes do I act, house of Israel,
but for the sake of my holy name,
which you profaned among the nations to which you came.
I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your fathers;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.


Romans 6:3-11:

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.


Luke 24:1-12:



At daybreak on the first day of the week the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. 

They said to them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day.” 


And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.









Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.
For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.
Has risen, as he said, alleluia.
Pray for us to God, alleluia.


V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.
R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

A special time of prayer for the conclave

As I am writing this, the cardinal-electors are processing from the Pauline Chapel into the Sistine Chapel, and Conclave 2013 is about to begin-they are chanting the Litany of the Saints as they move from one place to the other. The cardinals take their individual oaths to be faithful to the deposit of faith if elected and to keep the secrecy of the Sacred Conclave.

As those in the Diocese of Knoxville may know, Bishop Richard Stika has called for a time of praying the rosary and a period of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in our parishes today. A lot of parishes, including my own, are having these services of prayer, reflection, and adoration during the day today, and a lot of folks are working today or have other secular business that keeps them away from God's House during this important time for the Church.

This isn't a parish, but a blog. Nonetheless, to allow for those who can't be in a parish for a rosary and holy hour today, we're going to have virtual prayer for the conclave as it begins. Let's begin by invoking the Holy Spirit on the cardinal-electors just like they did for themselves. Right now they are hearing a reflection on the importance of the responsibility God has placed in front of them before they cast that first ballot.




This version of the Veni Sancte Spiritus is from the Taize Community, and it is one of my favorites.


Next, let's pray the rosary for our needs and intentions, those of our families and friends, the intentions of the Church, and for the conclave now sitting behind those chapel doors. I've chosen the Glorious Mysteries since the third Glorious Mystery is the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles at the beginning of the Church at Pentecost. We should pray that our new Pontiff might help usher in another Pentecost.


Finally, we'll end with Eucharistic Benediction and devotions. This happens to be the recording of the benediction from this past Sunday at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.  The Litany of the Sacred Heart and the prayers have a special focus on the conclave.

Sede vacante

Benedict XVI is now the Supreme Pontiff Emeritus. I just watched the closing of the doors and the changing of the guard at Castel Gandolfo as the clock struck eight in Rome. It is certainly a day of what I would call mixed emotions. I know he's "Pope Emeritus," I know that the College of Cardinals will elect a new Pontiff regnant, I know that this person will be the Vicar of Christ, and I know and believe that Holy Mother Church will go on and on. It is hard, however, not to call Benedict Holy Father. Maybe I'll just call him "Holy Father Benedict" or just "Papa Bene." I don't want to speak of Benedict in a way that appears to diminish the respect we all need to have for the new Holy Father, especially since Benedict already pledged his loyalty and support to that as-yet unnamed man earlier today.

Despite the personal feelings I might have with regard to Benedict's decision and today's events, it has become increasingly clear to me in recent days that what is happening is the Lord's will. This past Sunday, Papa Emeritus said that he felt that the Gospel passage on the Transfiguration was aimed directly at him, and he has talked this week about how he had asked the Lord to help him lighten his physical load. When I heard Holy Father Benedict speak of this, I could certainly identify in a very personal way with what he was saying. I am not sure what the nature of his conversation with God was like, but I believe that the Holy Spirit let him know that he has done all that has been required of him, and it was time for a new Supreme Pontiff.

Benedict has said that it is time for him to "climb the mountain" and be with God in a more intimate way in prayer more fully, as he able to devote the remainder of his earthly life to contemplation and prayer. I must admit to a kind of "holy envy" of this new status of Benedict, if there can possibly be such a thing. There are many times when I feel that my prayer time isn't quite good enough and I just want to  "climb the mountain" and spend a lot more time with God. However, I have responsibilities-and ministry-which keeps me from the fullness of such a contemplative life at this point (not to mention a wonderful wife who expects I will be around a good long time!). The Holy Spirit did not call me to a full time contemplative life, and I trust the Holy Spirit's wisdom in that regard, but there are times when I wish I had more time each day for a far more contemplative and prayer-filled existence. Yes, I pray every day...I want to pray even more, and I want to enter the presence of God in prayer even more-even as I grow close to him, I long to be even closer. Hence, for this reason I have a certain envy, because now Benedict will have all the time in the world to grow closer to Christ and to the Father before he leaves this passing world.

But the Lord also extracted from Joseph Ratzinger a very full life of service to his Church and his Kingdom before calling him to this new ministry of prayer, and I also remind myself of that, even as I pray for our Pontiff Emeritus, and for the Church in the days ahead.

Bless us one last time, Holy Father Benedict!

A thank you for Benedict and a prayer for the conclave

Do you remember when you heard the news that Benedict XVI had been elected?





I was actually watching everything streaming over the internet on EWTN at the time. I remember feeling a sense of great joy when it was clear that the smoke was white and there would be a new pope. I was relieved that the conclave had been so short, because I thought a long conclave might lead to the secular media having a speculation field day in ways that go beyond the normal. I was then, as I am now, ready to embrace whoever was ultimately chosen, but I did have a favorite at the time-someone who I felt led by the Holy Spirit to pray for especially. His name was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and he was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I was praying specifically for him-I had a feeling in the depth of my soul that he should be pope and that he would be pope.

When his name was announced I was ecstatic-I did not know whether to laugh or shout or cry with glee. I understood beyond the shadow of any doubt in my mind that God's will had been done that day, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit about the whole business, even though I was watching on a computer screen thousands of miles away from Rome. I still believe that today-Benedict has been a wonderful shepherd.

When I heard the news that he would abdicate the Chair of Peter this Thursday early in the morning on Monday, February 11th, I had the inevitable reaction of shock, sadness, and a degree of disappointment. I love the Holy Father. I love his writings, and I have a deep appreciation for what his work has meant for the Church over many, many years of faithful service. His theological opus has reached people of all faiths and has won many converts to the Church, most of whom never met him. Then I listened to and read his statement, and the words he has spoken about his decision since that day, and I believe that as the Holy Spirit brought him to the See of Peter, the Holy Spirit has let him know that the time is right for another to take his place.

This time around, there are two or three of the cardinals who I think might make a fine Pontiff, but now it is purely a matter of personal opinion on my part. I don't have the strong feeling and the leading from the Holy Spirit that I felt preceding the last conclave that one of the men ought to and would likely be elected, and Cardinal N. is that person-now I simply feel a need to pray for all of the cardinal-electors with some fervor.

One thing that seems to be occurring at a very unhealthy level is that there seems to be more media pressure and speculation than there was last time and-if some Catholic sources are to be believed-perhaps more than has ever been. The amount of speculative media frenzy has become so ridiculous that even the Vatican has openly condemned it as disgraceful. We are all entitled as Catholics to our own opinions of who we might like to see elected or not (that is human nature to a degree), but we all have to respect that not only is the conclave to be kept secret (and should forever be), but it is to be kept secret in order to preserve the integrity and the legitimacy of the papal election itself. Furthermore, whoever is elected deserves our respect, affection, support, and will have great need of our prayers.

As for Holy Father Benedict, I am thankful for his ministry, and I believe the Church and the cause of the Gospel are better served today because Joseph Ratzinger devoted his life to the service of the Church and we have been blessed to have him in the Chair of St. Peter. Let us pray for him as he prays for us.

________________________________

Let us also pray for the Cardinals who will vote in this upcoming conclave. I have a little prayer I came up with for them-it isn't much, just the thoughts of my heart, and I invite you to pray with me or to pray a prayer for them from your own heart.

Almighty Ever-living God, may your guiding hand and the power of your holy presence be among the Cardinal-electors, as they gather at the threshold of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul to choose a new successor to fill the shoes of the Fisherman. May they be so disposed to choose a man after your own heart, who delights in your laws and meditates upon you day and night. 

Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, may he pilot the barque of your Church through the stormy spiritual seas of our skeptical age, that we may reach in triumph the glory of your everlasting Kingdom.

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. Amen.