The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Dear Parishioners,

When you set out on a trip, it’s always encouraging to visualize what awaits you at the end. For high school students, it is graduation and either acceptance at college or joining the work force; for vacations, it is the ocean or the mountains; for Christians, it is eternal life with God. No matter how long the journey may take or how difficult the obstacles along the way, as long as we can see what awaits us at the end, we proceed with hope and longing. Jesus knew that, and that is why He gave the disciples the privilege of observing the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10). He knew the journey on the road for the disciples would be long and dusty with stormy weather and all sorts of hardships to overcome. He knew the danger of discouragement and wanted the disciples to see a beacon of hope at the end of the tunnel. So He allowed them to see His glorified body and at the same time a glimpse of what they, too, would share, if they persevered.

As we begin our Lenten journey, the Transfiguration is there for you and me to do the same. So let us shoulder our packs as we march off with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving toward the glorious feast of Easter.

- Father Carl

“Proceed calmly in life.” The Pope, who used to teach high school literature, used an image from an Argentine novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which the protagonist—gaucho
Don Segundo Sombra— looks back on how he lived his life. “He says that in his youth he was a stream full of rocks that he carried with him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in old age, he was still moving, but slowly, like a pool” of water, the Pope said. He said he likes this image of a pool of water—to have “the ability to move with kindness and humility, a calmness in life.”
~ Pope Francis’ “Secrets to Happiness” (#3 of 10)

Covenants and Lent

Dear Parishioners,

This year, there is a constant theme throughout the Sunday readings. It is that of the covenant—which is an agreement between two parties whereby certain promises are made. A covenant is much more binding than a contract. A contract can be broken or voided, although some penalty would be incurred. A covenant is much more binding and involves harsh consequences to the breaker of the covenant. The covenants about which we will be hearing are between God and his people. This weekend we hear about the first of the Old Testament covenants—the one between God and Noah (Genesis 9:8-15; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15). Because sin and evil had grown so widespread, God sent a terrible rain which flooded the land and destroyed all the evil doers. Noah, because he was faithful to God, was spared along with his family. Afterwards, God establishes a covenant with Noah promising never to flood the whole earth again.

This past Sunday when we celebrated a baptism, the blessing of the water reminded the congregation of Noah and the flood. The flood served as a symbol of what one of the purposes of the sacrament is, namely to wash away original sin and any actual sins that may have been committed by an older catechumen. Yet even after baptism, there is still the attraction of sin, and we succumb to temptations. That is why this season of Lent is so important. It reminds us of our past sins and offers us the opportunity to repent and to build up resistance to future sins as we strengthen our spiritual muscles.

See page 4 of the 2/22/2015 bulletin for a list of available activities, and may you have a blessed Lent.

- Father Carl

“Be giving of yourself to others. People need
to be open and generous toward others because if
you withdraw into yourself, you run the risk of becoming
egocentric. And stagnant water becomes putrid.”
Pope Francis’ “Secrets to Happiness” (#2 of 10)

Restoring Beauty

Dear Parishioners,

Cosmetics is an enormous industry all around the world, but especially in the United States. Advertisements for numerous kinds of skin care products flood the media. Everyone wants to look good so much so that people are horrified to see an unsightly blemish on their skin. In our Lord’s time, not only were skin diseases repulsive, they were highly contagious and all were lumped into the category—leprosy. Therefore, there were strict rules to prevent anyone with a skin disease from any contact with other people. We hear about them in today’s first reading where the leper lived as an outcast from the community.

In today’s gospel, Jesus does several amazing things (Mark 1:40-45). He allows the leper to come close, heals him by touching him, and goes to the priest who must declare him cleansed. Nobody would ever touch a leper, but Jesus did. Nobody would ever allow a leper to come near, but Jesus did.

Leprosy was a symbol of sin which cuts the sinner off from the community. When Jesus touched the leper, it was a sign of his loving, healing kindness. While sin makes us ugly in the light of God, Jesus wants to restore our beauty by touching us through his infinite mercy. As the old hymn says, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

- Father Carl

“Live and let live.” Everyone should be guided
by this principle. There is a similar saying in Rome expressed
as, “Move forward and let others do the same.”Pope Francis’ “Secrets to Happiness ” (#1 of 10)

Sufferings and Drudgery

Dear Parishioners ,

Job had it all—500 yoke of oxen, 500 she-asses, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and 7 sons and 3 daughters. But one day tragedy struck. First, his 500 yoke of oxen and 500 she-asses were stolen. Then his sheep were killed by lightning. And then his camels were stolen. Finally, his sons and daughters were all killed when the roof collapsed while they were eating together. Nevertheless, Job remained faithful to God. The next day Job was covered from head to foot with painful boils, and still he remained faithful to God.

None of us ever went through anything like Job experienced. Still most of us have suffered disappointments, frustrations, and setbacks in life. Perhaps we have felt like echoing the words of Job in today’s first reading, “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?” (Job 7:1-4, 6-7) And if we are not careful, those feelings can lead to discouragement and depression. However, if we have faith and hope in Jesus, we realize our sufferings can’t compare with Job or Jesus. We can use our sufferings as a prayerful offering to God in imitation of St. Paul who said, “I rejoice in my sufferings, for I fill up in my body what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the good of his body, the Church.” (Col 1:24) When looked at it in this way, our difficulties and discouragements lose their intensity and fade into the background as we recall the glorious resurrection of Jesus and Job’s restoration of blessings at the end of his book.

Father Carl

“We have nothing of our own but our will.
  It is the only thing which God has so placed in
  our own power that we can make an offering of it to him.”
  ~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

The Broken Among Us

Dear Parishioners,

What if in our midst right now, there are more broken lives around us than we might imagine? And what if your life and my life and our lives collectively have more than a few unhealed broken places? Like a hairline crack in poured concrete brought on by the settlement of time and the continuous shifting of the ground, our lives develop stress fractures, small creeping lines that tell us life shifts and brokenness shows up unexpected. Only in moments when we are silent, when we recognize Jesus in our midst are we able to face the brokenness within us.

When we do, when we find the courage to let our Lord be among us in deep and revealing ways, we see what may have been there a long time. We see the brokenness within us and then recognize the brokenness among us. It is then that we cry out asking God to heal us and make us new. When such awareness awakens within us, we might be able once again to hear good news and receive God’s healing gift through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

- Deacon Robert

“We ought to pray like little children   of four years old, who have no guile.   They tell their Mother everything…”
  ~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Good News

Dear Parishioners,

Mark begins his story of Jesus as “good news,” because God is at work in Jesus of Nazareth, showing us God’s life, speaking God’s love, demonstrating God’s mercy and living God’s promise. The Gospel of our Lord is the story of God who refuses to leave us to our own designs, who knows we are laden with so much bad news it would crush us, and yet who never gives up on us, loving us back to God’s heart.

We can find assurance in the promise that Jesus will be with us all the way. Today’s story (Mark 1:14-20) tells us of fishermen who dropped their nets and immediately followed Jesus. What they will come to learn as disciples is that the One who called them will never abandon them to their fears or their own confusions. And so it is with us. What God calls “good news” is the promise that Jesus who calls us to follow will take us on a journey and never let us go. Such a promise is nothing less than good news… then, now and always. Such is the story Mark begins to tell and the good news we are invited to believe.

- Deacon Robert

“Let them say all they have to say. When
they have said all they have to say, there will be no more to be said and they will be silent.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Dear Parishioners,

“Eat, drink, and be merry.” That’s an old saying I heard many years ago. It’s the philosophy of those seeking pleasure and an escape from the sometimes harsh reality of living a meaningful, productive life. As Catholics, we believe in the goodness of creation and the things of life. However, we believe in moderation as the Old Latin phrase wisely reminds us, “Omnia in moderatio”—all things in moderation. The created world is not the end, but rather a means to the end—namely God. Today’s second reading (1 Corinthians 6:13c-15a, 17-20) points this out when St. Paul tells us, “The body is not for immorality; it is for the Lord.” St. Paul goes on to warn the Corinthians, who were known to have rather low morals with regard to sex, that sins against chastity are particularly offensive to Christ. The Holy Spirit inhabits our bodies as a Temple. Therefore, we should not desecrate our bodies through sexual sins, nor by immoderation of food, drink, and drugs. The Lord wants what is best for our souls, of course, but he also wants what is best for our bodily health as well.

- Father Carl