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.