““Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical “Deus Caritas Est: God is Love,” returned to the topic of the truth of the love of man and woman, which is fully illuminated only in the love of the crucified Christ. He stressed that ‘marriage based on an exclusive and definitive love becomes an icon of the relationship between God and his people, and vice versa. God’s way of loving becomes the measure of human love.’ Moreover, in the Encyclical “Caritas in Veritate: Charity in Truth,” he highlighted the importance of love as a principle of life in society a place where we learn the experience of the common good”.” (AL #70)
Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love” quotes Pope Benedict XVI on the strength of love when it is placed in the sacramental union of husband and wife.
This weekend I will be away for my cousin Catherine’s wedding in Seattle. For me, one of the great blessings I am able to share with my family is the witnessing of this wonderful gift of the Sacrament of Matrimony. One of the great blessings of my ministry, especially my work within Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) is seeing, experiencing and sharing in the work of love that occurs in the unity of husband and wife. The common good of who Catherine and Gabe will become in the sacramental life is discovered in the shared sacrifice of unitive love.
Blessed Pope Paul VI (soon to be Saint)wrote in the encyclical “Humanae Vitae: Of Human Life” that, “By it (the sacrament of matrimony) husband and wife are strengthened and as it were consecrated for the faithful accomplishment of their proper duties, for the carrying out of their proper vocation even to perfection and the Christian witness which is proper to them for the whole world.” (HV#25) The vocational call of husband and wife in seeking the common good is found in the care for the other and the unitive and procreative love shared and blessed. God has called them to be husband and wife, to share in the creative act of love with Him. It is a divine gift given to be shared equally and blessed with abundance.
It is a sacramental love blessed and shared in union with the whole Church. “The sacrament of marriage is not a social convention, an empty ritual or merely the outward sign of a commitment. The sacrament is a gift given for the sanctification and salvation of the spouses, since “their mutual belonging is a real representation, through the sacramental sign, of the same relationship between Christ and the Church.” (AL #72) It is a holy and joyful work of love that Catherine and Gabe, and all married couples, are called to share in and in doing so become a Sacrament. They will see the sanctification of their love not as a chain to bind them down or a stodgy set of rules to hinder them, rather the sanctification of their life together is the joyful play and work of love. It is the new discovery of life and grace that is shared in the ever growing and deepening knowledge of the other in and through the grace shared and given by our loving Father.
In the marital vows, the taking and giving completely and joyfully, the unitive grace is expressed most thoroughly. As they offer their life and accept the life of their beloved through God’s sacramental grace they will complete the promise they made to each other on the day they began their journey as friends growing in love. “Mutual self-giving in the sacrament of matrimony is grounded in the grace of baptism, which establishes the foundational covenant of every person with Christ in the Church. In accepting each other, and with Christ’s grace, the engaged couple promise each other total self-giving, faithfulness and openness to new life.” (AL #73)
Ultimately, on their wedding day and throughout their married life they will be a sign of God’s love in the world. “To them the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the mutual love of husband-and-wife with their cooperation with the love of God the author of human life.” (HV #25) The Trinitarian love of husband and wife flows into the world and attracts others to share in the love of God. It is in this mutual love, they share as husband and wife. It is the mutual love flowing forth in hope, peace and joy that will grow ever more abundant as their family grows in love. As our Lord entrusts this gift to them they are invited to care for the gift of each other…to cherish the gift…to bless the gift…and to grow the gift of each other in love.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

I was out playing golf with my friend Henry this past week and it was brutal. I could not hit my driver at all. It was terrible for the nine holes we played. Seven of the holes needed a driver and yet for the first four it was impossible. (and even worse, Henry was driving great that day) On the fourth hole, after two more miserable attempts, I put the driver away and pulled out my three wood and began from there…the first ball I hit, was straight…not as far as with the driver but it was going in the right direction. At that point I could almost feel the frustration that had been building with each failed drive fall away and the day was a little bit better.
The hard part was, the last time I had played my driver worked really well and even the “bad drives” were workable. I couldn’t self-correct this time. I went through the mental check lists, did my talk before each drive and yet nothing was working…in truth I am admittedly an awful golfer who enjoys the walk and the company more than the scores on the card and yet when it is going that bad…and it was that bad…it is very hard to even enjoy the walk and the company. Over the next few hole, on the par 4 and 5’s I pulled out the three wood and life was better when we reached the ninth and the day was almost done, I pulled out the driver once more and like magic it worked again…why?
Well, the easiest answer was that I let go of the frustration for a little while. I chose to set aside what was causing the aggravation and pick up a different tool. And, when I was ready, to try again. I kept playing the game but I changed how I would start. This I believe is where sport can teach us lesson in work, play and our spiritual journey.

Pope Francis in his recent Apostolic Exhortation, “Gaudete et Exsultate: Rejoice and Be Glad” reminds us “The Holy Spirit bestows holiness in abundance among God’s holy and faithful people, for “it has pleased God to make men and women holy and to save them, not as individuals without any bond between them, but rather as a people who might acknowledge him in truth and serve him in holiness”.”(#6)

You may ask: why holiness? Why golf? And why frustration? There is a direction that flows from God through our lives and directs us back to God and this is the gift of holiness and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual journey is a walk and conversation with Jesus Christ as we seek holiness. God blesses us with great abundance and spiritual gifts to assist us on this journey. Sometimes I see someone wielding the prayer of the Rosary, the blessing of Lectio Divina, or the silence of meditation on the “Jesus Prayer” with such great affect my stumbling use of these spiritual gifts can raise frustration in my soul. We love to compare and gauge our spiritual life and gifts against others don’t we? The point is…”There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Cor 12:4-7)
St. Paul wrote this almost two thousand years ago and we still fight the same spiritual battle.
If we get back to the golf analogy…every once in a while it is important to look at what we are doing in the spiritual life, look at what the goal is….Jesus…try to refocus and pickup a different club…and then begin to go towards the goal without the old frustration in your hands.
God bless
Fr. Mark

Wednesday this week was both a wonderful and sad day in the Diocese of San Jose. Early in the morning, after my Holy Hour (@6:00 a.m.), I checked twitter to find the announcement that Bishop Oscar Cantú had been appointed Coadjutor to the Diocese by our Holy Father, Pope Francis. It was exciting news. I then went off to my morning exercise and Mass with the MESST(Eucharistic Missionaries of the Most Holy Trinity) sisters as I normally would. We prayed for Bishop Oscar and our Bishop Patrick at Mass and shared stories of blessing as we waited for the 10:00 a.m. introduction streamed over the internet. (you can watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KORRSPoaj0s )

When the introduction of our new Coadjutor was over I returned back to work and as I opened my email, the sadness came into the day. It was announced that Bishop Richard Garcia had died early that morning from complications of Alzheimers. It hit close to home because Bishop Richard was a priest of the Diocese of San Jose.
I first encountered Bishop Richard when I was in my first year of seminary formation at St. Patrick. He at the time was the Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento. I was walking through the library in one direction and he going in the other. I greeted him and then to my surprise he stopped, greeted me and engaged me in conversation. Nothing grand, just my name and where I was from. Just some basic conversation facts that I forgot very quickly as I continued on my way. Fast forward one year and I saw Bishop Richard again, only this time he greeted me by name, asked how my mom in Idaho was doing with a warmth that was both memorable and filled with grace.
My knowing Bishop Rich continued to grow as I went to St. Catherine of Alexandria parish for my pastoral year. It was a parish Fr. Rich had served at early in his priesthood with Msgr. Joe Milani as his pastor. Even though decades had passed since his serving at the parish the stories abounded of his kindness, gentleness and care for his people in healing the parish community.
But, perhaps, it is Bishop Rich’s memory and his remembering that is so clear in my mind and what made his illness much greater. Deacon Rick, one of the deacons at St. Catherine, tells the story of how he and his wife arrived at the parish with his family. Moving from the Midwest to San Jose to work and how after purchasing their home in Morgan Hill went down the hill to visit the parish. As they were walking towards the church a young priest comes out to greet them (see the pattern) and begins to talk with them and inquire about the family and life in general. Fast forward many years and without fail, when they would meet, Bishop Rich would ask about Rick’s wife Rosemary, his family, his work—never forgetting and always being present with the same grace and generosity of time that marked Bishop Rich’s ministry to God’s people.
Lastly, when I was installed as pastor at St. Catherine 7 years later, to my surprise, Bishop Rich came to celebrate with the community the installation of their new pastor as the parish celebrated 100 years of serving Morgan Hill.
During breakfast after Mass Wednesday morning as we waited for the introduction of Bishop Cantú, we spoke about Bishop Garcia and how he had been such a good friend to many of the MESST sisters who had served the diocese of San Jose and how he continued to bless the sisters with prayers and presence even when he was assigned faraway in Sacramento and then Monterey. It seemed God was blessing us with the goodness of the man even as he was being called home to the eternal banquet of the Eucharist.

Let us pray for Bishop Richard, his family, his flock in the Diocese of Monterey and for all who loved this wonderful and holy man. Let us also pray for my Diocese of San Jose as we move towards the gift of a new shepherd to lead us into the future.

God bless,
Fr. Mark

I was riding home on the Caltrain this past Tuesday after a meeting in San Francisco. It was a blessing to be able to sit, pray a Rosary and then take time to read. I had brought my kindle with me and look through some of the books that I had begun but have let drop off my radar over the past year. So, I opened up the book “Awaiting God” by Simone Weil. A read two of the essays that make up this book. In her essay “Reflections on the Right use of School Studies in View of the Love of God” one of the major themes she spoke about the idea of attention in studies and how this helps to form our lives.

“Although today we seem ignorant to it, the formation of the faculty of attention is the true goal and unique interest of all studies.” (p 21) Simone Weil is reminding us of the underlying premise for learning…not just getting to a solution but to be attentive to the path we are walking. The “Love of God” is a journey, as is all love, to seek a deeper and fuller understanding to the greater good and blessing that occurs in our lives. In our increasingly digital society, where process is overlooked, where the ends will justify the means, we find ourselves awash in ego and selfish behaviors that do not engage us in a learning of the other in our lives.
She lays out an understanding where the interests of the study of all God’s creation is being attentive to what we encounter. Pope Francis in his latest Apostolic Exhortation, “Gaudete et Exsultate” (Rejoice And Be Glad) asks us to remember the details of Jesus’ call to take notice and be attentive to others,

“Let us not forget that Jesus asked his disciples to pay attention to details.
The little detail that wine was running out at a party.
The little detail that one sheep was missing.
The little detail of noticing the widow who offered her two small coins.
The little detail of having spare oil for the lamps, should the bridegroom delay.
The little detail of asking the disciples how many loaves of bread they had.
The little detail of having a fire burning and a fish cooking as he waited for the disciples at daybreak. (GeE #144)

As we read these short tag lines to the Gospel our temptation is to say; “I know that one” and skip to the next and the next and the next…until we come to the end and simply move one without much thought our care. And that happens too often in life…we pass by without looking with attentiveness.
We may one to take one of those small lines, find the Gospel passage (see below) and be attentive in reading. Weil writes, ”Without sensing it, without knowing it, this effort that appeared sterile and fruitless has deposited more light in the soul. The fruit will be found later, in prayer.” (p 22) If we are attentive in this study then the fruits will be found in a greater “knowing” of Jesus Christ. When we know Him, we begin to know ourselves and become attentive to the process rather than just the end. Attention to life points us in a direction towards a greater good. Pope Benedict XVI challenges us to seek this end when he writes, “What this means is that every generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs; this task is never simply completed. Yet every generation must also make its own contribution to establishing convincing structures of freedom and of good, which can help the following generation as a guideline for the proper use of human freedom; hence, always within human limits, they provide a certain guarantee also for the future. In other words: good structures help, but of themselves they are not enough. Man can never be redeemed simply from outside.” (Spe Salvi: Saved In Hope #25)
Attention to who we are and what we do must ultimately transform our lives and answer the biggest and most profound questions in our lives. It is the seeking of the greater which permits our heart to be greater, love greater, forgive greater, trust greater suffer greater and endure greater than we are able to do if we are just seeking any answer rather than the answer which is life.

“Even outside of any explicit religious belief, every time a human being accomplishes an effort of attention with the sole desire of becoming more capable of knowing the truth, they acquire a greater aptitude for it even if their effort produces no visible fruit.” (P22-23)

Take the challenge, be attentive…be loved and join together in seeking the only truth that matters…Jesus Christ.

God bless,
Fr. Mark

John 2:1-12 Wedding Feast at Cana
Luke 15:1-7 The Lost Sheep
Luke 21:1-4 The Widow’s Two Mites
Matthew 25:1-13 The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
Mark 6:30-44 The Multiplication of the Loaves
John 21:1-14 Jesus Appears by the Sea

Psalm 120

To the Lord in the hour of my distress *
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, *
from the tongue of the deceitful.”

The prayer of the Church, “The Liturgy of the Hours,” is always reflective of the human condition and how we are called to respond. We have seen in recent weeks politicians using different Bible verses to argue the morality of positions of public policy to justify what should or should not be done. It is a reality we know that has been part of human history from the very beginning. Whether it is Sacred Scripture or the words of our parents, we have the habit and tendency to turn the “words” in the direction we wish to go. Psalm 120 is prayed the fourth week at Daytime Prayer on Monday. As I was praying it this week sitting in an airport returning from Chicago the words testified to the truth of learning to listen to God, not with my own ears but with the ears of Jesus Christ.

What shall he pay you in return, *
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrows sharpened *
and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Our desire for our enemies is that receive quick and forceful punishment. We disagree so we speak up, our actions go forth striking at the perceived and real injustices around us. It is important for us to remember while these words and actions may seem to resolve the problem or make us feel better they never bring true justice and peace to any situation. As daughters and sons of the living and true God we are reminded of our call to healing. This is never done with the arrows of belittling another or the blazing coals violence and slanderous words. We are always invited into a journey of turning the sword into an instrument of fruitful harvest growing the sustenance of unity…the bread of life.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech, *
dwell among the tents of Kedar!

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are warned that we will be strangers within our own land, community and family when we choose to follow Jesus. We will be strangers because in choosing to forgive, to walk with, to listen with care and love our tents become the meeting place of joy and love and the stranger becomes a companion of journey and grace. It is not easy. It is not without the pain, persecution and hatred of a sinful world. In  this land we belong to the eternal, sharing the hope of a life directed toward the greater and more hopeful in the grace of an all loving God.

Long enough have I been dwelling *
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, *
they are for fighting.

One of the greatest struggles is to have trust in the goodness of another even in disagreement. To be able to break bread with choose a pathway of peace amidst the violence of life. The trust in goodness allows us to disagree in love. We may and should disagree with what is against the Divine and natural law as the Church teaches us but we also much reach out and teach the truth with compassion and mercy. Inevitably words and works of peace are met with hatred and violence, by bullying and arrogance that is pride of knowing the other is always wrong…and you are always right. It is the deception of dehumanizing and minimizing the other where Satan lies and temptation begin to create isolation and distance from the discussion of finding God’s truth and God’s love.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

When we are able to see the glory of God, proclaim the glory of God and recognize the glory of God in he humility of trusting in the Divine Providence of a God who calls us to new life with each breath. As we pray Psalm 120 let us seek to find the common good in each other.
Our Bishop Patrick and many bishops throughout the United States and the world have spoken forcefully and eloquently about the current worries and concerns about the separation of families at our borders and the need to find a just solution to this sad and tragic situation. And as we debate this situation and look towards the new member of the Supreme Court let us remember to conduct ourselves and true disciples who build rather than destroy, who seek unity rather than expulsion with those with whom we may disagree. Below are a couple of links about the Church’s teaching on this issue.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

Unpacking the Catechism on Immigration (And an Aspect That Rarely Makes the News)

Bishop McGrath’s Message on Separated Families

This weekend I am in Chicago for a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Convention…and not just any convention but the 50th Anniversary convention. I have been part of WWME for less than 10 of these years but they have been fruitful and the mission of WWME is an important and life-giving part of my ministry.
One of the things I remind myself of over and over again is that if it is important then I must make time for this prayer, conversation or work in my busy life. It is a decision to love where I am called to spend my time, talent and treasure on where Jesus calls me to serve in His Catholic Church.
One of the greatest treasures I receive in working in this ministry is the continual discovery of the deepness of the Catholic teaching on the Sacramental love of husband and wife. It is especially clear in the intimacy shared between husband and wife that God is present and life-giving in these fruitful and joyous gifts of blessings.
In the document “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive” the United States Bishops write,“Material creation has spiritual meaning, which has implications for the way we live as male and female. Our sexuality has purpose. Our bodies are not simply shells for the soul or sensory machines for the brain. Nor are they raw material we can freely abuse or reprogram. For Christians, body and spirit are profoundly integrated. Each human being is a unity body and soul. (LIOM #39) This fundamental Christian understanding of how we are created begins to unfold the blessings shared in life. There is purpose and meaning to our physical, mental and spiritual differences and seeking to live and celebrate these differences open our eyes to the wonder of sacramental love in our lives.
The founder of the Marriage Encounter movement, Fr. Chuck Gallagher, S.J. in his book “The Marriage Encounter” blesses us with this wisdom, “Marriage calls for a full faithfulness—a striving for total awareness. It is not simply balancing life-styles and working out a give-and-take arrangement that leaves both parties content. The aim is full integration, true oneness, complete involvement.” (ME p143) This call to sacramental love and unity of fidelity, not simply of body, but of the soul. The unity displayed between the Father and the Son where Jesus declares we are called that in marital love the husband and wife “may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
(Jn 17:21)
The spousal gift of husband and wife, as Pope Francis reminds us in “Amoris Laetitia” unites the married couple in a mission where, “He or she is a companion on life’s journey, one with whom to face life’s difficulties and enjoy its pleasures. This satisfaction is part of the affection proper to conjugal love. There is no guarantee that we will feel the same way all through life. Yet if a couple can come up with a shared and lasting life project, they can love one another and live as one until death do them part, enjoying an enriching intimacy. (AL #163) This “shared and lasting life project” is founded in the generosity and abundance of God’s love for us. But it takes work as we grow from single, to couple, to a family founded on the gracious gift of life where we are made in the image and likeness of God. It is a shared work, where husband and wife model and mold each other as instruments of God’s grace in escorting each other toward the heavenly goal.
Once more our Bishops write, “Marriage exists because procreation and communion, biology and God’s covenant, nature and super-nature, together undergird what it means to be “human.” Marriage exists because we discover and accept, rather than invent or renegotiate the vocation to self giving which is intrinsic to being created male and female under the covenant.” (LIOM #41) What are we called to discover and accept…simply we are happier and holier when we choose to give in sacrificial love. Marriage, in sacramental union, is not the demanding debasement of slavery to another but rather the self donation of the maleness and femaleness to the other in love. When the world seeks to remake marriage in its image it becomes a contract of debts and demands whereas the covenant of God’s love is one of gift and service without counting the costs.
Pope Francis shares with us a realistic and hope filled desire for marriage when he writes, “A person can certainly channel his passions in a beautiful and healthy way, increasingly pointing them towards altruism and an integrated self-fulfilment that can only enrich interpersonal relationships in the heart of the family. This does not mean renouncing moments of intense enjoyment, but rather integrating them with other moments of generous commitment, patient hope, inevitable weariness and struggle to achieve an ideal. Family life is all this, and it deserves to be lived to the fullest. (AL #148) Marriage calls us to live towards another as we unite our love to God. Husband and wife share the passionate embrace of marriage in the giving of one to the other in equal dignity and blessing. The “heart of the family” is the Sacrament of Marriage, the unity of one to the other in fruitful and faithful love where the call the forgiveness and reconciliation are celebrated and enjoyed through the sorrows of love.
Fr. Gallagher gives us this final word of blessing, “Marriage calls a man and a woman to be fully open to each other to give and receive their personhood. It calls for a total and irrevocable commitment to find themselves in each other. This is fidelity.” (ME p 142)

God Bless
Fr. Mark

On June 14th much of the world will stop and begin the great celebration of the 2018 World Cup. It will be a time of celebration and anguish. A time of joyously coming together in the playing of the beautiful game.
Normally at the World Cup I have several rooting interests to follow but this year my option is down to one. The United States National Team was awful in qualifying and did not make the tournament. One down two to go. Ghana, my second team, was equally bad in qualifying and did not qualify. Two down and one to go. Luckily, I also root for Germany, as the current holders of the Cup they are going to be playing football (soccer) for the next month with the great possibility Der Mannschaft winning the World Cup back to back.
During the first fourteen days I will be awaking between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. to watch a game as the group stages play there way out. It is a time to see star players wear their national jersey as they play with passion and hope. But what about the Catholic aspect you may be wondering? During this time when the game is at the forefront of the lives of so many we may want to focus on four saints: Saint Sebastian, the patron of athletes, Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati the patron saint of sports, St. Luigi Scrisoppi one of the patrons of soccer and funny enough, St. John Paul II, the patron saint of goalkeepers. (the internet can be wonderful at times)
You may want to point out these four saints to those obsessed by the game as a way of reconnecting us to God’s plan for sport.
Pope St. John Paul II talked a lot about sports, “Sports contribute to the love of life, teaches sacrifice, respect and responsibility, leading to the full development of every human person.” The gift of sports can help young men and women grow in many virtues when these virtues are tied to a belief in God and the athletic talents are seen as gifts to be used, shared and celebrated not simply as dominance over another but the expression of God’s beauty and grace is competition which brings out the best of the other.
“Playing sport has become very important today, since it can encourage young people to develop important values such as loyalty, perseverance, friendship, sharing and solidarity.” (JPII) Sadly, sport can also divide and take such a high priority in the life of the family that time together and growth in love can be sacrificed. It can build great values when it is balanced against the greater goods of life. Loyalty to a team or teammates when it takes precedence to family time and faith can be corrosive and feed the ego rather than build true solidarity with family and friends.
“Sports, in fact, can make an effective contribution to peaceful understanding between peoples and to establishing the new civilization of love.” (JPII) I know in my teens and twenties I sometimes allowed my competitive nature to become unbalance and peace and unity was not where I wanted to go. But I also remember the 1994 WC when the Brazilian national team took over Los Gatos and even when they eliminated the United States, the celebration of friendship was truly joyous…friends were made and beers were exchanged even during the heat of the battle. St. John Paul II shares with us these words of wisdom, “The correct practice of sport must be accompanied by practicing the virtues of temperance and sacrifice; frequently it also requires a good team spirit, respectful attitudes, the appreciation of the qualities of others, honesty in the game and humility to recognize one’s own limitations.  In short, sports, especially in less competitive forms, foster festive celebration and friendly coexistence with the Christian outlook, becomes a “generative principle” of profound human relations and encourages the building of a more serene and supportive world.” (JPII)

 

Ultimately the game is just a game. With lessening heartache I can even watch the Giants win every now and then and not get too riled up. Sharing the joy of the game is so much more important when we see the gift coming from a source of joy and peace which is our Heavenly Father as we laugh and cry with friend and foe in celebration of sport and the game we love. Therefore “Give thanks to God for the gift of sport, in which the human person exercises his body, intellect and will, recognizing these abilities as so many gifts of his Creator.” (JPII)
God Bless
Fr. Mark

“Prayer is love melted into worship.” (Charles H. Brent)

There are moments during my Holy Hour when my mind stops for a few brief seconds and I hear the voice of God. It is a moment of worship when love breaks into life. We are reminded that to worship God is to be in the presence of God, to place ourselves into a union with God in an act of service in love. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve,” says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy.” (CCC #2096)

“Prayer is love melted into worship.”

Often times when I am hearing confessions in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or in deep conversation with someone words and wisdom are spoken that are gifts of the Holy Spirit. They do not come from my brain rather these words flow from my soul and into the wounds of the penitent or the person being counseled. It is a moment of grace which can slip by easily. Jesus reminds us, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Mt 18:20) Our pray of worship is allowing God to break through in the daily moments of grace and gathering knowing we are in His presence in choosing to listen in love and speak in healing.

“Prayer is love melted into worship.”

Playing golf with friends is one of the blessings in my life. In the long walk around the 18 holes much is learned about life and how we are called to share this life, given by God, with one another. I think of the walk as something akin to Jesus’ walk with his disciples. The oddest topics enter into some of the mundane conversations of life. Yes, we speak of the game. Yes, we talk about family and work. Yet, there are often deeper, meaningful moments where we see past the day to day and into the heart of a companion. We see where God is seeking to lead each of us and how we, as brothers and sisters in the Lord, are invited to be disciples. It is the moment when Jesus ask us to take the Cup of Salvation and walk more gently, to cast our nets more deeply into the waters of life and to bear the cross with compassion. It is where, in love, we enter into the prayer of conversation knowing God is there and grace is flowing forth.

“Prayer is love melted into worship.”

As a priest and pastor of a parish community I am asked to do many different and complex things. Many of which confound my experience and place struggle and doubt into my life. These are heavy burdens often made more difficult in my choices to carry them alone. I have found two great prayers of blessing the first is remember whose Church it is from the phrase attributed to Pope St. John XXIII, “It’s your Church, Lord. I’m going to bed.” Knowing, even in my cries of despair, that God will not abandon us and where he surrounds us with hands, feet and wisdom to carry us forward as a community. The second is the prayer to my Guardian Angel. We often become forgetful as adults of our Guardian Angel. Mine works very hard and especially when I lay my head on the pillow at night; it is a prayer of protection and rest the he gets to hear from my heart. A prayer my angel guards through the night.

““The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God’s commandments. “[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart.”” (CCC #2098) …because “Prayer is love melted into worship.”
God Bless
Fr. Mark

What’s in a name? This is a good question that I have been thinking about this week. My week started off wonderfully. Celebrating Mass on Sunday, looking forward to a quiet Monday Holiday…it was all so good. Then Tuesday came. it should have been a great day. It was my normal day off…so a four day weekend…what a blessing. but then the emails and facebook messages began to show up….What favor do you need Father? Are you asking for iTunes cards Father? Is this your email Father? I had been phished and the perpetrators were using my good name!
The scam was, if you answered the email, I wanted you to send me a $100 iTune card. I don’t know quite how this would work and I pray people knew it was a scam before the fell for it, but sadly I know some people may have sent the card. Playing on the trust many parishioners have in their priest, yes…sadly many other priests in the Diocese have been hit by a similar phishing scam…it is sad that this would occur.
On a positive note, it shows in some way the trust many people have in their parish priests. I was gratified people cared enough to reach out, to respond and let me know that there was this evil floating around. It is a blessing to know, even in the midst of scandals and doubts, the name still means something.
When things like this occur we begin to loose and break trust in the good name and the goodness of others. The sin is in this mistrust of others we begin to separate, isolate and abandon the gift and blessing of community. Distrust moves us away from family, friends and the blessing of those who seek to be with us. Ultimately this trust is also a faith growing from knowledge and love of another and the distrust of community can destroy this faith.
So, what do we do? I think we go back to example…There is a story of the great Bishop, Venerable Fulton J. Sheen willingness to give away the coat he was wearing to poor people he encountered along his journeys. When asked about this practice and the real question of; didn’t he worry about being tricked or “scammed”, he simply replied “He didn’t want to take the chance that the poor person was Jesus in disguise”
My hope in this story is we continue to be generous and trusting and willing to offer life to others even when we have found ourselves taken advantage of and even tricked into trusting a thief. We must be careful…yes…but we must never be begrudging in our trust, faith and generosity.
Generosity is a blessing that shows forth in many ways…so while my week started badly with this “phishing” scam…it ended with a blessing. Yesterday a package arrived at the office. I had been expecting a package but this package was much heavier and larger than I expected. I opened it and inside was a gift…Beer of the Month Club…the first twelve arrived. I know I didn’t order it…so who did? I have been looking through my emails and cards and social media and still haven’t found who sent true blessing from God. Seeing God in this gift was my ability to remember goodness in the world as we continue to deal with the craziness of the first part of the week that the blessing of family, friends and community continue to shine forth.
To end…please pray for the perpetrators of the phishing crime that they may discover a better and legal way of earning a living. Second, be assured that I would never ask for money or iTunes cards in such a manner. Third, know and share God’s generosity with care and love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

This weekend is a long one according to the calendar. Our country will celebrate Memorial Day to honor those who sacrificed their lives in service of our nation. What originally began as a day honoring those who had died in The Civil War sadly has been expanded as the number of the fallen has continued to grow through many other conflicts and wars. Today we offer prayers and blessings to those families who have been touched by the death of a member of our military knowing the loss of a son or daughter, husband or wife and father or mother forever changes the life of the family and of every community.
As a young child I don’t remember putting that great of thought into the celebration of Memorial Day. It was only during my years in the Marine Corps where I began to understand the true impact and the reason behind the day. I remember one day listening to a discussion of two older Marines as they recounted their time serving in Viet Nam and the quietness of their conversations as they began to talk about their fellow Marines who had died and in their conversation was hanging in the air was something I could not truly understand. It was as I remembered these conversations later in life I began to realized these “older Marines” were in their early 30’s and the friends they were speaking about were young men in their teens and early 20’s. And perhaps this was what I could not understand, the youth and life sacrificed and lost.
It is this perspective that we place into our hearts as we celebrate this weekend. Because while we remember those who have died we also place our hope in a future that is free from these tragedies and violence against our brothers and sisters, families and friends. The Christian hope is always found in the cross where God confronts evil and death with the gift of love and hope.
Cardinal Robert Sarah in his book “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise” reaffirms this hope and love,” I think but it is always necessary to cry out to God. It is good to ask for help and aid from heaven… when I travel in countries that are going through violent, profound crises, I observed how much prayer can help those who no longer have anything. Silence was the last trench that no one could enter, the only room in which to remain in peace… silence arms us with patience. Silence in God restores our courage… the poison of war comes to an end in the silence of prayer, in the silence of trust, in the silence of hope. At the heart of all the barbarities, it is necessary to plant the mystery of the Cross.” (#312)
Silence in prayer is not passivity but as Cardinal Sarah notes, it is an active life on entering into the work of God through the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is choosing to speak words of gentleness and kindness towards others rather than ridicule and slander. It is seeking works of compassion and mercy rather than violence and retribution. It is offering service and sacrifice in the face of greed and lust for power. It is not being naive but rather courageous in choosing to love in the face of hatred.
As we celebrate this weekend, let us seek to reach out in joyful hope as we remember those who have died serving our nation and in the silence of prayer offer the hope of a world that is brought into the peace and blessing of Jesus Christ. Let us take up our Cross and follow Him in love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark