Learn to Recognize God’s Voice

Published on December 3, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Dear Parishioners,

I’m pretty excited as I write this. Mark Price was here this week with his presentation of St. Joseph. If you’ve never experienced one of Mark’s presentations, your missing out. He does such a phenomenal job and I think St. Joseph has been his best so far. He has been here to present St. Luke, St. Paul and Judas. He dresses in character and becomes the one he is portraying visiting us. He does quiet a bit of research of each person and makes it an extremely entertaining learning experience. Continue reading ‘Learn to Recognize God’s Voice’

Christian-Muslim relations (and US-Muslim relations, for that matter)

Published on September 5, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Hello readers. I haven’t paid attention to this blog for a long time because I thought no one cared, there were so few comments. The only time I received many comments was when the topic was controversial. Maybe that is only natural. I have another controversial topic so I thought I would see what input it generates.  When I looked today, I found a few old comments. I apologize to those who took the time to comment that I did not look for them earlier. Fr. Ron

Here is the article:

Dear parishioners,

This last week I was invited, along with several parishioners, to attend a “breaking of the fast” at the Pacifica Institute in Mira Mesa. As I understand it, the local Pacifica Institute is an organization devoted to promoting knowledge and understanding of the Turkish culture in our area. They naturally promote knowledge and understanding of the Muslim religion since Turkey is a highly Muslim country. I do these things cautiously since I am aware that many of our Chaldean friends have bad memories connected with Muslims and have the ill feelings that come along with those memories. The events of September 11, 2001 brought similar memories and ill feeling to the hearts of non-Middle Eastern Americans. Continue reading ‘Christian-Muslim relations (and US-Muslim relations, for that matter)’

Advent Community Reconciliation Service – What’s the Buzz

Published on December 9, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Dear Parishioners,

As I am sure you know, this Tuesday is our Advent Community Reconciliation Service. We are carrying over the theme of the Beatitudes which we used for our last Emmaus gathering. Our effort is to keep the Advent penance service future oriented because Advent, itself, is future oriented in contrast to Lent which is a penitential season. In Lent we look at our past sinfulness and mistakes, ask forgiveness, do penance and make a clean start. Advent is a preparing for the coming celebration of the birth of Our Lord and a preparing for the second coming. It is also, though, a preparing for his coming, in a deeper way, into our lives today. We turn away from all that separates us from the Lord and from others and focus on living a life which keeps us in right relationship. As those who were baptized in the Jordan by John were preparing for the Messiah, so are we.

Luke, in his presentation of the Beatitudes (Lk 6:20-26), seems to have Jesus talking to people who are already experiencing poverty, sorrow, etc. and telling them that they will be blessed. Matthew, on the other hand, seems to be proposing them as a way of being which offers us a “blessed” existence (Mt 5:1-11). It is from Matthew that we get the idea that they are the “be” attitudes. Looking at Matthew’s beatitudes, they seem to describe Jesus’ attitudes and, therefore, I think they are appropriate attitudes for us, too.

In the bulletin, this week, is an examination of conscience to help us prepare for our Reconciliation service. It’s short but based on the Beatitudes and is merely intended to be beginning point for your own reflections. Attached to the examination of conscience is a “How am I Going to “Bee”?” card. You can use it to record the Beatitude you want to work on, in your life, and place it in the bee hive we will have at the reconciliation service. You might want to confess the things which hinder you from being the type of person that Beatitude describes.

Remember, this is a community Reconciliation service. We will gather, have a brief Liturgy of the Word and then opportunities for individual reconciliation. There are ten priests scheduled to participate, so the service should go rather quickly. While we are praying for ourselves, let us remember to pray for each other and for our faith community, as a whole, that we might become what God created us to be; that we might learn to live lives which allow the Lord to come into our lives in a deeper way this Christmas.

In Christ,

Fr. Ron

Sunday after Sunday after Sunday

Published on September 24, 2010 in Liturgy and The Mass. 0 Comments

Dear Parishioners,

Last week we celebrated the Mass of Resurrection for Joan Kennedy, wife of Joseph Kennedy whose funeral we celebrated less than three months ago. Her family chose the same readings and songs we used for her husband’s funeral which seemed fine to me. We also had, pretty much, the same family and friends; some Catholic, some not Catholic. At the reception, after, one of the friends who is of another Christian tradition asked me if I ever get tired of the Mass, saying the same thing over and over. Continue reading ‘Sunday after Sunday after Sunday’

See you in the Confessional

Published on September 17, 2010 in Personal Growth/Spirituality and Reconciliation. 1 Comment

Dear Parishioners,

Last week I took advantage of a scene in the movie The Blind Side to put in a plug for Confession. In thinking about why the Sacrament is so little used these days, I was struck with the feeling that many people do not seem to have a concept of sin which is integrated with their lived experience of faith. Most people seem to realize that they are not perfect but many seem to fail to be aware of the specific imperfections which hold them back in life. Looking at society in general we might be tempted to say that our society has lost touch with any concept of sin or evil. Continue reading ‘See you in the Confessional’