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Quite a lot has happened, since Father James Statz came to the Our Lady of the Angels parish here in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. Most of it's routine, like the annual cycle of the liturgical year, some hasn't. Today is the last time Father Statz celebrates Mass as our parish priest. I'm sorry to see him go, but very glad that he has been here. Remembering, Mostly 2003 Some of it hasn't been routine, like when the Christmas tree — over a dozen feet tall — fell over behind him. That was in 2003. I took that photo before the excitement. The choir director had told us that the last song would be "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" when the Christmas tree fell over. Over a dozen children on the near side of the altar, and probably a few other folks, said "eee!" The tree fell neatly on the altar's far side. Then we sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." Nobody was hurt, much, although Father Statz got clipped as the tree went past him, and th

This is my family (plus two friends) on June 10, 1974. I’m the one with the braids in the front. Terri is behind me next to our mom. Here is how our car looked thirty minutes later. Today is the fortieth anniversary of one of the saddest events in my life so far. On June 10, 1974, our family was driving to the annual Catholic Charismatic Conference at the University of Notre Dame. We began our journey in Spokane, Washington, where we had spent a weekend on retreat. Just outside Missoula, Montana, the car rolled over three times, landing in the median of the freeway. I was in the back with the seat down and no seat belt. So were two of my siblings and two friends. I ended up with stitches in my leg and a bump on my head. My sister Terri, who had been sitting next to me, was thrown from the car and died. She was ten years old. Why did God let this happen? Didn’t He know where we had come from and where we were going? Hadn’t He heard Terri’s voice, when

(From Remember, Spyder_Monkey; via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) " Till the war-drum throbbed no longer, and the battle-flags were furl'd In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. " There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, And the kindly earth shall slumber, lapt in universal law.... " ("Locksley Hall," Alfred, Lord Tennyson) As a youth, those were among my favorite lines of poetry. A half-century later, they still are: although I've learned to temper my optimism with patience. Remembering Today is Memorial Day, the third day in a three-day weekend that's the unofficial start of summer's vacation season. It's also a day when some of us honor those who died while serving in the United States armed forces. Following our custom, the American president will probably lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns . More at A Catholic Citizen in America

The Last Supper , Tintoretto, 1579-81 Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice  Web Gallery of Art Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  John 14:15-21   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)   Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep   my commandments.   And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,   to be with you forever.     This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because  he abides with you, and he will be in   you.   “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.   In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.     On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you

Scientists at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo's Planetary Habitability Laboratory simulated Kepler-186f's sunsets. Others studied possibly-habitable regions in Jovian moons and around double stars. Meanwhile, some chap at Oxford trotted out opportunities for angst and dread.... ...Over the last million years, we've learned to use fire without killing ourselves, weren't cut to shreds by flint tools, and developed an alternative to horse-drawn wagons before burying London in manure. If anything, we're smarter now than we were in the 'good old days:' so I don't think that steam engines or integrated circuits will kill us all. ( November 22, 2013 ; July 9, 2011 ) The trick is using humanity's accumulated wisdom, and applying it to everyday life. Most of the time, we do a pretty good job: my opinion. Sometimes mistakes are made. Then, most of the time, we clean up the mess and move on.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America

(From Piero della Francesca, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Piero della Francesca's "The Resurrection of Jesus Christ.") Easter is the big holiday for the Catholic Church. It's when we celebrate Christ's return to life. I enjoy the cultural trappings of this springtime holiday: pastel decorations; plastic eggs; and all. I'll get back to some of that in another post.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

EWTN’s Family Prayer for the day today is for the grieving, which I wanted to share with you here, since (as Fr. Joseph would say) “a prayer that we pray together is   a powerful prayer” …even if, of course, at different times–or days... Click Here to Read More

From a friend who is facing death... http://ramblingfollower.blogspot.com/2014/03/from-stage-four-cancer-patient-never.html

" Hope, O my soul, hope . You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end." −St. Teresa of Avila [Excl.15:3*] HOPE is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit . [per Catechism of the Catholic Church,1817*] HUNGRY for HOPE − Hope is what we crave − Let Us Pray... Click HERE to Read More

Moses before the Burning Bush , Domenico Fetti, 1613-14 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                   Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel  Luke 20:27-38 [Shorter form, Luke 20: 27, 34-38]  ( Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition )  There came to Jesus some Sadducees, those who say that there is no resurrection,  [and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the wife and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and died without children; and the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her

Window in the Convent of St. Teresa (photo credit: Wikipedia). Teresa of Ávila wrote these words on a bookmark she kept in her breviary: Let nothing disturb you; Nothing frighten you. All things are passing. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Nothing is wanting to him who possesses God. God alone suffices. St. Teresa was determined to reach the heights of holiness. Yet at the same time she was realistic, based on her own experience and those of the nuns under her care as head of the Discalced Carmelite Order. Put these two characteristics together, and you have one of the wisest guides to the spiritual life. Let’s take a closer look at her advice. Perseverance is a key to success   Remember the parable Jesus told about the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8)? We must never give up praying when it seems God is not hearing us. Teresa advised her sisters to apply this lesson to growth in prayer. … I say that it is

  August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, a Holy Day of Obligation. We celebrate the fact that God took Mary bodily into Heaven. But why did the Church make this a feast? Why is it important for your life? Mary shows us our destiny   Unlike Christ, Mary was a mere human to whom God gave special graces. When Jesus took His mother into Heaven, body and soul, He showed us what is in store for those who die in a state of grace.  At the end of time, He will raise us bodily from the dead. The faithful will have glorified bodies in Heaven. We will not be ghosts for all eternity. We will be complete, perfect versions of ourselves. This is one reason prayers like the Salve Regina call Mary our “hope.” Mary shows us our purpose   God made us to be united with Him in love. In her death, bodily resurrection, and Assumption, Mary embraced Christ’s mission. Since she was free from original and actual sin, Mary did not have to

Cindy Montanaro is a Secular Carmelite and former homeschooler. She is also the mother of Tim, a boy she and her husband adopted as an infant. Tim had Tourette Syndrome, phobias, and other mental health issues. In 2005 he died tragically. Their story was published recently by Roman Catholic Books. Dairy of a Country Mother --so named by Tim when no one dreamed he was soon to pass away--is a gem to share with any mother this May. "Five years ago today I picked up my pen and started a year-long journey of prayer, meditation, and writing. I envisioned an extended period of time in which to record, before memory failed me, all the little humorous and profound incidents that made up my son Tim's short life. " So begins this beautiful memoir of a boy who loved people. It is a story of the joy he brought to everyone he met. It is a record of his mother's faith and acceptance. It is an exploration of the meaning of Tim's life, which Cindy generously s

The Resurrection of Christ , Rembrandt, c.1639 [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings for Easter Vigil   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings for Easter Vigil   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Readings for Mass on Easter Sunday   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings for Mass on Easter Sunday   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel for Mass on Easter Sunday  John 20:1-9.  (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid

Do you ever think you just can’t do it... whatever ‘it’ is? Life seems impossible sometimes, doesn’t it? There is so much to do, and you’re just one person. It’s easy to fall into hopelessness, especially when you hear all the stories about abortion clinic atrocities, political scandals, and young women being crushed in elevators. It was hearing about that poor woman in an elevator from a friend in New York City where it happened, that I tried to formulate an answer to the ‘why me’ or ‘why does God let this happen’ question. I didn’t manage to formulate anything that didn’t contain the usual phrases about free choice, redemptive suffering, and unknown silver linings. Granted, we use those phrases over and over again because they are true and theologically sound, yet I was unsatisfied. My Big Apple friend was really struggling – not with his faith, which is sound – but with the temptation to become cynical. I wrestled with this puzzle for days to no good end. And then God came throug

I'm sitting in the family minivan, sipping coffee and trying to warm up. In my rear view mirror I see our son cycle past with some cyclocross friends. We're waiting for the start of the Men's 14-18 Horseshoe Scramble cyclocross race here at a former horse farm in Warren NJ, a lovely area of rolling hills. And I am contemplating the resilience of children and the Presence that carries us. Cyclocross, or CX,  is a kind of bike racing, a sport our son first discovered earlier this year and has embraced with great enthusiasm. Over the summer he worked two jobs, earning enough money to buy himself a cyclocross bike, at discount, for $800. He's spent the fall season racing.  On Friday, he was hit and knocked into the road by a red SUV while cycling home with a buddy from a McDonalds  in a neighboring town. He was in a crosswalk. He felt unnerved and angry the driver sped off. The trip to the emergency roon revealed he was badly bruised and nothing more. Tha

I’m a planner. I like to be in control, to know what is going on now, and what is going to happen later. Fear and pride are at the heart of this of course, but the myth I tell myself is that only I can do it right. I have been on a slow journey to a goal. I believe that God has made the pursuit of this goal possible. It has to be God, because too many diverse circumstances resulted in just the right situation at the perfect time, incorporating several people and events – far too complex for me to have orchestrated. And yet. And yet I still hold on tight to the reigns; I still fret and worry and wonder and scheme. On top of that, I have noticed a disappointing tendency in myself: while I try to wrest control of my life away from God, I also expect Him to do most of the work, like the man who prays to the saints to help him win the lottery, but never buys a ticket. I’d been expecting to hear positive news regarding the goal I mentioned earlier. In this particular instance, I

By Greg Trevor When the moment finally came – after nearly 10 years of waiting – I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t move. I was falling asleep on the night of May 1, 2011, when my wife, Allison, walked into our bedroom, tapped me on the shoulder and said: “The president is about to go on TV. They got bin Laden and he’s dead.” “Thank God,” I replied. I tried to get out of bed but couldn’t. The death of bin Laden brought back so many painful memories from surviving the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Read more here...

    By Allison Salerno   Yesterday morning my family attended the bar mitvah of a neighborhood boy we have known since he was a baby. I never had attended a Conservative Jewish Shabbat morning service, much less a bar mitvah. It was exquisite, reverent and beautiful. (The sanctuary is pictured above) I wiped tears from my eyes as I considered the overwhelming faith and courage of Jews through the centuries of persecution that enabled this boy to encounter this moment. I also meditated on the links between my Catholic faith and Judaism as I listened to the prayers of the worshipers. As the Catechism teaches us: When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God."  I always have been taught that Judaism is the root of the tree of our faith. And that without that root, our faith would not have flowered. For the most part, this insight has remai