Weekly message from Father John
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January 7, 2022
Dear Parish Family-
A man at a casino complained that he kept losing at cards. "There's a system. I don't understand it!" he groaned. A stranger kindly said, "If you understood it you wouldn't play." The "odds" can be an interesting thing to study. If two people are playing five-card draw, each one has 1309 possible chances of losing to once chance of winning. If four are playing, the number of possible losing hands goes up astronomically.
There's enough uncertainty in life. God The Father sent His Son to us to remove fear by giving us the certainty of knowing we are loved forever. "Making spirits bright" is a Christmas theme. Angels came to herald His arrival. The message was delivered - not to the most influential and secure - but to the shepherds who used to struggle and rough living.
Jesus says a number of times, "Do not be afraid." Sometimes fear is a useful and necessary thing for survival. But Jesus was telling His followers not to make a lifetime project out of it. Those who do will miss so much. And more to the point, as St. John says, "God is love." Let the truth of Christmas live the whole year round in you. Let your spirit be bright in a certain knowledge that God loves you.
Father John
December 31, 2021
Dear Parish Family -
I wish you a very happy and blessed New Year! My prayers go with you throughout the year."
Father John
December 24, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
Merry Christmas to all! God bless you and remember the message of Christmas. God loves you. God be with you in the new year!
Father John
December 17, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
In July 2019, I walked into a well-known greeting card shop and almost collided with a three dimensional cardboard Christmas Tree. There were other displays including Christmas movies and a wall of Christmas ornaments. There was a time when celebrating Christmas began with the end of Advent. Christmas Eve was the beginning of it with twelve days of Christmas in which to send cards, to be with loved ones, to exchange gifts and put on or go to dinners. Later, during World War 2, FDR called for preparing for Christmas to start with Thanksgiving to boost business and give the war weary population something big to enjoy, about a month of distraction from the war.
When I was growing up Thanksgiving, after dinner, was the start of the Christmas season for us. The moms had the dads would grab their hats and overcoats to take the kids downtown for the big reveal of Dayton's and Donaldson's "Glass Block" window displays of toys. It was a fantasy world of everything a kid could want. I remember a cold, dark evening with gritty snow falling. My dad and uncles all smoked in those days and lit up to beat the cold. The displays counter balanced the cold for us kids. "Wow! Look at THIS! Look at THAT!" My favorite was a set of three windows that had electric trains running over bridges, through wooded hills, tunnels, a busy river town, past switching towers-ah, Christmas! A couple weeks later, we went to Donaldson's to pitch our greed to Santa. Oh, and btw, somewhere in that time after Thanksgiving, something called Advent got wedged into all this Christmas intoxication.
Now, I want to be clear. This is no ding on toys, fun, all that excitement we experienced. And gift giving should be a good, loving, Christian practice. But there was a kind of exploitation in this scenario, too. Being a kid, I was easily taken in and while I knew we were celebrating the birth of Christ, the jutting characteristic of my outlook on Christmas was, "What am I gonna get!?" Of course, Christianity and Catholicism is something we grow into and understand more deeply as we get older. But being exploited before we get there means having to unlearn somethings. The garden of the human soul needs some weeding once in a while. We come to know that giving is more fulfilling than getting, that feeding life is more important than stuffing ourselves, in a metaphoric way of speaking. And believing in the message of Peace on Earth is nourishing in a way that getting stuff isn't. Since I was a kid, we've expanded to Black Fridays, putting enormous pressure on ourselves to have a magic Christmas and opting for gifts, sometimes, that reflect the opposite of Christ's life and teaching, like violent video games.
The phrase, "Put Christ back in Christmas" has been around for years. It's good to take it to heart, pray together with the people you love and contemplate the great gift God the Father has given us in His Son. Have all the fun you like, of course. But don't let it become disconnected from our connection to God who never stops loving us.
Father John
December 10, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
When Jesus came on the scene to begin His ministry, He didn't do anything conventional. His ministry started with baptizing John the Baptist. He didn’t start a college or a seminary or a company of pupil prophets, as the prophets in the Old Testament did. He didn’t start a cause calling for financial backing and publicity. He sought out the kind of followers who'd see the world in light of questions like, "Who are you,the cops!?" They were the "East Enders" of their time; tough, two-fisted fishermen, a corrupt tax collector, a zealot (terrorist), and so on. All but Mathew were completely uneducated. All were familiar with the circumstances of struggle and hard living. Mary Magdalen, famous for another kind of corruption, had that in common with the others. Jesus invited broken people first, not the powerful and connected to follow Him. We usually say that He chose them but "invite" captures better the fact that they had the option to decline. That He was quickly and willingly followed shows that those invited felt a hope for betterment in being called. And it suggests that they saw a chance to be involved in improving the world they lived in. Jesus calls people today as well. The first followers He called had no problem being themselves around Him. He didn't seek "yes" people but honest ones. It's interesting to consider who His original followers were, without rose colored glasses vision; real people dealing with life as they knew it without all the answers and sometimes with none. It also emphasizes who Jesus was to them as they came to know Him, not only a miracle healer, but their friend. He introduced the importance of caring in their tough atmosphere. It seems a simple thing but in the long run, it may have been the greatest healing miracle. Jesus stills calls and He cares and He heals. We are about to go back to the beginning of that history with the celebration of Christmas. The outcome of that history is that you are loved.
Father John
December 3, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
With the start of Advent, the Church calls us to reflect on the Great Gift of God to the human race. People get busy like they were planning a wedding. There is a great deal of scheduling and planning to do. Then there will be shopping which is a lot like prospecting. You look at a lot of mud and gravel in the pan before you find garnets or a nugget. Time gets to be more and more of the essence as you try to round up what you want to put under the tree. And if you're cooking the dinner there's a lot of planning and preparing to do. And, by the way, whoever came up with "easy as pie" never tried to make one. The know how to making a good pie should probably be considered part of the field of engineering. And the festive display of Christmas cards and Christmas photo cards comes your way because you spent hours getting your own out. And you have to fit living your life in there to somewhere, too. Well, I'm kidding a little here. But it is true that a lot of work gets packed into Advent. A monastic approach to reflection is an unrealistic expectation. Still, we can and should allow ourselves some space of time each day to try to understand the reason we do all that we do for the people we love at this time of year. Or, at least we should give ourselves a daily break to understand that what we're doing out of love is a response to God's love for us, for sending His Son so that we can know what depth of love He has for us. And then a little prayer of gratitude should come easily.
Father John
November 12, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
An important focus in the final pre Synod small group session was youth. For sometime there has been a hope expressed for dynamic youth groups. Pablum feeding Catechism or straight lecture on basic topics of our faith, along with snacks, isn't good enough. Groups like that dry up and blow away. A party atmosphere isn't the answer either (although we will be competing with such as thrill things with the word "palooza" in the name). All the foregoing has been done in the past and failed. The day when a priest sat in a Church basement lecturing, even with pauses to ask, "What do you think?" with half a dozen kids whose parents made them go is past. There are always two things that happen in that scenario; one is that most of the kids are true to their age demographic and say nothing, and the second is that there is usually one who wants to answer everything and gets branded as “odd”.
Now, there is no immediate call to action on this. It's all some distance off in the future, which is good because it will take time for parishes to plan and organize well thought out and effective programs. There are two great hopes behind the concept of dynamic youth groups. One purpose is part of the evangelical purpose of the Synod, with a hope that we keep youth involved in Church past Confirmation so that there is no interruption in their growth in the Faith. The desire for independence from parental control is certainly not unheard of with the youth we will want to reach, but parental support will be a necessary key to success of such a program. The second reason is that a youth program is vital, is that it's a best hope for fostering vocations to religious life. I don't think I need to explain why that matters. What I'm trying to show here is that when we get to that point, a slapped together program will be barely better than no program at all. I have seen youth group programs that were highly successful. One was in this parish, run by two older teens whose popularity proved to be a great asset. Those leaders grew up and no one else could reproduce their work, though some tried for a couple years. After that outside parish groups had some success gathering and inspiring numbers here. I attended the first one of those that we had here. Unwittingly I killed discussion. The organizer told me that those attending explained that they didn't feel comfortable saying what they thought or how they felt "in front of people like parents". That was me…. no other parents were there. Anyway, we have enough time on this. And that is good because attention to subtle details will matter. God bless you all.
Father John
October 29, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
Every once in a while, someone will offer the notion that Halloween is evil and a celebration of some vanished pre-Christian tradition. Personally, I've never seen it that way. It had no negative impact on my Catholicism when I was a kid. That holiday was about running around with my friends and getting a sugar blast. Our parents, in most cases, made our costumes. They were creative efforts, too, which were unfortunately covered by our Parkas due to the cold. I was an intimidating pirate with my painted on mustache, eye patch (under my glasses) and a winter jacket.
At an earlier date, Halloween was about vicious pranks and doing damage. One of my grandfathers recounted some of that, including his friends disassembling a surrey and reassembling it on the owner's barn roof. I've long thought that some uncommon skill must have been needed to do that quietly enough to be undetected, and to do that reassembling work on a barn roof in the rural dark with just a storm lantern to see by. The farmer, it was reported, did not appreciate the genius in the effort. In 1939, merchants introduced the idea of "trick or treat" for children via the radio and in the papers. Children on the street greatly diminished the amount of pranksters letting the air out of tires, garage break-ins, etc. and effectively ended that reign of terror.
For us, of course, there was a significant emphasis on Halloween leading to All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day; especially All Saint's Day. So, it was never outside the Christian and Catholic context for us. Our pastor made a point every year of identifying that Heaven is full of saints no one ever heard of; especially family members and friends of ordinary people. We were instructed in the dedication of St. Joseph, the courage of St. Paul, the universal motherhood of Mary, the apostles, the martyrs, all those famous examples of virtue in the life of the Church. At the same time, our pastor wanted us to know that we didn't have to look back through long centuries to find examples of fulfilled Christian lives. He acquainted us with the understanding that not everyone had to be a legendary miracle worker to get in to Heaven. He taught us that ordinary people who had lived Godly lives were in Heaven, too; more than you could count. He knew that in his parish at the time there were no fantastic miracle workers or visionary prophets, just a lot of normal people who hated to hear their alarm clocks go off but got up every day for the rat race with a Christian sense duty to meet their responsibilities: raise their kids, devotedly love their spouse, be friends, neighbors, parishioners, doing all they could to create a better world in their own sphere. They made the stuff of the ordinary shine with value. It was how they manifested the sainthood developing in them. It was a neighborhood where every adult was an "aunt" or "uncle" to its many children. They all volunteered for parish projects. They built a ten field Little League Park for their kids, the largest in the country for years. They talked with us, advised us and welcomed us into their homes. They were imperfect human beings and, naturally, we noticed that. But what we didn't appreciate as fully then was that we were witnessing that sainthood our pastor identified growing. The same reality has long existed here. We have our saints here who are unknown to the world at large.
God bless you,
Father John
October 22, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
The parish small group meetings, which are part of the preparation for the Synod, go ahead. There are three on the next three consecutive Saturday mornings, beginning at 9 a.m. in our church basement. This should be convenient for anyone with Saturday projects and plans. I encourage you to attend them. The experience has been very friendly and neighborly. And the discussions following a short video have been very insightful. Today I'll focus on a bit of that.
One of our parishioners commented that putting the word "holy" in front of words for ordinary everyday pursuits as we put that word ahead of things such as Communion and matrimony, would inspire people to put their lives into the context of Christian and Catholic belief. Since the reference was to ordinary, everyday things someone else asked if there are other words we could use to describe this. What occurred to me is that the most down to earth way of speaking about this might be to say that everything we do should be regarded as a prayer; going to work, taking your family on vacation, grocery shopping, cooking meals, paying the bills, doing the laundry, listening to music, school activities, performing music, talking, laughing, singing, buying Christmas or birthday presents - anything and everything that people do. It should all be given to God as love and worship.
Doing this is a matter of balance, of course. No one can stop and think, "This is a prayer" before each activity or undertaking all day. That would be weird and quirky. And all that would achieve is scrupulosity, which is a kind of mental tick. But at the start of each day and at times when it works in a day and at the end of the day, a prayer recognizing and reaffirming this sense of things is good, especially if done with the people you love. And connecting it to the Mass on Saturday night or Sunday morning would give it an essential fulfillment. Bringing the week you've lived, even with mistakes and sins is an excellent way to make the Mass last all week and not be left behind on Saturday night or Sunday morning. Let us pray.
Father John
October 15, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
Attached is a picture that my sister took recently outside the house I grew up at. You've heard, "A picture is worth a thousand words". Well this week I have one of those for you. The shrine to Mary was set up by my folks some years ago. A thousand words is long enough. And I've got more than 1,040 here, of my own words. So I'll let it go at that. God bless you all.
Father John
October 1, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
It seems as if beefing about the heat in Summertime is a universally popular sport. I don't play it myself. I like Summer just the way it is. I'll own up that if I had to bale hay or if I lived in Europe when they get the opposite of our polar vortex from the Sahara, I'd probably have a different opinion. Most folks I know say that Fall is their favorite season. And I do agree that it really has its own graces and beauty.
Last Fall, I watched the sun rise, making the green grass glow as it does at the lateral light time of day. The lawn was covered with golden leaves. As if a starting gun I couldn't hear was fired, a gusty wind came up and the gold leaves raced like a stampede, going east across the yard and down the hill. If they'd been children they'd have been laughing, I thought. The day was cool but not cold and I had a steaming cup of coffee. The human world wasn't on the move yet. There were shimmering strands of a spider's web in the grass, a rooster off south somewhere and, for a few minutes, a couple blue jays who seemed to be bickering, "No! You're supposed to be over here!" Then a contented calm seemed to reign for the moment. All of this was, of course, a spiritual experience and one of those moments people wish for all Summer. There are others. Days of milder weather settle in and slow, silent gorgeous fires burn through the trees. Things of comfort, like a fire in the hearth or a plush blanket in the evening seem to take us where we want to be. And before you know it, a mauve and golden sunset is shining through bare, witchy trees on a black hill. You may see the cozy light in a kitchen behind them too.
The Holidays are coming. There seems to be a lot to look forward too. But a funny thing happens every year as we go through October. Maybe it's really just being weather affected. Maybe some ancient instinct is coming into play. Whatever it is, a lot of people hit a stride that is the opposite of comfort. One of the most famous symptoms of this is that almost every year the stock market gets epileptic as we get closer to Halloween. The stock market crash of 1929, it is said, could have happened only in October. This is worth noting because that jumpiness reflects subtle tensions (usually) in the minds of people. Every year they seem to spike at that time in aspects of life not part of the stock market. But that is affected, too, because everything is connected. There are psychological studies on the phenomenon I'm referring to. And there is also knowledge that it doesn't have to be that way. In those studies what we eat and drink and how much exercise we're getting are among the most important factors. And since our souls live in bodies, the matter isn't just scientific but spiritual. We know that because what's happening and what we do about it involves the totality of who we are.
The studies mentioned have concluded that it's about fear, which is a very spiritual thing. A funny thing about fear is that sometimes anyone can experience it without knowing why and that for any of a variety of reasons. In His ministry, Jesus reached out to people with permission not to be afraid. He backed that permission up with miraculous healings and evening raising at least three people from the dead ahead of Himself. The fear I'm talking about is transitory and usually subtle as noted above. But it's broadly experienced and that gives it some real muscle. The Christian spiritual principal is not to let fear rule our minds or drive decision making whether it's subtle or severe. As followers of Christ we know that fear can move us away from love more powerfully than anything else. Also powerful is prayer, which is a gift from God. Realizing the spiritual dimension on this should lead us, often, to pray as Christians, as Catholics, especially with people we cherish. And not just in October but through the whole round year.
Father John
September 24, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
Short and sweet this time. You can't believe in the calendar in Minnesota. Now the temps are those of Springtime. But it looks like October with lots of yellow leaves under a cloudless blue sky. Drought stressed trees have dropped leaves in our yards for weeks but that hasn't come with cool, gusty fall winds to make them race across lawns. Nature seems deceptive. It almost looks like politics. In a world that offers some variety of uncertainty, it’s necessary to be connected to the reliable "constant" which holds life together. We have, from the inspiration in the scriptures much about that constant. Some of the most well-known are, "God is love", "This is my command, that you love one another as I have loved you", "Love God and love your neighbor. This sums up the law and the prophets" and the welcome into heaven introduced by, "You fed me when I was hungry, gave me to drink when I was thirsty.... Whatever you did to anyone you did to me." The thing about love is that it's two sides of a coin, so to speak. One side is the certainty that God loves you. The other side is that it's up to all of us participate in communicating that certainty, to love so that others are aware of that certainty. It’s like wiring done to complete circuits. God loves us, we love others and that connects us to loving God, which final connection we know from the scriptures as "...so that others will see your good works and give glory to God." The word "constant" is from mathematics and science, of course. But we can easily apply that definition to our faith in the love of God.
Father John
September 17, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
You remember the lyrics "...the games people play now, every night and every day now...never meanin' what they say, never sayin' what they mean...". The song takes a particularly sad twist with (referring to missing' out on life-not being felt or seen) in their ivory towers, 'til they're covered up with flowers in the back of a black limousine..." An example of why this happens is the feral competition in the world. A reasonable "for instance" is the competition among our news organizations. There is a lot of stuff pandered as information that is not information, from both sides, because the corporate altar is set up to worship the god called "ratings". A comedian on a BBC radio game show hit the nail on the head with, "I turn on the news to hear the news. But I hear, "What do you think?" What you or I think is not the news, it's only what we take it to mean. Just give me the news." Broadcasters become actors and celebrities who invite their viewers to participate in a fringe relationship with them. Reality tv type drama can even be found in broadcasts sometimes. It doesn't take too much imagination to see that there is some amount of deceit sown into in the equation from morning to night due to the competitive atmosphere created to sustain the bottom line. If you hear words in a news story like "might", "may", "could" etc. you're hearing a soap opera twist. Words such as those are speculation, not news. Don't buy in.
We also have the Good News, which does come with some drama of its own. It can be ignored and has been over many centuries. Consider the slave ships from Africa with the cross of Christ emblazoned in red on the huge foresail and the captain in his cabin reading his Bible daily as the human cargo suffered below him, underfed, whipped for howling in pain and even dying from the rigors of the journey. But even if it is ignored or set aside for other purposes, it is not compromised. It is simple and straightforward. "Love as I have loved you", "whatever you did to even the least, you did to me" and "Love God and love your neighbor. This sums up the commandments and the prophets." The message is from The Son of God, delivered as personally as possible, that is to say, in human form. Jesus Christ even left the challenging command, “Love your enemies." We have a depth of gifts in the sacraments and in the life of the Church to help us follow His teachings. What's tricky about this is that most human beings don't get up in the morning thinking, “Well, I guess I'll see how evil I can be today." It's more a matter of getting tangled in one of the profit webs spun to catch us. That's one of many reasons why it's important to stay focused on and connected to Christ and the love of God that He came to demonstrate. As to that, on that day to day level, let the love in your home include prayer together.
Father John
September 10, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
My sisters and one of my brothers were here for a little picnic a few days back. They were more than impressed with the story of this year's Ho Down. They noticed the excellent work that was done on the gutters and soffits and were amazed when I told them how that was done by people here. There were a lot of stories to tell about work done here, different accomplishments and about our parish family coming together in different situations. And they had a chance to see that we carry that spirit over into the stuff of daily life. For instance, they were absolutely wowed by the lights in the ballpark. They walked through the lower cemetery and remarked on how beautifully it is kept. They left with a sense of greatness in the people of our parish. I wanted you to know. There's enough drama in our world right now, one way and another, to fill Hoover dam. It's good to stay in touch with what comes under the heading of "Blessings". We have enough to feel tired about some days. But we do have a great deal to be thankful for and even happy about too. Remember the Source of all that is good, enjoyable and the stuff of peace, contentment and fulfillment. Smile. God loves you!
Father John
August 27, 2021
Dear Parish Family,
Someone asked me lately why God doesn't intervene in reference to the severe crises and tragedies in the world now. You may recall that Jesus introduced the word "Abba" to describe His Father. Before that the word in use had been "Yahweh". Yahweh means "Father" in a strict, Victorian-like sense. "Abba" translates to "Daddy" or "Papa". The fierce formality was removed. You will recall Barabbas, the rioter who was chosen over Jesus when Pilate offered the mob a choice. "Barabbas" translates to "son of the father"; "father" in the more loving, informal sense. Jesus' use of the word "Abba" is almost exclusive for "Father" in the Gospels, the use of "Yahweh" appearing twice. The reason for this was to emphasize the mystery of the Incarnation, God becoming man.
We don't live in a world in which magic resolves all the things that need healing. In connection to the significance of the Incarnation going forward in time, it takes a lot of hard work by individuals and organizations to bring healing to the world in one way and another, "fighting the good fight"- It's the idea of The Single Set Of Footprints. We are Christ in the world now. We do the carrying. The mystery of the Incarnation was not meant to end with Jesus but rather that God would come into the world through people. The grief in the world isn't being healed overnight. But Abba is intervening. He comes through all who care, all who "fight the good fight." Remember that Jesus told John to knock it off, when he wanted Jesus to fry some non-apostles for doing good. Jesus said to John, "Whoever is not against us is with us." God wants to be with us. The Incarnation is carried forward in our history as we respond to this mystery with love.
Father John
August 6, 2021
Dear Parish Family,
My dad used to say, "The best way to avoid danger is to stay away from it." It's not quite that simple in real life. Staying away from things that are bad for body and soul involves a dedicated keeping up with knowledge that's always evolving in a variety of essential areas of living and knowing what to do with the information we have. But that isn't all. We have to apply our faith, that is our belief in the conscience of Christ and the love of God to what truth we learn. That "the truth will set you free" is Biblical; simple, like my dad's remark above. Nothing in real life is really simple, though. But an example can be. For instance, if someone has a cold or flu, there may be a choice involved. Does one go to work so as not lose part of a paycheck or does one stay home to protect other people. There is no end of everyday situations in which any of us may have to choose what we want or even need against choosing doing no harm. The choices aren't always easy. But we do have gifts from God to help us in such dilemmas. We have the sacraments, the Mass and the teachings of the Son of God in the Gospels. The messages in the Gospels aren't politicized. They are straight forward. "Love one another as I have loved you", "Whatever you did to anyone, even to the least, you did to me" and so on. The Eucharist came to us as the ultimate expression of Christ's conscience. However, choice is not taken away from us. The truth notwithstanding, we are all free to choose to go in any wrong direction. Free will exists because it is essential for us to establish the relationship with God that Christ called for. The most curious feature of this is that most of our relationship with God in the Gospel reality turns out to be our relationships with people.
Father John
July 30, 2021
Dear Parish Family,
I don't recall a lot from high school, but I do recall that the motto of my high school graduating class was "The Common Good". We all understand that as an essential part of the Christian message. But our understanding of what the Common Good is has evolved over time. Plastics were introduced, for instance, as something that would improve people's lives. Now they're sitting in landfills, never breaking down. If the earth were ever to fall into the sun, a lot of old ketchup bottles would probably survive the experience and float in space forever. The oceans and the food chain are being negatively affected by plastics. What we learn about what the Common Good involves seems to develop with a frequency like developments in cellphones. And it can create a sense of being over regulated. But, as it reflects the Christian ethic and message, that is, the Will and Love of God, the bottom line of what it means never changes. We are always called to put love first. Jesus spoke about love a great deal. In the world he lived in fear, hatred, violence and revenge were the most commonplace things in the minds of men. "The mean streets of New York" is a phrase that's well known now. Then "the mean streets" were wherever anyone lived. Love was not something that was considered much beyond anyone's home. Instead of love, people hoped for mercy. For a public speaker to focus on love, then, would have been a splash of cold water in the face. And Jesus tied it to salvation with His teaching and emphasis and focus on service. Keeping up with what "The Common Good" really means can be a challenge. But believing in love as Christ taught us can clarify much.
Father John
July 23, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
The Easter story according to John was used at Mass Thursday morning. My first thought was that we're not really having summer, except for some heat anyway, so why not? But I didn't get far before I saw that the account fits now as perfectly as at Easter. Mary Magdalen meets Jesus outside the tomb but doesn't recognize him. He speaks to her and she is moved to the realization that it is Him. She calls him "Raboni!", which is term of endearment - literally, "Little Rabbi!” (meaning "dear" and not referring to size.) She hugs Jesus and His response is "You must not cling to me." He says this because He won't be with them as they were used to, but He will be truly present in other forms. (“Don’t cling to this form.”) And he did appear in other forms to them, such as a traveler on the road to Emmaus. It says, "They recognized him in the breaking of the bread", a Last Supper reference. He appears unrecognizable by the lake as the apostles are fishing and stuns them by directing them to net breaking catch. He appears to them although the doors were locked and he appears to them walking on the water, seeming ghostly. He appears as they've always known Him, with His wounds and without them. All these happenings are dots to connect that spell out "Eucharist". His followers were in an "infancy" stage, and Jesus guided them so they would grow to understand some ultimate truths: The Real Presence in the Eucharist, the presence of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ and another real presence established in Baptism and underpinned by the Eucharist. He wanted his followers to grow so that each of them would carry His presence down through all generations, demonstrating the love of God and salvation.
Now, this is the point at which I'd take this to the practical aspect level of daily living. We can't leave our faith in the ether. Ultimately, it has to be taught and lived in a down-to-earth manner. But this is long enough for now, so I'll just refer you the washing of the feet and the ultimate act of service by Jesus on Good Friday.
Fr. John
July 9, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
One summer I went to Europe. I landed in Frankfurt first. I had a lot of fun in Europe and some memorable adventures with people who live half way around the world. But I also found a lot of places on tourist maps closed for the month. In England, someone explained to me that August was the month that everyone went on holiday, to the Riviera, the Cotswolds, beaches on The Adriatic and so on. This year, as a newsman put it, "People in Europe are desperately trying to figure out ways to make August work for that precious holiday month, rather, I think, like insects trying to pull free of a spider's web." Where summer would usually be the driver for keeping that yearly habit, now another thing with its own gravity is in play: the need for some relief after months of living in a kind of spiritual trench. I have often referred to you for prayer those things that really need prayer; things from migraine suffering to war. Now, I'm doing that again, except this time I want to recommend that every "trench veteran" gets a break to have some peace and fun and relaxation this summer. Pray for those things and safety. It all comes under the heading of spiritual needs. The Son of God said, "Ask and you will receive." Asking certainly connects you with the Author of all good things which makes what we feel, joy, peace, relaxation, more profound.
Father John
July 2, 2021
Dear Parish Family,
We will be celebrating liberty on the 4th of July. Liberty is a lot of things. It's political, religious and personal freedoms. It's the right to vote, to have your say otherwise without fear of repression and the freedom to pursue your own goals, within the law, of course. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were bound together by our founding fathers as inseparable from each other. Liberty is also the freedom to explore, create and invent for the common good. It's also having the means to do that. All that necessarily goes together for a society to be free. In a repressed society, in which freedoms and their benefits are not understood to be every human's birthright, creativity dies. If the United States had been run by a dictator there would have been no one conducting the experiments at Westinghouse in 1908 which led to the creation of cathode ray tubes that year which led to television, demonstrated with a Felix The Cat cartoon there in 1922. In fact, there would have been no Westinghouse or other creative businesses. All the stuff of communication, from the telegraph to telephone to Marconi's wireless to the Atlantic cable to commercial radio and everything that followed in communications would probably never have existed, at least not as the benefits we know. Things that allow for the free exchange of ideas would have been forbidden. Anything that would have empowered the people would have been banned. Freedom has its own incredible infrastructure involving every area of human endeavor. If there were not our freedoms which create the nation and the life we have and now celebrate, tyranny would fill the vacuum. Freedoms empower people so that no political leader can deny them their own advancement in order to secure power to himself. The founding fathers identified liberty as being God given. So, however you celebrate or enjoy the day, remember that thanking God for what we have is a necessary connection to make. No one would deny that we have problems, troubles and things to improve. But there is so much to be grateful for. Like Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed, we can see our freedoms as something that expanded marvelously from a small origin point. Happy 4th of July and God bless you all.
Father John
June 25, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
This will be short and, I hope, sweet. Monday we had the Ho-Down planning meeting. A lot of people are working hard so that we can have a great Ho Down. I just want to remind you that if you have a job that day, please be available for it, and think of helping in other ways, too. We need more co-chairpeople for a couple areas. “Many hands make light work”, as the saying goes. When a year comes along that de-rails such an event, as we experienced this past year, it can have a scattering effect. Remember what a beautiful day the Ho-Down is and how important it is to us. Of course, we all know that we should pray for that day to be happy and successful.
That's the short part. Remembering what a uniquely wonderful day it is, is the sweet part. God bless you all.
Father John
June 18, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
In 1989, the Shah of Iran was deposed by Iatolla Khomeini. The people of Iran rejoiced wildly believing that the tyranny and brutal oppression of the Shah was about to be replaced by having jobs, enough to eat and peace. But it ended up that although they lost a political tyrant, he was replaced with a religious tyrant. When they still had hope for a better future, the deposed Shah complained, "We just don't have fun anymore".
Fun is good and needed, there's no denying that. But for us, prayer comes into the picture as well. Even as we enjoy life in whatever ways we can, we avoid becoming like the Shah through prayer. There are kids in South America who have never had meat, kids in Yemen who have been bombed at school by their own government, savage drug gang violence that can't be controlled in Mexico and Central and South America, kids who walk hundreds of miles to work in sweat shops to help support their families, battle-ready military units made up of nine-year-olds in Africa… Not everyone gets to have fun. You and I can't do much about that. But we have a Christian responsibility to recognize this suffering and to pray every day for healing needed in the world. Have fun and pray for those who can't get as much out of life as we can.
Father John
June 11, 2021
Dear Parish Family,
Since the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve experienced various forms of difficult, albeit necessary separation. We’ve prayed patiently and faithfully for the end of the pandemic. We’ve endured loss of loved ones, jobs, time with family and friends and many other things.
In these days of pain, sacrifice, and trust, many of us have grown in appreciation of and desire for some of those things we’ve had to do without: going out for a good burger, a shared cup of coffee with an elderly parent, big life celebrations like graduations and weddings.
As Catholics, while each of our circumstances has been unique, in some capacity and for some period of time, we’ve each had to go without fellowship and without the Holy Eucharist. We praise God that “in everything [He] works for good.” (Rom 8:28) I pray that these absences have blessed us all with the time to reflect upon the joy that comes from fellowship, and the life that comes from the Eucharist.
Recognizing that both the Eucharist and our church communities are truly essential to the Christian life, the bishops and diocesan administrators across the state of Minnesota have announced that the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation will return July 1. Practically, this means the weekend of July 3-4 (Saturday evening or anytime Sunday), the Catholic faithful are obligated to once more attend Mass in-person, unless special circumstances apply – for instance, if you are ill or caring for someone whose health is compromised. You can read about this decision, as well as the special circumstances I mention above, in recent letters from Archbishop Hebda (found at archspm.org/archbishopmassletter) and the Minnesota bishops (found at archspm.org/mccmassletter).
As the pandemic subsides and public gathering restrictions are lifted, it is reasonable that we return to worship together in person once more.
For we are Created for Communion. That is, we are created for communion with each other, and we are created for Holy Communion, “the source and summit of the Christian Life.” (CCC 1324)
We are created for fellowship. Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have a living union, so are we created to reflect their union in our relationships with others. It is through our relational nature that we recognize our vocations and grow in love and holiness.
It is powerful when we come together to pray. Jesus tells us, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) Certainly, we can pray anywhere; the Lord invites us to relationship with Him. As such we can hear his voice and speak to him anywhere. There is something extra special about coming together in worship on the sabbath in the sanctuary. St. John Chrysostom said, “You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.” (CCC 2179)
We are created for the Eucharist. While livestreaming, watching Mass on TV, and listening to it on the radio have been suitable ways to celebrate the Lord’s Day when we could not come together in person and will continue to have their place, they lack one key piece: Jesus Himself. During the holy sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus Christ becomes truly present in the Eucharist. The bread and wine are not simply signs that lead us to Christ, but completely transform into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The Catechism tells us “The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.” (CCC 1391) How beautiful that Jesus has given us a way to be intimate with Him. Holy Communion also wipes away venial sins, preserves us from future sin, unites us with the mystical body of the Church and other Christian, and commits us to the poor. Further, Jesus teaches us “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) We are created for and need Holy Communion.
Thanks be to God, for He is answering our prayers! With the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding, we can return to the Communion for which we were created. I invite you to return to Mass, if you have not already. While at this time the dispensation still remains, we are celebrating Mass safely. With the Governor’s Executive Order 21-21, we have room to welcome everyone home to Most Holy Trinity Church.
Even after the lift of the COVID-19 Sunday Mass obligation dispensation, dispensations always remain in place for moral or physical impossibilities, such as illness or caring for an ill family member.
The Creator of the Universe created us with a desire for communion with each other and with Him. I joyfully await the reunion of our parish family at Mass.
Father John
June 4, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
A rabbi in Minneapolis gave me a tour of his synagogue years ago. There was an area at the front on the synagogue which looked something like the sanctuary of a church, except there was no altar. Behind where an altar might have stood was something that looked very much like our tabernacle. He opened it to show me that the Torah, their Old Testament scriptures, was kept there. He explained that because of the Divinely inspired message present in the Torah, it required a special "dwelling place" in his synagogue and even more, in his community.
I mentioned that the tabernacle in a Catholic Church was like that. I asked him if he had ever considered Jesus being the Messiah. He had but his answer was, "I just don't have any way to know. I trust God will guide me as He wishes.”
There are similarities as to God's presence with us and what I saw on that tour. As to our tabernacle, The Word of God is there too, but for us this means the Real Presence of The Son of God is at the heart of our parish family in the tabernacle. At Mass, the consecrated Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ comes out of the tabernacle to you. In that moment Jesus Christ is very personally present to all who receive Him. That was never meant to be the end of it. Archbishop Hebda noted a long time Church teaching that the priesthood of Christ is conferred on all of us in baptism, albeit in different ways. When you receive Christ in the Eucharist, another moment not unlike to that of consecration begins to happen in us. The Real Presence received by you is transformed by our Faith, into purpose and action in our lives. This is the service dimension. We become Christ in the world. Jesus Christ is brought from the tabernacle to be taken out into the world by we who receive Him. We, being baptized, are called to manifest Him.
Father John
May 28, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
In one of this week's gospels, two of the apostles approach Jesus to tell him that they expect him to do whatever they want. One of the two was John, Jesus' closest friend. Jesus was not about to be played like that. He explains that He is about to be sacrificed for the good of "the many" and if they want to be with Him, they have to be willing to serve others, even to the extent that He is about to. The other apostles become angry at the two for their attempt to grab power. This looks like a recommitting of original sin, except that they didn't understand any wrong in what they were doing. But their pitch in that moment is essentially a childish, "Make us all powerful so we can do whatever we want."
There have always been people who wanted unlimited freedoms to fulfill their own agendas. If you go through history, you'll trip over them all over the place; those Israelites who thought Jesus was a tool for them to use to get revenge on their enemies, people in business and politics who believed in profits before people, and anyone who ever operated on the idea that people are expendable for achieving their own ends. And there is at least one more category in which the teachings and conscience of Christ can be abandoned. It's the idea that having all the fun one wants is a liberty everyone is entitled to. Except we're not, of course. We all earn wages and have to give some of our earnings to the government so the common good can be maintained. Also, there is the right to drive a car. But if anyone with that right has a spontaneous race through town for the fun of it, they'll find out that liberties have limits. Fun is good for a human being; even necessary. But if it crosses over into creating harm or risk, the straightforward law of love of Christ is broken.
In the present, at least one of the most confusing voices in regard to maintaining a Christian focus comes from politics. Politics has its place, of course. It is, also, about fighting for power in one way and another. In its most vicious state it becomes a matter of "shaking hands with the devil". In regard to power, as the gospel writer spoke of it in the reading referred to, separating our politics from Christ's teaching can be very useful. Christ's message needs no embellishment.
Father John
May 23, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
When the pandemic began to wreak it's havoc on the world over a year ago, there was no "covid fatigue". Instead, famously, there was a scandalous amount of misinformation which threatened to discredit, dangerously, valid information from the medical community. Today, most people seem to be clear on the misinformation. But there is the fatigue. A news story on the BBC today was headlined, "Tokyo Doctors Call For Olympic Games Cancellation". Of course promoters and fans don't want to hear that.
Tokyo is half way around the world, as is India. But the word from people in the medical profession is the same now, here, there and everywhere, as before, even in the face of political concessions to free people from mitigation protocols. Away from Church, I have no authority to tell you to follow any directives handed down to me. I can mention things like don't try to get medical data from sources like Facebook or realize that the pandemic is still going on and that we are not coming out of it yet. But you have to decide how you will operate in coming months, as do I. There is a subtle kind of misinformation I would like to advise you about. That is the fairly often heard comments that there was a funeral, a wedding or a parish without masking and social distancing and "no one got sick." It's easy to understand that it is impossible for anyone to know that because of the lag time to the infection manifesting itself and the number of people involved. It is possible, sometimes, to trace an infection back to it's point of origin. But more often that exactness is not possible after two weeks. So, as summer comes on and the desire for freedom to go places and to gather creates it's own gravity, please pay attention to data on the virus and be safe.
Father John
May 14, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
I write this on Ascension Thursday. The Gospel of John describes the grief the followers of Jesus felt at His telling them that He was about to leave them. John, being closest to Jesus, would have felt that the most keenly and remembered it best. Jesus assured them that he wasn't leaving them alone and He introduced a beginning knowledge of The Holy Spirit to them. They didn't understand that then. They knew the Lord. That was what they understood.
Besides that moment for them, there was along history woven into their culture of the importance of the word "lord". It went back to their own ancient times, when in Egypt the word “lord” referred to a man who gave loaves of bread to slaves. Bread was one of the few joys in their lives. Bread remained important, even as a far greater variety of foods became available. In 1972, I drove down Robert's Street in St.Paul, as evening came on and saw one family restaurant after another, after another etc., all busy. It amazed me. I wondered why all those places were there and why they were all full. But that's a sight we've all been long familiar with now. When the crisis is past, you'll see all that again, as busy as ever. We have so much that it's important more now than ever to remember meaning. Bread and a bowl will of soup can be a good enough meal. Jesus Christ communicated Himself to the future of human existence, The Eucharist, in which we receive His body, blood, soul and Divinity. He used bread but was careful to detach Himself from the image of slave holder; "I do not call you slaves but friends, if you do what I command. Love one another." The world is full of food options. But there is nothing that matches the gift of the Son of God himself.
Fr. John
May 7, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the people of The United States found common cause, throwing off, suddenly, literally overnight, pacifism born of experiencing the horrors of World War 1. On Dec. 8th, 1941, the draft boards and offices of all our military services were clogged with volunteers. There were many scenes of those rejected for military service weeping.
When the virus struck, we had another Pearl Harbor moment. But as a nation we did not find common cause in dealing with it. An early statistic tells the tale. 80% compliance to the lockdown was necessary. There was 59% compliance. After that summer came on and there was a good deal of risk taking and major spikes, for a number of reasons, from ignoring protocols and data to travel, to crowds out for fun or for protests and so on. You know how it all went. A large number of deaths occurred that could have been avoided for a diminished sense of common cause against a common enemy.
Yesterday,the governor introduced a plan to open things up more. But we can't get too giddy about that. He stated that that would only happen contingent on there being a high enough level of vaccinations in the state along with a matching low level of infections. So we still need that sense of common cause. We are not near the end of this crisis. And what's happening in other parts of the world can always get here. It just takes one person who is unaware of having the disease to create another big spike. Our Faith gives us very clear language to measure things by. In the Gospel today Jesus tells his followers, "Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do as I command you." The word "command" is used to emphasize The Word of God, creatively active in life. The implication that maintaining the common good flows from a sense of service to others is clear in the Gospel message. That we prioritize protecting others against things that threaten peace, wellbeing and stability, is clear in His command, "Love one another as I have loved you."
Fr. John
April 30, 2021
Dear Parish Family-
Most of our ancestors came to America to get away from poverty, oppression, revolutions and other wars. The places they came from, usually, were not places they ever wanted to go back to. They wouldn't have understood the romantic vision of modern tourists for those ancestral home places. Like most people from Europe, they were happy to be new Adams and new Eves in a new Garden Of Eden.
In Ireland, where most of my family tree came from, they become irritated now with Americans who parade around in green sweaters and such. My dad's mom aquainted me with the well known lyric, "fer there's a bleedy law ag'in the wearin' o' the green". But what "the green" meant was never explained. People got it into their heads that it meant green clothes and such. The Irish themselves don't do that. If you're in Ireland on St. Patrick's day, you'll see a lot of gray and brown tweed coats and snapbrim caps, and Wellington boots in black, blue, yellow and so on.
The late Archbishop Roach once told about a trip he made to Ireland, visiting the farm of a Mr. Roach. The farmer told him, "Be off with ya. I'm busy." The archbishop explained who he was, to which the farmer responded, "You're a bishop...from America?" "Yes," the archbishop replied. "I know what ya want. I know about yer family-the ones what left"....He looked the Archbishop over and said, approaching kindness as near he dared, "Well, it's good t' know that one 'o ya turned out okay. Now, like I said, "I'm busy." With that he walked away.
What all this represents is a severed connection to an important piece of history. "The green" was a wrist scapular made of leather dyed green. On it were images of Mary, Joseph, Patrick or other saints favored by the Irish. The scapular was worn to Mass ,or if one was especially bold, all the time. They were against the law, as was saying or attending Mass. The penalty if caught was a cruel, violent death, "fer there's a bleedy law ag'in the wearing' o' the green". It's interesting to think of the modern, innocent ignorance about this. How long has it been since wearing of the green was understood as a struggle to keep the Faith alive and a possible road to brutal martyrdom. Now it's a fun thing and a partying thing that only vaguely recognizes the original significance. We live much more comfortably and well cared for than our ancestors, and it's worth considering how we value our Faith. The founders of my family were Irish, French Canadian, Polish, Bohemian and some Scots with, possibly a bit of English and a trace of German. They all had in common Catholicism. Faith stories abound in all our backgrounds. Our Faith helped our ancestors survive every kind of evil that man is capable of. And Faith has brought us together here to share life and celebrate it, all new Adams and new Eves, but redeemed by Jesus Christ, the heart of that Faith.
Father John
