St. Patrick's Parish

PREPARING FOR THE NEW TRANSLATION OF THE MASS

2011-11-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

On the First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2011, Catholic parishes in the United States will begin praying the texts of the Mass using a new English translation of The Roman Missal. The Roman Missal is the large book that we are accustomed to seeing the priest use at our Eucharistic liturgies. It contains the official prayers of the Mass.

Congregational Responses for the Mass (click to download)

What Will Be Happening with the Prayers at Mass?

2011-11-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

In the early part of this century, the late Blessed Pope John Paul II called for the original Latin Missal (the official prayer book for Mass for the entire Catholic Church worldwide) to be re-translated into the various languages prayed throughout the world. He and other Church leaders felt that our current English translation could be improved. He called for new translations that would be much more faithful to the original Latin texts, so that all Catholics throughout the world would become more closely united by praying translations that were closer to the original. The words that we pray at Mass express our beliefs; it is important that the translations capture and express these beliefs clearly. The translation process has come to a culmination now, and on the First Sunday of Advent we will begin using this new translation at Mass.

What Is a Roman Missal?

2011-11-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Roman Missal contains what the Church refers to as the “proper” antiphons for entrance and Communion time (in the United States, with the approval of our bishops, we commonly substitute hymns and songs for these “proper” antiphons). The Missal also contains prayers such as the Sign of the Cross and the greetings used at Mass. The opening prayer or Collect, the prayer over the bread and wine at the preparation of the gifts, and the Prayer after Communion are all found in the Missal, as are the different Eucharistic Prayers that are used at Mass and the blessings at the end of the liturgy. The Missal also contains all of the parts of the Mass that the people say or sing, such as the “I confess,” the Gloria, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Lamb of God, and our other responses. Some of these prayers are changed with the new translation; others remain the same.

Why a New Translation?

2011-11-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

Many people have wondered why the Church is implementing a new translation of the prayers of the Mass. The Mass is the very core of Catholic life; its prayers express our Catholic beliefs. The more clearly we can express those beliefs, the more our faith can grow and be nourished. When the Mass was first translated into English some forty years ago, it was understood that the translation would have to be assessed and revised from time to time. Since then, a number of Church leaders, most prominently the late Blessed Pope John Paul II, have expressed the opinion that the 1960s translations of the Latin were done in haste. After the Second Vatican Council, when the Church throughout the world began praying the Mass in the languages of the people rather than in Latin, translations from the Latin were in immediate demand. In contrast, the new translation that we will now be using has taken nearly a decade to produce and, as Pope John Paul II desired, it is closer to the original Latin.

The Introductory Rites

2011-11-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Every time we gather for Eucharist, each of us comes with our own preoccupations and concerns. The Introductory Rites of the Mass are intended to draw us out of our own little worlds and form us into an assembly of God’s people, the Body of Christ, ready to render our praise and thanksgiving to God. Each element is designed to play its own role in uniting us as a worshiping people and calling us into God’s presence. We hear each other’s voices in the opening song and the Glory to God; we remember who we are as God’s people through the Sign of the Cross, the Greeting, and the Penitential Act; and we prepare ourselves for today’s particular celebration in the opening prayer or Collect. If we allow the Introductory Rites to do their work, we will be ready to celebrate the Eucharist as one people in God.

The Liturgy of the Word

2011-11-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

We know from the Gospels that Jesus himself listened to the inspired word of God and let it shape and form him. Through the liturgy, we do the same. The readings we hear at Mass can teach us, but that is not their primary function. Rather, the scriptures are meant to reveal the Lord to us, to let us experience God’s presence, and to form us in our Christian identity. In the readings proclaimed at Mass, we hear the voice of Christ himself, and we recognize the story of God acting in the past and in our own lives as well. The homily helps us to see these connections more clearly. Then through the Profession of Faith (Creed) and the Prayer of the Faithful, our response to the readings prepares us to enter into the Eucharistic Prayer that follows.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist

2011-11-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

We begin by preparing the altar for the holy sacrifice to come. In the Prayer over the Gifts we get ready to offer ourselves and our lives together with the bread and wine so that we too might be transformed by God. In the Preface Dialogue we declare that it is right and just to give thanks to the Lord our God, and in the Preface we proclaim the reasons that we give God our thanks and praise. Then comes the great Eucharistic Prayer by which we render our thanks and praise to God the Father. As we recall what Jesus said and we do what he did at the Last Supper, God transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and we pray that we will also be transformed by the Eucharist we celebrate and receive. We ratify this wonderful action with the Great Amen, and prepare for the culmination of the Liturgy of the Eucharist in Holy Communion.

Communion and the Concluding Rites

2011-11-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Our great prayer of praise and thanksgiving leads through the Lord’s Prayer, our petition for daily bread, into the action of Communion. We sing together even as we rise and move forward in procession to the altar. We must move to receive Communion because the Eucharist is transformative—it demands action of us, internal as well as external. We do not receive the sacrament in silence, but with a dialogue that is a profession of faith: “The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” “The Blood of Christ.” “Amen.” Our “Amen” is also a prayer that we may become what we receive, the Body of Christ, living and active in the world. So it makes sense that after Communion we are dismissed—not just let out, but sent forth with a mission “to announce the gospel of the Lord.” This leave-taking is joined to a blessing, a prayer for God’s continuing protection as we go out on our way.

New Words in the Introductory Rites

2011-11-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

At first some of these may seem awkward or uncomfortable, but over the course of time they will become familiar.

After the Sign of the Cross, when the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” our response will be “And with your spirit.” This response will occur at three other very important moments in the Mass (Gospel, Eucharistic Prayer, dismissal) as well, each one a time when we recognize the Holy Spirit moving in our midst.

The Gloria will be mostly familiar, but some words will be in a different order, and there will be a few small additions as well. For example, at the beginning of the Gloria, we will now pray for God’s peace upon people of good will, and the invocation “we bless you” has been restored from the Latin to the litany of praise.

Take some time during your daily prayer this week to help familiarize yourself with these new texts.

New Words in the Liturgy of the Word

2011-11-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

The structure of the Liturgy of the Word will not change with the new translation. One change just before the Gospel is our repetition of the response, “And with your spirit,” which we made at the beginning of Mass.

The beginning of the Creed will change from “We believe” to “I believe.” Two other changes you might notice will be the lines “begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father” and “by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary.” These are more direct translations of the Latin words consubstantialem and incarnatus. They replace “one in being with the Father” and “born of the Virgin Mary.”

Near the end of the Creed we will pray that we “look forward to” the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. The new translation aims to increase the joyful hope with which we pray.

New Words in the Eucharistic Prayer

2011-11-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

In the Eucharistic Prayer, there are new translations of the people’s parts at two points: the dialogue that begins the prayer, and the acclamations that we sing after the elevations of bread and chalice.

The dialogue (called the Preface Dialogue) echoes those from the beginning of Mass and before the Gospel: “The Lord be with you.” “And with your spirit.” Our final response, after the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” will be “It is right and just.” In a way, this response completes the priest’s statement.

Two of the new Memorial Acclamation translations are quite similar to ones we have been using. The third option, “Save us, Savior of the world, / for by your Cross and Resurrection / you have set us free,” is a new rendering of the acclamation “Lord, by your cross and resurrection . . . ”

New Words in the Communion and Concluding Rites

2011-11-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

The priest invites us to come forward to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord by calling us to the “supper of the Lamb” and we will respond: “Lord, I am not worthy / that you should enter under my roof, / but only say the word / and my soul shall be healed.” This calls to mind the Gospel story of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:8).

When we are blessed and dismissed from the Mass to continue living our Christian mission, we recall the presence of the Spirit one more time in the dialogue “The Lord be with you.” “And with your spirit.” The priest or deacon will have two new options for the dismissal: “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” or “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” Our response—at Mass and each day—is “Thanks be to God!”

Daily Prayer Suggestions

2011-11-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

One way to prepare for the new translation of the Mass is to make the new words and phrases part of your daily prayer, perhaps following the suggestions below. You might also want to remember in your prayers those who are working to help all of us to pray in these new words, especially the priests who will be learning almost the entire Missal anew.

· Use “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you” (from the Gloria) as a daily prayer. Repeat it several times, focusing on these different ways that we pray to God.

· Reflect on the different ways the Creed describes Christ (Light from Light; begotten, not made). Include “consubstantial with the Father” as you pray about how the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one God.

· Repeat the prayer “It is right and just to give thanks to the Lord our God” several times during the day.

· Find a copy of the new Memorial Acclamations and use one as your daily offering in the morning, your night prayer before bedtime, or a table grace.

When you walk through your door at home, pray, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

CLOSING MASS OF THE 26TH WORLD YOUTH DAY

2011-08-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
CLOSING MASS OF THE 26TH WORLD YOUTH DAY
CUATRO VIENTOS AIRBASE
MADRID
21 AUGUST 2011

Dear Young People,

In this celebration of the Eucharist we have reached the high point of this World Youth Day. Seeing you here, gathered in such great numbers from all parts of the world, fills my heart with joy. I think of the special love with which Jesus is looking upon you. Yes, the Lord loves you and calls you his friends (cf. Jn 15:15). He goes out to meet you and he wants to accompany you on your journey, to open the door to a life of fulfilment and to give you a share in his own closeness to the Father. For our part, we have come to know the immensity of his love and we want to respond generously to his love by sharing with others the joy we have received. Certainly, there are many people today who feel attracted by the figure of Christ and want to know him better. They realize that he is the answer to so many of our deepest concerns. But who is he really? How can someone who lived on this earth so long ago have anything in common with me today?

The Gospel we have just heard (cf. Mt 16:13-20) suggests two different ways of knowing Christ. The first is an impersonal knowledge, one based on current opinion. When Jesus asks: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?", the disciples answer: "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets". In other words, Christ is seen as yet another religious figure, like those who came before him. Then Jesus turns to the disciples and asks them: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter responds with what is the first confession of faith: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God". Faith is more than just empirical or historical facts; it is an ability to grasp the mystery of Christ’s person in all its depth.

Yet faith is not the result of human effort, of human reasoning, but rather a gift of God: "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven". Faith starts with God, who opens his heart to us and invites us to share in his own divine life. Faith does not simply provide information about who Christ is; rather, it entails a personal relationship with Christ, a surrender of our whole person, with all our understanding, will and feelings, to God’s self-revelation. So Jesus’ question: "But who do you say that I am?", is ultimately a challenge to the disciples to make a personal decision in his regard. Faith in Christ and discipleship are strictly interconnected. And, since faith involves following the Master, it must become constantly stronger, deeper and more mature, to the extent that it leads to a closer and more intense relationship with Jesus. Peter and the other disciples also had to grow in this way, until their encounter with the Risen Lord opened their eyes to the fullness of faith.

Dear young people, today Christ is asking you the same question which he asked the Apostles: "Who do you say that I am?" Respond to him with generosity and courage, as befits young hearts like your own. Say to him: "Jesus, I know that you are the Son of God, who have given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and to be led by your word. You know me and you love me. I place my trust in you and I put my whole life into your hands. I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy which never leaves me".

Jesus responds to Peter’s confession by speaking of the Church: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church". What do these words mean? Jesus builds the Church on the rock of the faith of Peter, who confesses that Christ is God. The Church, then, is not simply a human institution, like any other. Rather, she is closely joined to God. Christ himself speaks of her as "his" Church. Christ cannot be separated from the Church any more than the head can be separated from the body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). The Church does not draw her life from herself, but from the Lord.

Dear young friends, as the Successor of Peter, let me urge you to strengthen this faith which has been handed down to us from the time of the Apostles. Make Christ, the Son of God, the centre of your life. But let me also remind you that following Jesus in faith means walking at his side in the communion of the Church. We cannot follow Jesus on our own. Anyone who would be tempted to do so "on his own", or to approach the life of faith with kind of individualism so prevalent today, will risk never truly encountering Jesus, or will end up following a counterfeit Jesus.

Having faith means drawing support from the faith of your brothers and sisters, even as your own faith serves as a support for the faith of others. I ask you, dear friends, to love the Church which brought you to birth in the faith, which helped you to grow in the knowledge of Christ and which led you to discover the beauty of his love. Growing in friendship with Christ necessarily means recognizing the importance of joyful participation in the life of your parishes, communities and movements, as well as the celebration of Sunday Mass, frequent reception of the sacrament of Reconciliation, and the cultivation of personal prayer and meditation on God’s word.

Friendship with Jesus will also lead you to bear witness to the faith wherever you are, even when it meets with rejection or indifference. We cannot encounter Christ and not want to make him known to others. So do not keep Christ to yourselves! Share with others the joy of your faith. The world needs the witness of your faith, it surely needs God. I think that the presence here of so many young people, coming from all over the world, is a wonderful proof of the fruitfulness of Christ’s command to the Church: "Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mk 16:15). You too have been given the extraordinary task of being disciples and missionaries of Christ in other lands and countries filled with young people who are looking for something greater and, because their heart tells them that more authentic values do exist, they do not let themselves be seduced by the empty promises of a lifestyle which has no room for God.

Dear young people, I pray for you with heartfelt affection. I commend all of you to the Virgin Mary and I ask her to accompany you always by her maternal intercession and to teach you how to remain faithful to God’s word. I ask you to pray for the Pope, so that, as the Successor of Peter, he may always confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. May all of us in the Church, pastors and faithful alike, draw closer to the Lord each day. May we grow in holiness of life and be effective witnesses to the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, the Saviour of all mankind and the living source of our hope. Amen.

EVENING VIGIL OF THE 26TH WORLD YOUTH DAY

2011-08-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

EVENING VIGIL OF THE 26TH WORLD YOUTH DAY
CUATRO VIENTOS AIRBASE
MADRID
20 AUGUST 2011

Dear Young Friends,

I greet all of you, especially the young people who have asked me their questions, and I thank them for the sincerity with which they set forth their concerns, that express the longing which all of you have to achieve something great in life, something which can bring you fulfillment and happiness.

How can a young person be true to the faith and yet continue to aspire to high ideals in today’s society? In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus gives us an answer to this urgent question: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love” (Jn 15:9).

Yes, dear friends, God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful. We are not the product of blind chance or absurdity; instead our life originates as part of a loving plan of God. To abide in his love, then, means living a life rooted in faith, since faith is more than the mere acceptance of certain abstract truths: it is an intimate relationship with Christ, who enables us to open our hearts to this mystery of love and to live as men and women conscious of being loved by God.

If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true happiness and joy. Faith does not run counter to your highest ideals; on the contrary, it elevates and perfects those ideals. Dear young people, do not be satisfied with anything less than Truth and Love, do not be content with anything less than Christ.

Nowadays, although the dominant culture of relativism all around us has given up on the search for truth, even if it is the highest aspiration of the human spirit, we need to speak with courage and humility of the universal significance of Christ as the Saviour of humanity and the source of hope for our lives. He, who took upon himself our afflictions, is well acquainted with the mystery of human suffering and manifests his loving presence in those who suffer. They in their turn, united to the passion of Christ, share closely in his work of redemption. Furthermore, our disinterested attention towards the sick and the forgotten will always be a humble and warm testimony of God’s compassionate regard.

Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world.

During this prayer vigil, I urge you to ask God to help you find your vocation in society and in the Church, and to persevere in that vocation with joy and fidelity. It is a good thing to open our hearts to Christ’s call and to follow with courage and generosity the path he maps out for us.

The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh (cf. Gen 2:24), find fulfillment in a profound life of communion. It is a prospect that is both bright and demanding. It is a project for true love which is daily renewed and deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, one marked by complete self-giving. For this reason, to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of marriage is to realize that only a setting of fidelity and indissolubility, along with openness to God’s gift of life, is adequate to the grandeur and dignity of marital love.

Christ calls others to follow him more closely in the priesthood or in consecrated life. It is hard to put into words the happiness you feel when you know that Jesus seeks you, trusts in you, and with his unmistakable voice also says to you: “Follow me!” (cf. Mk 2:14).

Dear young people, if you wish to discover and to live faithfully the form of life to which the Lord is calling each of you, you must remain in his love as his friends. And how do we preserve friendship except through frequent contact, conversation, being together in good times and bad? Saint Teresa of Jesus used to say that prayer is just such “friendly contact, often spending time alone with the one who we know loves us” (cf. Autobiography, 8).

And so I now ask you to “abide” in the adoration of Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. I ask you to enter into conversation with him, to bring before him your questions and to listen to his voice. Dear friends, I pray for you with all my heart. And I ask you to pray for me. Tonight let us ask the Lord to grant that, attracted by the beauty of his love, we may always live faithfully as his disciples. Amen.

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI BEATIFICATION OF POPE JOHN PAUL II ST PETER'S SQUARE 1 MAY 2011

2011-05-01T04:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor’s entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God’s People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church’s canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!

I would like to offer a cordial greeting to all of you who on this happy occasion have come in such great numbers to Rome from all over the world – cardinals, patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, brother bishops and priests, official delegations, ambassadors and civil authorities, consecrated men and women and lay faithful, and I extend that greeting to all those who join us by radio and television.

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today’s celebration because, in God’s providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary’s month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints! Even so, God is but one, and one too is Christ the Lord, who like a bridge joins earth to heaven. At this moment we feel closer than ever, sharing as it were in the liturgy of heaven.

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (Jn 20:29). In today’s Gospel Jesus proclaims this beatitude: the beatitude of faith. For us, it is particularly striking because we are gathered to celebrate a beatification, but even more so because today the one proclaimed blessed is a Pope, a Successor of Peter, one who was called to confirm his brethren in the faith. John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith. We think at once of another beatitude: "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven" (Mt 16:17). What did our heavenly Father reveal to Simon? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of this faith, Simon becomes Peter, the rock on which Jesus can build his Church. The eternal beatitude of John Paul II, which today the Church rejoices to proclaim, is wholly contained in these sayings of Jesus: "Blessed are you, Simon" and "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!" It is the beatitude of faith, which John Paul II also received as a gift from God the Father for the building up of Christ’s Church.

Our thoughts turn to yet another beatitude, one which appears in the Gospel before all others. It is the beatitude of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary, who had just conceived Jesus, was told by Saint Elizabeth: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord" (Lk 1:45). The beatitude of faith has its model in Mary, and all of us rejoice that the beatification of John Paul II takes place on this first day of the month of Mary, beneath the maternal gaze of the one who by her faith sustained the faith of the Apostles and constantly sustains the faith of their successors, especially those called to occupy the Chair of Peter. Mary does not appear in the accounts of Christ’s resurrection, yet hers is, as it were, a continual, hidden presence: she is the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted each of his disciples and the entire community. In particular we can see how Saint John and Saint Luke record the powerful, maternal presence of Mary in the passages preceding those read in today’s Gospel and first reading. In the account of Jesus’ death, Mary appears at the foot of the cross (Jn 19:25), and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles she is seen in the midst of the disciples gathered in prayer in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14).

Today’s second reading also speaks to us of faith. Saint Peter himself, filled with spiritual enthusiasm, points out to the newly-baptized the reason for their hope and their joy. I like to think how in this passage, at the beginning of his First Letter, Peter does not use language of exhortation; instead, he states a fact. He writes: "you rejoice", and he adds: "you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet 1:6, 8-9). All these verbs are in the indicative, because a new reality has come about in Christ’s resurrection, a reality to which faith opens the door. "This is the Lord’s doing", says the Psalm (118:23), and "it is marvelous in our eyes", the eyes of faith.

Dear brothers and sisters, today our eyes behold, in the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, the beloved and revered figure of John Paul II. Today his name is added to the host of those whom he proclaimed saints and blesseds during the almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, thereby forcefully emphasizing the universal vocation to the heights of the Christian life, to holiness, taught by the conciliar Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium. All of us, as members of the people of God – bishops, priests, deacons, laity, men and women religious – are making our pilgrim way to the heavenly homeland where the Virgin Mary has preceded us, associated as she was in a unique and perfect way to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyła took part in the Second Vatican Council, first as an auxiliary Bishop and then as Archbishop of Kraków. He was fully aware that the Council’s decision to devote the last chapter of its Constitution on the Church to Mary meant that the Mother of the Redeemer is held up as an image and model of holiness for every Christian and for the entire Church. This was the theological vision which Blessed John Paul II discovered as a young man and subsequently maintained and deepened throughout his life. A vision which is expressed in the scriptural image of the crucified Christ with Mary, his Mother, at his side. This icon from the Gospel of John (19:25-27) was taken up in the episcopal and later the papal coat-of-arms of Karol Wojtyła: a golden cross with the letter "M" on the lower right and the motto "Totus tuus", drawn from the well-known words of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort in which Karol Wojtyła found a guiding light for his life: "Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria – I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart" (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 266).

In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: "When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, said to me: ‘The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium’". And the Pope added: "I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church – and especially with the whole episcopate – I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this Council of the twentieth century has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the Eternal Shepherd, who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate". And what is this "cause"? It is the same one that John Paul II presented during his first solemn Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in the unforgettable words: "Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!" What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan – a strength which came to him from God – a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man. This was the theme of his first encyclical, and the thread which runs though all the others.

When Karol Wojtyła ascended to the throne of Peter, he brought with him a deep understanding of the difference between Marxism and Christianity, based on their respective visions of man. This was his message: man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man. With this message, which is the great legacy of the Second Vatican Council and of its "helmsman", the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, John Paul II led the People of God across the threshold of the Third Millennium, which thanks to Christ he was able to call "the threshold of hope". Throughout the long journey of preparation for the great Jubilee he directed Christianity once again to the future, the future of God, which transcends history while nonetheless directly affecting it. He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress. He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope, to be lived in history in an "Advent" spirit, in a personal and communitarian existence directed to Christ, the fullness of humanity and the fulfillment of all our longings for justice and peace.

Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for twenty-three years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a "rock", as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Eucharist.

Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God’s people. Amen.

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI THE EASTER VIGIL ST PETER'S BASILICA 23 APRIL 2011

2011-04-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
THE EASTER VIGIL
ST PETER'S BASILICA
23 APRIL 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The liturgical celebration of the Easter Vigil makes use of two eloquent signs. First there is the fire that becomes light. As the procession makes its way through the church, shrouded in the darkness of the night, the light of the Paschal Candle becomes a wave of lights, and it speaks to us of Christ as the true morning star that never sets – the Risen Lord in whom light has conquered darkness. The second sign is water. On the one hand, it recalls the waters of the Red Sea, decline and death, the mystery of the Cross. But now it is presented to us as spring water, a life-giving element amid the dryness. Thus it becomes the image of the sacrament of baptism, through which we become sharers in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Yet these great signs of creation, light and water, are not the only constituent elements of the liturgy of the Easter Vigil. Another essential feature is the ample encounter with the words of sacred Scripture that it provides. Before the liturgical reform there were twelve Old Testament readings and two from the New Testament. The New Testament readings have been retained. The number of Old Testament readings has been fixed at seven, but depending upon the local situation, they may be reduced to three. The Church wishes to offer us a panoramic view of whole trajectory of salvation history, starting with creation, passing through the election and the liberation of Israel to the testimony of the prophets by which this entire history is directed ever more clearly towards Jesus Christ. In the liturgical tradition all these readings were called prophecies. Even when they are not directly foretelling future events, they have a prophetic character, they show us the inner foundation and orientation of history. They cause creation and history to become transparent to what is essential. In this way they take us by the hand and lead us towards Christ, they show us the true Light.

At the Easter Vigil, the journey along the paths of sacred Scripture begins with the account of creation. This is the liturgy’s way of telling us that the creation story is itself a prophecy. It is not information about the external processes by which the cosmos and man himself came into being. The Fathers of the Church were well aware of this. They did not interpret the story as an account of the process of the origins of things, but rather as a pointer towards the essential, towards the true beginning and end of our being. Now, one might ask: is it really important to speak also of creation during the Easter Vigil? Could we not begin with the events in which God calls man, forms a people for himself and creates his history with men upon the earth? The answer has to be: no. To omit the creation would be to misunderstand the very history of God with men, to diminish it, to lose sight of its true order of greatness. The sweep of history established by God reaches back to the origins, back to creation. Our profession of faith begins with the words: “We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”. If we omit the beginning of the Credo, the whole history of salvation becomes too limited and too small. The Church is not some kind of association that concerns itself with man’s religious needs but is limited to that objective. No, she brings man into contact with God and thus with the source of all things. Therefore we relate to God as Creator, and so we have a responsibility for creation. Our responsibility extends as far as creation because it comes from the Creator. Only because God created everything can he give us life and direct our lives. Life in the Church’s faith involves more than a set of feelings and sentiments and perhaps moral obligations. It embraces man in his entirety, from his origins to his eternal destiny. Only because creation belongs to God can we place ourselves completely in his hands. And only because he is the Creator can he give us life for ever. Joy over creation, thanksgiving for creation and responsibility for it all belong together.

The central message of the creation account can be defined more precisely still. In the opening words of his Gospel, Saint John sums up the essential meaning of that account in this single statement: “In the beginning was the Word”. In effect, the creation account that we listened to earlier is characterized by the regularly recurring phrase: “And God said …” The world is a product of the Word, of the Logos, as Saint John expresses it, using a key term from the Greek language. “Logos” means “reason”, “sense”, “word”. It is not reason pure and simple, but creative Reason, that speaks and communicates itself. It is Reason that both is and creates sense. The creation account tells us, then, that the world is a product of creative Reason. Hence it tells us that, far from there being an absence of reason and freedom at the origin of all things, the source of everything is creative Reason, love, and freedom. Here we are faced with the ultimate alternative that is at stake in the dispute between faith and unbelief: are irrationality, lack of freedom and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom and love at the origin of being? Does the primacy belong to unreason or to reason? This is what everything hinges upon in the final analysis. As believers we answer, with the creation account and with John, that in the beginning is reason. In the beginning is freedom. Hence it is good to be a human person. It is not the case that in the expanding universe, at a late stage, in some tiny corner of the cosmos, there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning and of trying to find rationality within creation, or to bring rationality into it. If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature. But no, Reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine Reason. And because it is Reason, it also created freedom; and because freedom can be abused, there also exist forces harmful to creation. Hence a thick black line, so to speak, has been drawn across the structure of the universe and across the nature of man. But despite this contradiction, creation itself remains good, life remains good, because at the beginning is good Reason, God’s creative love. Hence the world can be saved. Hence we can and must place ourselves on the side of reason, freedom and love – on the side of God who loves us so much that he suffered for us, that from his death there might emerge a new, definitive and healed life.

The Old Testament account of creation that we listened to clearly indicates this order of realities. But it leads us a further step forward. It has structured the process of creation within the framework of a week leading up to the Sabbath, in which it finds its completion. For Israel, the Sabbath was the day on which all could participate in God’s rest, in which man and animal, master and slave, great and small were united in God’s freedom. Thus the Sabbath was an expression of the Covenant between God and man and creation. In this way, communion between God and man does not appear as something extra, something added later to a world already fully created. The Covenant, communion between God and man, is inbuilt at the deepest level of creation. Yes, the Covenant is the inner ground of creation, just as creation is the external presupposition of the Covenant. God made the world so that there could be a space where he might communicate his love, and from which the response of love might come back to him. From God’s perspective, the heart of the man who responds to him is greater and more important than the whole immense material cosmos, for all that the latter allows us to glimpse something of God’s grandeur.

Easter and the paschal experience of Christians, however, now require us to take a further step. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. After six days in which man in some sense participates in God’s work of creation, the Sabbath is the day of rest. But something quite unprecedented happened in the nascent Church: the place of the Sabbath, the seventh day, was taken by the first day. As the day of the liturgical assembly, it is the day for encounter with God through Jesus Christ who as the Risen Lord encountered his followers on the first day, Sunday, after they had found the tomb empty. The structure of the week is overturned. No longer does it point towards the seventh day, as the time to participate in God’s rest. It sets out from the first day as the day of encounter with the Risen Lord. This encounter happens afresh at every celebration of the Eucharist, when the Lord enters anew into the midst of his disciples and gives himself to them, allows himself, so to speak, to be touched by them, sits down at table with them. This change is utterly extraordinary, considering that the Sabbath, the seventh day seen as the day of encounter with God, is so profoundly rooted in the Old Testament. If we also bear in mind how much the movement from work towards the rest-day corresponds to a natural rhythm, the dramatic nature of this change is even more striking. This revolutionary development that occurred at the very the beginning of the Church’s history can be explained only by the fact that something utterly new happened that day. The first day of the week was the third day after Jesus’ death. It was the day when he showed himself to his disciples as the Risen Lord. In truth, this encounter had something unsettling about it. The world had changed. This man who had died was now living with a life that was no longer threatened by any death. A new form of life had been inaugurated, a new dimension of creation. The first day, according to the Genesis account, is the day on which creation begins. Now it was the day of creation in a new way, it had become the day of the new creation. We celebrate the first day. And in so doing we celebrate God the Creator and his creation. Yes, we believe in God, the Creator of heaven and earth. And we celebrate the God who was made man, who suffered, died, was buried and rose again. We celebrate the definitive victory of the Creator and of his creation. We celebrate this day as the origin and the goal of our existence. We celebrate it because now, thanks to the risen Lord, it is definitively established that reason is stronger than unreason, truth stronger than lies, love stronger than death. We celebrate the first day because we know that the black line drawn across creation does not last for ever. We celebrate it because we know that those words from the end of the creation account have now been definitively fulfilled: “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Amen.

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI THE EASTER VIGIL ST PETER'S BASILICA 23 APRIL 2011

2011-04-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The liturgical celebration of the Easter Vigil makes use of two eloquent signs. First there is the fire that becomes light. As the procession makes its way through the church, shrouded in the darkness of the night, the light of the Paschal Candle becomes a wave of lights, and it speaks to us of Christ as the true morning star that never sets – the Risen Lord in whom light has conquered darkness. The second sign is water. On the one hand, it recalls the waters of the Red Sea, decline and death, the mystery of the Cross. But now it is presented to us as spring water, a life-giving element amid the dryness. Thus it becomes the image of the sacrament of baptism, through which we become sharers in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Yet these great signs of creation, light and water, are not the only constituent elements of the liturgy of the Easter Vigil. Another essential feature is the ample encounter with the words of sacred Scripture that it provides. Before the liturgical reform there were twelve Old Testament readings and two from the New Testament. The New Testament readings have been retained. The number of Old Testament readings has been fixed at seven, but depending upon the local situation, they may be reduced to three. The Church wishes to offer us a panoramic view of whole trajectory of salvation history, starting with creation, passing through the election and the liberation of Israel to the testimony of the prophets by which this entire history is directed ever more clearly towards Jesus Christ. In the liturgical tradition all these readings were called prophecies. Even when they are not directly foretelling future events, they have a prophetic character, they show us the inner foundation and orientation of history. They cause creation and history to become transparent to what is essential. In this way they take us by the hand and lead us towards Christ, they show us the true Light.

At the Easter Vigil, the journey along the paths of sacred Scripture begins with the account of creation. This is the liturgy’s way of telling us that the creation story is itself a prophecy. It is not information about the external processes by which the cosmos and man himself came into being. The Fathers of the Church were well aware of this. They did not interpret the story as an account of the process of the origins of things, but rather as a pointer towards the essential, towards the true beginning and end of our being. Now, one might ask: is it really important to speak also of creation during the Easter Vigil? Could we not begin with the events in which God calls man, forms a people for himself and creates his history with men upon the earth? The answer has to be: no. To omit the creation would be to misunderstand the very history of God with men, to diminish it, to lose sight of its true order of greatness. The sweep of history established by God reaches back to the origins, back to creation. Our profession of faith begins with the words: “We believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”. If we omit the beginning of the Credo, the whole history of salvation becomes too limited and too small. The Church is not some kind of association that concerns itself with man’s religious needs but is limited to that objective. No, she brings man into contact with God and thus with the source of all things. Therefore we relate to God as Creator, and so we have a responsibility for creation. Our responsibility extends as far as creation because it comes from the Creator. Only because God created everything can he give us life and direct our lives. Life in the Church’s faith involves more than a set of feelings and sentiments and perhaps moral obligations. It embraces man in his entirety, from his origins to his eternal destiny. Only because creation belongs to God can we place ourselves completely in his hands. And only because he is the Creator can he give us life for ever. Joy over creation, thanksgiving for creation and responsibility for it all belong together. The central message of the creation account can be defined more precisely still. In the opening words of his Gospel, Saint John sums up the essential meaning of that account in this single statement: “In the beginning was the Word”. In effect, the creation account that we listened to earlier is characterized by the regularly recurring phrase: “And God said …” The world is a product of the Word, of the Logos, as Saint John expresses it, using a key term from the Greek language. “Logos” means “reason”, “sense”, “word”. It is not reason pure and simple, but creative Reason, that speaks and communicates itself. It is Reason that both is and creates sense. The creation account tells us, then, that the world is a product of creative Reason. Hence it tells us that, far from there being an absence of reason and freedom at the origin of all things, the source of everything is creative Reason, love, and freedom. Here we are faced with the ultimate alternative that is at stake in the dispute between faith and unbelief: are irrationality, lack of freedom and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom and love at the origin of being? Does the primacy belong to unreason or to reason? This is what everything hinges upon in the final analysis. As believers we answer, with the creation account and with John, that in the beginning is reason. In the beginning is freedom. Hence it is good to be a human person. It is not the case that in the expanding universe, at a late stage, in some tiny corner of the cosmos, there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning and of trying to find rationality within creation, or to bring rationality into it. If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature. But no, Reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine Reason. And because it is Reason, it also created freedom; and because freedom can be abused, there also exist forces harmful to creation. Hence a thick black line, so to speak, has been drawn across the structure of the universe and across the nature of man. But despite this contradiction, creation itself remains good, life remains good, because at the beginning is good Reason, God’s creative love. Hence the world can be saved. Hence we can and must place ourselves on the side of reason, freedom and love – on the side of God who loves us so much that he suffered for us, that from his death there might emerge a new, definitive and healed life.

The Old Testament account of creation that we listened to clearly indicates this order of realities. But it leads us a further step forward. It has structured the process of creation within the framework of a week leading up to the Sabbath, in which it finds its completion. For Israel, the Sabbath was the day on which all could participate in God’s rest, in which man and animal, master and slave, great and small were united in God’s freedom. Thus the Sabbath was an expression of the Covenant between God and man and creation. In this way, communion between God and man does not appear as something extra, something added later to a world already fully created. The Covenant, communion between God and man, is inbuilt at the deepest level of creation. Yes, the Covenant is the inner ground of creation, just as creation is the external presupposition of the Covenant. God made the world so that there could be a space where he might communicate his love, and from which the response of love might come back to him. From God’s perspective, the heart of the man who responds to him is greater and more important than the whole immense material cosmos, for all that the latter allows us to glimpse something of God’s grandeur. Easter and the paschal experience of Christians, however, now require us to take a further step. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. After six days in which man in some sense participates in God’s work of creation, the Sabbath is the day of rest. But something quite unprecedented happened in the nascent Church: the place of the Sabbath, the seventh day, was taken by the first day. As the day of the liturgical assembly, it is the day for encounter with God through Jesus Christ who as the Risen Lord encountered his followers on the first day, Sunday, after they had found the tomb empty. The structure of the week is overturned. No longer does it point towards the seventh day, as the time to participate in God’s rest. It sets out from the first day as the day of encounter with the Risen Lord. This encounter happens afresh at every celebration of the Eucharist, when the Lord enters anew into the midst of his disciples and gives himself to them, allows himself, so to speak, to be touched by them, sits down at table with them. This change is utterly extraordinary, considering that the Sabbath, the seventh day seen as the day of encounter with God, is so profoundly rooted in the Old Testament. If we also bear in mind how much the movement from work towards the rest-day corresponds to a natural rhythm, the dramatic nature of this change is even more striking. This revolutionary development that occurred at the very the beginning of the Church’s history can be explained only by the fact that something utterly new happened that day. The first day of the week was the third day after Jesus’ death. It was the day when he showed himself to his disciples as the Risen Lord. In truth, this encounter had something unsettling about it. The world had changed. This man who had died was now living with a life that was no longer threatened by any death. A new form of life had been inaugurated, a new dimension of creation. The first day, according to the Genesis account, is the day on which creation begins. Now it was the day of creation in a new way, it had become the day of the new creation. We celebrate the first day. And in so doing we celebrate God the Creator and his creation. Yes, we believe in God, the Creator of heaven and earth. And we celebrate the God who was made man, who suffered, died, was buried and rose again. We celebrate the definitive victory of the Creator and of his creation. We celebrate this day as the origin and the goal of our existence. We celebrate it because now, thanks to the risen Lord, it is definitively established that reason is stronger than unreason, truth stronger than lies, love stronger than death. We celebrate the first day because we know that the black line drawn across creation does not last for ever. We celebrate it because we know that those words from the end of the creation account have now been definitively fulfilled: “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Amen.

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI HOLY THURSDAY EVENING MASS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER BASILICA OF ST JOHN LATERAN 21 APRIL 2011

2011-04-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Lk 22:15). With these words Jesus began the celebration of his final meal and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Jesus approached that hour with eager desire. In his heart he awaited the moment when he would give himself to his own under the appearance of bread and wine. He awaited that moment which would in some sense be the true messianic wedding feast: when he would transform the gifts of this world and become one with his own, so as to transform them and thus inaugurate the transformation of the world. In this eager desire of Jesus we can recognize the desire of God himself – his expectant love for mankind, for his creation. A love which awaits the moment of union, a love which wants to draw mankind to itself and thereby fulfil the desire of all creation, for creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God (cf. Rom 8:19). Jesus desires us, he awaits us. But what about ourselves? Do we really desire him? Are we anxious to meet him? Do we desire to encounter him, to become one with him, to receive the gifts he offers us in the Holy Eucharist? Or are we indifferent, distracted, busy about other things? From Jesus’ banquet parables we realize that he knows all about empty places at table, invitations refused, lack of interest in him and his closeness. For us, the empty places at the table of the Lord’s wedding feast, whether excusable or not, are no longer a parable but a reality, in those very countries to which he had revealed his closeness in a special way. Jesus also knew about guests who come to the banquet without being robed in the wedding garment – they come not to rejoice in his presence but merely out of habit, since their hearts are elsewhere. In one of his homilies Saint Gregory the Great asks: Who are these people who enter without the wedding garment? What is this garment and how does one acquire it? He replies that those who are invited and enter do in some way have faith. It is faith which opens the door to them. But they lack the wedding garment of love. Those who do not live their faith as love are not ready for the banquet and are cast out. Eucharistic communion requires faith, but faith requires love; otherwise, even as faith, it is dead.

From all four Gospels we know that Jesus’ final meal before his passion was also a teaching moment. Once again, Jesus urgently set forth the heart of his message. Word and sacrament, message and gift are inseparably linked. Yet at his final meal, more than anything else, Jesus prayed. Matthew, Mark and Luke use two words in describing Jesus’ prayer at the culmination of the meal:“eucharístesas” and “eulógesas” – the verbs “to give thanks” and “to bless”. The upward movement of thanking and the downward movement of blessing go together. The words of transubstantiation are part of this prayer of Jesus. They are themselves words of prayer. Jesus turns his suffering into prayer, into an offering to the Father for the sake of mankind. This transformation of his suffering into love has the power to transform the gifts in which he now gives himself. He gives those gifts to us, so that we, and our world, may be transformed. The ultimate purpose of Eucharistic transformation is our own transformation in communion with Christ. The Eucharist is directed to the new man, the new world, which can only come about from God, through the ministry of God’s Servant.

From Luke, and especially from John, we know that Jesus, during the Last Supper, also prayed to the Father – prayers which also contain a plea to his disciples of that time and of all times. Here I would simply like to take one of these which, as John tells us, Jesus repeated four times in his Priestly Prayer. How deeply it must have concerned him! It remains his constant prayer to the Father on our behalf: the prayer for unity. Jesus explicitly states that this prayer is not meant simply for the disciples then present, but for all who would believe in him (cf. Jn 17:20). He prays that all may be one “as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). Christian unity can exist only if Christians are deeply united to him, to Jesus. Faith and love for Jesus, faith in his being one with the Father and openness to becoming one with him, are essential. This unity, then, is not something purely interior or mystical. It must become visible, so visible as to prove before the world that Jesus was sent by the Father. Consequently, Jesus’ prayer has an underlying Eucharistic meaning which Paul clearly brings out in the First Letter to the Corinthians: “The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16ff.). With the Eucharist, the Church is born. All of us eat the one bread and receive the one body of the Lord; this means that he opens each of us up to something above and beyond us. He makes all of us one. The Eucharist is the mystery of the profound closeness and communion of each individual with the Lord and, at the same time, of visible union between all. The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity. It reaches the very mystery of the Trinity and thus creates visible unity. Let me say it again: it is an extremely personal encounter with the Lord and yet never simply an act of individual piety. Of necessity, we celebrate it together. In each community the Lord is totally present. Yet in all the communities he is but one. Hence the words “una cum Papa nostro et cum episcopo nostro” are a requisite part of the Church’s Eucharistic Prayer. These words are not an addendum of sorts, but a necessary expression of what the Eucharist really is. Furthermore, we mention the Pope and the Bishop by name: unity is something utterly concrete, it has names. In this way unity becomes visible; it becomes a sign for the world and a concrete criterion for ourselves.

Saint Luke has preserved for us one concrete element of Jesus’ prayer for unity: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22:31). Today we are once more painfully aware that Satan has been permitted to sift the disciples before the whole world. And we know that Jesus prays for the faith of Peter and his successors. We know that Peter, who walks towards the Lord upon the stormy waters of history and is in danger of sinking, is sustained ever anew by the Lord’s hand and guided over the waves. But Jesus continues with a prediction and a mandate. “When you have turned again…”. Every human being, save Mary, has constant need of conversion. Jesus tells Peter beforehand of his coming betrayal and conversion. But what did Peter need to be converted from? When first called, terrified by the Lord’s divine power and his own weakness, Peter had said: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8). In the light of the Lord, he recognizes his own inadequacy. Precisely in this way, in the humility of one who knows that he is a sinner, is he called. He must discover this humility ever anew. At Caesarea Philippi Peter could not accept that Jesus would have to suffer and be crucified: it did not fit his image of God and the Messiah. In the Upper Room he did not want Jesus to wash his feet: it did not fit his image of the dignity of the Master. In the Garden of Olives he wielded his sword. He wanted to show his courage. Yet before the servant girl he declared that he did not know Jesus. At the time he considered it a little lie which would let him stay close to Jesus. All his heroism collapsed in a shabby bid to be at the centre of things. We too, all of us, need to learn again to accept God and Jesus Christ as he is, and not the way we want him to be. We too find it hard to accept that he bound himself to the limitations of his Church and her ministers. We too do not want to accept that he is powerless in this world. We too find excuses when being his disciples starts becoming too costly, too dangerous. All of us need the conversion which enables us to accept Jesus in his reality as God and man. We need the humility of the disciple who follows the will of his Master. Tonight we want to ask Jesus to look to us, as with kindly eyes he looked to Peter when the time was right, and to convert us.

After Peter was converted, he was called to strengthen his brethren. It is not irrelevant that this task was entrusted to him in the Upper Room. The ministry of unity has its visible place in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Dear friends, it is a great consolation for the Pope to know that at each Eucharistic celebration everyone prays for him, and that our prayer is joined to the Lord’s prayer for Peter. Only by the prayer of the Lord and of the Church can the Pope fulfil his task of strengthening his brethren – of feeding the flock of Christ and of becoming the guarantor of that unity which becomes a visible witness to the mission which Jesus received from the Father.

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you”. Lord, you desire us, you desire me. You eagerly desire to share yourself with us in the Holy Eucharist, to be one with us. Lord, awaken in us the desire for you. Strengthen us in unity with you and with one another. Grant unity to your Church, so that the world may believe. Amen.

Starting The Journey To Join The Catholic Church

2010-05-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

If you know of someone who is interested in learning more

about the Catholic faith; is seriously thinking of joining the

Catholic Church, or was baptized in the Catholic Church

but never received all of their sacraments, St. Patrick’s

Parish has inquiry classes each 2nd and 4th Sunday of the

month, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall

Classroom. These classes are designed for those who are

simply interested in learning more about the Catholic

Church, or as an introduction to the RCIA process for

reception of sacraments for full communion in the Church.

We are also looking for parishioners who are willing to

become mentors or sponsors to walk with our inquirers on

their journey through the catechumenate, and to share

with them the great gift of our Catholic faith. For more

information, please contact Deacon Chuck Reyburn at

383-3924, ext. 20, or click the RCIA

link on our parish website.

From Fr. John

2010-05-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Heart Full of Thanks

With a grateful heart I want to thank

the pastor, Msgr. Patrick McCormick,

the staff and all the parishioners of St.

Patrick’s Parish - Merced for your love,

generosity and cooperation this past two

years I worked with you. May God

Bless and reward you all abundantly -

Amen.

The psalmist (psalm 133) says: “How

good and how pleasant it is when brothers

live in unity. . .” With that I say

may the abiding peace and love of Christ

be with you all - Amen. Farewell.

Fr. John O. Agwu, S.M.M.M

St. Joseph’s Parish

1515 Baker Street

Bakersfield, CA 93305

From the Pastor

2010-05-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

This week Our Lady of Mercy School graduated 40 eighth grade students. And this past Friday the school closed its’ doors to another academic year. Principal Judy Blackburn and teachers will begin to rest and relax until the summer schedules for the supportive staff and principle begin. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the teachers, teacher’s aids, staff and supportive staff for all their hard work this year to make another successful year at OLM School. We can all be proud of our school, our teachers, the students and their achievements. I believe that we have the best Catholic Grammar School in the Diocese of Fresno.

Also during this month our CCD program came to a close. We had over 80 students receive their First Holy Communion and over 100 receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. I would like to say thank you to the CCD Director, Mrs. Feehan, teachers and supportive persons who have made this year a good year for the students of our catechetical program here at St. Patrick’s. Your work, time and effort are greatly appreciated. Mrs. Brenda Feehan, will be retiring this month after guiding the CCD program for the past 8 years. She has done a wonderful job in finding teachers each year for the CCD program, training teachers, scheduling teachers and giving teachers the Diocesan Safe Environment Program Training. Mrs. Feehan has been the person that has held the Parish CCD Program together.

We will be giving everyone in the parish an opportunity to say thank you to Mrs. Feehan on June 13th, in the Parish Hall from 2:00 to 4:00PM. I hope all of you will come to say a BIG THANK YOU!

I would also like to thank all who do ministries here at St. Patrick’s in various ways. There are also many people who minister each day in the parish not only to parishioners but also to people throughout the city of Merced. We are a very helping parish family to all people who have many needs. I encourage you to continue in your love and concern for others.

Please come next weekend to our Parish Festival. There will be games, entertainment, lots of wonderful cultural foods, and the enjoyment of being together. Also on Saturday, June 5th we will have the kick-off Pasta Dinner, doors open at 5:30PM dinner till 7:00PM. Takeout is also possible. You can purchase your tickets this weekend at the front doors of the Church after all Masses or at the door next weekend. See you there!

Retirement Reception

2010-05-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 13th
Parish Hall
from 2:00 to 4:00pm

Brenda Feehan
Director Religious Education

Join us to give Mrs. Feehan our
best wishes on her retirement as
Director of our Religious Education
Program. We’ll Miss You!

Seminarians - Diocese of Fresno

2010-04-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

Thank You from Father Piro

2010-04-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Parishioners,

Thank You!
For so many prayers, phone calls and cards for my recovery.

The cane is for the gimpy knee action that seems to be improving too slowly for me. The wheel chair has been since Easter Wednesday when any exertion causes me to lose my breath. This is the result of the diabetes — kidney failure and toxin accumulation and edema.

Hopefully, the surgery and dialysis will bring relief to those symptoms and give me some more retirement and retreading with my family for several more years.

My nephews, nieces and sister-in-law are with me, so grateful for the care and concern of the parish .
I enjoy working and sharing our faith together.
It is my hope to be back soon; I urge you to share your care, with all the members of the parish, some, with obviously greater needs than mine.

Peace & Love in Christ

Fr. Frank Piro
FrFrank@olmstpatrick.org

The speech the Polish President was to give at the Katyn Memorial

2010-04-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

Below is the text of the speech which Lech Kaczynski, who died on Saturday, was going to deliver at the 70th anniversary ceremony of the Katyn massacre.

“Dear Representatives of the Katyn Families. Ladies and Gentlemen. In April 1940 over twenty-one thousand Polish prisoners from the NKVD camps and prisons were killed. The genocide was committed at Stalin’s will and at the Soviet Union’s highest authority’s command.

The alliance between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and the Soviet attack on Poland on 17 September 1939 reached a terrifying climax in the Katyn massacre. Not only in the Katyn forest, but also in Tver, Kcharkiv and other known, and unknown, execution sites citizens of the Second Republic of Poland, people who formed the foundation of our statehood, who adamantly served the motherland, were killed.

At the same time families of the murdered and thousands of citizens of the eastern territory of the pre-war Poland were sent into exile deep into the Soviet Union, where their indescribable suffering marked the path of the Polish Golgotha of the East.

The most tragic station on that path was Katyn. Polish officers, priests, officials, police officers, border and prison guards were killed without a trial or sentence. They fell victims to an unspeakable war. Their murder was a violation of the rights and conventions of the civilized world. Their dignity as soldiers, Poles and people, was insulted. Pits of death were supposed to hide the bodies of the murdered and the truth about the crime for ever.

The world was supposed to never find out. The families of the victims were deprived of the right to mourn publicly, to proudly commemorate their relatives. Ground covered the traces of crime and the lie was supposed to erase it from people’s memory.

An attempt to hide the truth about Katyn – a result of a decision taken by those who masterminded the crime – became one of the foundations of the communists’ policy in an after-war Poland: a founding lie of the People’s Republic of Poland.

It was the time when people had to pay a high price for knowing and remembering the truth about Katyn. However, the relatives of the murdered and other courageous people kept the memory, defended it and passed it on to next generations of Poles. They managed to preserve the memory of Katyn in the times of communism and spread it in the times of free and independent Poland. Therefore, we owe respect and gratitude to all of them, especially to the Katyn Families. On behalf of the Polish state, I offer sincere thanks to you, that by defending the memory of your relatives you managed to save a highly important dimension of our Polish consciousness and identity.

Katyn became a painful wound of Polish history, which poisoned relations between Poles and Russians for decades. Let’s make the Katyn wound finally heal and cicatrize. We are already on the way to do it. We, Poles, appreciate what Russians have done in the past years. We should follow the path which brings our nations closer, we should not stop or go back.

All circumstances of the Katyn crime need to be investigated and revealed. It is important that innocence of the victims is officially confirmed and that all files concerning the crime are open so that the Katyn lie could disappear for ever. We demand it, first of all, for the sake of the memory of the victims and respect for their families’ suffering. We also demand it in the name of common values, which are necessary to form a foundation of trust and partnership between the neighbouring nations in the whole Europe.

Let’s pay homage to the murdered and pray upon their bodies. Glory to the Heroes! Hail their memory!”

Our Lady of Katyn

2010-04-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

What is Divine Mercy

2010-03-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

In 1933, God gave Sister Faustina a striking vision of His Mercy, Sister tells us: “I saw a great light, with God the Father in the midst of it. Between this light and the earth I saw Jesus nailed to the Cross and in such a way that God, wanting to look upon the earth, had to look through Our Lord's wounds and I understood that God blessed the earth for the sake of Jesus.”

Of another vision on Sept. 13, 1935, she writes:
“I saw an Angel, the executor of God's wrath... about to strike the earth...I began to beg God earnestly for the world with words which I heard interiorly. As I prayed in this way, I saw the Angel's helplessness, and he could not carry out the just punishment . . .”

The following day an inner voice taught her to say this prayer on ordinary rosary beads:

First: 'Our Father', 'Hail Mary', and 'I believe'.

Then on the large beads pray with the following words:

‘Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and the Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.’

On the smaller beads:

‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.’

In conclusion, three times:

‘Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world’.

Jesus said later to Sister Faustina:

“Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it will receive great Mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this Chaplet even once, will receive grace from My Infinite Mercy. I want the whole world to know My Infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy . . .”

“. . . When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person not as the just judge but as the Merciful Savior”.

You are invited to participate in the celebration of Divine Mercy in St Patrick’s Church at 3:00pm, April 11th.

DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners

DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious

DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls

DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren

DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

DAY 8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory;

DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm.

Join us in prayer - April 11 - 3 PM - St. Patrick's Church

Gregorian Masses

2010-03-31T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the perfect offering made to God because it is Christ Himself who is priest and victim. Around the world, hour by hour, as the Eucharist is offered, Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary and His Resurrection are made present, and His redeeming work continues for all.

The benefits of each Mass are infinite and include the whole world. Those who have holy Mass offered, and those for whom a Mass is offered, partake in a special way of the grace of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Throughout the centuries, Catholics have followed the custom of requesting that Mass be celebrated for themselves, or for loved ones, living or deceased.

Gregorian Masses are a series of Masses for one particular deceased person offered on 30 consecutive days. They are named for St. Gregory the Great who was Pope from 590 A.D. to 604 A.D. Tradition holds that when a monk named Justus died, Pope Gregory had the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for the repose of his soul on 30 consecutive days. At the end of that time, Justus is said to have appeared to his brother, assuring him that he, Justus, had been released from Purgatory. Consequently, the custom of offering 30 “Gregorian Masses” for one particular deceased person spread throughout the Christian world and is still in practice today.

The Diocese of Fresno supports the tradition of sending offerings for the celebration of Mass intentions, including Gregorian Masses to our retired priests. They are willing to accept the special responsibility of celebrating these Masses, especially for our deceased brothers and sisters.

For more information, contact the Parish Office at (209)383-3924.

Te Deum Laudamus

2010-03-31T04:06:00.000-07:00

We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee and the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels:
to Thee the heavens and all the Powers therein.
To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim cry with unceasing voice:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory.
Thee the glorious choir of the Apostles.
Thee the admirable company of the Prophets.
Thee the white-robed army of Martyrs praise.
Thee the Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge.
The Father of infinite Majesty.
Thine adorable, true and only Son
Also the Holy Ghost the Paraclete.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Thou having taken upon Thee to deliver man
didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
Thou having overcome the sting of death
didst open to believers the kingdom of heaven.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God
in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants:
whom Thou has redeemed with Thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting.
Lord, save Thy people:
and bless Thine inheritance.
Govern them and lift them up forever.
Day by day we bless Thee.
And we praise Thy name forever:
and world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day to keep us without sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us.
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us:
as we have hoped in Thee.
O Lord, in Thee have I hoped:
let me never be confounded.

Palm Sunday Reflection …Palms and ashes...

2010-03-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Every year during Lent most of us have high hopes, plans to do better, to praise Jesus and proclaim him as King of our lives.

The mundane realities of daily life, the passing of time, our unfulfilled wishes and our own sinfulness and pride often erode these good intentions.

Our cries of praise may turn sour. The palms likely wilt. It can be a deadly cycle that never goes anywhere.

However, this week is about the ultimate triumph of God over evil, grace over sin, and life over death.

It is a solemn week, but one filled with hope in Jesus, who is our salvation.

As we leave the church today, may our hearts still sing.

May the solemnity be turned into celebration, and may God's redemptive grace raise up new leaves, new life from the ashes of our past.

Our spiritual imperfections are healed by Christ’s Passion and death.

- by the Priests from the Society of Christ

Divine Mercy Sunday

2010-03-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:

“These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’ The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”

In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

“On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy. . . On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls.” The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:

DAY 1 (Good Friday) - All mankind, especially sinners

DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious

DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) - All devout and faithful souls

DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren

DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

DAY 8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory;

DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm.

Join us at St Patrick’s at 3:00pm, on April 11th, Divine Mercy Sunday.

Cardinal Francis George, OMI regarding the National Health Bill

2010-03-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system. Their experience in health care and in Catholic parishes has acquainted them with the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions.

Throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion. These are the provisions of the long standing Hyde amendment, passed annually in every federal bill appropriating funds for health care; and surveys show that this legislation reflects the will of the majority of our fellow citizens. The American people and

the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected.

However, the bishops were left disappointed and puzzled to learn that the basis for any vote on health care will be the Senate bill passed on Christmas Eve. Notwithstanding the denials and explanations of its supporters, and unlike the bill approved by the House of Representatives in November, the Senate bill deliberately excludes the language of the Hyde amendment. It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures. In so doing, it forces all of us to become involved in an act that profoundly violates the conscience of many, the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human

family still waiting to be born.

What do the bishops find so deeply disturbing about the Senate bill? The points at issue can be summarized briefly. The status quo in federal abortion policy, as reflected in the Hyde Amendment, excludes abortion from all health insurance plans receiving federal subsidies. In the Senate bill, there is the provision that only one of the proposed multi-state plans will not cover elective abortions – all other plans (including other multi-state plans) can do so, and receive federal tax credits. This means that individuals or families in complex medical

circumstances will likely be forced to choose and contribute to an insurance plan that funds abortions in order to meet their particular health needs.

Further, the Senate bill authorizes and appropriates billions of dollars in new funding outside the scope of the appropriations bills covered by the Hyde amendment and similar provisions. As the bill is written, the new funds it appropriates over the next five years, for Community Health Centers for example (Sec. 10503), will be available by statute for elective abortions, even though the present regulations do conform to the Hyde amendment. Regulations, however, can be changed at will, unless they are governed by statute.

Additionally, no provision in the Senate bill incorporates the longstanding and widely supported protection for conscience regarding abortion as found in the Hyde/Weldon amendment. Moreover, neither the House nor Senate bill contains meaningful conscience protection outside the abortion context. Any final bill, to be fair to all, must retain the accommodation of the full range of religious and moral objections in the provision of

health insurance and services that are contained in current law, for both individuals and institutions.

This analysis of the flaws in the legislation is not completely shared by the leaders of the Catholic Health Association. They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill. The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote. Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke.

What is tragic about this turn of events is that it needn’t have happened. The status quo that has served our national consensus and respected the consciences of all with regard to abortion is the Hyde amendment. The House courageously included an amendment applying the Hyde policy to its Health Care bill passed in November. Its absence in the Senate bill and the resulting impasse are not an accident. Those in the Senate who wanted to purge the Hyde amendment from this national legislation are obstructing the reform of health care.

This is not quibbling over technicalities. The deliberate omission in the Senate Bill of the necessary language that could have taken this moral question off the table and out of play leaves us still looking for a way to meet the President’s and our concern to provide health care for those millions whose primary care physician is now an emergency room doctor. As Pope Benedict told Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel H. Diaz when he presented his credentials as the United States government’s representative to the Holy See, there is “an indissoluble bond between an ethic of life and every other aspect of social ethics.”

Two basic principles, therefore, continue to shape the concerns of the Catholic bishops: health care means taking care of the health needs of all, across the human life span; and the expansion of health care should not involve the expansion of abortion funding and of polices forcing everyone to pay for abortions.

Because these principles have not been respected, despite the good that the bill under consideration intends or might achieve, the Catholic bishops regretfully hold that it must be opposed unless and until these serious moral problems are addressed.

From the desk of the Pastor

2010-03-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

Vegetation of all different sorts makes frequent appearances in the scriptures; between the Tree of Life in Genesis and the Tree of Life in Revelation, there are mustard plants, vines, lilies, grass, oaks, palms, wheat and corn, olives and the fig

tree, as in today's Gospel. Given that the natural world shows God's creative, loving power, it is fitting that it plays a part in the drama of sin and redemption. Beautifully, the leaves of the Tree of Life in Revelation are 'for the healing of the nations.'

The first reading today reminds us of another very important type of plant in the history of salvation, the thorn. Although our text doesn't specify that the bush from which God speaks to Moses is a thorn bush, by the time Jesus was born this

was an accepted fact in the story. The burning bush was a thorn bush, and it was from this lowly and harsh plant that God spoke to Moses, to reveal nothing less than his Name, and to begin the process of liberating his people from Egypt. God

in the midst of the thorns.

This has tremendous resonance, of course. After Adam transgressed and was evicted from Eden, part of the punishment was that thorns and thistles would cover the ground and that he would earn his bread in the sweat of his face (Gen 3).

Thorns were the result of Adam's sin and a sign of God's punishment, but with Moses the same plant becomes a vehicle of God's saving revelation. As one version of the story from about the time of Jesus puts it:

And when the First-formed Man was judged guilty of death, the earth was condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles.

And when the truth enlightened Moses, it enlightened him by means of a thicket of thorns.

In another, equally vital, moment in history, thorns make an appearance. When Abraham is about to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, the ram which is sacrificed in place of Isaac is caught by its head in a thicket of thorns (Gen 22). The saving

victim amongst the thorns. So this unlikely sort of plant is involved at the crucial moments, moments of judgment, revelation, salvation and sacrifice.

For Christians, especially in this time of Lent, another appearance of thorns comes to mind: 'And the soldiers, platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head.' In this apparently unimportant detail of the Passion, the whole of salvation history is

embodied, the Fall, God's self-revelation, the Exodus, the foreshadowing of the true Lamb who is now offered in sacrifice.

Jesus bears the weight and pain of our history on his head, in the mocking crown of thorns. Like the burning bush, the reality, the thorniness, of Jesus' humanity is joined to the fire of his divinity, but is not consumed by it. On the Cross, from

amidst the thorns, Jesus bears the results of the Fall; he is the judge who takes the sentence upon himself. He reveals himself as the God Man who suffers and forgives, he speaks words of comfort to a dying thief, words of hope to his

mother and disciple, and words of loving obedience to the Father.

From the earliest times of Christian tradition, it was thought that it was Christ who spoke to Moses from the burning thorn bush, and in this wonderful act of fulfillment, he appears again amongst the thorns in his Passion, 'that he might show that all was the work of the same one power. He is one, and his Father is one, the eternal beginning and the end' (Clement of Alexandria).

But we must remember too, of course, that the thorns are not the end of the story. Just as the wood of the Cross becomes the Tree of Life for us, so does the crown of thorns become the crown of glory at the Resurrection. The Father raises Jesus and crowns him with glory and honor, and puts all things under his feet. A crown of glory awaits us too, if we accept the grace of perseverance. In the meantime, much of life has the harshness of thorns, but we know that it is among the thorns that God reveals himself and saves us.

Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation

2010-03-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

From Fr. Pat...

I would like to make a personal invitation to you during this season of Lent to take an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation (also known as Confession) is a Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ in His love and mercy to offer sinners forgiveness for offenses committed against God. At the same time, sinners reconcile with the

Church and the community, which are also wounded by our sins.

Every time we sin, we hurt ourselves, other people, and our relationship with God. In Reconciliation, we acknowledge our sins before God and His Church. We express our sorrow

in a meaningful way, receive the forgiveness of Christ and His Church, make reparation for

what we have done, and resolve to do better in the future.

The forgiveness of sins involves four parts: contrition, confession, penance, and absolution.

Contrition: a sincere sorrow for having offended God and the most important act of the penitent. There can be no forgiveness of sin if we do not have sorrow and a firm resolves not to repeat our sin.

Confession: confronting our sins in a profound way by admitting them aloud to God through the priest.

Penance: an important part of our healing process, the penance is imposed by the priest as the means for us to make reparation for our sins.

Absolution: the priest speaks the words by which “God, the Father of Mercies” Reconciles us – sinners – to Himself through the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of His Son-Jesus Christ.

Please make this season of Lent one full of grace for you and your family!

Immaculee Event Schedule

2010-02-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

February 27th

12:30pm - St. Patrick’s Church opens to Public for early seating (Please enter with ticket through main doors at fountain plaza).

12:30pm - Pre-Sale in Parish Hall Immaculee Books, CD’s & DVD’s Annie Karto CD’s

Available for purchase in the Parish Hall across fountain plaza. Avoid long lines and make your purchases before the event. Merchandise pre-sale ends at 1:15 for event seating in the church

1:30pm - Annie Karto will perform and debut her newly recorded song inspired by “Left To Tell.”

2:00pm - Immaculee

Book Signing - Immediately following presentation in Parish Hall. All merchandise will be available for purchase.

5:00pm - Holy Mass - Rev. Msgr. Patrick McCormick. Annie Karto will formally participate at this Mass with music from Perfect Sacrifice. All are invited to attend Holy Mass before returning home.

Annie Karto CD’s will be available for purchase after Mass in the church entrance.

From the Desk of the Pastor

2010-02-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

You never know when God will call a person to a religious vocation. Our part is to continue to listen and then to respond. The first part of the response is to go to the seminary or religious house to spend time to question and discern the call. If God wants you to continue in the discernment, he will provide the strength and the means to continue. The final call comes from the Bishop of the Diocese or the Religious Superior. How will you respond?

A's prospect leaving baseball for call of the priesthood

By 'Duk

Well, here's a story you don't see every day.

Grant Desme, a 23-year-old minor league outfielder in Oakland's system, is retiring from baseball to follow a calling into the Catholic priesthood.

The story was first reported by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi — perhaps appropriately with that first name of his — and this isn't a case of a struggling player going through an early-life crisis.

Desme was ranked the A's eighth-best prospect by Baseball America after hitting .288 with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs in A ball in 2009 and he was just named MVP of the Arizona Fall League.

Desme might have even been a late-season callup to the big league club in 2010. Our Y! Sports 2010 fantasy guide has him ranked the 40th-best minor-league prospect for near-term fantasy purpose. However, ESPN's Rob Neyer disagrees, saying that he didn't see Desme as a future star by the Bay.

Susan Slusser has more on Desme's decision to leave playing against the Padres and Cardinals so he can start praying with other padres and cardinals at a Catholic seminary in Orange County. He said the news came as bit of a shock to Billy Beane, but that the Oakland GM and entire A's system have been supportive of his decision.

Said Desme on a Friday afternoon conference call:

"I'm doing well in baseball. But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. It took awhile to trust that and open up to it and aim full steam toward him ... I love the game, but I'm going to aspire to higher things."

Desme spoke with Baseball America last year about baseball being only "a game" and we wish him success on his spiritual path. In a selfish age when churches struggle to recruit young male Americans, his sacrifice of possible riches is a very admirable thing.

From Bishop John T. Steinbock

2010-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

CULTURE OF VIOLENCE AND DEATH

My dear people of God,

January 22nd is the anniversary of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision by the Supreme Court. This decision denied the right to life for unborn children, and has led to the slaughter of millions upon millions of innocent unborn babies in our land. Without a doubt this decision has led to what we now call a culture of violence and death in our country. When there is no respect for the life of the most defenseless, innocent and vulnerable members of the human family, there is little to support society to uphold and respect the right to life of others in our society. Violence and death are now accepted as a solution for solving problems both in personal lives and in the life of society.

Rampant in our society now is spousal abuse, elderly abuse, suicide, the promotion to legalize euthanasia, the growing demand for the death penalty, using and destroying human embryos for research, which is destroying human life. Globally the ready solution now to many of our world wide problems is preemptive war with the accepted indiscriminate killing of non combatants through so called smart bombs, and the acceptance of torture as a moral good. We continually build more sophisticated weapons and more effective ways of killing people. Violence and death are now accepted by so many as an ordinary way of life for solving our problems. And we are not talking simply of psychopaths who have no respect for anyone’s life, but of ordinary people, upright, and respected citizens, politicians and professionals, as well as people who profess to believe in God. This is all in the wake of the Roe vs. Wade decision.

We believe in a God whose Son died for every person in this world, and whose love is all embracing. Our Lord Jesus extended his arms on the cross to embrace everyone in this world, rich and poor, born and unborn, citizen and foreigner, documented and undocumented, victims of serious crimes and their families as well as those guilty of those serious crimes; those who are productive in society and those who contribute nothing to our society; those who sleep comfortably in beautiful homes, and those who sleep on the streets, for our soldiers who are fighting and sacrificing their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those who are fighting

against them. The Church teaches clearly and unequivocally that every person, without exception, is a child of God, whose life is sacred and possesses the right to life, and is to be respected as a human being.

God calls us to witness, not to our limited human love, but to His Divine Love, which embraces all peoples. Only the power of God’s love within us can enable us to reach out to each and every person in this world with respect and love. We are all members of our society and we are influenced tremendously by this culture of violence and death in which we live. It is easy to condemn those that many in our society condemn and we must constantly ask God’s help to witness to the sacredness of every human life. We are powerless to do this living in this culture, but with God all things are possible.

God bless you all. +++

Fast and Abstinence and other acts of Penance for Lent

2010-02-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

The Bishops of the United States prescribe, as minimal obligation, that all persons who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010, on all Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, while the other two meals on those days are to be light.

All the faithful are encouraged, when possible to participate at Mass and to receive Holy Communion daily, to celebrate frequently the Sacrament of Penance, to undertake spiritual reading, especially the study of the Sacred Scriptures, and to participate in parish Lenten devotions as well as Lenten education programs. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is especially recommended.

All are encouraged to participate in some of the seven corporal works of mercy: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit those in prison, bury the dead.

Because the Feast of St. Joseph will be on a Friday in Lent this year, the obligation to abstain from meat does not bind on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Friday, March 19, 2010.

From the Desk of the Pastor

2010-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

This Sunday contains a surprise development regarding the readings. This fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time “C” will find three of the greatest witnesses in the Bible – Isaiah, Paul and Peter –expressing their own worthlessness.

What is our attitude toward worthiness? Do you agree with today’s psychologies sentiment that “I am worthy” or “I’m ok, You’re ok” or “I buy this product because I’m worth it”?

Let’s take an opportunity to look at these three witnesses. Do they think they are worthy?

Isaiah receives a vision of heaven itself in our first reading. And we hear that Isaiah’s reaction is that of shame, or so it seems. “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” In response, an angel swoops down with a burning coal to “cleanse” his lips!! He is doomed, alright, but doomed to be made clean through suffering, to be made able to speak of God.

Second, St. Paul says that Christ appeared to him last of all, as to one born abnormally in our second reading. “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called a apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” Unworthy, but did the grace of God discard him? NO, it appointed him an Apostle, even though he had never even met Jesus.

Then there is the famous Gospel story. Jesus tells Peter and James and John to fish in the deep water (where they had been fishing and fishing and fishing all night with no result.) Without warning, their nets are filled with fish. Peter cries out, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Astonishment had seized him and all those with him.

So we have a problem. Isn’t the experience of God supposed to lead us to peace, forgiveness, and joy, instead of shame?

A distinction is needed. The reaction of all three figures is not really shame. They do not conclude that they are each worthless, which is the meaning of shame – you know the feeling: “If people ever saw the real me, they would run away.” No, instead, they are finding their real place in reality. They are expressing a kind of humility.

Each of these men had been forced to compare himself directly with the presence of God. But when they met the holiness of God head-on, they were able to see their own humanness, as full of holes as a sponge. They could not pretend that they shone like the stars because they saw the real star bursting with light.

Experience of God let them understand that they are far, far, far less than God. This is not bad, it is good. God can make us holy, our own elegance cannot. We can be proud to be unworthy if reception of God’s love is the result.

So, in each Mass we echo the Roman centurion when he says, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. Only say the word and I shall be healed.” When we react with shame, God does not say in return, “I reject you,” but “I love you dearly.” Come be with me, you fine human being.”

From Grief to Joy

2009-09-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

When Christians are afraid about what lies ahead the great solution is to read the Scriptures. Read the Scriptures day by day. It's when you lose your anchorage in the Scriptures that you lose your hold upon life itself and upon the future.

With God, there is no need to fear. You can live each day on his sure foundation, certain about your life's direction and your future. This assurance is found in the Bible. Listen to the benefits of reading the Scriptures.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the Lord are true, all of them just. More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold, sweeter also than honey, than honey or drippings from the comb.” (Psalm 19:7-10)

Youth Altar Servers Orientation

2009-09-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 4th - St. Patrick’s Church from 3:00 to 5:00 pm

Juanita Pedrozo and Msgr. Pat will hold a mandatory, yearly orientation for all current youth altar servers and any boy and girl, who has made their First Communion and is interested in becoming an altar server. This orientation is for the formation in the art of service to the altar. This ministry is important for the proper development and increased support among the faithful during the celebration of Holy Eucharist. Remember, you are the friends who have chosen to give testimony for Jesus. Such are the best friends and witnesses of Christ in altar service. Finally, you have a task to grow the number of altar servers in your parish, by being the best apostles for your friends. If you have any questions, contact Juanita Pedrozo at (209) 723-1151 or nita@olmstpatrick.org.

Farewell for Sr. Mary K.

2009-09-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

You’re invited to a farewell for Sr. Mary K. Oct. 11th @ 2:30pm. Join in wishing the best to Sr. Mary as she returns to her Mother House.

Loss of Purpose and Direction

2009-09-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

“Who am I? I had identified with this person; I had become one with this person. Our hopes and dreams were together. And now, who am I?”

When you are confused and uncertain, and you don't even know who you are anymore, remember that these feelings are expected with the loss of a spouse. Spend time working through these bewildering thoughts, and don't rush this process.

Trying to skip steps on your grief journey will not aid your healing; it will only set you back. Your identity is not gone; it just needs to be rediscovered.

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

You may feel as though you have no purpose, that there's nothing left for you to do. This feeling can be particularly strong if your spouse underwent a long illness and you had put all your time and energy into caring for him or her.

You are going to have a new, changed identity. God is calling you for a specific purpose, and you can trust Him to accomplish His purpose in your life.

“The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, o Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands” (Psalm 138:8).

St. Patrick’s Parish GriefShare support group meetings have been suspended until further notice. Please call the church office for details at 383-3924.