Quote for the Day

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“Blessed the servant who does not consider himself better when praised and lifted up by men, any more than when looked on as vile, simple, and repulsive,for a man is as much as he is before God and no more.” –St. Francis of Assisi

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Love God means Love Brother

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Deacon Bob

The first reading at Mass today from John’s first epistle begins with the rather blunt statement, “Anyone who says they love God but hates his brother is a liar.”

What a wonderful, I could say, expression of the reality of the Incarnation. The Son of God becoming human, and although he has died, risen and ascended into heaven, He remains here on earth, ever and really present in the Eucharist. He also remains very present in His Body, the Church.

As we know, we are the Body of Christ. We are the People of God. We are an organism, you could say, the body of the Incarnate Lord in a certain sense. That is why it is so painful to hear someone say that they are a follower of Jesus, but they reject His Body, the Church. It really cannot be done, despite their assertion. That is why we cannot really say to a human being, “I love you” but reject their body, “but I don’t want to look at, touch, feed, nourish or value your physical needs.” That is why St. John can say, “You cannot say you love God but hate your brother.”

To not love one’s brother, who we can see and who is Jesus in the disguise of a person in need, is to deny the reality of the Incarnation, at least at that moment and in that time.

What did St. Paul hear when he was struck from the horse? Not, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute the Church?” but “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The Church, i.e., our brothers and sisters, are Christ.

Loving God without acts of charity toward our brothers and sisters eventually becomes adherence to a philosophy or an idea, not a person. Loving God by loving our brother is true religion, true faith which conquers the world, because it reflects the central tenet of the Christian faith, “God became man and dwells among us.”

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“Prayer lets you experience the gospel paradox of losing yourself in order to find yourself. The more you lose yourself in contemplation of God, the more yourself do you really become.” — Murray Bodo, OFM

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“To overspend energy on negatives can only diminish our energy for good. If we know the truth and live it, gospel freedom is a gift from the Spirit.” — Lester Bach, OFM Cap.

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Number of Pastoral Workers Killed in 2013

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies recently released data on the number of pastoral workers killed throughout the world in 2013.

Twenty-two were killed worldwide (mostly priests) in 2013, up from 13 the year before. Violent deaths included 19 priests, one religious sister, two lay people. Of these, 15 priests were killed in the Americas, most of those in Colombia, three in Africa, one in Asia, one in Syria, and one in the Philippines, one in Italy.

There remains considerable concern over the fate of a number of others, such as three priests kidnapped in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a Colombian priests who has disappeared, the unknown whereabouts of an Italian Jesuit, Fr. Dall’Oglio in Syria, two bishops (Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos al-Yazigi and Syrian Orthodox Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim), and the Orthodox nuns of the monastery of Santa Tecla.

Of course, there are probably a long list of others of whom there may never be news who have given their lives for their faith in Christ.

Friends, let us not forget in our prayers the souls of these who have died, or the well-being of those missing.

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Random Thoughts: Epiphany, Silence, Bergoglio, and Luciani

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Today, we celebrate the great feast of the Epiphany when Jesus is revealed to the nations as king, prophet and priest to the entire world. Church tradition has it that there were three Magi (or Wise Men, or Astrologers) all of whom were pagans and of royal and foreign lineage, who searched out the new-born King of the Jews. No doubt, they were completely surprised to find this King in a manger surrounded by the poor of the countryside, or perhaps with Mary and Joseph alone with him. But the Church has called these Magi, Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, saints because they accepted the great gift of God in the child Jesus, and their lives were forever changed. Yes, they are honored as saints, whereas the great king of the time in Israel, Herod, is noted with infamy because he did not accept such a gift.

Perhaps today you also, as I did, bless your home by scratching the following with a piece of chalk over the lintel of your home’s door:

20+C+M+B+14 

reciting these words as you did so:

“God of Heaven and Earth, you revealed you only begotten Son to Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, and to every nation by the guidance of a star. We ask your blessing on this house, and all who inhabit it, and on all who will enter it. Fill them with the light of Christ, that their concern for others may reflect your love.”

It is a wonderful Catholic blessing and ritual. I encourage each of you to make use of it.

I have had the last two and a half days to lay around recovering from some sort of viral illness going around the area. I find it difficult to be inactive, and as God would have it, I received from my wife as a Christmas present Henri Nouwen’s book entitled The Way of the Heart in which he writes about silence, solitude and prayer. Apt topics for me at the moment, given my forced inactivity. Silence is not something most of us are used to anymore. Our minds are always filled with thoughts, ideas, words, worries and projects. Nouwen suggests our world is polluted with verbosity. He speaks of the Desert Fathers and their realization that silence protects and keeps custody of the fire of the Spirit who lives in us. They liken silence as a door that keeps the warmth of God’s love burning and hot within us, and excessive words as an open door that lets out that heat and dissipates its warmth. The whispers of smoke coming from within often are more attractive to those passing by us than the open door of our words.  Interesting ideas. It is true, isn’t it, that when we are forced into a solitude of sorts we get rather anxious, wordy, trying to “connect” with someone with our words, and often having done so in such circumstances walk away feeling like we have given something away prematurely or irresponsibly?

I heard from various sources today that the Holy Father will no longer approve requests from bishops to name priests of their dioceses Monsignors unless they are over 65 years old. He apparently is also restricting the ranks of monsignors down to one (from what had been three, which was down from 14 in pre-Vatican II days.) No offense to my brother priests with this honor and title, but I am all in support of this move on the Holy Father’s part.

More and more I am thinking that Pope Francis is doing what Pope John Paul the First was beginning to do back in 1978 when his papacy was cut short. There is so much that is present in Bergoglio that appeared to be present in Luciani that it is unmistakable in my opinion. Unfortunately, Luciani is increasingly forgotten. There are a few of us still trying to keep his memory alive. Papa Luciani and Papa Bergoglio, I suspect, would be like a well-practiced chorus in unison of rhythm and in perfect pitch with each other.

Happy Epiphany, everyone!

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“When we have been remodeled into living witnesses of Christ through solitude, silence, and prayer, we will no longer have to worry about whether we are saying the right thing or making the right gesture, because then Christ will make his presence known even when we are not aware of it.” — Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, pg. 94

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Last Sunday’s Televised Mass

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Deacon Bob

Here is last Sunday’s televised Mass, courtesy of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Winona.

God bless all of you!

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BISHOP QUINN DELIVERS NATIONAL RADIO MESSAGE Diocese of Winona

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Deacon Bob

My bishop, John M. Quinn of the Diocese of Winona, gave a national radio address recently on the Holy Family. I would encourage each of you to sit back and listen to this program.

Thank you, Bishop Quinn.

 

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Quote for the Day

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Deacon Bob

“We do well to remember how very short, after all, it is till our suffering — and our time of merit too — will be over.” — Venerable Solanus Casey, OFM Cap.

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Prayer to St. Stephen, Deacon and Proto-Martyr of the Church

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Deacon Bob
Ordination of St. Stephen by St. Peter

Ordination of St. Stephen by St. Peter

The stoning of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

The stoning of St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

 

Prayer to St. Stephen, Protomartyr

The Apostles chose Stephen the deacon, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, whom the Jews stoned whilst he prayed, saying: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and lay not this sin to their charge.”

V. By the merits and prayers of blessed Stephen, R. Be merciful, O God, to Thy people.   Let us pray:

Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst consecrate the first-fruits of Thy martyrs in the blood of blessed Stephen the deacon; grant, we beseech Thee, that he may pray for us, even as he also prayed for his persecutors, to our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.

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The Tale of Two Christmas Coats

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Deacon Bob

This Christmas day brings to mind two wintery moments that occurred at this time of year, both several years ago. Christmas gifts that, if one views them with the eyes of faith, were appearances of the Christ in the disguised formed of two different men in unexpected locations and without anticipation of what would transpire those days.

Tale one: On the Pike

There is a stretch of road between Wisconsin and Minnesota, local to my home, that is called “The Pike.” It is frequently travelled by thousands of cars, trucks and cycles every day. Nearly 15 years ago, a man living in Minnesota was driving a very old pickup truck nearing the Minnesota border as he was exiting Wisconsin. It was very cold that day, being toward the end of December, and he was thinking he was grateful for the well-functioning heater in the old truck as he was rounding a corner on the Pike. Unexpectedly, to his right he caught sight of a pedestrian walking toward Minnesota, shuffling quickly in the cold. He had no coat, no gloves and no hat. The driver pulled over at the nearest side road and turned around to wait for the man coming toward him. When he did, the driver rolled down the window (the blast of cold air startled him) and he called out the to walker, “You need a ride?” “Yes!” was the answer, so he had the man hop in the passenger side and they sped off. “Why are you walking in the cold with no coat, gloves or hat?” the driver asked. “I was at the casino down south of here all night. My family left me there. I am walking home to Winona.” the man answered. The driver thought to himself that the man must have gambled away everything he had and his family had become upset with him enough to leave him stranded. He said, “Well, I can take you across the river a few miles. You can warm up a bit on the way.” And so it happened. The drive was short, but long enough for the man to be warmed. He still had about a 20 mile walk if he were to make it home. When the driver pulled over on the Minnesota side of the Mississippi, the man got out and thanked the driver, who thought, “I can’t let that guy out in the cold without a coat.” So he took off the coat he had on and handed it to the man, saying, “Take it. I have another.” The last thing the driver remembers seeing was the man standing outside, putting that coat on and zipping it up. Since that time, the driver of that old truck has wondered if maybe Jesus had appeared to him in the disguise of a coatless gambler.

Tale two:  Homeless on the Park Bench.

About five years ago,  a man on Social Security disability was walking downtown, in the cold of December. This man, the walker, had a nice winter coat on that day, and no doubt he relished it because he had known what is was like to be homeless in the winter in the Midwest, but gratefully now had a warm apartment in which he was living. As he was walking past a city park, he saw a man laying on a park bench shivering from the cold. He had no coat. He walked over to the man and asked him his name and where he was from. The man said he was an alcoholic and he had no coat or money, and sought shelter at night and was on the street during the day. The walker told the man, “Wait here. I have a coat for you. I will return.” He returned as promised, handing the homeless man a beautiful new coat the walker had recently received, and said, “I know, my friend. I know. Take this.” Both the walker and the homeless one cried together.

Friends, these tales are true stories of actual people. I have not embellished them, but rather recount them as they were told to me. They are examples of fraternal love, solidarity with the poor, and acts of charity without judgment of another. They are true tale that express what happens at Christmas all over the world, but often go unnoticed or recognized. Some will say these are only encounters between four men that coincidentally met. Perhaps. I believe they were miraculous appearances of Jesus in our world.

Jesus always appears at Christmas, even though we recognize him not. Look for him in the disguise of the poor, the gambler, the alcoholic, the addict, the forgotten or the marginalized.

 

 

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Pope Francis’ Christmas Greeting to the World “Urbi et Orbi”

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Deacon Bob

Here is Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi Christmas message to the world. I reproduce it in its entirety, as per the official Vatican translation. I would add, though, that listening to it in the original Italian as the Pope spoke, he added a few comments that were not part of the prepared text, and which I believe are not included below.

stemma-papa-francesco

Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favours (Lk 2:14)

Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the whole world, Greetings and Happy Christmas!

I take up the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It is a song which unites heaven and earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to earth and all its people.

I ask everyone to share in this song: it is a song for every man or woman who keeps watch through the night, who hopes for a better world, who cares for others while humbly seeking to do his or her duty.

Glory to God!

Above all else, this is what Christmas bids us to do: give glory to God, for he is good, he is faithful, he is merciful. Today I voice my hope that everyone will come to know the true face of God, the Father who has given us Jesus. My hope is that everyone will feel God’s closeness, live in his presence, love him and adore him.

May each of us give glory to God above all by our lives, by lives spent for love of him and of all our brothers and sisters.

Peace to mankind

True peace – we know this well – is not a balance of opposing forces. It is not a lovely “façade” which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment, but making peace is an art, starting from God’s gift, from the grace which he has given us in Jesus Christ.

Looking at the Child in the manger, Child of peace, our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think too of the elderly, to battered women, to the sick… Wars shatter and hurt so many lives!

Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid. We have seen how powerful prayer is! And I am happy today too, that the followers of different religious confessions are joining us in our prayer for peace in Syria. Let us never lose the courage of prayer! The courage to say: Lord, grant your peace to Syria and to the whole world. And I also invite non-believers to desire peace with that yearning that makes the heart grow: all united, either by prayer or by desire. But all of us, for peace.

Grant peace, dear Child, to the Central African Republic, often forgotten and overlooked. Yet you, Lord, forget no one! And you also want to bring peace to that land, torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty, where so many people are homeless, lacking water, food and the bare necessities of life. Foster social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused too many victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state.

Prince of Peace, in every place turn hearts aside from violence and inspire them to lay down arms and undertake the path of dialogue. Look upon Nigeria, rent by constant attacks which do not spare the innocent and defenseless. Bless the land where you chose to come into the world, and grant a favourable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq, once more struck by frequent acts of violence.

Lord of life, protect all who are persecuted for your name. Grant hope and consolation to the displaced and refugees, especially in the Horn of Africa and in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Grant that migrants in search of a dignified life may find acceptance and assistance. May tragedies like those we have witnessed this year, with so many deaths at Lampedusa, never occur again!

Child of Bethlehem, touch the hearts of all those engaged in human trafficking, that they may realize the gravity of this crime against humanity. Look upon the many children who are kidnapped, wounded and killed in armed conflicts, and all those who are robbed of their childhood and forced to become soldiers.

Lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet, frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. Help and protect all the victims of natural disasters, especially the beloved people of the Philippines, gravely affected by the recent typhoon.

Dear brothers and sisters, today, in this world, in this humanity, is born the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. Let us pause before the Child of Bethlehem. Let us allow our hearts to be touched, let us not fear this. Let us not fear that our hearts be moved. We need this! Let us allow ourselves to be warmed by the tenderness of God; we need his caress. God’s caresses do not harm us. They give us peace and strength. We need his caresses. God is full of love: to him be praise and glory forever! God is peace: let us ask him to help us to be peacemakers each day, in our life, in our families, in our cities and nations, in the whole world. Let us allow ourselves to be moved by God’s goodness.

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The Politics of Muddy Thinking

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Deacon Bob

One of my fellow bloggers, Deacon Scott Dodge in Salt Lake City, has written a wonderful post www.scottdodge.blogspot.com on the same-sex marriage issue that is threatening to engulf us all. I encourage you to link over and read it. Deacon Dodge has been maintaining a blog for many years and is a very insightful, literate man.

As you may be aware, even though Utah had passed an amendment to their state constitution defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman, and passed that amendment overwhelmingly, a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional based on the due process clauses in the 14th amendment to the U.S. constitution. A similar ruling occurred in New Mexico. This is the wave of the future, I fear. It is a repeated expression of what I continually deem “muddy thinking” on the part of so many, the inability or refusal to think critically (in the classic sense of that word), the inability or refusal to understand distinctions, and worse, in my opinion, the inability or refusal to tolerate those who have well-reasoned positions that have passed the test of centuries but may be politically incorrect for the past few years. The confusion of human rights with sexual behavior; the confusion of human dignity with unlimited demands for self-determination at the expense of the most vulnerable members of society and the foundations of society; the confusion of self-direction with other-direction.

As Archbishop Cordileone has said, “It is not ‘Is there a government interest in not recognizing alternative types of relationships as marriage?’, but rather, ‘Is there a public interest in societal recognition and regulation of the only kind of relationship that brings children into the world?’ Every human society in history has recognized that there is. By losing sight of this fundamental reality, confusion and error triumph.” (Italics mine)

Even though recent events are very concerning, I want to conclude with this: There is no reason to lose hope, especially in the present season of the coming and the birth of Jesus Christ. He is our hope and to him we cling always with the assurances of his promises, his presence, and his grace. This is the joyful message, the Evangelii Gaudium of which Pope Francis speaks and he challenges us to live in hope by proclaiming Jesus to the world each and every day.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

 

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for this weekend. May the remainder of Advent be blessed for you and your families.

Audio: Coming soon! 

Text:

4th Sunday of Advent – Cycle A

December 21/22, 2013

Isaiah 7:  10-14; Romans 1:  1-7; Matthew 1:  18-24

“The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ…. I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day.” – Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (1)

We all are called to proclaim to the entire world what we have encountered: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

We are called to bring a message of joy and of hope to our world; the message that Jesus has redeemed us all by his life, death and resurrection; that he came to bring us life, fullness of life, eternal life; that he comes into our lives and into our world each and every day, and that he will come on the last day to judge us on how well we have loved others, especially the poor.

None of us is exempt from doing this. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis reminds us that we must first encounter Jesus, encounter him by listening to him, listening to the Word of God who is Jesus Christ, listening to Jesus speak to us in the sacraments, listening to Jesus speak through the teachers of the Church, especially the bishops, priests and deacons, and in a special way listening to Jesus speaking in the lives of the poor, the sick, the rejected members of our society.

“Listen, O House of David! The Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel” God is with us.

How can we know and recognize the Son of God in the Child of Bethlehem if we have not first listened to God speak? We must listen to the Word of God speak to us so we will be prepared to recognize Jesus in the manger and in the stable, surrounded by the poor, who were the first heard the Good News and bore witness to Jesus’ birth.

Yes, we must listen to Jesus and to his Body, the Church! A listening heart is like a fertilized field. Listening prepares our hearts to receive the seed, the Word of God who is Jesus Christ.

Mary listened to God’s word spoken to her by the archangel Gabriel. She listened and then conceived the Son of God. She became the Mother of God and our spiritual mother because she listened and obeyed. Jesus came into this world when Mary listened and obeyed. He will come into your life too if you do the same.

Saint Joseph listened, as we heard in the Gospel today. He listened and obeyed and then received both the Mother of God and the Son of God into his life and home and he will come into your family too if you do the same.

Yes, we must listen to God’s word, to Jesus, and then respond as Mary responded, as Saint Joseph responded by taking Jesus into our lives and our world. We then after hearing and accepting, we must go out and tell others that the Christ has come, that he is coming now, and he will come again!

My friends, Jesus comes now, each and every day. His Incarnation is, in a certain sense, completed when we listen to his Word and take it into our lives, into our hearts and live it out in caring for the poor. We become the eyes and ears, the hands and the feet of Jesus when we listen and obey.

Jesus comes now, each and every time we hear God’s Word proclaimed and preached, a word that, as the Scriptures say, is a two-edged sword that penetrates deeply into our hearts. He comes now, each and every time we listen to that Word and we allow Jesus Christ to become a part of us, a part of our lives.

Jesus comes now, each and every time a sacrament is celebrated. We encounter him in all the sacraments, when we are baptized and confirmed, when we confess our sins to a priest, when we marry in the Church, when we are anointed in the Sacrament of the Sick, when we are ordained deacons, priests or bishops, and most especially here at Mass in the Eucharist.

Jesus comes into our world each and every time we reach out and touch the life of a poor man or woman, each time we listen to them, each time we feed them, each time we shelter them, each time we visit them in prison, each time we care for them when they are sick in our nursing homes and hospitals, each time we clothe the naked, instruct the ignorant or bury the dead.

Jesus will come again over and over again in these ways and in many other hidden ways, until that glorious and most obvious day when he will come victoriously to judge the living and the dead.

Let us always be listening, always preparing, ready for the coming of the Lord. God speaks. Jesus continually comes into our world. We can’t predict the time, the hour, or the place, but we know with certainty that he comes.

Be prepared!

Come, Lord Jesus, come!

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