Thoughts From Fr. Mark

This weekend the Diocese of San Jose will celebrate the ordination into the transitional diaconate of two men: Victor Trinidad and John Hoang. At their ordination Victor and John will be asked to commit themselves to a life of service and love, a life of service and love that will be strengthened through their relationships with the people of God. In my work in Worldwide Marriage Encounter we recognize how the Sacraments of Holy Orders and those of Holy Matrimony mirror one another as Sacraments of relationship.
While the below promises are but a small part of the ordination rite I would ask you to reflect on how God calls us all into a relationship of love in the proper vocation we are called to live.
Are you willing to live a chaste celibate life? This is the promise that so many people focus on because it seems so counter to our culture…but this has always been the case. It is a call to chaste celibate love were the relationships of the ordained are found in the friendships and bounds of intimacy that our outside of sexual activity. The call to celibacy must always be first found in chastity were we form our hearts and minds to seeing the beauty of God’s creation as faithful witnesses to true and holy love. In a similar way the husband and wife promise to be faithful in a chaste intimate love where they form their hearts and minds to see the beauty of the other and exercise the beauty of their sexual love in an intimacy exclusive of all others. While not as counter cultural, think about how many people today decry marriage and pooh-pooh the idea of chaste faithful love.

Are you willing to be ordained? This same question is echoed in the question to the husband and wife in asking them if they have come to the altar freely and without coercion. This is a question when answered freely and with love informs the next two questions to be asked. It reminds both the man to be ordained and the woman and man to be married they are offering themselves to something greater and something that goes beyond their individual self and is joined in a mysterious way to the other.

Are you willing to dutifully fulfill the ministry? I often think when people look at what priests and deacons do in their ministry they look too often at the outside and not the inside of the life. Just as husband and wife must choose to interiorly conform themselves to the other the deacon and priest must do the same. We can look at the duties of husband and wife in the same way we look at the duties of priest and deacon and miss the mark completely. The willingness to fulfill the ministry is not a willingness to exchange one thing for another but the desire to give and share all that you are with the other. For the husband and wife this is a sharing of one to the other in a profound intimacy, for the priest and deacon is too is a sharing of oneself with God through the community of the Church in a blessing of love.

Are you willing to live the life? As the sacramental union of husband and wife is an eternal gift, “until death do us part,” so the desire to live the life as a priest and deacon is a choice to know we are bound in a sacramental bond to God and His holy Catholic Church. The formation of a man to be ordained a deacon and then priest take more than five years where he is asked the difficult question about sacrifice and suffering in the name of Jesus Christ. It is the desire and hope of the Church that when the man steps forward he is at peace with the choice of following God’s call to serve. I remember talking with a friend as we shared experiences of our sacramental days where he said when he saw his wife enter the church on their wedding day his heart both exploded with excitement and joy at the same time a deep peace grew as he knew his bride was his Sacrament.

Are you willing to pray for the Church? This should be easy enough…if you are unwilling to pray daily for and with your beloved you should rethink your decision to enter into marriage and certainly as marriage grows the prayer of both husband and wife as individuals and a couple should grow deeper and stronger…same with the priest and deacon.

Are you willing to obey your Bishop and Church? Last but not least…obedience. To obey in love is perhaps the hardest question to ascent to because it requires a total gift at times that hurts deeply. In this we recognize what St. Paul meant when he called for both obedience and sacrifice even unto death to self in the gift of love. Obedience in love requires that we trust our beloved that all they will ask of us will bring us closer to God and enrich and strengthen our Sacrament. If we place that much trust in God through our Bishop or our spouse then obedience becomes a joyful gift we offer and receive daily in our life.

Please pray for Victor Trinidad and John Hoang in thanksgiving for their yes. Please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of Our Catholic Church.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

“How do we love our Church?” That is a question being asked by many people and one posed at a Confirmation session for sponsors of our teens. It is a good question and one that is needed to be asked.
How do we love our Church in a time of crisis? Scandal? Bad news? What ever phrase we wish to add after “a time of” is a probing and searching need to discover a depth of truth and faith behind the question. It is good to ask these questions because when we don’t then we have slipped into indifference about our faith and our Church which is the first step out the door and towards a life without a constructive and hopeful experience of the reality of God in our lives.
I believe the answer lies within the question and trust me when I say this question has been on my mind and I have asked it of friends in my continued search for the why’s and how’s of the scandal within our beloved Church.
“Our” This simple word is so very important because it isn’t “the” “a” but “our Church.” This is the first trap set and one we can easily fall into. The temptation of separating ourselves from the Body of Christ by reducing our role in the stewardship of “our Catholic Church” is a true temptation. The “our” part comes with a cost…the time, talent and treasure of being involved. It is hard to be an owner of our faith, and our Church when we are absent from the day to day prayer, the weekly gathering and the eternal hope of life offered and given. The cost is the sacrificial offering of self to Jesus Christ who lives at the center of our call to relationship.
“Relationship” “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Lk 21:48) I put this quote forward because it is a reminder of this cost of relationship. As a priest in the Worldwide Marriage Encounter movement I continue discover how we are called into and entrusted with a relationship of love. Our vocation is to love and be loved and this is a big deal. Our spousal relationships call us to work for another and to help the other become the holy and loved person God has created him/her to be. We also know the faults and failures of our own lives and those of the other. And this is the work…to draw the best out of the other and to seek to become more Christlike in our relationships…because “more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
“A search” The search is not minimize or dismiss the sin but to seek a greater good. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, sin is present in the members of the Church but though the sacramental grace we are able to resist and overcome the hurt of sin. “The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity. This is why she suffers and does penance for those offenses, of which she has the power to free her children through the blood of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC #827) In the choice to love we search out the presence of Jesus Christ in even the most troubling moments of our life. We may see the sin blotting out much good but we are called to search for the light of truth, faith and hope knowing the love of God is found even in the darkness.
“Carry our cross” Each day when we read the newspaper and articles in magazines and on the internet, when we find ourselves in conversations that are challenging to our faith and accusatory in their words, when we hear about another problem we can despair and even say, “enough is enough.” But Jesus reminds us “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mk 8:34) Once more this isn’t to minimize or dismiss the horrific sins of abuse and coverup by bishops and priests but if we understand the reality of “our Church” where we are in “relationship” with the person of Jesus Christ in and through our brothers and sisters in faith where we are invited to search for the good, the beautiful and the holy even in midst of darkness, then we choose the cross in love and embrace the crucified Jesus in love.
I have talked about this dozens of times over the past months and will continue to remind myself and others. There is no easy answer or set of rules that will ever fully protect and safeguard everyone but when we choose to live a life of holiness in union with Jesus Christ then we will call out the sin in our midst and “…Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” (1 Pt 1:15)
Please pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.

God bless
Fr. Mark

We are often fascinated by celebrity and the big things of this world to the detriment of our experiencing the fullness of life. Sometimes it can be because we are too busy or occupied to notice the small details and at other times we rush by because the small details can cause complications and worries in life we do not wish to tackle at the moment. But if God knows the very smallest details of who we are, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Lk 12:7) then maybe it is a hint to us to slow down and look at the details of life because perhaps, just perhaps, we will discover the greater blessings in life.
Why do I ask this question today? Because of St. Pope Paul VI and St. Oscar Romero…that’s why. And oh yeah…the other five men and women who were canonized as Saints in the Catholic Church the same day. Who are these other five? That’s a good question. As a priest I try to keep up with the news and was very excited when it was announced the two above mentioned men would be canonized. And in truth in everything I read until the final days I had know idea there were others saints being called forth. In fact I was a bit shocked when I read a headline “7 to be Canonized” on one of the Catholic news websites. Even more amazing was throughout the days prior and the day of the Mass 99% of the images where of either both St. Paul VI or St. Oscar Romero if not of one or the other but not the other five.
Who were the other five….St. Vincent Romano (+1881), St. Francesco Spinelli (+1913), St. Nunzio Suprizio (+1836), St. Nazaria Ignacio March Mesa (+1943) and St. Maria Katharina Kasper (+1898). You can read about these holy men and women on the link provided below. But once more going back to the above thought, we can often focus on the big and ignore the little to the detriment of our life of holiness and our life of grace. In reality these “lesser known” saints are vitally important and for their community, their local church and to us they are examples of grace and courage in the faith.
But why is this so important? I believe it is because when we seek holiness we discover it in the small encounters and the local relationships, (in the lesser) more readily and with greater impact then the large and greater in the long run.
One example we might use is this. A while back I was asked to go and celebrate an Anointing of the Sick at a local facility. When I got in the room, the person to be anointed was with her daughter and granddaughter. The room was filled with joy and love that was remarkable. In conversation, the daughter stated, “Her mom was the very best in the whole world.” I immediately thought about my mom; who is the very best mom in the whole world! With all joking aside, it was a moment when we can all remember how God blesses us through the small “saintly” relationship we have with one another. It is how the heroic virtue of a life of holiness shines through when we allow ourselves to see God in the other. To this family, their mom was their saint, flaws and all, because she showed them the face of Christ. And while their mom will never be loved universally like our Blessed Mother or many of the famous saints, she will be always loved by her family just as I and my family will always love our mom. We love them because we know them, flaws and all.
This is really the point: to know our family of saints who live around us and are in the great communion of saints in heaven. Our challenge is always to know the other: to know God and all the people He has given us to love. Perhaps we could take time to read about the saint of the day and to visit, call or pray for a relative and friend each day. In doing so we might get to know and love our sisters/brothers and friends like Maria Katharina Kasper and the many other saints in heaven.

God bless
Fr. Mark

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-seven-saints-pope-francis-will-canonize-on-sunday-73292

Sunday’s other new saints show holiness isn’t just for celebrities

ABSENCE
I visited the place where we last met.
Nothing was changed, the gardens were well-tended,
The fountains sprayed their usual steady jet;
There was no sign that anything had ended
And nothing to instruct me to forget.

The thoughtless birds that shook out of the trees,
Singing an ecstasy I could not share,
Played cunning in my thoughts. Surely in these
Pleasures there could not be a pain to bear
Or any discord shake the level breeze.

It was because the place was just the same
That major absence seem a savage force,
For under all the gentleness there came
An earthquake tremor: fountains, birds and grass
Were shaken by my thinking of your name.
By: Elizabeth Jennings

“Father, everything is so different but it’s just the same,” were the words that came tumbling out of the mouth of a man who had just confessed (not in sacramental confession) that this was the first time in over 25 years that he had entered a Catholic Church.
“I visited the place where we last met.” We had a brief conversation where I invited him to a deeper talk about faith and how we could help him “rediscover” his Catholic faith. The poem above, by Elizabeth Jennings, expresses the beauty of an unfailing truth of God’s love…He never changes…He waits through my absence…He invites me to be with him where I am shaken “by my thinking of your name.” The timelessness of God’s love is ever new in the hearts of all people because we believe God sees and proclaims the goodness of creation through his son, Jesus Christ.
The above conversation and the poem both reminded me of the journey of truth and faith we walk as disciples of Jesus Christ. We all have the experience of walking into a house, a room or a place and the flood of memories overwhelm us. These memories can be good or bad but they bring a moment of time back with such clarity where nothing seems to have changed. Our journey of faith and truth calls us to re-remember the moments of grace where the presence of God overwhelmed us and feel the earthquake of faith rattle us awake again.
Two of these places in my life are very different but the same. The first is the parish church of St. Anthony in Greencreek Idaho. This is the parish of my Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation and while during my high school years I went to the other local parishes, depending on my family and time of Mass, St. Anthony’s always brings back a deepness of God’s presence differently than any other church. It is not anything specific and certainly things have changed and yet there is also a presence of faith, memory and truth the cry out as the grace filled moments roll over in the soul. It is a place where faith and family reside as the hours of prayer and play intertwined as parents and adults chatted and children ran free. It may be a romanticized memory but a memory none-the-less of God’s goodness in love.
The second place is the ocean…I know that’s a big place…but maybe more specifically the coast where the waves meet the land. To hear and see the sound and power of the ocean, whether it be the storms of the Washington state coast or the Santa Cruz beaches each time I sit and watch the power and hear the roar the life of the savage force under a gentle glass of the ocean spread across the horizon moves my soul to the greatness of God’s creation.
I think Elizabeth Jennings’ gets it right in the words of “Absence” where she reminds us of the power of love and how memory draws us back into a place of love. And while we often fall out of love with God through willful sin we are invited back through the gift of these same memories. The gentlemen above who confessed his absence talked about how the hurts of his life: the death of family and friends, the loss of work and home, the wandering in sin, was always tempered by his knowing a memory of love dwelling deep within his soul, a memory he was never able to forget. We may not wander far or loose deep love but we all know loss it is in these moments we are called to remember and seek to find true healing and joy to fill the absence with God’s name.

Please pray for the continued sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
And may the two newest saints, this Saturday October 13 be always examples of true love of God. St. Pope Paul VI…pray for us. St. Oscar Romero…pray for us.

God bless,
Fr. Mark

Something big, exciting and important is happening in the Catholic Church this week and the next few weeks…it is somethings that goes beyond the scandals and yet, at the same time, speak towards the basic solution to all scandal in the Church and in the world. The big thing is the Synod on the Youth being held in Rome. This follows the recent “V Encuentro” which our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters participated in where they also talked about how to invite the participation of the young in the life of the Church. I won’t go through the numbers but we all know from our own life experience the number of young Catholics is dwindling rapidly as they flow out of the Church and into other faith traditions or become the “nones” with only remnants of faith from childhood. I have spoken with hundreds of distraught parents, brothers and sisters and friends who seek answers to how we can call back these children of God into an active and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.
Thomas á Kempis wrote in “The Imitation of Christ” “Nature is crafty and attracts many, ensnaring and deceiving them all ever seeking itself. But grace walks in simplicity, turns away from all the appearance of evil, offers no deceits, and does all purely for God in whom she rests as her last end.” (#54)
I reflect on the quote above because even though this spiritual master piece was written in the early 15th century, the call to discipleship and the choice to follow Jesus Christ remain the same today. Thomas á Kempis reminds us to beware of the easy answers that the physical pleasures and pains give to us: the quick satisfactions and solutions, the slippery ways and the compromised goals that focus our hearts downward are often viewed today as how we should live our lives. To call others to Jesus is a time consuming, arduous and painful journey. It doesn’t sound fun but for countless Christians we know that this pathway is the only one to true freedom.
How do we pass on this faith? If I had the answer I would be rich beyond measure…not just in the material way but also in the joy of living close to God. I know we must begin with Jesus because any other starting point is fruitless. I also know that because the bad actions of many Christians, especially our bishops and priests, Jesus isn’t always a great place to begin as too many of our brothers and sisters close their hearts to the message when they “sniff” God in the conversation.
I believe this is where the Christian culture of life must become transparent and lived out in our daily actions. In her book, “Immersed in the Sacred” Kathy Coffey offers us this short piece of advice, “Initiation into Christ is a life long process which can occur on a city street with an unknown sponsor. Words like “commitment” may never enter the conversation, and the sacramental link isn’t explicit. No one cites the passage, ”Where two or three are gathered in my name…” But how can we ever understand the capital S sacraments if we don’t live out these surprising lowercase ones? (p 80-81) The conversations becomes infused with the lived faith that is proclaimed in who we are and seen by others as a desirable way to live life. As Jesus reminds us “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn 13:35) a truth lived out by countless saints throughout history.
Our challenge in proclaiming God’s mercy, love and compassion aren’t better programs but lives lived committed to the Gospel message. We are to keep our eyes focused on Jesus because if we do then we will truly see our brothers and sisters as treasures to be cared for in love. Being immersed in God’s grace is not a departure from the world but entering into the blessings of creation where nature isn’t crafty and ensnaring but becomes the invitation to a deeper more appreciative relationship in Jesus Christ.
To many of us have bought into the lie where faith becomes something to suppress who we are…but true faith is recognizing who we are and how much more God desires us to be in our life and relationships of love.
Kathy Coffey shares with us this piece of wisdom, “In God’s dream, nothing is ever lost. The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins in ”The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo” encourages us to ”give beauty back to God” who will preserve it better than we can… When God starts dreaming for you, look out. You pour out your youth and affect the lives of children.” (p 125-126)
Let us in prayer allow God to dream in us and may we then truly live the life of love.
Please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

 

The Poem… “The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo”

https://www.bartleby.com/122/36.html

“Trying to get rich by lying is chasing a bubble over deadly snares” Proverbs 21:6

This past week on Tuesday at Mass, during the 25th week of Ordinary Time, we were presented with a reading from the Book of Proverbs, (much of the weeks first readings were from Proverbs) in which the above quote was proclaimed. Reading this wonderful poetic line of Sacred Scripture has stuck in my head for the days that have followed…and it is here I wish to begin my weekly reflection.
The image of “chasing a bubble over deadly snares” brings up many funny and dangerous pictures in my head. Growing-up reading and watching the comics of 60’s and 70’s with the slap-stick violence that often occurred my mind would wander to images of Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck or the Cat from Tom and Jerry…chasing the forlorn goal of actually catching the Roadrunner, Bugs Bunny or the mouse and quickly finding themselves in a situation that would cause them great physical harm and interrupt their unending quest to capture their prize. And I can do this with a chuckle.
Then I think of this “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) where the deadly snares literally become deadly as we chase after the lies and riches of the world. It is here the chuckles end and the spiritual work begins where I look into my heart, listen to the voice of my sisters and brothers, and look at where I am standing and ask my question, “Am I chasing a bubble?” or more often, “What bubble am I chasing?” I wish I could say that most of the time I answer with a wonderful…”I’m right on track…my God compass is at true North!” sadly the answer more often than not is…”Let me count the ways.”
The hidden traps of sin and temptation are often unnoticeable if we are focused on chasing the things of the world. It is important that as men and women we understand the gifts of the world and how we are called to share, use and celebrate these blessings from God and at the same time making sure these gifts do not overwhelm our sense of thanksgiving and allow ourselves to be controlled and trapped in “chasing the bubble.”
Our Catholic Christian faith offers us several remedies to discover what is leading us over the deadly snares but they are remedies that take practice and hard spiritual work. One of the greatest and easiest way is to have a spiritual friend. A person who believes and listens with love and care. This isn’t spiritual direction but rather a “spiritual friendship” a person who will call our faults out and not allow us to make excuses for our bad behaviors. Second is frequent sacramental confession. This is once of the blessings of our faith…frequent confession helps us recognize the patterns that begin to develop, to receive the graces of God to resist the temptations of how we are chasing our bubble of sin by recognizing how we are being lured into the traps. Third is a nightly examine of conscience. Each night before bed I spend 15 minutes in examining my conscience and offering night prayer. It is a time where we once again can take stalk of how our day was and follow the patterns of life. This practice combined with daily prayer can and will be fruitful. Last but not least is spiritual reading. Whether it is Sacred Scripture or good spiritual books, God speaks to us and often will whisper the warnings we all need to hear.
The best part of this reflection was of course watching a few of the old cartoons on the internet. God is very good.
Please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

In an interview Catherine de Hueck Doherty was asked this question, “And where does that faith come from?” Her reply was this, “That faith comes first from Baptism, secondly from falling in love with God. Thirdly, from my family. Fourthly, from my environment. The Russian environment of older days. Right here. It’s very strong in me. But I can give it to you; it’s all yours for the asking.” (p 72)
Who was Catherine de Heuck Doherty? First and foremost she was a woman of great faith. She was a Russian Baroness, a wife and mother who escaped the communist revolution and became the founder of the Madonna House Apostolate. She has been declared “servant of God” as her cause for canonization goes forward.
Her name came to mind earlier this week when I was looking for a book and found Fr. John T. Catoir’s book “Encounters With Holiness” on the shelf. In this book Fr. Catoir interviews different women and men who are example of our Catholic faith. I had read the book several years ago and what struck me most forcibly during my reading of her story was the determination and dedication to living the Gospel message even after the tragedy of loosing all she had in the Russian communist revolution. But I also think that her story gives great hope of how the search and discovery of holiness and joy can transform our lives and the lives of each person we encounter.
Each of her four marks of faith remind us of the need for relationships with God and each other. Baptism is a gift offered, usually by our parents, and nurtured and shared in the growth of family and the greater community . The growth is what connects the first and last mark together as we are united in love of God. It is the “falling in love with God” through relationships of love that is so vital in our time and place. In founding the Madonna House Apostolate she chose to step outside the norms of her time and place and do something greater in seeking to build a place where holiness could be nurtured and sent out as seedlings on the wind to be planted and grow in communities throughout the world.
And while we may believe we could never do what Catherine Doherty has done…that is not the point. The point is choosing to live a life in love with God, (that’s called holiness) and doing so in creating the environment (that’s the community) where all the sons and daughters of God thrive in the joy of love. This should be the goal of each and every Christian: to call forth holiness in our own lives and in the lives of others. I often share this with engaged and married couples that the true work of husband and wife is to bring forth holiness in seeking the very best in their beloved. This is what God does by inviting us into an intimate and passionate relationship of Divine love.
In this time of scandal when distrust in the leaders of our Catholic Church is real and often justified, we can look at the four marks of Catherine Doherty’s faith with hope and joy. She doesn’t say faith comes from a priest, a bishop or any one person but her faith comes from a lived relationship, yes within the Church, but more importantly in love with those in her life as she recognizes the presence of Jesus Christ in each person she meets. During times of stress we often want to isolate ourselves and not talk about the hurt, the pain and the loneliness caused by the grave sin of abuse in our Church but we see the healing only in our relationship of love with God, His holy Church—which is each of us united around the one altar in sacrificial love.
Perhaps, we could take one more peace of advice from this holy women as she is asked, “(W)hat can be done to alleviate the loneliness that many of us feel? Is it talking it out to someone, or listening to someone?” She responds, “That’s it” listening. Listening with love. You don’t have to be a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or a consultant…Listen because you love this person.” (p 72)
Please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Catholic Church.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

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Each soul must seek some Sinai
Where God’s great truth are told;
Must find God’s revelations
Writ on shining plates of gold. (from “Some Sinai” by William L. Stidger)

One of the lessons learned early in life, especially as we grow in love of God and neighbor, is the good and bad often stand so very close together in our human experience. The poem, “Some Sinai” that is quoted above reminds us of this in a very real way.
We all know the story of Mt. Sinai. The story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and the story of the Israelites turning towards the false gods out of impatience and fear. The story of the goodness of God turned away from and then once again received in repentance and forgiveness of the mercy of God. We must all stand at the foot of our own Mt. Sinai in love of God and neighbor. It is an act of obedient and gracious love where we are transformed into a new creation where the love of God becomes the central focus of our lives.
Here we discover a true transformation because we know in every fiber of our beings the truth and will of God but sadly through our sins we act against this truth. When we think of the scandal within our Church we can begin to understand the Sinai moments of pain and sorrow but also the hope of transformative moments of grace and healing.

Each soul must seek some Sinai;
Some vision-haunted place;
Some silent, sacred, singing shrine
To see His lighted face. (from “Some Sinai”)

As the poem ends, we are reminded of our need to confront the “vision—haunted place” in order to fully see the face of our God. As difficult as the next years will be, we must confront this vision and the reality of sin in our Church, family and life. Just as the Israelites wandered forty years in the desert. This truth can be daunting and we may want to shy away from it and even say, “We don’t want to do this any more” and turn away from the difficult and hard journey before us.
But we must remember our Sinai story and the forty years fo growing in purification, holiness and trust in God as we prepare to enter into the holy land of life blessings. And like the desert journey, there will be more sin uncovered, more false steps but there will be healing and peace, because this is what God promises us.
During the desert journey we are reminded that God’s love and hope was shared in the prefiguration of the cross (Nm 21:4-9) as they were healed of the bites of the serpents.
It may sound monotonous, but it is true: the only answer to all the hurts/sins of life are found in seeking the mercy of God found in the Cross of Jesus Christ. As Christians our Mt. Sinai is discovered on Calvary and the sum of the Commandments are seen on the Cross. We discover and live our Mt. Sinai only in prayer, in sacrifice and in service to God with one another.
Please continue to pray for the sanctification purification and healing of the Catholic Church.
God Bless,
Fr. Mark

September 9, 2018 is International Buy Your Priest a Beer Day. What better way to celebrate the Lord’s Day than with a beer given and shared by those around me and all the priests throughout the world. With all the heaviness and hurt that I have been writing about for the past few weeks and I will be writing more about in the future…let’s talk about God, prayer, the spiritual life and beer for this week.
Several years after university my roommate from Holy Names College began the hobby of brewing beer. This was in the first wave of what is now fairly common. Darby living in the basement of his grandmother’s house in San Fransisco was a wonderful friend. Between bike riding, working, studying and the many other things we were doing we found time to brew some wonderful beers. One thing I learned very early on was: I am not a brewer, I’m a taster. It is way to technical and precise for my skill set. I observed that choosing to brew a beer was part technician and part artist. To brew a great beer you must be too precise whereas as a baker (my skill set) is much more forgiving in the creation of a great bread. So, what about the brewing of beer brings us closer to God, helps us to pray, grows our spiritual life and gives us joy.
Beer brings us closer to God: when we recognize a gift as blessing we then begin to understand how God calls us to be united in love. One of the greatest joys we had in brewing the beer was the community and unity of working together. There was a wonderful gift in the community that was formed. Yes, there was the gift of enjoying the product of Darby’s labor but more importantly their was exploration of the art of brewing seeking new flavors to be pulled out of the barley, hops and other ingredients all the while remaining within the boundaries naturally flowing from the act of brewing. In much the same way our faith asks us to joyfully pull forth from our lives the flavors of God’s love for us as we seek to more fully know and understand the truth of Jesus gift of the Cross and Resurrection.
Beer helps us to pray: This is a pretty simple leap…because with each home brew attempt there is a leap of faith necessary. There is the making and the prayers that all has gone well in the first step. There is the bottling and waiting for the fermentation and settling of the beer. There is hoping for the taste and texture dreamed about in the fashioning of the beer. And finally there is the expecting and rejoicing on the day the bottle is opened and the beer is enjoyed. All of these actions are prayerful in nature as we come to God. We must have faith for even the first steps in our conversation with God to begin as we patiently wait and hope in the blessings of life even through the failures (and there were many) knowing the conversation would continue to be learned and joined in a deeper understanding of expectation and rejoicing in the wonder of God’s divine love when we see Him face to face.
Beer grows our spiritual life: Beer grows the virtue of prudence. One of my favorite podcasts is “The Catholic Man Show” and the first part of the show is always a review a “manly beverage” and talk about the flavor of the drink but they also remind us that drinking involves the virtue of prudence. Simply put we are called to govern and discipline ourselves through the use of our reason. Now granted, prudence was not a virtue that I practiced with great discipline in my youth but like all virtues, they are learned through time and practice. Our spiritual life, as St. Paul reminds us (1 Cor 13:11 and 3:2) is being nurtured into a greater understanding and richer blessing of God.
Beer gives us joy for life: At the end of the day, all the work done, the waiting over, the food cooked and the beer opened the circle is complete as the community gathers to share the fruits of the labor. (sounds a little like Mass) We join in the true blessing of God where conversations of life; the joys and sorrows, the happy and sad moments equally gathered and blessed in our gathering where two or three are gathered.
As I finish I know these little thoughts can be applied to many, many things because God’s goodness is in all things when we join together with one another in love. May God bless you and please continue to pray for the sanctification, purification and healing of our Church.
St. Arnold, patron of brewers… pray for us.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Article by Elizabeth Scalia “Why I Won’t Leave…

https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/digging-my-heels-into-light-why-i-wont-leave-the-church/5894/

 

“The most important and basic pastoral challenge facing the priest in the parish is to bring the faithful to a consistent spiritual life based on the principles of Christian doctrine as lived and taught by the Saints… Today, more than ever, prayer, the sacramental life, meditation, silent adoration, talking heart to heart with the Lord, and daily exercise of the virtues which make us more like him must be rediscovered, since these are far more productive than any discussions, and ultimately the necessary condition for all effective discussion.” (from The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community #27)

One the constant and important truths emerging from the scandals in our Catholic Church is the renewed call to holiness. In speaking with my brother priests, the parish staff and many parishioners we agree the rules and structures given to us and used by us at the parish level have produced a safer environment for the young and vulnerable of our community…but the greater call is to holiness where we live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and call others to live this same gospel message must be what we are about.
This is the positive and holy good news. If we spend too much time dwelling only on the hurts then we begin to miss the blessings and healing that are occurring in our midst. The call to holiness is a call to joy, to peace and to blessing in the Body of Christ. We all suffer injuries and hurts, some very grave like abuse and others less so like the betrayal of friendship, which cause us pain and bring forth sorrow and anger. In each and every case seeking healing and exposing the hurt to the light of healing in Christ Jesus is the important first step.
We do this when we begin to recognize blessings even in the midst of suffering and pain. When we choose to share the feelings of hurt the feelings of blessing begin to unfold in our lives. This past weekend I was on a Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend and for the first time in the past few weeks was able to speak about my feelings to someone other than a priest friend. With these couples I was able to share me feelings as they listened with compassion and care. As the junk cleared in my soul, heart and mind we were able to laugh and share the good news of the many gifts that surround us. A lightness filled me with joy. This isn’t a plug (at least not to big of one) for Marriage Encounter but is it a reminder of having good friends who believe and share in the mission and goodness of God’s holy Church living these blessings of love with joy and care in all parts of our lives. These conversations of healing are helping me to grow in my ability to simply sit and listen to the hurt and anger filling the hearts and voices of God’s people.
As the above quote reminds us, and me as a priest, we must enter into these discussion with love and prayer if we wish to find how God is calling us to be agents of mercy, compassion and healing. I was reminded of this again when I sat with our Cathecists in the meeting with our new Director of Faith Formation for Children as they shared their stories of faith. Hearing the goodness and desire to bring others to Jesus Christ and the love of God was inspiring and full of grace. Each of these wonderful Catholics were grounded in the prayer and their one on one conversations with God.
As we move through these challenging times remember to not focus solely on the sins of our Church…they are big, ugly and can be all consuming. Don’t hide or ignore them but tackle them with the weapons of prayer and love. This is what we must do because it is what Jesus asks us to do. See the blessings in one another. Receive Jesus in the Sacraments. Celebrate the joy of life. Help to heal our Church.
Please pray for the sanctification, the purification and the healing of our Catholic Church and the world. And yes, please pray for me.
God bless,
Fr. Mark

Three things—on article and two videos

JoAnna Wahlund article about “Should the Bishops Take a Pay Cut?”

Should the Bishops Take a Pay Cut?

Catholic speaker Ken Yasinski seeking Jesus for our fulfillment…holiness is the only answer

vhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROtMhMNkBAU&list=PLPtJlDO3CxNXO3muRyMlV70-jBsKWXUVm&index=2

Bishop Robert Barron “Why Remain Catholic”