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| From Father's Desk |
Click on the date below to see Fr. Dennis' weekly bulletin article:
April 25, 2010
April 18, 2010
April 11, 2010
April 4, 2010
March 28, 2010
March 21, 2010
March 14, 2010
March 7, 2010
February 28, 2010
February 21, 2010
February 14, 2010
February 7, 2010
January 31, 2010
January 24, 2010
January 17, 2010
January 10, 2010
January 3, 2010
April 25, 2010
With the advent of the Easter season, we again celebrate baptisms, First Holy Communions and Confirmation. These are big events in ones religious and spiritual life.
Yet the Church laments the fact that for a number of folks the Sacraments are mere rituals that they walk through at the birth of their child or at the age of seven or sixteen.
Sacraments are what we bring our children to when they are a particular age, but it seems as if many of us dont understand what the sacraments really signify. Have the Sacraments become mere social events marking a passage of time rather than being a measure of our Sacramental life in the Church community and our spiritual growth?
Why do I ask this? Well, frequently parents ask to have their baby baptized and then disappear from the life of the Church. They return to plug the child into religious education classes for a couple of required years so the children can make First Holy Communion and again disappear, then suddenly return for the required classes in order to receive Confirmation. After thatPOOF! The child fades away until engaged to be married and once again they appear at the rectory door asking for the Ritual.
As priests and pastors with the responsibility to help direct the spiritual life of our parishioners, it is discouraging to see this secular trend of lacking commitment in our society. Parents and God-parents promise before God and the Church community that they will bring the child up in the Faith. But if they dont follow through, then were they lying in front of all those witnesses? As one priest put it while heading over to Baptize, Well, here I go to perform the sacrament of perjury.
If we bring our second graders to Church for First Holy Communion and then stop bringing them to Mass every Sunday, what message are we giving them? Is our own faith that shallow? We promise at their baptisms to accept the responsibility to be the best of teachers for our child. Are we doing so? If not, then arent we failing as parents?
At the time of Confirmation, young men and women stand up in the midst of the Faith community in front of the Bishop and tell everyone that they wish to confirm their Catholic Faith. Is this another lie? Will they continue to live out that Faith that they then profess before all or is it an empty ritual again? The Sacrament of Confirmation is not just a rite of passage, like getting a drivers license or graduating from high school.
If we fail to observe and participate in the Sacraments recognizing that these are moments when we acknowledge that God is working in our lives and that we have a mutually interactive relationship with God, then to what purpose do we ask for these sacraments?
If we dont follow through with the sacramental contracts of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion, will the promises made at Marriage be any different? Or will we walk away from our marriage partner as well?
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
April 18, 2010
Fr. Dennis weekly bulletin article will return next week!
April 11, 2010
Fr. Dennis is on Vacation!
His weekly article will return to our bulletin next week!
April 4, 2010
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Once again this joyful acclamation springs forth from our lips. Weve passed through the desert during the weeks of Lent and commemorated the sacred events of Holy Week. Now we run to the tomb with John and Peter and, stooping down, we peer into the empty tomb. We stand there with the women as the Angel proclaims: He is not here! He is risen! Go and tell the others the Good News.
Today it is our task, our calling, our sacred duty, our privilege to be the ones who spread the Good News of Jesus passion, death and triumphant Resurrection to those we meet. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we must listen to the Lord Jesus as He journeys with us through this life. If we do, our hearts too will be burning within us.
We, too, must run back to Jerusalem with the message that He is alive and that we have met him on the way. To do so, we must be able to recognize him. But, as they related to those still gathered in the upper room, the two disciples only recognized him in the breaking of the Bread!
Therefore, if we truly believe and if we truly want to meet him, we must participate in the breaking of the Bread. We must come to the Table. We must break Bread together. We must drink from the Cup. We must celebrate with the community that Jesus Christ is Lord. We must proclaim that Jesus Christ has died for us and is risen from the dead.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
March 28, 2010
Holy Week 2010 is upon us.
What does that mean to us?
For elementary and high school students, it may mean no school for a week or so. For some College students, a short Easter break means flying or driving down to some gathering area for college students in order to indulge in self-destructive excesses. But for active Christians everywhere, it has a very significant and spiritual meaning.
On Palm Sunday we recall Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem on that first day of the week during which He would complete His ministry. Many cheering His arrival soon forgot their fervor of welcoming and instead cried out for His crucifixion. Nonetheless, Jesus would not relent in teaching His Fathers message and fulfilling His mission.
We receive Blessed Palms today to take home and display where all can see them. We place them in a spot of honor in our homes lest we forget how we too, only too often, praise Jesus in one moment and betray Him in the next.
On Holy Thursday we recall the night Jesus gathered with His friends in the upper room to celebrate one last time the Passover Seder meal. It was during that Last Supper that Jesus took plain bread and common wine and, after blessing them, handed them to those with Him to eat and drink. With His words, they were no longer plain bread and common wine. They became His Body and Blood, present under the form of bread and wine but changed in substance. Jesus fulfilled the promise of which He spoke when He fed the 5000. Now, one more time, Jesus demonstrates that the Master has come to serve and we must imitate Him in our service to others.
On Good Friday we commemorate the day that Jesus was crucified. The blood of the lamb that Abraham and Isaac spilled on the sacrificial firewood on the mountain top, and the blood of the lambs smeared by the Israelites on door posts, is now replaced forever by the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, spilled out on the wood of His cross. The crucifix, once a tree of death and a sign of ignominy, has become the Tree of Life and a sign of triumph and victory. Let us each become Simon of Cyrene.
On Holy Saturday night, we hold vigil and celebrate the beautiful sacred rites of new fire dispelling the darkness of doubt and despair, the darkness of sin and death. We bask in the Light of Christ symbolized by our Paschal candle. We celebrate baptism and confirmation. We welcome to the table of the Lord those joining us for the first time in full communion with the Church. We renew our own baptismal promises and are blessed with the fresh, life-giving waters from our baptismal font.
During these most sacred rites, we remember our call by Jesus to serve one another in humility and love, to bear our cross while following Christ and to be light for each other as His disciples today bringing the Good News to all we meet. Dont miss this opportunity to be renewed your Faith.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
March 21, 2010
Remember that song by the Carpenters: Weve only just begun to live?
So many roads to choose, the song continues, We start out walking and learn to run, and yes weve only just begun, sharing horizons that are new to us, watching the signs along the way
How appropriate for our Lenten journey. It seems as if weve only just begun to live Lent and its already more than half over. This is week five. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. There are certainly so many roads to choose from as we journey through our lives and so many signs along the way to lead us away from the Lords path.
Do you ever wonder how Jesus felt after his 40 days in the desert were half over? Do you wonder if he felt as if he should give up, if he felt discouraged? We know from the Gospel on the first Sunday of Lent that when he was at the end and physically cleansed but weakened by fasting that the temptations the Devil presented him with were very inviting.
But because he was strengthened by prayer, Jesus did not fall into the temptations that were paraded before him. His resistance gives us encouragement and strengthens our resolve to resist the temptations that call to us. Let us pray daily for the strength Jesus had.
Lets think also about the stories we hear in Gospel accounts which we are reading this Lent. Our Sunday Gospels include: 1st: the Temptations of Christ; 2nd: the Transfiguration on the Mount; 3rd: the story of the fig tree and being given one more chance to be fruitful; 4th: the Prodigal Son, his jealous brother and their overly generous loving Father; 5th: the woman caught in adultery and forgiven by Jesus.
Luke and John must have had a special love for this type of story because they relate them to us and they are such a great encouragement for us. As we plug onward and upward through the remaining days of Lent this year, and as we join Jesus in his final journey into Jerusalem and along the path to crucifixion, lets keep in mind that above all else, Jesus does not want the death of us sinners but our conversion.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She replied, No one, sir. Then Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more. John 8:11
Lord, we are not worthy that you should come under our roof. Say but the word and we shall be healed.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
March 14, 2010
Please ponder this story that I received some years back from a dear friend of mine, Sister Sheila OConner, who is now home with God. She was over 50 years a member of the Manitowoc Franciscan Order of Sisters. She used to write me faithfully and always included a full, two-sided sheet with stories and humorous anecdotes to consider. She was delightfully and typically Irish woman. Heres one of the stories she sent to me:
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200 people he asked, Who of you would like this $20 bill? Hands began going up.
He said, I am going to give this $20 bill to one of you but first let me do this. He proceeded to crumple the $20 bill up. He then asked, Who still wants it? Still the hands were up in the air.
Well, he replied, what if I do this? And he dropped it onto the ground and started grinding it into the floor with his shoe, crumpled and dirty. Now who still wants it? Still the hands remained up in the air.
My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did with the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel that we are worthless. But no mater what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in Gods eyes. To him, dirty or crumpled, or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.
As a follow-up to the Gospel of Luke 15, the story of the Prodigal Son (or Daughter!), it is appropriate for us to remember how important we are to God our Father. We read about the Prodigal Son on Laetare Sunday, the Sunday when we reflect with a sense of joy during this season of penitence that God never gives up on us.
Whether we are a profligate son or daughter or an envious brother or sister, whether we are an errant citizen or a jealous neighbor, whether we are the cause of the trouble or one of the grumbling by-standers, we are at one time or another, one or the other of the two sons in the story.
But no matter what, God is always abundantly generous, lavishing on us His all-encompassing love. He never ceases to invite us back, to watch from the porch and to wait our approaching afar.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wingsAs for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. Psalm 17: 8, 15.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
March 7, 2010
Before Christ, the Jewish Scriptures encouraged folks during difficult and scary times, and during the early Church years, the Christian Scriptures. Sacred Scripture continually encourages us to return to God. No other god promises so much and is able to fulfill its promises. God asks us to seek the things of the next world over the things of this world.
But the lure of wealth, power and prestige, the addictions to fame and fortune; the world, the flesh and the Devil keep beckoning to us and we fall. Temptations surround us and call to us as strongly as the deadly Sirens tempting Odysseus in Homers The Odyssey.
Government officials point long, boney fingers at the greedy bankers and Wall Street officials and try to load the blame upon their shoulders, all the while picking our pockets with their other hand. Leaders in Washington struggle to create class warfare, pitting the haves against the have nots, in order to divert attention away from themselves.
In Rome, Nero placed blame on the Christians as he played the fiddle and watched the city burn. The Red Army riled the common folk against the Royal Family in order to gain power in Russia. Hitler claimed that the Jews were responsible for the economic problems in Germany so he could become god for them. We always seek a scapegoat onto whom we can shove the blame for all the worlds problems.
But as Pogo Possum (look him up, kids!) said so eloquently: We have met the enemy and he is us. Its all of us: the top officials on Wall Street; the big investment bankers; Hollywood actors and actresses; wealthy athletes and pop music stars; those boney-fingered officials and all of us. Its you and I along with them!
Which of us does not have bank accounts, certificates of deposit, a stock or bond portfolio? Which of us never had a piggybank in which we collected pennies and nickels in our early years? Who among us with a job does not have a 401K, an IRA, maybe a wad of bills rolled up inside an old woolen sock and stuffed into an ancient work-boot in the back of a closet?
All of us, if we invested our hard-earned cash in order to increase our retirement funds, are guilty of contributing to the greed in our society in some small way. So lets not jump on the backs of those who have more than we do. We need their financial skills as much as they need our various skills. And lets not continue to elect to office those who live profligate lives that make the Prodigal Son look like a piker.
Lets ask ourselves if we are contributing to make things better or are just condoning our own sinful behavior and the sinful behavior of others? If we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem.
You hypocrite, first take the beam out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brothers eye. Mt.7:5
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
February 28, 2010
A Season of Mercy.
In May 2009, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee announced that Lent 2010 would be observed as a Season of Mercy. This Season of Mercy invites people to a deeper appreciation of Gods forgiving love, to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to reflect upon the need for healing in personal and public life.
We invite people to take part in one of the 15 reconciliation services being led by Archbishop Jerome Listecki as well as to reflect on the need for forgiveness and mercy in our communities and in our lives through various programs being offered. This initiative is being coordinated by the John Paul II Center and Rosary Evangelization Apostolate.
The preceding is the announcement from the Archdiocese website asking us to reflect upon the great gift of mercy and forgiveness that our Father offers us, especially through the Sacraments and in particular through Reconciliation.
Too often we fall into a sin of pride or into a pattern of self-deprecation, of self-loathing. We either convince ourselves that we arent guilty of sin and dont need forgiveness or that God cant forgive us because our sins are so great and we are so terrible.
Both of those responses are attitudes of the sin of pride on our part. In the first instance, we are so prideful that we think we are above sinning, as if we are already fully in the Kingdom of God and canonized saints in heaven. In the second instance, we are bragging that even God isnt capable of forgiving us because we are so skilled of a sinner.
To remind us of the communal aspect of sin (even our private, individual sins affect the entire Church community), we schedule communal penance services with individual confessions during the Lenten and Advent seasons. This season we will participate with others at St. Jerome rather than have our usual separate service here at St. Theresa.
Archbishop Listecki will preside at the communal penance service at St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc, on Wednesday March 10th at 7:00p.m. There will be 12 or more priests (including Archbishop Jerome and myself) available for private confessions as part of the service. Eenie-meenie-miney-moe! Tell your sins and let them go!
Should you be unable to make this one, there will be ten other communal penance services held at local parishes (see the list) and of course, I am available as usual for individual reconciliation on Saturdays at 4:15p.m. If I am not in the reconciliation room, ring the rectory back doorbell and Ill rush over to serve your needs. Private reconciliation can also be arranged by appointment.
I confess to Almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do; and I ask Blessed Mary ever Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
P.S. A special thanks to Jim Stute & Mary Pratt for organizing and running the spaghetti dinner and silent auction. Thanks to all who participated and all who donated items for the auction. We had a great time!
February 21, 2010
In the ancient days of yore, there were far more days of fast and abstinence than we have today. Not only was every Friday of the year a day of abstinence (no meat), but during Lent, Wednesdays as well. Fasting was required Monday through Saturday throughout the entire Lenten season, which meant only one full meal, the other two meals together not exceeding the main meal.
Folks would measure the size and amount of their meals, and grumble. They would not even taste the food during preparation of the evening meals in order not to break the fast, and grumble. They would grumble about it but would fulfill the obligation anyway.
In the mid-1960s, the Church shifted the choice of penance to our shoulders. Fast and abstinence regulations were eased and the Church taught that we are responsible for selecting our own penance rather than the Church imposing it on us. That way the penance we perform is appropriate for us and help us improve our own spiritual life.
In addition to the few fast and abstinence days, the Church asks us to do something extra rather than just give up something. The hope is that by doing something positive during Lent, we might form new habits that help our families or our Church community to grow spiritually as well. Perhaps we might give help to someone who is in need of our assistance. Perhaps we begin to prevent bullying at school or at work.
What if we used the Lenten booklets as a family prayer before dinner each day and share some ideas we get from the daily reflection? How about reading the Scripture selections for that day before we eat supper? What if we read the next Sundays readings during the week, one day the first, another day the second and a third day the Gospel?
Then when we arrive at church for Sunday Eucharist, if we would pick up the hymnal and read over the words of the hymns for that day, we could see how they have been selected to reflect the Scriptures for that Sunday. Then the hymns we sing would become a deeper enrichment of our Eucharist that day.
Oh my goodness! you might remark, I never really understood the words of the hymns in reference to the Scriptures before. I thought the musician just shuffled the numbers and selected the hymns at random.
I hope you each received one of the pewter crosses on Ash Wednesday and will carry it with you this Lent. Each time you feel it in your pocket or see it on your key chain, think about Jesus death on the cross and whisper a prayer.
O Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
February 14, 2010
The season of Lent is upon us. I can hear two very different responses to this reminder. The first is a long, drawn out gr-o-o-an! and the other is a cheerful hooray! What? you ask, I can understand the groan but hooray? You must be kidding! Nope! Im not and heres why.
Its a misconception on the part of many that Lent is just a six week long eon filled with harsh sacrifices and starvation that we barely have the strength to drag ourselves through. Now, that might be the way we used to think of Lent because it is a time of sacrifice, fasting and abstaining and we dont like to deny ourselves anything.
.
But this year I am inviting each of us to take a different approach. Lets begin Lent with a new outlook, a positive take on this season of grace. I am challenging each of you (and myself) to choose a form of penance that is appropriate specifically to yourself.
Dont ignore the Lenten regulations the Church asks of each of us (see below). They are valuable disciplines that we do in common. But in addition, lets each search our own heart to see what we might do exactly because it might be tough for us personally.
Turn off the T.V., iPods, all ear-bud stuff one full day a week? Dont text or email anyone one full day each week? Shut down your internet one full day every week. Spend one night a week with the whole family at home.
What? We can do it! Yes we can! And if we actually choose to do the various penances, fasting, etc. this Lent, and include one or two that we personally select, we will feel better each day that we achieve whatever we are striving to do. I guarantee it!
But above all, each time we do the specific penance, call to mind WHY we are doing it, namely to help us remember that Jesus offered the greatest sacrifice of all: His very life. And He did it for you! Thats reason enough to shout out Hooray! Happy Lent, everyone! See you in church!
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
February 7, 2010
Last Sundays first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah (Chapter 1:4-5; 17-19) is one of my favorites for a number of reasons, the first of which is that it offers a promise of hope and a sense of the ability to accomplish great things.
This citation is one every teenager would do well to type up and post on his or her mirror or bulletin board. And every adult should read it frequently as well. In fact, it should be posted where everyone in the family can read it. It offers encouragement to all who find difficulties they need to overcome.
Too often young folks get the feeling that their efforts are unwelcome or ignored by adult society. That may come from the attitude of some adults who presume that minors (i.e. under 18 yrs of age) do not have anything significant to contribute to society.
Thats far from the truth. While it is true that sometimes young folks act with more enthusiasm than foresight, they accomplish many good things. Thousands of young American students traveled to Washington, D.C. again this month to join in the national peaceful protest against the abomination of abortion.
They help Habitat for Humanity rehab or build homes for those in need. They tutor young students who thrive on the attention and scholastic help given to them by upper classmen. They act as coaches for young kids who are beginning to develop their physical and social skills.
They make sandwiches and serve meals at food programs in the inner cities. They minister in the religious services of their parish churches. They help facilitate religious education classes by their capacity as office aides.
Like the future prophets Jeremiah and Samuel, like the future King David and the young Apostle John, like the young Mohawk maiden Kateri Tekakwitha and the young Italian martyr Maria Goretti, many of our teens and young adults are accepting the call from God to lead the way.
God is calling young men and women to do great things, to become saints amidst the sinners, to be leaders in society. But God is calling adults into His service as well.
Remember that before He formed us in our mothers wombs, God knew our name.
At the time of your baptism, through the ministry of His Church and the voice of the priest or deacon, God called your name. He did so again when you were confirmed. Listen to his voice. Answer the call. Pick up!
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
January 31, 2010
I find it interesting that there was almost no coverage of the pro-life march on Washington, D. C. this year. Every year since 2005 there has been almost a quarter of a million pro-lifers participating in the March for Life on Washington, D.C. Apparently pro-life issues are not on the agendas of the secular media.
Perhaps the media think that if they ignore us, we will go away. Well, they had better think again. A recent study shows that more and more of our youth are pro-lifers. That means that as our youth come of voting age, they too will want their voices heard. Like the recent tea party rallies, so irritating to the pro-choice/pro-abortion folks throughout the nation, pro-life issues will remain until a proper respect for life is restored.
However, it is important to address the accusation by the pro-choice abortion folks that pro-lifers are not consistent, that we pick and choose when to be pro-life and when not.
The late Cardinal Archbishop Joseph Bernadin of Chicago (+11/14/96) worked diligently for social justice in our changing world. Beginning in 1983, he called for a consistent ethic of life. In an age when modern technologies threaten the sanctity of all human life, he promoted a seamless garment of life.
The consistent ethic of life concept holds and teaches that all life from the moment of conception is sacred, from womb to tomb, at all ages and all stages, whether in reference to abortion, euthanasia, modern warfare, capital punishment or embryonic stem cell research.
Cardinal Bernadin demonstrated this consistent ethic of life in his own living and dying. In 1995, he underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. The surgery was successful only temporarily. Sadly, fourteen months later, the cancer had returned and spread and was now inoperable. In his last days, he penned a letter to the United States Supreme Court writing against assisted suicide. He was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Cardinal Bernadin was consistent to the very end. If he had lived, perhaps he would now be speaking from the chair of Peter. We saw that same consistency in the life, words and actions of our late Pope John Paul II. Both of these great men taught and lived by a faith rooted in the inner depths of their hearts. Both were great Church leaders beloved by the people of their flocks, one as shepherd of the flock in the Archdiocese of Chicago; the other as shepherd of the entire world.
Would that we might follow their example! Would that we might live lives embedded with a consistent ethic of life, enrobed in a seamless garment of life, a garment so beautiful that Jesus himself would be proud to wear it, one that his Mother Mary would have been proud to have woven for us on her own loom!
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
January 24, 2010
Last week I mentioned some of the difficulties we might experience at this time of year, during the shortest days and longest nights. The cold, blustery weather might give us the winter doldrums and contribute to a sense of depression or despair. Keep your head up!
Sometimes its the foolish reactions or ignorant judgments made by others that contribute to feelings of inferiority. If that happens, we should pick this column up and read it aloud. Those who are quick to judgment are very often proved dead wrong. Keep your chin up!
For example, do you know who is being described in the following statements?
Disapproving of his technique, his teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
He couldnt speak until age four, couldnt read until age nine; was described by his school master as mentally slow, unsociable and adrift in his foolish dreams.
He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation.
He was written off as an immoral corrupter of youth.
Her family thought she was hardly educable and encouraged her to find a job as a seamstress or house-servant.
When he first sought work at a dry goods store, his employers said he did not have the intelligence to wait on customers.
Twenty-one publishers rejected his humorous war novel before it became a bestseller, a movie and a long-running television series.
His teachers advised his parents to keep him home from school, stating that he was too stupid to learn anything.
I was considered by all my masters and my father a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.
He was fired by a newspaper editor who complained that he was lacking in creative ideas.
His father said: I have an idiot for a son. Described as the worst pupil in his school, he failed three times to secure admission to a school of art.
After his first screen test, the memo from the testing director read: Cant act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!
Did you recognize any of the above? If those descriptions were accurate, none of the individuals would have ever accomplished what they did. Heres their identity:
1- Ludwig Von Beethoven; 2- Albert Einstein; 3- Vince Lombardi;
4- Socrates; 5- Louisa May Alcott; 6- F. W. Woolworth;
7- Richard Hooker, author of M*A*S*H; 8- Thomas Edison;
9- Charles Darwin; 10- Walt Disney; 11- Rodin; and
12- Fred Astaire.
Even Abe Lincoln failed in two attempts running for public office before eventually becoming our 16th President of the United States and was re-elected for a second term.
We should never be discouraged by failure if it jumps onto our back. We should learn from failure and can become stronger because of it. We can avoid pitfalls and mistakes in the future because of it. We are often more compassionate because of it. Keep your hopes up!
Jesus himself seemed to be a failure many times in his lifetime because he preached a different drumbeat and was not liked or accepted by his enemies. People walked away from him. Judas sold him for 30 silver coins; Peter denied three times that he knew Jesus and all but one of the apostles distanced themselves from him in the time of his most dire need.
But look at what Jesus did accomplish: the salvation of the world! Lift your heart up!
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
January 17, 2010
Getting up from a warm bed on a cold morning when it is still dark out seems like a sinful waste of sleep opportunity. A curse on the shoe-laces of whoever invented the alarm clock! May the laces come untied! (Its not nice to put the roosters out of work.) These cold, blustery days can be difficult and the winter months take their toll. If we hunker down indoors all winter long, we get cabin fever and may feel depressed.
But even it the midst of bitter cold, I watch kids, and some brave parents, sliding down our hill. With every new snowfall they gather for winter fun and their laughter reaches me through the office windows. Besides, the winter season is about half over and warmer weather will soon return. Temperatures will climb back up slowly but surely.
It is reported that suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers. Why is that? What is it about their lives that give our teens such fear of living? What makes them feel that they cannot make it, that they cannot overcome the difficulties theyre facing? Ive lost several former students to suicide and I dont like it one bit. Its terribly sad.
Is it the lack of loving support from family or the cruelty by classmates? Is there is too much pressure placed on them to excel in absolutely everything they do? Do we fail to allow them to fail? Is competition so tough and demanding that they are afraid to fail? Are sports and academics and the need to be number one so overwhelming?
We want our kids to succeed, but we must allow them room for mistakes. If they dont make mistakes when growing up, they wont know how to overcome mistakes when they are adults. We learn from our mistakes if we look back and analyze them. Its the only way we can reach beyond them.
You know, back in the days when I was in the Seminary, the professors wisely told us not to make any momentous decisions from November through February. If we do, we usually rue those decisions afterwards because they are made in the light, or rather in the darkness of the winter doldrums. Its best to wait for spring if possible.
They also told us to consult with someone we trusted when making serious decisions. Stating things clear enough for someone else to understand makes us clarify things not just for them but for ourselves.
It helps if we can know that there are others who have overcome difficulties. Next time lets look at a few of the people who have overcome major difficulties in their lives and overcome the pressures of everyday living and rejection, like that in Jesus own life.
Meanwhile, lets recall what Jesus told us about our value: Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows. (Mt. 10:29-31)
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
January 10, 2010
Today we celebrate the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Jesus public life. Baptism is significant because of Jesus own baptism. The Author of Baptism enters the Jordan and is baptized by John, who acknowledges that it should be just the opposite. Yet Jesus wants this. Why?
Well, for one thing, Jesus wants to show us what is important. He demonstrates the need to change our ways and enter into a new way of living that leads us to God. As Jesus begins his public life, he lays out the action we need to take: we must enter into this Sacrament in order to begin our faith journey, to begin the process of becoming that to which we have been called by God, namely Christians.
But for a sacrament to take effect, we need an outward sign (water and words in Baptism) that demonstrates an inward disposition, i.e. the faith that enables the Sacrament to actualize the ritual. The Sacraments, instituted by Christ, cannot have an effect, cannot do anything unless the recipient has Faith.
An atheist can have water poured over him while the Trinitarian formula is spoken, but since he does not have faith, no baptism occurs. Because the words and actions are empty, they have no effect. It is just an empty ritual, like an uninflated balloon
The person in an RCIA program demonstrates his or her faith by participation in the program and by vowing to God before the Faith Community that he or she wishes to live the faith they are professing. Their profession of faith, coming from an honest desire to follow Jesus in the Faith of the Church, along with the outward signs of words and water, allow baptism to do what it says it does.
In the case of an infant, there is no faith yet so we offer Baptism for these young ones based on the demonstration of the faith of the parents. If the parents do not practice the Faith they promise, then does the Sacrament actually occur or not? It would certainly seem that since no faith is present, the sacrament cannot have an effect. No faith = no change.
Baptism does not guarantee salvation. Salvation, a free gift from God, is ours to accept and live or to reject. We can thwart the salvific action of God by refusing to live outwardly that which we profess. We can experience the external ritual, but if we do not follow up and live out that which we receive, we may quickly find ourselves on the road to perdition.
How terribly significant it is when we ask parents: You have asked to have your child baptized. Do you understand what you are undertaking? If you arent willing to raise your child in the Faith which we all profess with you, then it is not yet the time for you to ask us to baptize your child. Wait until you are ready. But if you are ready, then we rejoice with you and we invite you to bring your child to the font of life!
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
January 3, 2010
This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. It isnt actually the correct date, as such, since tradition holds that the Feast of Epiphany is celebrated on the Twelfth Day of Christmas, but the feast is so significant and such an important part of the Christmas season and salvation history that the Church wants us to commemorate it on a Sunday when we all celebrate Eucharist.
It is fitting for us to give thanks for the Epiphany because we are not Israelites. These three wise men represent the first gentiles to hear about Jesus. Remember that Jesus was a Jewish man and grew up in the Israelite traditions and the Jewish faith.
Although the Israelite shepherds were the first to whom the Savior was revealed and the Israelite nation was privileged to be the first called to follow Christ, Jesus came not for them alone. By His words and actions, Jesus showed that Gods love has no boundaries, no national borders. When He opened His arms on the cross, Jesus had enough room to embrace everyone in the world, Jew and Gentile, into His arms.
This feast, celebrating the arrival of the Wise Men, reminds us of that fact. They, like us, were Gentiles. They had to exert extra effort to seek Him out. They had to travel afar after seeing the new star and they had only the faintest grasp that this event was to be world-shaking even though they were scholars.
By our baptismal call we are all invited, or rather we are all charged with the task of going forth and teaching all nations, all people that Jesus is Lord. The charge given to the Apostles and their disciples extends to us as well.
What if Jesus had kept the gift of salvation only for His own people? What if He had chosen not to include us? What if the Magi went home and kept the news of their visit a secret? What if Peter and Paul and the other Apostles and disciples refused to share the Good News? Wed be doomed to wander in the desert forever, never finding the One who is life meaning.
What if even one person is turned away form Jesus because of our failure to live according to His word? What if one person is lost because we do not offer a good example by our life? What if we ourselves are lost forever because we do not keep our baptismal promises? What if our children are lost to God because as parents we do not follow through on the promises we made when we brought them to the Church to be baptized?
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
-John 1:10-12,14
Blessings and Peace, Fr. Dennis
136 W. Waukesha Road, Eagle, Wisconsin
Eagle, WI 53119
Parish Office: 262-594-5200
Fax: 262-594-5201
Christian Formation Office: 262-592-3075
School Kitchen Phone: 262-592-3075
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