A Word from Your Pastor October 2

Dear Parishioners:

At the Wednesday School Masses, things seem to find their simplest expression. This past week, the readings taken from the feast for St. Wenceslaus included the admonition from the First Letter of Peter: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” (I Peter 3:15) Our efforts to educate our children in the ways of Faith are for this purpose: to enable them to give the reason for their hope so they may be sustained in the practice of the Faith in the days ahead.

What are the Catholic reasons for Hope? From God’s perspective, there are two: Christmas and Easter, that is the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery. From the Church’s perspective there are one and seven: The Word of God in Sacred Scripture and the Seven Sacraments.

Can you articulate your reason for Hope? God is with us and He enables us to get through all our struggles. The life we share through hearing God’s Word and through the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders, gives us the certainty of Faith that we have the means required to enter into the Kingdom.

Our children need to learn this in School and PSR. But even more, they need to see it lived out by their parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches and friends of all ages. This means that all of us need to get our priorities straight: God first, and all our other interests secondary to the practice of our Faith in God.

The cry of the heart I have heard most as a priest is that of grandparents whose adult children are not practicing their Faith. They wonder about their efforts to teach the Faith by sending them to Catholic School or CCD and all the sacrifices they made while their children were young. They are most concerned about their grandchildren, whose parents may be consenting to their attending a Catholic School or participation in PSR, but whose lives do not teach that God is first.

As a community of Faith, we need to find a way to invite those who are lax in their practice of the Faith to re-discover its meaning and truth. We also ought to be comfortable with speaking about our Faith to those who have never heard about Christ and His Church. How are you preparing yourself to give an explanation of the reasons for your hope?

Countdown to our Golden Jubilee: Getting to know Saint Timothy.

Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life. (I Timothy 6:17-19)

The world changes through the ages, but human nature remains rather constant. What is considered “wealth” has had different forms, but in every age, attachment to earthly possessions is a distraction from what is most real. We are certainly permitted to enjoy the good things of the world, but a generous spirit and a willingness to share has to be part of that enjoyment, or we have only this world in mind.

The life that is true life is the Life to Come, that is, the Kingdom of God, Life Eternal in the heart of the Trinity, but it is also a life that we can begin to live in Time. We are meant to be rich in our understanding of Who God IS and the treasure of Faith that is ours through the life of the Church.


Reflections on the Liturgy:

As we enter into immediate preparation for the transition to the new English form of the Mass, it is good to take the opportunity to renew our understanding about what is happening in the Liturgy and our own part in it. We are called to full, conscious, active participation. Each person present has a role and a responsibility even if there is no particular ministry or function being exercised.

The Mass has four primary “movements”: Gathering, Hearing the Word, the Sacrifice, and the Sending Forth. Our final reflections are meant to highlight aspects of each of these parts of the Liturgy. All of us would do well to review our own practice and to become more conscious of the meaning of what we are doing.

Preparation before Mass begins starts at home and, in fact, during the week before. Do an examination of your family conscience with these questions:

How do you plan your participation in the Mass? Are you obedient to God’s Command to worship Him every week (one of His Top Ten!) and the Church’s precept that you participate in the Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation (one of the Six Precepts of the Church). Do your children know that Mass is a serious obligation by how you commit to fulfilling your responsibility to attend? Do they realize that for a Catholic Family Sunday Mass is not “optional”?

Do you and your family have a “usual” Mass that you attend? Is your Sunday structured with God in mind first, or do you arrange your choice of Mass around your own schedule? Do you let someone else set your agenda for Sunday, or do you give God primary attention? What is your reason for coming to Mass?