In Re: What About Deacons?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Deacon Bob

In regards to my previous post, I wish to present again a post I wrote in 2010 , when now pope-emeritus Benedict exhorted the Scottish bishops to care for their deacons and reinforced the deacon as heralds of the Gospel. Here it is:

In the midst of his homily today in Scotland, Pope Benedict included the following at he addressed the bishops of that country:

“Have a care also for your deacons, whose ministry of service is associated in a particular way with that of the order of bishops. Be a father and a guide in holiness for them, encouraging them to grow in knowledge and wisdom in carrying out the mission of herald to which they have been called.” www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16ukbella.htm

It is good to be mentioned, especially in relation to the ministry of the bishop, as the Holy Father does. Ours is a ministry of service, but also of herald of the Gospel.

 

Posted in Deacons, Evangelization | 1 Comment

Pope Francis’ Letter to Families; What About the Deacons of the Church?

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Recently, the Holy Father issued a letter addressed to all families in the world. In it, he speaks of the upcoming Synod of Bishops which is being convened to discuss the theme “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelizaton”.

I’d like to point out on line in it, i.e., “This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world..” 

My question and concern is, why no mention of deacons? 

I increasingly am concerned the Holy Father has not given us deacons a clear idea what his vision is for us as a permanent order in the Church, i.e., how he sees us participating in the Church’s universal call to both holiness and mission. The silence about this is concerning, and too easily taken in a negative manner.

We deacons are hungry to know the Holy Father’s heart, and how close we are to him.

Here is the Pope’s letter to the families of the world.

Dear families,

With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization”. Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.

This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.

I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Lk 2:22-38). Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally “seen” salvation. Anna, despite her advanced age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support… Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.

Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord.

From the Vatican, 2 February 2014
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

 

FRANCIS

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Congratulations, Diocese of Wichita!

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Deacon Bob

The Holy Father has named as bishop of Wichita, Msgr. Carl A. Kemme, a priest from the diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Msgr. Kemme was born in 1960 in Illinois, and entered seminary at St. Henry’s Preparatory Seminary in Belleville, Illinois. He then studied at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Cardinal Glennon College Seminary and finally at Kenrick Major Seminary in St. Louis. He was ordained a priest in 1986.

He has held multiple positions in the diocese of Springfield since then, most recently Vicar General for the diocese.

Congratulations, Diocese of Springfield!

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Homily for the Day

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Here is a summary of my early morning homily.

For the past couple of years, I have been thinking more and more about the importance of paying attention to how we use our senses, i.e., what we look at, who we listen to, what we touch, what we allow ourselves to remember and what we imagine. This seems so central to a healthy spiritual life. Isn’t it true that in our contemporary world, what attracts us are the glitz and glamour, the well-to-do, those who are richly dressed, have wonderful stories to tell, the sports heroes and others.

Yet, today, we hear in the Readings, that it is the poor to whom we are to attend. It is the poor we are to raise up in dignity, elevate in importance. It is the poor who are to catch attention and we are to honor.

Tough stuff for a lot of us.

God chose to reveal Himself in poverty, He chose to reveal Himself in a poor man, His Son Jesus. God chose to reveal his majesty and glory through weakness and brokenness. God chose to suffer in the flesh of Jesus Christ. It is the Cross that displays for us the grandeur of God’s love and grace.

Peter, in the Gospel today, got the question right (“Who do you say that I am?”) and he got the answer right (“You are the Christ!”) but he didn’t understand what he said. Peter expected a grand Messiah, a Messiah adorned with earthly grandeur, a Messiah who would catch his attention. He got it wrong and Jesus immediately corrects him (“Get behind me Satan! You are thinking as men think, not God.)>

Every morning on Catholic altars throughout the world, God reveals Himself in a small piece of bread, bread that is the simplest form of bread made…. just wheat flour and water…. and in a small portion of wine. God reveals himself in simple bread and wine. There He is in all His glory.

Let us pray for the faith needed to see God revealed to us in poverty and humility. And thank Him for this great expression of his love for us!

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Move Past Obstacles with Joy

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Pope Francis, in his daily homily on February 14, spoke on how a Christian is to deal with the obstacles he/she will inevitably face in living out the Christian life. His comments struck home in several ways to me, thinking about the obstacles a deacon faces in ministry, and the temptation toward either idleness/defeatism or self-promotion/egoism.

The following is found at: http://www.news.va/en/news/mass-at-santa-marta-moving-forward-beyond-obstacle

It worth our time to reflect on this week.

To walk, to move forward past difficulties. This is the attitude the Christian must have, because it is part of his identity. A Christian who does not move forward, has an identity that is “not well”. Pope Francis said these words at the Mass he celebrated on Friday morning, 14 February, in the Chapel of Santa Marta. He recalled the story of the two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, Europe’s patrons, whose feast day we celebrate today. They were sent as disciples to bring the Christian message into the world, and this, the Pope said, “makes us reflect on the ‘identity of the disciple’”, the Christian identity.

 “Who is the Christian?” the Pope asked. How does the Christian behave? He answered that: the Christian “is a disciple. He is a disciple who has been sent. The Gospel is clear: the Lord sent them out saying: Go, go forward! And this means that the Christian is a disciple of the Lord who walks, who always goes forward. There is no such thing as an idle Christian. A Christian who remains still has an identity that is “ not well”. We recall the proclamation in the Psalms which repeats that the Christian is precisely a disciple who walks, who moves: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (cfr. Ps 115).

For the Christian, to walk also means “to move past difficulties”. To explain this, Pope Francis referred to the day’s Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (13.46-49), in which Paul and Barnabas are at Antioch in Pisidia, and seeing that the Jews would not follow them, they “move on to the Gentiles: moving forward!”.

He added that Jesus did the same at the wedding at Cana, “he continued on: those who were invited did not come; all found a reason not to go. What does Jesus say? That we should not have a celebration? No! He says to go to where the streets converge and invite all people, good and bad. This is what the Gospel says. But even the bad people? Yes, even the bad people! Everyone! The Christian walks, he moves past difficulties and announces that the Kingdom of God is near”.

The second aspect of the Christian identity is that it “must always remain as a lamb. There is an old Easter antiphon we sing with the words: these are the new lambs, the baptized. The Pope referred to the passage from Gospel of Luke (10:1-9) which was proclaimed just a short while ago. He said: “The Christian is a lamb and needs to preserve the identity of being a lamb: ‘Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves’”. David, the Pope recalled, did not accept the armour that was offered for fighting the Philistines: he could not move, he would not have been “himself, humble, the simple David. In the end he took his slingshot and won the battle”. We must therefore remain as lambs and “not become wolves. Sometimes”, the Pope continued, “temptation causes us to think: ‘this is difficult, these wolves are clever and I could be even more clever than they are!’”. Therefore we must remain “as lambs, not as fools, but as lambs. Lambs with Christian guile, but always as lambs. If you are like a lamb the Lord will defend you. But if you feel as strong as the wolf, he will not defend you, he will leave you alone. And the wolves will viciously eat you”.

To show the third element that characterizes the Christian, the Pope posed a question: “How does the Christian walk as a lamb?”. He replied with one word: “Joy”. “In his Book, Isaiah tell us: how beautiful are the messenger’s feet, who announces peace on the mountains, who come to tell us that the Lord is King. These are people who rejoice because they know the Lord and carry him”. The Pope added: “Joy is the way of the Christian. The Christian cannot walk without joy. You cannot walk as a lamb without joy”. It is the attitude the Christian must have, even in the face of difficulty, in times of trouble, and even “after he errs and sins”, because “Jesus akways forgives and helps us, and there is always joy”.

Therefore, the Pope repeated, the Gospel must be brought into the world by lambs who walk with joy. “The Church is not a favour they are doing for the Lord”, he clarified. “Those Christians are mourning, always living this way, and are sad, complaining about everything. This is not the attitude of a disciple. St Augustine says: Go, go forward, sing and walk with joy!”. That is the Christian attitude: to proclaim the Gospel with joy. “Too much sadness and bitterness causes us to live Christianity without Christ”. The Christian is one who never stands still, but always moves forward beyond difficulties. And he does this with strength and joy. “May the Lord”, the Pope concluded, “grant us the grace to live as Christians who walk as lambs and with joy”.

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The Reality of Evil

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Deacon Bob

I have been doing a lot of thinking in recent months about the reality of evil, and the Evil One. Why? Because I am seeing more and more frequently a growing number of people who are either experimenting with or fully involved in Wiccan or in paganistic practices.

In my preaching at the pulpit, the emphasis is almost always on God’s infinite love for every human person. Each human person is loved by God, and God desires the love of that person. God always wants a love relationship to exist between Him and us, a relationship grounded in firm faith and reaching outwardly in hope. This relationship of faith, hope and love with the God who created us is truly Good News that cannot be overstated, I believe. We are in fact adopted sons and daughters of God. One cannot help but preach this wonderful Gospel.

Yet, there is also the reality of evil, and a person of evil whom we call Satan. He is truly defeated by Christ, yet he has power. As St. Peter reminds us, he prowls like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

My friends, we simply cannot play around with Satan. He is far too clever, far too intelligent for us to think we can out-fox him and defeat him. God alone can do that. Those who involve themselves, even minimally with evil, with the occult, with witchcraft, with Wiccan or other paganistic practices, they are playing around with the Evil One. These practices are not harmless interests, or attractive alternatives to mainstream Christianity. They are dangerous; they are not acceptable; they will bring havoc into your life.

I ask anyone who reads this post and who is involved with evil in these ways to examine their lives and ask whether their lives are better, happier, more balanced and peaceful. In my experience, either pastorally or professionally in the clinic, I have never met anyone who has engaged in the occult or paganism whose life was without serious problems. They are, rather, always distressed and unsettled.

As St. Augustine wrote, your heart will be restless until it rests in God.

May God bless you and keep you always!

 

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Quote for the Day

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!” — St. Clare of Assisi

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Quote for the Day

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“What else do I ask for?  What do I hope for?  I ask the priests, deacons, religious and laity to help me to be myself,my best self.  I promise to love and respect all of you by letting you be who you are and to bring out the best in you. Let’s do this for one another.” — Bishop-elect Edward Scharfenberger

Posted in General Interest | 2 Comments

Congratulations, Dioceses of Albany and Rockville Centre!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Pope Francis has made two appointments this morning to diocesan sees here in the United States.

Photo Credit: Diocese of Rockville Centre

Photo Credit: Diocese of Rockville Centre

The Holy Father has appointed the new bishop of Rockville Centre, Msgr. Andrzej J. Zglejszewski. Bishop-elect Zglejszewski (yes that is his name’s spelling!) was born in Bialystok, Poland in 1961. He studied philosophy and theology in Bialystok, then moved to the United States where he continued his theological studies, obtaining a Master of Arts in Theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in 1990. He was ordained a priest in 1990 for the diocese of Rockville Centre. He has held various positions since then in the diocese, including professor at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and instructor for the permanent diaconate program. He speaks numerous languages including English, Polish, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian and French.

Photo Credit: www.thetablet.org

Photo Credit: www.thetablet.org

The Holy Father has appointed the new bishop of Albany, New York, Msgr. Edward B. Scharfenberger. Bishop-elect Scharfenberger was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1948, attended the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and the Alphonsian in that city, graduating with a bachelor’s in theology and a licentiate in Moral Theology. He then got his licentiate in Canon Law at the Catholic University of America, and his civil law degree from Fordam University. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Brooklyn in 1973, and has held various positions in that diocese since then. He speaks multiple languages including English, German, Italian, Spanish, French and Polish.

Congratulations, Dioceses of Albany and Rockville Centre!

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Random Thoughts

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Every so often, I post random thoughts on this weblog. Usually when I have a few unexpected moments to my self. So here goes a few more.

Topic One: I often hear the argument that “there isn’t enough money” to pay for this or that program to benefit the poor in our country. I have a lot of problems with that argument. First of all, it is a value statement because the person saying this usually would allocate money to other projects and programs in a more robust manner than they do with programs for the poor, which is indicative of what they value most dear. Second, the “no money” argument is, as best I can ascertain, patently false. There is a lot of money in our society. Lots of it. For some reason, the multi-trillions of dollars spent on such things as war does not offend us as much as the millions of dollars we spend on providing healthcare, food and shelter for the poor. Another value statement.

Topic two: We have lost our ability far too often to have a civil conversation or even debate on moral issues. We no longer have a common language or common set of assumptions from which to start. It is a very laborious task to first establish that common language and bases of assumption before discussing the issue on the table. Because it is so laborious, we try to skip it, and we end up talking past one another and excoriating our opponents. This is the point Pope Francis is making, I think, when he comments that we have to first have an encounter with the poor before we can address the moral issues. In the not too distant past, one could assume a Christian value system, a rudimentary understanding of what we call natural law, and a near universal acceptance of the reality of objective truth. No more. If you assume this, you’re defeated before you begin. What is a better approach? Do what Jesus did. Teach and speak in parables. We have not yet lost our cultural ability to tell and understand stories/parables.

Topic three: Slavery. No, I am not talking about slavery in the usual sense of involuntary servitude by which our history so sadly is marked. I am speaking of slavery to deceptions and lies and the difficulty we have in discerning truth from deception. Of course, the great mystics of the Church talked about this; St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote about this. DIscernment of the spirits. Can you discern what is true from what is false? What are the criteria by which you decide. Isn’t it true that for many of us we abdicate our responsibility to make these discernments by one of these two ways: 1) I don’t trust myself in this matter, so please Church/priest/bishop/deacon tell me so I don’t have to struggle or grow; just tell me what to do! or 2) There is no such thing as real truth or falsity; I determine alone what is true based on my affective experiences, on my own sensible conclusions, so let no man guide me for I am my own “conscience” however poorly formed I may be!  Let me suggest that either of those two options lead to slavery, and not toward real Christian freedom of which St. Paul so eloquently spoke.

Until next time….

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Evangelization: Who Said This?

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Deacon Bob

We often attribute the New Evangelization to Pope John Paul II. Here is a quote from another pope who spoke of the evangelization of the of the world. Do you know who he was?

We wish to remind the entire Church that its first duty is that of evangelization. Our Predecessor ….. presented the directions for this in his memorable document: animated by faith, nourished by the Word of God, and strengthened by the heavenly food of the Eucharist, one should study every way, seek every means “in season and out of season” (2 Tim 4:2), to spread the word, to proclaim the message, to announce that salvation which creates in the soul a restlessness to pursue truth and at the same time offers strength from above. If all the sons and daughters of the Church know how to be tireless missionaries of the Gospel, a new flowering of holiness and renewal would spring up in this world that thirsts for love and for truth.

Posted in Evangelization, Popes | 2 Comments

Quote for the Day

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“The truly pure of heart are those who despise the things of earth and seek the things of heaven, and who never cease to adore and behold the Lord God living and true with a pure heart and soul.” — St. Francis of Assisi

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Homily for the Day: Rely on Faith in the Lord Jesus

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Deacon Bob

I was asked to give the daily homily this morning at Mass. The Gospel passage was from Mark in which Jesus sent out the apostles “two by two” to preach repentance, cure the sick and expel demons. Here is a summary of what I said:

There are pivotal moments in our lives, moments in which our lives are altered forever. A man recites his vows to his wife, and life is changed; you promise to love and protect and honor your wife. You witness the birth of your first child and you realize that from now on you must feed and clothe, shelter and protect, instruct and bring this child up in the faith and in needed life skills. A man kneels before his bishop and in complete silence hands are laid on his head, and the man stands changed eternally and sent out into the world.

We hear of another pivotal moment in the Gospel today, when Jesus selects the Twelve and sends them out “two by two”, and what does he tell them? Take nothing with you (except what prudence would dictate, i.e., a walking stick to fend off predators; a pair of sandals to protect your feet on what will be a very long journey; a single tunic to sleep in). Take nothing but faith in the Lord Jesus. It will be your faith that sustains you. 

Yes, we too are sent forth. We too are to take the risk. We are to take nothing but our faith as we go forth. In the end that is what we will have at that last pivotal moment in our lives, when we pass from this life to the next. Faith will sustain us.

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Paul Miki and his companions, martyred in Japan in the 1590s. If you have a chance, read the account of their martyrdom written by an eye-witness. Here you will hear a beautiful account of the profession of the Christian faith at the moment of death. St. Paul Miki and his companions faced their pivotal moment having only their faith to sustain them.

Let us nurture our faith now, so we will draw from it later, when we face our deaths. With it, we will in all hope, see the face of the Lord Jesus!

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Quote for the Day

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“Who does not get a taste of the Cross, one way or other?” — Ven. Solanus Casey, OFM Cap.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the Presentation of the Lord

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for this weekend. God bless each of you!

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

February1/2, 2014

Mal 3: 1-4; Heb 2: 14-18; Lk 2: 22-40

Do you remember the biblical account of the Passover in the Old Testament book of Exodus? The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for about 400 years, and Moses was trying to free them from Pharaoh. One night, God’s angel went throughout Egypt, striking down every first born son in the land except for those of the Hebrews. The Hebrews had been told by God to splash lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their homes and to stay in those homes that night. Those who were in those marked homes were spared that death; God “passed over” them. The next morning, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, out of slavery. God led them to freedom.

 The Jewish people for all generations after the Passover remembered what God had done, not with fear, but with a profound sense of gratitude for the freedom given to them. God asked them to show their gratitude by offering to Him all their first born sons. Yes, each was to be given back to Him, redeemed, by presenting him in the Temple and offering a sheep or goat (if the family were wealthy) or a couple of pigeons (if the family were poor). This is what we hear about in today’s Gospel. Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, fulfilling the Law by offering Him back to His Father.

When we hear about the Passover, God striking down all the first born sons in Egypt but sparing the sons of the Hebrews, what are we left to think about who God is in our lives? Who is God and how do I think of Him? What do I imagine Him to be like? Is He a God of fear, or is He someone else?

For so many of us, I suspect, God is out there, someone with whom we have to contend in our lives. He is someone we bump up against in life. He is someone who always seems to be restricting our freedom. We all have thought of God in that way. He is a God who says, “No.” We can’t do what we want because God says no. God is sort of a fussy, competitive being who will restrict and punish us if we mess up. So we end up dealing with Him when we have to, contend with Him when we want our way or want to do something that pushes the limit a bit.

If we think of God in these ways, what is the result? Well, we end up challenging God; we run the risk of losing our freedom and our happiness; we rebel against Him and we get lost.

Who then is God if He is not that? The Bible is filled with stories that tell us, filled with the prophets who explained Him to us, and Jesus Christ reveals to us the face of God the Father. He shows us who God is.

Yes, God is a Person who is completely just and so there will be consequences we will have to face if we sin and rebel against Him. But that is not the whole story. He is more. God is a Person who gives us a solid grounding. He is a God who over and over again frees us from whatever may enslave us. He is a God who gives meaning to our lives. He is a God to whom we are naturally drawn in our quest for Truth and freedom. He is not a God who competes with our freedom, but a God who gives it. He is a God who loves us so much He wants us to be completely fulfilled and eternally happy. He is a God who gives us strength to endure the Cross in our lives. He is a God whose commandments do not restrict us, but direct us toward real and true freedom.

God never enslaves us. God frees us. God leads us. God loves us. As we heard in today’s second reading from Hebrews, He is a God who has destroyed the power of death, destroyed Satan’s power over us and freed all of us who had been subject to the slavery of sin and He did this by becoming like us in every way but sin and then suffered and died and rose again.

God is just and there will be unavoidable consequences for our misdeeds and our sins if we do not repent, but He is more. He is a God who frees us and gives our entire lives meaning.

Mary and Joseph knew God in this way. They knew God to be, not a God of death and slavery but a God of life and freedom. Mary presented her divine son in the Temple, in gratitude and faith for great gift of freedom from slavery to sin. Let us present ourselves in this Temple, this Church this day, to the same God, for He has freed us from our old way of life, a life of sin, and has given us the gift of new birth and the freedom of His sons and daughters.

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