It has been a busy and extraordinary week. As we wait for the final outcome of our presidential election we are reminded of the great gift of freedom of will endowed in us by our creator from the moment of our conception. We are given the gift to choose good and avoid evil, the gift to speak truth and blessing and avoid slander and defamation and the gift to seek peace and justice and turn away from cruelty and violence. The reality of freedom is we do not need to be of one mind as long as we have the common goal. We know, as Christians, we have one destination, one common goal, life with Jesus Christ and eternal life in the great company of saints. And like so many of the great saints in our Church’s tradition and history, there are a variety of ways to reach this goal…but each way is founded in the recognition of using the gifts and blessings God gives to us and use them to bring peace and justice into our world.

The Sacramental life of our faith reminds us of how we grow in grace and unity as a community. Each Sacrament calls us to a greater unity and into a greater community. As Catholics we are called to share these gifts with the world. At the center of our sacramental life is the Eucharist and Reconciliation, moments of grace and blessings.
We are invited into thanksgiving and the sharing of blessings daily in our life. The hope we see around us isn’t limited by a day in November of a vote total but rather in the knowledge and love of God we share with one another. We know in this time of lock-downs and social distancing building community is often difficult and even frowned upon but the sharing of the human need of community will not be destroyed. In our Eucharistic life we are challenged to look for the better and the very best in each other as we look for this within our own hearts. We are challenged to examine our words and actions and ask the hard questions of: Have we sought the best in others? Have we gave the best of ourselves to the other? As St. John reminds us in his first letter, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 Jn 4:20) This is where the common goal and the common destination comes into greater focus.
Jesus reminds us again and again how we must learn to forgive from the very first actions and words in his ministry to the words of forgiveness from the cross of our salvation: the cross of reconciliation and forgiveness.

We are called as members of the Body of Christ, to a continued conversion of life in moving toward greater unity with God and His holy Church. In this we know we are surrounded by saints and sinners knowing we are both saint and sinner in our own life. It is the movement of a heart seeking contrition which allows us to grow in love and desire. We pray this daily, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It is the command Jesus offers us, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Mt 5:23-24)

After this election where feelings have run high and words have often been spoken not in charity, let us once again turn towards Jesus and seek the unity and hope of a people whose destination isn’t the values and trappings of the world but the heavenly Kingdom of God’s house.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

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It has been a very good week. The best thing about this week was our being able to celebrate the Holy Mass inside our wonderful and beautiful church building for the first time since January 2nd and the second thing of course is that the universe has assumed its proper order as the Los Angeles Dodgers have once more, after 32 long years, been crowned World Series Champions. (Thank you Giant fans for booing at this proper moment) I talked about the sleepless nights as we prepared to come back into the church and I still wake up at times early in the morning with continued worries…just not as bad. But the Tuesday night tension got so bad that during the second inning I poured myself a beer, sat down and was so nervous I didn’t take a drink until almost the 7th inning. In addition, I think I scared my brother priest with the loud whoooooohooooo that came out of my mouth as the 3rd out was recorded and the celebrations began….I had a nice glass of scotch to commemorate the occasion.

So I will talk about faith, reading the signs of the time and learning to trust. When we talk about faith we look to something greater that we are, something often undefinable and difficult to get are minds around and yet faith is something that brings comfort, peace and joy into our lives. When we are able to give ourselves freely, in faith, then there is a movement of love where we are able to let go of our limitations and see the good and greater in our life and the life that surrounds us. “Living the Christian life provides for a growth of faith. There have been many saints who have gone before to guide us, but I like the ones who are simple, like St. Therese of Lisieux. I have chosen her as my namesake because she did ordinary things with extraordinary love.” (St. Mother Teresa from “Do Something Beautiful” September 29) This weekend especially, as we celebrate, All Saints Day, we remind ourselves that faith is a practice of choosing to look forward into the seemingly darkest hour and see the flicker of love shine out to call us forward.

And not to trivialize faith, but with the Tampa Bay starting pitcher mowing down one Dodger batter after another that flicker of light became the hopefulness of change as the manager rushed to the mound with one out in the sixth inning. Reading the signs of the times is important in faith as it is in baseball. We can often get caught up in what we think should be happening and miss the greater movements around us. Recently (in baseball time) the fad of “sabermetrics” has rushed in as the statistical analysis of each player, at bat and fielding position has been graphed out to where at times it looks like the game has become a paint-by-numbers activity rather than the beautiful work of passion baseball truly should be. I am not denying that some of the sabermetrics can be useful but in the sixth inning of the 2020 World Series not reading the sign of the time, the Tampa Bay pitcher was destroying the Dodger lineup and did not need to be changed was the feeling for the game needed. This is our faith life too. Jesus reminds us, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”(Lk 12:56) When we begin to track our relationship with God by how many times acts, how many prayers, how many…..you name it, we begin to make our faith robotic where we mission the passion, the forces of grace and love that surround us and pull out of the works of mercy and blessing to punch in the next thing we think we should be doing…we miss God’s whisper to focus rather on the noise of sin and destruction.

Learning to trust is learning to know the other: God, neighbor, friend or enemy. Trust is knowing who we are and how we are called to respond in graciousness. Back to baseball managers; a managers job is to know his players, to read them and understand the ups and downs, when they are on a hot-streak or suffering through a slump. God knows us in this way and He wants us to know him and others in the same way…to read the signs of the time, to have faith and to trust in the talents, the goodness and the blessings of others. “Imagine a soul so closely united to God that it has no need of outward acts to remain attentive to the inward prayer.” (Jean-Nicholas Grou) This is our act of trust.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

The joy and alleluia of last week has turned into the joy and worry of this week. The World Series is going full tilt and we are about to have indoor Sunday services in our Church for the first time since January 1st. I know the lock down began in the middle of March but with the renovation of the church building, which began at the New Year, we haven’t been in the building to celebrate for over 10 months…and we are back. (There is a big smile on my face)

But there have also been the early morning wake ups at 3:00 a.m. with the lists and things that need to be done rolling through my head and my sub-conscience like a bunch a bottles being tossed about in the trunk of the car. I usually go to my Holy Hour in the church at 5:00 a.m. each morning but it has been earlier and earlier as I place my worries, doubts and fears before Jesus and ask for his peace and mercy.
One of the things that age has taught me is: I am not in control of much in my life. I try to be in control…I work really hard at it…and my failures are long and legendary. It started when I was 17 and wanted to join the Marine Corps…I quickly found out that although I wanted to join them…they weren’t so keen on them joining me…when I was 26 and for the first time I really fell in love with a woman…I really wanted her to love me and I did some remarkably stupid stuff to prove my love and to “make her” fall in love with me…but soon realized that the falling in love stuff needed to be mutual. And when I was 38 and began to look at my life and began to be comfortable and at peace with being single, teaching 6th grade and thought, “I’ve got this” and then I made the mistake and went on a retreat where God reminded me I didn’t and showed me a more uncomfortable but more joyous way. And I don’t need to talk about baseball and the ups and downs, the joys and sadnesses that come from being a fan, all the lucky rituals you are sure will work because you only remember when they do and find new lucky socks when they don’t.

These ten months outside our worships space, these 7 plus months of pandemic, shelter-in-place and limited life stuff have been moments of out of our control. The sad part is how often I tried to control this time through creating rituals and schedules that had to be adhered to with zealot devotion where they became the “gods” I could depend on rather than the God I was called to serve. And this is where baseball saved my soul just a little bit.

When the 60 game season began, i was bummed. The National League had caved to the evil of the Designated Hitter (DH) and they talked about doubleheaders with just 7 inning games and all sorts of other crazy rules that sounded more like a beer league softball weekend than the sport I deeply and passionately love. It took a while but as I watched the games I began to feel the rhythm, I still detest the DH and many of the crazier rules never came to pass, and the feel and tension of the game once more entered my heart and I let go of the “way I wanted it to be” to the reality of “this is how it is” in my life. I will complain bitterly about the DH the rest of my life and truly hope the National League returns to real baseball next year…but I don’t get to control that aspect of my life.
This Sunday, my field of play, our beautiful worship space at St. Lucy Parish, will once more be alive…it won’t look exactly like I wish, I will still complain bitterly about certain things but the rhythm, the tension and the beauty of the Sacrifice of the Lamb, the adoration of the people and the living presence of Jesus Christ will fill us just the same…and to that we say Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Memories are a funny thing and how we remember things is often even stranger. This past week I had a moment of remembering. October 6th is the Memorial of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher SNJM, the founder of the Sisters of the Holy Names. It is from Holy Names College that I graduated from 31 years ago. I thanked the Sisters, on social media, for the great education, the growth in faith and the life long friendships that were fostered in my years as an undergraduate and then studying for my teaching credential. What I remember and don’t remember are often the same things just in different order.

Something else happened on the same day that reinforced this reality of memories. I was reviewing some notes and rereading Matthew Kelly’s book “Rediscover Jesus” and the chapter was #18 “Jesus on Lifestyle” he wrote, “People are a priority for God. People were made to be loved, and things were made to be used. But often we get this confused and many of the world’s problems are caused because we love things and use people…You have heard it said that the best things in life are not things. So what are the best things in life?” (p 84-85) The three things I thanked the Sisters for were not things but rather the gift of something that went beyond the material of the world and into the very heart of what it means to be a human being, a person in community, a person seen and made in a dignity that goes beyond the marketplace.
Jesus reminds us clearly in the Gospel about this priority when he told his disciples then as he tells us now, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (Jn 15:15)
I am positive many people when they find out that my degree was in Philosophy would argue, “Of course you will say that…that is what philosophy students always say.” But I would also say one of the greatest gifts and joys (and terrors at times) was the intimate and small class size we enjoyed and endured. Sitting in a philosophy seminar with only a handful of classmates made for fun and joyous learning as well as the hope and fear that your classmates had read what was required for the day. But more importantly it brings back those three things.

Education—each class I took drew something greater out of me and helped to make me into a better person, not just by the knowledge gained but more importantly in the forming of a conscience of relationship of the line of human history that is touched by divine inspiration. Whether it was a class on metaphysics or children’s theater, each sparked a greater awareness of our common call to the good and holy.

Faith—It was there that I fell in love with the Mass. I had attended Mass before out of duty but on the campus and in chapel with the Sisters where my love for the Mass became ingrained in my soul. It was also in my greater love of scripture where I was challenged to imagine Jesus laughing with you in your trials and struggles. It was there were began to developed an adult faith in seeking God’s will in my life.

Friendship—like most people who attend university, life long friendships and often the deepest friendships are formed. More than that it was the Sisters taking a chance on a kid from Idaho with a spotty academic record, a Marine Corps Vet, and a wandering soul, and welcoming him into a school of love.
Thank you to the Holy Name Sisters.

Blessed Marie Rose Durocher…pray for us.

God bless
Fr. Mark

“From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. ”Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.”Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.” (CCC #336)

On this day, October 2, the Catholic Church celebrates our Guardian Angels. The above quote from the Catechism reminds us that from the moment our life begins we are surrounded and guarded by the angels and in particular our Guardian Angel. The place of angels in the life of the Church is very specific, beginning with their presence in both the Old Testament and of course in Jesus’ own words of teaching in the Gospels, in the New Testament and the tradition of the Church, about angels in the service of God’s creative goodness.
Let’s talk about our Guardian Angels. First and foremost…Angels exist. We are not talking about the pretty delicate figures that are often drawn in artist renderings…nor are we talking about the sweet little cherubs nakedly floating about shooting the lovelorn with arrows of desire…and we are not talking about the angels that are depicted in the movies and television programs of popular culture…we are talking about the angels created by God who surround us in grace and peace.

“St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.’ With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word”” (CCC #329)

We often hear people say, “She/he is my guardian angel” of friends and family members who care for a person in a holy and grace filled manner. But once again we are not talking about that. Angels exist and I have heard many stories of mysterious encounters with strangers who show up out of no where and help in a time of need and then just as mysteriously slip away.
Sr. Maria del Rosario MESST, shared with me the story of when she and another sister were driving through the Andes Mountains and their jeep slipping off the road and was perched precariously on a steep hillside above a deep ravine when a stranger, a strong young man, shows up with a rope and pulls the jeep to safety. They thank him and as they drive off, they look back and he is gone.
Others have told stories of being injured or lost and a stranger shows up in kindness to care for them for a short while and then seems to be gone before being thanked.
I was once told a story by a young man who was in hospital with a serious injury and for days was comforted by the words, actions and presence of a nurse only to be told when he asked about her that no one knew who she was or any of the nurses fit this particular description.

An old sailor once told me that during World War II his ship was struck by a torpedo and with fire raging about him he thought he would surely die, only to have a had reach out and grab him and pull him to safety. He thanked the sailor who helped him only later realizing that he had never seen the person before in the ships company and never saw him again.
Oh, and I am positive and sure that my guardian angel has helped me get home, kept me safe and turned me from certain paths during the foolishness of my youth and certainly has guided me in my continued search for holiness and blessing today.
Angels are real….and don’t forget to thank you Guardian angels and ask for their help.
God bless
Fr. Mark

Who am I? is one of the fundamental and first questions asked by each person beginning as a little child until the moment of our earthly death. It is question that perplexes and at times causes great disturbance in our lives and at other times brings peace and quiet to the soul. Earlier this week we got an update from the genealogy service my Mom used several years ago to do her ancestry. Even then it was not surprising, my heritage is predominately Northern European, Germanic, Scandinavian, English Isles…over the years as the update this some of the percentages have changed and locations have moved, this last time they added that we are part from the upper Midwest of the United States, but the general genealogy has remained the same.
And though I consider myself German in heritage, all my ancestors to the best of our knowledge, emigrated from what is today Germany in the 19th and early 20th century, because of the history of Europe it didn’t shock me to see this mix come through the DNA service. The “Who am I?” is this way of thinking can easily be answered. But more deeply the “Who am I?” of our soul, of our deep longing to be loved and known by another is much more complicated and difficult to discover but ultimately is more satisfying to our peace and choosing to live fully and completely.

A few weeks ago I helped to lead a Mens Retreat based on the book “Fathered by God” by John Eldredge. During the retreat, hearing the reflections and sharing done by the other leaders the question of “Who am I?” loomed large. The simple but complex answer is very easy to state: I am a son of God. In truth as Christians we say this often: I am a child of God, a son a daughter of the one true God. We even continue with the truth: we are made in the image and likeness of our Father in Heaven. Because of the wounds of sin and the hurts of life we often begin to doubt the truth of who we are and how we are called to live our lives as beloved daughters and sons of God our Father.
Pope St. John Paul II in his Encyclical letter “Veritatis Splendor” shared with us the valuable insights into the truth of what it means to be a child of God. In using the story of the Rich Young Man (Mk 10:16-22) St.John Paul focuses on the growth of maturity in knowing more deeply God’s gift of life, the vocation he calls us to follow and how maturity allows us to follow freely the call to holiness. He writes, “Perfection demands that maturity in self-giving to which human freedom is called. Jesus points out to the young man that the commandments are the first and indispensable condition for having eternal life; on the other hand, for the young man to give up all he possesses and to follow the Lord is presented as an invitation: “If you wish…”. These words of Jesus reveal the particular dynamic of freedom’s growth towards maturity, and at the same time they bear witness to the fundamental relationship between freedom and divine law. Human freedom and God’s law are not in opposition; on the contrary, they appeal one to the other. The follower of Christ knows that his vocation is to freedom. “You were called to freedom, brethren” (Gal 5:13), proclaims the Apostle Paul with joy and pride. But he immediately adds: “only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another””(#17) To love someone, to become a servant to the beloved in true freedom because we leave behind the selfishness of desire and seek the fulfillment of another. The “Who am I?” is answered by the other in calling us their beloved in response to our outpouring of generous love.

This is a response of freedom in which we simply do not put on the robes of holiness in service but become united to the font of holiness in Jesus Christ. In answering, “Who am I?” St. John Paul calls us to remember, “Following Christ is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very depths of his being. Being a follower of Christ means becoming conformed to him who became a servant even too giving himself on the Cross (cf. Phil 2:5-8). Christ dwells by faith in the heart of the believer (cf. Eph 3:17), and thus the disciple is conformed to the Lord. This is the effect of grace, of the active presence of the Holy Spirit in us”.” (#21)
Who am I? A beloved child of God who lives in the grace, the peace and the joy of the life I am given and am called to share.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

We are now into the sixth month of the shelter-in-place/quarantine/lock-down/selective restrictions….or whatever we are calling it today. We, as a Catholic Church, have gone from live-streaming Mass, to small outdoor gatherings, to larger outdoor gatherings (but no singing) to holding the status quo (and now singing) for the last few months. It is frustrating, confusing and aggravating depending on what hour of the day it may be right now. What is a Christian to do?

Pray, persevere and hope with actions faith, mercy and trust seem at times to be the only answer. Yet, I know that God has prepared us for these difficult and confusing times. Why do I say that? Simple, just over a year ago…and how long that seems at this point…the Spanish speaking community of the Catholic Church celebrated and worked through the “V Encuentro: Creating a Culture of Encounter” as a national movement in following Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries to seek out the lost, the forgotten, the broken and abandoned of our Church and society. Where we are invited to bring Jesus and encounter Jesus in these moments of joining together in service and prayer with our brothers and sisters.
There are four simple objectives laid out by the V Encuentro (the fifth Encounter) document in which many of our St. Lucy parishioners and Catholics throughout our diocese, state and country participated. This is the preparation God shared with us and here are those four objective

1. Promote a vision of the Church in mission that invites, engages and forms….
2. Provide a process of faith sharing and missionary activity…
3. Call all Catholics…to become authentic and joyful missionary disciples…
4. Invite all Catholic leaders to engage and accompany the most vulnerable… We might then ask in this time and place: Who are those on the periphery? Each one of us could be the answer to the questions. Many people are feeling abandoned by God asking he question of why He would let this happen. Some may feel abandoned by the Church leadership, their bishops and priests, sharing both anger and guilt in not being able to receive the Sacraments or help with the difficult life problems the pandemic has forced upon each of us. Some may feel left alone and forgotten by family and friends with the pain of isolation and anxiety growing daily. Other may, in loosing their employment or even working reduced hours, have pressed upon them the fear of loosing housing, paying for food and other necessities that were never worries before. The list could go on and on but many of us have felt this reality of being pushed out and left alone wondering what to do next and how to move forward. Or in other words as people of faith…Where is God in all of this? How do I know God is with me?

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God is with me…He truly is I promise. God calls all of us into a relationship of love. We are all on the periphery in one way or another and we must seek God here…not in the dream of somewhere else. In honesty, I don’t know how to do church right now, I am out of my comfort zone with all the new things that are throw at us daily. But, I do know how to do Church because it begins with an encounter. Perhaps it isn’t in a full church building like we are comfortable with but the encounter becomes the little church of the family, friends and strangers who invite us in to seek a deeper relationships, an encounter with God who is with us.
God desires me…On Thursday St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians at daily Mass tells us, “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace to me has not been ineffective.” (1 Cor 15:10) The Father sees me as lovable and wants me and each of his children to share this love with others. The gifts and talents we each have are strengthened by abundant grace God pours out upon us throughout our lives. When I share these gifts in abundance, in the stewardship of life, then the isolation ceases because we are surrounded by true blessings in recognizing Jesus in each one of us.
God searches for me…We can run away from the encounter thinking it is too hard and painful to move forward. We can scream, pout, cry and curse but our Heavenly Father continues to search for each of us by name. God never tires of loving each of us and we discover that love when we search out the blessings of life in each other.
Life is good…it is possible, so let us pray, persevere and hope with actions faith, mercy and trust seem at times to be the only answer.
As I write this I hear the encounter going forward as our pre-school “Little Lightening” children at our parish school are out playing, singing, squealing with joy to the glory of God. This is the encounter with God we are all called to share…to go out and share the joy of blessing and the hope of love with one person and then do it again.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning sailors take warning. As a marine, I never listened closely to this little rhyme but this week, in the oddness that was our weather in the Bay Area I thought about it and wondered what they would say if it was a “Red sky all day…what do we say?” We have had an awful fire season in California and I know much of the West Coast is now, as we pass into the middle of September, suffering from the same burning the loss of property, homes with so many wonderful memories, the death of loved ones, the stress on families that has been piled upon the pandemic restrictions it feels like we seem to be left with very little to put our hope. (Don’t forget God)

Many people have been joking, as have I, about the end of the world…a zombie apocalypse…or just a general apocalypse…a dinosaur extinction moment…or the second coming but we believe, ”Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” (Mt 24:42) (Don’t forget God)
In LL seriousness though, the idea of the end of the world, the second coming is an important part of our Christian faith. The Last Four Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell are very real and are something we should be aware of and preparing for in our daily lives so that when the hour and day comes we are prepared to stand in front of the cross of salvation. In truth, most people don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about death, let alone judgement. We may like to contemplate the wonder of Heaven but certainly are not ready to talk about the possibility of Hell in our own lives and this being a destination we wish to head. (Don’t forget God)

I was once challenged and at times challenge others with the question: Are you ready to die? Most of the time there is a horrified look in the persons eye with the immediate response of NO! But here is the qualifier…”Are you ready to die?” and “Do you want to die today?” are two completely different questions. I know I have written about this before but to contemplate ones own death is to remember our true destination is to be with God and that as mortal beings we will all one day die. We cannot escape this. It is how we were created. (Don’t forget God)
In taking time with the four last things we are compelled to look at our lives and how we are living them. Are we avoiding certain things because they are too hard even though we know they are the right thing to do? Are we knowingly acting in ways that are sinful, hurtful and damaging to our relationship with God and those around us? Because in asking the question…are we ready?… we should, if we believe in a just and merciful God, turn to what we should be doing and turn away from what we shouldn’t be doing and be ready. (Don’t forget God)

At a parish mission many years ago, the priest giving the mission reminded us all that God is not the big marshmallow god many people hope that he is…know matter what we do he giggles and lets us continue…rather He is a just and merciful God who judges us at the hour of our death. As a young man, at the time and until today, this has made a great impression on me and how I think of death. I don’t sit around all day in deep contemplation but surely when I do my examination of conscience each night it come back to me again and again. As a priest when I pray Night Prayer the closing prayer is a very simple line…”May the all powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death. Amen” (Don’t forget God)
God Bless
Fr. Mark

On this anniversary of 9/11 we once more pray for peace in our world and perhaps contemplating our death will lead us to understand and grow in love towards the victims, perpetrators and those whose lives have been so affected over the intervening years. Pray for peace.

On Tuesday, September 1 our Holy Father, Pope Francis began a month long prayer and action vigil for the Care of Creation. We are asked to take time in prayer of thanksgiving and hope for our world and our use of the resources of the world in care for creation. It is a reminder of our gift of stewardship for God’s creation that was given to Adam and Eve and has been passed on to us and we are called to pass on to those who follow us.
I will freely admit that growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in rural Idaho the care of creation wasn’t always on my mind. The world seemed so abundant and vast that the interconnectedness of the worlds ecosystems was beyond my imagination. Like many of us, I have been invited to grow in this understanding of how we can both utilize and care for creation that allows the health of all God’s creation, that includes you and me, to grow and flourish.

From his message, Pope Francis writes, “We are invited to remember above all that creation’s ultimate destiny is to enter into God’s eternal Sabbath. This journey, however, takes place in time, spanning the seven-day rhythm of the week, the cycle of seven years, and the great Jubilee Year that goes at the end of the seven Sabbath years.” (Pope Francis) We are called to remember that we live in a connected reality of creation that spans millions of years and how the rhythm of life touches all of God’s wonders in love and hopefulness. We participate with God in His creation and join with God in giving thanks and caring for all that has been given. Just like at the beginning of each Mass we are called to reflect on our need for conversion, the reconciling our faults in preparation of encountering God, Pope Francis reminds us of the need, to also grow in conversion as we recognize the harm we may have done to the world and seek ways to change in caring for creation.
Later Pope Francis writes, “A Jubilee is a time to return to God our loving Creator. We cannot live in harmony with creation if we are no at peace with he Creator who is the source and origin of all things. As Pope Benedict observed, “The brutal consumption of creation begins where God is missing, where matter has become simply material for us, where we ourselves are the ultimate measure, where everything is simply our property.” (Pope Francis) Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI recognize, as do all the faithful, if you forget the gift of creation that comes from God, then it becomes something that is

disposable and only good for utilitarian purposes. It removes creation from a culture of life and finally places us into the situation where human life becomes a burden rather than a blessings and the destruction of life is seen as a solution where a culture of death reigns.
There is hope in seeking a fuller understanding, “In some ways, the current pandemic has led us to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles. The crisis, in a sense, has given us a chance to develop new ways of living. Already we can see how the earth can recover if we allow it to rest: the air becomes cleaner, the waters clearer, and animals have returned to many places from where they had previously disappeared.” (Pope Francis) With fewer cars on the road, the simplification of many things we do has helped, but like a diet or a change of habit it is often very easy to return to the old ways once the opportunity happens. In addition we also recognize the hurt and destruction this pandemic has inflicted on many of our sisters and brothers. And there is hope. Even in this time of turmoil in our country, the willingness to confront the need for conversion grows in the hearts of many. And this is the most difficult part because it must be done with goodwill and the idea of the common good where the demonization of another is left behind and the recognition of the dignity of all people is brought forward in the unity of hope.

Returning to the reality of a Jubilee, we are not alone nor are we isolated in time from God and His creation, rather we are together as one family in the act of creative goodness that can only come from God. Let us pray for a greater respect of life in God’s creation as we care for our common home.
“Let us all rejoice that our loving Creator sustains our humble efforts to care for the earth which is also God’s home where his Word “became flesh and lived among us: (Jn 1:14) and which is constantly being renewed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” (Pope Francis)

God Bless
Fr. Mark

The quotes come from the Message of Pope Francis for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation September 1, 2020.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law (Gal 5:22-23)

I was stuck between writing today about the Book of Job or the Letter the Galatians. My sunnier side won the day so I will write another time about the “woe is me” and talk more about living within the providence of God’s love. Time is such a funny thing for many of us. We live by time, we relax, rush, work and sleep by time. We look at the clock impatiently for it to move more quickly and we fret when the hours seem to slip by too rapidly to finish a project or when fun is happening. We know and want patience in our lives and yet we never wish to practice it when the time comes when it is most needed.
And then the world chooses to conspire against you in the time we have. This past week has been rough. We continue to be limited by what we can do as a Church by the ongoing pandemic and then the fires came to the Bay Area and this limited us even further in our ability to serve, gather and do the normal activities that are keeping us just a little bit sane. (Yes, there is a little “woe is me”) We had to cancel some outdoor Masses over the weekend as the air quality reached a level that was unhealthy.
As I have written before, my priest retreat took place the week before the lockdown began and during the retreat I focused in prayer on the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. I have continue to sit with the Holy Spirit over these past months seeking to be filled with God’s gifts of the Spirit and water and cultivate the fruits promised. Sitting with the Holy Spirit isn’t always a fun thing to do…He pushes you to move, to unstick yourself from whatever it is you are struggling with in your spiritual life (or in life in general) On Sunday morning I sat there uncomfortable. I was asking why all this pushing, prodding when I was seeking the patience to endure another setback, another wrinkle, another frustration in our journey back to being Church in a normal manner. And then I was given this word, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” (Jn 16:13) The small reflection I was reading reminded me of two very important things…First: Patience isn’t just about what is around you but also with who you are. Second; Patience is not about just waiting but it is about trusting.
It is about trusting in the Spirit to guide you on the path of faith, hope and love and if you are seeking the Spirit’s guidance by opening you mind and heart, hearing the voice of the Church, placing yourself within the community than you must move, you must get unstuck, you must be blown by the breath of Divine Love into the place God desires you to be.

That’s the easy part because with practice it becomes more natural…what’s the hard part? Well it is waiting and working through all the missteps and failures…all the sin…to come to the place of peace and joy.
We are still in the middle of all of this and the decisions we make as individuals, families and Church can often look like a disaster is surrounding us and the hazy smoke filled air chokes are breath, but sitting with the Holy Spirit, trusting in the goodness of God helps us to move forward even when the way is not clear and the path not straight. It is as individuals, families and Church we are able to see more clearly because we are surrounded by saints…or at least saints in progress.
Please pray for your Bishops, your priests, religious sisters and the lay leaders of our Church to have the confidence to sit with the Holy Spirit and tastes the fruits promised.
God bless
Fr. Mark

The reflection booklet is “Daily Meditations with the Holy Spirit” by Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv.