Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. (Pope St. John XXIII)

Saturday Morning: The baptism of three wonderful, beautiful children.
Saturday Afternoon: The wedding of a happy and holy young man and young woman.
Wednesday afternoon: The anointing and prayers for the preparation of death for an elderly gentleman.
Wednesday Evening: The anointing blessing of a young woman whose child died in utero and prayers of blessing for the child.

Life and death are part of the normal pattern of life. Although we often don’t dwell too much on the latter and in truth most people don’t want to think too much about death even with the reality that it will come to us all. Our faith tells us death is part of life and in death we enter eternal life. As you can see above life and death flow through the daily ministry of our parish communities with the blessing of God entering into the joy and sorrows, the excitement and heartbreak of families.
Thankfully my weeks aren’t always filled with these great highs and lows of joy and sorrow but they do occur in all families and in all places. Of course, with the coming of All Souls Day, we will be talking more and more about death as we remember those relatives and friends who have gone before us. It will bring up a variety of emotions. Some may be the tears the family of the older gentleman shed as we blessed him and prayed that he would be gathered into the arms of Jesus. These tears were of the many memories of love, the actions and details of life recalled with blessing. They were tears of remembrance and presence recalling the moments of grace that are shared in life. And for others they may be the tears of this young woman and her family where the heartbreak of dreams that wretch at our hearts. Where the hopes seem to be filled with the black emptiness swallowing our cries that feel empty and without resolution.
With all this said, this is where family life and the blessing of love comes into and helps to heal the brokenness and hurts of life. It is the baptism and weddings, the birthdays and holidays, the normal weekday routines and the dinner table conversations that inform the holiness of life and allow us to move through suffering and sadness, not forgetting or masking them, but proportioning them into the greater picture God has painted us into. It is where laughter breaks into tears. I remember coming home after my father had died and with my brothers and cousins sitting around having a drink, one of my brothers remarked, “Well, dad knows about the ewe now.” It was an inside joke, several years earlier, one morning one of the ewes had broken out of the pasture and we had the brilliant idea of scaring her back in by shooting at her. This made much more sense than chasing her. Well, we missed her by at least ten feet. She jumped up, turned and ran for the pasture and fell over dead. We assumed from a heart attack. Never had the courage to tell dad…but now he knows. We all laughed, fell silent and healed a little bit from that silly shared story.
“This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”” (Jeremiah 31:15) I cannot fathom what this young mother feels but I do know that as we prayed together that night and then again blessed the body of her child the next day that she was surround by a family of love. And that is the first step of healing because she is loved…and that love is founded in God. It is also true for the family of the elderly man, they wept as they surrounded him with love as he moved into the eternal life of love.
Both of these families will hold the blessing of All Souls Day a little closer and a little more painfully this year but they will also be healed by our prayers as a Church, as the Body of Christ.
God bless
Fr. Mark

Have you ever had anyone step into your life and change everything? That someone special who opens your eyes to see the world differently or reawaken the heart to be more receptive to the blessings of love? It almost always happens out of the blue, in truth most probably 100% of the time, because it is not something you can plan or look for but it is like the invisible gust of wind knocking your hat off your head.
Well, that someone special stepped into my life last week…her name is St. Marguerite Bays…who entered my mind and heart as I wrote and talked about her last week in celebrating her canonization in the Catholic Church. As I wrote last week and talked about in my Sunday homily, she was a woman of great faith who lived a life of service, prayer and devotion in her parish and her neighborhood. So why is this woman so special (other than she is a Saint, if that were not special enough) that I would feel such an instant love and joyfulness in getting to know her through the blessing of her story of saintliness? Well, it might come as a surprise to you…but…wait for it…her prayer life.
In my homily at Sunday Mass I asked you to think of someone who needed your prayers…and to lift that person up in prayer during the Mass but also daily, because we all need prayer. So, what happened? I guess it was one of those Holy Spirit moments when he moves you to see the world as God sees the world. As I looked out upon St. Lucy a thought popped into my mind…”How many St. Marguerite’s do we have in our parish?” In truth I didn’t think about it long because I needed to focus once more on the celebration of the Mass but it has been a thought that has reentered my mind over and over again: at prayer, at rest, at play and at work.
We know that we are all called to be saints but: do we actually see the saints around us or do we see what we do as holy and blessed leading us to sainthood in our own right? The first part of the question is often answered in the affirmative. I can list dozens and dozens of holy men and women I have encountered at the many parishes I worshipped at as a lay man and those I have served at as a priest. I encounter them daily in ministry doing the quiet work of God, not seeking the spotlight but silently going about the work of caring for and serving others in their lives. I am always moved to grace walking into the silent church building during the middle of the day and finding God’s children in prayer; praying for others, for themselves, for the silent petitions unknown and yet brought to God in faith. They are the living stones upon which the Body of Christ lives and breathes daily.
And this is where we come back to this special beloved woman who slipped into my life, casually opening my heart to see the blessing of love surrounding me and asking me to pray with more patience and grace for God’s Church as I promised on the day of my ordination. It is the intercession of a saint that invites me to a great and more fervent intercession of love.
Who are the saints in your life? Who are you called to intercede for in prayer today?
St. Marguerite Bays….pray for us

God bless,
Fr. Mark

This Sunday our Holy Father Pope Francis will canonize five new saints. Much as I wrote earlier when I discussed other new saints from last year, the big names St. Paul VI and St. Oscar Romero, can overshadow the “smaller” saints. I point this out because the stories of these men and women who are recognized for the heroic virtue are powerful and teach us many things. Pope Francis will elevate five people to sainthood. The big name is John Henry Newman a 19th century convert to Catholicism who was a great thinker and writer who helped to shape the intellectual discourse of the Catholic Church for the century to come.
Who are the other saints? Well they are four women: three religious sisters and the fourth was a member of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Marguerite Bays was a dressmaker by trade and her biography tells us she spent her entire life working as a dedicated lay person in her parish and never left her own neighborhood. A simple woman who received a miraculous healing and experienced a mystical union with God. We are reminded by her life how much we, through being dedicated to our faith and sharing it with joy, can have great effect in both our family, our parish and in our communities. Recognizing how sharing our faith in creating a Catholic culture within our own families and neighborhoods we evangelize the joyful presence of God’s grace.
Sr. Dulce Lopes Pontes was a member of the congregation of the missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. (That is one long name for a congregation) With that being said, this 20th century saint, much like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was known for her service to the poorest of the poor in her native Brazil. A woman of humble service she worked to bring dignity, especially through healthcare, to all people. Her work in founding a charitable organization, which annually serves over 3.5 million people, “famously began with just 70 patients, a chicken coop, and one determined nun.” (see link below) Sr. Dulce reminds us of how small seeds planted with great care and love often lead us to God’s blessings beyond imagination.
Sr. Giuseppina Vannini is the founder of the Daughters of Saint Camillus who in her short life, she died at 51, was an example of charity and sacrifice. Orphaned at an early age she chose to enter religious life and eventually decided to found a religious order whose work was caring for the sick and elderly.
Sr. Mariam Thresia was born in Thresia Mankidiyan in Kerala, India. Raised in the Syro-Malabar Rite of the Catholic Church, one of many Eastern Rite Churches in union with the Roman Catholic Church. She founded the Congregation of the Holy Family where she and her sisters dedicated their lives to praying for the repentance of sinners and carrying for orphans and the poor. Sr. Marian Thresia died at the age of 50 after having received the gift of the stigmata (the wounds of Jesus)
When I read the short biographies of each of these holy women I was reminded of three marks of each of their lives:
They each had a deep love for God’s people, especially the poor and vulnerable. Each of them chose to do small things with great love. The lesson we can learn is, while we may not be called to the consecrated life or the priesthood, we are all called to seek God in serving the other in our life. How do we seek to serve God in our daily lives may be the question these soon to be saints would ask?
You don’t need to go far to serve God. These four future saints pretty much stayed at home. None of them were missionaries going far and wide to find how best to serve God. Blessed Marguerite never left her “neighborhood” and she and each of these woman changed the lives of so many people around the world. Who in your “neighborhood”, at home, work, school or wherever needs the blessing of a good neighbor?
Lastly…yes you guessed it, each was a person with a deep and profound prayer life. Each found their call to vocation through prayer. They each persevered through the trial of life through prayer. They each rediscovered their mission over and over again through a deep and personal conversation in prayer with God. This didn’t happen by accident but rather through seeking and finding God in prayer. Do you take time in prayer each day to share with God your life?
The links below are short biographies of these five soon to be saints.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

http://www.savior.org/saints/bays.htm

https://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=93278

https://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=93093

https://saltandlighttv.org/blogfeed/getpost.php?id=93080

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Routines can be both good and bad depending on whether or not the routine begins to develop something greater or just becomes a rut in which we do the same thing over and over again. Routines help us to establish boundaries and discipline that moves us toward goals in our lives. Most families have routines they have established and I know listening to “new parents” that seeking to establish a routine for their children is one of the greater priorities in their growing families life.
Prayer also is a discipline and a routine that helps to grow both family and unity. As a parish here at St. Lucy as we continue in our mission of prayer with “A Parent Who Prays” we recognize the routine of prayer we are called share with and teach our children. But the discipline of prayer is also a lesson that we all must continually learn and grow in greater understanding of our spiritual needs and hopeful of being nearer to our Lord Jesus. I, personally, can share with you my own growth and deepening of the discipline of prayer, but I am also keenly aware of how much more I need to grow in faith, hope and love in prayer.
So here are a few prayerful hints form Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak from their little book “The Corporal Works of Mommy (and Daddy Too)”. Where they talk about daily prayer rituals where added to the formal prayer rituals of our Catholic Church each family develops, according to their needs and life circumstances. This is a discernment which will occur and all families must undertake as we journey as Christian disciples. There is nothing new or strange here just some helpful reminders.
Grace before and after meals: whether at home or out on the town prayers of thanksgiving are always important. They remind us of God’s presence and the gifts He shares with us each and every day. When we and our children discover the blessing of a simple meal we also begin to see how many blessing and gifts from God inundate our lives. It is a gift that grows.
Morning blessings for your children and spouse: This is one of the great joys we can share with one another. I remind parents and families at each baptism I celebrate what a powerful symbol it is for the family, how each child, each member of the family and each and every person is a blessing from God. Planting the seeds of blessing early on and carrying this blessing on throughout life and grows unity and purpose of following God.
Reflect on daily or Sunday Readings as a family: Spending a few minutes with the Word of God is indispensable. We recently celebrated the Memorial of St. Jerome who sagely reminded us “Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of God.” Many parishes, including St. Lucy, offers the reflection booklet “Give Us This Day” or others to help us follow the liturgical life of the Church. Following the daily and weekly readings of the Mass allows us to breathe the very Word of God Jesus Christ.
Bedtime prayers with Bible stories: Ending the day, just as we begin the day with a blessing of love. As adults doing a “daily examen” of our faults and failings directs our hearts to be conformed to God and when this happens our children see the importance of beginning and ending the day in prayer. Something as simple as the “Guardian Angel” prayer or reading a story from the Bible or books of the Saints is always good.
The Rosary: It is one of the most important prayers we can pray alone or as a family…as the great Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said, “When we say the Rosary—we are saying to God, the Trinity, to the Incarnate Savior, to the Blessed Mother: “I love you. I love you. I love you.” because love is the center of the family and God is always at the center of life.
Midday prayers: One way to unite the family is to have a small prayer we can all say when we are going about our daily task. Something simple that both the young and old can quickly an quietly pray to remind us, as family, that whether we are apart or together we are one in the Lord.
and yes…pray for our children and family using “A Parent Who Prays.
God Bless
Fr. Mark