As Catholic Christians we walk into Church or pray the rosary and bless ourselves either with a crucifix on the rosary, or the crucifix in the center of the Church behind the altar. At this time of Lent as we near Good Friday, let us remember what that crucifix represents, through the pain and suffering that Jesus went through, redeeming all mankind, and the personal freedom to seek that Cross for their eternal life.
What did Jesus really endure during those hours culminating in his death? Christians recall Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane to the point where his sweat became drops of blood. This is a real phenomenon where the capillaries within the sweat glands can break, under extreme stress and emit blood with sweat. After Jesus’ arrest, and without any sleep, he was blind-folded, spit on, beaten, all while in custody. Jesus was then ordered to be scourged, which the Romans were masters at, with the ability to take what they called a flagellum, (scourge) an instrument consisting of heavy leather thongs, or bands that had lead or bone parts affixed on the end of them. These heavy whips were then brought down on the shoulders the back and the legs of Jesus all the while having his hands, and his wrists tied together to a post above his head. This brutal scourging would cut through the skin, and repeated blows would open the deeper tissues, the capillaries, veins causing blood loss. The Romans knew exactly how and where to contact the body with these whips, causing the most damage without killing the recipient of these 39 blows. Jesus by this time his face already beaten, and bloodied beyond recognition, now faced nerve damage, extreme pain and loss of blood, dehydration, and extreme weakness as they weaved and then placed a crown of long sharp thorns, not just placed, but forced down on his head again causing copious blood to stream down his face, as he stood with a purple robe on his body, hearing the crowd yell for his crucifixion. That slow walk to Calvary with Jesus carrying his Cross across his already brutalized shoulders, fell many times due to his loss of blood, his dehydration, until they reached their destination. They ripped off that robe, tearing those open wounds, and threw him down on that wooden cross and proceeded to nail his hands and feet through the part of the wrist and feet not to break bones but to inflict pain and allow the hands and feet some ability to move in order to prolong the suffering. Crucifixion brutalizes the nerves and the crucified endures inhuman pain and suffering. Jesus would have to push up on his nailed feet with nearly paralyzed muscles in order to breath in. All the while enduring three hours of endless pain. Though a young healthy young man, he would be beginning to feel the chest pain from the filling, by fluid, of the pericardium, the sack around the heart, and now compressing the heart. With his lungs now filling with fluid Jesus struggled to speak those final seven words from the Cross, each time having to deal with the extreme pain of just trying to lift himself up to breath, and yet speaking out forgiveness from that Cross. After a grueling three hours of agony, Jesus’ heart beating even faster and no longer able to carry the load, it would begin fluttering and Jesus feeling death coming over him, and with all he had left he said, “IT IS FINISHED.” The strong words of the title were spoken by Flannery O’Connor, a devout Catholic in 1950, in response to Mary McCarthy a career writer and fallen away Catholic, about the Eucharist, after she said, “I think of the Eucharist as a symbol.” Flannery O’Connor who herself will become a prominent Catholic writer was quick to respond, “If it’s a symbol, to hell with it.”
When one hears that over half of practicing Catholics do not see the Eucharist any more than just a symbol, it is time for a Eucharistic Revival. In the Catechism, #1324 it says; “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.” The other sacraments of the Church, the Church ministries, and all its works, are attached and point to the Eucharist. Thomas Aquinas said that Jesus’ power is in effect in the other sacraments, but he is truly present in the sacrament of the altar. The substance of the bread and wine become the substance of Christ’s body, while the appearance remains as bread and wine. (Transubstantiation) Jesus used many times, when he spoke, parables, analogies to help those who heard his words better understand their meaning. In many of our Scripture readings we hear what Jesus said about the bread of life, the bread of eternal life. “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.” (John 6:26-27) “Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness and died, this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” (John 6:49-50) Jesus then says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; AND THE BREAD THAT I WILL GIVE FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD IS MY FLESH.” (John 6:51) Jesus spoke to his disciples about eating his flesh and drinking his blood and many were driven away. Jesus could have easily said wait I was not talking literally only symbolically, but instead he continued, “For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” (John 6:55) The bread of life discourse shows that the disciples of Jesus understand that this Jesus they have been following, meant exactly what he had said. Even Jesus knew that this was a statement he had to make and when those who heard it had left, he turned himself to the twelve and asked, “DO YOU ALSO WISH TO GO AWAY? “Through Him, with Him and in Him,” is the Eucharistic prayer that we hear at Mass, and very well describes that which we are about to partake in. Through general reading of what sacraments are, we come to understand that they are signs, signs of grace, and through them we receive grace. Thomas Aquinas simply said; “They cause what they signify.” The Eucharist is necessary to nourish a life of grace. It is the mystery of water and wine that we come to share in the divinity of Christ. Just as he comes into our life to share in our humanity. Bishop Robert Barron explains the substances of bread and wine changing into the Body and Blood of Jesus, while remaining in appearance bread and wine, by saying, “The same God who made bread and wine from nothing and sustains them from moment to moment can transform the deepest ontological (the nature of existence) centers of those things into something else.” Pope Benedict defined this very well when he said, “...the bread and wine lose their independence as creatures and become through God’s power, pure signs of Christ’s presence.” An important statement to remember is that of Thomas Aquinas when he said, “God does not know things because they exist, but rather that things exist because God knows them.” Jesus’ words in his ministry have an effect and they transform or alter to whom or what he is referencing. That is why when we now come to the Last Supper and we hear Jesus say; “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood,” that altered, changed that bread and wine into his Body and Blood. Bishop Barron said, “This efficacious or effective word of Christ...endures in the Church...in its preaching, its teaching, its sacraments and above all in the Eucharistic liturgy.” The priest states these words of Christ at the Last Supper, at each Mass and then in the person of Christ (Persona Christi) he states Jesus’ words, “This is my Body, which will be given up for you...the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant.” The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the effect of power of the word, the word which is Jesus himself. If the elements of bred and wine were merely symbols we would be able to say “TO HELL WITH IT“ But they are truly the presence of God through the word of Jesus, and now the priest, and it has an effect on our lives as Christians for when we receive and say Amen, we are saying, “I BELIEVE”. Just recently a cradle Catholic asked me why, do we have to go to confession, why can’t we just pray to God and ask him to forgive our sins? I think that at some time or another, most Catholics, and especially our protestant brothers and sisters, have asked the same thing, just confess your sins to God and ask for his forgiveness.
In answer we first must understand that confession is a sacrament, a sacrament of penance, and like the other sacraments it was instituted by God, to give grace. We also must understand that the confessor, the priest himself, is acting in the person of Christ, "In Persona Christi", as he is when he is consecrating the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ. When a priest is ordained, his hands are wrapped together as the Bishop anoints and prays over them. Those hands are now consecrated, they will be “In Persona Christi,” to change the water and wine into our Savior's Body and Blood. (Note- at the consecration, and at distribution of the Eucharist, the Deacon at the altar, will also kneel, as will the rest of the congregation. If there is a concelebrating priest, he will receive the host directly from the Eucharistic Paten, but you will also notice that the Deacon does not, he will receive directly from the priest, the sacredness of the priesthood. So as in confession, the confessor is following Apostolic Succession where Jesus by his authority gives his own Apostles the power as was noted, “Jesus breathed on the Apostles and said, receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven them, whose sins you retain they are retained.” This is then passed on by the Sacrament of Holy Orders from the Bishops to the Priests. Verbal confession from Penitent to Confessor is necessary. The Church teaches that we are to follow our consciences in all aspects of life, but we must also realize that the Church says to follow your conscience but one that is properly formed. It is easy to see that without the guidance of the Church’s teachings, prayer, and the Holy Spirit, each individual person’s truth is going to justify any action or actions, that they become used to, or that society sees as not wrong. That will give us the sense that we do not need to confess our sins verbally to a priest. The priest is bound by the seal of confession, and will not and cannot divulge, reveal what is said between the confessor and the penitent. It comes down to the purpose of confession, which is to reconcile us with God, acknowledge our sins, and receive forgiveness, and receive the grace to restore our souls, through this beautiful sacrament. “I ABSOLVE YOU FROM YOUR SINS IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” On July 9, 1861 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s wife, Fanny, was setting her daughter’s hair with a hot sealing wax when suddenly her dress caught fire. Henry, sleeping in the next room, heard her screams and rushed to her aid. In desperation he tried to put out the flames and in doing so severely burned his face and hands. His wife was burned so badly that within a day she lapsed into a coma and died. Henry was so severely burned that he was not able to attend her funeral.
As poetry was one of his greatest crafts, he continued to work, but with long periods of silence. His eyes told of his personal suffering. About three years later, his son was seriously injured in the Civil War, fighting for the Union. At this time, Longfellow sat down and wrote about the joys of the season of Christmas. His poem began: I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, and mild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! With the civil war still going on, brother fighting against brother, his own son injured, he continued writing: And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!" It was then that he turned to the one who helps solve all of mankind's problems, the One, as they say, can give us true peace on earth: Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men." May there be peace on earth this Christmas and good will toward all. As we near the beautiful season of Advent, we have been reminded over the past few weeks about the end times. This season of Advent is meant to ready us for not only the coming of our Savior, but also reminds us that Jesus will return as he promised; the second coming. We will hear from John the Baptist, the one crying out in the desert, attesting to the coming of the Messiah. The one whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. We also are reminded that we are given charisms, gifts in life to be used for our own good, but more importantly for the good of our neighbor.
Just as we receive unique talents in life, we are also called to use these talents. Be the one today who calls out, witnesses to the truth, that is the mission we all have been called to. We are all called to use those special talents. We all have been blessed for the betterment of the Kingdom, not bury those talents, afraid to take risk, because risk means failure. There is a beautiful saying by an anonymous author who wrote the following “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” Rarely does that person invent something new, without first having failed many many times. Thomas Edison himself said, “he has not failed, he just knows 10,000 ways that it will not work.” Just as Saint Augustine reminds us that we are made for God, he is our destination and the very reason why each of us is unique. God knew us when he made us, because he made us for himself. So life does remain a risk. Everything we do in life involves some form of risk, but risk must be taken. The greatest risk in life is to do nothing with your God-given talents and bury them in fear. For the one who does nothing in life, really does nothing in life. The Our Lady Queen of Heaven men's group has been around for a long time and we are always looking for new members. We are a loosely organized group whereas we do not meet on any specific night, or time. We maintain a list of men from the parish that are willing to give of their time and talents, to take on some of the tasks that need attending to in the life of Our Lady, Saint Mary's. Whether that be cutting the grass, to repairing the playground equipment, to constructing a new confessional, a new front sign, to pouring concrete, to helping clear snow in the winter, there are numerous projects that they undertake. If you would like to participate, as you can, please make contact with Deacon Tom.
Another beautiful ministry is serving at Mass. At this time we have several adult servers, and a few middle and high school students serving. We are looking for those who could participate in this ministry. You will be trained and then scheduled to participate at the altar. Calvary Cemetery - There is always work that needs to be done at Calvary Cemetery. At this moment we are working on clearing the land where the two houses once stood. There are a lot of trees down, a lot of branches, and such that need to be removed. We are also in the process of putting in a flag pole, some trees, and a statue in front of the mausoleum. If you have some time, and a trailer, or just want to help, again just make contact with Deacon Tom Annual Parish Picnic - Again many hands make the work so much easier. We thank all for such a successful parish picnic. We are always looking for those who would be able and willing to help with this annual affair. We begin planning for next years picnic right after this years picnic. Are you willing to help us out? These are some of the ministries of Our Lady Queen of Heaven. If you can help us please just make contact with me. Thank you and God Bless you! If you have driven by Calvary Cemetery, you will notice that the two houses north of the cemetery have been removed. Calvary Cemetery purchased the last house, so that there would be ample space available for expansion.
There is a fair amount of clean-up that needs to be done where the houses were located. That will take some time. The two-stall metal shed on site is now empty, purchased and will be moved. Behind the Mausoleum is a 12 X 16 foot shed with a garage door. It’s on concrete and is for sale. It will need to be moved when purchased. Please call Deacon Tom. if interested. Pews that were donated were cut down to size and placed in the Mausoleum. They still need some additional sanding and staining. Soon there will be a new podium, so that committals for funerals can take place there. There are future plans for shrubbery, trees, flag pole, etc. around the mausoleum. Stay tuned. The Parish Picnic Committee will meet one more time before the picnic. Please pick up your raffle tickets. When the sign-up sheets for the picnic are out, please sign up. If you can, please find some time to help make the weekend special for our Church. Thank you to all who have been donating books and items for the Flea Market. Now is a good time to go through your basement, garage or attic. Those items may be donated to the Flea Market and Book Sale. The garage door is open daily 7:00 until 3:30 Monday through Thursday. It is open until noon on Friday. Please drop off your items and leave them on the empty table or on the floor. Please don’t leave items if the garage door is closed. One would have noticed by now that the front sign for our Church is missing. The inner part of that sign that was donated by Phillip and Vinnie Eron, was worn to the point that it needs to be redone.
The plexy-glass front was in need of replacement, along with the inside. It is also in need of a new lighting system. The new sign is being constructed right now. it will include the name of our Church, and “Our Lady Queen of Heaven,” logo. It will also include the Knights of Columbus logo on the bottom. Along with these logo’s, there will be Mass times, and of course individual signage for our Pastor and the Assumption Chaplain, our assistant. Then along with the Knights of Columbus logo, there will be the meeting times for the Knights. We thank the volunteers, that step up to help whenever there is a need for the Church. Whether that be maintenance, ushering, serving, bake sale’s, rosary making, funeral dinners, picnic committee, quilters, and so many other situations, here at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, The front sign is one of those needs. Along with fixing the garden wall by Father’s residence, pouring a concrete slab between the back garages, to the weekly mowing of the lawn. All of these projects are done by volunteer parish members, men and women alike. We not only thank those who are so willing to give of their time and talents, but also to those who give monies, for so many of these projects. If you are interested in helping in any way you can, just make contact with our office, and we will make contact with you. God speed and God bless. I am writing this the day after returning from the 43rd “Never Forgotten Honor Flight.” As we are now coming upon Memorial Day, this flight out to Washington D.C. to see all the veteran’s memorials, gave me feelings of humbled pride of service. I knew that, all these veterans, who were on this flight with me, also carry in their hearts and minds, all the soldiers, sailors and marines who did not return from war.
It had been 53 years since enlisting in the Army, wanting to serve my country. Admittedly after being deployed and coming back to Travis Air Force Base, near Los Angeles, when we were ready to take our next flight, we all were told to take our uniforms off. When I did get home, I got off the plane in Mosinee wearing blue jeans and sandals. This honor flight is a memory I will carry till the day God calls me home. What a reception we received at Reagan Airport, from passengers waiting to board their planes. There was not a vet without a mist in their eyes. So many young children and teenagers walked up to us and welcomed us home. Ironically, as a retired firefighter, the Reagan Airport Fire Department, gave the honor flight a salute by a Cross spray of water over the plane in the Veterans honor. I was honored to meet so many other era Veterans, who are now getting on in years, many now in wheelchairs, or as they called them honor chairs. It was a whirlwind of a day going out and coming back to the hundreds of, family, friends, veterans groups, and so many others, who turned out at Mosinee Airport to welcome us back. I was honored to have my son as my Guardian on the flight, to be on this flight with Bill Plante from our parish, and to see Andy and Deb, from our church family, giving of themselves as volunteers, and guardians, for all the honor flights. As we were just a short time out from Mosinee, coming back, we had what we longed to hear in the service; “Mail Call!” I personally want to humbly thank all those who sent a card, and/or letter of thanks for our service, and to all the wonderful children in our parish family who sent a letter of love and thanks. In remembering, “Memorial Day,” we all stand in silence and prayer, to honor, and remember those Veterans who fell in battle for the freedom of our country. All of the Veterans on this Honor Flight were humbled to be given such a wonderful, proud to have served, “Welcome Home.” My last column talked about Jail Ministry and one particular inmate who turned his life around to Christ. That former inmate is now part of Jail Ministry. This is a person who can sit with these inmates and empathize with them, he can help them more than anyone of us could, because he was in their situation in life, and can show them, by his own life now, that you can be converted, from a life where jail is a revolving door, or a life where you are part of the solution.
Visiting the sick is another beautiful ministry of the clergy, and especially the Deacon. A part of their own ministry is taking the precious Body of our Lord to the sick and dying, sitting and praying with them. If you have a loved one that is for one reason or another, in the hospital, or is at home for a period of time, please let our family here at Our Lady know, and we will be more than happy to make sure that you are not only included in our prayers, but are visited and have the opportunity to receive our Lord, in your time of need. Remember the Anointing of the Sick can only be given by the Priest. Anointing of the Sick can be given to those who are going in for a very serious operation, for those who suddenly are ill and the outcome is uncertain, and of course to those who are being called home to our Lord. This anointing of the sick includes confession, if possible, viaticum, receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, along with the prayers and anointing with the oil of the sick. Remind your children that you want this anointing if anything like the above should happen to you. All of us are part of this beautiful family of Catholic Christians, and because we are family, here at Our Lady Queen of Heaven, please let us know if you are in any way unable to attend Church, because of an accident or illness, and would like to receive, not only a visit from the clergy, but the precious Body of our Lord in the Eucharist. |