From The Desk of Deacon Brian Jan – June 2018

Thank you Fr. Rafal and Wayne Munson for recently providing us an update on our Mission church and the Diocese’s plans of building a church at the planned Wildlight community, west of here. Best current thinking is that we are here at our beloved Yulee site for at least five or seven more years. Also, remember if Catholic church-going growth is so robust in Nassau during these next years, it is possible to have two churches, one here and one at Wildlight. So, let us GROW WHERE WE ARE PLANTED!

We tend to get fearful, hesitate, and pullback when life gets uncertain. Or we get frustrated that God is not working fast enough. I know this from my personal experience. This is exactly when God wants us to trust him the most. In his mind a man plans his course but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16.9. Now is the time to do three things: 1) PRAY – Deepen our prayer lives and pray for God’s glory to flourish here at St. Francis, 2) WELCOME – All of us are hereby appointed ambassadors of welcome; reach out to anyone who looks new, introduce yourself, and help them feel at home, 3) INVITE – Invite any of your friends, particularly the inactive, to the church with the most beautiful liturgies and the best parish spirit, music, and homilies on the weekend and the warmest ministries during the week!

Now for the certainty part, the following is a faith statement entitled Fellowship of the Unashamed, written by a Rwandan martyr the night before his death on earth and entry into Heaven. Listen to his certainty and make it yours as we joyfully move forward together as a family in Christ:

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I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

The die has been cast.

I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

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I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.

I’m finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.

I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.

I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes, He will have no problem recognizing me.

My colors will be clear.

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

I gave my daughter, Maggie, one of our San Damiano crosses a while ago. Her then 2 ½ year old daughter, my granddaughter Evey, was fascinated with the cross. The cross’ depiction of Jesus, the vibrant colors, apostles surrounding, the angels, and especially Jesus’ hands. Her interest was for the boo-boos on His hands, how much it must hurt, but it seemed to be something more. She just kept saying: His hands, His hands with a very concerned compassionate facial expression. Her fascination was so great she insisted on taking her Cross to her non-religious early learning center in Brooklyn, for show-and-tell. She simply, but profoundly, said to the teacher: His hands, His hands. The teacher was so moved, could not say anything, and gave Evey a big hug.

Have you ever just thought about Jesus’ hands? If you’re looking for a focal point for meditation, think about how his hands must have motioned when He changed the water into wine at Cana; or how he must have put his hand on Andrew when He called him; or how His hands patted Mary’s back when they hugged; or how He wrote in the sand before saving the woman from stoning; or how His hands broke the loaf of bread at the First Eucharist; or, my favorite, how, after the Resurrection, His hands cooked bread and fish on an open fire as He greeted the incoming disciples from their boat: Come, have breakfast!

I think Evey is onto something. If you have a crucifix in your house, hold it, close your eyes and touch His hands. Think where those hands have been, and where they are now: Holding you closely, pressing His Sacred Heart to yours.

Early Church Father St. Irenaeus of Lyon (185 AD) zeroed in on something when he said “The glory of God is a human being fully alive”. A financial planner I once knew had a creative approach to getting to know his new clients. He would ask them three insightful non-financial questions. These three questions can lead us to become self-aware, fully-alive, and the glory of God! Here are the three questions:

1. WHAT DO YOU DREAM ABOUT? These are your goals. If all unnecessary restrictions are lifted from you, if resources are not an issue, if time is fully available, what would you like to do? It can be a career change, or a special trip, or a new way of life. Anything. God gave us the ability to dream, to cocreate, to re-create with Him. Many times we shut down the dreaming process as impractical or foolish. We may be thwarting the glory of God in our lives. Go ahead, let yourself fully dream, share your dreams (as crazy as they may seem) with others. What if…

2. WHAT DO YOU CRY ABOUT? These are your fears. These are the things that may keep you up at night. It can be the fears of poor health, running out of money, wayward children, confronting others. The list can be very long and varied. Having these fears is part of being fully alive and they are a gift to activate our faith. A problem shared is a problem halved. Getting these fears out into the open, shedding the light of day on them, and hashing them out with others is God’s way to draw us to the love of others, whether it be a consultant, a spouse, or a community. When we take these fears out of the magnifier of our lonely minds, we can make provisions or take (many times) simple action to greatly reduce these “bogeymen”.

3. WHAT DO YOU SING ABOUT? These are your passions. The things that energize and jazz you! They are usually where our talents flourish and where our hearts seem in total synch with our activity. It may be nature study and activism in this beautiful part of the world; it may be volunteerism at our many charity and arts organizations; it may be extreme sports, tennis, golf, kayaking; it may be music or art/design; it may be as simple as walking the beach and listening to the sound of the waves to pray and meditate; it may be restoring vintage cars or homes. Whatever it is, God has placed this desire, this holy desire in you and smiles when you activate it and become fully alive!

Who knew? Who knew that what a financial planner told me several years ago would connect with what St. Irenaeus told us 1900 years ago? God did because He wants us to be fully alive! Dream of seeing Him face to face. Cry out to Him when you are afraid. Sing His praises!

Our patron St. Francis said: Preach the Gospel always and when necessary use words.Jesus said: Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40). I recently joined one of our two teams that serve at Gracie’s Kitchen to follow them in Francis’ and Jesus’ footsteps. It was one of the best things I’ve done in a long time.

Gracie’s Kitchen began serving dinner guests in September 2009 as part of the Homeless Coalition of Nassau County Florida. This kitchen and dining room serves single mothers, families, senior citizens, military veterans, the homeless and the working poor of the Yulee area. Supported by private donations,

USDA foods and Farm Share, the kitchen serves 3,000-3,500 dinners per month. Open 4 days a week to serve guests, this kitchen is able to function with the assistance of 17 volunteer teams from various churches

and organizations throughout the county. These teams cook, serve and help maintain this facility, which has been generously donated to this cause by the local school board.

Since I was a “newbie”, my fellow parishioners gave me the job as “runner”. Guests can dine in, take-out, or both. If they choose to take-out, it was my job to take their order back to the kitchen, retrieve the number of meals requested, and bring them back to the guests. After I got the hang of it, I was able to stop and chat with the guests more and listen to a bit about their day or a concern. Mostly, it was pleasant conversation. Then, I would get another order, go back to the kitchen and thread my way through the busy St. Francis volunteers, some who spent time prior to guest arrival preparing the meal,

some plating, some boxing, some serving, some washing. It felt good to be a part of our mission church in this concrete out-reach way, serving with my brothers and sisters! I love our Church, its beauty, order, messiness, high, low, meditation, liturgy, the Body of Christ of it! But something very special

happens to me when I “hop the wall” and go out to serve at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen. I feel just right. I can’t really explain it. And I love being “a part of”.

If you are interested in joining us as a volunteer, you will not be disappointed. St. Francis serves Gracie’s Kitchen on the second and third Thursday of each month. Pick a week. You can be part of the preparation team that meets in the early afternoon or the serving/cleaning team that meets later in the afternoon. The time commitment for either is about 2 ½ hours. Email me at deaconbrian@stfrancisyulee.org if you would care to join us!

“Duc in Altum” or “Put Out into The Deep” is from Luke’s Gospel (Luke 5:1

-11) when Jesus called Peter, the fisherman, as a disciple. This phrase became the rally cry of John Paul II in calling for the New Evangelization. To go out to all corners and spread the Good News. To evangelize the already baptized. Especially because the world has labeled ours a post-Christian society. The Church of Magdela, not far from Jerusalem, is dedicated to this evangelization through Jewish-Christian learning and pilgrim- age retreats.

The beautiful sanctuary’s altar is fashioned as a boat with large glass windows behind taking in the expanse of the Sea of Galilee when you come forth to receive Jesus, you can’t help think

you’re coming forth to be fed and to put out into the deep with Him!

It’s easy to get comfortable in our routines and even complacent about our calling to share our faith, to expand the reach of our ministries, to put out into the deep of Yulee, Fernandina Beach, and the north Jacksonville area. We like keeping our lives under control. We many times do our best not to take on more. So, we enjoy our church friends and feel good about our church life, but am I putting out into the deep, even a little, at all? I have to call myself out on this from time to time.

Even in our non-ministry lives, do we put out into the deep? Take some risk. Venture. Retrain for a new career? Pick up paint, brush, and canvas tossed aside 30 years ago as impractical? Relocate? Discern a vocation? Stand up for a wrong? Really stand up. All these things we do to honor God too and the gifts He has given us to steward to build his Kingdom.

When Peter came back after following Jesus’ instructions to put out into the deep, he came back loaded with so much fish that it should have burst the nets, but it didn’t. That’s what Jesus can do for each of us: bless us with untold abundance, if we make the move and Duc in Altum.

In our self-centered culture and classic American emphasis on work, we often feel we have to accomplish something during our times of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We rate our experience by how “good” our prayer was, how heartfelt our devotion was, or how focused we could remain. Yet prayer and contemplation are fundamentally God’s work, in which we are invited to participate. We need only to give Him the opening, and He will do the rest. By coming to adoration,we are handing Him the keys to our hearts, allowing the rays of His love and grace to bathe our souls in the light of His Presence, as the rays of the sun bathe our bodies in light. If we can take the time to pull away from the busyness and distractions of life and just sit at His feet, He will lead us.

— Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration

Dear Father, bless with abundant grace the mothers whom you have entrusted with the care of your most precious little ones. We thank you for creating each mom with unique gifts and talents. We thank you for the inspiring sacrifice of self each mom gives for her children; for the late nights spent soothing their crying babies.; and for their working hands washing, wiping, scrubbing, mixing, stirring, hugging, patting, disciplining, holding, writing, erasing, painting, and pouring. We thank you for the gift of time mothers give their kids, whether it’s stay-at-home moms, working moms, and moms who have some combination of the two. We thank you for the impressive flexibility of moms; for their tirelessness, their perseverance, and their devotion.

We pray you give each mother strength. Help her to see in every simple task the eternal significance that you place on her motherhood.

Help her to understand that the most profound, world-changing events may be happening daily in her home. Help her to forgive those, sometimes close, who undermine her significance. We pray for single moms, who must lean solely on you for the fathering of their children. We thank you that your big arms surround children who may never know their earthly father. We also pray for mothers who never had the honor of bearing children, but whose nurturing extends to those in need who cross the threshold of their lives.

We ask you to be the daily bread of tired moms. Be their source of spiritual and physical strength. We pray that the same endless love and grace that flowed from you to Jesus to us will flow from mothers to their children. We pray that each mom rejects perfectionism and instead embraces the Good News. We pray the rhythms of everyday holiness and forgiveness shape their homes.

Lord, help each mom come to know you better as the Creator and Sustainer of Life, and as close companion each day. Help them to rest in the knowledge that they are but stewards of your children, as Mary was of you, and that only your spirit can produce change into the hearts of their sons and daughters. Most of all, Lord, on this day in which we honor mothers, may we love and cherish the special women who have born us, who have nurtured us, and who have prayed for our well-being. May our hearts overflow with gratitude to you, who formed and knitted each of us in a mother’s womb.

I recently went on a three-day silent retreat. It’s amazing how God speaks much more clearly to me when I am really, really quiet. Couldn’t do it? Try it. At the end, I guaranty you will want more. Maybe that’s why silent and listen have the same letters! No coincidence that my morning reading the first day of retreat spoke about a different kind of sacred silence I need to practice when I am talking. Mother Teresa says it all:

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“We must cultivate that sacred silence which makes people remember the words of Jesus: See how they love one another. How often we find ourselves speaking of the faults of another. How often our conversation is about someone who is not present. Yet see the compassion of Christ toward Judas, the man who received so much love yet betrayed his own master. But the master kept the sacred silence and did not betray Judas. Jesus could have easily spoken in public – as we often do – telling the hidden intentions and deeds of Judas to others. But he didn’t. Instead, he showed mercy and charity. Rather than condemning Judas, he called him his friend.”[spacer height=”-15px”]

-St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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Speaking falsities about another is the sin of slander or calumny. Speaking about the weakness and faults of another, without a valid reason, is the sin of detraction. We know these best as gossip. Avoiding these sins can be very difficult, especially when we hang out with others in the same camp. It takes a regular self-check of my motives and self-awareness to realize when I am crossing the line. When I engage in gossip, I feel superior for about 2 minutes, then lousy the rest of the day.

(Matthew 18:15-20) God guides us in how to take action with care, compassion, and diplomacy in our church, family, or workplace when addressing errant behavior of others, so we don’t have to gossip and sin:

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First, go to the person one-on-one and tell him/her their fault(s); if they listen and change, great!

Second, if they don’t listen and change, go to the person a second time and bring someone else with you so that “every fact may be established on the testimony of two or more witnesses”.

Third, if they still don’t change, tell the church (family head, human resources).

Fourth, if they still don’t listen, treat them as a “tax collector or a gentile” which means they may need to be separated from the community, family, or company in a compassionate way by offering a supportive prayerful path to foster change to correct the errant behavior. (Training, rehabilitation, out placement services).

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I can vouch Matthew 18, when done correctly, works every time. It also helps me keep “sacred silence”!

One of the biggest set-ups for disappointment, disillusionment, and even depression for me in the past has been my expectations. My determination of how a future result should be, and then anchoring all my hope on that expected result. When the result does not happen, not good.

I have experienced this let down with jobs, homes, and children. The result has many times not lived up to what I wanted to play out. My attachment to an expected result is the problem. I get resentful about a person, the situation, and sometimes God. Expectations are resentments in escrow. They have little upside to the peace in our lives.

But aren’t we supposed to hope? Aren’t we supposed to be a hopeful people? Faith is hope with a track record. While St. Paul tells us that “faith is belief in things unseen,” Hebrews 11:1 hope many times precedes faith and, when we are blessed with the gift of hope and things work out over time…all the time…but not on our time, faith grows. The challenge is not having specific expectations of future events. Not writing the script. Not being in the results business. Not being in the God business. He is the one who writes the script, fashions the result, and is…God.

A solution is replacing my self-determined expectations with being expectant that God will provide. This doesn’t mean I sit back and wait. It means I pray. I pray that God graces me with knowledge (even a little) of his will in a situation and the strength to do the next right thing.

Whatever that is. What a relief! I am not in the driver’s seat! I am not the navigator! “In his mind, a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps Proverbs 16:9” I am a child whose Father loves me beyond all comprehension, who wants only good for me. I” know the plans that I have for you, plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future full of hope Jeremiah 29:11” He will take care of the results and I will be at peace because I am expectant of His presence 24/7 without being derailed by my expectations minute by minute.

One of my simple pleasures is my morning cup of coffee. We set up a pot to brew automatically at about 6:00 a.m. usually. The deep rich smell is our delightful “alarm”. The first sips accompany my waking thoughts about God’s goodness and my gratitude for his blessings. Sometimes I roll through my daily Examen in the darkness of this early morning time: Rolling through the prior day to review where God made himself clearly known at the time (joy!), where I now see his love in others or nature only upon deeper reflection (hidden treasure!), and where I moved away from him in sin (amend). My second cup accompanies Morning Prayer.

Did you know that the popularity of coffee in the West is largely due to Pope Clement VIII (1536-1605)? Coffee has been around since the 9th century, when Islamic shepherds first noticed coffee beans having a

stimulating effect on their sheep. After Islamic clerics learned how to cultivate the beans, coffee spread throughout the Muslim world, becoming wildly popular. When coffee was first brought to Christian Europe, it was greeted with a great deal of suspicion since it was the drink of the Muslim infidels with whom Christians had been at war for centuries. Some even went so far to call this exotic beverage “Satan’s drink.”

Coffee made its way to the Vatican, where it was introduced to Pope Clement VIII. While many of his advisors urged the Pope to ban the controversial drink, he refused to do so before trying it himself. The Pope was brought a steaming cup of java and he took a sip. He was immediately delighted, and according to legend, he declared, “This devil’s drink is delicious. We should cheat the devil by baptizing it.” And the rest is history. Due to the papal blessing, coffee quickly spread throughout Europe and eventually the world. There you have it. Next time you take up a mug of your favorite brew, give thanks to God – and Pope Clement VIII!

Resurrection Grief. You never see these two words together. The Resurrection evokes describers such as glory and eternal life. Grief evokes describers such as sadness and pain. No matter how much we study Scripture, receive the grace of the Eucharist, and draw close to Jesus in relationship, we hurt when someone close dies. Our souls are immortal, they last forever. We tend to forget this because we don’t hear it much. Our consumer society doesn’t want to mention it so it can sell us stuff. When you read newspaper accounts a century ago, it almost always read something like: Yesterday 110 souls were lost at sea.

When I am comforting someone who has lost someone, I never seem to be well prepared or at ease. I was told to get over it and just proceed! One way is to know (ahead of time) the classic stages of grief:

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1. DENIAL

2. ANGER

3. BARGAINING WITH GOD

4. DEPRESSION

5. ACCEPTANCE

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The length of time a person spends in each stage is different and the sequence is not always linear meaning a person can bounce back and forth among stages. Comforting is not a single clinical event, there is much more art in the delivery over time. Here are 12 suggestions:

1. BE PRESENT – Just be there, you don’t need to always fill the silence!

2. LISTEN WITH THE HEART – Try not to think about what to say, truly listen.

3. AVOID CLICHES – Like “Time heals all things” Try empathy statements like “This must be so hard to accept” or “I am sure this is very painful for you”

4. TOUCH – Holding someone’s hand or a sincere hug is proven medicine.

5. STAY IN CONTACT – This is where I need to do a better job. My life gets busy, and I may pray for the person, but they continue to hurt over time, sometimes much more later on. A weekly call can be invaluable to a grieving person.

6. SEND A NOTE – Finding the right words are hard. Do it anyway.

7. GIVE A BOOK – Maybe one that helped you through the grieving process.

8. INVITE – Don’t be surprised if you are turned down a few times. Be thoughtfully persistent. Weekends can be the loneliest time when an invite can be needed.

9. BE PATIENT – Praying for your own patience helps.

10. ENCOURAGE ACTIVITY – Make suggestions, but don’t badger.

11. SHARE THE FAITH

12. RECOMMEND HELP – Especially if the person seems to be stuck in depression. The number of loving grief support groups is a true blessing!

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We are blessed with the gift of everlasting life. Sometimes we need each other to cope with the pain of living on this side of eternity.

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.

We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.

We should like to skip the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.

And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through

some stages of instability,

and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;

your ideas mature gradually—let them grow, let them shape themselves, without undue haste.

Don’t try to force them on, as though you could be today what time (that is to say, grace and circumstances

acting on your own good will) will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give Our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you,

and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

Jesus speaks to us in simple words. He uses simple parables about things like wheat, coins, and a wayward son to make his points, to help us under- stand our human nature and his divine love.

Occasionally these simple words add up to a “big thought” or two. Thoughts about how awesome God’s love is, how magnificent his church is, how far- reaching our Catholic faith is. The Paschal Mystery, the ultimate expression of love that God shows us by dying for us and leaving himself to us at Easter is a time for big thoughts.

Big Thought #1: The World as Rising Host – When God became man, Christianity set itself way apart from any other world religion. When God died for all, Christianity again set itself apart from any other world religion. God became man and The Sacrifice for all. Unheard of. When God rose from the dead, he became The Hope of Glory for all of us. This man. This man, our God, left his entire self for us in every Eucharist. He knew I would be too weak and doubting, so he left his actual self for me to touch, taste, and be- come. Since he is the Alpha and Omega, since he is the Logos, The I AM, when Father Rafal stands in the person of Christ and raises the host at the consecration, I sometimes envision that he is lifting the world as a host, that the entire world is being sanctified and made holy because of Jesus’ eternal expression of love that always was and always will be.

Big Thought #2: Worldwide Rolling of Prayer – I used to work in Manhattan and I would attend daily Mass at some of the beautiful churches. I was sitting in St. Agnes Church just outside Grand Central for noon Mass and looked at a leaflet with the schedule for all New York City Masses and realized that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had already been celebrated well over 100 times in the city before 9 a.m. I stopped counting! Then I started to think about how each church having 2-6 Masses that day, how The Lord’s Supper is being celebrated constantly throughout the day in this busy driven city. Then I thought about how the Mass and Daily Office, the prayer of the Church, is being prayed steadily each day throughout world. Faithful people praying prayers in unity, reading the same exact readings for that day, rolling from one time zone to the next, from one country to the next, from one hemisphere to the other. Jesus in the world, as the world, rising at each altar, rolling around the world, and us, as St. Paul urged, “praying without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:16-18) as a church.

Thank you Jesus for keeping it simple, and for the occasional big thoughts.

Palm Sunday has always been special. I remember vividly as a small boy the palms given out, their various green hues, their placement behind our home crucifixes to dry out during the year, and the beautiful palm sacred art created by those talented few. It marks the start of Holy Week. A time to hunker down and focus. A time to really fight off the outside world and be immersed in the life of Christ.

Because I cherish Palm Sunday, I have come to feel a bit cheated. This is going to sound silly. We have two Gospel readings on this Sunday. The one about Jesus’ palm- (and cloak-) lined entry into Jerusalem, then we fast-forward in about 10 minutes to His Passion. I wish we could just bask in Jesus’ triumphal entry for a while longer. Watch him and linger on the cheers longer. Really notice that he is riding a colt, a symbol of peace to all, not the war horse of oppressors. Enjoy the sunshine and not have the storm clouds of torture and killing gather so fast. The church does this Gospel “two-fer” so that all will hear the Passion account before Easter.

It’s important during Holy Week not to rush to the next event too fast to fully absorb each of the component parts. Absorb Palm Sunday with its common-man-king majesty without rushing to Holy Thursday. Witness Holy Thursday, the incredible sight of our God, the servant, as He washes dirty feet and then delivers to us His very Body as food, without rushing to Good Friday. Probe the depth of the brutal suffering and death of our God on Good Friday without rushing to the Resurrection. Experience the doubt, loneliness, and fear of Holy Satur- day like the disciples and Mary in the Upper Room without rushing to the Resurrection. Then, rejoice in the glory that HE IS ALIVE on Easter Sunday without rushing anywhere!

Maybe Palm Sunday is a two-fer because triumph and suffering are bound so closely together in our Catholic faith. The fact that joy and suffering can occupy the same place in our hearts is earth-shattering. Thank you Jesus!

GOD BLESS OUR CHURCH MULTI-FUNCTIONAL BUILDING!

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We were immediately captivated by the warm welcome and strong spirit of St. Francis when we first arrived! One of the things that bothered me, though, was that it was difficult to pray and prepare for Mass beforehand with so much going on. At times, I felt there was not the reverence I would expect when preparing for the Holy Sacrifice. Musicians were tuning up, choir was practicing, people greeting each other.

Then I realized I had to adjust. We only have one building with limited space and many things to do. We do not have a choir room, a large narthex, or a cavernous sanctuary with remote corners to retreat to in silent prayer. If you have this same difficulty at times, try this: Replace “meek” with “not rigid” in this Scripture: Blessed are the not rigid, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5. Flexibility is a form of meekness. I can get wrapped up in me very easily…my prayer time…my expectations on what is right behavior of others. After some time, I realized the spirit of St. Francis within our restricted space meant more happy noise than I was used to. It’s like getting used to not going to a black tie dinner, but instead, going to Thanksgiving dinner at your Mom’s cramped house in the old neighborhood…less hushed tones, self-consciousness, and controlled movements than a formal dinner and more happy chaos with casseroles coming in, kids running around, and squeezing by and hugging loved ones with joyful laughter and songs!

So I have learned to happily adjust. I make a point of spending time in sacred silence in our chapel during the week so I am not in such dire need of my alone time with Jesus by Sunday. On Sunday, I silently prepare for Mass at our home or close my eyes when parked in our lot and think how wonderful it is to be a part of the faith community I will soon experience. When I am seated before Mass, I now watch without resentment as people greet each other and chat and realize that’s just what Jesus wants, for us to love each other in community and not isolate. I listen to the practicing choir members beautifully “praying twice”. I watch and listen to the sounds of the families with young children and babies and am so grateful they are here to carry on our faith!

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If you are trying to find the quietest pre-Mass times at St. Francis, maybe this will help:

Saturday Vigil 4:00pm – Most social and talkative, people just loving each other and getting ready to enjoy Saturday night.

Hispanic Mass 7:00pm – Special time for Hispanic community to come together and share time with la famillia.

Sunday 8:00 am – Quietest and most reverent pre-Mass time with recitation of the rosary and silent prayer most of the time.

Sunday Family Mass 9:30am – Lively time with the dismissal of the 8am and the coming in of 9:00 am with children’s or regular choir practicing.

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God bless our noisy, lively, cramped, love-filled multifunctional building!

I used to watch late night television years ago. I would restlessly channel surf, rarely settling on any one program for a long time. I thought I was doing something energizing, multitasking, watching several shows at once. I was really searching, yearning for something. At that time of night, the evangelists would be scheduled and more than any, I would toggle between Billy Graham and Mother Angelica. Very different, but the very same. Graham would speak to throngs on his crusades. Mother would reach millions sitting in her kitschy studio parlor. Billy would quote scripture and explain it with his smooth southern lilt. Mother would capture me with her nasally northeastern punch. Both disarmed me. Both loved the Lord. Both brought many to Christ.

Most fundamental and mainstream Christians adhere to the principle of solo scriptura, or “Bible alone” which holds that the Bible, and only the bible, is the deposit, the source, of Christian faith doctrine. There is one wrinkle in this: Bible alone is not biblical. No where in the Bible can you find this exclusive doctrine articulated. I understand that the intent of Bible alone is to keep the faith pure and uncorrupted, but there is no evidence that this is the way God wished it to be done.

As Catholics, we believe in the three legged stool of faith that stands firmest: 1) Sacred Scripture (Amen!); 2) Sacred Tradition (with a capital “T”); and 3) Church Teaching (a/k/a the Magisterium). The Bible verses we as Catholics take our instruction from are the Timothy’s.

2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is inspired by God and is useful in teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for teaching in righteousness. Sacred Scripture holds a very high place in instruction, but it does not say it is the only one in that place.

1 Timothy 3:16 – Know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth. It is the church that is the basis and upholder of the Truth that reverences and looks to both Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Traditions of the early church established before and while scripture was recorded.

2 Timothy 3:23-24 – Avoid foolish and ignorant quarrels, be gentle with everyone, be able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. We should always be ready to give a defense for our faith, to say only what is necessary, kind, and true.

One of the more impressive developments in the past 20 years is the spread of Catholic bible studies and Catholics joining in ecumenical bible studies. Thank you Billy for delivering the Word! Thank you Mother for the Splendor of Truth and Beauty in the fullness of our faith!

We visited a larger church in the diocese one recent Saturday after- noon. We arrived 20 minutes early and sat about 12 pews back. The congregation seemed very kind and were also reverent in their quiet preparation for the Mass. A friendly parishioner came through the side door at the left of the altar happily walking in front of the front pew and then…THUD! She disappeared from view and hit the ground.

No one seemed to move to help her for what seemed liked forever. I (the so-called “deacon”) flinched as if to go assist, but didn’t help either. Why??

The Bystander Effect: A sociological phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses. Being part of a large crowd makes it so no single person has to take responsibility for an action (or inaction). Wow, it’s kind of disturbing, isn’t it?

It doesn’t always take an emergency for The Bystander Effect to kick in, just a lot of people gather together with something to do. It impacts us at Mass sometimes. “It’s a pretty big crowd, they won’t miss my voice” or outside of Mass. “It’s a nice church, friendly, they seem to have it under control, they don’t seem to need any help.”

Two factors lessen the Bystander Effect: 1) Smaller group, and 2) Knowing each other. These two factors are among the many that make St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Mission the perfect place to experience the Truth and Beauty of our faith in worship / fellowship, and through which to live out our lives as Christian witnesses in the world. We need to be vigilant to keep the Holy Spirit’s love alive in our blessed community.

By the way, the woman described above tripped on the rug runner coming into church and seemed to just laugh it off. Not assisting still made me uncomfortable.

Lenten Food for Thought: How can I become less of a bystander and more of a member in the Body of Christ right now?

With the first full week of Lent under your belt, maybe it’s not going as planned. Maybe you’ve been unable to sustain giving up the thing you wanted to. No doubt fasting is a discipline that can elevate your spiritual condition. But remember, Lent is about change, hopefully sustained change. Change that aims at one thing: Drawing you into a more intimate relationship with God. Fasting is a means to this change. But it is not the only means.

Here are some non-fasting ideas that may re-invigorate your Lenten journey towards Him:

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• Take a Break from Social Media – Use that time for prayer or family.

• Quit Watching the News – Focus on things going on in your home or community.

• Stop Texting Friends – Call them.

• Pray the Rosary on the Way to Work

• Cut Off Toxic “Friendships”

• Compliment Someone Who is Unkind to You

• Pray for Someone You Don’t Like

• Start Your Day on Your Knees with a Quick Morning Prayer

• Take 15 Minutes a Day to Sit in Silence – Just be.

• Forgive Someone Whom You Resent – Now.

• Examine Your Current Struggle – What is God showing you?

• Don’t Complain – Catch yourself and quickly replace it with a positive.

• Do an Examination of Conscience Each Evening – Follow it with an Act of Contrition

• Live Like the Next Moment Could Be Your Last

Lent is a focused time to become the person God desires us to be. Sometimes this requires us to “get out of our own way” by removing the spiritual clutter that creeps into our lives. That’s when His glory becomes radiantly clear…

It wasn’t supposed to happen. I was getting myself into the best shape in years. I no longer had job stress. Mary Pat is a fantastic healthy cook, but it still happened. I had a heart attack.

I was not going to write about such a personal event, but it is too filled with the hand of God not to. The prophet Ezekiel describes what God does for us: “I will give to you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove from your stony heart and give you a natural heart”. He did this for me years ago when he placed people in my life who not only taught me about his Son but guided me how to walk with Him.

Mary Pat said it was a miracle that I recognized what was happening and got to the ER on time. I thought “miracle” was too strong a word. My son Brian set me straight: “Dad, maybe you don’t want to use that word, but God put together this sequence of events that saved you”… Amen to that. He also told me that he got up in the middle of the night to say a rosary to pray for my surgery success. My almost 3-year old granddaughter Evey voice texted me: “Feel better PeePaw!”

Coincidence? I don’t think so. Not when a Catholic priest stands in your hospital room doorway right at the last minute before being wheeled down to surgery. I received the beautiful sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. After reciting the ancient words and tracing my forehead and palms with crosses of sacred oil, Father turned to the nurses, aide, and transporter in the room and announced with paternal love: “This is our Deacon”. As they wheeled my stretcher through the halls, I looked up at the ceiling tiles.Tears rolled down my cheeks. I now have received all seven sacraments. The expected one hour surgery to assess my heart blockage turned into more than three hours. Why? Stony heart. My lovingly imposed healthy regimen had done its job, buto my health heritage loaded calcium in my artery. Doctor said it was like cement that had to be drilled through. This column is not long enough to tell you about the miracle of healing that happens to all of us if we are open to it.

It is 2:30am as I write this in my hospital room. I was just texted the above picture from a friend. He’s kneeling at his weekly Adoration time at his parish, lifting me up in recovery and texting under the live picture of Jesus: “Holy hour for Brian and MP”. My heart overflows.

Holy Scripture urges us to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” and we know that much can be heard in Sacred Silence. But what about in be- tween? The priest or deacon whispers certain “inaudible words” during the Mass; simple, beautiful, profound, humble prayers mostly said on behalf of all of us gathered. Let’s listen.

BEFORE PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL –

When we stand, and the joyful Alleluia is sung, the Deacon comes out in front of the Priest, bows and requests: “Your blessing, Father”. The Priest instructs the Deacon: “May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips, that you may proclaim the Gospel worthily and well, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. After signing himself, the Deacon says: “Amen”. This is a very special time. Thoughts of Jesus sending the disciples forth come to my mind. Having the awesome honor to proclaim Jesus’ words is just that, awesome and humbling. I always listen carefully to Father’s words and take the words in. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. When there is no Deacon, the Priest bows at the altar and says: “Cleanse my heart and my lips almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel”. After we proclaim the Gospel, the Priest or Deacon kisses the Book of Gospels and says quietly: “Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away”. Talk about a powerful prayer offered for us all!

DURING AND AFTER THE EUCHARIST – When the Deacon or Priest puts a drop of water in the chalice of wine, it represents human nature joining with divine nature, he then says one of the most beautiful words in the Mass: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity”. Just…meditate…on…this! After the Priest presents the gifts and we say, “Blessed be God forever”, the Priest places the chalice on the altar and says quietly: “With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God”. This reminds me of the Jewish priests under the Old Covenant going into the holy of holies to offer sacrifice for the people. Under the fulfilled New Covenant, it is the timeless sacrifice of Jesus, stretching backwards and forward forever, for us. When the Priest washes his hands, he says to himself: “Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin”. Said for him for us. When the Priest breaks the host over the paten for all to see this is called the Fraction Rite. It says to us that Jesus was broken for us to be shared as our eternal food. Then the Priest breaks off and places a small piece of Jesus’ body in the chalice with his blood and says quietly: “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it”. This is Jesus coming back, in the Resurrection, glory to us all! An end to death! Before the Priest consumes Jesus, he says to himself: “May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life,” “May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life”. This is when I cheer for Father to myself (inaudibly) asking the Lord to grant this! While purifying the vessels the Deacon or Priest prays to himself: “What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart, that what has been given to us in time may be our healing for eternity”. Again, such profound beautiful requests offered for us all bridging man-time with God-time. I really need the healing part.

On the Monday following the Feast of the Epiphany, we packed up the Christmas decorations. I then started grabbing the figurines out of the Nativity scene and shoving them into the little crinkly bags…wait a minute! Are you serious? This is not some job to bang out of the way! This is the Incarnation of Jesus. Salvation history! Eternal love! So, I paused and took my time.

I thought random thoughts as I picked up each player in this divine scene and the scene itself. We brought this Nativity scene back from our pilgrimage to the Holy Land a few years ago. It’s made of olivewood from Bethlehem similar to our Stations of the Cross at St. Francis. The wood is smooth and feels good, kind of therapeutic in my fingers. I see the flat palm tree on the front of the stable. It reminds me that Jesus was Middle Eastern, that Christmas did not occur in a cold place. I thought how Christians are in minority in the Holy Land and how we would hear the Muslim calls to prayer with extremely loud horns in the middle of the night. I thought about persecuted Christians and the many more martyrs we have today for our precious faith.

Then I started to pick up each figure, look at it closely, then close my eyes and think about his/her/it’s role in the scene. The three wise men just arrived yesterday. Gold (valuable/earthly king), frankincense (sweet perfume/deity), and myrrh (anointing oil/death). Was this the first ecumenical meeting?

The kings were not Christians. They were astrologers who looked to the stars for truth. They were pagans, but they knew something very special was happening.

I looked at the shepherd boy. He has a little staff you insert in his hand each year. I have to be careful to pack it well and not crack it each year. He is so young. What a job. Sleeping in the fields and across the gate of the sheepfold to protect these undisciplined creatures that will follow direction if you give it to them. The sheep know his voice. Then there are a couple of sheep and an ox or a ram? Is that the ram that got caught in the thicket that God told Abraham to offer in the holocaust so Isaac would be spared? Maybe.

Then I took Joseph in my hand and thought how he has no lines in Scripture. Silent, behind the scenes, sense of duty. Great model for dads. I don’t like the old Joseph in sacred art. If Mary was 14 or 15, I think of Joseph as 21 or 22, at least this figure looks that age. Then I picked up Mary and gratefully think how my love and devotion to her has deepened in recent years. All the Marian devotions escaped me growing up. I just couldn’t get it. I now have something special and it is growing and I cherish it. I held Mary and said a Hail Mary, in French, “Je vous salue Marie, pleine de grace, le Seigneur est avec vous.”

Before holding Jesus, I held his manger, thinking how Our King came to the world in a homeless place and was placed in a trough used for the slop that animals ate. Then I held Him and was thankful for this bit of Ordinary Time before I follow Him to Jerusalem to witness His brutal treatment and Ultimate Sacrifice. True love.

Yes, Mass attendance numbers continue to decline and more people mark “none” than ever before as their religious affiliation, but there is a distinct attraction bringing young adults to the Catholic faith.In France there has been a renaissance of church attendance, a sort of pushback on secularity. These young adults do not want a watered down version, they are yearning for full tilt faith. One that evokes other worldliness, one that can deeply change a person, one that is both refuge from a crazy world and a springboard into it with purpose. Lori Fusak from Arizona is one of these young adults in the US. She’s pictured here having her last In-N-Out burger (they are only out west and they are awesome!) before she enters the convent of the Missionaries of Charity. This is one young adult’s top 10 reasons to be Catholic:

• We teach about what is really good, true, and beautiful. All three matter. Most modern education questions if there really is goodness, truth, and beauty. We say: “Yes! And it’s all in one place”.

• Not afraid of culture, but not just a part of it either. Yes, we have to live in the world. But, we are called to change it, not let it change us. Hard to do, but awesome when we do it.

• We take the Devil seriously. Otherwise exorcism, confession, and crucifixes wouldn’t make cool movies. The devil is real and is our real enemy. He bites and we help him bite the dust.

• Natural Family Planning (NFP). We talk about sex as a natural and organic part of life and we work with our bodies to space births in marriage. The prevailing mentality is one that is pro-contraception.

But, organic sex in marriage is the truth, beauty, and goodness mentioned above!

• Civil disobedience. In refusing to obey laws that are unjust, we show the world that there are more important things in life than just getting along. When necessary we march, picket, and if it comes to it, we will even be thrown in jail or killed for our beliefs.

• Counter-cultural rebels. Who else can be found advocating outside an abortion clinic, praying in an adoration chapel, listening to a theology presentation in a bar, hanging a pic or a Saint’s card in a cubicle at work, confessing sins to a priest, and hanging out with nuns? Nobody. Catholics who are disciples of Jesus are the most counter-cultural rebels in today’s society.

• Monks brew beer. It might sound silly, but the point is that we don’t believe every good thing in the world which can be abused is bad. Monks brewing beer shows us just how good beer can be!

• We have a sense of humor. We can even laugh at ourselves. A sense of humor is a specific quality assessed for consideration to sainthood!

• We fight for the little guy, both literally and figuratively. We do more for the poor than any other non-governmental organization. Feed the poor, clothe the naked, etc. We also hold the right to life as a sacred duty. Babies ‘R Us. Poor ‘R Us.

• Leaders that lead by example. Think: Heart (JPII), Mind (Benedict), and Soul (Francis).